The season five premiere of Rick And Morty further explored the show's fixation with Fantastic Four by introducing a character ripped directly from the pages of the comic. Mr. Nimbus, a direct parody of Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner, isn't just a goofy spoof, either. The underwater ruler who serves as Rick's arch-nemesis highlights the parallels between Rick Sanchez and the Fantastic Four's Reed Richards, AKA Mr. Fantastic, a concept that isn't new to the series.
Often lovingly dubbed "Marvel's first family," the Fantastic Four served as the publisher's initial foray into the Silver Age of comics in the 1960s. When they first arrived on the superhero scene so many years ago, the foursome was characterized by their messy arguments but their undying loyalty to each other as a family. They were flawed human beings imbued with cosmic powers learning how to live with and love each other, and it was Reed Richards' genius-level intellect that was both his greatest strength and most glaring flaw.
The highly dysfunctional Smith family in Rick And Morty makes the Fantastic Four seem stable in comparison, but both often deal with conflict resulting from their scientist elders' misguided experiments. Despite their core moral differences, Reed Richards and Rick Sanchez both share similar personality traits, especially in regards to their arrogance and sense of superiority. The difference is that whereas Reed depends on his loved ones to anchor his humanity, Rick either neglects or exploits his own family and often drags them down with him. In a way, Rick is emblematic of what would happen to Reed if the scientist fully succumbed to his own hubris.
This is where Mr. Nimbus comes in, who is Rick's rival and a hornier version of Prince Namor, a character who has appeared in the Fantastic Four mythos almost as long as the team. The ruler of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis has appeared as both a friend and foe but always as a foil to Reed, who might be smarter but not quite as charismatic or even emotionally mindful. Likewise, Nimbus' self-assertive attitude and confidence is an annoyance and threat to Rick despite the ocean lord's goofy demeanor. Most significantly, Nimbus and Namor might be jerks, but they're jerks whose brashness helps them call out Rick and Reed on their flaws.
This isn't the first time Rick And Morty built a storyline around a Fantastic Four reference, either. The show took a storyline from writer Jonathan Hickman's Fantastic Four run where a Council of Reeds existed in an interdimensional nexus and worked together to solve problems in the multiverse. As the "mainstream" Reed discovers, these other Reeds sacrificed their dedication to their family in order to devote their entire lives to science, causing him to walk away from his lonely, transdimensional counterparts. On the other hand, the "mainstream" Rick C-137 declines to join the Citadels' Council of Ricks, joined not to save the multiverse but each other from their enemies, because he's disgusted by their bureaucracy and cowardliness.
Both Reed and Rick choose their own personal lives over an organized governing body, and both are humbled by a surprisingly observant fishman. Reed's tendency to overlook family obligations in service of his scientific obsessions is a trait Namor the Sub-Mariner loves to point out about his rival. Nimbus isn't so much aware of Rick's home life but does bring up a valid point about his pathetic loneliness (and almost establishes canonical backstory). The comparison between the two reveals each other's potential for moral growth, too, a reminder of what Reed's arrogance can lead to and how Rick can change if he can be a little less selfish in the ongoing fifth season of Rick And Morty.