They like to keep us waiting over at Adult Swim. The break between season two and three of Rick and Morty was painful, to say the least, and it’s just as bad this time round waiting for Season Four to begin. While, according to show creator, Justin Roiland, production on the new season is ‘going swell,’ we’ve no idea yet when we may begin to get to set our eyes figuratively or literally on new episodes and adventures.
Rick and Morty’s popularity has grown exponentially since its debut in 2013, and reached an interesting peak amidst the Szechuan sauce fever, sparked by a throwaway line in the premier of Season Three. Over the course of three seasons, we’ve been introduced to a lofty number of intriguing and bizarre side characters. While that roster of wacky aliens is sure to increase in the coming episodes, the break between seasons gives us an opportunity to reflect on which of those oddballs we liked and which we had enough of. So, while your plumbus is sitting idly in the cupboard, here is a look at the characters we’d like to see return (and some we’d rather leave in the past).
SHOULD RETURN - BIRDPERSON
The last time we saw Birdperson (as we know him) was at his wedding. When his bride turned out to be a double agent and the Galactic Federation attacked the wedding, we thought Birdperson was gone. However, a post-credit sting in Season Three seemed to show Birdperson alive, brought back to life with technology from the Galactic Federation and brainwashed. However, it was only a tease and that season left the fate of Birdperson up in the air (so to speak).
Birdperson is Rick’s oldest and most loyal friend, and he’s only ever been a force for good in the show. To see him return as a brainwashed villain will be incredibly satisfying. Also, watching Rick save him friend will no doubt be a mind bending and hilarious scenario. There’s more story to tell with Birdperson, which is why he should definitely return in season four.
SHOULDN’T RETURN - CORNVELIUS DANIEL
Cornvelius Daniel was the Federation agent responsible for the acquisition of Rick’s formula for inter-dimensional travel. Trapping Rick in a mind prison and attempting to extract the formula through his memories is a crafty trick, it’s just too bad that Rick is even craftier. Eventually, Rick swapped his consciousness with that of Cornvelius and therefore they swapped bodies. Cornelius should have then died in the battle.
However, there’s always a way for characters to come back in this type of show. Cornvelius, while hilariously voiced in an hilariously calm tone by Nathan Fillion, is pretty bland as far as Rick and Morty supporting players go. His narrative was quite neatly wrapped up, too. The fact that he would only continue to be a pain in Rick’s side is reason enough for him to stay buried.
SHOULD RETURN - EVIL MORTY
Another thread that been left hanging over the course of three season is the location and objective of Evil Morty. He showed up first as the surprise villain of the episode “Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind,” and has popped up a couple of times since.
One of infinite Mortys, this guy is a real piece of work. He is dastardly and cunning - two adjectives not often associated with Morty - and so far he’s one of the only antagonists to really cause problems for Rick. The last time we saw Evil Morty, he had managed to become the first elected President of the Citadel of Ricks. Evil Morty has a plan and now he has power, and we can’t wait for this story to evolve further.
SHOULDN’T RETURN - SUPERNOVA
One of the most divisive episodes of season three, “Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender,” saw the introduction of the Vindicators. An Avengers style team of super heroes, they turned out to be less heroic than first thought. Mostly wiped out by Rick’s Saw-esque escape room, the only surviving member of the original team was their former leader Supernova.
As a character, though, she wasn’t particularly interesting, and her outright distain for both Rick and Morty means she’s not so fun to have around.
SHOULD RETURN - NOOB-NOOB
On the other hand, the same episode that introduced us to the Vindicators introduced us to Noob-Noob. A poorly treated and put-upon janitor, Noob-Noob wanted to be part of the team and enjoyed Rick’s seriously funny burns.
If we were to see more Vindicators stories in the future, Noob-Noob should be front and centre.
SHOULDN’T RETURN - SHLEEMYPANTS
Shleemypants shouldn’t return, mostly because he’s just a bit annoying. A multi-dimensional police officer, Shleemypants’s job is to enforce the rules of multi-dimensional travel and essentially get in the way of Rick, Morty and Summer’s adventures.
Sure, he had some great quips. Still, if he could stay quiet in the future, that would be brilliant.
SHOULD RETURN - MR. MEESEEKS
Perhaps no other side character in the Rick and Morty pantheon has made as big of an impact as the ever helpful Mr. Meeseeks. First introduced in the episode “Meeseeks and Destroy,” Mr. Meeseeks is a blue creature, programmed to assist humans with their problems and vanish when his job is complete.
Unfortunately for Jerry and golfswing, if the job is not completed, Meeseeks begins to freak out and eventually turns to desperate measures. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Mr. Meeseeks, and it would be nice to have him help out once again.
SHOULDN’T RETURN - EYEHOLE MAN
This guy is a pain. Eyehole Man is the mascot of alien breakfast cereal ‘Eyeholes,’ and will turn up with his megaphone ready to beat you up if you’re caught eating his eyeholes.
It was great gag when it featured in “Interdimensional Cable 2: Tempting Fate,” but let’s leave him where he belongs: on alien TV commercials and not ours.
SHOULD RETURN - MR. POOPYBUTTHOLE
Thought to be an alien parasite, Beth shot Mr. Poopybutthole in the episode “Total Rickall,” despite the fact that he’s been a long-time friend of the family. Although we’ve seen Mr. Poopybutthole since the shooting incident, we’ve yet to see him interact with the family (or Beth in particular), since then.
There’s definitely work that needs to be done to repair those relationships and we’d love to see Mr. Poopybutthole in the future. If only for his great asides to camera.
SHOULD RETURN - RICK’S WIFE
While Rick’s wife hasn’t technically appeared in the show, she’s still due for a return. We caught a glimpse of her in the premiere episode of Season Three, while Rick’s memories were being pillaged for information. Rick later stated that he was able to fabricate that memory (despite that being supposedly impossible) and there are definite hints that what we saw could have been some version of reality.
Either way, Mrs. Sanchez has been alluded to many times over the seasons and yet remains a complete mystery. Her return to the lives of Rick and Beth would certainly shake things up, allowing us to dive further into the depths of their relationship and Rick’s overall motivations.
