Highlights
- Rick C-137's archnemesis, Rick Prime, played a significant role in shaping his life and causing him immense pain and loss.
- Rick Prime is a selfish and sadistic character who cares only about himself and sees Rick C-137 as a means to fulfill his own ambitions.
- Rick C-137's relentless quest to find and confront Rick Prime has led him to develop portal technology and create the Citadel of Ricks, while also living with a new family in an alternate timeline.
Every hero has an archenemy that either gave them a reason to be a hero, or are constantly seeking to tear them down. Batman has the Joker; Spider-Man has the Green Goblin (or maybe Venom); Professor X has Magneto; this list goes on. While Rick Sanchez (Rick C-137) from Rick and Morty is necessarily a "hero", he too has an archnemesis that rules over his life.
Rick C-137 is haunted by a dark past that changed the course of his entire life. If it weren't for his archnemesis (no, not Mr. Nimbus) -- in which he didn't make until he was older and a father -- Rick C-137 might have been just a reitred scientist that lived out his life on Earth C-137. But one fateful day sent his life into a spiral.
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The reason Rick C-137 is who he is, is because of Rick Prime. Rick Prime flipped Rick C-137's life upside down in a matter of seconds, instantly becoming his greatest enemy. Before seasons 5 and 6 of Rick and Morty, little was known about him and what he had done. But his actions have since been confirmed, and it's very evident that he does, and always has, played a significant role in Rick C-137's life.
Who Is Rick Prime?
Rick Prime is actually the original grandfather to the titular Morty Smith from the "Prime Universe" (or the Cronenberged Dimension). He was one of the Rick's whose daughter, Beth, had survived and went on to marry Jerry before having their two children. However, he never saw Beth grow up.
After discovering the possibility of and inventing portal technology, he abandoned his family in the Prime Universe and traveled across the dimensions to recruit the other Ricks to join him on his endeavors as the most powerful person in the universe, going on solo adventures across dimensions.
While all the Ricks are notorious for their selfishness, Rick Prime is especially so. He cares about nothing and no one besides himself, not even his infinite self, and especially not Rick C-137. In his own sadistic way, he thought he could help Rick C-137 see his own potential as a scientist and interstellar traveler. Instead, he made a great and relentless enemy out of someone who will perhaps never stop hunting him down, even at the cost of everything he cares for the most.
Why Does Rick C-137 Hate Rick Prime?
A young Rick C-137 was trying to formulate his portal tech, but he struggled to finalize the equation that would be successful. And so, he began just working on other things. However, one day, Rick Prime teleported to Rick C-137's garage, and offered him the successful equation to portal tech. Being past the idea of traveling across dimensions, Rick C-137 turned down his offer.
Rick Prime ridiculed his interstellar twin, unable to see that not every Rick wants the same as he does. Rick C-137 realized he just wanted to be with his family, wife Diane and daughter Beth, and so Rick Prime left him. But he soon returned, dropping a bomb next to Diane and Beth, killing them instantly.
Rick C-137 went mad, hellbent on finding his family's murderer. And so, he dedicated his time to developing portal tech, because that would be the only way he could find Rick Prime. Obviously, he was successful in creating his portal gun, and proceeded to hunt down his archnemesis. He searched for years and years, but to no avail. In the process, though, he created the Citadel of Ricks, and even decided to reside on Rick Prime's earth to live with his grown daughter and her family, a family he was never able to meet in his own timeline. Unbeknownst to his new family, he continued to search for Rick Prime, making it his primary purpose in life.
Where Is Rick Prime?
As of now, Rick Prime's location is unknown to Rick C-137 (and thus to the viewers of Rick and Morty). But as of season 6, he is somewhat closing in on where he could be. Rick C-137 managed to find a secret hideout of Rick Prime's located in space. Upon his arrival, a series of booby traps kept him from making much progress.
In this secret hideout, though, Rick Prime made Rick C-137 question whether or not he was actually there, showcasing himself naked in a glass case but confusing Rick C-137 about whether it was actually him or just a clone. Morty finally convinced Rick C-137 to leave the hideout before he got himself killed. But it was later revealed that it was in fact the real Rick Prime inside the glass case.
Rick Prime later returned to earth in the Cronenberged Dimension, killing the prime Jerry (Morty's original father) after Jerry unsuccessfully tried killing him. While Rick Prime doesn't leave the Cronenberged earth after killing his son-in-law, it's hard to say whether he decided to stay there. Why would he? Everyone is Cronenberged. But perhaps it's the perfect place to hide because it's too obvious that he'd return home after all this time. Maybe season 7 will see the two Ricks face-to-face at long last. Only time (and space) will tell.