Rick Sanchez | |
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Rick and Morty character | |
First appearance |
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Last appearance |
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Created by | Justin Roiland Dan Harmon |
Designed by | Justin Roiland |
Inspired by | |
Voiced by |
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Portrayed by |
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In-universe information | |
Full name | Richard Daniel Sanchez |
Alias | The Rickest Rick (Rick Prime) The Smartest Man in the Universe (seasons 1–5) |
Nickname | Rick |
Title | Rick C-137 (main character) |
Occupation | |
Affiliation |
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Family |
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Spouse | Diane Sanchez C-137 (wife; erased from reality) |
Significant others |
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Children | Beth Sanchez C-137 (and by proxy Beth Smith C-131 and Space Beth C-131) The CHUD Heir |
Nationality | American |
Age | 70 |
Richard Daniel "Rick" Sanchez is one of the two eponymous characters from the Adult Swim animated television series Rick and Morty and resulting multimedia franchise. Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, he is voiced by the former during the first six seasons of the series, [1] then by Ian Cardoni beginning with the seventh season, and Yōhei Tadano in Rick and Morty: The Anime , after voicing the character in the Japanese dub of the series and various promotional short films. Rick is a misanthropic, alcoholic mad scientist inspired by Christopher Lloyd's Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown from Back to the Future and Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic from Marvel Comics. In September 2021, Lloyd portrayed Rick himself in a series of promotional interstitials for the series. [2] [3]
The first three volumes of the Rick and Morty comic series follow the Rick and Morty of Dimension C-132 while most issues of subsequent volumes (following the "Head-Space" arc in which Rick C-132 is killed) follow the main Rick (C-137) and Morty (Prime) from the television series, with the final volume ("The Rickoning") and Rick and Morty Go to Hell following another alternate Rick (and Morty) identified as Devil Rick in the latter series, and featuring a Girl Rick designed after cosplayer Santana Maynard by series writer Kyle Starks; [5] the video game Pocket Mortys meanwhile follows the Rick and Morty of C-123. [7] Known for his reckless, nihilistic behavior, pragmatic moral ambiguity and pessimistic personality, the character has been well received. [8] [9] [10] [11]
Rick Sanchez from Earth C-137 is a mad scientist who seems to know everything in the universe and thus finds life a traumatizing and pointless experience. Following the murder of his wife Diane and daughter Beth Sanchez in his native reality (C-137) by his parallel self Rick Prime, Rick dedicates his life to hunting Prime down, developing inter-dimensional travel and a portal gun. Along the way, Rick befriends Birdperson and becomes a leading figure in the revolution against the Galactic Federation throughout his mid-30s. In one of his many times captured by the Federation, they discovered an element dubbed "Sanchezium" that could be used to restrain him. After being rejected by Birdperson, Rick returns to his journey of vengeance, before ultimately becoming the leader of a fledgling "Citadel of Ricks". The Citadel had originally formed to oppose him after he had killed a number of alternate versions of himself on his journey of vengeance, and under his guidance oversaw the binding of the multiverse's Ricks into a "Central Finite Curve" in which they are all the "Smartest Man in the Universe", manipulating the flow of realities in which his daughter lived to ensure that she met Jerry Smith in order to produce an endless number of hypothetical grandchildren, allowing them to hide from the Federation using their brainwaves. Depressed by his failure to locate Prime, Rick eventually abandons the Citadel and casts himself into the multiverse once again, crashing into the garage of a now-adult, living version of Beth from Rick Prime's reality, where Prime had abandoned her and Diane twenty years prior. Rick befriends her son, that reality's Morty Smith, and frequently traveled with him on adventures through space, visiting other planets and dimensions with him (and occasionally Summer Smith). [12] In the third season of the show, it is revealed that he is at least 70 years old. [13]
Rick's trademark catchphrase in the first season (and also appearing as a variation in the second season) is "Wubba Lubba Dub-Dub", first introduced in the episode "Meeseeks and Destroy". In Birdperson's native language, the catchphrase translates to "I am in great pain, please help me", an indication of Rick's depression. [14] [15] Justin Roiland revealed the catchphrase was created by mistake when he messed up reading the script; he was supposed to say "wub wub wub wub wub". [16]
In the episode "Rick Potion #9", Rick reveals his disdain towards love, in which he claims that it is "a chemical reaction that compels animals to breed".[ citation needed ] When Rick and Morty irreversibly mutate all humans on Earth except for their family members, they abandon the dimension (and their family in that dimension) for a new one. Rick locates a universe in which the alternate version of himself has undone the damage inflicted by the love potion, but where the new dimension's Rick and Morty have been killed, allowing the C-137 Rick and Morty Prime to take their place. Despite Morty's trauma concerning this knowledge, Rick is nonchalant about moving to the new dimension.
