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Rick and Morty: Evil Morty's Rise to Power & Where It Could Be Headed

Adult Swim offers a look at Evil Morty's rise to power on Rick and Morty - and we throw out some speculation about where it could be heading.

Over the past few weeks, fans of Adult Swim's Rick and Morty have been getting clued in on how things have been looking with the seventh season. From a voice cast standpoint, it sounds like they're getting close to Justin Roiland's replacements – with fingers, toes & other body parts crossed that a September return month is still a viable option. And we learned over the course of San Diego Comic-Con that Rick and Morty: The Anime will also be hitting our screens later this year. That means we get a chance to dump some more gasoline on our raging dumpster fires of random speculation by sharing with you some deep-dive thoughts on where we think the series might be heading. But for this go-around, Adult Swim has given us the opportunity to bring back two big Evil Morty theories that we've been carrying around for some time. But first, Cartoon Network's late-night programming block invites us to revisit the one person who (so far) seems to have bested Rick and Morty at every turn – forcing them to play defense way more often than they're comfortable with.

For a look at the very complex & still-unfinished story of our dimension-hopping duo's biggest big bad (the jury's still out on Rick Prime, but he's making a run for the title), here's a look at the backstory on Evil Morty's rise to power. And following that, we bring to the table to big theories we've been pushing about Evil Morty that might be as viable now as ever before:

Rick and Morty: Could Evil Morty Actually Be Rick AND Morty?

From S01E10: "Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind" through the fifth season finale (and casting a shadow over the sixth season), there has been a lot of speculation about Evil Morty's true backstory. We've had a few clues from Rick over the seasons that appear to speak to how Evil Morty came to be (like when Rick warns Morty of the dangers of a prideful Morty), but with a series like Harmon's & Roiland's, it's tough to know what's canon, what's a "What If…?" scenario, and what's a red herring. With that said, we can't shake this feeling that Evil Morty is Rick AND Morty. Literally. It's been established that the Council of Ricks and the Citadel would be willing to do anything to guarantee that the duo's dynamic be maintained because of the usefulness of Mortys. But it's crystal clear that it's not a respectful relationship, with Mortys seen (at best) as second-class citizens or (at worst) just another easily disposable & replaceable tool in Rick's toolbox.

So what if the Ricks attempted to eliminate the need for a physical Morty companion altogether by gene-splicing (or another procedure that's above my paygrade) what the Ricks needed from Mortys as a Rick upgrade? Or, in this case, we're talking about an effort to "test tube" a Rick from scratch with Morty DNA, only for a Morty to be born with both genetic traits. The Council of Ricks would see this as a sacrilege and order him destroyed, but somehow he survived… with a nature/nurture hatred of both halves of the duos. And to add another twist into the mix, imagine how interesting things would get if it turns out that was another secret that the Ricks kept from our Rick.

But why wouldn't this make Evil Morty the duo's ultimate big bad? Because he only represents one dangerous endgame to the Rick and Morty dynamic. In this case, Evil Morty personified the dangers of our duo losing their respective identities. As important as it's been for the two to dial back on their relationship's toxicity, it's also important for the two to remain proper counterbalances to each other. It's the healthiest thing the two have going for them. But with Rick Prime, we have another side to the same coin. In this case (and as our Rick spoke of previously), Rick Prime is a cautionary tale of where the road leads when a Rick shuts out those around him who care, who gives in to his God complex and loses the essential things that would help ground his humanity. So by being willing to face their alt selves head-on, the duo is putting the strength of their six-season-forged dynamic to the test.

Evil Morty's Meta Mind Blower Key to Everything?

As much as the sixth season finale set up what appears to be a building epic showdown between our dimension-hopping duo and Rick Prime (though we think that's still in play in a big way), it feels like a lot of what we experienced during Season 6 was meant to camouflage the obvious "big bad-ish" waiting to reappear – Evil Morty. And where's Rick and Morty's real nemesis been all of this time? Why… he's been with us this whole time.

By now, we all remember how S05E10: "Rickmurai Jack" (directed by Jacob Hair and written by Jeff Loveness & Scott Marder) ended. We were shown Rick's real backstory, why Rick Prime is our Rick's prime target, how the Citadel of Ricks was created, and the dark & twisted secret that bonds Ricks and Mortys. And while our heroes look to escape the pull of a black hole that destroyed both the citadel and the Central Finite Curve, a carved-out portion of the multiverse where Ricks reign supreme as the smartest men alive in their respective dimensions. Using all of the readily available portal fluid and the blood of the hundreds of dead Ricks and Mortys, we last see Evil Morty stepping into a yellow portal, and  – that was it. So where did Evil Morty go?

Well, it would seem that wherever that yellow portal led to, it was definitely off the grid when it comes to Rick's scanners (scanners powerful enough for Rick to be able to track Rick Prime's tracks) because it feels like Rick would've given Morty the heads-up by the end of the sixth season if that was the case. Granted, it could be argued that Rick had a bad habit of keeping really important things to himself until the very worst moment. But from the standpoint of where our animated duo was at with their dynamic, it vibes like Rick would've included that along with confessing his "Moby Dick"-like obsession with Rick Prime (and understandably so). So, if we're working under the assumption that we can take Rick's dismissing Evil Morty as a continuing threat at face value, then where could Evil Morty be to give Rick such a false sense of confidence? It's simple. Evil Morty made a portal jump into our world, where Rick and Morty is an Adult Swim animated series created by Harmon & Roiland.

Now, you might be ready to throw out there that S06E07: "Full Meta Jackrick" (a pseudo-sequel to S04E06: "Never Ricking Morty") takes us to the "real world" where Story Lord meets his writer-creator Jan. In fact, the episode even begins by integrating the show's opening credits into the action, as Morty's suddenly clued to the idea that they might be a television show. But before Morty can begin rattling off the questions, Rick shifts topics and delays what looked to be a very complicated conversation on the horizon. But what if the real world that Rick fought Story Lord in isn't the "real world" but is instead the final "safety layer" before reaching the actual real world – where I'm typing this right now? It's been said that Jan is an amalgamation of Harmon & Roiland, but what if Jan is more than that? What if "Jan" is Harmon & Roiland's "avatar" in this reality dimension?

So Evil Morty went that extra mile by setting up shop in our world – but why? Could it be that Evil Morty just wants to be rid of Ricks and Mortys after exposing the huge lie? Is it possible that Evil Morty is looking to somehow continue on with his plan by manipulating Ricks and Mortys from afar? Maybe Evil Morty isn't going to be the "big bad" but an unexpected ally that Rick and Morty need to be able to stop Rick Prime for good? Of course, we can throw out the ugly possibility of a Rick Prime/Evil Morty team-up (though neither strikes me as being a big fan of team-ups… as Cronenberg Jerry learned). So when does Season 7 start?

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