Review: Rick And Morty “Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender”

That’s a three pointer. And also Hawaii.

Spoilers Below

I’d say you’d have to be living under a rock to not be aware of the influence superhero stories have had on media, but it’s more like you’d have to be living under a rock around the late 30’s. Though given this weekend that doesn’t seem too far off from modern day WHOOPS OFF TOPIC

But yeah, superheroes are kinda everywhere in TV, movies, games, and of course comic books. And usually shortly followed by the deconstructionist subversion, grounding idolized and idyllic figures and archetypes into being a lot like us average joes and schmucks, along with all our dysfunctions. And boy howdy, is a story like this just a drop in the bucket for a show that swims in dysfunction.

Morty helps Rick out in the garage, trying to capture blue eyeballed worm creatures that could make the population sterile, when suddenly a small gem thing glows, signaling the beacon of The Vindicators. This is apparently a group Rick and Morty had encountered before at some point, which Rick couldn’t stand but Morty loved, so Morty calls in his “chooses every tenth adventure” card and off they go.

Once at floating ship base, we meet the team: the heavenly body Supernova, anthropomorphic ant colony One Million Ants, botted crocodile Crocubot, tragic ghost train summoning Alan Rails, renegade star soldier Vance Maximus (very much a knock on Tony Stark/Star Lord cocky drunk characters), and Noob Noob, who loves all of Rick’s jokes. Remember that for later. The team has assembled for a third time to once again take down their ostensible nemesis Worldender, who is out to end more than worlds this time. Maybe a subscription to Variety? Who knows!

Wait, third? Yes, seems the team hooked up another time without Rick or Morty, mainly because Rick is such an ass, and even at the cost of totally not Suicide Squad references. We probably all have that one friend or family member who doesn’t mesh well with our other circles of friends but has to come along because they’re the ride or something, but this is taking it to a whole new level. Morty tries to tell Rick to lay off, possibly hurting his feelings by stating these guys are his heroes. Obviously, this means Rick will take this to heart and better himself to make it up to Morty riiiiiiiiiiight?

Of course it doesn’t, because we see him the next morning on the conference table, pants down and surrounded by his own diarrhea. Luckily, Vance decides to cheer Morty up with his very own Vindicator vest and assure him that anyone can be a hero. Once touching down on their target planet, we get a chance to see everyone incorporate their powers into their gags, like Million Ants taking turret fire and regenerating, boldly claiming he is back to One Million Ants. This is where Rick’s use to the team comes in, as he can make gadgets to get across things like the aforementioned turrets, but not without is trademark snark. But as the team makes their way through already eviscerated guards, they happen across the dying remains of Worldender and are greeted via recording the true enemy: Blackout Drunk Rick.

Drunk Rick’s choice of super meta commentary is to put the heroes through a Saw-ish set of trials to make them face that they all aren’t that heroic and/or kinda suck to a certain degree. The first trial has a matching game of the team’s faces with cards listing a certain vague trait about them, which Morty deduces fit any given one of them because Rick’s point is that none of them are special or unique. But not before a claustrophobic Vance flies off and gets killed for not participating. Next is cryptic riddle about how “fighting darkness is to fight yourself”, revealing the Vincidators once destroyed a planet to get rid of a shapeshifting villain. But this guess was wrong, costing us fan-favorite Crocubot, as the answer was actually Israel (something Rick apparently has a strong stance…about. Not sure if for or against. Shalom to that.)

Next, it seems the drunkenness started overpowering Rick by this point because it’s just shooting five three-point throws in basketball or the planet blows up. Naturally, this triggers an argument about an affair between Million Ants and Supernova, who cheated on Alan, who is killed in the resulting fight. Also gives Morty a chance to talk to Rick about him being such an asshole makes it impossible for other people to admit he’s right or that they need him, which probably would have saved that destroyed planet if the Vindicators had just sucked it up and asked him back. But does being right give someone free reign to just be a dick?

The final stage has Drunk Rick telling the decimated group that while he hates them, they do have one thing he’ll never have, and that thing is what they need to escape. Morty feels that there’s probably no right answer, but Rick, surprisingly, thinks it might be Morty, realizing he might have gotten jealous that Morty thought they were way cooler. It’s that or die anyway, so Morty gets onto the platform and is greeted with an amusement park ride themed goodbye from Rick telling someone how thankful he was they really stuck by him. Only it’s not for Morty, it’s for Noob Noob. Motherfucker. Supernova attempts to kill Rick and Morty for Rick’s actions, but Million Ants steps in to calm her…and is killed for his troubles. All seems lost…

…until it’s revealed Drunk Rick planned out a whole party as the end of the trial. So Supernova awkwardly shuffles away, which Rick couldn’t care less about, and Morty realizes that everyone’s a hero. And, in a way, that means no one is.

While not as much of an emotional pulverizer as the last two, this was still a nice time. Mainly in how it implied that deep beneath all the torment and need to be intoxicated, Rick might actually care about his grandson…when he’s not blackout drunk and trying to kill people to make a point.

And it was kinda thickly laid, but there was a bit of poignant stuff about how there’s only as much value in heroism and morality as we put into it. Similar to Morty’s changing feelings about the Vindicator jacket, I recently picked up these small badges relating to Pokemon Go, which are were basically physical representations of how much time one has sunk into that game. I guess I’m glad I have them and I’m not going to just throw them away, but it does make you think how the value is pretty much wholly based on your given sentiment. Although they are iron-on and I would’ve preferred pins, but that’s just nitpicking.

Also, shout out to Gillian Jacobs (Supernova) as the show’s third Community main cast cameo! Previously, we had Jim Rash as Glaxo Slimslom in last season’s episode about Beth and Jerry getting marriage counseling (lotta good that did) and Joel McHale as Hemorrhage from this season’s “Rickmancing the Stone”. Will we see Donald Glover and Danny Pudi at some point this season? Perhaps Chevy Chase? Tune in to find out!