Rick's intelligence is portrayed to transcend that of metaphysical beings, as demonstrated in the episode "Something Ricked This Way Comes", where he outsmarts Satan / Mr. Needful.
In the episode "Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind", after numerous Ricks in alternate dimensions are murdered, the Trans-Dimensional Council of Ricks accuses Rick C-137 and orders for him to be arrested. Rick C-137 finds himself captured by an "evil" Rick (in actuality controlled by Evil Morty), but is saved by a legion of alternate-dimension Mortys led by his Morty.
In the second season premiere, "A Rickle in Time", Rick nearly sacrifices himself to save Morty, but saves his own life when he realizes that doing so is possible. In the episode "Get Schwifty", it is revealed that Rick was once in a rock band called the Flesh Curtains, alongside Birdperson and Squanchy. In the episode "Big Trouble in Little Sanchez", Rick transfers his consciousness into a younger clone of himself, whom he calls "Tiny Rick". He soon becomes anguished in his new body, and manages to return to his older true form, and murders a line of other clones he produced.
In "The Ricks Must Be Crazy", Rick reveals that he powers his flying car with a battery that contains a miniature universe, or microverse, whose inhabitants unknowingly provide the required electricity. The inhabitants cease doing this after one of their scientists does the same thing for his own universe, and discovers that this is what Rick has done to his universe. Rick remorselessly destroys the miniature universe inside his own miniature universe, killing everyone inside. Nearing the end of the episode, Rick knows that his own microverse would choose to power his battery, or he would dispose of it and create a new one; as he put it, once he got out of the battery, he'd have one of two options: "either I'd have to toss out a broken battery, or the battery wouldn't be broken.". [17]
In the second season's finale, "The Wedding Squanchers", Rick and his family attend Birdperson's wedding, where Birdperson is betrayed and killed by his bride Tammy, a double agent for the Galactic Federation. The family is forced to inhabit an unusually small yet Earth-like planet, as they cannot return to Earth due to Rick's status as a wanted criminal. Rick turns himself into the Federation to allow his family to return home, and is incarcerated on a prison planet under the charges of having committed "everything".
The premiere episode of the series' third season, "The Rickshank Rickdemption" shows a possible origin for Rick, in which he was a well-meaning scientist who loved his wife Diane and daughter Beth, but had an encounter with a member of a militant group of Ricks who had achieved inter-dimensional travel during his own initial testing of a prototype inter-dimensional portal gun, who offered him the secret to creating the device, and joining their organization. Shortly after his refusal, and his pledge to quit science forever, a bomb was sent through a portal, killing Diane and Beth. Rick claims that this was a fake memory he created in order to trick his interrogator into implanting a virus into the mind-reading device he was attached to, allowing him to hijack his body and escape from the Federation prison, having actually turned himself in to access the Federation's supercomputer and wipe it out financially, before taking out the Council of Ricks while saving Morty and Summer. At the end of the episode, after indirectly convincing Beth to divorce Jerry for trying to convince the family to sell him out, Rick again insists, in a rant to Morty, that the death of his wife and daughter as depicted was a fake memory; in the fifth season, his wife and daughter from his home reality are confirmed to have been caught in an explosion, with both being killed, the fake part of the memory having been Rick immediately developing an inter-dimensional portal gun himself to find a new family, rather than what he did in actuality: spent months developing the technology before spending the next thirty years attempting to track down the Rick in question (Rick Prime). Months later, Rick reluctantly attends family therapy under Dr. Wong in "Pickle Rick".
