[7] Morty is known for his awkward, anxious, second-guessing, doubtful personality, and low sense of self-esteem; the character has been critically well-received.

[8] Inverse's Corey Plante commented that Morty's moral outrage is the basis of many storylines, contrasting with Rick's nihilism.

Morty sees morality at a surface level, but his interventions cause disaster and lead to him committing extreme acts of violence.

For instance, in "Mortynight Run", Morty rescues a being from assassination but is forced to kill it after discovering that it intends to destroy all carbon-based life.

Morty seems to be suffering from anxiety and is easily stressed, largely as a result of traumatic experiences during his adventures with Rick.

One of the two main protagonists of the first three volumes of the Oni Press Rick and Morty comic series, the Morty of Dimension C-132 assists Rick in using time crystals to win at the stock market in The Wubba Lubba Dub Dub of Wall Street.

In Head-Space, in a parody of Dune, following an alien invasion whose army give themselves up to Morty C-132 due to an ancient prophecy, he becomes the Morty'Dyb, the ruler of their galactic empire (based on Leto and Paul Atreides).

180 years later, Morty C-132 grows tired of his rulership and the immortality it has provided his family, as Rick (the QuasRick Haderach) leads a rebellion against him.

[20] In the comic series arc The Rickoning, in Dimension C-130 "just the next universe over from" the one Rick C-137 is currently residing in (C-131), the "Worst Morty" convinces his Rick to buy him the Hollaluog, an all-powerful impregnable armored suit and the "greatest weapon of war ever devised", using it on numerous adventures before he is kidnapped without it by Peacock Jones,[21] who kidnaps Morty and brainwashes him into attempting to kill Rick, before a bomb from the IllumiRicki drops into their garage.

[28] In September 2021, Jaeden Martell portrayed Morty Smith in a series of promotional interstitials, directed by Paul B. Cummings, alongside Christopher Lloyd as Rick Sanchez.

Morty Smith cameos in the 2021 film Space Jam: A New Legacy, restraining the Tasmanian Devil before leaving him in the hands of LeBron James and the TuneSquad.

Morty is unintelligent, skittish [...] and distressed, likely due to his traumatic experiences while venturing into new worlds with Rick.