The Simpsons
WhileRick and Morty’sAvengersparody did have the same name asThe Simpsons’spoof of the MCU movies , this was n’t a face of plagiarism by the older series . The Simpsonshas playfully accused other shows of rive off its storylines and characters occasionally . The Divine ofSouth Parkhave even acknowledged their creative debt to the serial on numerous occasions . As such , viewer ofRick and Mortymight reasonably have been surprised to see a lampoon ofThe Avengersnamed " the Vindicators"inThe Simpsonsseason 31 , episode 14 , “ Bart the Bad Guy . ”The Simpsonsfeatured a parody ofThe Avengerscalled " the Vindicators " in 2019 , 2 years afterRick and Mortyparodied the same MCU property with a superhero squad of the same name . This could have seemed like a coincidence or ameta - joke byThe Simpsonscreators . However , producer Matt Selman take to Twitter to clarify that not only was the name no accident , but it also was n’t a case of plagiarisation . Rather , Selman had written a superhero spoof by that name back in 1996 , and it wasRick and Mortythat had accidentally used the same deed of conveyance for their charade . Related : The Simpsons Season 34 Successfully Swapped Bart & Lisa ’s Roles
The Simpsons & Rick And Morty’s MCU Parodies Are Way Different
While they divvy up the same name , that was where the similarities betweenRick and Morty ’s version of The Vindicators andThe Simpsons ’ spoof of the MCU superhero team destruction . SinceRick and Morty ’s pilot , the show has been dedicated to mocking genre conventions and sci - fi tropes , so the Vindicators visual aspect ( and later spinoff ) was an elaborated subversion of the superhero team premise that exposed its phallus as a toxic , feuding mess . The Simpsonswent for a more straightforward " name changed , everything else keep " parody ofThe Avengers . The Simpsonsepisode mocked the approximation of spoilers and fan culture more broadly , whileRick and Mortyspecifically spoof superhero teams themselves .
In short , Rick and Morty time of year 3 , episode 4 , Vindicators 3 : The Return of Worldender , ” was focused on parodying superhero tarradiddle , whereasThe Simpsonsepisode was more concerned in satirise how viewers engage with them in the real populace . This fits the modus operandi of both shows sinceThe Simpsonsis a ( more or less ) more grounded family sitcom , andRick and Mortyis , first and foremost , a caustic remark of the sci - fi musical genre . However , there is aweird canon connexion betweenThe Simpsons’Vindicators andRick and Morty ’s parodic take on superhero teams .
Rick And Morty’s MCU Parody Has An Ironic Simpsons Link
Selman noted in his Twitter yarn that his pilot episode for The apologist was " about a team of superheroes with real - life job . ” This vanity is snug toRick and Morty ’s translation of the Vindicators than the one seen onThe Simpsons , so it could have animate the episode . The matter is , the pilot never send , so the writer ofRick and Mortycouldn’t have known about Selman ’s proposed satiric story of a mismatched superhero squad name The Vindicators when they wrote a strikingly similar secret plan . As such , The SimpsonsandRick and Morty ’s sharedAvengersparody can only be a flakey case of parallel cerebration .
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