The Venture Bros./Characters: Difference between revisions

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== ''Team Venture'' ==

=== Dr. Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture ===

 

 

Overshadowed by his famous-scientist father, Dr. Venture spends most of his time dreaming up ways to make money with his inventions. Abrasive and selfish, he pays very little attention to his sons and depends heavily on the bulky Brock Samson.

* [[Brilliant but Lazy]]: Rusty is a pretty capable inventor and a competent scientist by himself but due to a mix of his Freudian Excuses and the fact that he's motivated solely by profit means that he usually doesn't do any more than bare minimum with his work.

* [[Bungling Inventor]]

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]

* [[Double Standard]]: His [[The Unfavorite|treatment towards Hank]] is quite messed up considering he suffers from a massive [[The Resenter|Inferiority Complex]] towards his brother and suffers a major case of [["Well Done, Son" Guy]].

* [[Mr. Fanservice]]: Has a bit of this with the Fandom apparently, who see him as partly [[Tall, Dark and Snarky]] and [[The Woobie]].

* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]

* [[For Science!]]

* [[Former Child Star]]: The super-scientist equivalent. Even his biggest fan, Billy, says that he peaked too early, being an amazing sidekick but a failed scientist. Still, it seems that he's better off than some of his other colleagues.

* [[Freudian Excuse]]: The things he's seen in his childhood and neglect from his father would make any sane person do a lot of questionable actions.

* [[Hilariously Abusive Childhood]]

* [[Heel Realization]]: When Dr. Killinger tried to make him into a villain, he was quite horrified that he's just that evil (which Brock himself is unable to fully disagree with).

* [[Informed Ability]]: Something of an inversion, actually. While we're constantly told what a failure he is, he does invent many quite impressive devices, that often fail for circumstances that were not his fault (or, if they were his fault, related only to his arrogance, and not his lack of talent).

* [[Jerkass]]: To borrow a quote from [[Order of the Stick]], Dr Venture is firmly rooted at the centre of his own personal universe. It's incredibly rare for him to demonstrate any interest in the feelings or needs of anybody who isn't him.

** Although when you consider how terrible his life is, you can argue he's gotten away with nothing.

* [[Morality Pet]]: Dean in season four, but Doc keeps up his [[Jerkass]] quotient by being even meaner to Hank.

* [[Politically-Incorrect Villain|Politically Incorrect Villain Protagonist]]: He's pretty blatantly racist, which fits in with the interpretation of him as a [[Villain Protagonist]]. Clips of him saying naively racist things as a child can be marked down as [[Values Dissonance]]. Oh, and he tried to find a way to eliminate the "gay gene."

* [[Punny Name]]: Doctor Venture's full name is Thaddeus Venture. Thad Venture. [[Rule of Three|thAd venture.]]

* [[Villain Protagonist]]: To some degree.

* [["Well Done, Son" Guy]]: He still craves his long-dead father's approval. He's gotten better about it in later seasons and is still much better off than other child adventurers.

* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: He gets these a lot, almost to the point where it may no longer apply because there's little point in invoking this trope against a full-out villain. He's been getting slightly better.

"All you Nazis ever want is to clone Hitler!" }}

 

=== The Venture Brothers ===

 

Hank and Dean are the eponymous twin brothers of the series, as the the sons of Dr. Venture. {{spoiler|Dermott Fictel is also Dr. Venture's son, and is Hank and Dean's half-brother.}}

The following tropes apply to both of the twins:

* [[The All-American Boy]]: At least initially.

* [[Gosh Dang It to Heck]]: Hank gradually dropped this, while Dean clings to it. {{spoiler|Dean became decidedly less shy about cursing at the very end of "Operation: P.R.O.M."}}

* [[Locked Out of the Loop]]: {{spoiler|They are unaware of being clones;}} when they eventually did see them, Dr. Venture told them the {{spoiler|clones}} were going to be Christmas presents.

 

==== Dean Venture ====

The "aww shucks" boy from down the street, Dean is a good-natured youngster who always thinks of others before himself, a trait that has earned him repeated scorn from his brother Hank. Though not the sharpest bowling ball of the bunch, he's always keen to go on another adventure. While he's physically pathetic, he shows promise as a super-scientist.

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* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]

* [[Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick]]: He will sometimes reveal uncomfortable tidbits about his own father issues in the middle of innocent conversations.

** Then again, he could be referring to 24's dreams (who also seems to have intense daddy issues). One that is certainly one is while first talking to Triana, he eventually brings up that he goes to school in his bed "It gets very hot in the box... that my pop made."

* [[Cannot Spit It Out]]: Two examples one straight and one non-romantic:

* [[Follow in My Footsteps]]: Dr.Venture wants Dean to become a super scientist, but Dean has realized that he'd rather be a [[Boy Reporter]] instead.

* [[Future Loser]]: According to Orpheus' Master, this is Dean's fate if he ends up with Triana.

* [[Hopeless Suitor]]: Apparently, to Triana.

** Especially after she gets a boyfriend.

* [[Limited Wardrobe]]: Defied in season three, when he starts to wear a Venture Blue speedsuit.

* [[The Load]]: It is debatable whether he or Hank is the most useless member of the main cast.

* [[Ping-Pong Naivete]]: Mostly about sex.

* [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]: The blue to Hank's red.

* [[Squishy Wizard]]

 

==== Henry Alan "Hank" Venture ====

Hank often dominates his more timid brother Dean, even though at heart he is just as naive. He dotes on Brock and perhaps could be called the more "realistic" of the two brothers. [[Batman|He is the Bat.]]

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Tropes associated with Hank:

* [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]]:In "Pomp and Circuitry". When Hunter tries throwing every crazy trap he can come up with to kill or scare him off, Hank actually uses every last bit of boy adventurer training to pass every test.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Along with the jacket, Hank seems to have inherited this from Brock.

* [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]: The red to Dean's blue.

* [[Paper-Thin Disguise]]: In "Showdown at Cremation Creek".

** He tries it three times - it works on Sgt. Hatred and Brock, amazingly.

* [[Precision F-Strike]]: Drops one after meeting Triana's boyfriend just to show Brock that "The New Hank cusses."

* [[Shout-Out]]: His outfit is identical to Fred's from ''[[Scooby Doo]].''

* [[Talking to Himself]]: Literally, at one point, when he makes a quick recording on his watch to describe his first time, before getting his memory wiped. Turns out he knows himself exceedingly well.

* [[Too Dumb to Live]]: Even aside from this being {{spoiler|literally true}}, Hank is far too willing to leap into danger despite his pathetic fighting skills. The creators even specifically note that as the series progressed they developed Hank into an idiot with no sense of danger.

* [[The Unfavorite]]: Dr. Venture verbally abuses Hank more and more as the series goes on, due to Hank's oblivious disregard for his own life (and because Venture has singled out Dean as his protege). This becomes even more pronounced when Hank goes into [[Emo Teen]] mode. Later somewhat subverted and justified in that Dr. Venture actually sees Hank as more like himself than Dean is, since Hank has no more interest in super-science than Rusty did. Dean becomes his protege because he actually ''wants'' to be a super-scientist (as far as Rusty is willing to believe, at least).

