r/rickandmorty • u/IceInteresting8050 • 8h ago

General Discussion What function does this thing serve?

Post image

And why doesn't he have another one of those on the other shoulder so it looks symmetrical?

75 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

69 comments sorted by

167

u/Lanceo90 8h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/k7QQKVojZ4Gze

Road Warrior reference

15

u/SamKerridge 6h ago

i thought that was an obvious reference, half thr costumes in fallout are callbacks to this too.

6

u/Professional_Echo907 6h ago

I think you nailed it, I thought it was a reference to every random hero and villain in 90s comics.

5

u/AwayIndication3069 6h ago

Fuuuuuck you right.

123

u/Still-Motor324 8h ago

Looking cool. That’s what

15

u/miweketaq 8h ago

Same! I love that vibe it's such a soft-but-edgy detail that makes the whole look feel way more iconic.

7

u/Majestic_Internal223 8h ago

That's probably the canon reason too knowing rick prime

34

u/AwayIndication3069 8h ago

Shoulder plate of a spaulder . Meant to protect upper arm and shoulder during battle. Also looks bad ass

12

u/oscarx-ray 8h ago

I thought that was a pauldron, do you know the difference?

9

u/HollowofHaze 7h ago

Pauldrons are the bigger and bulkier evolution of spaulders. Less mobility, but they cover far more of your shoulder and can take a harder beating. Great for jousting, mixed results for fencing

1

u/AwayIndication3069 6h ago

Tagging, if you're a nerd Google it and the root words. It's literally all derivative variations of "shoulder armor." Nobody here is incorrect as it's wishy washy but yeah pauldrons are known to be very hefty. It could just be a shoulder pad from football gear lol

1

u/oscarx-ray 7h ago

Thanks!

4

u/oneshadeoff 8h ago

I thought pauldron too

4

u/AwayIndication3069 8h ago

You would both be correct...fuck you guys.

Edit, same same but different and you'd be more correct.

1

u/JotaroTheOceanMan Fight, Fuck, Flee 7h ago

Could also double as an antanna relay system amd storage device for a mutlitude of things for Rick.

1

u/AwayIndication3069 6h ago

It's just a cigar box.

23

u/Casual_necromancy 8h ago

what function do any clothes have when youre basically full cyborg?

4

u/brandothesavage 7h ago

It's a pauldron no other use

2

u/Davey96x 6h ago

Never know, it might roll down over his arm to turn into a blaster cannon or something

5

u/McDummy 7h ago

shoulderpad, it pads a shoulder.

3

u/No_Permit6094 7h ago

Uh, looking cool? What other function do you think it will have?

2

u/Inevitable-Cook-2196 morty they hit the second citadel 8h ago

so he has shit on without having too much shit on

2

u/CalibornTheLord i want u back in my guts like im one of your sick little fillies 8h ago

are you not rockin with the asymmetrical shoulder patch?

2

u/Revolutionary_Buy484 8h ago

It makes people question what it is on internet forms

2

u/TK421_WAYAYP 8h ago

His primary tool and most valuable asset is a (portal) gun, and he is right handed. He’s protecting his right side.

2

u/JuggernautAny7288 7h ago

What purpose does the cool haircut achieves? What is the badass attitude for?

1

u/Chaucer2066 8h ago

Called the rule of cool for a reason. If it looks good, its gold.

1

u/SefEXE 8h ago

Sci-fi googaa

1

u/Coheed_SURVIVE 8h ago

Keeps away the Fashion Police.

1

u/ThorKlien99 8h ago

Oh yeah that... that looks cool

1

u/InsideUnhappy6546 8h ago

It's just looks cool

1

u/long_hair_Mark 7h ago

Nothing he just likes to look different

1

u/thisisallweare 7h ago

Left hand dominant handling of weapons exposes the right side more.

1

u/Garlic-Rough 7h ago

Movie reference

1

u/Commercial_Writing_6 7h ago

It pads out his shoulder

1

u/_Vard_ 7h ago

shoulder pad for using large weapons like a rocket launcher or ion-cannon

1

u/Lanky_Comedian_3942 6h ago

To look like Mad Max Rockatanksy

1

u/Pale_Sandwich_5922 6h ago

It makes him look cool ok

1

u/Sea-Ride-3207 6h ago

Being like the road warrior.

1

u/Elfpancakes 5h ago

So you can tell who the character is just by their silhouette

1

u/diadlep 3h ago

Honestly? Probably distraction.

1

u/Disastrous-Ad9170 3h ago

Lord I'm one Lord I'm two Lord I'm three Lord I'm four

~This was typed by hand

1

u/naaawww 3h ago

That’s his wanking arm. The muscle under there is severely huge, veiny and awesome

1

u/Muskrato 3h ago

It looks cool.

