The Running Guy first met The Tick under less-than-ideal circumstances. He had hired The Red Scare to fight him (and lose, obviously) to boost his reputation as a superhero, but The Tick got to The Red Scare first, and defeated him. Years later, he was recruited by Paul the Samurai to help stop the ninjas from reconstructing the Thorn of Oblivion. When the ninjas were defeated, the participating superheroes decided to form a new supergroup. He initially wanted no part of it, but when he heard about the chances for extra publicity, he decided to stick around.