 

==== Dermott Fictel ====

As of season three, Hank's best friend and connection to the world outside the Venture Compound. He is pretty much every jerk you ever met in high school. Dermott's mother told him that his father is at the Venture compound, and Dermott figured that Brock Samson was his father. {{spoiler|He's actually the son of his own "sister" Nikki Fictel and Dr. Venture himself. His "sister" was a teenager, so her mother raised Dermott as her own son, while Dr. Venture was forbidden to see them again. By the 4th season, both the Order of the Triad and the members of SPHINX have learned these facts, but Dr. Venture, Hank, Dean and even Dermott himself have still been in the dark. In the Shallow Gravy [[Mockumentary]] special, Dr. Venture, upon learning Dermott's surname and age for the first time, finally had a [[Fridge Horror]] moment. The episode itself kept [[Lampshade Hanging|hanging a lampshade]] on this, proverbially saying that that Hank and Dermott had become brothers, and found the same father--in music.}}

----

Tropes associated with Dermott:

* [[Luke, I Am Your Father]]: {{spoiler|Well technically, half-brother, but still.}}

* [[Shirtless Scene]]: He takes off his shirt for Shallow Gravy's performance in "Operation P.R.O.M."

* [[Sixth Ranger]]: Hangs around with the boys (mostly Hank) a lot and even does a "Go Team Venture" with them in the season four finale. {{spoiler|He's also their half-brother, but none of the three of them know that.}}

* [[Small Name, Big Ego]]: He talks about himself as if he is the ultimate [[Badass]] to end them all.

* [[X Meets Y]]: [[Napoleon Dynamite]] with a dose of unadulterated [[Jerkass]].

 

=== H.E.L.P.eR. ===

H.E.L.P.eR. stands for Helpful Electronic Lab Partner Robot (with the extra 'e' for aesthetic purposes). He was created by Jonas Venture to serve as a nanny for his son Rusty and performed well in that regard. He now serves as nanny to Hank and Dean and frequently helps the Venture family and bodyguard Brock Samson in their adventures. Years of neglect by Thaddeus have left H.E.L.P.eR. a wreck, both physically and emotionally, and it was only recently Dr. Venture realized that H.E.L.P.eR. truly did have feelings. Hank and Dean tend to treat H.E.L.P.eR. better, even if their attempts to help the robot end up occasionally causing more trouble.

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* [[Chew Toy]]: H.E.L.P.eR. gets destroyed in a variety of ways throughout the show.

* [[Robot Buddy]]: A battered and abused one.

** A deleted scene suggests he also lost a level in Badass- when Rusty was a kid, he was equipped with an arsenal of hidden weapons that quickly fell into disrepair when Rusty wouldn't do the upkeep.

* [[The Unintelligible]]: He only communicates in beeps and boops.

 

=== Sgt. Hatred ===

 

Sgt. Hatred is a veteran member of the Guild of Calamitous Intent. A convicted pedophile, Hatred frequently has to announce that he cannot be within fifty feet of any nearby minors. He was repeatedly mentioned in season two whenever 21 and 24 stole supervillain equipment, and he becomes Dr. Venture's official [[Arch Enemy]] after the Guild reassigns The Monarch in season three. As Venture's nemesis, Sgt. Hatred has vowed to be as nice as possible to Dr. Venture to get under The Monarch's skin in retaliation for all of the technology stolen by The Monarch's henchmen.

* [[Becoming the Mask]]: He seems to legitimately enjoy working with the Ventures, beyond just fouling up the Monarch's attempts on their lives.

** He's even removed his tattoos (except the D, due to the sensitivity of the area) and added a V tattoo on his face for "Venture". Hilariously enough, it now spells out "VD".

* [[Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?|Have I Mentioned I Am A Pedophile Today]]?: In his first several appearances he reminded everybody [[Once an Episode]] that he had a restraining order preventing him from being near minors. Justified in that he was required by law to inform people.

* [[Heel Face Turn]]: Oddly enough, he barely changes in personality. (He wasn't necessarily evil or good to begin with, and was something of a [[Punch Clock Villain]].)

* [[Henpecked Husband]]: According to [[All There in the Manual|creator commentary]], and the same source said that it was going to be his main character quirk in season three. [[Aborted Arc|That didn't really happen.]]

* [[I Cannot Self-Terminate]]: His attempts at suicide in the season three finale did not go well.

** The creators discuss this and ultimately decided that Hatred is basically a good and sympathetic character because he knows that his attraction to children is wrong and actively tries to avoid acting on his urges.

* [[The Mole]]: He previously held a high position in the OSI and kept them out of the Guild's business.

* [[No Indoor Voice]]: He always talks like a Drill Instructor, loud and raspy.

* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]], or at least Affability. He's more cunning than he lets on at first, but he's also a bit of a clear-cut buffoon.

* [[Refuge in Audacity]]: His aforementioned attraction to young boys, even having molested the Venture Bros. at one point before his introduction.

* [[Shotacon]]: As he constantly reminds us. He seems to be getting better with time, though.

* [[Small Name, Big Ego]]: Not quite as bad as Hank, but he's a bit out of shape and far too attached to the [[Idiot Ball]] to brag as much as he does. This trope applies to him less as his tenure goes on.

 

=== Pete White ===

 

The "ever popular" Pete White is an unlikely friend of Dr. Venture who attended State University with him and Baron Underbheit in the early 1980s. He is a computer scientist and lives in a trailer with Master Billy Quizboy, where the two have launched their own tech company, Conjectural Technologies. He patterns his trademark new wave look after Phil Oakey of The Human League. And he's an albino.

* [[The Eighties]]

* [[Hahvahd Yahd in My Cah]]

* [[Heterosexual Life Partners]]: With Billy.

* [[Jerkass]]

* [[Not Worth Killing|Not Worth Memory Wiping]]

* [[Punny Name]]

 

=== Master Billy Quizboy ===

 

A hydrocephalic neurogeneticist of dubious professional accomplishment, he was once a child prodigy and often capitalizes on his pedomorphic looks to pass for one in his adulthood. His nickname stems from his reign as champion of a TV quiz show in his youth. He lives, platonically, with Pete White in a trailer which doubles as the headquarters of their startup tech business, Conjectural Technologies. His real name is William Whalen.

----

Tropes associated with Master Billy:

** If Pete is the 'Lazy' one, Billy is the 'Brilliant' one; by "The Diving Bell Vs. The Butter-Glider" he's guiding a miniaturized submarine through Rusty's vascular system, apparently from memory.

** As shown by "The Silent Partners" He's not lazy; he just never got his medical degrees and seemed to always regret it.

* [[Eyepatch of Power]]

* [[Heterosexual Life Partners]]: With Pete.

** To be fair, Monstroso had treated him more than fairly, was offering him his life's dream, and had spent a while bonding with him; he had plenty of reasons to like the guy even knowing he was a monster.

* [[Locked Out of the Loop]]

* [[My Brain Is Big]]: Billy claims that his excess of brain fluid makes him smarter. This is debatable.

* [[Noodle Incident]]: He doesn't know how he got his metal hand. He eventually finds out ...or maybe Col. Gathers wiped his memory again.

* [[Teen Genius]]: Subverted on two occasions. First, when it is revealed that he is actually in his 30's; secondly, in a flashback showing him in his actual [[Teen Genius]] phase, he is completely overwhelmed by college-level classwork. He was smart and racked up the points on quiz shows, but he didn't really display any real-world talent until he grew up and began successfully sewing limbs onto bodies with full function.

** Also discussed when he acts as Dean and Hank's guidance counselor - he reminds Rusty, privately, that the boys really don't have the life skills to face the real world, and you realize that he's speaking from experience.

