Chick Thunder Hicks

: “Oh yeah, you wanted the forecast?, I’ll give you the forecast. A hundred percent chance of THUNDER!! KACHICKA!! KACHICKA!! Say it with me!”
: ―Chick Hicks wooing fans.
: “It's nice to be out there before the other competitors”
: ―Chick being interviewed on radio
Chick Hicks (also known as Thunder, or simply Chick) is the main antagonist of the 2006 Disney/Pixar animated film Cars and a minor character in its 2017 triquel. He is a racer who likes cheating. After winning the Piston Cup, Chick presumably lost his racing career, when his fans turned on him for causing The King to crash.
== Background ==
=== Personality ===
Even to his own minions, Chick is extremely rude, arrogant, and self-centered, and loves winning like Lightning McQueen was at the start of the film; however, these traits are more exaggerated in Chick and often make him more ridiculous or obnoxious. Chick always brags about winning, and he's also sarcastic and intimidating. Having lived all his career in the shadow of the King has made him bitter and devoid of any sense of fair-play which makes him resort to cheating his way into winning by knocking other racers out of the race. He even intentionally bumped into and caused the King to crash, despite the fact that he was going to retire anyway.Chick largely serves as a parallel to McQueen. They are both racers who dream of getting at Dinoco, which represents the peak of success. McQueen, however, learned to accept that helping others is more important than fame and fortune after choosing to concede the Piston Cup to Chick so he can help the King finish his last race. Chick, on the other hand (despite having won his first Piston Cup by cheating), never learns the lesson that there is more to racing than just winning and let his selfishness, arrogance and anger be his downfall. Chick serves as an example of what McQueen would have become if the latter had gotten too caught up in his selfishness and arrogance.During the events of the third film, despite being a reporter, Chick Hicks still remains an unpleasant and selfish bully. He mocks McQueen for being no match to Jackson Storm and once again shows that he lets his anger and arrogance control his actions. He even brags to the audience about the Piston Cup he won and presents his trophy next to him, which also shows that he is still rude, even proclaiming himself as a Piston Cup winner and "Champion for all ages". This helps cement Chick Hicks as a truly irredeemable character who only cares about himself, especially the trophy he won and also show that he learned nothing from his mistakes from the first film.
== Appearances ==
=== Cars ===
Hicks is in a three-way tie with the King and Lightning McQueen and is attempting to win the Piston Cup. His nickname is "The Runner-Up", as he seems to always lose to the King. He also has the reputation of not racing fairly:"Chick Hicks is a racing veteran with a chip on his shoulder, a ruthless competitor who has cheated his way into more second-place finishes than any other car. He's been counting down the seasons to the King's retirement so that he can take over the coveted Dinoco sponsorship, but he never expected such fierce competition from hotshot rookie Lightning McQueen.""In Lightning McQueen's worst nightmares not only does Chick Hicks win the Piston Cup, but he wins over Dinoco as well."Chick's primary sponsor is the Hostile Takeover Bank (htB) and his car number is 86.Chick ties with the King and Lightning in the Piston Cup championship, forcing the three racers to compete in a tiebreaker race. Chick later mocks McQueen on winning the Piston Cup and sponsorship of Dinoco. Lightning retaliates by nicknaming Chick "Thunder" due to that thunder always comes after lightning, much to Chick's intense annoyance. However, he later shows off with this new nickname after Lightning disappears in Radiator Springs, wooing his fans and stealing Lightning's catchphrase.Chick makes numerous attempts to force Lightning out of the final race, such as mocking him, only to be outrun by him in spite it. Frustrated and angered being on second place, Chick then intentionally sideswipes the King with the PIT Maneuver during the final lap, causing him to spin out of control, go airborne, and be sent into a roll for nearly 50 yards on the track's infield grass, even though it was the King's final race anyway. When Lightning sees what has happened to the King on the jumbotron of the track, he stops before crossing the finish line and goes back to help the King across the line. Although this allows Chick to win first place and his first Piston Cup title (though for what he did to the King with his illegal move, he didn't deserve it), nobody cheers him on once he does because they're sick of his dirty tricks, and instead cheer on Lightning for helping the King as respect, though some fans including Albert Hinkey cry and express emotion when they witness McQueen forego his chances of winning.As Chick gets on stage to collect his trophy and celebrate his victory, he expects them to celebrate with him, but instead, the fans turn on him, branding him a cheater. They fire confetti at him rather than using it as a celebration, boo him off the stage, and throw things at him, because Chick crashed all the racers, popped McQueen’s tire and took out Strip Weathers, forcing him to make a quick getaway with his trophy and making him realize the "Chick era" was over before it even started.
