Comic Review: Rick and Morty vs Dungeons & Dragons Chapter II: Painscape #3

Overview:

Trapped in an unfinished world of his own making, Rick searches for a way back home. Desperate to up his level, he travels to a cave he created in his younger days. Without remembering the layout, Rick meets traps and powerful versions of himself. Thankfully, he is able to defeat his foes and make his way to the centre of the dungeon while lifting his level.

Meanwhile, a daring escape leads the Smiths running from the demons that have swarmed their home. Crashing into the local hobby shop, they are able to gear up enough to hold off the initial attack. This helps to inspire the other patrons of the store into building a defence for the oncoming onslaught.

Our Take:

The stakes just got a lot higher! Rick and Morty vs Dungeons & Dragons Chapter II has been an adventure. From the moment this book began, we were in a Rick and Morty universe like we had never seen. This has been drastically different from the original run that involved Morty learning the ways of D&D through Rick’s multiple inventions. In this run, we are in a world where D&D reigns supreme, and everyone is a player. Slowly things have culminated, and the bad guys’ plans have been revealed. Now, it is time for our heroes to make their comeback and save the day. And, this issue, in particular, leads us right up to the climax.

Rick, so far, has been kept off the board, so to speak. Transported to a dimension of his own immature making has left the world in the hands of his forgotten characters. The mad genius has managed to make some headway byways of escaping an inescapable dungeon. However, that still leaves him in a lost and forgotten world with no way home.  But, we have never known Rick to give up, even with the dice rolling against him. Usually, this stuff is a minor inconvenience for him. This time he is relying on nothing but his D&D abilities to get him through. And, sure enough, he is making a comeback. It is clear at this point that he is going to level up his wizarding skills to the point that he can transport himself back home and quickly end the war.

With that all said, this truly was Jerry’s issue. In the first chapter of Rick and Morty vs Dungeons & Dragons, it was Jerry that stepped up. The often trampled upon character finally had a moment to prove his worth, and in that book, he was a downright badass. We had yet to see that reoccur in the second chapter until now. In fact, the issue starts with a flashback to a teenage Jerry in the ‘90s. A young and ambitious D&D player, Jerry memorized a playbook that just happens to be significantly associated with the events happening in his world. Thankfully, the timid character is up to the challenge and is now leading the defence of the Earth. A pretty big step up for Jerry. He is a whole new man when it comes to D&D stories.

That is not to say that the rest of the Smith family isn’t ready to take a stand. Summer is a Bonafede archery machine. She single handedly manages to help lead the escape and take down the biggest demon yet. Without her, the Smiths would be in a world of trouble. Meanwhile, Morty is so on top of shit he intelligently takes on a hostage which will play a part in them figuring out their way out of this mess. While Beth, well, she’s always hiding a bit of hardcore in her, isn’t she?

Everything is culminating into the epic conclusion. The next issue is sure to be a spectacular finish. When the second chapter of Rick and Morty vs D&D started, it wasn’t clear where things would go. But, the slow burn is paying off in a big way. The book has gone into epic status with the world at stake. And, each one of our beloved characters are showing up in significant, brutal ways. I cannot wait to see how this all wraps up, and if you’ve been reading along, you are in the same boat as me. If you haven’t been following this series, then I would say a trip to the comic book store should be on your to-do list today. This fantastic crossover series has a bit for everyone, even those that are not die-hard fans of either franchise.