== ''Order of the Triad'' ==

=== Dr. Byron Orpheus ===

 

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Tropes associated with Dr. Orpheus:

* [[Actually Not a Vampire]]: Dr. Orpheus is easily mistaken for "a dracula."

* [[Berserk Button]]: HIS DAUGHTER'S VIRGINITY IS NOT A PRIZE TO BE WON!

* [[Captain Ersatz]]: of Dr. Strange.

* [[Informed Ability]]: If his master and other statements are to be believed, Orpheus is likely a very powerful necromancer. This being ''The Venture Bros.'', however, a large portion of his feats are usually just alluded to while he tends to fail on a regular basis on-screen. (Not that he doesn't have his moments.)

** He does trap the souls of two rednecks in a tiny figurine because they were interfering with his quest to look out for the Venture Brothers.

* [[Leitmotif]]: This plays anytime he's extra [[Large Ham]] mode, which is quite often.

* [[Milking the Giant Cow]]

* [[No Indoor Voice]]

* [[Out of Focus]]: Orpheus was a major supporting character throughout the first three seasons but was scaled back, almost to the point of absence in the first half of season four.

 

=== Jefferson Twilight ===

 

An old friend of Dr. Orpheus. He is a black man who fights Blaculas for a living and wields two swords. He is a pastiche of the superhero Blade and the blaxploitation movie protagonist, Shaft. As a play on Blade's half-vampire thirst for blood or an artificial replacement, Jefferson Twilight suffers from diabetes and low blood-sugar, leading him to heavily thirst for sugared liquids, such as Nik-L-Nips. His left eye is discolored as it is a magical Blacula tracker he calls the "Blood Eye." The episode "What Goes Down, Must Come Up" revealed a lot of his [[Backstory]]. For example: his mother was taken by marauding Blaculas when he was ten, and he was a tank commander in the USMC.

* [[Badass Normal]]: Originally the only non-mystical member of the Triad. Later on he's revealed to be between worlds, which while impressive is also an incredibly specific ability.

* [[Buffy-Speak]]

* [[Crippling Overspecialization]]: He often complains about the fact that there are no Blaculas for him to fight, and even implies that he'd be lost if he came up against a non-black vampire. However, he does make up for it with useful things like military training.

* [[Half-Human Hybrid]]

* [[The Hunter]]

* [[Mismatched Eyes]]

* [[Token Minority]]

 

=== The Alchemist ===

 

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Tropes associated with The Alchemist:

* [[Foil]]: To Orpheus. Even more apparent when they move in together.

* [[Leitmotif]]: Okay, so it may have only been in one episode ("What Goes Down Must Come Up"), but when the triad are performing magic, it's implied that The Alchemist has one too. When Orpheus does some magic, his leitmotif plays and when The Alchemist does some magic immediately afterward, a little trumpet piece plays. And immediately after that, when it's Jefferson's turn and it's revealed that he has no magic to do, it's completely silent.

* [[Only Sane Man]]: Frequently the voice of reason for the Order of the Triad.

* [[Reed Richards Is Useless]]: Once turned someone's tire into gold. Why does he need to shack up with Orpheus, again?

** [[Camp Gay]]: When he wants to be.

* [[Will They or Won't They?]]: With Shore Leave in "Operation P.R.O.M." {{spoiler|They did}}

 

=== Orpheus's Master ===

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Tropes associated with Orpheus's Master:

* [[Cynical Mentor]]

* [[The Faceless]]: We've never seen his ''true'' form, if he even has one.

** Also Carl, Chris's boss at the convenience store in [[Family Guy]].

** Or [[Archer|Sterling Archer]].

* [[Throw It In]]: Doc Hammer commented that it is impossible to ''stop'' H. John Benjamin when he wants to ad-lib, and as a result his dialogue is a middle ground between the original script and Benjamin's ad-libs.

* [[Voluntary Shapeshifting]]

 

=== Triana Orpheus ===

Triana is the daughter of Dr. Orpheus and lives with her father in a rented out laboratory-cum-apartment within the Venture compound. She is 17, a bit of a goth, but otherwise a completely normal teenage girl. She is possibly the most down-to-earth character on the show, despite her father's tendency to dramatize. She takes an interest in kitsch. Dean had nurtured a crush her for most of the show's run. {{spoiler|The very moment that Dean decided to tell her, Triana revealed her non-interest in him.}}

----

Tropes associated with Triana:

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]

* [[Missing Mom]]: Eventually {{spoiler|leaves the Venture Compound to study magic with her mother.}}

* [[Only Sane Man]]: During the first season and a half or so she was this around Dean and Hank, before slowly vanishing from importance.

** She's now studying magic herself, but her personality remains the same.

* [[Well, Excuse Me, Princess!]]

 

== ''The Monarch and his men'' ==

=== The Monarch ===

 

As Dr. Venture's self-proclaimed arch-nemesis, the Monarch plots the downfall of Team Venture with the utmost glee. His back is adorned with the wings of the mighty Monarch Butterfly from which he takes his name. Insecure and uncertain at heart, he leans on Dr. Girlfriend probably more than a super-villain should. His first name, as stated by his wife and in flashbacks, is Malcolm, while his last name is revealed in the season 1 finale to be {{spoiler|The Monarch}}.

----

Tropes associated with The Monarch:

* [[Bad Boss]]: He actually stays away from [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness]] murders, but he often kills his henchmen for either startling him, annoying him, or in one case, to downsize. It later turns out that just about ''all'' of his henchmen except [[Mauve Shirt|Mauve Shirts]] 21 and 24 are suicidal [[Death Seeker|Death Seekers]].

* [[Bi the Way]]: When 21 revealed that he accidentally made out with his wife, Monarch scoffed stating that villains have threesomes all the time.

* [[Camp Straight]]

* [[Card-Carrying Villain]]: He is proud to say that he is evil and lives for the torment of a guy he just doesn't like.

** Before that it was revealed that he talks to his dead stuffed cat, Mister Mostly Mittens.

* [[Contractual Genre Blindness]]

* [[Foe Yay]]: He molested, nay, ''raped'' a robot that had Dr. Venture's face and taunted Captain Sunshine with a [[Hannibal Lecture]] in which he claimed, at length, that Sunshine would really enjoy having sex with him.

** Also, when Dr. Girlfriend seduced Rusty for him, he looked like he was about to masturbate while watching the proceedings. The only other time he watched Dr. Girlfriend have sex with someone else just ended up... awkwardly.

* [[Freudian Excuse]]: When Monarch tried to kill Venture during college years, it injured Baron Underbheit and people thought Venture did it so now Monarch wants vengeance

* [[Evilly Affable]]

* [[Jerkass]]: He's a jerk to his men (kills them or sends them to their deaths), his fellow villains (steals their technology and frequently belittles them), and on several occasions, to his wife (pre and post marriage) as well. By numbers the only reason Rusty doesn't get the brunt of it is because they don't usually get much screen time together.

* [[Talking to Himself]]: Voiced by Jackson Publick, and frequently interacts with Hank, 24, and Sgt. Hatred.

* [[The Un-Reveal]]: When remembering his first atttempt to kill Venture in college (which failed and blew off Ünderbheit jaw) in ''Shadowman 9'', the Monarch remembers a fellow student telling him what happened. Said student used his real first name: {{spoiler|apprently the Monarch's real name is Malcolm}}.