=== Cars 3 ===
Chick Hicks returned in the third film with a minor role, being voiced by Bob Peterson since Keaton was unable to reprise the role (Due to him being busy with Spider-Man: Homecoming). In the film, Chick has retired from racing (never revealed why he did) and is the host for the show Chick's Picks with Chick Hicks. He gives boisterous commentary for recent Piston Cup results and often shares the stage with statistical analyst Natalie Certain. He also brings up his one Piston Cup win when he gets the chance and proudly features his trophy next to him. He also cracks jokes at McQueen's losses when next-gen racers including Jackson Storm take over the racing sport. When Storm wins the Gears and Glory 450 at the Heartland Motor Speedway, Chick accompanies him on the winners' podium so he can interview him, with Storm boasting about McQueen's retirement. Additionally, McQueen (after having an argument with Cruz Ramirez) is watching Chick on Mack's television, where Chick is giving a report on McQueen's experience at the Thunder Hollow Speedway and the possibility of McQueen's retirement, resulting the former to turn off the TV out of shame before contacting Mater for help. Unlike the first film, he isn't seen again throughout the rest of the movie. It is also noted that his TV crew look unimpressed when he brings up his first win, making it imply that no one or less people watch his show due to his actions and bullying.
== Disney Parks ==
In Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Chick hacks into Lightning McQueen's racing simulator presentation to humiliate him and challenge him to a virtual race to settle their score (presumably renewing their rivalry). He is once again voiced by Bob Peterson and serves as the main antagonist for the attraction.
== Customizations ==
Cars-chick-hicks.jpg|Hostile Takeover Bank Chick HicksFrom Cars
Dinoco chick hicks.jpg|Dinoco Chick HicksFrom Lightning McQueen's nightmares
Purple Rage.jpg|Purple Rage
== Gallery ==
== Trivia ==
* Chick makes his team wear "mustache" grilles to represent him.
* According to the 2009 Die-cast Collectors Guide, Chick Hicks has 334 decals on him.
* Chick Hicks wants to end up in first place and hates ending up in second place, which is similar to Randall Boggs from Monsters Inc.
* Chick actually was an example to Lightning about what he would've become if he had let his anger and arrogance to consume him. This is noted that if McQueen would've won rather than helped The King, it would truly show that McQueen never learned anything from his past behavior and that he only cared about winning.
* Chick is a 1979 Shyster Cremlin, a car that does not exist. It is designed after a 1987 Buick Grand National.
* 86, Chick's number, is based on the year Pixar was founded. It also symbolizes his racing style, as "86" is a slang term for getting rid of something.
* Chick should've been disqualified before the events of the movie but for the convenience of the plot, he is kept a racer despite violating race rules. Because of this, it could be implied that race officials allow Chick to play dirty just because he's in contention of winning the Piston Cup, and also because he wants to beat The King and Lightning McQueen at his own game.
* Chick Hicks is one of the first few Pixar villains to actually win, though his win is regarded as a pyrrhic victory due to his actions on the track.
* Despite Chick winning his first Piston Cup title, it is unknown if it really was his first official win, as it was mentioned that he has always been in second-place to The King. In fact, despite being called "The Runner Up", it is also never revealed if Chick Hicks won races by cheating prior to the events of Cars.
