He's the Rickest Rick. At least, that's what he tells himself while blacking out on mega-flask booze or committing casual deicide. If you've spent any time in the Adult Swim corner of the internet, you know that C-137 Rick and Morty isn't just a designation; it’s a trauma-laden identity crisis wrapped in high-concept sci-fi. But here’s the thing that trips up even the hardcore fans: the Morty we see every week isn't actually C-137.
Wait. Let’s back up.
Most people assume "C-137" refers to the duo as a pair. It doesn’t. In the pilot, and for much of the first few seasons, we’re led to believe we’re following a grandfather and grandson from the same timeline. We aren't. We’re actually following a Rick who lost everything and a Morty who was just a convenient replacement. This distinction isn't just "nerd lore"—it’s the entire emotional backbone of the show.
The Rick C-137 Backstory Most People Get Wrong
For years, fans theorized about "Rick Potion No. 9." You remember that one. Rick and Morty screw up the world so badly they have to bury their own corpses in a parallel reality and take over their lives. It was dark. It was funny. It also established that our Rick is a nomad.
But the real "C-137" origin didn't fully click until the Season 5 finale, "The Rickmurai Jack." This is where the writers finally stopped trolling us and showed the memory of Rick’s wife, Diane, and a young Beth being murdered by another Rick (Rick Prime). Our Rick—Rick C-137—spent decades hunting this killer. He built the Citadel. He helped design the Central Finite Curve. He did all of this not because he's a genius who loves order, but because he was a grieving widower with a god complex and a death wish.
The "C-137" label technically belongs to the universe where Diane and Beth died. Since Beth died as a child in that timeline, a Morty C-137 cannot exist. Think about that for a second.
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Every time Morty identifies himself as "Morty C-137" to the Council of Ricks, he's technically lying, though he doesn't know it. He's using his Rick's home address, not his own. Our Morty—the one we’ve followed since the start—is actually from the "Cronenberg Dimension" (often theorized as Dimension C-131, though the show is sometimes cagey about the specific alphanumeric code for the pilot world).
Why This Designation Actually Changes the Plot
Honestly, it’s about the "Rickest Rick" philosophy. Rick C-137 is unique because he didn't choose science to be powerful. He chose it to be vengeful. Most other Ricks in the Citadel accepted the "deal" offered by Rick Prime—the gift of portal travel in exchange for abandoning their families. C-137 said no.
That "no" is the reason he’s the protagonist.
It also explains his weird, toxic relationship with Morty. He didn't just move in with a random Beth because he was lonely. He moved into the house of Rick Prime (the Rick who killed his family) hoping that Prime would eventually come back. He used Morty as bait. It’s incredibly dark when you realize the "C-137 Rick and Morty" dynamic is built on a foundation of Rick essentially squatting in his enemy's living room and raising his enemy's grandson.
The Problem With Identifying Timelines
Keeping track of these dimensions is a nightmare. It’s supposed to be. Showrunners Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland (and later the expanded writing staff) used the C-137 label as a way to anchor the audience while simultaneously pulling the rug out from under them.
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- Rick C-137: The original Rick we follow. The "Rickest Rick."
- The Cronenberg Dimension: Where the show started. This world is now a wasteland.
- The Replacement Dimension: Where the show mostly takes place now (the "Parrot" or "Frundled" dimensions notwithstanding).
- Dimension C-137: A dead world with no Morty.
The Rick Prime Conflict and the End of an Era
By the time we hit Season 7, the mystery of C-137 Rick and Morty reaches its boiling point. The confrontation with Rick Prime isn't just a boss fight; it’s a collision of ideologies. Rick Prime represents the "pure" Rick—the one who truly doesn't care about anything. Our C-137 Rick is "faulty" because he still feels.
He loves Morty. Or at least, he’s grown to depend on him in a way that goes beyond "cloak-shielding" brainwaves.
When Rick finally gets his revenge, it’s hollow. If you watched "Unmortricken," you saw a man who achieved his life's goal and felt... nothing. This is the ultimate subversion of the C-137 mythos. We spent seven seasons thinking the C-137 backstory was the key to everything, only to find out that once the backstory is resolved, the character is just a shell. It’s a bold move for a cartoon.
Common Misconceptions About the Duo
People still argue about this on Reddit every single day. One big misconception is that the "Ticket Theory" from the episode "Mortynight Run" proves we aren't always watching C-137. In that episode, Rick swaps a Jerry at a Jerry-boree. Because of the ticket numbers, some fans believe we followed a different Rick and Morty for that specific adventure.
While the "Ticket Theory" is compelling, the writers have largely leaned into the idea that we are following the same Rick C-137 throughout the series, even if we occasionally jump to other perspectives. The show relies on our emotional investment in this specific Rick's growth. If the show swapped Ricks on us without telling us, the emotional payoff of the Rick Prime arc wouldn't work. It would be a cheap trick. And despite the "interdimensional cable" silliness, the show's emotional stakes are surprisingly rigid.
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Practical Takeaways for the Casual Viewer
If you’re trying to keep the C-137 Rick and Morty lore straight, stop worrying about the numbers and start looking at the scars.
The real C-137 is defined by his grief. He’s the one who has a secret basement full of memory-erasing tech because he can't handle his own mind. He’s the one who created a "Central Finite Curve" to wall himself off from any universe where he isn't the smartest man alive—primarily as a defense mechanism against the Ricks who are more cold-blooded than he is.
To truly understand the show, you need to accept that "C-137" is a mark of tragedy, not a badge of honor.
- Watch for the "C-137" Mention: Whenever Rick identifies himself this way to other Ricks, it’s an act of defiance. He’s telling them he’s the one they couldn't recruit.
- Differentiate the Mortys: Our Morty is "Prime Morty" (from Rick Prime's original timeline). This makes him the "Morty-est Morty" because he’s the direct descendant of the ultimate antagonist.
- Ignore the "Season-Hoppers": Don't get bogged down in which Earth they are currently on (like the one taken over by Mr. Frundles). The physical location doesn't matter; the "C-137" and "Prime" designations of the characters stay the same.
The genius of the writing is that it uses these complex sci-fi labels to hide a very simple, human story about a broken man and a kid trying to find their place in an infinite, uncaring multiverse. Revenge didn't fix Rick C-137. Morty didn't fix him either. But the bond between this specific, mismatched pair—a Rick from a dead world and a Morty from a ruined one—is the only real thing in a sea of infinite decoys.
Next time you rewatch the series, pay attention to the moments Rick mentions his original home. It’s rarely a boast. It’s usually a slip of the tongue or a moment of profound weakness. That’s the real C-137. Not the invincible god, but the man who couldn't save his daughter.