Warning: The following contains spoilers for Rick and Morty Season 5, Episode 3, “A Rickconvenient Mort,” which aired Sunday on Adult Swim.
The latest installment of Rick and Morty‘s fifth season, “A Rickconvenient Mort,” introduces the brave and noble Planetina, superhero and Earth’s ecological champion. In the episode’s main plotline, Morty meets and quickly falls in love with Planetina, who reciprocates his feelings, much to Rick’s surprise. Though aesthetically an homage to Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Planetina and her Tina-Teers are much more closely related, thematically, to Starlight and The Seven from The Boys.
Rick and Morty previously parodied superhero teams, such as The Avengers and Justice League in the Season 3 episode, “Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender,” which depicted the Vindicators as egotistical, two-faced, grifters. The Boys’ pessimistic vision for a world of corporately-owned, genetically-enhanced, money-making machines falls right in line with Rick and Morty’s nihilism. And if the Vindicators and the Tina-Teers are Rick and Morty‘s answers to The Seven, then “A Rickconvenient Mort” introduces their version of Starlight in the form of Planetina.
Much in the way that Vought International exploits, markets and profits from its super-powered employees, the Tina-Teers have been using Planetina for their own monetary gain “since the ’90s.” However well-intentioned their motives may be, both Planetina and Starlight are still beholden to their corrupt leaders’ influence, be it via Vought’s intimidation or the elemental rings worn by the Tina-Teers. With so much money at stake, Planetina and Starlight’s public images are maintained through strict control of their private lives, akin to that of a pop star or teen idol.
The relationship between Planetina and Morty even mirrors that of Starlight and Hughie Campbell from The Boys in several ways. Both relationships start as rebounds for the male counterpart: Morty from Jessica and Hughie from Robin. Morty and Hughie are also both average human males who possess extremely limited physical attributes, especially in comparison to their super-powered love interests, whom those close to the male protagonists consider to be “way out of their leagues.”
Both relationships are highly discouraged, with Beth and the Tina-Teers both trying to dissuade Morty and Planetina, much like The Seven and The Boys do for Starlight and Hughie. Their approaches are even quite similar, as the Tina-Teers, Vought and Billy Butcher all use fear, intimidation and attempted murder to try to convince them to break up. In the end, both relationships do eventually end in heartbreak, and that’s probably a good thing given the parties that want to keep them apart.
Rick and Morty stars the voices of Justin Roiland, Chris Parnell, Spencer Grammer and Sarah Chalke. New episodes air Sundays at 11 p.m. ET on Adult Swim.
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