 

=== Dr. Girlfriend/Dr. Mrs. The Monarch ===

 

The husky-voiced Dr. Girlfriend is perhaps the only voice of reason in the Monarch's sad little world. Skilled and capable, she is often the only thing that makes the Monarch's plans even remotely viable. Before teaming up with the Monarch, she was involved with the Phantom Limb under the name of Queen Etherea.

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Tropes associated with Dr. Girlfriend:

* [[Cross-Dressing Voices]]: voiced by Doc Hammer, who uses the most masculine voice that he can manage.

* [[Dark Mistress]]: A classic example.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]

* [[Evilly Affable]]: When Dr. Monarch was torturing H.E.L.P.eR for the Ventures' location, she put a stop to it and put a comforting arm around him. And soon had exactly the information the Monarch was trying to get...

** Eh, honestly? That sonds more affably evil to me.

* [[Hypercompetent Sidekick]]: She's [[The Dragon]] for someone she can outdo in ''a lot'' of things.

* [[I Have Many Names]]: She has been officially known as Lady Au Pair, Queen Etherea, Dr. Girlfriend, and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch; The Monarch has also called her Dr. Ex Girlfriend, Dr. Fiancee, and Dr. My Wife.

* [[Morality Pet]]: Her main purpose is to make the Monarch more relatable.

* [[Nice Hat]] - based on that of Jackie Kennedy Onassis (along with her entire look for the first couple of seasons). Ironically, she has no idea who that is. It's implied that the guild came up with the persona for her when she wanted a 'competent female counterpart of a great leader' motif and rejected their more [[Stripperiffic]] ideas.

** Nowadays she typically dresses as like a female version of the Monarch, complete with [[Nice Hat|Nice Crown]].

* [[Only Sane Man]] - Among most of the other supervillains in the show, she's arguably much more saner and competent, and capable of being amicable with Team Venture when she wants to be.

* [[Unusually Uninteresting Sight|Unusually Uninteresting Sound]]: Her voice was completely ignored for a little less than half a season before being lampshaded, and it is usually ignored.

 

=== The Murderous Moppets, AKA The Pupa Twins ===

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Tropes associated with Tim-Tom and Kevin:

* [[Aerith and Bob]]:

* [[Ax Crazy]]

* [[Knife Nut]]:

'''Kevin Moppet:''' (''with greater relish'') Fucking knife! }}

* {{spoiler|[[The Mole]]: According to Phantom Limb, they're "well-placed sleeper agents". We don't know for sure if this is correct, but the recent revelation that they were likely the ones who killed 24 (and are messing with 21's mind by crossing names off his list of suspects, which would contribute towards Limb's plan from "Bright Lights, Dean City") adds some additional proof.}}

* [[Psycho for Hire]]

* [[Salt and Pepper]]

* [[The Scrappy]]: In-universe: everyone they work with has tried to get to know, them, generally for Dr. Girlfriend's sake. They ''all'' hate them. {{spoiler|Even Dr. Girlfriend has started feeling uncomfortable around them.}} The Monarch has intended to kill them.

 

=== Henchman #1/Scott Hall/{{spoiler|Zero}} ===

A by-the-book henchman that was a stark contrast to #21 and #24. He followed all the old cliches, for which he was fiercely mocked by the [[Genre Savvy]] duo. He did go up in one final showdown with Brock that apparently ended with his death. {{spoiler|But later came back as a centurion named Zero who used Captain Sunshine's butler Desmond (disguised as the Greek god Zeus) to kidnap Henchman and Sidekicks to fight to the death. He's later found out by 21, who distracts him while an army of supervillains attack. It's unknown whether he survived or not.}}

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* [[Badass]]:Just like {{spoiler|#21}} he took on Brock Samson one on one {{spoiler|And Lived}}

* {{spoiler|[[The Caligula]]: He makes supervillains and super scientists fight for next to no reason other than as penitence and for his amusement.}}

* [[Genre Blind]]

* {{spoiler|[[Knight Templar]]: His scheme is revenge on what he believes to be the problem with superheroes and villains}}

* [[Nominal Importance]]: A Deconstruction of this trope.

* [[Red Shirt]]: Again, Deconstructed.

* [[You Bastard]]: Gives this to {{spoiler|#21}}

 

 

=== Col. Hunter Gathers ===

 

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Tropes associated with Gathers:

* [[Attractive Bent Gender]]: Subverted in that while the his sex change fulfilled his dream "to have big beautiful tits", his post-op body being quite nice, [[Butter Face|his face]] and voice remained exactly the same.

* [[Cynical Mentor]]

* [[Double Reverse Quadruple Agent]]: The sex change operation was reversed and Hunter was a triple-agent working for SPHINX. Even a psychic couldn't see that one coming.

* [[Properly Paranoid]]: Always tells Brock to be wary of conspiracies. He's proven that he's quite a [[The Chessmaster|Chessmaster]], so it's wise to listen to him.

* {{spoiler|[[Running Both Sides]]: His fate in the season four finale.}}

 

=== Brock Samson ===

 

Brock Samson is the man's man of secret agents. Disdaining guns in favor of his ever-present Bowie knife, he has a license to kill and the overpowering desire to use it. Fiercely loyal to Dr. Venture and the boys, Brock will let nothing stand in the way of their safety, be it ninja, super-villain or Chupacabra.

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Tropes associated with Brock:

* [[Anti-Hero]]: [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes|Type V]] Pre-Series, [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes|Type IV or Type V]] during the series.

* [[Badass]]

* [[Berserk Button]]

* [[Bigger Is Better in Bed]]: Whenever he's naked, the Censor Bar covering his privates approaches [[Gag Penis]] proportions.

* [[Bloody Hilarious]]: The majority of his kills.

* [[Buried Alive]]

** And the [[Secondary Super Power]] to tell whenever someone is in/touching his car (even from another country away).

* [[Cyanide Pill]]

* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: "So, anyone who doesn't immediately show you respect, you murder?"

* [[Doesn't Like Guns]]: Will kill anyone except by shooting them with bullets. He'll throw them, bash people's head in the gun butt, but he won't shoot them.

* [[He's Back]]: Well, technically, he was close by all along.

* [[Hey, It's That Voice!]]: [[Patrick Warburton]], nuff said.

* [[Made of Iron]]: and with the power to turn anyone opposing him into [[Made of Plasticine|Plasticine]].

* [[One-Man Army]]

* [[Papa Wolf]]: Towards the Venture brothers themselves.

* [[Parental Substitute]]: For Hank, becomes a lot more evident in season four.

* [[Pet the Dog]]: While Brock is often merciless to enemy minions, he has on occasion been nice to them. One time he sang off a guy who thought Brock had nicked a major blood vessel and thought he was bleeding to death.

** [[Real Men Wear Pink]]: However, he seems to be the more 'maternal' part of the [[Has Two Mommies|family unit]] as he's willing to play along with the boys' little games (even Dean's effeminate activities).

* [[Shooting Gallery]]: Using a knife and his bare hands.

* [[Showy Invincible Hero]]

* [[Technical Pacifist]]

* [[Top-Heavy Guy]]

* [[Wouldn't Hit a Girl]]: Wouldn't ''kill'' a girl (unless she's a vampire). He keeps the eye he took from the woman he loves in his room as a trophy.

 

=== Shore-Leave/Holy Diver ===

 

 

In fact, the religious conversion was a cover story; Shore-Leave is one of the top agents in Hunter Gathers' SPHINX organization. He becomes Brock Samson's partner on missions.

