WARNING: The following contains SPOILERS for Rick and Morty season 5, episode 1, “Mort Dinner Rick Andre.”

The premiere of Rick and Morty season 5 introduces a new character who parodies an upcoming MCU villain. The Adult Swim series has long poked fun at pop culture — particularly Marvel and its massive cinematic universe. In fact, season 4 dedicated an entire episode to parodying the Avengers, which paved the way for the upcoming Rick and Morty spinoff, The Vindicators. Now in season 5, the show has once again set its satirical aim at Marvel — this time, by introducing the character Mr. Nimbus.

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Rick and Morty season 5, episode 1, “Mort Dinner Rick Andre” introduces Rick’s long-time “nemesis” Mr. Nimbus: a remarkably sensual humanoid who rules over the sea. When Morty crashlands Rick’s spacecraft into the ocean, this breaks an existing treaty between Rick and the self-described “King of the Ocean.” Mr. Nimbus and Rick engage in peacekeeping talks over beignets and wine, squabbling in ways that hint at a long, shared history — even commenting on Rick’s former wife, Diane.

Mr. Nimbus’ antics are the driving force of the comedy in “Mort Dinner Rick Andre.” He seems like a strange choice for Rick’s nemesis: skinny, pretentious, and outright silly (thanks to the over-the-top ocean references), Mr. Nimbus is a stark contrast to Rick. Even Jerry doubts the pairing, questioning why Rick would be afraid of such a person, describing Mr. Nimbus as “a strange, horny ocean man.” The characterization, however, is actually a clever wink to a classic Marvel Comics character who is expected to appear in the upcoming MCU movie Black Panther 2: Namor the Sub-Mariner.

Although the Rick and Morty season 5 character Mr. Nimbus shares qualities with both Aquaman and Namor, his design and over-sexualized behavior are clearly poking fun specifically at Marvel’s take on the King of the Ocean. Unlike DC’s Aquaman — who in his classic design is blonde and relatively wholesome — Namor (especially more contemporary iterations) is a wet bad boy with slicked-back dark hair and ambiguously fish-like features (gills, pointy ears, etc.). In a nutshell, Namor is Marvel’s sexy Aquaman: something the writers clearly had fun with while designing the Rick and Morty episode. From Mr. Nimbus’ scantily-clad costume and lip-biting sensuality, to his exaggerated self-aggrandizing presence and literal posturing, the character is clearly mocking the ways in which Namor is different from his DC counterpart Aquaman.

Although Namor has yet to appear in the MCU, his debut has been set up — and casting news suggest he will be the primary villain in Black Panther 2. Reports in June 2021 indicated that Tenoch Huerta will play Namor in Black Panther 2. Although this has yet to be confirmed by Marvel, Avengers: Endgame did hint at the character’s debut in Phase 4: Okoye mentions earthquakes occurring off the coast of Africa but then states, “It’s an earthquake under the ocean. We handle it by not handling it.” Many Marvel fans took this as a Namor tease, although it has never been explicitly confirmed as such. If Namor does appear as the villain in Black Panther 2, the MCU would be wise to tone down Namor’s raw sexual energy — particularly given the kind of jokes it inspired in Rick and Morty.

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Sarah Bea Milner
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Sarah Milner is the Weekend Lead Editor for Screen Rant’s Film/Television features (SR Originals) division. She is a writer, editor, and folk musician. She often watches movies — sometimes she reviews them too.

A graduate of Trent University, Sarah’s MA thesis examines Frankenstein adaptations and their relationship with popular culture. She has a fierce love of all things “spooky,” and a deep appreciation for classic cinema.

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