Die Fledermaus (The Tick)

Die Fledermaus
The Tick character
First appearance	The Tick vs. The Idea Men
Created by	Ben Edlund
Voiced by	Cam Clarke
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Superhero
Residence	The City

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."^[1] 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 lines. 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.

References

1. ^ From middle lower German “vledermus“ = “Flattermaus” = “flattern” + “Maus”