----

Tropes associated with Shore-Leave:

* [[Armor Is Useless]]

* [[Badass Gay]]: Flamboyant as he is, there's a reason Shore Leave is usually Brock Samson's partner during SPHINX missions.

* [[Busman's Vocabulary]]: Everything can be expressed with a Bible reference as far as he and Sky Pilot are concerned.

* [[Camp Gay]]: An unusual combination of this and [[Badass]].

*** Which itself was a running gag when SPHINX was first introduced, when every time it was mentioned a female backup team sang it.

* [[The Fundamentalist]]: Not really.

* [[Hello, Sailor!]]

* [[Improbable Aiming Skills]]: Shore Leave is deadly accurate with his pistols, being able to shoot specific targets on 21's costume from a large distance. One handed.

* [[Macho Camp]]: He is the epitome of this trope.

* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]: He and his clique of OSI buddies are [[The Village People]] [[X Meets Y|reimagined as]] ''[[G.I. Joe]]'' operatives. [[Lampshaded]] with an [[X Called. They Want Their Y Back.]]:

* [[Porn Stache]]: He has a giant Village People style mustache. Without it he'd probably look like a genuinely good looking guy.

** He already does.

*** [[Catch Phrase|BOOM! Yummy!]]

* [[Power Glows]]: Subverted: the glowing sword is just a plastic prop. Props, apparently, really drive the Word home with the kids.

** And their OSI identities as Shore-Leave and Mile High are based specifically on Shipwreck and Airborne from ''[[G.I. Joe]]''

** "Holy Diver" itself is a pretty obvious shout-out to the [[Ronnie James Dio]] song of the same name.

* [[Transformation Sequence]]: Parodied with his [[Overly Long Gag|over-long armor-up sequence]].

** And the constant neck craning with every syllable.

 

=== Mile-High/Sky Pilot ===

 

Another former OSI-agent, kicked out alongside Shore-Leave, who ended up being part of Hunter's SPHINX group as well. Doesn't play as active a role in the series as his former partner. Most of the same tropes associated with Shore-Leave (in relation to religion and the defection, at least) are shared by Sky Pilot.

* [[Camp Straight]]: Possibly. He's not in love with Shore-Leave, but may still be gay.

* {{spoiler|[[The Mole]]: He's still working for OSI, as revealed by General Treister}}.

** He lampshades this when he finally does go on a mission.

=== Gary (formerly Henchman "[[Badass Nickname|Two-Ton]]" 21) and the late Henchman 24 ===

The Monarch's henchmen are known only by their official numbers. #21 and #24 were the two best known. Somehow, despite their ineptitude and questionable loyalty, they managed to avoid the unceremonious slaying The Monarch often levies on his less fortunate henchmen. #21 (real name Gary) came into the employ of the Monarch when his henchman army kidnapped him at age 15. #24 seems to have joined of his own volition, having lost his job when the local factory closed down and his G.E.D. left many other careers inaccessible to him.

 

----

Tropes associated with 21 and 24:

* [[Alas, Poor Yorick]]: After 24 dies, 21 keeps his skull as a memento, and claims he can still listen to 24 speaking to him through it.

* [[I Always Wanted to Say That|I Always Wanted To Do That]]: Instead of taking their mission seriously with #1, they hide in plain sight from Brock by pretending to be manniquins in a "villain diarama"; they comment on how little chance there is to actually do it.

* [[Badass Nickname]]: 21 eventually picks up the epithet "Two Ton" 21.

* [[Brutal Honesty]]: {{spoiler|21 has a bit of a breakdown in "Operation: P.R.O.M." in front of The Monarch and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch.}}

'''{{spoiler|21}}'''{{spoiler|: Where were you--you were there! We were on top of you! We made out on you!}} }}

** {{spoiler|It's also part of the reason 21 gets rid of 24's skull. He keeps showing up when he tries to masturbate.}}

* [[Drill Sergeant Nasty]]: 21 following 24's death.

** {{spoiler|It's just the Moppets trying to cover up their (likely) murder.}}

* [[Heterosexual Life Partners]]

* [[Mauve Shirt]]: Subverted with 24.

* [[Non-Action Guy]]: They breeze through their assignments by slacking off and using their [[Genre Savvy|Genre Savviness]] to avoid deadly cliches. This stops after the death of 24.

* [[Plot Armor]]: They start bragging about it in season three. Not a good idea, as it costs 24 his life.

* [[Punch Clock Villain]]

* {{spoiler|[[Screw This, I'm Outta Here]]: 21 in "Operation: P.R.O.M."}}

** {{spoiler|In "Operation P.R.O.M.", when Dr. Orpheus helps 21 realizes that one of 24's ghost friends isn't actually dead yet, 24 vanishes, and Gary breaks down in tears. This indicates that 24 was a figment of 21's imagination the entire time. This is seemingly contradicted by 24 communicating with one of Monstroso's dead henchmen when 21 isn't exactly present onscreen, but this could simply have been an extension of 21's hallucination.}}

** When incessantly asked about it, Jackson Publick confirmed that {{spoiler|they ''intended'' for 24 to not really be a ghost, but ultimately, it's open to interpretation (although the "24 really was a ghost" theory only works under very specific and unlikely circumstances }}

* [[Those Two Guys]]: Among The Monarch's henchmen.

* [[You Are Number Six]]: Subverted with 21, who sometimes goes by his real name, "Gary".

 

== ''The Guild of Calamitous Intent'' ==

=== The Sovereign/David Bowie ===

 

The enigmatic leader of the Guild, who just happens to be none other than [[David Bowie]].

----

Tropes associated with The Sovereign:

* [[Bigger Bad]]: Of sorts.

* [[Celebrity Impersonator]]: James Urbaniak (Dr. Venture, Phantom Limb, etc). Allegedly, they tried to get the real Bowie, but he declined. This is also lampshaded with Sovereign's first appearance as Bowie.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Has shades of this.

* [[Huge Holographic Head]]: The majority of his public appearances.

* [[Nigh Invulnerability]]: Seems to shrug off that which would outright destroy an ordinary person. {{spoiler|The greatest example of this is his apparent immunity to Phantom Limb's death touch.}}

 

=== Red Mantle & Dragoon ===

'''Red Mantle''': Nothing, I've just been wanting to say that all day. I got sick of waiting for an opportunity. }}

 

----

Tropes associated with Red Mantle & Dragoon:

* [[Ascended Extra]]

* [[Those Two Guys]]: Not like they have much of a choice.

 

=== King Gorilla ===

 

A tough old talking gorilla who served time in prison alongside The Monarch. {{spoiler|He made a deal with the Investors to donate his heart to Monstroso when he dies in exchange for getting out on his life sentence.}}

* [[Incurable Cough of Death]]: His lung cancer proved to be fatal.

** Or rather {{spoiler|''would'' have been fatal, had the Investors not ripped out his heart to give to Monstroso.}}

* [[Maniac Monkeys]]: The Venture universe's contribution to the lineup of evil talking gorillas.

* [[Manly Gay]]

* [[Prison Rape]]: He tried to rape The Monarch once, but he couldn't get it up because Monarch looked too much like a girl from behind. He even brought him back to his cell, but still felt nothing.

 

=== Monstroso ===

 

----

Tropes associated with Monstroso:

* {{spoiler|[[Never Found the Body]]: In "Operation P.R.O.M.", he and Molotov are in a limo as it falls down a cliff and explodes. There's no potential proof of their demise.}}

* [[Running Gag]]: He offers the Monarch a cigar four times in about ninety seconds.

