Summary
- Noob-Noob, a beloved side character from Rick and Morty, died in a comic book event and will never be seen again on the TV show.
- The comic book event, titled “Crisis on C-137,” takes place within the continuity of the animated series, making Noob-Noob’s death permanent.
- While deaths can be retconned in a fictional universe like Rick and Morty, it doesn’t seem likely that Noob-Noob will return for future episodes due to the tragic events of the comic.
Rick and Morty has introduced a great number of increasingly loveable and iconic side characters including Mr. Poopybutthole, Mr. Nimbus, and – of course – Birdperson. While every one of these examples could return in future Rick and Morty adventures, there’s one beloved side character from the TV show who actually died off-screen, and will sadly never be seen again: Noob-Noob.
Noob-Noob made his Rick and Morty debut in the fourth episode of season 3 titled “Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender”. In the episode, Rick and Morty are called upon by the team of superheroes tasked with the protection of the galaxy, the Vindicators. The heroes need help taking down the villainous Worldender, and since Morty really wants to, Rick answers the beacon. Before the conflict that is to come, Rick and Morty stay the night at the Vindicators’ space station base, where they meet a janitor who has dreams of one day being a cosmic super-being himself Noob-Noob. While practically no one else does, Rick takes a liking to Noob-Noob immediately, and even drunkenly slaughters the entire Vindicators’ team (minus Supernova) and plans a giant blow-out party in Noob-Noob’s name. But now, just as Noob-Noob is on the precipice of getting everything he ever wanted, he is sadly killed in battle.
Noob-Noob Died In A Rick & Morty Comic Book Event
In Rick and Morty: Crisis on C-137 by Stephanie Phillips and Ryan Lee, Supernova and the newly-appointed Vindicator, Noob-Noob, are battling Snowball (formerly Snuffles) in space above Earth. Snowball – given his inventive genius – is operating a giant dog mech-suit, one that’s equipped with a powerful laser. Supernova and Noob-Noob are the only Vindicators left to battle this threat after Rick murdered nearly all of them back in season 3, and given their lack of numbers, they didn’t stand a chance against Snowball. As Noob-Noob charged in to attack, he was hit with Snowball’s laser, and was killed instantly.
This isn’t the first time a character like Noob-Noob was killed or otherwise altered in a Rick and Morty comic book, but this instance stands out among the rest. In the past, it could always be argued that the Rick and Morty readers are seeing in the comics could be from a different universe from the one in the show – similar, but a totally new continuity. However, this comic unquestionably takes place within the continuity of the animated series, as the book is titled ‘Crisis on C-137’, a direct reference to the number assigned to the universe in which Rick and Morty (the animated series) takes place. This means that Noob-Noob – no matter how loveable he was or how much he could have added to the Vindicators team and even the wider Rick and Morty lore in general – is actually gone, with no chance of the original version of the character ever making his return to the TV show.
While this death could obviously be retconned just like any other death can be in a fictional universe like Rick and Morty, as it stands, it doesn’t seem like Noob-Noob will be brought back for any future episodes, and the tragic events of this comic explains exactly why that is.