Remembering The 10 Best Rick & Morty Side-Characters

By Ameera Rosli  •  02 Apr 2020 in Listicle

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The boys are back in town!

After releasing a satisfying appetiser in the form of Samurai and Shotgun, Justin Roiland surprises us yet again by announcing the release date for the highly-anticipated remaining episodes of Season 4. Set to come out on May 3, ‘The Other Five’ episodes show exciting developments in character arcs we’ve witnessed before in previous seasons.

Returning to the Rick & Morty universe are Snuffles (fan favourite pup from Season 1) and Tammy (most known for the assassination of Rick’s former and deceased best friend, Birdperson) and they’re back with a vengeance.

Shown fencing with lightsabers and decked-out in military space gear, it seems like the two characters will be tough adversaries for Rick, Morty and Summer. Also making an appearance is the Citadel of Ricks which foreshadows another tragic ending for our burping, alcoholic, potty-mouthed Granddad.

Since Season 4 is throwing it back and inviting old characters for reappearances, it seems like the perfect excuse to take a trip down memory lane (or rummage through Morty’s Mind Blowers) and recount our favourite side-characters from the expansive Rick & Morty universe.

With that said, here are our favourites in no particular order…

1. Fart (Season 2)

This gaseous entity made its appearance in Season 2 when he was saved by Morty. Throughout the episode, this charming fart, voiced by talented Flight of the Conchords singer Jemaine Clement, persuades Morty and eventually, Rick, into sparing his life. By doing this, many citizens end-up dying in their pursuit to send him to a wormhole that would take him home.

Fart is a special character for he was one of the more musically-inclined beings. As a tribute to legend, David Bowie, the song ‘Moonmen‘ is un-ironically one of the most beautiful and transcendent songs I’ve ever heard. Throw in Clement’s adorable Kiwi-accent and it makes for a voice that launched a thousand flying saucers.

Sadly, Fart (who could possibly be a queef) met his end when he revealed his plans of genocide towards all life forms in the galaxy. Morty, not wanting to enable a gaseous Hitler, decides to kill Fart, making their entire noble journey futile in the end.

2. Lucius Needful (Season 1)

One of the best characters to come out of Season 1 is Mr. Needful, a successful entrepreneur, a sage mentor, a challenging adversary and also the Devil.

Taking inspiration from Stephen King, Mr. Needful owns a shop filled with trinkets and antiques with special abilities. He sells these items to unassuming customers who discover later on that their purchases were indeed too good to be true. For example, his products include:

• Aftershave that attracts women but makes the user impotent.
• A typewriter that writes bestselling murder mysteries but also makes the stories occur in real life.
• Skin cream that makes women prettier but also blinds them.
• Running shoes that allow the wearer to run fast but also makes them run until they die.

However, Mr. Needful is not that bad of a guy when you forget the fact that he is literally the Devil. Scrape that layer off and you’ll see a passionate man who just has a knack for extreme pranks. His altruism shows when he teaches Summer the tricks of the trade, making her first job as memorable as it is to the people whose lives he ruined.

3. Lil’ Bits (Season 2)

Quite possibly the best filler episode, Interdimensional Cable 2 just shows Rick, Morty and Summer watching TV like the social distancing pioneers they are. Within this episode, comes the best fictional commercial ever made. Maybe I’m saying that because it appeals to me, a tiny person standing at only 5 feet.

The unnamed spokesperson for Lil’ Bits’s commercial might have started the ‘tiny food‘ trend and for that we just have to stan. I mean watch this advertisement for the Lil Bits restaurant and tell me you’re not yearning for some tiny lasagna!

4. Balthromaw (Season 4)

I genuinely appreciated this episode after watching the sh!tshow that was Season 8 of Game of Thrones.

Balthromaw, initially a gift to Morty, is a self-sufficient and snarky dragon that needs no man. As an independent magical creature, he loathes the fact that he is owned by the bumbling and all-too-innocent Morty. That is until he ultimately cheats on Morty and rides with Rick where they share stories of their adventures and copious drugs and alcohol. Typical of dragons to choose the intergalactic criminal over the nice guy smh…

After a night of hanging-out, Balthromaw bonds souls with Rick before being shunned, whipped and called a slut dragon for bonding with someone other than its owner.

They are then sentenced to death and Morty and Summer are forced to save them from the Wizard that holds them captive. The mission concludes with a happy ending when all dragons soul bond in a massive orgy that ultimately defeats the Wizard and frees them. To be honest, I don’t quite know how that works but it’s Rick & Morty so all rationality needs to be checked at the door.

In the end, Balthromaw wishes to soul bond with Morty but is rejected. Good for you, Morty! Ditch that scrub!

5. Schleemypants (Season 2)

Yeah, the names just keep getting weirder.

Voiced by Key of Key and Peele, Schleemypants is our favourite time cop who saves Rick and Morty from being split into several dimensions and timelines. He is summoned when Rick uses a stolen time crystal that caused the chaos to ensue in the first place. Accompanied by his fleshy, phallic gun named Chris, Schleemypants is one of the funniest characters of the show who always pops up in the direst of times.

6. Scary Terry (Season 1)

What do Scary Terry and Jesse Pinkman have in common? They both punctuate their sentences with B*TCH!

An obvious parody of Freddie Kruger, the scrotum-faced Scary Terry seems to be a blood-thirsty maniac but is actually a deeply insecure man who fears he might not be scary enough. In actuality, he comes home to his wife and kids and leads a pretty average-Joe kind of life. When Rick turns the tables and enters his dreams, Rick reassures the monster that he is scary enough as he is.

See folks, you don’t have to end all your sentences with B*tch to be scary, all you gotta do is believe in yourself!

7. Tony (Season 4)

Now, this is a character that I can relate with!

Tony is the shy pooper who infiltrates Rick’s sacred toilet bowl that apparently gifts you the best shits. Once Rick notices another pooper in his midst by discovering a different sized poop in his toilet bowl, he confronts the alien named Tony and almost executes him.

But when Tony expresses his depression following his wife’s tragic death and how pooping in Rick’s toilet is the only thing that can fill the void in his heart, Rick lets him go.

I completely relate to Tony because sometimes, when everything in life is turning to sh!t, the best thing to do is squeeze one out. You become lighter and the world just gets a little easier to overcome. I feel truly seen with the character of Tony and this is why representation matters.

8. Unity (Season 2)

Who knew Rick had a lover? Better yet, who knew Rick had a unity of lovers?

Unity was such a surprise because they showed a different side to Rick that was vulnerable and affectionate as opposed to his usual monotoned, burping self.

Of course, who wouldn’t be attracted to Unity, for they could split themselves into multiple avatars, male or female, and assimilate a nation into harmony, devoid of war and famine. Well, that and the fact that you can participate in the biggest orgy possible without cheating on your partner.

However, Unity begins to lose themself whilst constantly being under the influence of drugs and the pressure to impress Rick with their tricks. Soon, the population they inhabited begins to snap back into consciousness and start a race-war (as us humans do). Unity realises Rick’s negative influence on them and breaks up with him in a heartfelt letter.

Rick was so shattered by Unity’s departure that he attempts suicide and almost succeeds. The episode ends and it is the first glimpse into Rick’s tortured mind.

9. King Flippy Nips (Season 1)

Why do you always have to f*ck things up, Jerry?

When Jerry helps Morty with his science project, he insists that Pluto is a planet despite it being debunked multiple times. This leads to them being kidnapped by Plutonians under the order of King Flippy Nips, the ruler of Plutonians. There, Jerry is awarded with the Plutobel Prize (the Nobel prize for Plutonians) which is the highest possible award for scientists on that celestial dwarf- I mean planet.

King Flippy Nips is so dedicated to the narrative that he even banishes his own son, Scroopy Noopers, to Plutoniom Bay (their Guantanamo Bay) for speaking the truth and denying the Pluto-is-a-planet propaganda. When Jerry finds out and refuses to cooperate, King Flippy Nips simply dumps him back on Earth where he is no longer a Nobel prize winner, just a regular ol’ Jerry.

10. Abradolf Lincler (Season 1)

One of the most complex characters, mostly because he is the confused amalgamation of Abraham Lincoln and Adolf Hitler, Abradolf Lincler made his appearance at Rick’s party to seek revenge for creating him. He suffers from deranged emotions due to his clashing personalities and undergoes cognitive dissonance at all times since Rick created him with the intention of producing a supreme leader with neutral intentions.

Since Abradolf is both a liberator and an oppressor and believes in genocide and the emancipation of African-Americans, he explodes from inner turmoil and becomes crazed when he fights with Brad, an African-American. Damn, the Hitler in him finally jumped out!

However, he redeems himself and is killed when saving the team from a pack of aliens during a mission to retrieve Kalaxian Crystals (which is an intergalactic way of saying cocaine). So, the coolest and most multi-faceted character died valiantly so Rick can get high. Hope it was worth it.

With all that said, I’m genuinely excited that something great is coming out of this mind-numbing pandemic. I just hope I don’t have to sit-through too many Jerry rants to get to the intergalactic space battles.

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