Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Rick and Morty: Maximum Crescendo and Rick and Morty: Maximum Overture!Rick and Mortyis one of the funniest adult animations in history, but not only that, it also has surprisingly rich lore, intriguing single-episode storylines, and, weirdly, a lot of epic action-sequences. Indeed,Rick and Mortystands apart from the likes of other popular adult animations, especially when it comes to its parodies. WhileRick and Mortyis famous for its parodies of Marvel Comics characters, the series also tackles works of literary fiction, including those by Stephen King. And now,Rick and Mortyhas done so once again with perfect parodies ofCujoandPet Sematary.
InRick and Morty: Maximum CrescendoandRick and Morty: Maximum Overtureby Brockton McKinney and Jarrett Williams,Rick and Morty are battling a familiar villain from season 3: Concerto. This storyline reveals that Concerto was Rick’s piano teacher when Rick was just a child, but instead of learning the piano, Rick decided to learn black magic and cast his teacher to hell. That’s how Concerto became the music-demon fans see him as in theseason 3 episode “Pickle Rick”. And, that also explains why Concerto is aligned with other supernatural villains introduced in this comic.
Concerto summons an undead dog named Chickenskin Dogskull, who got its name after it was attacked by a horde of chickens all infected with a rabies-like virus. The dog killed all the chickens, but was infected by them, and went murderously crazy as a result - even killing his own human master. And, where did Rick and Morty have their final confrontation with Chickenskin Dogskull? A place called the ‘FEK Sematary’ (with ‘FEK’ standing for ‘Franchise Entertainment Kharacter’), where a horde of long-dead ‘kharacters’ were able to come back to life and attack Rick and Morty alongside Chickenskin Dogskull.
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TheStephen King references are not subtle in thisRick and Mortystory. While the name of the dog bears absolutely no resemblance to what it’s parodying, Chickenskin Dogskull is incredibly reminiscent ofCujo- from getting infected with a rabies-like virus and going crazy to the appearance of the dog himself. Plus, the ‘FEK Sematary’ is a clear parody of King’sPet Sematary, which is not only indicated by the fact that the dead rise from the graves, but also by the misspelling of the word ‘cemetery’ as ‘Sematary’ - something specific to King’sPet Sematary.
This Isn’t the First Time Rick and Morty has Parodied Stephen King
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WhileRick and Morty’s latest adventure battling Concerto and his supernatural horde of the undead (including and especially Chickenskin Dogskull) had a number of Stephen King references, this story is far from the first timeRick and Mortyhas parodied King’s works. In the season 1 episode “Lawnmower Dog”, Rick and Morty ‘incept’ Morty’s math teacher, Mr. Goldenfold. When they break into his house, the duo find him asleep on his couch, and above him hangs a pin-up poster reminiscent of the one hanging above Dick Halloran’s bed inThe Shining.
In the season 2 episode “A Rickle In Time”, Rick, Morty, and Summer are being harassed by the Time Cops after Rick fractured the timeline. The Time Cops are actually a spoof of the mindless, insatiable entities of cosmic horror that consumed the past inThe Langoliers- a Stephen King television miniseries from the ‘90s. While the Time Cops were pencil-pushing bureaucrats rather than unthinking entities, the resemblance is uncanny.
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Over the years, Rick and Morty have parodied Hellraiser, Nightmare On Elm Street, The Purge, Stephen King, and countless other horror classics.
In the season 3 episode “Tales From the Citadel”, Rick and Morty follows a gang of four Mortys in a coming-of-age story that is a clear parody of Stephen King’sThe Body(akaStand By Me). Each Morty was modeled after a specific child from King’s novella, as was the coming-of-age adventure they went on together. Also in season 3 was the episode titled “Rickshank Redemption”, which detailed how Rick broke out of prison just like the main character in King’sShawshank Redemption. From the title of that episode to its storyline, the Stephen King inspiration is obvious.
Stephen King Isn’t the Only Master of Horror Rick and Morty has Parodied
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It’s clear thatRick and Mortyloves a good Stephen King reference, but King is far from the only ‘Master of Horror’Rick and Mortyhas parodied. H.P. Lovecraft has also been on the receiving end ofRick and Morty’s parodies, especially in the comic book miniseriesRick and Morty vs Cthulhu, where Rick and Morty not only take on the Great Old One itself, but a whole slew of Lovecraftian entities. Plus, every episode ofRick and Mortycontains a Lovecraftian spoof, as the opening title sequence always ends with Rick, Morty, and Summer being chased by Cthulhu.
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While it’s true that Stephen King isn’t the only horror writerRick and Mortyloves to spoof, he’s certainly received his fair-share of parodies from the Sci-Fi adventurers. And now, the series has added a couple more, asRick and Mortymeets Stephen King with a perfect parody of Cujo and Pet Sematary.
Rick and Morty: Maximum CrescendoandRick and Morty: Maximum Overtureby Oni Press is available now.
