Do we like them?

Do we like Morty Smith?

A character from Rick and Morty (2013–present)

Our score: 7 out of 10. Yes, we'd back him. He's nervous and easily pushed around, but he keeps his conscience through some very strange situations, and he's often the only one who does.

Morty is a sweet, easily flustered high-schooler in a dysfunctional suburban family. His grandfather Rick, a brilliant and irresponsible scientist, moves in with them. Rick drags Morty along on dangerous trips through space and parallel universes, for reasons that are rarely good. The show is a dark sci-fi comedy built on that mismatch between the two.

Morty starts out as the nervous sidekick, often used as cover or as an extra pair of hands. Over time he turns out to have a stronger moral compass than almost anyone around him. He's the one who asks whether an adventure is a good idea, and he feels what his actions cost other people.

He isn't a pure hero. He can be impulsive, selfish and star-struck, and he sometimes picks the easy path or gives in to Rick. He also grows from a scared kid into someone who can be brave, clever and stubborn when it matters. He loses a point for the damage he's complicit in, and he earns the rest by consistently trying to be better than his surroundings.