Clark Oppenheimer
Encyclopedia
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Clark Oppenheimer is a fictional character from The Tick
comics and the cartoon and video game based thereupon. He is a thinly disguised parody and/or analogue of DC Comics
character Superman
.
"), had anticipated the destruction of Ottercreek, and spirited his son away to Earth aboard a rocket which crashlanded in the farmland somewhere to the west of The City
. In time, Clark moved to the north pole, where he created his Fortress of Fortitude using Ottercreek technology that his father had sent along with him in the spacecraft. Eventually, he emerged as The Caped Wonder, a superhero working as a reporter for the Weekly World Planet in The City.
Alongside Mighty Agrippa, Roman God of the Aqueduct
, Clark is one of the two most powerful superheroes in The Tick universe. Despite this, (or possibly because of it) he has made a rather poor showing for himself in the various iterations of The Tick. In the comics, he only figures into a few issues early on, in which the Tick manages to accidentally waylay him by various forms of buffoonery (including, but not limited to accidentally constructing a backup copy of The Fortress of Fortitude in Clark's office at the newspaper, and breaking Clark's glasses) and from then on he was not seen again until many years later when he has apparently been driven insane by the Tick. He envies the Mighty Blue Arachnid for robbing him of the accolades and fame he feels he deserves.
powers—X-ray vision, super strength, invulnerability, flight, heat-vision, super hearing—but is vulnerable to Ottercreekite, a radioactive substance left over from the destruction of his homeworld. However, only his invulnerability, super strength and heat-vision are actually used (he claims to have the others).
A similar character called "The Champion" appears in the live action Tick series.
Clark Oppenheimer is a fictional character from The Tick
The Tick
The Tick is a fictional character created by cartoonist Ben Edlund in 1986 as a newsletter mascot for the New England Comics chain of Boston area comic stores. He is an absurdist spoof of comic book superheroes. After its creation, the character spun off into an independent comic book series in...
comics and the cartoon and video game based thereupon. He is a thinly disguised parody and/or analogue of DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
character Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
.
Fictional History
Clark was born as Ka-Ro, on the alien world of Ottercreek, which exploded shortly thereafter. His father, Ban-Al (referred to by The Tick as a "Spooky, disembodied alien head" and "Marlon BrandoMarlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
"), had anticipated the destruction of Ottercreek, and spirited his son away to Earth aboard a rocket which crashlanded in the farmland somewhere to the west of 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...
. In time, Clark moved to the north pole, where he created his Fortress of Fortitude using Ottercreek technology that his father had sent along with him in the spacecraft. Eventually, he emerged as The Caped Wonder, a superhero working as a reporter for the Weekly World Planet in The City.
Alongside Mighty Agrippa, Roman God of the Aqueduct
Mighty Agrippa, Roman God of the Aqueduct
The Mighty Agrippa, Roman God of the Aqueduct is a fictional character from The Tick comics and cartoon series. In the comics he generally operates out of New York City, but in the cartoon series he was generally seen in the general area of The City, possibly in the twin-city Deertown–Hoobleville...
, Clark is one of the two most powerful superheroes in The Tick universe. Despite this, (or possibly because of it) he has made a rather poor showing for himself in the various iterations of The Tick. In the comics, he only figures into a few issues early on, in which the Tick manages to accidentally waylay him by various forms of buffoonery (including, but not limited to accidentally constructing a backup copy of The Fortress of Fortitude in Clark's office at the newspaper, and breaking Clark's glasses) and from then on he was not seen again until many years later when he has apparently been driven insane by the Tick. He envies the Mighty Blue Arachnid for robbing him of the accolades and fame he feels he deserves.
Powers and abilities
He has all the typical SupermanSuperman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
powers—X-ray vision, super strength, invulnerability, flight, heat-vision, super hearing—but is vulnerable to Ottercreekite, a radioactive substance left over from the destruction of his homeworld. However, only his invulnerability, super strength and heat-vision are actually used (he claims to have the others).
In Other Media
In the cartoon version, he is only seen twice: Once in the first episode, where he's constantly searching—without success—for a telephone booth in which to change into his alter-ego; and he has a brief cameo in the opening credits of the "Heroes" episode where he's part of a montage of random heroes of The City.A similar character called "The Champion" appears in the live action Tick series.