Mortimer “Morty” Smith Sr. is one of the title characters of the Americananimated television seriesRick and Morty. Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, Morty is an anxious 14-year-old based on Marty McFly from Back to the Future. Known for his awkward, anxious, low self-esteem, second-guessing, and doubtful personality, the character has been well-received. He is the good-natured and impressionable grandson of alcoholic mad scientistRick Sanchez, and can be somewhat easily manipulated. Others sometimes refer to him as Morty Smith C-137 in reference to the designation given to his grandfather by the Trans-Dimensional Council of Ricks, in reference to his original universe, "C-137"; whether this is his actual universe designation is unknown. Book 1 of the Rick and Mortycomic series follows the Rick and Morty of Dimension C-132 while most issues of subsequent instalments follow the Rick and Morty of "C-137"; the video gamePocket Mortys follows the Rick and Morty of C-123.
Biography
Morty is 14 years old and is a student at Harry Herpson High School along with his older sister Summer. Morty seems to be suffering from anxiety and is easily stressed, largely as a result of traumatic experiences during his adventures with Rick. He is often dismissed as idiotic by Rick and others, but is shown to be wiser than his grandfather in terms of understanding people's feelings, and is capable of explosive anger and moral outrage in objection to Rick's attitude and actions.
Development
The character was created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, who first met at Channel 101 in the early 2000s. In 2006, Roiland created The Real Animated Adventures of Doc and Mharti, an animated short parodying the Back to the Future characters Doc Brown and Marty McFly, and the precursor to Rick and Morty. The idea for Rick and Morty, in the form of Doc and Mharti was brought up to Adult Swim, and the ideas for a family element and Rick being a grandfather to Morty were developed.
Reception
The character has received positive reception. VerbStomp described Morty as "Perhaps the picture of childhood innocence, or perhaps the product of parental neglect. Morty is unintelligent, skiddish and distressed, likely due to his traumatic experiences while venturing into new worlds with Rick."