* [[Smug Snake]]: Trying to defeat both the Venture family and The Monarch simultaneously... with zoning law fine print.

 

=== Watch and Ward ===

High-ranking Guild communications officers, who report directly to the Sovereign. They're fairly good at their jobs, when not distracted by inconsequential matters, be they misplaced juice boxes or mp3 selection.

----

Tropes associated with Watch and Ward:

* [[Idiot Ball]]: Failed to notice Phantom Limb's escape from Guild HQ, due to Watch having a bug clinging to his back.

* [[Those Two Bad Guys]]

=== Torrid ===

 

The Order of the Triad's Guild-sanctioned archenemy, who has a fire theme.

Tropes associated with Torrid:

* [[Australian Accent]]

* [[Gasshole]]: Much fuss is made over the smell he leaves behind in the Venture bathroom.

* [[Never Found the Body]]: The Order of the Triad seem to currently believe he's dead.

* [[Teleport Spam]]

 

 

=== General Treister ===

The {{spoiler|former}} head of the OSI and apparently its founder. He's a [[Crazy Awesome]] [[Badass Grandpa]]. {{spoiler|Or at least he was, until he launched his body unprotected into space, with a note asking aliens to cure his cancer.}}

----

* [[A Father to His Men]]

* [[Hey, It's That Voice!]]: Toby Huss, who tweaks his [[King of the Hill|Cotton Hill]] voice to sound a bit like [[Looney Tunes|Foghorn Leghorn]].

** He upgrades this to [[Obfuscating Insanity]] when {{spoiler|he pretends that he truly believes himself to turn into the [[Incredible Hulk]]. This is a ploy to flush out the two O.S.I. moles Cardholder and Doe who are gaslighting him to turn him insane and take over the O.S.I.}}

 

=== Doe and Cardholder ===

High ranking members of the OSI who serve as Treister's top men.

----

* {{spoiler|[[The Mole]]}}

* [[Those Two Guys]]

=== Myra Brandish ===

 

A former OSI agent. She was at one point Dr. Venture's personal body guard and one time lover. Claims to be Hank and Dean's mother, though whether or not this is true is yet to be made certain. Brock claims she was a former member of the [[American Gladiators]] who was thrown into an insane asylum after becoming criminally obsessed with Dr. Venture. Every few years she breaks out of the asylum and kidnaps the Venture brothers.

* [[Love Makes You Crazy]]

* [[Shrug of God]]: Even though the episode she first appeared in gave no real evidence to the contrary, the creators are still unsure as to whether or not she's the mother. They never plan too far ahead with their story arcs, and have no idea if this will be confirmed or denied later on.

 

=== Race Bannon ===

----

* [[Heroic Sociopath]]: Can cheerfully greet Brock even while gruesomely torturing a detained SPHINX agent.

* [[Posthumous Character]]

 

== ''Spider Skull Island'' ==

=== Dr. Jonas Venture, Jr. ===

----

Tropes associated with JJ:

** Not as much as you'd think, "Now Museum Now You Don't" showed that he's something of a condescending jerk.

* [[Smug Super]]

* [[Talking to Himself]]: Jonas and his brother share the same voice actor.

 

=== Sally Impossible ===

Richard Impossible's now-ex-wife. When the lab accident occured that gave Richard his stretching powers, she was affected to but was less fortunate as she was given the power of visibility of her anatomy, showing all of her muscle tissue unless she retain control of it. Her other family members, who were also caught in the blast, didn't fare as well (Her brother Cody sets on fire when exposed to oxygen, her cousin Ned became a walking tumor). To save his public image, Richard hid them away and refused to let Sally interact with anyone. Rusty winds up meeting her by accident and she tries to use him to escape Richard's grasp but Rusty quickly abandons her. In their next encounter Rusty used her to get a vital piece of equipment he needed from Richard's lab. It was during this encounter she met Jonas Venture Jr and the two quickly hit it off. Sometime afterward she divorced Richard and went to live with J.J along with Ned and her infant son Rocket (Cody somehow still staying with Richard).

----

Tropes associated with Sally:

* [[Body Horror]]: When she loses control of her power, yeesh.

* [[Captain Ersatz]]: Of The Invisible Woman from ''[[Fantastic Four]]''.

 

=== The Pirate Captain ===

The leader of the "ghost pirates" in the episode "Ghosts of the Sargasso". After his initial encounter with the Venture family, he began living on the X-2 after having difficulties in finding a job. When Jonas Jr. acquired the ship, he hired the captain. He has not been referred to by any name or nickname other than "The Captain" so far. He currently resides with Jonas Jr. on Spider Skull Island and fulfills the duties of a butler, caretaker, and right-hand man. The Captain always refers to Jonas as "Chairman".

----

Tropes associated with the Captain:

* [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain]]

* [[Shout-Out]]: He is modeled after ''[[Scooby Doo]]'' villains, and makes a lot of specific references to that end (such as mentioning that he got to meet Cher and "the guy who was the voice of [[Inspector Gadget]]"<ref>Don Adams</ref>, who both guest-starred on ''[[Scooby Doo]]''). He even refers to himself as a member of "the rubber mask set," the little guys of adventuring and villainy apparently it is standard practice to terrorize your own museum while dressed as a ghostly knight. In this same speech, he also outlines the plots of several actual episodes of Scooby-Doo, including the motivations and costumed identities of the episodes' villains.

* [[Talk Like a Pirate]]: And he friggin' loves it!

 

=== Ned ===

Sally Impossible and Cody's mentally challenged cousin. Formerly associated with Impossible Industries, Ned followed Sally to Spider Skull Island to live with Jonas Venture Jr.

----

* [[The Ditz]]

* [[Handicapped Badass]]

 

== ''The Revenge Society'' ==

=== Phantom Limb ===

 

 

After his above origins were revealed in season three, he made a major comeback in season four as he attempted to conquer the Guild once more... and failed. Then he decided to make his own guild to piss off the Sovereign.

Tropes associated with Phantom Limb:

* [[Ambiguously Brown]]: Possibly some sort of ethnicity unless that's just a tan.

* [[Big Bad]]: Mutual enemy to Dr. Venture and The Monarch in season two.

* [[Companion Cube]]: In the fourth season, he now has a new Guild consisting of a toaster, a mug and one of Dr. Girlfriend's shoes. Turns out they're not so harmless, as he manipulates them with his detached invisible limbs to use in combat.

* [[Eviler Than Thou]]: Is by far the evilest and most experienced member of the Revenge Society.

* [[Evilly Affable]]: Especially during season four.

* [[Knight of Cerebus]]

* [[Large Ham]]: He's very fond of dramatic hand motions. Not that the viewer can see them.

* [[Man of Wealth and Taste]]

* [[Not Quite Dead]]: Wisdom, the coffee cup, who has been put back together after Limb accused him of being the Sovereign.

* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]] / [[He's Back]]: In "Pomp and Circuitry", it's revealed that he was waiting for the perfect time to strike. He then proceeds to launch his plan to form a new team with failures of superheroes and villains, and so far it's working.

** And despite some initial pitfalls due to Professor Impossible's inexperience, he manages to nearly kill Doctor Venture, if not for Fat Chance accidently tripping onto him.

* [[Punny Name]]

* [[Red Right Hand]]: Invisible limbs that can kill with a touch.

* [[Romantic False Lead]]: His initial role.

* [[Rule of Funny]]: The only possible explanation for all of the things that he manages to do (without his prosthetics) with just one arm and one leg...