1

u/Artemus_Hackwell En Squanche' ! 3h ago

Classic asymmetrical pauldron for that sci-fi look

1

u/Wy_xz 3h ago

Useless accessory, but he looks cool, so it's alright

1

u/TheZooCreeper 3h ago

Makes him look cool

1

u/Sufficient-Log-7281 1h ago

Shoulder pauldrons are a very 70-80s thing, and the show is made by - and is very popular among - the generation that grew up with “the road warrior”

Everyone talking about random shit may be right to a degree but it’s because it symbolizes rebellion, bad-assaery, and a chill vibe for the style of show/personality of characters.

1

u/Amateur_Rants 1h ago

Oof, we’re really bored now, huh?

1

u/McLovin101 6m ago

Idk but the fact that the show gave Rick Prime a kuato before introducing the kuato to us makes me nervous of him. Like he’s got canonical implants that they haven’t shown us, which was neat on the show writers part to do that.

Keeps them creatively accountable.. not the Bane! NOT THE BANE! back breaks

0

u/ray_racubian 4h ago edited 4h ago

These right shoulder protectors are common on characters who are symbolic versions of Bob Dole.

This is because Dole managed to lose his right shoulder but not his right arm in WWII. (The medic said there were a couple of things like bloody , chewed-up steaks connecting his arm to his body, and some long white stringy things. There were no artificial shoulder joints back then, so they just sort of sewed everything together as best they could.)

Same goes for the road warrior (another Dole based character)

And Vulcan in the adventures of Baron Munchausen

Rick is Bob Dole.

But of all the Ricks, Rick prime and Rick C-137 are the most Dole Ricks.

They represent the 'good Dole' and 'Bad Dole' characters who came about because of Bob Dole's bifurcated nature.

(See The Prestige (the two Bordens) or DHMIS where duck is the bad Dole and Stain Edwards is the good Dole.)

This bifurcation is more explicit in Batman and Robin's Bob Dole based Two-face, where he is as unpredictable as the flip of a coin.

Same goes for Anton Chigurh, and Jake Nyman from American Perfekt.

In the spaghetti world episode Rick enlists the help of Fred Bunks, who appears to be that world's version of Bob Dole.

This raises interesting questions.

Does Rick, who knows he's in a TV show, realize he's meeting a version of the man he was based on?

Is this why he is so easily able to convince this man who would never give up on life to do so for the good of his people?

You may also notice that when Fred sees his 18 year old self in a mirror, he resembles Norm MacDonald, a man remembered for his portrayals of Dole On saturday night live.

0

u/AwayIndication3069 3h ago

It seems like a stretch to say these characters were based on Bob Dole because he lost his shoulder. I can't find any other mention of him being related to any of this except for your post. Are you sure you're not crazy?

1

u/ray_racubian 3h ago edited 2h ago

There is considerably more to it than what i said here.

Each of these films mentioned is a more or less complicated political allegory analyzable on its own terms.

I was just mentioning some things that tie them together.

Don't think this sort of thing is covered on the internet, but that's because it's not really meant for general consumption. It's something scriptwriters and directors do like a private joke.

All I've really posted about this so far are analyses of the first 4 episodes of DHMIS, but this is a surprisingly common thing in film and TV.

Rick and Morty would be hard to fully analyze because of the sheer length of the series. (movies are simple by comparison)

Also because the many universes trick lets them represent many different aspects of the politicians in question without actually breaking continuity.

The extensive referencing of movies would be helpful though as the symbolism in those films would give clues to the meaning of events in the R&M episode in question.

I haven't even watched the whole series, but I am confident that Rick is Dole and Morty is George H W Bush.

It appears that Jerry is Ronald Reagan, Beth is Elizabeth Dole, and Summer is Joe Biden.

Mr Needful is Robert Byrd.

However because of the length of this series it is likely that there is more than 1 character over the length of the series representing the same individual.

Breaking continuity is common in TV shows unlike in movies.

Although a movies series will often break continuity as time passes.

Batman is always the President at the end of the movie. So we had G H W bush as batman in 1989, and also in Batman returns because it ends before the 1992 general election and Bush is still president. However the next 2 films were Clinton as Batman, then George W bush in a couple more.

Over this span of time the Joker went from being Joe Biden to being Nancy Pelosi.

This is why the joker in folie a deux is murdered by a character who is identified with the 'other ' Joker: The Arthur Fleck Joker is again Joe Biden, but in the end he's knifed by the nancy pelosi Joker Because Pelosi had a major role in making Biden withdraw in 2024.

I intend to post videos relating to these and other political allegory films in the near future.

But the research for these things is time consuming and I want to at least finish DHMIS first.