In "The ABC's of Beth", Beth learns from Rick that her childhood magical fantasy world of Froopyland was an actual place all Ricks had made for her as a child: a real procedurally-generated and childproofed pocket dimension he created for Beth, and that her memories of her childhood friend Tommy Lipnip, getting lost inside of it are real. Upon reentering to locate Tommy, Rick discovers that the animals have become predatory and dangerous from segments of human DNA, with Tommy having survived to adulthood via a combination of bestiality and cannibalism. After Tommy accuses Beth of deliberately trapping him in the dimension as a child out of jealousy for his family, pushing him into a honey swamp in a murder attempt before leaving him there, Rick takes himself and Beth back without Tommy. After Beth accuses him of being a bad parent, Rick counters that he made Froopyland to keep her occupied because she was a violent child, and has no doubt Tommy's claims were true. Beth tries to go back to reason with Tommy, but ends up killing him and his offspring. Back at home, pondering whether she is evil, Beth is presented with the option by Rick of having a replacement clone of her created, so that she will be free to travel the universe without abandoning her family; on rewatching his own self-erased memory of the incident in "Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri", Rick learns that Beth asked him to decide for himself whether he wanted her in his life, and his response was to use a centrifuge to randomize who was the original after creating a clone, having been unable to answer, in the present finally admitting to himself that he is "a terrible father". In "The Rickchurian Mortydate", while Rick is in a feud with the President, Beth begins to fear she might be the clone, with Rick's phrasing of the answer leading her to an existential crisis, and ultimately reuniting with Jerry and renewing their marriage, much to Rick's frustration. The season ends with the Smith family happy to be together again, although Rick is disappointed about losing his dominant position.
In the fourth season finale "Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri", Space Beth (the Beth who went to space, there-becoming the new "Most Wanted" of the Galactic Federation), believing herself to be the clone upon finding a device in her neck, confronts Rick, who reveals that the other Beth also has a device in her neck and claims she is the clone, and the pair go to Shoney's to chat about Space Beth's adventures. After the Federation soon arrives at Earth, demanding Space Beth be handed over, Rick accidentally lets slip that Space Beth might in fact be the clone, and races to Dr. Wong's office (where Beth and Jerry are at counselling) to save Beth from Tammy Gueterman and a squad of soldiers, who have mistaken her for Space Beth. Rick, Beth, and Jerry rendezvous with Space Beth, and both Beths become mad at Rick for his refusal to disclose which is the clone. They are again attacked by Tammy, who takes the Beths prisoner and beams them up to the Federation's ship. Morty and Summer intervene and Rick kills Tammy. The family heads to the ship, with Rick going to free the Beths while Morty and Summer shut off its superlaser before it can annihilate Earth. The Beths escape on their own as Rick is confronted by Phoenixperson (a revived Birdperson), who almost kills him (calling him "a bad friend" for having previously wondered which of them would win in a fight) before being shut down by Space Beth (with Jerry's help). In the aftermath, Rick retrieves the memory tube containing his memory of creating the clone Beth, having erased his own knowledge of which Beth is the original. However, no one in the family is interested in learning the truth. Rick watches the memory nonetheless, only to learn that Beth asked him to decide for himself whether he wanted her in his life. He cloned her, then had the two Beths swapped around until he no longer knew which was the original. After admitting to himself that he is "a terrible father," Rick tries to be a good friend instead and fix Phoenixperson (whose remains he retrieved after the battle), only to be aggressively rejected. Rick is left alone and distraught.
In the fifth season finale "Rickmurai Jack", the Citadel's new President Morty destroys the Central Finite Curve, stripping all Ricks of their title of "Smartest Man in the Universe" and freeing the multiverse of his influence.
In the sixth season premiere "Solaricks", after briefly finally tracking down Rick Prime, Rick and the rest of the Smith family switch realities to a near-identical one (where "parmesan" is pronounced /pɑːrˈmiːziən/ par-MEE-zee-ən), after everyone on their previous reality's Earth are absorbed by Mr. Frundles. After achieving a healthier state of mind after talking with his therapist by "Analyze Piss", Rick finally resumes his search for Rick Prime in "A Rick in King Mortur's Mort", before bringing Morty into his search for Rick Prime (on his request) in the finale, "Ricktional Mortpoon's Rickmas Mortcation".
In the seventh season episode "Unmortricken", with the help of Evil Morty, Rick finally tracks down and kills Rick Prime, though his revenge feels hollow.
Rick C-137 appears as a main character in several Oni Press Rick and Morty comic series story arcs from the third volume onward, after cameoing at the conclusion of "Head-Space, Part Three", as well as the spin-off series Rick and Morty Presents and various limited series.
The Citadel of Ricks and Mortys is an inter-dimensional society populated almost exclusively by alternate versions of Rick and Morty from across the multiverse, founded by Rick C-137, and ruled by the Trans-Dimensional Council of Ricks, and the Shadow Council of Ricks.
The main plot of Pocket Mortys follows Rick C-123 and his Morty, based on the Citadel, as they embark on a Pokémon -inspired challenge where Rick catches various 'wild' Mortys in other dimensions, battling them with a variety of 'Trainers' in the form of Ricks, aliens, and several supporting characters. [18] Hundreds of Ricks are made available as playable characters in the game, including every Rick to appear in the television/comic series, and numerous original Ricks, including John Rick, from a John Wick -inspired dimension. [19]
"Doofus" Rick of Dimension J-19ζ7 ("Opposite Dimension") is a naive Rick with buck teeth and a bowl cut, who never had a family, and whose Morty, "Eric Stoltz Mask Morty", was assigned to him. Much kinder than most other Ricks, he befriends Season Two Jerry in "Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind", being mocked by his fellow Ricks for his physical appearance and a rumour that the people of his dimension convert excreta back into food. In the comic series arc A Tale of Two Jerries , "Doofus" Rick is confirmed to be just as intelligent as any other Rick, developing portal fluid which can be used without a gun to return Jerry and himself to the latter's reality to prevent Doofus Rick's own Jerry from conquering the multiverse. In The Rickoning , Doofus Rick and other versions of him are revealed to have taken over the IllumiRicki, planning on taking out Rick C-137 and nearby versions of him so that he and Jerry can be together in peace.
One of the two main protagonists of the first three volumes of the Oni Press Rick and Morty comic series, the Rick of Dimension C-132 uses time crystals to win at the stock market in The Wubba Lubba Dub Dub of Wall Street . In Head-Space , in a parody of Dune , following an alien invasion whose army give themselves up to Morty C-132 due to an ancient prophecy, who becomes the Morty'Dyb, Rick opposes the rule of Morty's galactic empire over the next 180 years as the QuasRick Haderach (designed after the Mad Scientist from Robot Chicken ), leading a rebellion against him. At the conclusion of the storyline, both Rick and Morty C-132 are killed, and their universe destroyed, before the arc pivots to Rick C-137 and Morty Prime (the protagonists of the Rick and Morty television series, and most subsequent volumes of the comic series) who had been watching recordings of their memories as a "movie" from within their C-132 counterparts' now-severed heads.
In the comic series arc The Rickoning , "just the next universe over from" the one Rick C-137 is currently residing in, the "Worst Rick" kills the IllumiRicki after they drop a universe-destroying bomb into his garage, before himself being killed along with the rest of his universe. [20] After being cured and going with Rick to kill the IllumiRicki, Morty and Rick return in an unsuccessful attempt to deactivate the bomb, which goes off, killing them and destroying their universe. [21] In Rick and Morty Go to Hell , the Rick and Morty of The Rickoning find themselves in Hell; not remembering how they died, Morty proceeds to find the Devil in an attempt to make a deal with him, [22] before Rick unwittingly kills the Devil and takes his place as Devil Rick, using his powers to recreate the universe within Hell, allowing Morty to live a normal life before Rick returns to Hell to reluctantly rule forever. [23]
The Rickoning also features Brick, an alternate version of Rick who runs the inter-dimensional superstore Brick and Mortary with his business partner Mortary, who sell weapons to other Ricks and Mortys, including the Hollaluog, an impregnable suit of armor created by Cold War Arms Race Wizard Rick , [24] as well as Rule 63 Cosplay Rick , also known as Girl Rick, from a dimension where Rick is a woman, whose Morty is a dog, designed after real-life cosplayer Santana Maynard by series writer Kyle Starks. [5] [25]
In "Mortyplicity", numerous robotic "decoy" versions of the Smith family are revealed to have been built by Rick and spread across America (the real Rick having built a single decoy family, who proceeded to build their own decoys), including numerous versions of Rick who with the rest of his family in an "Asimov cascade" proceed to kill each other, before the real Rick and his family return to Earth. [26]
In "Rickternal Friendshine of the Spotless Mort", after Rick enters Birdperson's mind in order to bring back his original trapped mind, Birdperson's memory of a mid-30s Rick, whom Rick names Memory Rick, becomes sentient and joins him on his journey. Only knowing everything Rick had told Birdperson about himself prior to the Battle of Blood Ridge, he is as a result more idealistic than the modern Rick. After attempting to sacrifice himself to save Rick and Birdperson, Memory Rick escapes into Rick's mind when he returns to his body, exploring Rick's childhood. After Rick offers to make provide him a real body, Memory Rick is hesitant due to a fear of becoming more like Rick himself. The sentient memory returns in "The Jerrick Trap", where after Rick's and Jerry's minds end up swapped then merged, Memory Rick fights to free Rick and Jerry offscreen, before returning onscreen in the post-credits scene, revealed to have been trapped in Jerry's mind once Rick and Jerry were finally unmerged, his various attempts to escape failing due to Jerry's belief that all technology is powered by gears and springs preventing Memory Rick from fabricating the device he would need to escape.
Further alternate versions of Rick appear in the web series Rick and Morty: The Non-Canonical Adventures (2016–2021) and the anime series Rick and Morty: The Anime (2024–present), voiced in the latter series by Yōhei Tadano, reprising his role from the Japanese dub of Rick and Morty, with an illusory "Hole Rick" appearing in the seventh season finale "Fear No Mort".
Rick Sanchez is one of the main protagonists of Rick and Morty , voiced by Justin Roiland for the first six seasons, [27] and Ian Cardoni from the seventh season onward. [28]
Rick appears in the couch gag of the 2015 The Simpsons episode "Mathlete's Feat", with Roiland reprising his role.
Rick appears in the claymation web series Rick and Morty: The Non-Canonical Adventures as a silent character.
Rick will appear as one of the main protagonists of Rick and Morty: The Anime , voiced by Yōhei Tadano, reprising his role from the Japanese language dub of Rick and Morty.
Rick Sanchez is one of the main protagonists of the Oni Press comic series Rick and Morty and the IDW Publishing co-publication Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons , and a supporting character in Rick and Morty Presents .
Since 2016, Rick and his inter-dimensional counterparts have appeared as playable characters in the video game Pocket Mortys .
In 2021, Rick was added as a playable character in Fortnite Battle Royale as part of the Chapter 2 – Season 7 Battle Pass, in MultiVersus as part of the game's first season, and in the film Space Jam: A New Legacy , with Roiland reprising his role. Roiland was later dubbed over by Ian Cardoni in updates to MultiVersus. [29] [30]
In the first episode of the third season, "The Rickshank Redemption", Rick shows a significant interest in Schezwan sauce and insists that his motivation in life is "finding that McNugget sauce" caused a public interest in having the sauce be reinstated on the McDonald's menu, with some fans attempting to recreate the sauce themselves. [31] [32] [33] According to USA Today , McDonald's spokesperson Terri Hickey stated that "We never say never, because when our customers speak, we listen. And to paraphrase some of our most enthusiastic fans, our sauce is so good that it would be worth waiting 9 seasons or 97 years for." [31] [33]
In March 2019, Godzilla: King of the Monsters director Michael Dougherty confirmed the character of Monarch crypto-sonographer Dr. Rick Stanton, played by Bradley Whitford, was based on Rick Sanchez from Rick and Morty, with Dougherty having the character "drink a lot" to keep the character in line with the spirit of Sanchez. [34]
Rick appears in the 2022 Half in the Bag episode "Jayus Ex Mikeina" from Red Letter Media, with Roiland reprising his role, dubbing over Mike Stoklasa, who portrays Rick in the episode. [4]
In the pilot, he was revealed to be an atheist, as he tells Summer that "there is no God"; however, Rick is later established to be aware of the existence of various afterlives and gods, just lacking respect for them. [35] Harmon has said that "anarchist" is a close ideological descriptor of Rick. [36]
One of the show's creators and executive producers and voice actor Justin Roiland revealed Sanchez was pansexual. [37] This was shown in "Auto Erotic Assimilation", when Rick re-connects with Unity, an ex-lover who is a collective hive mind of assimilated individuals from the planet they occupy; [38] The episode "Rickternal Friendshine of the Spotless Mort" reveals Rick had feelings for his best friend Birdperson, and confessed his feelings for him in the hopes they'd travel the multiverse together. However, Birdperson turned him down, causing the two to become distant. [39]
Rick is further shown to be attracted to planets in the Oni Press comic series backup story "Rick and Morty in: The Most Important Lesson", Rick is further established to be attracted to sentient planets, which later serves as the basis for the fourth season episode "Childrick of Mort", where Rick re-connects with ex-lover Gaia, a planet, whom he met on a "Planets Only" dating website.
The character was created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, who first met at Channel 101 in the early 2000s. In 2006, Roiland created The Real Animated Adventures of Doc and Mharti, an animated short parodying the Back to the Future characters Emmett "Doc" Brown and Marty McFly, and the precursor to Rick and Morty. [40] The idea for Rick and Morty, in the form of Doc and Mharti was brought up to Adult Swim, and the ideas for a family element and Rick being a grandfather to Morty were developed. Rick was voiced by Justin Roiland for the first six seasons of Rick and Morty and promotional material, Roiland considering his voice for Rick to be a "horrible Doc Brown manic impression", [41] "I was having fun doing these really crappy Doc Brown and Marty McFly impressions. During the middle of a line a burp came out naturally," said Roiland, addressing the creation of Rick's ubiquitous burping habit. [27] while Ian Cardoni voices the character from the seventh season onward. [28]
Addressing Roiland's and his own portrayals of Rick in a series of promotional interstitials (directed by Paul B. Cummings) compared to Doc Brown, Christopher Lloyd stated "that he felt like Doc and Rick were like two brothers that took different paths". [42]
The character has received a positive reception. Speaking of Rick's relatability and likability, Dan Harmon stated that "we've all been Rick. But Rick really does have bigger fish to fry than anybody. He understands everything better than us. So you give him the right to be jaded and dismissive and narcissistic and sociopathic". [8] Emily Gaudette of Inverse wrote that fans have "come to love [Rick] over two seasons of misadventures". [9]
David Sims of The Atlantic noted Rick's "bitter amorality" and called the character "a genius who comfortably thinks of himself as the universe's cleverest man and is grounded only by his empathy toward other people, which he tries to suppress as much as possible", therefore writing that Rick's selflessness at the end of the episode "The Wedding Squanchers" is "the most surprising twist possible". [10] Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club wrote that "[Rick] slowly realizing that he loved his grandkids and his daughter (and tolerated his son-in-law) no matter how many times he swore at them helped to give the character some necessary depth", and that "behind all the catchphrases and the crazed energy ... There's something dead and sad and fucked up in the guy". [11]
Rick and Morty is an American adult animated science fiction sitcom created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim. The series follows the misadventures of Rick Sanchez, a cynical mad scientist, and his good-hearted but fretful grandson Morty Smith, who split their time between domestic life and interdimensional adventures that take place across an infinite number of realities, often traveling to other planets and dimensions through portals and on Rick's flying saucer. The general concept of Rick and Morty relies on two conflicting scenarios: domestic family drama and a misanthropic grandfather dragging his grandson into hijinks.
Mortimer Chauncey "Morty" Smith Sr. is one of the eponymous characters from the American animated television series Rick and Morty. Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, and voiced by the former for the first six seasons of the series, followed by Harry Belden beginning with the seventh season. Morty is a 14-year-old boy loosely inspired by Michael J. Fox's Marty McFly from Back to the Future. Morty is known for his awkward, anxious, second-guessing, doubtful personality, and low sense of self-esteem; the character has been critically well-received. He is the good-natured and impressionable grandson of Rick Sanchez, the son of Jerry and Beth Smith, the younger brother of Summer Smith, and the father of Morty Jr., Thoolie, Naruto, and Maria Smith. He is also known to be easily manipulated. In September 2021, Jaeden Martell portrayed Morty in a series of promotional interstitials for the series.
"Rick Potion #9" is the sixth episode of Rick and Morty. It premiered on Adult Swim on January 27, 2014, was written by Justin Roiland, and directed by Stephen Sandoval. In the episode, a love potion goes wrong, creating a virus that begins to infect the entire world population, making everyone fall in love with Morty. The episode received critical acclaim, receiving praise for its story, subplot, and ending. It was seen by 1.7 million viewers at first airing. The title of the episode is in reference to the 1959 song "Love Potion No. 9" by the Clovers.
"Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind" is the tenth and penultimate episode of the first season of the American science fiction comedy animated television series Rick and Morty. Directed by Stephen Sandoval and written by Ryan Ridley, the episode aired on April 7, 2014. With a title alluding to the 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the episode is notable for introducing both the rules of the franchise's multiverse and the series' main antagonist — "Evil Morty" — whose storyline is continued across the 2017 third season episode "The Ricklantis Mixup", the 2020 short film "Rick and Morty vs. Genocider", the 2021 fifth season finale "Rickmurai Jack", and the 2023 seventh season episode "Unmortricken".
Bethany "Beth" Smith (née Sanchez) is one of the main characters of the American animated television series Rick and Morty and the resulting franchise. Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, Beth is a veterinarian who specializes in horse surgery, who in the first three seasons is struck with a deep sense of dissatisfaction with her life, stemming from her belief that she has "settled" in her marriage, family, and job, leading her to accept her father into her household after he abandoned her as a teenager. Known for her selfish and humorous personality, alcoholism, and abrasiveness when criticized, the character has been well received. She is the level-headed and assertive daughter of mad scientist Rick Sanchez, mother of Morty and Summer Smith, wife of Jerry Smith, and grandmother of Maria, Naruto, Thoolie, and Morty Smith Jr..
"Total Rickall" is the fourth episode of the second season of the Adult Swim animated television series Rick and Morty. Written by Mike McMahan and directed by Juan Meza-León, the episode premiered on August 16, 2015. It shows the Smith family, along with Mr. Poopybutthole, overwhelmed by an infestation of parasites who implant false memories into them so they cannot tell who is real.
"The Rickshank Rickdemption" is the first episode in the third season of the American animated television sitcom Rick and Morty, and the twenty-second episode overall in the series. It was written by Mike McMahan and directed by Juan Meza-Leon. The season three premiere first aired unannounced on Adult Swim in the United States on April 1, 2017 when it was watched by 676,000 American households in its initial airing. On the first day of its original broadcast, "The Rickshank Rickdemption" was replayed every half hour from 8pm to 12am ET with improved ratings, as a part of Adult Swim's annual April Fools' Day joke.
"Morty's Mind Blowers" is the eighth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Rick and Morty. It follows the two titular characters, both voiced by Justin Roiland, as they experiment with Morty's lost memories. The episode was directed by Bryan Newton and written by various screenwriters, including Mike McMahan, who would later serve as a producer on the fourth season, and both series creators Roiland and Dan Harmon. "Morty's Mind Blowers" originally aired on Adult Swim on September 17, 2017, and was watched by 2.51 million viewers. A comic sequel of the same name, written by Kyle Starks, Tini Howard, Sarah Graley, Benjamin Dewey, and Josh Trujillo, with designs by Angie Knowles and Roiland's personal approval, was published by Oni Press in Rick and Morty #50 on May 29, 2019.
"The ABC's of Beth" is the ninth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Rick and Morty. Airing on September 24, 2017, the episode was directed by Juan Meza-León and written by Mike McMahan.
"The Rickchurian Mortydate" is the tenth and final episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Rick and Morty follows the titular grandson and grandfather duo as they feud with the President of the United States. The episode, directed by Anthony Chun and written by series co-creator Dan Harmon, aired on Adult Swim on October 1, 2017.
Mr. Meeseeks is a recurring fictional species in the American animated television series Rick and Morty. Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon and based on the title character from Scud: The Disposable Assassin by Rob Schrab, Meeseeks are a powder-blue-skinned species of humanoids who are created to serve a single purpose which they will go to any length to fulfill. Each brought to life by a "Meeseeks Box", they typically live for no more than a few hours in a constant state of pain, vanishing upon completing their assigned task so as to end their own existence and thereby end their suffering; as such, the longer an individual Meeseeks remains alive, the more insane and unhinged they become.
"Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri" is the tenth and final episode of the fourth season of the Adult Swim animated television series Rick and Morty. Written by Anne Lane and directed by Erica Hayes, the episode was broadcast on May 31, 2020, in the United States. The episode is notable for featuring the first official appearance of "Space Beth", following her creation in "The ABC's of Beth", with the New and Improved Galactic Federation following her back to Earth as she seeks to find out which Beth is a clone.
The fifth season of the animated television series Rick and Morty consisted of 10 episodes, part of the 70 episodes ordered by Adult Swim after they renewed the series in 2018. The series stars Justin Roiland as both titular characters, alongside Chris Parnell as Jerry Smith, Spencer Grammer as Summer Smith, and Sarah Chalke as Beth Smith and Space Beth. The season premiered on June 20, 2021, and concluded on September 5, 2021.
The sixth season of the American adult animated television series Rick and Morty premiered on September 4, 2022. Starring Justin Roiland as both titular characters, Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith, and their inter-dimensional counterparts, the season was ordered before the fourth season of the show finished airing, in May 2020. It is the final season to feature Roiland providing any voice as he was fired from the series on January 24, 2023, due to domestic violence allegations.
Gerald "Jerry" Smith is one of the main characters of the American animated television series Rick and Morty and resulting franchise. Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, and voiced by Chris Parnell, Jerry is depicted as a stay-at-home dad who finds contentment in his simple life. He unknowingly uses pity as his "signature move", which leads to people hiring him or giving him any sort of consolation. Jerry is infamous for his mutual rivalry with Rick Sanchez, his father-in-law, with the pair ultimately becoming friends in the sixth season. On many occasions in the early seasons, his relationship with his partner, Beth Smith, has been shown to be incredibly unhealthy, co-dependent, and incompatible, before gradually improving over the course of the series. One of Jerry's hobbies is beekeeping, which he picks up sometime during season four. As well as being the son-in-law of mad scientist Rick, Jerry is father of Morty and Summer Smith and husband of Beth Smith. Both the original character and their inter-dimensional replacements have received a positive critical reception.
Rick and Morty is an American animated science-fiction comedy franchise, whose eponymous duo consists of Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith. Rick and Morty were created by cartoonist Justin Roiland for a 2006 parody film of Back to the Future for Channel 101, a short film festival co-founded by Dan Harmon. After six years, the sketch was developed into Rick and Morty, a half-hour prime time show that was a hit for Adult Swim, receiving universal acclaim across all seasons. Alongside the original television series, the characters of the show have been featured in a variety of media, including spin-offs, comic books, musical releases and video games. The show has earned hundreds of millions of dollars in income across their merchandising and media franchise.
"Solaricks" is the premiere episode of the sixth season of the Adult Swim animated television series Rick and Morty. It is the 52nd episode of the series overall. Written by Albro Lundy and directed by Jacob Hair, the episode was broadcast on September 4, 2022. The episode directly follows the events of the previous season finale, "Rickmurai Jack".
The seventh season of the American adult animated television series Rick and Morty premiered on October 15, 2023 and concluded on December 17, 2023. It consisted of ten episodes.
Mortimer "Evil Morty" Smith of Dimension 79⊢⊇V is a recurring fictional character and the primary antagonist in the American animated television series Rick and Morty and resulting franchise. Created by Stephen Sandoval and Ryan Ridley, and voiced by Justin Roiland for the first five seasons of the series, followed by Harry Belden beginning with the seventh season, Evil Morty is an inter-dimensional traveller and an alternate version of Morty Smith Prime from another dimension in the multiverse, where-in sick of the adventures his grandfather Rick Sanchez 79⊢⊇V would force him to endure, he had developed a mind control eyepatch to control his Rick, aiming to find a way to break free of the Central Finite Curve and the influence of the Ricks residing on it.
Morty injects himself with Rick's downloaded brain and learns Rick's tragic backstory.
In Rick and Morty #56 by Kyle Starks and Marc Ellerby, Rick and Morty venture to a specialty store run by two of their variants who sell the greatest technology across the multiverse. When they arrive, Rick and Morty are shown [the Hollaluog,] a suit of armor that was created by Cold War Arms Race Wizard Rick–one that combined advanced technology with mythic enchantment.