Since its premiere in 2013, Rick and Morty has become one of Adult Swim’s most popular adult animated sitcoms ever. The contentious, albeit affectionate, relationship between drunken scientist, Rick Sanchez, and his idiot teenage grandson, Morty, is the perfect vehicle for high-concept sci-fi shenanigans. Yet, perhaps the most entertaining aspect of this long-form Back to the Future parody is the colorful personalities Rick and Morty encounter along the way. One of the most memorable creatures in the series’ four-season run is Mr. Meeseeks. Oni Press’ Rick and Morty Presents: Mr. Meeseeks #1 by James Asmus and Jim Festante, with art by CJ Cannon and Joshua Perez is a one-shot published in 2019 that reveals Mr. Meeseeks short-lived search for the meaning of life.
Mr. Meeseeks first appeared in the fifth episode of the first season of Rick and Morty, entitled “Meeseeks and Destroy.” Rick’s daughter, Beth, his son-in-law, Jerry, and grand-daughter, Summer, all have menial tasks they want Rick to help them with. In lieu of helping, he lends his family a Meeseeks Box. A Meeseeks Box can create an infinite number of blue, alien-like creatures called Meeseeks whose sole purpose is to accomplish whatever task its summoner assigns them. Rick’s family quickly learns that life is pain to a Meeseeks. All Mr. Meeseeks wants to do is complete its task and vanish. The longer a task takes to complete, the grouchier Mr. Meeseeks gets.
Rick and Morty Presents: Mr. Meeseeks #1 is a sequel to the aforementioned episode in which Summer is making chili to impress a boy she likes. The high-school girl quickly tires of stirring the concoction as the recipe suggests and summons a Meeseeks to complete the task for her. As Summer exits the kitchen, she tells Mr. Meeseeks that life to too short to spend stirring a pot. This inspires the unusually contemplative Mr. Meeseeks to question what the meaning of life really is. He summons a second Meeseeks, and then a third, to help him find his true purpose beyond servitude. This desire for deeper meaning spins out of control and results in a side-splitting journey down the road to enlightenment.
Rick and Morty Presents: Mr. Meeseeks #1 documents the subservient blue creature’s futile quest for personal fulfillment. Mr. Meeseeks feeds the hungry, commits senseless crimes, experiments with mind-expanding drugs, dabbles in religion, and even tries to find love. None of these experiences lead him to the true meaning of life.
It isn’t until he stops searching that he finds the answer. Mr. Meeseeks discovers what so many people still haven’t: that each individual must find a unique meaning in their own life. As soon as Mr. Meeseeks and his compatriots come to this realization, they all vanish. And Summer learns the equally valuable lesson that teenage boys aren’t interested in her chili. It's a tragic ending to a hilarious, yet eye-opening tale. Rick and Morty Presents: Mr. Meeseeks #1 is definitely worth checking out.