Warning: Spoilers for Rick and Morty season 6, episode 9.
Rick and Morty season 6, episode 9, "A Rick in King Mortur's Mort," sees Rick and Morty once again creating an interplanetary war – this time within their Solar System. While it is usually Rick C-137's actions that end up leading to intergalactic conflicts, this time, Morty's naivety sparked a conflict across the Sun, the moon, and all the planets in the Solar System. "A Rick in King Mortur's Mort" may not have been the canon-heavy adventure viewers may have been expecting, but it added a lot of "space lore" for the show to revisit at some point.
Given how often Rick and Morty travel to other planets, it is interesting that the duo never had a proper adventure in their Solar System. As Rick notices, for someone who can go anywhere in the universe, experiences in their own Solar System are beneath him. Still, for a show that can get so creative about new worlds, Rick and Morty lacked a Solar System-focused episode. The only exception was Jerry and the non-planet Pluto in Rick and Morty season 1. Thanks to Morty's desire to try a new Solar System-exclusive restaurant, the Knights of the Sun lost their King and entered a Solar System war.
Rick & Morty's Knights Of The Sun Explained (& Why They're So Important)
Rick and Morty's Knights of the Sun, who also referred to themselves as Defenders of the Helios, are a society based on the Sun that believes their King, the wilder of the Solar Scepter, is responsible for keeping the Solar System together. More precisely, the Knights of the Sun believe that the Solar Scepter itself holds the eight planets in the Solar System together. The importance of the Solar Scepter was just one of the many traditions of the Defenders of the Helios, who had created an entire medieval-like military structure to rule the yellow burning star. One of those traditions was passing the Knight title through their swords.
The fact that the recently changed Morty wielded one of the swords and became a Knight of the Sun was already a problem. Before being truly knighted, Morty discovered that he would have to cut off his genitals using the very sword he had won. That was enough for Morty to realize he didn't want to become a Knight of the Sun, but as what usually happens in Rick and Morty, it was already too late. Morty accidentally became King of the Sun following the former King's death, meaning that he was now the Solar Scepter bearer and responsible for keeping the Solar System together.
Similar to many other chaotic Rick and Morty adventures, "A Rick in King Mortur's Mort" only later revealed how vital the Knights of the Sun were to preventing a Solar System war. All eight planets in the Solar System believed in the same traditions as the Knights of the Sun, which means that they respected the King of the Sun because of the Solar Scepter. With Morty now being King but instead convincing the Knights of the Sun that their rules and traditions were based on a lie, the Solar System was bound to enter chaos. Morty's selfishness led to the end of the Knights of the Sun and the beginning of the war.
Rick & Morty's Solar System Factions
As Rick C-137 and his Morty would later find out, the Sun was not the only celestial body in the Solar System to have a highly organized society. The first significant fallout of the Knights of the Son disbanding was that the Sons of the Moon called for a meeting between all the Solar System planets to discuss who would lead them now that the Solar Scepter was gone. The Sun was responsible for maintaining the political stability in the Solar System, a role that the Sons of the Moon seemed interested in. It's important to point out that this Solar System interplanetary council differs from the Galactic Federation.
The Galactic Federation was one of the most critical elements in earlier Rick and Morty seasons, especially in the Birdperson and Tammy storylines. However, it seemed that the Galactic Federation never really focused on the Solar System and its planets. Outside of Earth, the homeworld of the universe's most intelligent person Rick Sanchez, there wasn't anything too important for the Galactic Federation in the Solar System. Although Rick and Morty season 6's elaborated Solar System council can be seen as a retcon, "A Rick in King Mortur's Mort" suggests that it was only during the Solar System War that the technology of those planets advanced.
Aside from the Knights of the Sun and the Sons of the Moon, the episode introduced the Viscounts of Venus, who wanted to get out of Saturn's shadow. The situation between Venus and Saturn was very important for Jupiter, who claimed that if the Saturno Venusian détente were no longer honored, they would claim every celestial body in the Solar System as moons of Jupiter. Rick and Morty season 6 revealed that despite being the smallest planet in the Solar System, Mercury offered itself to replace the Sun as the new center of it all. In favor of replacing the Sun were also the Earl of the Earth, who for some reason looked like Santa, and the Marquis of Mars.
Rick & Morty's Solar War One Explained
Given the Solar Scepter's importance, It was easy to predict that a Solar System war would start as soon as the other planets learned about the Defenders of the Helius disbanding following Morty's failed coronation. Instead, Rick and Morty were again the cause of mass destruction and interplanetary bloodshed, similar to Rick's conflict against the Galactic Federation. Every planet wanted to secure the best possible outcome for their society now that the Knights of the Sun were no longer ruling it all. "A Rick in King Mortur's Mort" doesn't clarify how long the "Solar War One" lasted, but the tragically comic battle montage suggests it went on for a few months.
Rick and Morty's Solar War was leading to the destruction of the Solar System and could have obliterated Earth soon. Morty's suggestion to resolve the problem was not to end the war but rather change dimensions, something Rick and Morty have done a few times. However, Rick C-137, who seems to have changed a lot since the Rick and Morty season 5 finale, preferred to stay and face the music. The war would only end if the Knights of the Sun and their authority returned, which could only happen if King Morty restored their Old Ways – all traditions included. Morty staged a heroic death as King, thus restoring the Sun's society and ending the war.
Will Rick & Morty's Knights Of The Sun & Solar System Factions Return?
Perhaps one of the reasons why Rick C-137 was not very interested in Solar System adventures was that none of its planets were very technologically advanced. That changed during the Solar War, which saw all worlds developing new weapons, ships, and other inventions. With the Solar System planets now being technologically advanced and ready for interplanetary wars, the Knights of the Sun and other Solar System factions will likely return in future Rick and Morty episodes. The Solar System factions could have a similar role in future seasons as Rick and Morty's infamous Galactic Federation, especially if their tech continues to advance.
New episodes of Rick and Morty air Sundays on Adult Swim.