Rick and Morty is a dense show, so much so that it’s hard not to obsess over the many details that are hidden or implied. With a vast mythology that we’ve only caught glimpses of in the first three seasons, the show naturally lends itself to speculation. Out of all the fan theories that make their way online, of which there are many, perhaps one of the show’s biggest overarching questions has to do with a character that we don’t yet know a whole lot about – Evil Morty.
Introduced in the episode “Close Encounters of the Rick Kind,” Evil Morty (a.k.a. Eyepatch Morty) is primed to be potentially the “Mortiest Morty” of the series thus far. As the first of his kind to be elected president of The Citadel in season three, the intentions and motivations of Evil Morty remain mostly unclear. As we await the eventual premiere of season four later this year, we’re biding our time by compiling some of the most exciting and crazy fan theories surrounding the show’s mysterious antagonist!
Evil Morty Is Rick’s Original Morty
Perhaps the most popular and widely accepted theory about Evil Morty’s true intentions heavily implies that he is Rick’s original Morty. There is ample evidence to support the idea that Evil Morty is C-137 Rick’s original Morty. But two pieces of evidence, in particular, might corroborate this theory. While captured in his introductory episode, Evil Rick (robot Rick) goes through all of C-137 Rick’s memories. In the process, we catch a glimpse of this Rick playing with a toddler version of Morty.
Similarly, another quick reference is included in the season two episode, “Get Schwifty.” While visiting Bird Person, Morty notices a photo on the wall of Rick holding infant Morty. As we know, the premise of Rick and Morty revolves around Rick C-137 returning home after a mysterious twenty-year absence. Considering that Morty is only fourteen in the show, this naturally raises questions about what Rick is hiding – such as the idea that Rick might not be from the same universe as the rest of our characters.
Evil Morty Is The Good Guy
This interesting thing about “Evil Morty” is that this name is never used in the show itself. Instead, the moniker stuck with the creators after fans started calling him that on their own. If this is the case, could it be possible that Evil Morty is the real protagonist of the series? That’s what this theory from Reddit suggests.
We all know that Rick is a pretty awful person, one who only uses people as a means to accomplish his interests. Case in point – “Morty’s Mind Blowers.” With that said, could it be possible that Rick is the villain and Evil Morty is the hero of the series? Now that Evil Morty is the president of the Citadel, could his intentions be to make Rick pay for all of the apparent sufferings that he has put him through? After all, the line between good and evil is only a matter of perspective.
Evil Morty Appears In Every Episode
This interesting theory from Redditor greenfingers559 suggests that Evil Morty appears in every episode of the series, albeit in the opening credits. Except for one shot, in particular, the opening sequence of Rick and Morty often changes from episode to episode. This information is curious only because, as we’ve learned, everything on this show is intentional.
The shot in question shows the titular duo running from a bunch of mutated frogs. Rick jumps through a portal, leaving Morty behind before the shot cuts away as the frogs seemingly eat Morty. This theory posits that not only was this Rick’s original Morty but that he survived the events of the opening credits. The Mortiest Morty then builds a portal gun to escape the abandoned planet, before enacting his revenge on Rick as Evil Morty.
Evil Morty Has A Stupid Rick
One of the biggest unanswered questions about Evil Morty is who his original Rick was. This Redditor thinks that he’s from an alternate universe that features a genius Morty and a Doofus Rick. As we learned in the episode “Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind,” stupid Ricks do exist.
This theory suggests that Evil Morty is actually from a dimension with a Doofus Rick. Being smarter than his other half, he is able to escape his universe, when somehow C-137 Rick takes him under his wing. Although he sees his companion as an ally at first, Evil Morty grows to resent Ricks everywhere for the treatment of their respective Morties. This caused a rift between the two, which led to Rick heading back to universe C-137 after twenty years of being away.
Evil Morty Is Someone Else Entirely
This wild theory, which comes from Reddit user Wraith17, says that Evil Morty is an alternate version of Rick. The episode titled “The Rickshank Redemption” establishes that Rick can transfer his consciousness to other bodies. In the theory, this alternate version Rick is dying. To prolong his life, he shifts his consciousness into a younger body. Unfortunately, Rick isn’t able to fit all of his intelligence into Evil Morty’s body, but this is where the theory falls apart.
