Warning: Spoilers for Rick and Morty 10th Anniversary Special #1!

One of the most popular inventions from Rick and Morty was the Meeseeks Box. Simply push the button on top and get greeted by a helpful golem whose entire purpose is to do whatever you request of them. Their existence is pain, however, so they want to finish their assignment ASAP so they can disappear. This might be better than what happens if they never get called at all.

In the Rick and Morty 10th Anniversary Special #1, written by Alex Firer, with art by Fred C. Stresing, a two-page spread shows off a bunch of familiar items and references in Rick's garage workshop: an infinite Blips and Chitz token, a plumbus, and a vat of gunk referred to as “an extremely good escape plan.”

There are also a few Meeseeks Boxes. A caption points out that they’re expired and that the Meeseeks are dead inside. This dark note may explain why they so quickly become unhinged the longer they live outside their box - to be a Meeseeks is to suffer.

This Is About Mr. Meeseeks, Look At This!

The Meeseeks were introduced early in Rick and Morty season 1, with their catchphrase, “I'm Mr. Meeseeks, look at me!” becoming a lightning rod for fans in the show's early days. They've been turned into a board game, a line of Kid Robot dolls, Rainbow Six gear, a Pringles flavor, and more. Appearing and disappearing with an explosion, they are meant to only live a few hours, completing whatever they've been tasked with before popping out of existence. However, in the comics, more than a few have survived for years, becoming a problem for Rick and Morty.

Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon itted that the Meeseeks were cribbed from an Image Comics series he worked on in the mid-90s: Scud: the Disposable Assassin. In the future, assassins can be bought from vending machines, given their target, and upon completing the murder, explode.

Because the Meeseeks say their existence is pain, it's believed to be a mercy that they die almost immediately. The box seemingly creates them when the button is pushed. We now know that to be untrue, as these boxes in Rick's garage say their Meeseeks are dead inside. Not only is a Meeseeks in pain when they appear outside the box, but until they are summoned, they are tightly crammed with hundreds of others inside the box. It's a horrifying life cycle for a cheerful little character who wants to help everyone. No wonder they become supervillains.

The Meeseeks Are Dead. Long Live the Meeseeks.

If the universe is as uncaring as Rick proposes, a few dead Meeseeks don’t amount to much. However, given that they’re such fan-favorite characters with a silly way of speaking, it’s a pretty sad thing to learn. On the other hand, the overall conceit of this anniversary special is that nostalgia is a poisonous thing that keeps you from looking towards the future. As Rick turns into a Cthuloid combination of a variety of Rick variants and blasts into space, the comic says to forget the past and the Meeseeks, and start getting excited about the next 10 years of Rick and Morty.

Rick and Morty 10th Anniversary Special #1 is available now from Oni Press.