by “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (21), “Doctor Strange / Multiverse of Madness” (22), which holds the key to recent MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) works “Multiverse.” Also known as a multiverse or parallel world, the idea is that there are countless parallel universes other than the one in which you live. Do you see the animation series “Rick and Morty” that had built such a topical multiverse into the story before the MCU and built a crazy worldview?
Talent is flowing out to MCU one after another! What is the adult animation “Rick and Morty”?
Season 1 was broadcast in 2013 on the broadcasting time slot “Adult Swim,” created to organize programs for adults on the American animation channel “Cartoon Network,” Five seasons have been produced so far. “Rick and Morty.” The main characters are genius scientists with the best brain in the universe, but an alcoholic and selfish old man, Rick Sanchez, and his grandson, Morty, a dull teenager. The main story is that this uneven duo embarks on a dangerous adventure in outer space and a space that transcends dimensions. On top of that, eroticism, grotesque violence, and cynical laughter are jumbled up, and developments that deviate from ethics are unfolding one after another. It would be like a crazy “Doraemon.”
All sorts of worlds, from outer space to the human body, appear, and sometimes parodies classic movies such as “Inception” (10) and “Total Recall” (1990). The Multiverse has also been incorporated into the story since season 1, and the number of unique developments that use that idea has repeatedly blown the viewers’ minds.
Many of the creators of this work, who have drawn a story that breaks down a complex multiverse in an easy-to-understand, fun, and funny way and incorporates a poignant message, are also involved in recent MCU works. For example, the scriptwriter Michael Waldron is in charge of works in the middle of the Multiverse, such as writing and executive producing the drama series “Loki” and the script for “Doctor Strange / Multiverse of Madness.”
In addition, Dan Harmon, the original drafter, was involved in “Doctor Strange” (16) while uncredited, and Jessica Gao, who wrote the Emmy Award-winning masterpiece episode “The Adventures of Pickles Rick,” will also be announced on August 18 ( Thurs) has been selected as the creator of “She-Hulk: The Atony” distributed from. Similarly, series writer and producer Jeff Labness was entrusted with the screenplay for “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumonia” (release date undecided). It’s a program I want to check out even in terms of being there.
“Hole drug” that turns people worldwide into “Cronenberg.”
From such “Rick and Morty,” I would like to check out the masterpiece episode where you can enjoy the charm of the Multiverse. First, I would like to introduce Season 1, Episode 6, “Hole Medicine,” which is the first mention of the Multiverse in this work.
Morty asks Rick to make a love potion to impress his crush. The drug worked great, but it spread too quickly with the flu virus, and everyone at school pressed Morty. Rick sprays an antidote using mantis DNA in this crisis but fails. Infected people turn into grotesque monsters that look like something out of a David Cronenberg movie, and the world is approaching the end of the century.
I thought it would be a bad ending, but here is the actual value of this episode. Rick, who gave up trying to restore the world, visits another dimension with Morty where Rick and Morty died in an accident and chose to live as them in this dimension.
Instead of rescuing the world’s crisis brought about by its fault, it was revealed that the Multiverse exists in a world where the Multiverse exists, along with the self-centered and too black ending of escaping to another dimension to settle the matter—this name episode. Many people have realized how dangerous “Rick and Morty” is.
“Encounter with Rick” depicts a fortress city where multidimensional Rick and Morty gather.
The 10th episode of Season 1, “Encounter with Rick,” makes the most of the Multiverse setting. The episode opens with a shocking turn of events when Rick is eating breakfast and is killed by Rick and Morty from another dimension.
The one killed was Rick of a different dimension from Rick of Earth C137, where the story is mainly progressing. However, C137’s Rick & Morty were also having breakfast with their family when they were taken to the “Council” by Rick’s army, who suddenly appeared from the portal and were accused of killing Rick in the multidimensional world.
Rick and Morty, who narrowly escaped, unfold the story of searching for the actual criminal who caused the incident to clear the false charge. Ricks and Mortys from all planes gather in the fortress city where the Council is held, some of them with different looks and personalities. The individual differences due to the difference in dimensions lead to the truth of the story, the punchline, and it is an episode where you can fully enjoy the charm of the Multiverse.
The famous episode “Atlantis is the best!” linked to real social issues. And one more episode I would like to check with “Encounter with Rick” is season 3, episode 7, “Atlantis is the best!”. This is the first episode of Season 3, “Exquisite Sichuan Sauce,” set in a fortress city after C137’s Rick and Morty overthrew Rick’s dictatorship. However, C137’s Rick and Morty are unique because they are not involved in the story.
In the fortress city where the dictatorship collapsed, democracy was laid. Still, Rick and Morty are more intelligent (there are individual differences depending on the dimension), so many of Morty is poor or Rick’s assistant. The relationship between domination and being ruled was drawn, such as receiving an education that would become.
Meanwhile, an election is held to determine the next president of the fortress city. In his speech, a confident Morty, who was thought to be a hot candidate, suddenly became a leading candidate when he emphasized the division between Rick and Morty and the city’s problems, such as the disparity between Ricks.
Even among Rick, subtle differences lead to disparities, dissatisfaction, discrimination, and division between Rick and Morty.
In this episode, the problem is superimposed on the real-world issue. While using the Multiverse’s setting, the story with a sharp social aspect was highly praised.
In addition to the Multiverse, some stories are not easy to understand, from episodes full of SF-like fun with virtual worlds and memories to crazy attacks in which the Rick above becomes a pickle and goes on a big adventure. Enjoy “Rick and Morty.” Please enjoy the unique worldview that is sometimes completely silly and sometimes profoundly thought-provoking.