* Though he is the main antagonist, Chick only has a little screen time as the film focuses on McQueen getting lost at Radiator Springs along with his character development, learning that there are more things in life than winning. As a result. Chick only appears in the beginning, in two bad dreams Lightning has, on television in Mack's trailer wooing fans, and at the end of the film. His voice is still heard on a radio broadcast when McQueen fixes the road.
* When McQueen thinks about Chick Hicks after he finds out that Chick got to California first, the nightmare sequence is basically the same as McQueen's daydream, with Chick hanging with Tex and Team DINOCO, winning the tiebreaker race after overtaking Strip, taking photos for a photoshoot, being on the media magazines, and going to the Hollywood Chinese Theater with Mia and Tia as the new celebrity, even having his own superhero movie called "Chick Magnet" though the fictionalized car-ified plot wasn't shown. The only exception is that when he is in his penthouse, he doesn't get bling bling wheels and attracts Mia and Tia with his magnetic paint job before taunting McQueen in his own thoughts to "eat his heart out".
* Chick Hicks hosting his show in the third movie makes it feel like he's breaking the fourth wall to viewers when he brings up his Piston Cup win.
* Even though Chick didn't appear in Cars 2, players can download him for Cars 2: The Video Game. It was also unknown why he didn't appear in the second film, as it never revealed what really happened with him following his pyrrhic victory in the first film.
* On his right door, there is a picture of the Marshy-Marshmallows logo. This is mostly the same company that was seen in A Bug's Life under the name of "Joel's Marshy Marshmallows."
* In the Polish version, his name is Marek Marucha. Ma rucha means "He has speed."
* A 1:55 scale die-cast of Chick Hicks, along with Lightning McQueen and Brush Curber, appears in one of the exhibit elements at The Science Behind Pixar.
* Michael Keaton voiced Chick in Cars and later returned to Pixar to voice Ken in Toy Story 3. However, by unknown reasons, he was replaced by Pixar animator Bob Peterson in Cars 3. The exact reason is still unknown, but it could be possible that Keaton was not available to record any lines for Chick due to the filming of Spider-Man: Homecoming.
** Due to the voice change, this makes Chick's voice sound different from his original self in the first film, making him sound like characters Bob Peterson voiced from other movies such as Mr. Ray from Finding Nemo and its sequel, Finding Dory.
* Before voicing Chick Hicks, Michael Keaton previously portrayed Ray Peyton, Sr., owner of Team Peyton and the father of the protagonist Maggie Peyton in Herbie: Fully Loaded, another racing movie which was released in 2005 while Cars was still in production. The difference is that Ray Peyton Sr isn't a racer or an antagonist, but a crew chief who wants to forbid Maggie from racing, while Chick Hicks is a dirty racer who will do anything to win by cheating.
* In the Latin Spanish version of Cars 3, Chick jokes after supposing that McQueen will retire that instead of "Ku-chau!" (the Latin Spanish translation to "Ka-chow!"), this time will be "Chau-Chau!" (as Chau is a Latin Spanish term to say goodbye to people), making the joke most funny to Latin Spanish spectators.
* Chick Hicks bullying McQueen on television is a representation to liberal media outlets who try to make fun of conservatives for their beliefs and victories.
* His Crew Chief’s name is Ian Roadhazard.
* According to the Car Finder trivia on the Blu-Ray release of Cars, Chick went to drama school with one of his mechanic pitties, Bruiser Bukowski, as well as the same high school. This may have contributed to his work as an announcer and talk show host for Chick's Picks with Chick Hicks, as seen in Cars 3.
* In the Rioplatenese version of Cars 3, he is voiced by Marcos Di Palma, an Argentinian race car driver known for his brash attitude.
== References ==
# ↑ Jump up to:1.0 1.1 "Car Finder" (supplementary material on Blu-ray Disc release of Cars). 2007. Blu-ray Disc. Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 2007.
# ↑ ‘Cars 3’ Drops New Poster; Announces Voice Cast at Rotoscopers
== External links ==
* Chick Hicks on Pixar Wiki
* Chick Hicks on Pixar Cars Wiki