‘Rick and Morty’ Just Had the Last Word on the Snyder/Gunn Superman Debate

Rick and Morty has never been shy of addressing pop culture in a very meta and direct way. The premiere episode of Season 6 poked fun at Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) desperate journey floating in space in the opening of Avengers: Endgame. Rick and Morty Season 1, Episode 2, “Lawnmower Dog,” borrows the central idea of Christopher Nolan‘s Inception, as they attempt to incept Morty’s math teacher in order to get him a better grade, so the two can continue their adventures. Even the Citadel of Ricks is a commentary on the multiversal conglomerate in Marvel Comics known as the Council of Reeds, featured in many Fantastic Four storylines. But on the release week of the highly anticipated Superman movie by James Gunn, the animated series addressed the “divide” among Man of Steel fans in a very hilarious way.

Rick and Morty Season 8, Episode 7, “Ricker than Fiction” featured Gunn and Zack Snyder (voiced by themselves) having a conversation about Superman in the Warner Bros. commissary. Of course, Snyder is known for ushering in a darker version of Superman with Henry Cavill, who was introduced in the 2013 film, Man of Steel. Despite the darker tone of the film, Cavill became a fan-favorite version of the Man of Tomorrow, and as the once-coined DCEU (DC Extended Universe) continued to stumble with each new project, a certain, very vocal corner of the internet became hyper-obsessed with Snyder’s vision of the wider DC narrative. While Rick and Morty compare Snyder’s agro snap necks first, ask questions later Superman, to Gunn’s colorful, Boy Scout symbol of hope, the point remains that both have room to exist, and more importantly, it’s okay to like both.

‘Rick and Morty’ Proves James Gunn Isn’t a Villain

“Ricker than Fiction” features Gunn as the main villain of the episode, as he is now the steward of the fictional Maximum Velocitree franchise, one that both Rick (Ian Cardoni) and Morty (Harry Belden) have soured on after countless sequels, much like some of the perception recently to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), with the main point of the episode being that fans always think they can craft a better story than these creatives. This has a multitude of layers, as many die-hard Snyder fans see Gunn as the bad guy who ruined the SnyderVerse as a whole. After Cavill seemingly returned as Superman to the franchise in the post-credits scene of Black Adam, fans were heartbroken to find out that was never the plan at all, as later on it was revealed the cameo was merely an attempt to garner buzz for the movie paired with a power move made by Dwayne Johnson to try and set up a cinematic showdown between the two super-powered beings. A showdown that frankly was never going to happen.

The fact of the matter is, James Gunn is not the one to blame for the fall of the DCEU or even the failed attempt at bringing Cavill back into the fold as Superman. Ever since Aquaman in 2018, no interconnected DC movie has blown the doors off at the box office. That’s nine films in a row that either did just fine or underperformed when it comes to butts in seats, not to mention many of them were not received well critically or by the general audience. DC needs a fresh start, and whether James Gunn and Peter Safran‘s new DC Studios are the keys to unlocking a bright new future for the franchise remains to be seen, but they should at least be given a fair chance to prove that they are.

Zack Snyder and James Gunn in Rick And Morty Season 8

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Certain fans think that Snyder forged a definitive version of Superman, but the beauty of comic books is that there are so many versions of the same character; there’s always a rendition of a certain character someone can latch onto. Man of Steel did do a great job ushering in the immigrant allegory Superman was forged by, but failed to exude any semblance of hope. According to many critics, including Collider’s own Ross Bonaime, James Gunn’s Superman did just that. Regardless of these innate differences, it doesn’t mean either film is inherently a wrongful interpretation of the character.

Zack Snyder Moved On, and So Should the Fans

Zack Snyder and Henry Cavill on Man of Steel — Image via WB

The Restore the SnyderVerse crowd has been very vocal about their disdain towards the new era of Superman that Gunn is trying to usher in with his new DCU, but the reality is that the universe died when Snyder unfortunately had to leave Justice League due to a family tragedy. Yes, he was able to complete his vision in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, but that story was never meant to continue, at least in the way Snyder intended. This controversy and rivalry are completely fabricated by a corner of the fan base that refuses to let go of an idea that’s been dead for years. Snyder has completely moved on. He’s made two Rebel Moon films, a legacy sequel in Army of the Dead, and even an animated series, Twilight of the Gods. There’s a new DC on the horizon, and by no means is it guaranteed to be a success. But, it should be given the opportunity to have that success.

To add more fuel to the fire that the battle between Gunn and Snyder is nonsense, the two are friends and have even collaborated on multiple projects, including Dawn of the Dead (2004) and Gunn’s first DC project, The Suicide Squad. Now, we see the two filmmakers have taken their egos completely out of the equation to make fun of themselves on an episode of Rick and Morty. Just because you loved Man of Steel doesn’t mean you need to hate David Corenswet in Superman, and vice versa. There’s more than enough room for both Man of Steel and Superman, and one project doesn’t take away from the other; they will both live on cemented in cinema forever.