Comic Review: Rick and Morty: Ever After #4
Overview:
Rick and his grandson, Morty, are hoping to find their way out of the fantasy world they are trapped within. Unfortunately, there only hope of doing such is to defeat the evil king that is plotting the destruction of the world.
Dividing themselves over how the situation should be approached, Morty attempts a subtlety, while Rick goes in full throttle. Unfortunately, neither plan works as they cancel each other out.
Their last hope is to work together if Morty and Rick ever hope to return to the real world.
Our Take:
The four-part Rick and Morty: Ever After miniseries comes to a conclusion with the epic fantasy battle that you would hope for. Writer Sam Maggs managed to deliver a well-rounded story in the limited collection. A plot that includes significant character growth for Morty, multiple twists, and a setting unique to the established franchise.
This series is undoubtedly centred around Morty, while Rick contributes as support. The story kicks off with the teenager struggling to speak to a girl and offers him much more. First, Morty had to overcome his fears to communicate with a couple of attractive women in the fantasy world. Then he needed to find his voice further against his own family members to do what he thinks is right.
This finale concludes with Morty finding his voice with Jessica, though questionably shoots her down. An out-of-character reaction has Morty deny a ride from his long-time crush. Though there is value to that in this isolated plot, the Morty we know would have taken the ride in haste only for things to go horribly wrong for him in one way or another.
Meanwhile, Rick is underutilized for much of this adventure. Uncharacteristically, he made the mistake that caused the two of them to be transported to the fantasy book. But once trapped inside he blunders his way through and fails to utilize his abundant intelligence to solve a single situation. Again, not much of the capable Rick that we know.
Thankfully, this rich story helps to offset some of the character mistakes. The four-issue series offers four unique books each one building off the last to take us on a grand adventure. For a genre that can be unbearably predictable, there were enough twists in this series to invest in reading the next chapter.
Additionally, the comic did not rely on random characters that appeared in the show one time. Instead, the series manages to build and establish a set of interesting new faces. Though there are some subtle references to friends like Jaguar, most of this series stands on its own.
Overall, this is not a traditional Rick and Morty story. And readers should not go into the books expecting such. This is an adaptation of recognizable characters that explores a genre unique to them. Sure, some of the choices made by Rick or Morty are questionable based on how we understand them. However, dispelling some of those preconceived ideas allows this story to flow in the directions it needs to, and give Morty the character arch he started.
I hope this turns out to be another Gravity Falls-type show with an overarching storyline.