Rick and Morty has been on the air for six seasons, providing fans with an endless array of instantly iconic characters, like Mr. Poopybutthole, and King Jellybean. Over the past few years, the animated adult sci-fi series has shown no shortage of character invention, with crassly designed aliens and complex cybernetic beings all finding a home within the series.
Ask any fan of the series who they like, and they'll surely rattle off several hundred names, like Jerry Smith or Abradolf Lincler. However, some characters are given more time in the spotlight, with several storylines devoted to their emotional development. And it's these characters whose lights remain brightest in fans' hearts.
10 Summer Smith
Summer Smith, Morty's older sister, and Rick's granddaughter, is introduced as an obnoxious, phone-obsessed teen. She has “mean girl” tendencies and constantly clashes with her family. But throughout the series, she's given several starring roles, like a warrior on a Mad Max-style planet, and eventually outgrows her earliest, less mature appearances.
Above all, Summer is relatable because she behaves precisely like a modern-era teenager. She enjoys recording her dog Snuffles, and is entirely against the idea of her father, Jerry, befriending or following her on social media. And very often the absurdity of each episode's central premise is not lost on her.
9 Squanchy
Squanchy’s love for merriment is unrivaled, as he is often seen drinking and engaging in all forms of hedonistic abandon. Thanks to his easy-going nature, his appearances serve as much-needed pauses for the show’s sci-fi-heavy storylines. The anthropomorphic cat’s tendency to replace nearly every verb with “squanch” also makes him unintentionally amusing, and serves as a hilarious way to imply what he's saying without ever saying it.
Even though fans would have no problem if he were just a party buddy, Squanchy has proven himself in other areas as well. For example, he can fight, something he proves when Birdperson’s wedding gets crashed by the Galactic Federation. And whenever Rick needs a hand while conducting his scientific experiments, Squanchy is always more than ready to help.
8 Beth Smith
Beth‘s tendency to look down on her husband, Jerry, might be exasperating to some, but she often brings up solid arguments about the state of their marriage, and has clearly put in a lot of effort. Through her, fans get to see the importance of pragmatism, even though it doesn't always apply in the world of sci-fi absurdity. Notably, Beth also puts in plenty of hours as a horse surgeon at the St. Equis Hospital.
Despite being part of one of the most one-sided TV relationships, Beth ensures her marital problems don’t affect her children and her family. She does her best to ensure no harm comes to Morty and never stops trying to make Rick proud of her, even though he isn’t too concerned about whether the two have a solid relationship – going so far as to create a clone replacement for her.
7 Birdperson
Birdperson’s brilliance is generally seen through his friendship with Rick, who he has known for ages. He also has one of the most memorable arcs on the show. Initially, he seems like a brief comedic relief character, but is given his due when his marriage to Tammy opens up a mind-bogglingly complex story involving the Galactic Federation.
This particular arc further helps solidify Birdperson and Rick’s friendship since the latter is the one who helps turn him back to his normal self after the Federation transforms him into a robot known as Phoenixperson. His poor decisions don’t prevent him from offering solid advice, either. Birdperson has shown Morty the right path multiple times, especially when he attempts to go on his own independent adventures without Rick.
6 Noob-Noob
Rick and Morty is full of arrogant characters, so Noob-Noob stands out by remaining humble. As an intern of the Vindicators, he is highly appreciated but never seems to mind. Being passed over for promotion hardly bothers him, so he continues diligently working.
Noob-Noob’s sense of humor is also greater than that of everyone else. Hence he is the only one that understands Rick’s science-related jokes. As such, Rick has even confessed to liking him more than Morty, though this isn’t necessarily true. Besides that, Noob-Noob’s appearance has inspired many chucklesome burns in the select episodes he has appeared in,
5 Krombopulos Michael
A proud Gromflomite contract killer, Krombopulos is ever so happy to hand out business cards to anyone who might need his services. For an assassin, he is surprisingly careless, too, since he lets everyone know about his Facebook and Twitter handles, ignoring the fact that this will make him get caught.
Nonetheless, Krombopulos’ ignorance and delusions of grandeur make him an interesting character to keep up with. His vendetta against Fart is even more fun. During his time in the series, he goes to great lengths to kill the elusive gaseous agent, including purchasing an anti-matter gun. Even though he isn’t always successful, Krombopulos’ resilience has made him a fan favorite.
4 Mr. Meeseeks
Among all the Rick and Morty characters, Mr. Meeseeks is the one that has the strongest links to science since he is modeled after bacteria. The Mr. Meeseeks box produces one Mr. Meeseeks who is given one individual task to complete so that they can return to being nonexistent. However, a series of Mr. Meeseeks are summoned by other Mr. Meseeks when the task of helping Jerry with his putting game is revealed to be nearly impossible.
Generally, Mr. Meeseeks contributes to the show’s hilarity through his rapidly fluctuating emotions. When he fails to complete a task, his wild rants beat those heard from Morty. Even so, Meeseeks is shown to be extremely hardworking and will do everything within his power to get the job done, even if it means getting assistance.
3 Scary Terry
Scary Terry is a surprisingly relatable character because of his deeply human insecurities. His goal is to be as scary as legendary slasher villains such as Leatherface and Freddy Krueger, but people consider him weird because of his features, including the ludicrous fact that he has testicles on his chin.
Scary Terry initially seems like a semi-serious character meant to serve as an homage, but he's revealed, deep down, to be a kindhearted individual operating within the constraints of his dream world. Rick and Morty figure this out quite early, so they infiltrate his dreams and turn him into a friendly person. In addition, Terry’s dialogue is quite fascinating as he is often heard adding a curse word to every sentence.
2 Morty Smith
Morty has arguably the best character development out of all Rick and Morty characters. Initially, he is timid and clueless about most things, let alone scientifically baffling concepts, but he eventually grows in confidence, enabling him to step out of Rick’s shadow. Consequently, he stops being a sidekick and earns his co-headling name in the title.
Morty’s level of intelligence also rises throughout the series. At the series' start, he is awkward and bumbling, but by Season 3, he manages to defuse a deadly neutrino bomb. Additionally, Morty’s unpredictability always leads to hilarious moments. Whether he's riding shotgun with his grandpa or dealing with a superstrong sentient limb, Morty provides an essential piece of the show's puzzle.
1 Rick Sanchez
Rick claims to know absolutely everything in the universe, making him one of the smartest TV scientists. On top of that, Rick is essentially a gadget-laden supersoldier, able to counter any attack. He is both courageous and relentless, demonstrating this by going after all the other alternate Ricks in a quest to find the one that killed his wife.
Though they gang up against him, Rick is able to obliterate them all – so much so that they acknowledge him as their leader. Away from his missions, the scientist can be very cold and off-putting, but has shown glimpses of his profound emotional depth, specifically toward Morty. He even goes as far as to invade Mr. Goldenfold’s mind just so he can improve Morty’s Math grades.