* [[Shoe Slap]]

* [[Smug Snake]]

* [[Start My Own]]: In the second half of season four, he tells the Sovereign he's going to start his own guild with [[Companion Cube|Wisdom]], Professor Impossible, Baron Underbeit, Lady Hawke Johnson/Lyndon Bee and Fat Chance.

* [[Touch of Death]]: Though it's been shown in "Bright Lights, Dean City" he can control it to merely knock out his foe if necessary.

* [[Villainous Breakdown]]: By season four has gone completely off his rocker. See [[Companion Cube]].

* [[Wicked Cultured]]

* [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?]]: Subverted. In his first appearance, his only [[Incredibly Lame Pun|visible]] power is having invisible limbs. Turns out he's got more.

 

=== Professor Richard Impossible ===

A fellow super-scientist and [[Captain Ersatz]] of ''[[Fantastic Four]]'' leader Mister Fantastic, but much, much darker. At first he seemed just like his counterpart... and then it was revealed his fellow members got useless, or in one case harmful, powers and that he kept them under wraps to save face. Doctor Venture won over his wife, Sally, while working with Impossible but left her behind when they left. She finally escaped with Doctor Venture's brother J.J. along with her and her son Rocket. He didn't take it well. He soon fell into a deep depression until his old buddy Phantom Limb convinced him to go over to the evil side, while remaining a super scientist to the public. He's now a super villain and part of Phantom Limb's Revenge Society.

----

* [[The Other Darrin]]: Has the most voices actors out of all the characters. One for the pilot (Peter McCulloch), another for the first two seasons ([[Stephen Colbert]]), a third for a single season three episode (Series creator Jackson Publick (Christopher McCulloch)), and finally, his most recent one for season four (Bill Hader) who has voiced him in the most episodes.

* [[Rubber Man]]

* [[Villainous Breakdown]]: After Sally leaves him.

 

=== Baron Underbheit ===

Dr. Venture's "other" [[Arch Enemy]], Werner Underbheit is the tyrannical ruler of [[Ruritania|Underland]] (pronounced oon-derland) who lost his jaw back in college - he blames Rusty for this, although it might have been the result of The Monarch's first attempt to kill Rusty. Recently ousted as ruler. Now the muscle for the Revenge Society.

----

* [[Knight of Cerebus]]: From his early appearances and the promotion of him in the show's first opening, it appears that the original plan for Underbheit was that he would act as Rusty's "real," serious [[Arch Enemy]] while the Monarch would remain an [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain]]. However, the writers quickly found Underbheit too one-dimensional to fill that role.

* [[Red Right Hand]]: Has a prosthetic metal jaw.

* [[Spikes of Villainy]]

 

=== Fat Chance ===

A new recruit to the Revenge Society, Fat Chance was forever changed by a botched scientific experiment, which left him obese. However, it also gave him an "Enigma Hole" in his belly, which he can pull random (and occasionally useful) items from.

----

Tropes associated with Fat Chance:

* [[Cool Gate]]: His Enigma Hole, even if he has no idea what's on the other side.

* [[Fat Idiot]]: To an extent.

----

Tropes associated with Ladyhawke and Lyndon:

* [[Involuntary Shapeshifting]]

* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]: Based on the former US President and his wife.

* [[Shout-Out]]: To [[Ladyhawke]].

----

Tropes associated with Brick Frog:

* [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Incredibly Awesome Pun]]: You know what that indentation that some bricks have is called? A frog.

 

== ''The Original Team Venture'' ==

=== Dr. Jonas Venture, Sr. ===

The grand figure looming over the remains of the current world today is the legacy left behind by Dr. Jonas Venture, Sr. Adventure hero, scientist, women-chaser, celebrity, and media darling who could do anything ''except'' raise a son. Dr. Venture lived a life of luxury and adventure, with the world constantly revolving around him, and that was the way he liked it. Too often, this ended up with Dr. Venture ignoring important things like missing colleagues, the family's cursed artifact, and non-emotionally scarring time that should have been spent with his own son. Then, he would play down any negative consequences of anything he ever did until he could forget about it.

----

** {{spoiler|Actually, Kano just broke the ORB, but had orders to kill him.}}

** {{spoiler|Incorrect; it was Rusty's ''grandfather'' who was spared by his bodyguard, Sandow. Kano may well have killed Jonas after all, which is made especially ironic by the fact that Sandow had already rendered the so-important ORB useless.}}

* [[Posthumous Character]]

* [[Spirit Advisor]]: But only while Rusty is off his drugs.

* [[There Are No Therapists]]: Somewhat subverted in that he acted as one to Rusty, and by "Acted" we mean sneaking out whenever his son tried talking about his issues and calling him ungrateful for [[I Just Want to Be Normal|not enjoying the life of a boy adventurer]].

 

=== Col. Gentleman ===

 

----

Tropes associated with Gentleman:

* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: Enjoys making "crazy old person" lists and, apparently, gluing bits of a battleship model to his dog in his spare time.

* [[Depraved Bisexual]]: Almost everything we learn about his sexuality is [[Too Much Information]]. Note that he does ''not'' identify as any kind of sexuality:

** He's also the first person Shore-Leave goes to for info on a Rusty Venture.

* [[Manly Gay]]: Although it's somewhat clear he strongly prefers men as a rule; his autobiography is titled ''Gentleman Prefer Gentlemen'', after all.

* [[Unexplained Recovery]]: Hank and Dean found him dead in the second season. Turns out it was a diabetic coma, they were just too stupid to actually check that he was alive.

 

=== The Action Man ===

----

Tropes associated with The Action Man:

* [[Gasshole]]

* [[Happily Married]]... to his dead friend's widow.

* [[Jerkass]]: Was not nice at all to Major Tom's ghost about marrying his wife, shot Orpheus without a second thought and pulled Rusty's pants down in front of a large crowd at his 16th birthday so Col.Gentleman could shoot his dick with a shrink ray.

* [[More Dakka]]: He once shot a henchman in the head repeatedly, while shouting "Action!"

 

=== Kano ===

----

Tropes associated with Kano:

* [[Meaningful Name]]: According to creator commentary for "Now Museum, Now You Don't", "Kano" is short for "volcano" and refers to his firebreathing powers.

* [[Nice Guy]]: By far the nicest, well-balanced, and least sociopathic member of the original Team Venture. (other than Otto Aquarius, but he can be a bible-thumping prick at times too.)

* [[The Voiceless]]: {{spoiler|Turns out that he isn't mute. He took a vow of silence for killing a "great man"...who may have been Dr. Venture, Sr. himself.}}

 

=== Dr. Paul Entmann ===

----

Tropes associated with Entmann:

* [[Captain Ersatz]]: Of [[Marvel Universe|Dr. Pym/Ant-Man/Giant-Man/Goliath/Yellowjacket.]] Thoroughly lampshaded when Brock says he reminds him of a Marvel hero and Entmann's guesses ("Hawkeye?" "Sub-Mariner?") are way off.

* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]: When he was a giant he bore a striking resemblance to [[Andre the Giant]].

=== Otto Aquarius ===

Son of a drunken sailor and an Atlantean princess, Otto is a standard aquatic hero who has long since given up violence as an answer to his problems after joining Jehovah's Witnesses.

