The Vindicators | |
---|---|
Created by | Sarah Carbiener Erica Rosbe |
Original work | "Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender" ( Rick and Morty S. 3) |
Owners | Cartoon Network ( Warner Bros. Entertainment ) |
Years | 2017–present |
Based on | Rick and Morty by Justin Roiland, Dan Harmon |
Print publications | |
Comics | Hero Mix Vol. 1 (2018) Origin of the Vindicators (2018) |
Films and television | |
Animated series |
|
Games | |
Video game(s) | Pocket Mortys Season 3 (2017) |
Official website | |
The Vindicators |
The Vindicators is an American animated superhero comedy spin-off of the Rick and Morty franchise, owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, whose primary eponymous team consists of Vance Maximus, Supernova, Alan Rails, Crocubot, Million Ants, and Noob Noob, and were created by Sarah Carbiener and Erica Rosbe for the 2017 third season of Rick and Morty , premiering in "Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender". Following the publication of a comic book sequel and prequel by Oni Press in 2018, the characters were revived after five years with Vindicators 2: Last Stand Between Earth and Doom , a ten-episode miniseries released to the Adult Swim YouTube channel in 2022 as the second television series in the franchise, [1] with Carbiener serving as showrunner, and expressing interest in further seasons of the series being produced. [2]
The series centers on the misadventures of the Vindicators, a team of galaxy-faring superheroes who protect planets from threats across the universe, with the characters traveling to other planets and dimensions via spaceships while slowly becoming disillusioned with the universe and their place in it, in a dark satire of the superhero genre. The Vindicators series has received critical praise.
In 1996, Matt Selman wrote a The Vindicators television pilot script for Comedy Central, revolving around "a team of super heroes with real-life problems". In 1998, the network agreed to produce a pilot from Selman's script, which on completion, was immediately shelved from release due to poor quality, never to be aired. [3]
On the beginning of development of a third season of the adult animated science-fiction sitcom Rick and Morty in November 2015, [4] Selman's The Vindicators was re-pitched as a spec script from Sarah Carbiener and Erica Rosbe, inspired by the superhero genre and Saw franchise. [5] [6] [7] [8] Carbiener stated that she managed to learn many things from her experience as a member of the writing team on the episode, stating that a story that for other shows would have been an entire episode, for Rick and Morty would only be its first few minutes, and as such, the team had to write a large amount of story in a very short time. [7] The first Vindicators episode, "Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender", premiered on August 13, 2017, as the fourth episode of the season.
The first line of defense against evil. The guardians of the unguarded. Writers of their own press releases. Vance Maximus! Supernova! Alan Rails! Million Ants! Crocubot! They are… the Vindicators!
J. Torres — Rick and Morty Presents: The Vindicators: Hero Mix Vol. 1 establishing text. [9]
The main characters of the spin-off are the members of the superhero team the Vindicators, who band together to fight evil when it threatens to destroy the world, which consists of Vance Maximus, Supernova, Alan Rails Crocubot, and Million Ants, former members Lady Katana, Calypso, and Diablo Verde, and interns Noob Noob, Rick Sanchez, and Morty Smith. The team is inspired by the Marvel Comics teams Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Scrapped members included Dr. Reach, a man with stretching powers; conjoined twins, one fit and attractive, and the other not; a knitting grandmother, and Ventriloquiver, a character later incorporated into the fourth season episode "One Crew over the Crewcoo's Morty", voiced by Claudia Black.
Season | Episodes | Originally released | Network | ||
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"Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender" | August 13, 2017 | Adult Swim | |||
Vindicators 2 | 10 | July 23, 2022 | YouTube |
Depicting the third adventure of the Vindicators, "Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender" follows Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith as they join the Vindicators again (following a previous offscreen adventure with the superhero team) to defeat a returned Worldender. However, a blackout Drunk Rick defeats Worldender alone the night before and sets up a series of Saw-inspired challenges for the Vindicators and his sober self to complete the next day, slowly turning the team against one another.
Written by Sarah Carbiener and Erica Rosbe and directed by Bryan Newton, "Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender" premiered on August 13, 2017, as the fourth episode of the third season of the American adult animated science-fiction sitcom Rick and Morty . [13] [14] [15]
Depicting the second adventure of the Vindicators, the slice of life series explores the Vindicators (including a pregnant Supernova) as they protect the galaxy at large, while preparing to prevent the planet devourer Doom-Nomitron from destroying Earth.
On May 20, 2021, Adult Swim announced a short spin-off series entitled The Vindicators was in development, alongside spin-offs from other Adult Swim shows like Aqua Teen Hunger Force , Robot Chicken , and Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell . The ten-episode series, now entitled Vindicators 2: Last Stand Between Earth and Doom, or simply Vindicators 2, premiered on Adult Swim's YouTube channel on July 23, 2022, with each episode being between two and three minutes, and character co-creator Carbiener serving as showrunner. [16] The series centers on the Vindicators on their adventure before the events of "Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender", along with original members Diablo Verde, Lady Katana and Calypso, the former Vindicators first mentioned in the episode Vindicators 1: Origin of the Vindicators. [17] Carbiener and Rosbe told io9 that the short format of Vindicators 2 allowed them to explore non-standard plots and slice of life depictions of superheroes. Production took place over the videoconferencing software Zoom, [18] with the main voice actors from the original Rick and Morty episode reprising their roles. [19]
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Rick Can Handle It" | Maite Garcia | Sarah Carbiener and Erica Rosbe | July 23, 2022 | |
The Vindicators try to come up with plan to defeat the monster Doom-Nomitron approaching Earth. However, with Supernova unable to utilize her full powers due to being pregnant, the other Vindicators vote to leave the protection of Earth to Rick rather than risk their own lives for a planet they don't care for. | |||||
2 | "Pro-Nouns" | Maite Garcia | Sarah Carbiener and Erica Rosbe | July 23, 2022 | |
During a party, Alan suggests to Million Ants that he start dating. Million Ants tries to register to a dating site, but when it asks him what pronouns he identifies himself by, Million Ants is at a loss since he considers himself male, but is controlled by a female queen ant, and consists of a million individual ants. | |||||
3 | "The Dance" | Maite Garcia | Sarah Carbiener and Erica Rosbe | July 23, 2022 | |
After the Vindicators are sent reeling after a particularly violent battle, Crocubot secretly takes his leave to seclude himself in some ancient ruins so he can dance to relieve his stress. | |||||
4 | "Out of Gas" | Maite Garcia | Sarah Carbiener and Erica Rosbe | July 23, 2022 | |
When the Vindicators' ship runs out of fuel, Alan offers to summon a ghost train to tow the ship to safety. However, the train he summons instead breaches a hole in the hull, threatening to suck the Vindicators out into space. | |||||
5 | "First Love" | Maite Garcia | Sarah Carbiener and Erica Rosbe | July 23, 2022 | |
When the Vindicators' ship crash lands on an alien planet, Noob Noob rescues an alien girl named Drizz and they quickly befriend each other. Noob Noob bemoans that he had a plan to save Earth, but the other Vindicators don't take him seriously. However, he grows uncomfortable when he realizes Drizz may be underage by her species' standards and he flees. | |||||
6 | "Mercy Kill" | Maite Garcia | Sarah Carbiener and Erica Rosbe | July 23, 2022 | |
Vance and Supernova slaughter an alien species invading another planet. They then contemplate mercy killing a mortally wounded alien but it dies before they can actually mercy kill it. Supernova then suffers a miscarriage, resulting in an explosion that destroys the planet they just saved. | |||||
7 | "Girls Night" | Maite Garcia | Sarah Carbiener and Erica Rosbe | July 23, 2022 | |
Supernova goes to a nightclub with Calypso, Lady Katana, and Diablo Verde. However, she gets drunk and ends up inadvertently killing the other three Vindicators and the entire nightclub. Alan tries to comfort the emotionally distraught Supernova while Vance murders the bartender to silence him. | |||||
8 | "Kintsugi" | Maite Garcia | Sarah Carbiener and Erica Rosbe | July 23, 2022 | |
Alan repairs a vase, and then summons a train that drives by and shatters it. Alan then picks up the pieces of the vase and begins to reassemble it again. | |||||
9 | "Little Trains" | Maite Garcia | Sarah Carbiener and Erica Rosbe | July 23, 2022 | |
As Doom-Nomitron approaches Earth, it is easily killed by one of Rick's inventions. Supernova is ecstatic since they can take credit for Doom-Nomitron's death, cover up Calpyso, Lady Katana, and Diablo Verde's deaths as heroic sacrifices fighting the monster, and cover up the destruction of Dorian-5 as one of Doom-Nomitron's targets. However, Alan is disillusioned due to a combination of the team's mistakes, Supernova's miscarriage, and his own sexual impotence. Supernova then suggests they visit a healer that can help Alan forget his pain. | |||||
10 | "Heroes" | Maite Garcia | Sarah Carbiener and Erica Rosbe | July 23, 2022 | |
The Vindicators attend an awards ceremony to honor them for Doom-Nomitron's defeat. Alan still has second thoughts due to stealing credit from Rick as well as their many other mistakes, but Vance insists that the villains are whoever they kill. As the ceremony goes underway, the Vindicators are hailed as heroes. |
Following the series premiere of Vindicators 2 in July 2022, series showrunner Sarah Carbiener expressed interest in further seasons of the series being produced. [2] In January 2023, following Justin Roiland's firing from the franchise, it was announced that his voice roles (including the Vindicator Noob Noob in any future seasons of The Vindicators) would be recast. [20] [21]
No. | Title | Release date | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|
Rick and Morty Presents Vol. 1 | Rick and Morty Presents: The Vindicators: Hero Mix Vol. 1 | March 7, 2018 [9] | 978-1-6201-0552-8 |
Rick and Morty Vol. 9 | Rick and Morty: Origin of the Vindicators (Vindicators 1) | November 28, 2018 [22] | 978-1-6201-0641-9 |
Using the franchise's established premise of alternate timelines, the first issue of the spin-off anthology series Rick and Morty Presents , written by J. Torres and titled The Vindicators: Hero Mix Vol. 1 , features Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith encountering the "All-New All-Different" Vindicators sometime after their deaths, revived by Supernova, who now has a cyborg arm as a result of using her powers to resurrect them, and who reluctantly recruit Rick and Morty again to assist them in saving the multiverse against Boon, a corrupted evil version of Noob Noob, [9] recruiting Scary Terry / Scarepool and an alternate reality Pickle Rick to the team. Primarily illustrated by CJ Cannon, the front cover was designed by Jen Bartel. [23] [24]
In November 2018, the ninth volume of the Oni Press comic book series Rick and Morty , written by Kyle Starks, featured Vindicators 1: The Origin of the Vindicators , adapted as the series' forty-fifth issue overall. [25] Characters from the comic were later adapted to the animated miniseries Vindicators 2 .
Vindicators, a short film written, directed, and animated solely by animator Paul Robertson, in the style of a 16-bit video game, aired on Adult Swim as promotion for the fourth season of Rick and Morty in May 2020, before being uploaded to Robertson's own YouTube channel later that August. [26]
On April 30, 2021, a 17-minute pixel art-animated short film, titled Rick + Morty in the Eternal Nightmare Machine , was aired on Adult Swim (and uploaded to YouTube) to promote the then-upcoming fifth season of Rick and Morty. The film, featuring characters from The Vindicators in supporting roles, was also written, directed, and animated by Robertson. [27]
In September 2017, the Vindicators Noob Noob and Vindicator Morty were added as playable characters to the Pokémon -inspired free-to-play role-playing video game Pocket Mortys for iOS and Android. [28] [29]
Several licensed Funko Pops and Mystery Minis have been made based on characters of the Rick and Morty franchise, [30] including the Vindicators. [31] [32]
Reviewing the episode "Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender", Jesse Schedeen of IGN complimented the "fun twists" and "bleaker tone" of the titular team, [33] with Greene of IndieWire praised the vocal performance of the Vindicators, approving of the "nice bit of misdirection" their characterisation. [14] Jack Shepherd of The Independent similarly praised the episode as "one of their funniest, most deranged adventures [of Rick and Morty ] yet", praising its use of superhero tropes. [34]
Reviewing the miniseries Vindicators 2: Last Stand Between Earth and Doom , Rafael Motamayor of /Film described the series as "far from groundbreaking or even that surprising", initially criticising the short length of each episode and how each episode would "mostly [amount] to a single visual joke", before ultimately finding the series as a whole to be a "fun and harmless" way to "revisit these characters, make fun superhero stories, and expand on the implications of the heroes' wild powers". [35]
Daniel James Harmon is an American screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the creator and producer of the NBC sitcom Community (2009–2015), creator and host of the comedy podcast Harmontown (2012–2019), co-creator of the Adult Swim animated sitcom Rick and Morty (2013–present) and its subsequent franchise along with Justin Roiland, and co-founder of the alternative television network and website Channel 101 along with Rob Schrab, and creator of Fox animated sitcom Krapopolis (2023-present).
Mark Justin Roiland is an American voice actor, animator, writer, and producer. He co-created the Adult Swim animated sitcom Rick and Morty, for which he voiced the protagonists Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith in seasons 1 through 6 from 2013 to 2022, as well as Hulu's Solar Opposites, in which he voiced the main character, Korvo, in seasons 1 through 3 from 2020 to 2022, until both networks severed ties with him in 2023. He had also voiced Earl of Lemongrab in Adventure Time, Blendin Blandin in Gravity Falls, and Oscar in Fish Hooks. He founded the animation studio Justin Roiland's Solo Vanity Card Productions! and the video game studio Squanch Games, though he resigned from the latter in 2023.
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.
The third season of Rick and Morty, an American animated television series created by Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland, originally aired on Cartoon Network's late night programming block, Adult Swim. It premiered with "The Rickshank Rickdemption", which aired unannounced on April 1, 2017, as part of Adult Swim's annual April Fools' prank. As a result of production delays, the remaining episodes began airing weekly nearly four months later, on July 30, 2017. The season comprised ten episodes but it originally was supposed to be fourteen episodes, and its initial airing concluded on October 1, 2017.
"Mortynight Run" is the second episode of the second season of the Adult Swim animated television series Rick and Morty. Written by David Phillips and directed by Dominic Polcino, the episode premiered on August 2, 2015, though it was leaked online beforehand. After dropping Jerry at a daycare purpose-built for alternate universe versions of Jerry, Rick sells a gun to the assassin Krombopulos Michael, but Morty decides to save his target—a telepathic gas-based entity.
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, 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.
"Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender" is the fourth episode of the third season of the Adult Swim animated television series Rick and Morty. Written by Sarah Carbiener and Erica Rosbe and directed by Bryan Newton, the episode premiered on August 13, 2017. Parodying many superhero movie tropes, "Vindicators 3" sees Rick and Morty join the Vindicators in a mission to defeat Worldender. However, a drunken Rick defeats Worldender alone and sets up a series of Saw-inspired challenges for the Vindicators to complete the next day; by morning, he has forgotten the entire event. The episode received positive reviews and was watched by an estimated 2.66 million viewers upon its premiere.
"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.
Summer Smith is one of the main characters of the American media franchise Rick and Morty. Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon and voiced by Spencer Grammer in the original animated series and Akiha Matsui in the anime series, Summer is a conventional and often superficial 17-year-old teenager, who is obsessed with improving her social status among her peers. Known for her smart and humorous personality and for her high dexterity, the character has been well-received. She is the well-meaning and intelligent older sister of Morty Smith, the daughter of Jerry and Beth Smith, the granddaughter of Diane and Rick Sanchez, the ex-wife of Hemorrhage, and mother-aunt of Naruto Smith.
The fourth season of the animated television series Rick and Morty was confirmed by Adult Swim in May 2018. The season consists of 10 episodes. The first five episodes of the season aired from November 10, 2019 to December 15, 2019, while the remaining five aired from May 3, 2020 to May 31, 2020.
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.
Rick and Morty is an American comic book series written by Zac Gorman, Kyle Starks, and Alex Firer and illustrated by Marc Ellerby, based on the television series of the same name. Oni Press published the original series across 60 issues from April 1, 2015, until March 25, 2020. Using the television series' established premise of alternate timelines, the first two volumes expressly follow the Rick and Morty of a different dimension (C-132) on the "Central Finite Curve" than the protagonists of the television series so-as not to contradict its continuity, before the series switches focus over to the same Rick (C-137) and Morty of the television series following the "Head-Space" arc (#12–14) in the third volume, featuring sequel storylines to specific episodes of the series, with elements of the comic series and references to its events later being incorporated into the television series. Backup stories of the series alternate between focusing on Rick (C-137) and his Morty and various Ricks and Mortys from alternate dimensions, before the primary storyline switches focus over to yet another Rick and Morty at an unspecified point before/during the final volume of the series. In October 2022, a revival of Rick and Morty was announced for a January 2023 release date, spinning out of the limited series Rick's New Hat, from the same new creative team.
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.
Rick + Morty in the Eternal Nightmare Machine is an American pixel-animated short film based on the television series/franchise Rick and Morty, produced by Adult Swim and debuting on both the network and their YouTube channel on April 30, 2021, alongside a marathon of the series' fourth season, to promote its then-upcoming fifth season. Written, directed, and animated by Paul Robertson, the film received positive reviews from critics.