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Aside from the fact that Evil Morty is far too calculated to be a Rick, it also doesn’t explain Evil Morty’s desire to win the election. Some details need to be kinked out, but still an intriguing theory.
Evil Morty Is After Rick For Revenge
Coming from Redditor SqueezeTheLemon, this fan theory takes the idea of “Evil Morty is the Original Morty” to the next level. Even though the theory is mostly the same, it also predicts his motivation for becoming President of the Citadel – revenge. It predicts that in Rick’s original universe, he did something to hurt or kill Beth, which is why Eyepatch Morty is hunting down Rick C-137.
While we’re still unsure of Evil Morty’s true intentions, the season 2 finale “The Wedding Squanchers” might add credence to this theory. In the episode, Morty tells his counterpart, “You know Rick, I can handle it if you go. But you’ll break mom’s heart, and I’ll never forgive you for that.” If Rick did do something to Beth in his original dimension, there’s a strong possibility that the motivations of “not-so-evil-Morty” would be extremely personal, thus causing him to go evil and chase after Rick.
Rick Is Only Part of Evil Morty’s Plans
Our next theory comes from Reddit user ajga85, who hypothesizes that Rick C-137 is only a part of his larger plan to become President. In the tenth episode of Rick And Morty, Evil Morty builds a cloaking mechanism out of Rickless Morties. The theory suggests that by being released back into the citadel, these Rickless Morties would create a “single voting block that Evil Morty could use to rise to power.”
As a result, the existence of a single Morty candidate would also create a “populist wave,” whereas Ricks would divide their votes between multiple candidates. Morty’s entire motivation for killing other Ricks was to generate more Rickless Morties. Essentially, this would imply that his quarrel with Rick C-137 was merely a means to his ultimate end – becoming president of the Citadel.
All Ricks Are Morties And All Morties Are Ricks – Even Evil Morty
This theory goes a bit into tinfoil hat territory, but Reddit user HarlequinWasTaken believes that all Ricks are grown up Morties. That’s right; all Morties grow up to be Rick, according to this Redditor. While the insane theory lays out several points of reasoning, it also suggests that Evil Morty’s presidency represents the “inherent system in place” that keeps Ricks above Morties.
However, this is not for the reason that we might think. Instead of keeping Morties down out of a “sense of misdirected self-loathing,” they do it to keep this “Morty-Rick cycle” form ceasing. There’s plenty of tangible evidence to support this theory, but it might be a bit of a stretch to accept its overall logic. Either way, Evil Morty representing another system of control is certainly could be a fascinating idea for the show to explore.
Evil Morty Is A Cyclical Part Of The Multiverse
This theory from Reddit user Smiggeries suggests that Evil Morty isn’t just one Morty, but rather an endless cycle that repeats itself in Rick and Morty’s multiverse. As Rick points out in the aforementioned tenth episode of season one, “A cocky Morty can lead to some big problems.” Although this line, in particular, could be interpreted in a myriad of different ways, this theory surmises that – at some point – Morty is able to gain hyper-intelligence, eventually turning on Rick.
The exciting thing, however, is that this means that there isn’t one definitive version of Evil Morty, but rather an endless cycle of Evil Morties. This theory implies that C-137 Morty may undergo this cycle at some point, but also that Rick may have figured out a way to prolong this change.
Rick C-137 Is An Anomaly, Which Angers Evil Morty
As we’ve learned throughout the series so far, Ricks don't care about their Morites. They’re there to mask the presence of their respective Rick. We know that C-137 Rick, however, has a soft spot for his Morty. ThunderKrunk’s theory argues that because Rick loves his family, he is an anomaly among all Ricks and Morties of the multiverse. As a result, this has caused Evil Morty to begin a vendetta to attempt to erase Rick C-137 from history because he actually can’t comprehend a Rick that cares for his Morty.
The logic for this one is washy, but essentially the idea is that Evil Morty becomes jealous of C-137 Rick’s love for his family. Evil Morty longs for a Rick that cares about him, which would eventually make him envious of the relationship between the C-137’s Rick and Morty. However farfetched it may seem, this might make for an interesting dynamic between the two, along with giving Evil Morty some highly personal motivations moving forward.