Rick and Morty Takes Shots at Wonder Woman 1984 In New Episode

Rick and Morty continues to have no problem taking shots at Warner Bros. Discovery and the DC Films franchise. We’re only three episodes into Rick and Morty Season 6, and we’re already on our third joke about the WB/DC franchise, and this time the target was none other than Wonder Woman 1984 – which the makers of Rick and Morty seem to be as ambivalent about as the majority of DC movie fans are… 

WARNING: SPOILERS FOLLOW! 

In the Rick and Morty Season 6 episode 3, “Bethic Twinstinct”, Beth Smith and her clone (original?) self “Speace Beth” spark an illicit affair during the Thanksgiving holiday. The rest of the Smith family (Rick, Morty, and Summer) try to run interference to keep Jerry from finding out what’s happening under his roof and having a complete emotional breakdown as a result. Inevitably though, Jerry does find out what the Beths are up to, and he does not take it well. Jerry reveals that Rick has installed a protocol inside of him, that allows him to curl up into a shell like a potato bug, and hibernate his way through any unpleasant matters he doesn’t want to face. 

When Jerry goes into potato bug mode, the Beths and Rick have to strategize how to get him out – after Rick explains to them what exactly is going on. In Rick’s explanation of Jerry’s weird defensive mode, he manages to take a jab at Wonder Woman 1984: 

“It’s an emotional defense system,” Rick explains to Beth(s). “I got drunk with Jerry one night and he said it’s what he wanted most in the world… Anyway, he’s in perfect health in there and he can unroll when he chooses to. But he can also stay in metabolic hibernation pretty much indefinitely. It’s a cool power to have like if you have to fly coach or if Summer asks you what you thought of Wonder Woman 1984.”

The “joke” being made here is Rick and Morty referencing the very divisive-to-unfavorable reactions that DC fans had to Wonder Woman 1984. The Wonder Woman sequel was DC and Warner Bros.’ Christmas present to DC fans after the horrific year that was 2020. Wonder Woman 1984 became the first major blockbuster film Warner Bros. released on HBO Max at the same time it hit theaters – a campaign the studio would continue through the entire year of 2021. Putting Wonder Woman 2 on streaming opened the film up to a much wider number of viewers – not just the DC fandom and moviegoers motivated enough to buy a theater ticket. On the whole, Wonder Woman 1984 failed to win over critics, connect with fans, or generate much of a box office return ($169.6 million on a $200 million budget). It was a pretty sharp drop from the original Wonder Woman‘s critical and financial achievements – a rare good step for the modern DC Films franchise. 

Still, Wonder Woman 1984 and its story of the complicated path of female empowerment in the 1980s certainly has its fans (Summer Smith). You can watch it – and Rick and Morty – on HBO Max. 

Rick and Morty Season 6 airs new episodes Sundays on Adult Swim.