Summer Smith

Summer Smith is one of the main characters of the American animated television series Rick and Morty. Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon and voiced by Spencer Grammer, Summer is a conventional and often superficial 17-year-old teenager, who is obsessed with improving her social status among her peers.[2] Known for her smart and humorous personality and for her high dexterity, the character has been well-received. She is the well-meaning and intelligent older sister of Morty Smith, the daughter of Jerry and Beth Smith, the granddaughter of mad scientist Rick Sanchez, and mother-aunt of Naruto Smith.

Not to be confused with Summer A. Smith or Sum Sum.
Summer Smith
Rick and Morty character
A teenage girl wearing a pink T-shirt and white pants. She is smiling and has her arms crossed.
Summer Smith, as depicted in Rick and Morty.
First appearance
Last appearanceSummer Prime:
"Look Who's Cronenberging Now" (2018)
Created byJustin Roiland
Dan Harmon
Designed byJustin Roiland
Voiced bySpencer Grammer
In-universe information
Full nameSummer Smith
AliasMs. Die Hard
NicknameSum-Sum
SpeciesHuman
OccupationStudent
Assistant to Lucius Needful
Empress of Glorzo
AffiliationDeath Stalkers
WeaponWolverine claws
Family
SpouseHemorrhage (ex-husband)
Significant othersEthan (ex-boyfriend)
Christina LaCroix (ex-girlfriend)
ChildrenNaruto Smith (son-nephew)
Summer Smith Jr. (adoptive stepdaughter)
RelativesMortimer Smith Jr. (nephew)
Thoolie Smith (nephew)
NationalityHispanic-American[1]
Age17

Following Rick and Morty abandoning their original reality in the first season episode "Rick Potion #9", a new Summer identical to the original is introduced, Summer C-131; the original Summer Prime is shown in a now post-apocalyptic wasteland with her parents in the third season episode "The Rickshank Rickdemption", before dying in the Rick and Morty comic series (later referenced in the sixth season premiere "Solaricks"), the latter of which additionally establishes Summer to be pansexual, a character trait later incorporated into their television series depiction.[3] The character also serves as the protagonist of the 2016 miniseries Lil' Poopy Superstar, exploring her adventures after the events of the second season episode "Total Rickall".[4]

Biography

Summer is 17 years old and is a student at Harry Herpson High School along with her younger brother Morty. She occasionally expresses jealousy that Morty gets to accompany Rick on his inter-dimensional adventures, whom she sees as a hero, though he is often contemptuous and dismissive of her teenaged life perspective and values. As the series progresses, Summer begins accompanying Rick and Morty on their adventures and is trusted with restoring their memories in the scenario of the pair being rendered amnesiac.[5]

Development

Addressing the character's "gradual" evolution from side character to main character over the course of the series and Dan Harmon's attribution of her vocal performance to the character's increased role in an interview with Looper, Summer Smith voice actress Spencer Grammer stated that:[6]

"I maybe wasn't necessarily aware that I was having that kind of an influence at all [on the character], but I love voicing Summer and I love acting. So it's really lovely when you do something that you love and other people can find inspiration from that too."

Reception

The character has received positive reception. The Mary Sue praised Summer as "the most interesting female character to ever appear on Adult Swim [and] a great example of powerful, funny feminine youth."[7] The A.V. Club praised "[how] Summer develop[s] from the fun, quippy side character to a notably more active participant in the intergalactic shenanigans and a strong thinker" over the course of the series, stating that "what makes her so fascinating is that some of the things that would be vilified in other young female characters often make her the smartest person in the room. The fact that she’s concerned about being social and popularity makes her the most personable. She tends to have a better understanding of how people work than anybody else."[8] Inverse declared that "Without a doubt, Summer is the most relatable character on Rick and Morty",[9] while SyFy described her as a better main character than their brother Morty, praising her increased role in the series as it goes on.[10]

VerbStomp described Summer as "[one] of those girls in high school everyone hated, but simultaneously tried to be [and] primarily concerned with increasing her status amongst her peers, and [classmates] — she’s a necessary trope that adds to the dynamic of the Smith family."[11]

