The writers ofRick and Mortyare geniuses in the art of random. The show can always strike a perfect balance between high-concept rigamarole and full-out parody. Some of the best moments in the show come from hilarious one-off characters that exist for a single joke.
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Most fans have their favorite characters, and there are many more greats than can be listed here, but for our money, these are themost memorable of the bunch. It is also important to clarify that this list only includes characters who never appeared more than once (sorry, Mr. Poopy Butthole).
10. Mr. Always Wants To Be Hunted
A prime example of how great a character can be even when given a collective screen time of fewer than 30 seconds. Mr. Always Want’s To Be Hunted appears in season 5, episode 2, Mortypicity." All he wants is to be hunted, but as soon as the main plot of decoy families killing other decoy families kicks off, he seemingly loses significance until the end of the episode.
The second to last scene of the episode sees one of the decoy Smith families come out on top after murdering the rest of the decoys, when suddenly (gasp!) who else than Mr. Always Wants To Be Hunted appears. He was never hunted, and he kills the rest of the family for it. The scariest part is he is still at large. Here’s hoping Mr. Always Want’s To Be Hunted makes a return.
9. Planetina
Voiced by the ever-lovableAlison Briein season 5, episode 3, “A Rickconvenient Mort,” Planetina is great for many reasons. Firstly, she might be Morty’s best - and most destructive - relationship. Planetina is based on Captain Planet and hilariously is controlled by four adults with rings of power that use her for their own greed.
Morty murders them one by one to free his crush.They have a short-lived relationshipwhile saving the planet until Planetina starts burning coal miners alive. Understandably, Morty chooses to break up with her after that. It was a hard decision, but the right one.
Who could forget season 2, episode 5, “Get Schwifty” - it was a jam. While the character of Ice-T was voiced by series co-creatorDan Harmonand not the rapper himself, his character made a lasting impression. Ice-T refuses to help Rick and Morty write a song to save earth from the Cromulons because he does not care about anything. He reveals himself to be an actual T made of ice (he is more of an ‘I’ or lower-case ‘L,’ but whatever).
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In the episode’s climax: Ice-T makes a triumphant return and sacrifices himself to save the earth! This selfless act allows him to return to his home planet, where everyone is made from an element and looks like a letter of the alphabet. It’s as weird as it sounds and somehow even more hilarious.
One of the best episodes of the series is season 3, episode 7, “The Ricklantis Mixup.” This is where we get an in-depth look at the Citadel of Ricks, and it gave fans some actual lore to chew on alongside some surprisingly profound political commentary. The most memorable character in this episode (besides Evil Morty) is Bad-Cop Morty.
Bad-Cop Morty fits into the role of a corrupt cop that takes bribes and manipulates the system to stay on top. The shocking part of this B-plot was that this character was a Morty; traditionally, these characters are Ricks because of their natural selfish personalities. However, In this instance, the Morty is corrupt, and his new Rick partner with a heart of gold. This simple change-up messed with the formula and stuck with fans.
6. Doofus Rick
Doofus Rick is unlike any other Rick in the series thus far, and not just because he eats poop. Season 1, episode 10, “Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind,” introduces the idea of the Citadel of Ricks and other versions of Ricks. It’s hard to think of a time when there was only one Rick and Morty.
Doofus Rick might be the sweetest and most pure characterJustin RoilandandDan Harmonhave ever written. He and Jerry bond instantly, and even after he leaves, Jerry never forgets Doofus Rick. This is evidenced by a picture of Doofus Rick being seen in Jerry/Rick’s garage later in the show. We feel the same way, Jerry.
Oh, will you look at that, it’s the coolest character ever. Blazen appears in season 5, episode 4, “Rickdependence Spray,” and while not the best episode of the series, he certainly makes an impression. While a lot of season 5 follows thechanging relationship between Rick and Morty, some parts are still time-hopping action. For this round, the first half of the episode builds Blazen up to be a skilled ninja-type character; He meditates on the airplane (through turbulence), falls from the plane, lands without a scratch, and can smell caves.
All of this build-up leads to a hilarious twist. Blazen chooses to fight against a swarm of the sperm monsters - don’t ask - all by himself. He immediately gets his sword stuck in the ceiling, drops his pants to reveal a thong, and dies after the sword falls onto him. His last words were, “I know how to s**k myself.” What a legend.
Zeep is one of the few characters close to being Rick’s equal. In season 2, episode 6, “The Ricks Must Be Crazy,” Rick meets Zeep, a scientist who lives in Rick’s car battery. The two eventually get stuck in a Tiny-verse, inside a mini-verse, inside a micro-verse, while the two create inventions to one-up each other.
Zeep shares Rick’s world-views and seems to possess the same intelligence level. The only difference between the two is the fact that Rick created Zeep. The episode ends with a classic fist-fight in the rain. Rick wins and comes out on top. The entire sequence is epic.
3. Mr. Nimbus
Rick’s arch-nemesis! Usually, a hero’s greatest foe is someone who appears many times, and it’s implied that the two have clashed many times in the past. It’s strange that Mr. Nimbus only appears in season 5, episode 1, “Mort Dinner Rick Andre,” but what an episode it is.
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He is the god of the sea and very sex-positive. Mr. Nimbus is the only character ableto get the infamous Rick Sanchezto stop everything and put on a dinner party. Nimbus gives fans a glimpse of how great Rick used to be and “how far (he has) fallen.” This episode showed viewers that Rick used to be even greater than he has been in the series. How much farther will Rick fall before his end?
2: Krombopulos Michael
Another character with very little screen time. Simply put, Krombopulos Michael loves killing. That’s his whole thing. He appeared in season 2, episode 2, “Mortynight Run,” where he bought an anti-matter gun from Rick.
After giving Morty his business card - just in case the 14-year-old wanted to have anyone killed - he infiltrates a prison and then tragically is killed by Rick’s car. Thus ends the tale of Krombopulos Michael. This simple character essentially boils down to a joke, but that makes him so memorable.
1. The Talking Cat
Season 4, episode 4, “Claw and Hoarder: Special Ricktim’s Morty” gave audiences the best one-off character: a talking cat voiced by the one and onlyMatthew Broderick.The episode’s main plot, where Morty gets a dragon, simply does not matter compared to Jerry’s side plot finding a talking cat.
The cat’s goal is to have as much fun as possible while avoiding anyone asking questions about why it can talk. Jerry and the cat travel to Florida, where nobody asks questions. The end of the episode has Rick scan the cat’s memories and seemingly uncovering something so horrible it causes Jerry to throw up and Rick to consider killing himself. What could the cat have possibly done to invoke such a strong reaction? It does not matter.
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