Dan Harmon's Disdain For Underwater Characters Led To Rick And Morty's Nemesis
In a show as complicated as "Rick and Morty," one with endless crazy storylines, weapons, timelines, universes, and dimensional Ricks and Mortys, it could be difficult to come up with a fresh character. Each episode's plot is wilder than the last; while the show has an increasingly unique setup, it seems daunting to try to outdo past episodes and storylines.
Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland, the pair who introduced the world to the show in 2013, haven't shown any sign of slowing down. Harmon and the writers have no problem coming up with those extra characters and fresh ideas — which is good considering the adult animated show still has many hours of content left to create. With Adult Swim ordering 70 additional episodes (per The New York Times), who knows what else fans will see as more seasons come forward?
Fans of "Rick and Morty" who have loyally watched every episode probably remember Mr. Nimbus and his arrival on a seashell in the Season 5 premiere "Mort Dinner Rick Andre." Mr. Nimbus is more than proud to have the title of Rick's nemesis; despite constantly fighting an array of people and creatures, Mr. Nimbus is the only one Rick declares to be his nemesis.
Mr. Nimbus is an eccentric character; he controls the police and makes devouring beignets an uncomfortable affair. However, he also saves the day when Rick is sucked into a battle with technologically-advanced dog citizens.
Harmon's inspiration for Mr. Nimbus comes from a unique hatred he had as a child
In an interview with Variety where Dan Harmon discussed the show's 2022 Emmy Submission of the Season 5 episode "Mort Dinner Rick Andre," Harmon shared where the character of Mr. Nimbus came from.
"Growing up, I was always so confused about caring about underwater characters in pop culture, like Aquaman or Prince Namor," Harmon explained. "I always felt like it was almost like Christian rock, in that they were trying to sell 10-year-old kids something that was just inherently so uncool in the form of underwater-ness." Mr. Nimbus was silly and overdramatic because of this feeling, but also had to bring something powerful to the show; he's someone that can kick Rick's butt any day of the week.
While Justin Roiland is more familiar to fans as the voice of both Rick Sanchez and his young grandson Morty, Harmon himself also sometimes voice acts, just not as much. The opportunity for Harmon to voice Mr. Nimbus came out of the fact that Harmon kept doing his impressions of the character after Jeff Loveness wrote the episode draft, stemming from Harmon's annoyance with those underwater characters.
Audiences can be grateful Harmon held onto his hatred, as the show wouldn't quite be the same without the effortless Mr. Nimbus who always has things go his way. It's also interesting that the character's relationship with Rick goes back deep enough that he knows about Rick's wife Diane, a fact that has added to many bizarre and crazy theories.
We're sure to see more of Mr. Nimbus in future episodes.