Family tree
Smith–Sanchez family tree
JacobJoyce Smith[n 1]Leonard SmithDiane SanchezRick Sanchez[n 2]Princess Poñeta[n 3]Gaia[n 4]Reggie[n 4]
Jerry Smith[n 1][n 5]Beth Smith[n 1][n 6]Space Beth[n 6]CHUD Heir[n 3]
Hemorrhage[n 7][n 8]Summer Smith[n 1][n 7]Morty SmithGwendolyn[n 9]President MortyThe Ricklets[n 4]
Summer Smith Jr.[n 8]Naruto Smith[n 10]Mortimer Smith Jr.[n 9]
Notes:
  1. In the 2014 first season episode "Rick Potion #9", the original Prime Smith family are abandoned by Rick and Morty, who move to another reality with identical alternate-universe versions (where they themselves have just died) after the previous one was "Cronenberged" by Rick. The Prime Smith family return in the 2017 third season premiere "The Rickshank Rickdemption" and 2018 comic arc "Look Who's Cronenberging Now", left to freeze by Morty in the former, with Summer Prime dying in the latter, before Beth Prime is apparently revealed to have also since died in the 2022 sixth season premiere "Solaricks", and Jerry Prime is murdered by Rick Prime in the episode's post-credits scene.
  2. Rick Sanchez's wife and daughter from his original reality, Diane and Beth Sanchez, are murdered thirty years before the events of the series, by an alternate reality version of Rick known as Rick Prime, whose living family (of which Beth was abandoned by Rick Prime when she was 14-years-old, before marrying her high school boyfriend Jerry Smith at 17 after becoming pregnant with Summer Smith) Rick moves in with himself one year prior to the events of the series.
  3. In the 2021 fifth season episode "Rickdependence Spray", Rick Sanchez learns that his brief affair with the humanoid horse Princess Poñeta of the CHUD (Cannibalistic Horse Underground Dwellers) resulted in her becoming pregnant with the CHUD heir, their son, whom he is prepared to raise prior to learning that the CHUD raise themselves (immediately after his son is born at the end of the episode, and immediately digs down into the CHUD's underground society).
  4. In the 2020 fourth season episode "Childrick of Mort", Rick Sanchez's ex-girlfriend, a living planet named Gaia, tricks him, Rick's parallel universe daughter Beth Smith and son-in-law Jerry Smith into raising her offspring into a civilisation by claiming that Rick is the father of her "Ricklets", before the family learn the actual father of the Ricklets to be Reggie, a thunder god and "Zeus", who then duels Rick before being accidentally killed by Morty and Summer Smith.
  5. In the 2022 sixth season premiere "Solaricks", Jerry Smith is confirmed to have been accidentally switched with another Jerry in the 2013 second season episode "Mortynight Run", with the previous Season Two Jerry subsequently accidentally killing himself and destroying the Earth at the conclusion of the episode, forcing the Smith family to find a new replacement dimension (just as Rick and Morty had previously done in the 2014 first season episode "Rick Potion #9").
  6. In the 2020 fourth season finale "Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri", Beth Smith is confirmed to have been cloned in the 2017 third season finale "The ABC's of Beth", with one Beth remaining on Earth with the Smith family, and the other going off adventuring in space, becoming known as Space Beth, with no one knowing which Beth the clone and which is the original. In the 2022 sixth season episode "Bethic Twinstinct", Beth, Jerry, and Space Beth establish a throuple.
  7. In the 2017 third season episode "Rickmancing the Stone", Hemorrhage and Summer Smith get married in the former's home dimension, before the latter abandons the former for her own home dimension.
  8. In the 2021 comic series arc Rick and Morty Presents: Death Stalkers, Hemorrhage adopts a mutant baby as his daughter, whom he names "Summer Junior" after his estranged wife after making peace with her.
  9. In the 2014 first season episode "Raising Gazorpazorp", Morty Smith's use of Gwendolyn, a sex robot with a built-in "baby maker" (of which he was unaware of while using) results in an alien Gazorpazorp hybrid being born of it, whom Morty subsequently names "Morty Junior", who matures to adulthood in days and ultimately goes by the longer "Mortimer Smith, Jr.", becoming a successful author with his pseudo-autobiographical best-selling book, My (Horrible) Father.
  10. In the 2021 fourth season episode "Rickdependence Spray", a well-meaning attempt by the President to lure a group of giant sperm monsters (led by the Sperm Queen) into space using an enlarged egg of Summer Smith (unaware before donating that the creatures had originated from Morty Smith unwittingly sabotaging an experiment of Rick Sanchez's) results in the creation of a "giant incest baby", whom Summer later names Naruto in "Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion".

References
  1. Audio commentary — "Auto Erotic Assimilation"
  2. "Summer Smith". comicvine.gamespot.com. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  3. Venable, Nick (27 May 2020). "Rick and Morty Star Shares Thoughts on Character's Sexuality Flip in Comic Storyline". CinemaBlend. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  4. Nevin, Will (February 10, 2017). "Steering the good ship S.S. 'Rick and Morty' through comic waters: Oni Press Managing Editor Ari Yarwood on two years, 20-plus issues of sci-fi insanity". The Oregonian. Retrieved February 10, 2017. The two miniseries we've done so far have been a fun way to experiment, too. Sarah Graley's cartooning in "Lil' Poopy Superstar" is definitely different from the TV show, but it's so charming and fun, and she wrote a great story about Summer and Mr. Poopybutthole having an adventure together.
  5. Audio commentary — "Morty's Mind Blowers"
  6. Venable, Nick (19 November 2020). "How Rick And Morty's Summer Changed Because Of Spencer Grammer — Exclusive". Looper. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  7. Gaudette, Emily (24 November 2015). "Why Rick and Morty's Summer Smith Is Adult Swim's Best Female Character Yet". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  8. Miller, Shannon (7 December 2019). "Rick And Morty's Spencer Grammer on voicing the most functional member of the Smith clan". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  9. Plante, Corey (26 February 2020). "Spencer Grammer Reflects On The Wild Ride to Rick And Morty Season 4 and Beyond". Inverse. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  10. Elison, Meg (19 October 2017). "Why Rick And Morty's Summer is a Better Companion for Rick". SyFy. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  11. Martineau, Maxym (November 10, 2015). "That's Deep: The Characters of Rick and Morty". VerbStomp. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
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