 

* [[Atlantis]]

* [[Fish Person]]

* [[Half-Human Hybrid]]

=== Swifty ===

In his prime, he was a middleweight boxing champion and a good friend to Jonas Venture, Sr. After becoming a punch drunk palooka, his wife left him and Jonas gave him (and Hector) a maintenance job at the Venture Compound out of pity.

----

* [[Retired Badass]]: He may be slow and out of shape, but damn if he can't still throw a punch.

* [[Talkative Loon]]: Speaks almost entirely in [[Word Salad|word salads]] nowadays. "I remember there was a ''ring''... that ''loved'' the radio."

=== Ook Ook ===

----

Tropes associated with Ook Ook:

* [[Human Popsicle]]

=== Hector Molina ===

----

Tropes associated with Hector:

* [[Forgotten Childhood Friend]]: Rusty literally has no idea who he is anymore.

 

== ''Others'' ==

=== Molotov Cocktease ===

 

Molotov is a former agent of an unnamed Soviet intelligence organization who turned mercenary after the Cold War. She is the love of Brock Samson's life, despite the fact that a titanium steel chastity belt and a promise to her deceased father prevent their full carnal union. Before she was a secret agent she was an Olympic athlete representing the Soviet Union. Her father and trainer was an undercover Soviet assassin.

* [[Badass]]

* [[The Baroness]]

** {{spoiler|[[Subverted Trope]]. She lied}}.

** {{spoiler|Either that, or Rusty's mutant Spanish fly roofies had already taken effect. What with the outcome, it hardly matters much.}}

* [[Dark Action Girl]]

* [[Dating Catwoman]]: She is Brock Samson's original love interest ''and'' his personal arch-enemy.

* [[Femme Fatale]]/[[The Vamp]]: Started out as more of the former, but became very much the latter by the fourth season.

* [[Fetish Fuel Station Attendant]]: Note that nearly all of the tropes relating to her are [[Turn-On Tropes]].

* [[The Only One Allowed to Defeat You]]: To Brock.

* [[Spy Catsuit]]

 

----

Tropes associated with Jo(h)nny:

* [[Wangst]]: Deliberately invoked in as dramatic a way as possible.

** Of course, he still plainly ''is'' Jonny Quest, they just don't/can't call him that.

** Also justifiable because Johnny despises his father and refuses to be associated with him, claiming at the Rusty Venture daycamp that orphan boys were lucky not to have a father.

=== Dr. Henry Killinger ===

----

Tropes associated with Killinger:

* [[The Ace]]: Fixes up everything with a wave of his hand.

* [[Affably Evil]]: To the point that the "evil" part is debatable.

* [[Nice Shoes]]: Always shown wearing a pair of bedroom skull slippers.

* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]: Possibly subverted. His mention of working for [[Richard Nixon]] implies that he may actually ''be'' Henry Kissinger, not merely based on him.

* [[Parasol Parachute]]: Like the above-mentioned English nanny, he can use his umbrella to fly. Also, as a conduit for his more supernatural abilities a la [[Harry Potter|Hagrid]].

 

=== Mrs. Fictel ===

Dermott Fictel's mother. {{spoiler|Unknown to him, Mrs. Fictel is actually Dermott's maternal grandmother. Dermott's "sister" Nikki is his real mother.}}

----

Tropes associated with Mrs. Fictel:

* [[Mama Bear]]: {{spoiler|While we haven't seen it with Dermott, even if he's not really her son, she was damn mad at Rusty for getting her daughter pregnant and made sure he gave her money and left, not to mention raising her daughter's son as her own.}}

=== Nikki Fictel ===

Dermott Fictel's sister. {{spoiler|[[Family Relationship Switcheroo|Actually his mother]].}}

----

* [[Fan Girl]]: Of Rusty Venture.

* {{spoiler|[[Hot Mom]]}}

=== Kim ===

Triana's once best friend. Has gained quite the fan following despite appearing for all of two episodes in season two.

----

* [[Mistaken for Subculture|Mistaken For Supervillian]]: Is mistaken for a supervillain by both Hank and Doctor Girlfriend due to her outfit and hair. She decides just to roll with it.

* [[Perky Goth]]

* [[Stripperiffic]]: Her outfit in "Victor. Echo. November.".

=== Princess Tinyfeet ===

Sgt.Hatred's wife and later ex-wife. {{spoiler|And apparently wife again.}}

----

* {{spoiler|[[Too Kinky to Torture]]}}: {{spoiler|When the Monarch kidnaps her as a bargaining chip with Hatred, he and Doctor Mrs. The Monarch don't even have to tie her up; she was already in bondage. She even ASKED to be put in the trunk.}}

* [[Unusually Uninteresting Sight]]: {{spoiler|Spends the entirety of "Operation P.R.O.M." in bondage with a ball gag in her mouth, and still manages to win Prom Queen.}}

 

=== The Outrider ===

A necromancer who married Byron Orpheus's ex-wife. The Outrider is Triana's stepfather, and she currently lives with him.

----

 

=== Raven ===

A handsome goth guy, he has something wrong with his legs and uses two crutches. {{spoiler|He is also dating Triana.}}

----

Tropes associated with Raven:

* [[Disabled Love Interest]]

* [[Goth]]

* [[Tall, Dark and Handsome]]

=== Col. Bud Manstrong ===

----

Tropes associated with Manstrong:

* [[Chaste Hero]]

* [[Momma's Boy]]: Very devoted to his mother {{spoiler|partly due to her mind-controlling him.}}

=== Lt. Anna Baldavich ===

The other astronaut on Gargantuan One, she and Bud were supposely in a relation ship but Bud's resistance to her advances put a strain on that which wasn't helped when the Venture clan visited and she made out with Brock. She dies later in the series when then space station crashes back on Earth {{spoiler|but not before trying to get into Bud's pants one more time as a final request. He blacks out midway through.}} She always shown from behind and her face is apparently not the most pleasant thing to look at.

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* [[The Faceless]]: [[Take Our Word for It|And for a good reason]].

* {{spoiler|[[Killed Off for Real]]}}

=== Cody ===

Sally Impossible's brother, who painfully bursts into flame when in contact with oxygen. As such, Cody usually has to be encased in a stasis chamber to control his condition and relieve his pain. He did not initially follow Sally and Ned to Spider Skull Island, but was kept by Richard Impossible, who harnessed Cody's heat to power Impossible Industries.

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* [[People Jars]]: Spends most of his time in one. He is in extreme pain outside of it.

* [[Required Secondary Powers]]: A perfect example of what happens when you gain the power to be on fire without having the ability to turn the fire off or be invulnerable to it.

 

=== Captain Sunshine ===

One of the few superheroes in the Venture universe, Chuck Scarsdale is gifted with incredible solar powers by day, and works as a news anchor by night, alongside the other members of his super-team. The loss of his sidekick Wonderboy at the hands of the Monarch left him... kind-of messed up.

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* [[Adult Child]]

* [[Dysfunction Junction]]: The Monarch killed his first Wonderboy, leaving him terrified that it'll happen again.

* [[Light'Em Up]]

* [[Manly Gay]]

* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]: [[Michael Jackson|Lives in a Neverland Ranch-style mansion, and has a slightly creepy devotion to his young sidekick.]]

** It's notable to point out that the episode in which Captain Sunshine made his first appearance was written ''before'' [[Too Soon|Michael Jackson's death]].

* [[Shout-Out]]: He's basically Batman (with a British butler, a stately manor, a Batcave-esque lair, [[Kevin Conroy]], and a seeming attraction to his sidekick) with superpowers vaguely similar to those of Superman.