Rick and Morty: The End #2 Review

 

Writer: Daniel Kibblesmith

Artist: Jarrett Williams

Colorist: Alessandro Santoro

Letterer: Crank!

Cover Artists: Dave Bardin, Troy Little, Phil Murphy, and Tom Fowler with Nick Filardi

Publisher: Oni Press

Price: $4.99

Release Date: January 7, 2026

 

Rick Sanchez has landed his grandson in a whole heap of trouble. When the young teen stands before the Council of the Universes that Matter, the Parmesan Universe gives him an ultimatum. Morty must bring his grandfather before the council to stand judgment, or Parmesan will erase him from every universe.

 

Perhaps some versions of himself deserve to die. But Morty believes that most of his alternate selves in the multiverse deserve to live. As Morty sets off in his spaceship, can he find his grandfather? And can Morty bring him back to the council, knowing they will erase Rick from existence? Let’s leap into Rick and Morty: The End #2 and see!

 

Story

Attempting to think like his grandfather, Morty travels to fringe space. On a planet that technically doesn't exist, Morty confronts the Ball Fondlers, a Bounty Hunter team featured on a show that Rick and his grandfather enjoy. But taking on a group of lethal Bounty Hunters, even fictional ones, has its hazards. Thankfully, the New Vindicators arrive. Sadly, the woman leading the superheroes is Planetina, Morty’s former girlfriend.

 

While showcasing Morty’s reunion with Planetina, Daniel Kibblesmith offers a glimpse into Rick's redoubt. After fighting with his grandson and failing to reboot a universe that hates him, Rick takes sanctuary in a fictional home. He knows his fantasy family doesn't exist. But they enjoy his company, and everyone gets along harmoniously, offering Rick a moment of peace. Rick and Morty: The End #2 serves up plenty of action, but even more drama, as Planetina still suffers the pain of their breakup, and Old Man Meeseeks lives in agony over not fulfilling his life’s purpose.

 

As the New Vindicators hunt for Rick, Morty struggles with the fact that no one trusts him. Morty is fourteen years old. He's a young teen who is trying to figure out who he wants to be. And a universal threat against all Morties everywhere doesn't help.

 

While he esteems his grandfather for his brilliance, Morty has tried to avoid becoming like him. Instead, like Rick, Morty has left a trail of destruction and resentment in his wake. And given his former girlfriend’s anger toward him, and Parmesan’s wrath at Rick, Morty seems trapped in a pattern of behavior from which he would like to break free in Rick and Morty: The End #2.

 

Art

After scenes showing each teammate preparing for their mission, Jarrett Williams uses a splash page to introduce the New Vindicators. Titanium D, an Alphabetrian enforcer, makes the biggest impression. But aside from the giant metal capital letter, their cool jackets make Morty yearn for a similar feeling of belonging. When her team finds him and the Ball Fondlers splattered in blood, Planetina’s expression clarifies that she is not surprised that Morty has betrayed more people he loved.

 

Alessandro Santoro paints Rick and Morty: The End #2 with a palette of bright colors. Like the team jackets Morty admires, blue often dominates backgrounds. Blue also links Rick’s light blue hair and shading with his fictional son-in-law. But green colors Planetina’s tale of how they tracked Rick down. Her green hair, symbolic of her ecowarrior mission, also links her with the green accents and furnishings in the home she associates with Morty.  

 

Crank fills white dialogue balloons and colored narrative boxes with uppercase dialogue that grows bold for intonation and enlarges for raised voices. White block letters introduce each New Vindicator, while sound effects amplify the deaths of beloved, if fictional, people in Rick and Morty’s lives. Thanks to Oni Press and Superfan Promotions for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

When his life hit the skids, Rick treated people he met with disdain because his later actions would fix things. But when things don't go his way, Rick settles for something that isn't real, knowing it cannot last, in Rick and Morty: The End #2.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

For more cover options see my cover preview of Rick and Morty: The End #2.