Dimension C-137 and beyond is bursting at the seams with zany characters, straight from the minds of Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland. Some of them (not naming any names, ahem… Jerry) are relatable, everyday citizens thrust into dire circumstances on whirlwind adventures. Others are anatomically gifted, super-powered, or sheer geniuses, much like our man of the hour, Rick Sanchez.
There are different interpretations of the term ‘strength’ — be it brawn or forbearance — so it isn’t such a simple task to narrow down the “strongest” beings Rick and Morty have ever encountered. If we make an effort, however, let’s assume that “strongest” refers to physical prowess rather than any additional connotation.
Considering the ingenious feats expertly executed by Rick and the advantage of his adaptable armory, you’d assume that he’s capable of defeating almost any opponent with relative ease. Across all six seasons so far, however, even Rick is no match for certain otherworldly entities. As we eagerly await the seventh season of Rick and Morty, which is right around the corner as a matter of fact, let’s make a case for the strongest characters thus far — whom you’d definitely want to bet on.
12. Planetina
For someone who’s based extremely on a past superhero familiar to much of the show’s audience, Planetina certainly finds her way on this list, regardless of the ranking. If you’re old enough, you remember how strong Earth’s greatest environmental protector, Captain Planet was during his adventures in the early 1990s era of animated cartoons. In Rick and Morty’s universe, Planetina was just as strong, if not stronger.
In “A Rickconvenient Mort”, what you get is her superhuman elemental abilities and a dose of misguided freedom, fueled by falling head-over-heels in love with Morty. What results afterward is dangerous action that includes knocking off hundreds of coal miners and plotting to kill a top-ranking lawmaker who allegedly is a serious threat to the environment. The capacity for one being to be capable of such damage would be a challenge for Rick Sanchez, however, it was his grandson Morty who managed to keep her wrath at a minimum.
11. Jesus Christ
In the season six episode, “Full Meta Jackrick”, Rick and Morty find themselves caught in a trap set by previous adversary, Story Lord from the “Never Ricking Morty” episode of the fourth season. As viewers might recall, Story Lord encounters Jesus himself and leaves that previous encounter with Rick sort of open-ended.
However, Story Lord returns but with some serious backup in the form of the son of God. Jesus quickly dismembers a poor creature used as bait by Story Lord, but then quickly moves to bruise and bloody both Rick and Morty. Rick though, gets most of the beating as he’s also “baned” over Jesus’ knee. Sure, many would argue why isn’t Jesus tops on this list, but maybe it’s because Rick and Morty’s universe extends out much, much further than Earth and the Milky Way Galaxy.
10. Supernova
Appearing in “Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender,” Supernova was a member of the Vindicators who was promoted to stand-in leader once all of her teammates died at the hands of Rick Sanchez. She is the only Vindicator — with the exception of Noob Noob — who survived drunk Rick’s Saw-esque massacre. Supernova was created as a parody of Starfire and Star Sapphire from DC Comics, with some elements of Marvel’s Susan Storm mixed in.
As an all-powerful cosmic super-heroine, Supernova can levitate/fly, create and destroy matter at will, grant sentient life to otherwise non-sentient beings (i.e. Million Ants), produce energy blasts, generate portals, and manipulate objects with telekinesis. She came close to killing Rick and Morty, had it not been for her moral ambiguity and persuasion from her teammates to act otherwise, she may have succeeded.
9. Rick C-137
How could we not? Disregarding his various clones and counterparts, Rick C-137 is widely regarded as the smartest being in the universe. Although the timeline is a bit skewed, Rick Sanchez of C-137 is Rick and Morty‘s main protagonist, and the Rick tethered to our reality – i.e. Earth. Rick is a certified mega-genius, capable of conceiving complex scientific inventions that aid Morty and himself in their time-travel escapades.
It goes without saying that Rick’s so-called “strength” wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for his various gadgets and gizmos. Although he’s undeniably intelligent, that trait doesn’t hold up in a fistfight. Strip away all of Rick’s toys and he’s just a smarter-than-average human who lucked out with life-saving technology. Still, if Batman can rely on nothing but an above-average intellect and an array of tools, so can Rick. And it seems to have worked out so far.
8. Doofus Jerry
We’ve yet to meet Doofus Jerry in the mainstream cartoon, but Oni Press — a subsidiary of Adult Swim — has been publishing Rick and Morty comics for years. As the name suggests, he’s an alternate version of Jerry Smith, whom we know as C-137 Jerry, the husband of Beth and father to Morty and Summer. Doofus Jerry first appears in Rick and Morty Issue 21 and hails from Dimension J19ζ7, where Jerry Smith manages to become a successful businessman after living the life of a deadbeat. He’s also the ruler of his dimension, making him omnipotent to some degree.
Unlike other variations of Jerry, Doofus Jerry is selfish, greedy, manipulative, and power-hungry. In Rick and Morty Issue 22, Rick reveals to Morty that he’s tried to kill Doofus Jerry multiple times to no avail, even losing against him in hand-to-hand combat. In fact, Doofus Jerry has managed to kill several Ricks, even taking over the Citadel of Ricks temporarily.
