Top 10 Rickest Ricks

Rick is a man who likes to be better than everyone else but isn’t afraid to be manipulative to get his way. Business Ricks are floating around the central finite curve, but this Willy Wonka-esque version is different. The owner of the Simple Rick wafer factory easily feigns relatability to the working class and will kill them without hesitation if they get in his way. Despite Rick's usual anti-establishment sentiment, it makes sense that one with a rich disposition would intelligently take advantage of the system, rather than being a slave to it. Couple that with his near sociopathic disregard for other Ricks and you have what some would call “Capitalist Rick”.

There are a lot of Ricks that are exclusive to the Adult Swim promos. You have Japanese Rick, Claymation Rick, Run the Jewels Rick. But perhaps the most Rickest Rick of the promo Ricks is Bushworld Rick! Animated by Michael Cusack, this Rick is an Australian version of the mad scientist who is well and truly unhinged. He forces Morty onto a trip to Bendigo where things feel a little more like a fever dream. He claims to have modded his portal gun so now it functions as an actual gun! But despite all the craziness, he still retains those mad Rick qualities of being a manipulative, toxic, and sometimes confusing grandfather.

The truest Rick’s realize the reality of their situation and change them. J-22 is one of those Ricks. In the Simple Rick wafer factory on the Citadel, hundreds of Rick’s are taken advantage of to provide their counterparts with delicious cookies. However, after toiling away tirelessly and being skipped over for a promotion, J-22 snaps. He kills his supervisor and attempts to free Simple Rick from the flavor core. While not the smartest Rick in the room, he is by far the Rickest for realizing the trap of the Citadel. Despite seeing the truth, it’s his naive trust in Rick D. Sanchez III that leaves him trapped in the same factory he tried to escape.

Given that the amount of different universes is infinite, it makes sense that there are more than a few anti-Citadel Ricks. When Rick C-137 gets accused of murdering his other-selves, he shouts to the Council why “The Scientist Formerly Known as Rick” isn’t there! While we only ever see his lifeless body on screen, we can learn a lot from his brief mention. We can tell that he doesn’t like the Council of Ricks and might be an active troublemaker, making him a pretty Rick-y Rick. But the fact he tossed away the name Rick might suggest he disowned the Rick identity and followed his own path. While he does end up dead, what remains is the memory of a pretty notable Rick.

Whenever Rick C-137 gets nabbed for a crime he didn’t commit, he discovers that it’s all been a plot by Evil Rick. We learn that Evil Rick has a real disregard for other beings, especially Morty, and plans to take down the Citadel. He’s got the same smarts as other Ricks, with C-137 mentioning having experimented with similar Evil Rick designs. This entry could be a bit contentious as it turns out Evil Rick is just an android controlled by Evil Morty. But perhaps that’s the biggest mystery of them all. Is this Morty pretending to be Rick, more Rick than anyone?

If there are infinite timelines in the “Rick and Morty” universe, then surely this pair also exists somewhere. Doc and Mharti are a parody of the original time-traveling duo Doc and Marty from “Back to the Future.” Since the duo from the Adult Swim series was based on these characters, the similarities are very noticeable. The major difference is that they are traveling through time rather than in different dimensions. However, the humor and plots are as crude and ridiculous as ever. If these characters do exist somewhere on the central finite curve, then we’d say they are as close to the original as you can get.

It’s easy to forget that there are comic adventures of Rick and Morty. But while the later issues follow the adventures of Rick C-137, the first two volumes featured one from a different universe allowing the writers more flexibility. Rick C-132 is close to the Rick in the series but there are some differences. He cares deeply for his family, is incredibly smart and his attitude remains mostly the same as the former. This Rick is less concerned with Morty being cocky and believes time travel is an impossibility. If you’re looking for more adventures of your favorite mad scientist, we would suggest checking C-132 out!

As cheesy as it sounds, perhaps the Rickest Rick was inside of us all along! At least, that might be the case with Story Train Rick. This Rick is so close to the original because he is an imaginary version of the original Rick, albeit a sentient toy. This Rick can be like any Rick you want him to be, and even if it isn’t the Morty-iest Morty playing with the train set, we as the audience can project the Rickest Rick into the story. As a result, we’ll probably get the closest version to the Rickest Rick in our own minds with this fictional Rick.

Why look at different universes for Ricks when you can find thousands of them in your backyard! After the events of Season 4, Rick decides it’s best to create some clones of the Smith family as a buffer between them and anyone who wants them dead. The point of these Ricks was to be convincing enough to fool potential enemies, so if they weren’t accurate that would defy their purpose. While the clones do get progressively more ridiculous in their variation, these Ricks were so convincing that they believed they were the original Rick. This slowly cascaded into some ridiculous Smith vs. Smith clone action. Can we even know if the Rick we’re watching isn’t a clone?

Of course, we couldn’t give the number one spot to any other than the OG Rick himself, C-137. While we don’t know if he is the “original Rick”, he is the one we have come to know. If we are to go by his words, a good Rick is made by his distrust of the government, his incredible smarts, and sociopathic disregard for others. However, if C-137 is the Rickest Rick, it also means he’s a lot more complex than an insane scientist. He secretly cares for his family, and might ultimately sacrifice himself for Morty. If there is a Rick-er Rick out there, then we have yet to see him!