Rick and Morty’s End Officially Begins

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We’ve covered the Rick and Morty comic books quite a bit, and this latest series from Oni Press will be the last one they publish based on the animated show.

Now that the book is released, it’s remarkable how effectively Daniel Kibblesmith explores the complex relationship between Rick and Morty. It features surprisingly thoughtful character development – something you don’t often find in comics based on existing franchises.

Rick and Morty: The End #1, created by writer Daniel Kibblesmith, artist Jarrett Williams, colorist Allessandro Santoro, and letterer Crank!, picks up the story after the big Rick and Morty Versus the Universe event. That previous story also included several smaller comics showing how other characters in the Rick and Morty world reacted to what was happening.

How does this first issue address the previous miniseries, Rick and Morty Versus the Universe?

Okay, so this story definitely builds on what happened before, and the writer, Kibblesmith, handles that really well. He introduces this new character, Recapricorn, who’s… let’s just say he really loves hearing about what happened in past stories. Like, seriously obsessed with continuity! It’s hilarious, and it lets him naturally explain everything that went down before – you know, when Rick almost destroyed the universe by threatening a reboot. It’s a clever way to get everyone up to speed.

It’s great that Kibblemsmith is adding new characters to the show. Rick and Morty is known for constantly introducing memorable characters, and often these seemingly small roles end up being surprisingly important.

It’s surprising to think a character like Mr. Poopybutthole ended up being so popular in Rick and Morty, so it’s hard to predict how much we’ll see of Recapicron in future episodes.

The first episode features Morty standing before a council of universes, including his own and one nicknamed the “Parmesan” universe – a world where everyone says “parmesan” as “par-mee-zee-an.” Rick discovered this universe after their original one became unlivable, choosing it because it was the most similar, with the pronunciation of “parmesan” being the only noticeable difference.

Morty has to find Rick, or every Morty across all realities will cease to exist – and that’s how the story begins.

How does this comic book center the Rick and Morty relationship?

The episode begins with Morty searching for the Ball Fondlers, a show Rick really enjoyed – as seen in a Season 1 episode that established Rick’s ability to watch broadcasts from different universes. Morty visits their world hoping to find Rick, thinking he might be hiding with them since he was such a fan.

Morty’s first attempt to find them fails, and he even loses an arm in the process. He realizes these beings are relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of things, which is precisely why Rick might have chosen them as a hiding place.

What makes this situation particularly compelling is Morty grappling with his grandfather’s abandonment. This leaves him with little incentive to remain loyal, especially considering their history of similar conflicts.

What’s most interesting is when Morty attempts to understand Rick’s way of thinking, which often involves believing that everyone else is insignificant. Rick acts like he’s the only person who truly matters – he has a strong sense of self-importance and assumes the universe revolves around him.

As you’d expect from a Rick and Morty story, this perspective is technically correct, but deeply pessimistic. We see how this mindset both empowers and burdens Morty. It gives him the freedom to do whatever’s necessary to defeat the Ball Fondlers, but also leaves him feeling disconnected from life.

This is an interesting interpretation of the character, but it’s important to remember Morty is still a regular 14-year-old. This raises the question of whether he’s genuinely become emotionally detached, or if he’s simply learned to appear that way.

So, the big question is whether any of this actually has an impact. It brings up the idea of pretending to be confident until you actually are confident. We’ve definitely seen this play out on the show before, with Morty experiencing trauma and becoming emotionally detached – like in the episode…

In the “Vat of Acid Episode,” Rick provided Morty with a device presented as a time-saver. However, Morty mistakenly believed it enabled time travel; in reality, it generated alternate universes with each use.

We briefly see Rick’s hiding place: a different universe where Beth is married to Gerry, a confident and attractive Black airline pilot – a much better version of Jerry Smith. Rick excitedly praises this universe, but it remains to be seen what will unfold there.

The artwork in this issue, by Jarrett Williams and Allessandro Santoro, is really well done, especially considering how much outlandish material they had to illustrate. Williams also seems to have created the new character, Recapricorn – a funny addition who happens to be a relative of Slow Mobius.

This was a fine start to this epic series.

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2025-12-07 01:43