'Rick and Morty' Reveals the Badass Origin Story for Fan-Favorite Character
Krombopulos Michael was truly one of the good ones.
The latest Rick and Morty comic details the entire life of the fun-loving Gromflomite assassin known as Krombopulos Michael. For many fans, K-Michael (as I sometimes call him), is one of the most beloved side characters from the show. If you’ve ever wondered how the cheery killer got his start in the assassination business, then the Rick and Morty #34 comic is here for you.
Oh boy, here you go reading Rick and Morty comics again!
Spoilers follow for Rick and Morty #34.
Released on Wednesday, “The Life and Death of Krombopulos Michael” opens up on during one of the assassin’s earliest missions and follows him right until his death in “Mortynight Run.” We even get an explanation for why he’s called “Krombopulos Michael.” As it turns out, it unfolded just like every instance of working with two people of the same name ever. Michael’s hometown is “Krombopulos,” so his boss just slaps it onto his name rather than the other Michael, who’s got a fuzzy butt face.
"Butt-Face Michael" probably would have made more sense.
The scene could have been pulled right out of your own office that probably has more than one Michael — or something similar to one of the best Scrubs jokes ever. Except, you know, among a group of interspecies assassins.
This being a lengthier origin story for the Gromflomite assassin, you have to wonder: Is there anything more to Krombopulos Michael than his love of killing?
There is, but there isn’t much.
Under the guise of exploring Krombopulos Michael’s origins, Rick and Morty #34 delivers the “I just love killin’!” joke over and over again in different contexts. K-Michael doesn’t share killing, doesn’t have a girlfriend because he loves only Mistress Murder, he only worships at the altar of death, etc.
You might think the redundancy would get a bit draining by the end, but it really doesn’t, especially when the story mixes in some dramatic gravitas to complicate things and dabbles in Rick’s personal history too.
We even get to see Rick, Birdperson, and Squanchy back in the day when they were still a band called “The Flesh Curtains.”
Over the years — much like we saw in “Mortynight Run” — Rick provides K-Michael with all sorts of impossible weapons that allow him to take out targets, even a Cromulon.
One particular Cromulon will never ask for what anybody's got ever again.
Inevitably, actual love does hit Krombopulos Michael like a poison-tipped barbed arrow through the heart, which only serves to complicate his death during “Mortynight Run.” He’s got a wife back home that’s not too happy about his death.
Could her quest for vengeance lead to a new storyline in Season 4? We hope so, even if comics rarely influence the plots of TV shows.
Rick and Morty #34 is available now from Oni Press.
Check out our video about the origins of Evil Morty, one of the greatest villains in Rick and Morty:
