Evil Morty
Mortimer "Evil Morty" Smith of Dimension 79⊢⊇V is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Adult Swim's Rick and Morty franchise. Created by Stephen Sandoval and Ryan Ridley, and voiced by Justin Roiland for the first five seasons of the series, followed by Harry Belden beginning with the seventh season, Evil Morty is an inter-dimensional traveller and an alternate version of Morty Smith Prime from another dimension in the multiverse, where-in sick of the adventures his grandfather Rick Sanchez 79⊢⊇V would force him to endure, he had developed a mind control eyepatch to control his Rick, aiming to find a way to break free of the Central Finite Curve and the influence of the Ricks residing on it.
Introduced in "Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind" as Eyepatch Morty and the controller of "Evil Rick", he takes on a new identity as Candidate Morty in "The Ricklantis Mixup" and is elected President Morty of the inter-dimensional Citadel of Ricks and Mortys. In "Rickmurai Jack", now ironically dubbed "Evil Morty" by Morty Prime, he uses the Citadel's population as fuel to escape the Curve. The character returns in "Unmortricken", in which after Rick C-137's search for Rick Prime messes with the stability of his Evil Morty's new home, he helps him find and defeat Rick Prime before acquiring the latter's device capable of erasing anyone from every universe, and asking that neither Rick or Morty attempt to track him down again lest he have to use it. Alternate versions of the character from parallel dimensions are featured in the 2017 comic book limited series Pocket Like You Stole It, the 2020 short film Rick and Morty vs. Genocider, the 2021 short film Rick + Morty in the Eternal Nightmare Machine, and the 2024 anime series Rick and Morty: The Anime.
In November 2021, Evil Morty was added as a playable character in the role-playing video game Pocket Mortys, and in August 2022, to the beta release of the crossover fighting game MultiVersus. The character has received a universally positive critical reception, praised for his iconic mind control eyepatch, theme song, and outwardly calm and understanding, yet inwardly cunning and ruthless demeanor.
Development
In an interview with TheWrap in September 2017, series co-creator Dan Harmon described Evil Morty's storyline in "The Ricklantis Mixup" as having been "trying to craft more of a timeless story Robert Redford in ‘The Candidate.’ Just any kind of political City Hall thriller story there". In September 2021, Harmon called Evil Morty's plan in "Rickmurai Jack" as being "about bringing Rick C-137 and Morty Prime's] relationship to the limit — going so far as to explain Rick's bullshit is what inspired the "evil" in Evil Morty's nature — and about showcasing Morty's depthless well of empathy…and perhaps neediness, but also ample empathy".In June 2023, discussing the reasoning for the breadths of time between the character's appearances, Harmon elaborated that "to feel the characters evolve" he must "always in small touches, otherwise we would risk saying too much, and we would have nothing more to say! The rule is that there must be at least one episode each season evoking the 'big story'. That way people are rewarded for continuing to watch the show". Discussing Evil Morty's team-up with Rick C-137 and Morty Prime against Rick Prime in "Unmortricken" that November, Harmon called it "a great idea to lean into gave me vibes of The Wire — learning throughout the first season that there’s different flavors of bad guy, and then you get that satisfaction of watching your favorite drug dealers against the one that had absolutely proven himself to be a merciless sociopath. That idea of team ups where it's not as simple, as saccharine as, ‘I’ll put on a white hat, you put on a white hat. Let’s go after the guy with black hat.’", in describing how the episode gives "the audience does chance to learn more about his psychology just as he's poised to take on an even more prominent role in the series' canon". In February 2024, Rick and Morty showrunner Scott Marder confirmed the character would return in future seasons, stating that the creatives to "have plans and grand designs with him" in the works.
For the first five seasons of the series, Evil Morty was voiced by Justin Roiland, with Harry Belden voicing him from the seventh season onwards. Keisuke Chiba also voices Evil Morty in the Japanese dub of the series, as well as in the 2020 short film Rick and Morty vs. Genocider and the 2024 anime series Rick and Morty: The Anime.
Biography
Season 1
In the first season episode "Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind", Eyepatch Morty is introduced alongside "Evil" Rick in the opening scene as he tranquilizes and captures another Morty while "Evil" Rick kills the other Rick. Later, Eyepatch Morty as "Evil" Rick greets Rick C-137 and his Morty as they arrive at their lair, with "Evil" Rick interrogating Rick C-137 while Eyepatch Morty silently puts Morty in a prison alongside the other Mortys they had captured, using their intelligence brainwaves as a way to conceal themselves from the Citadel, a society of Ricks and Mortys from other realities who rule the multiverse. After Morty convinces the other Mortys to overthrow "Evil" Rick, beating him to death before he can reveal to Rick why he had framed him for murder, Eyepatch Morty is among the Mortys relocated to the Citadel by the Council of Ricks. In the closing scene, a pair of Ricks discover "Evil" Rick to have a receiver implanted in his brain and have been controlled remotely; elsewhere, Eyepatch Morty removes his eyepatch, the transmitter, and crushes it under his foot, revealing him to have been the true mastermind controlling the dialogue and actions of "Evil" Rick.Season 3
Following the decimation of the Citadel and death of the Council of Ricks at the hands of Rick C-137 in the third season premiere "The Rickshank Rickdemption", a Candidate Morty represents the Morty Party in the presidential election to elect the first President of the Citadel in "The Ricklantis Mixup". Although his Campaign Manager Morty doubts he has any chance at being elected, Candidate Morty becomes the front-runner after giving an inspiring speech, before firing Campaign Manager Morty for having doubted his abilities. The following day, Campaign Manager Morty shoots Candidate Morty after receiving secret documents from him from a trench coat-wearing Rick; before being executed the following night by being thrown out of an airlock for the attempt, Campaign Manager Morty learns not only that Candidate Morty has survived his assassination attempt, but that he has been elected president. After being threatened by the Shadow Council of Ricks who had truly run the previous Citadel, the newly dubbed President Morty has those who stand against him executed and their bodies were thrown out of the Citadel's airlocks. Outside, amongst the bodies of hundreds of other Ricks and Mortys, the secret documents that Campaign Manager Morty was given are revealed to confirm that Eyepatch Morty and President Morty are the same person."This seems like a good time for a drink, and a cold, calculated speech with sinister overtones. A speech about politics, about order, brotherhood, power... But speeches are for campaigning. Now... is the time for action."
Season 5
President Morty returns in the fifth season finale "Rickmurai Jack". In the episode, it is revealed that—bitter about the continuous replacement and exploitation of versions of himself and disgusted by Rick's narcissism—President Morty—ironically dubbed "Evil Morty" by Morty Prime—seeks to break free of the Rick-centered, "Central Finite Curve" and into the wider multiverse where Ricks don't control the outcome of the Smith family, and aren't necessarily the smartest."Every version of us has spent every version of all of our lives in one infinite crib, built around an infinite fucking baby. And I'm leaving it. That's what makes me "evil" — being sick of him."In order to do so, Evil Morty framed and then captured Rick C-137 in "Close Encounters of the Rick Kind" to scan his mind for the designs for the Citadel in order to use it to breach the curve. After capturing Rick and Morty and completing the scan of Rick's brain, Evil Morty initiates his plan, killing thousands of Ricks and Mortys and using their destroyed bodies to power the Citadel, transformed into a massive portal gun. Once escaping from and destroying the curve, Evil Morty uses his own portal gun to create a yellow portal and enter the wider multiverse.