This is a ‘take it or leave it’ theory post, so take what makes sense to you.
Honestly, it seems like Rick developed an attachment to Morty relatively quickly. A lot of people subscribe to the theory that Rick didn’t really care for Morty or the residual family until after ‘Rick Potion No. 9,’ which, to be fair, I also believed until my last rewatch. It makes sense with the lore in mind that Rick found connecting with the Prime Smith’s challenging. These were not just any other family, but the family of the man who killed his wife and daughter.
That being acknowledged, I do think that Rick at least cared for Morty by the first non-Pilot episode. My fiancé pointed out that, not only does Rick ONLY save Morty in ‘Rick Potion No. 9,’ but also from the nutrino bomb in the Pilot. Additionally, in ‘Lawnmower Dog’ (the first episode after the Pilot) Rick and Morty seem to have a little heart-to-heart moment in the Dreamverse while hiding from Scary Terry. Rick actually places his hand on Morty’s shoulder affectionately and the two have a wholesome fist-bump after completing their adventure. Not to mention, he comforts Morty when he starts panicking about taking the poison pills in Snuffles/Snowball’s dream.
I’m not arguing that this happened overnight. If you remember, it’s in Season 1 that they are celebrating Rick’s one year anniversary of living with the family, and based on this clip from ‘Morty’s Mindblowers,’ it seems like Rick was there for Morty’s 13th birthday. The two must’ve been having adventures long before the events of the first season, at least by roughly a year.
Additionally, it makes sense that Rick starts to get excited by the prospect of actually hanging out with other members of the family in ‘Something Ricked This Way Comes’ since at that point he’s removed from the Prime Dimension and can relax around them.
Now, stick with me, because I’m going to talk about Rick the Dad and it’s going to seem like it’s not related… but it circles back.
In ‘Rick Potion no. 9,’ Beth mentions remembering that Rick (presumably a Prime variant) left her mother.
‘He is a selfish, irresponsible ass, and he left my mother. A real man stands by his woman.’
In ‘Raising Gazorpazorp,’ we get very intentional glimpses into both Beth and Jerry philosophies on parenting. Since this is a Beth Prime variant, it’s interesting to compare how she (presumably) remembers being raised by a Prime variant to how we see Rick C-137 act as a parent as the show progresses.
In contrast, we can use context to see that, while neglectful and out of touch, Rick C-137 seemed to appreciate childlike wonder and whimsy in how he interacted with his daughter. While it is acknowledged that other Ricks created their own Froopylands, that is something that Rick C-137 is specifically stated to have done. Additionally, we can see that the toys he created for Beth (while admittedly dangerous and violent) are very childlike and cute in their design. The knife always makes me think about Barbie releasing a line of stabbing knives, lol. I don’t know, I just don’t see Rick Prime taking the time to design such childish things for his Beth.
We can apply these comparisons between the two using Memory Rick and Memory Diane, and how they interacted with Beth in ‘Hot Rick.’ We do, however, have to question the accuracy of their actions to how the real Rick and Diane C-137 would have interacted with their daughter, especially Memory Rick as he is not the memory of someone who knew Rick before his revenge era. Obviously, Birdperson must have gotten the impression that Rick was a very family-oriented person, which makes a lot of sense when the amount of rumination and obsession Rick C-137 exhibited towards Diane (in specific) after her death is considered. However, could this also mean that Birdperson remembers a Rick who desperately wanted to know his daughter as she grew up? (Since Memory Rick spent a considerable amount of time bonding with Beth and inserting himself into the memories of important milestones in her life.)
This makes me wonder if there was a time that Birdperson saw Rick attempting to reconnect with another version of his family if that’s what it would have taken to get to know his daughter. Could Rick have gone to reconnect with another version of his family after Blood Ridge?
If so, could this have been when Rick C-137 interacted with the Morty baby we see in ‘Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind’? Going even further, this could explain the photo we see hanging in Birdperson’s house of Rick holding a Morty baby.
This brings me to the possibility that Rick C-137 had been revisiting the Prime Dimension on a semi-regular basis. Such an obsession with reconnecting with his family could have been a misinterpretation of multiple visits made to the Prime Dimension/interactions with Morty(s) on Rick’s part, depending on the amount of knowledge Birdperson was let in on at the time.
Then, there is the looming implication that there could be a larger plan at play involving Morty Prime, hence the nature of the photo of Rick holding the Morty baby being like Rick boasting about an invention or accomplishment. (I feel that ‘boasting’ about an invention is more likely than Rick just being a proud grandpa when we think about 1.) C-137 couldn’t have had original grandchildren and 2.) he leaves Summer Prime in the Cronenberged Prime Dimension.)
Now, for the most far-fetched aspect of this theory post:
Could all of this be related to the ‘bomb’ comment Rick made about Morty in ‘Solaricks’?
If Morty Prime was integral to Rick C-137’s plan to defeat Prime, it would make a lot of sense. To elaborate, Rick C-137 has been revealed to be a founding father of the Citadel of Ricks, which we know eventually spiraled into rampant Morty production and trade.
Technology of such an elaborate sort being integrated into a Morty’s ‘design’ isn’t unheard of, even at the hands of Rick C-137. In ‘The Ricks Must Be Crazy,’ Rick comments (and we see in the after credits scene) that he has used nanobots to turn Morty into a car in high-stakes situations.
Therefore, is it really so far-fetched to think that Rick could have (even if disarmed, removed, or now otherwise dormant) implanted some sort of technology in Morty Prime that could turn him into a bomb (or similar destructive device) if his proximity to Rick Prime was within a certain range?
Using this as a jumping point, we also have the comment that Rick C-137 made in ‘Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind’ about how a ‘cocky Morty’ could be an issue.
I think a lot of people abandoned the idea that Evil Morty could be C-137’s original Morty when it was revealed that his original family was killed before that was a possibility- BUT.. I ask you this, dear reader:
If Morty’s themselves were something created by Ricks (possibly just C-137, or with the assistance of the council) and, for the purposes of this theory, we presume that Morty’s are more of a ‘device’ or ‘invention’ molded with the purpose of creating something/someone capable of defeating Rick Prime (the Rickest Rick), then could it be possible that Evil Morty was the original ‘prototype’ that was then discarded in favor of a ‘less cocky’ original model: Morty Prime?
What if Morty Prime being the ‘Mortyest Morty’ instead of more like Evil Morty’s fanon title of ‘Rickest Morty’ was by careful and considered design?
A balance of risks, pros, cons, and compromises…
We know that Ricks view themselves as gods. This is even the pitch we hear Prime give in the ‘totally fabricated origin story’ in ‘The Rickshank Redemption.’
My final question is: Could God create something more powerful than himself by design?
I mean, we know that other Ricks knew that, in order to defeat Prime, they would have needed something more powerful than the average Rick.
And what a twist that would be if that was, by design, a Morty.
