Who is Rick Prime in Rick and Morty? Relationship of villain to Morty and Beth in season 7 of E4 comedy

Adult Swim animated comedy series Rick and Morty returned for season seven last week in the US and comes to the UK tomorrow (17 October) on E4.

The series sees interdimensional travellers Rick Sanchez and grandson Morty Smith embark on a series of wacky and dangerous adventures together across the multiverse - but their relationship is not all that it appears.

Over the course of the show viewers have learned that the version of Morty we see in the series is not the biological grandchild of the main Rick, as the two are from different dimensions.

The sci-fi parody show is good light-hearted entertainment, but it can get quite complicated due to the nature of the multiverse. 

And this is only going to become more pronounced in season seven, as the Rick we know and love (Rick C-137, named after the dimension he came from), sets off to hunt Rick Prime, a mysterious alternate version of Rick and primary villain of the show. 

Who is Rick Prime in Rick and Morty?

Rick Prime is the overarching villain of Rick and Morty, though he is rarely seen throughout the series. He is an alternate version of Rick Sanchez, from the Cronenberg Dimension.

He is from the same dimension that the main Morty comes from, making Rick Prime Morty’s biological grandfather, whilst the main Rick in the show, Rick C-137, comes from a different dimension.

Rick Prime’s daughter Beth Prime and granddaughter Summer Prime, as well as Jerry Prime, each from his own dimension all died after Rick C-137 inadvertently started an apocalypse on their planet Earth, though he saved Morty. 

Rick Prime was the first Rick to develop interdimensional travel and moved across different universes giving alternate versions of himself the portal gun technology, abandoning his family in the process. 

Rick Prime is believed to have killed Rick C-137’s daughter Beth and wife Diane by sending a bomb to their home that was most likely intended for Rick C-137, after that Rick showed no interest in his portal gun.

It was this act that led to Rick C-137 developing his own portal gun and searching the universe for Rick Prime in order to kill him and avenge his family before the events of the first season.

Rick Prime is mentioned just once in season one, in the episode Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind. He appears in flashbacks in the season three episode The Rickshank Rickdemption, and season five’s Rickmurai Jack.

His first proper appearance comes in the season six premiere Solaricks, he then appears as a hologram in the season finale Ricktional Mortpoon's Rickmas Mortcation. In the first episode of season seven Rick Prime is once again mentioned.

Who is Evil Morty?

Evil Morty is a secondary antagonist in the show, after Rick Prime. He looks just like all the other Mortys but differs in that he is far more ruthless and has a cold intelligence, more like his grandfather.

This version of Morty, from an unknown Earth dimension murders other Ricks and eventually orchestrates a coup on the Citadel. His motive for killing is that he has grown tired of the psychopathic behaviour of the Ricks. 

As of season seven, Evil Morty’s whereabouts and ultimate aim is unknown but Dan Harmon confirmed that he will return in season seven. Evil Morty is not related to Rick Prime or Rick C-137.