Rick and Morty, the animated sci-fi comedy series, has become exceedingly popular. It has won an Emmy, merchandise for the show can be seen in just about every store, and it has even been a question on Jeopardy! This is all for good reason as the series is witty, hilarious, action-packed, well-written, extremely quotable, and has interesting characters. One of the best and often-overlooked elements of the show is its incredible antagonists.

There are some great villains seen throughout Rick and Morty like Zeep Xanflorp, Supernova, Evil Morty, Tammy, Lucius Needful, the Gromflomites and their Galactic Federation, and many more. However, most of them have only been around for an episode or two. Some, like in Concerto’s case, are only there for a single scene. Others, like Evil Morty, are lucky enough to appear every once in a while. Each of these antagonists have a lot of potential, and perhaps the showrunners should be doing more with them.

Many of Rick’s enemies are humorous, dastardly, and overall fun to watch. What makes them really interesting, though, are their motives and how they relate back to Rick. For instance, the Vindicators were heroes who helped people throughout the galaxy. Due to Rick’s narcissism and need to be the one who is always “the best,” most of them are dead, causing Supernova to kill her former lover and desire violence and revenge. The Galactic Federation set up a government that helps everyone get jobs and upholds peace between countless planets, but they also want to use Rick’s advanced technology to gain more power than they should have. Rick creates the technology that allows Snowball and the other dogs take over their planet just to prove a point to Jerry. Most of these villains represent Rick’s past mistakes coming back to haunt him and reflect his personal flaws.

One can easily see these evil-doers making their return and being used for more in the future, as many of them make their escape or tease a diabolical plan by the end of the episode. Tammy reveals that she has revived Bird Person as an evil Phoenix Person during an after-credits scene. Supernova slips through a crowd of people and gets away with a heart filled with vengeance. Evil Morty has manipulated his way to the top to be elected President of the Citadel of Ricks after the Council of Ricks’ downfall. The writers have set things up really well for much more story. They appear to be building up to something great with each of them.

There is a lot of story to be had with these characters. It would not be the least bit surprising to see more of whoever that Concerto character was at the end of the Pickle Rick episode, or to see Zeep or Supernova return to seek out their revenge. It’s probably safe to assume that we haven’t seen the last of the Galactic Federation since they have been set up to be one of the primary antagonists for Rick. Tammy can be looped in with that same idea since it was revealed she’s working with them. Many fans would love to see what comes next now that Evil Morty is running the Citadel. A villain team-up could be a lot of fun to see later on in the series, allowing Rick to further see the amount of destruction or chaos he has caused.

Seeing Rick’s enemies return would make for some great story arcs for Rick. We can see how he overcomes these foes, and in result, how he overcomes his past mistakes. It would further his growth as a character.

The unfortunate thing is, there’s no telling if these villains are something Dan Harmon, Justin Roiland, and the rest of the Rick and Morty team will actually revisit. They do like to mess with their fans, so much of this could be nothing more than just that. Looking at the evidence in the show, especially the brilliant yet gradual build up Evil Morty has had, it’s safe to assume that they do have some sort of plan to bring these baddies back.

Seeing Rick’s many foes return for more than just their single episodes would be exciting to see. Most fans would love to see what can be added to the story by doing so and how Rick could overcome these threats. It would allow the viewers to see Rick come face to face with his own flaws and the pain and destruction he has caused. It would allow for some great character development. Many Rick and Morty fans often neglect some of the series’ villains, but they shouldn’t. These antagonists have so much untapped potential and it would be exciting to see them make their return. That being said, I think we all know the truth that the true villain of Rick and Morty is Rick.