7. Mr. Nimbus
Debuting in “Mort Dinner Rick Andre,” Mr. Nimbus is Rick’s self-proclaimed “nemesis” and the king of Atlantis. It is implied that Rick and Nimbus were once close friends who traveled the cosmos together, but a rivalry broke out that ruined their friendship and turned them against one another. Nimbus found out (according to the comics) about Rick’s multi-dimensional genocide of Mr. Nimbus counterparts, resulting in a bitter feud.
Although we never get an explanation, Mr. Nimbus seems to be resistant to Rick’s technology and — likely a satire of King Namor from Marvel Comics — has the inherent ability to control water and command sea creatures. But that isn’t his greatest asset. He can even control the police! There’s no mind-bending reason as to why he can do this… he just can. But that’s certainly a useful, albeit strange skill to have. In short, he’s kicked Rick’s *ss more times than he’d care to admit, so that’s an achievement in itself.
6. Reggie
Introduced as the former lover of Gaia, whom Rick presumably inseminates, Reggie is discovered to be the biological father of the unproductive children in “Childrick of Mort.” Furious at Rick for imposing on his family, Reggie reveals his true form as a parody of the Greek god Zeus.
After an intense battle, Reggie manages to overpower Rick without much effort, trapping the scientist between his thumb and forefinger. However, if it weren’t for Morty and Summer crashing a spaceship through Reggie’s brain, that could have been the end of Rick C-137. We never see Reggie again, but we can assume from his brief interaction with Rick that he’s a force to be reckoned with. Not only does he possess god-like might and endurance, but managing to subdue Rick Sanchez is no small task.
5. Fart
Ah, yes. The Jemaine Clement cameo. In “Mortynight Run,” a Gromflomite known as Krombopulos Michael (another sworn enemy of Rick) attempts to track down an interdimensional gaseous being whose name, Fart, was given to him (it?) by Morty. Fart communicates through telepathy, masking his species’ desire to eliminate all carbon-based lifeforms by befriending Morty.
Fart possesses the ability to alter the composition of atoms, but he’s also shown to be capable of invading human minds and effectively convincing them to do his bidding. It’s been proven in Rick and Morty through a discussion between K. Michael and Rick Sanchez that Fart cannot be killed by any means other than an anti-matter gun. Not only is that a very specific weakness, but it also testifies to Fart’s indestructibility.
4. The Wizard
The Wizard appears as the main antagonist in “Claw and Hoarder: Special Ricktim’s Morty,” otherwise fondly known to Rick and Morty fans as the “sl** dragon” episode. When Rick and the Wizard do battle, it’s essentially the manifestation of the age-old debate: science vs. magic.
In the end, Rick manages to harness the power of magic for himself, combining an abstract force with a physical deterrent. However, despite the Wizard being limited to the confines of magic and the associated rules, he was able to go toe-to-toe with Rick and overpower him. In fact, if it weren’t for Morty and Summer, he would have beaten Rick without breaking much of a sweat. It was the three-against-one tactic that turned out to be the Wizard’s undoing.
3. Evil Morty
Otherwise known as “Eyepatch Morty” and the former President of the Citadel, Evil Morty is one of many alternate versions of Morty Smith. He’s notably unique in being ruthless, selfish, and intellectually superior to a degree matching that of Rick.
Evil Morty supposedly grew tired of the reckless and sociopathic behavior of the multiverse’s many Ricks, turning against them and murdering them. He also served as the first Morty to ever be elected as President of the Citadel, an event which led to him breaching the Central Finite Curve and killing many of the Ricks and Mortys within the Citadel. Evil Morty might not be physically intimidating, but he could quite easily coerce anyone into helping his cause, which makes him a real threat.
2. Rick Prime
The byproduct of the Cronenberged Dimension, Rick Prime is one of the main antagonists of the series. In Dimension C-137, Rick Prime is responsible for the deaths of that universe’s Diane (Rick’s wife) and Beth Sanchez. His actions were the catalyst for Rick C-137 to be proclaimed the “Rickest” Rick. Acting solely for selfish gain as a textbook narcissist, Rick Prime abandoned his family for over 20 years. In many ways, Rick Prime is the whole package, described by C-137 as “the real deal”– in that he’s completely devoid of humanity, unlike C-137 himself.
Our Rick has tried and failed to abandon his sense of morality and become wholly egotistical, but Rick Prime doesn’t care about anyone but himself. Once Diane and Beth were out of the picture, Rick Prime had nothing left to lose, so he became an egomaniac. He’s C-137 in every way, except he isn’t limited by his humanity.
1. Rhett Caan
Introduced in the latest season, alongside other whacky characters based on storytelling mechanics, Rhett Caan appears in “Full Meta Jackrick.” He has the power of “vocifery”, the ability to alter reality by willing certain events into existence. Rhett can make anything he says become the new reality, making it so that things are always a certain way —effectively “retconning” everything in existence.
Rhett Caan is nothing short of an all-powerful being whose power grants him an advantage over any mortal and most other enhanced beings. He can turn the tide of any battle in his favor, regardless of who his opponent may be. He’s without a doubt the most formidable foe that Rick and Morty have ever encountered – but luckily, they never shared enough animosity to become another of Rhett Caan’s victims.