Comic Review: Rick and Morty: Ever After #3
Overview:
As Rick attempts to find his grandson accompanied by the champion of the realms, he must first traverse the Dank Forest. And the task that is set out for him may be his most difficult yet as he must defeat a clone of himself.
Meanwhile, Morty’s own impossible task involves learning to speak with women. Which gets even messier considering he is accompanied by the female knight, Ser Silke.
Thankfully, the groups come together just in time for the evil witch to appear. However, she quickly reveals that she is not their true enemy and time is running out to save the realms.
Our Take:
Thus far in two issues, Rick and Morty: Ever After has taken some unique directions with the titular characters. This has not been your typical science fiction story about a super genius and his reluctant side-kick grandson. Instead, this is a fantasy tale involving magic, witches, and a kingdom at the cusp of annihilation.
This third issue of the miniseries progresses the story rapidly while unravelling many of the foreshadowed twists. And not without involving some action and quests for our heroes to overcome along the way.
Upon entering the Dank Forest on opposite ends, Morty and Rick are both individually tasked with an “impossible challenge”.
For Rick, it involves being able to outsmart a ‘nega’ version of himself. At that time the genius seems to have wrapped his mind around the world that he has found himself trapped inside. But it doesn’t change the fact that he is still trapped. And if it were not for his champion knight guide, Rick likely would not have made it out of this scenario.
While Rick faces one of the toughest battles he has ever faced, Morty must overcome his own challenges. And for him, there is nothing more difficult than being able to speak to girls. He is able to pull himself together just in time for the evil witch to appear, who closely resembles his beloved Jessica.
This is integral as it will likely help to bring this complete mini-series together by the conclusion. As the story did begin with Morty failing to hold a conversation with Jessica regarding the fantasy book that he now finds himself trapped inside.
All the pieces are in place for a climactic final battle. The stakes are set. The true villain revealed. And our team of heroes has fully assembled. This should make for a great final issue of the series which is set to be released near the end of January.
As mentioned at the beginning of this review, this is not a typical Rick and Morty story where Rick can throw around his weight with his near-god-like intelligence. Writer Sam Maggs has put together a unique tale that expertly collaborates the humour and style of Rick and Morty with traditional fantasy lore. And the further we get along, the better it gets.
This particular issue was used to drive the story closer to the conclusion and unite Rick with his sidekick. But the addition of challenges and showcasing the reliance our heroes have on their local guides made it more exciting. It made the overall story better while remaining a fun singular issue worth the read.
I hope this turns out to be another Gravity Falls-type show with an overarching storyline.