Chick Hicks

"You want thunder? You want thunder? KA-Chicka! Ka-Chicka!"

- Chick stealing Lightning's catchphrase.

Chick Hicks (also known as Thunder) is the main antagonist of the 2006 Disney/Pixar film Cars, and a cameo character in it's 2017 sequel Cars 3.

He was voiced by Michael Keaton who later played Ken in Toy Story 3.

Personality
Although highly talented and gifted at racing (he would not have maintained #2 spot as long as he had if he wasn't) Chick Hicks is extremely rude, arrogant, conniving, self-centered, and manipulative on himself and winning, like McQueen himself. However, theses traits are more exaggerated in Chick Hicks, and often make him more argumentative, ridiculous, and obnoxious. Chick always brags about winning, and he is also sarcastic, unpleasant, 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.

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. Chick, on the other hand, failed to learn the error of his ways and let his anger be his downfall. Chick serves as an example of what McQueen would become if the latter had allowed his anger and arrogance to consume him.

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 has 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 hot shot rookie Lightning McQueen.

Cars
"Hey, McQueen, that was some really nice racing out there... BY ME!!!"

- Chick Hicks taunts McQueen.

In the Dinoco 400, Chick Hicks and his rival The King tie with 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 the fact to that thunder always comes "after" lightning, much to Chick's intense annoyance.

When Lightning McQueen disappears when McQueen's driver Mack arrives at the Los Angeles International Speedway without him, Hicks befriends the women from Dinoco and steals some of McQueen's fans. When McQueen is found in Radiator Springs, Hicks is revealed to have ripped off one of McQueen's signature poses and even finds his nickname "Thunder" to be quite commercially appealing.

At the final Piston Cup Race, McQueen finds himself unable to maintain focus, his mind slipping back to his time in Radiator Springs, allowing Chick the advantage. Fortunately, Doc Hudson arrives as McQueen's new crew chief and brings in several residents of Radiator Springs to help as McQueen's new pit crew. This allows McQueen to properly focus on the race and avert Chick's dirty moves before the final lap on the fourth turn, allowing McQueen to finally take the lead.

Just as McQueen is about to win the Piston Cup, Hicks tries to catch up and intentionally sideswipes The King as he refuses to come in last place behind him again, making The King spin out of control and crash. When Lightning sees what has happened to The King, he stops just before the finish line and goes back to help The King finish his last race. Although this does allow Chick to win the Piston Cup, the audience cheers Lightning for his sportsmanship and turns on Chick by booing him off the stage from harming the king. Outraged, Chick is forced to make a quick getaway with his trophy in disgrace, which Tex Dinoco offers to Lightning instead.

Cars: The Video Game
In Cars: The Video Game, Chick hired the Delinquent Road Hazards to steal Lightning's racing gear out of Mack's trailer during the 2006 season. Lightning confronted Chick at the fourth race, but Chick claimed to know nothing about it. He was later beaten out by McQueen, and lost the season. Chick returned to Radiator Springs to train for the next season, and once again made some new friends who he used to taunt McQueen. Lightning beat Chick at the final race, and he fled back to his hometown.

Cars: Radiator Springs Adventures
In Cars: Radiator Springs Adventures, Chick is one of the speeders in Speed Trap. After you win the event, you unlock the Legends Race secret for Chick.

Cars Race-O-Rama
In Cars Race-O-Rama, he returns as the main antagonist. He tells McQueen that he and some of his friends are here to win the Race-O-Rama series to shut down the Doc Hudson Racing Academy which he calls pathetic. If he does, everyone would want to come to his racing academy where they will probably learn to cheat. However, McQueen, having some modifications, won the Race-O-Rama series, and Chick leaves in shame after swearing revenge.

Disney INFINITY
In Disney INFINITY, he is the main antagonist of the Cars Play Set. After the "Calibrate GPS" mission is completed, Chick comes into Radiator Springs and stops at Flo's V8 Cafe. He then asks if this is Radiator Springs, before Flo asks if she can get anything for him. Chick asks to start with some jumper cables, and that the town is putting him to sleep. He later leaves after Flo suggests to keep rolling if he won't order anything. He then challenges the player to race against him. After you win, he says that he wants a rematch.

He later competes as a random opponent in the races. Before the start of the Radiator Springs International Race Invitation held by Luigi, Chick says to the other racers that he is plotting to win the race and that it will be the "last time you'll be seeing my grill." Francesco Bernoulli, however, states to The King that he almost likes Chick and that he would have said it better. Finn McMissile then states that something suspicious has happened since Chick arrived, saying that Fillmore's fuel has gone missing right before the big race. Chick then replies saying, "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. We gonna get this race started or what?" After the player wins the race, Chick appears with smoke coming out of him. When he asks if he had won, Finn says to him that he's through and will be sent to the impound lot. Ramone, however, explains that he has been looking for a perfect wreck to fix up for "Detail My Dents", and that Chick is "the worst looking car I've ever seen." Flo then agrees with Ramone to paint Chick red with lightning bolts, before they both drag him away. Shocked at being painted like McQueen, Chick asks them to take him to the impound instead.

When the Cars vault is opened by having all four characters interact with it, a toy of Chick can be unlocked for use in your toy box worlds.

Cars 3
He was not in the film's first sequel Cars 2 but he will return in it's second sequel Cars 3.

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.. Additionally, both were played by Mads Mikkelsen in the Danish dub. Mikkelsen also played Le Chiffre in Casino Royale.
 * Chick is a 1979 Shyster Cremlin, a car that does not exist. It is designed after a 1987 Buick Grand National.
 * Chick shares some similarities with Wario from the Super Mario Bros. series, as both have similar mustaches and personalities. Also Chick acts as a rival to McQueen as the way as Wario is a rival to Mario.
 * 86, Chick's number, could come from 1986, the year that Pixar was established.
 * Even though he didn't appear in Cars 2, you can download him for Cars 2: The Video Game.
 * On his right door, there is a picture of the Marshy-Marshmallows logo. This is mostly the same company which 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."
 * Chick's primary sponsor is the Hostile Takeover Bank (htB). His car number is 86, which refers to the year Luxo, Jr. was released.
 * Chick Hicks' defeat is very similar to Makunga from Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa.