Die Fledermaus (The Tick)
Encyclopedia
Die Fledermaus is a fictional
superhero
in the animated television series, The Tick. Voiced
by Cam Clarke
, he fights crime in a place simply called The City
.
Like all the characters in The Tick, he is intended to be a parody
. Die Fledermaus is a parody of Batman
; he wears a brown and light brown costume. The costume has bat
characteristics such as oversized ears, claws on the feet, and a realistic bat nose with huge nostrils. He has Batman-type equipment, which is rarely used. Die Fledermaus, his name, is German
for "The Bat," or, broken apart, "The fluttering Mouse." The appellation was most likely given due to the popularity of the Johann Strauss II
operetta
Die Fledermaus
and is pronounced as such (not as it appears in English). To English-speakers not familiar with the German language, his name sounds like "Deflater Mouse."
Die Fledermaus does not conduct much crime fighting. During a very short time in which Arthur
was his sidekick
, Arthur remarked that all they did was "look at fashion magazines and hang out at the diner
." Die Fledermaus is a coward who usually faints when facing danger. His fainting one time happened during Proto-Clown's rampage. In "The Tick vs Arthur's Bank Account," The City's mayor notes that when the "Die Fledermaus signal" is turned on, Die Fledermaus disconnects his telephone and leaves town for a few days. Mostly, he sits in the diner and tries to pick up women with his costume and lame pick-up line
s. However, in the first episode "The Tick vs The Idea Men", when the Idea Men prepare to blow up The City's dam, Die Fledermaus was one of the many superheroes (including Big Shot
, American Maid, and the Human Bullet, and Bipolar Bear, who just couldn't get out of bed that month however) that rushed off to stop them.
Considering his expensive costume and gadgetry, it is safe to assume Die Fledermaus is fairly wealthy. Like all superheroes in The City, Die Fledermaus does not have a job or alter ego
. Throughout the animated series, it is implied that Die Fledermaus and the superheroine American Maid
once had a rather intimate relationship
but ended their romance some time before the start of the series (presumably because she couldn't stand his cowardice or his fear of commitment and he couldn't handle her quirks). The two of them are still hurting from and bitter about it.
There is a similar character in the live-action version of The Tick called Batmanuel
. Due to copyright
issues, the characters were distinguished.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
in the animated television series, The Tick. Voiced
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
by Cam Clarke
Cam Clarke
Cameron Arthur "Cam" Clarke is a prolific American voice actor and singer, well known for his work in animation and video games. Clarke is well known for providing the voices of Leonardo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Shotaro Kaneda in the 1989 original English-dub of Akira. He often voices...
, he fights crime in a place simply called The City
The City (The Tick)
The City is the principal setting of The Tick , The Tick , and The Tick .Little information is given about the origins of the city. It also acts as a parody of the vagueness of cities in most comic books. From the little information given it can be said that the city is an urban area that resembles...
.
Like all the characters in The Tick, he is intended to be a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
. Die Fledermaus is a parody of Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
; he wears a brown and light brown costume. The costume has bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
characteristics such as oversized ears, claws on the feet, and a realistic bat nose with huge nostrils. He has Batman-type equipment, which is rarely used. Die Fledermaus, his name, is German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
for "The Bat," or, broken apart, "The fluttering Mouse." The appellation was most likely given due to the popularity of the Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
and is pronounced as such (not as it appears in English). To English-speakers not familiar with the German language, his name sounds like "Deflater Mouse."
Die Fledermaus does not conduct much crime fighting. During a very short time in which Arthur
Arthur (The Tick)
Arthur is a fictional character, a vigilante in the Tick comic book series, animated series, and live action series. He serves as The Tick's sidekick.-Overview:...
was his sidekick
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
, Arthur remarked that all they did was "look at fashion magazines and hang out at the diner
Diner
A diner, also spelled dinor in western Pennsylvania is a prefabricated restaurant building characteristic of North America, especially in the Midwest, in New York City, in Pennsylvania and in New Jersey, and in other areas of the Northeastern United States, although examples can be found throughout...
." Die Fledermaus is a coward who usually faints when facing danger. His fainting one time happened during Proto-Clown's rampage. In "The Tick vs Arthur's Bank Account," The City's mayor notes that when the "Die Fledermaus signal" is turned on, Die Fledermaus disconnects his telephone and leaves town for a few days. Mostly, he sits in the diner and tries to pick up women with his costume and lame pick-up line
Pick-up line
A pick-up line is a conversation opener with the intent of engaging an unfamiliar person for romance, or dating. Overt and sometimes humorous displays of romantic interest, pick-up lines advertise the wit of their speakers to their target listeners....
s. However, in the first episode "The Tick vs The Idea Men", when the Idea Men prepare to blow up The City's dam, Die Fledermaus was one of the many superheroes (including Big Shot
Big Shot (The Tick)
Big Shot is a fictional character from the animated series, The Tick. He is a parody of The Punisher. In the TV series, Big Shot carries guns, grenades and other weaponry on his back...
, American Maid, and the Human Bullet, and Bipolar Bear, who just couldn't get out of bed that month however) that rushed off to stop them.
Considering his expensive costume and gadgetry, it is safe to assume Die Fledermaus is fairly wealthy. Like all superheroes in The City, Die Fledermaus does not have a job or alter ego
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
. Throughout the animated series, it is implied that Die Fledermaus and the superheroine American Maid
American Maid
American Maid is a fictional superhero from the animated series, The Tick. Voiced by Kay Lenz, she is largely a parody of both Captain America and Wonder Woman....
once had a rather intimate relationship
Intimate relationship
An intimate relationship is a particularly close interpersonal relationship that involves physical or emotional intimacy. Physical intimacy is characterized by romantic or passionate love and attachment, or sexual activity. The term is also sometimes used euphemistically for a sexual...
but ended their romance some time before the start of the series (presumably because she couldn't stand his cowardice or his fear of commitment and he couldn't handle her quirks). The two of them are still hurting from and bitter about it.
There is a similar character in the live-action version of The Tick called Batmanuel
Batmanuel
Batmanuel is a fictional character from The Tick live action series.An obvious parody of Batman, the character was similar to Die Fledermaus of the animated series....
. Due to copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
issues, the characters were distinguished.