While introduced as a joke, Mr. Nimbus puts his full power on display and proves why he is Rick's nemesis as the two foes fight a world-ending battle!

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Rick and Morty: Mr. Nimbus #1

Mr. Nimbus made his first appearance in Rick and Morty lore in the season 5 premiere “Mort Dinner Rick Andre” and was pretty quickly written off as a joke. Mr. Nimbus is the self-proclaimed King of the Ocean who has a similar backstory and powerset to Marvel’s Namor with a design that seemingly parodies the character. Nimbus is also Rick’s nemesis, and no one in Rick’s life can believe that to be the case. Since Rick is an interdimensional being who has toppled empires, fought God, and rage murdered infinite versions of himself, it is hard to believe that his number one arch foe is an oversexualized ripoff of Namor. However, in the latest appearance by Mr. Nimbus, it becomes clear that he is worthy of being Rick’s arch enemy, and is way more powerful than fans realize. 

In Rick and Morty: Mr. Nimbus #1 written by Alex Firer with art by Ryan Lee and Doug Garbark, fans are pulled into a future Earth set in the year 5,000,000 where Rick and Nimbus prepare for their final fight! Rick has kept himself alive using whacky, yet strangely horrific, sci-fi tech and Nimbus presumably never ages. The two titans tear Earth to smithereens in their battle, a feat fans knew Rick could accomplish and something only briefly seen by Mr. Nimbus when he rescued the Smith family from Narnia world in the season 5 premiere. In this issue, the raw power of both men, especially Mr. Nimbus is on full display as he uses the power to control the ocean to bring Rick and all human life to their knees. 

While the comic one-shot shows how Mr. Nimbus is more than just a Rick and Morty comedy bit and confirmed him to be a legitimate world-ending threat, the issue also shows why it became necessary for Rick and Nimbus’ rivalry to have such an explosive ending, and who was to blame. When the two first met, Rick didn’t know if he could trust Nimbus even though the King of the Ocean gave him every reason to and treated Rick with the utmost respect. Eventually, Rick accepted that he could be friends with Nimbus, but only if he knew he could trust him. For Rick, this meant he had to travel to different dimensions and kill Nimbus in each one to prove that he could do the same to his Nimbus if necessary. 

Once Nimbus found out about Rick’s multiversal genocide of alternate versions of him, the rivalry began between the two friends-turned-foes. However, in their final world-ending fight, the two get a chance at infinitely new possibilities. In their battle, Rick’s portal gun explodes and the fluid spills into the ocean, creating a whirlpool of the substance that Rick and Nimbus are swept into, opening up entirely new possibilities for their relationship. In one created reality Nimbus and Rick are one person named Rickbus; in another they are parents to Morty; and one reality exists where they are cows. One similarity between all of the alternate realities is they are friends, a cosmic possibility that just may have to take hold for the fate of the world. 

While fans are given the answers to how Rick and Mr. Nimbus met as well as the explosive end to their established rivalry, one aspect to Nimbus remains very much a mystery: how he controls the police. In the Rick and Morty television series, Mr. Nimbus controls the police, and any explanation to that phenomenon is just a repeated phrase stating that he controls the police. The comic makes no attempt to delve into that aspect of Nimbus’ power further, but instead takes a hard look at the relationship between Rick and Nimbus while also giving fans an action-packed spectacle of a story that reveals Mr. Nimbus is way more powerful than Rick and Morty fans realize.

Next: Simpsons Fan Comic SPRINGFIGHT! is Manga-Style Fighting Tournament