The Venture Bros.: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"Go Team Venture!"''}}

 

 

 

There is also [[Ensemble Darkhorse|The Monarch]], Rusty Venture's longtime nemesis who transforms from lame joke villain based around butterflies to bad-ass super-villain; his quest to win back his girlfriend and get revenge against fellow villain Phantom Limb, who framed him for murder, catapults him into the spotlight in a number of episodes.

 

 

[[J.G. Thirlwell]] (aka '''Foetus''') does the soundtrack, which is [[Crowning Music of Awesome|awesome]].

 

 

== A-D ==

* [[A Form You Are Comfortable With]]: Played with in "Twenty Years to Midnight", where {{spoiler|an alien takes the form of Dr. Venture's father, much to his annoyance. He eventually berates the alien until it reveals his true form, which is indeed [[Take Our Word for It|apparently]] very disturbing.}}

* [[Abhorrent Admirer]]: Dr. Quymm's pseudo-[[Butch Lesbian]] bodyguard coming on to Brock.

* [[Abusive Parents]]: A running theme is that only horrible parents would drag their kids into dangerous adventures week after week.

{{quote|"Well, you see, dear, I was just...Oh this is pointless. SLEEEEEEEEEEEEP! In your sleep everything is forgotten."}}

** Dr. Impossible fails to refer to his infant son by name, referring to him as <small>THE CHILD</small>, when he even remember he has a son. Then there's this gem:

{{quote|'''Sally Impossible:''' What could ''possibly'' be more important than your son?

'''Richard Impossible:''' Sssssssscience? }}

** [[Jonny Quest|Action Johnny]] is another former boy adventurer and recovered addict with severe father issues.

** Dr. Henry Killinger will fix all of your problems, personal or career-related, with his "magical murder bag." He isn't just [[The Ace]], he's a character for whom the role of [[The Ace]] is played straight but turned up to eleven so he'll have huge comedic effect.

* [[Actor Allusion]]: [[Hey, It's That Voice!|Kevin Conroy]], who also does the voice of [[Batman]], plays a wealthy superhero who likes to take on young boys as sidekicks.

** Go-Fish's specialties: Aquatic Annihilations, Moist Murders, Sea Slayings, Liquid Lynchings.

** 21's insistence that the "Monarch Mind Infractor" should have been called the "Monarch Mind Machine" or the "Monarch Mind Mutilator."

** Also the Murderous Moppets.

* [[Adobe Flash]]: The [[Pilot Episode]] was done in Flash, although the rest of the cartoon is legit cartooning.

** Girl Hitler, a minor recurring character, looks pretty much [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|exactly what you would expect her to look like]]: a woman who looks and acts like Adolf Hitler, mustache included. She turns out not to actually be evil, but her catchphrase is "you mess with this girl, and" (arm shoots up in Nazi salute) "'''you get ze Hitlahr!'''"

** In the fourth season premier, Hitler himself appears possessing a dog. The Nazis want to use Rusty's (now revealed) cloning technology to bring him back. Dean grows attached to the dog. "He's not all bad. Hitler just needs someone to believe in him. Can't you just give Hitler a chance!"

* [[Adventurer Outfit]]: The Professor when in the jungle.

** Phantom Limb

** Dr. Henry Killinger, who appears to help people by drastically improving their lives, {{spoiler|but then turns out to be setting them up as super-villains that are "destined" to plague some specific good guy he's picked out for them}}.

** Sgt. Hatred, who vowed to subvert the trope with his rivalry with Doctor Venture, just to piss off the Monarch for stealing technology from him. {{spoiler|It worked too well as Hatred ended up replacing Brock as guard to the boys.}}

** The Sovereign is so nice and polite in person that you tend to forget he's running the world's largest organization of costumed villains. Although considering that The Guild has rules and regulations binding them, and discourages killing (without prior escalation), they're not nearly as bad as the usual criminals. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the Sovereign actually is {{spoiler|[[David Bowie]].}}

* [[Amazon Brigade]]: Molotov's Blackhearts.

* [[Ambiguous Gender]]: Doctor Girlfriend, whose chain-smoker voice makes many think she's a man.

* [[Ambiguously Gay]]: Everyone seems to see Pete White as this, much to his frustration.

** "Blood of The Father, Heart Of Steel". The part of the story focusing on the Venture family is done [[Back to Front]], starting with the climax of the [[Stupid Jetpack Hitler]] plot and running to the start. However, at the same time, we see what's been happening to Brock Sampson; his plot is told in ''normal'' chronological order, and is played in between segments of the Venture family plot. The timeline is established by titles displaying the CGC value of #21's ''Marvel Comics'' #1 and by the length of Hank's hair.

** Season one and two had similar out-of-order problems upon first airing. Phantom Limb's debut episode didn't air originally until the week before "The Trial of the Monarch" when it was supposed to air earlier in the season. Similarly, "Assassinanny 911" originally aired as the third episode of season two when it was originally supposed to air midway through the season, meaning Trianna's friend Kim was shown hanging around before she was to be officially introduced. The later created (temporarily) a [[What Happened to the Mouse?]] scenario as her debut episode (Victor.Echo.November) ended with Kim being given a Guild contact card and Kim proclaiming that she was going to become a villain and torment the Venture Brothers, after Hank kept accusing her of being a super-villain. When aired in proper order, "Assassinanny 911" reveals that she didn't go through with it.

** Pretty common on this show. Notable examples include Home Insecurity, where The Monarch and Underbeit trade lasers and daggers, and get ready to fight, but peter out because they were just grandstanding. Also, Bright Lights Dean City, where The Revenge Society, made of newcomers, and old faces, have spent the entire B-plot trying to kill Dr. Venture, and they finally have him surrounded, until one guy trips and [[It Makes Sense in Context|sends Dr. Venture to another dimension]].

* [[Anyone Can Die]]: At the end of season one the series hadn't been picked up for another season, so {{spoiler|the main characters both}} get killed, only to turn out in the next season's premier (which was produced over a year later) {{spoiler|to have been clones (which explains why their father ignores them so much - he's already coped with the deaths of the originals)}}. The later death of {{spoiler|Henchman #24}} is a [[Wham! Episode]] worthy of spoiler tags, and was a total shock to the fanbase since the show's focus had shifted so much since the first season.

** In a DVD commentary for season two, Col. Gentleman was stated to be above sexuality. "Of course I'm having sex with Kiki, what would you do with him? Look at 'im, he's beautiful! That doesn't make me gay, that makes me smart!"

** Dr. Girlfriend / Mrs. The Monarch / Queen Etheria had ''quite'' an interesting personal life before joining up with the Monarch. {{spoiler|The Monarch and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch are the most notorious swingers in the Guild. When #21 confesses to his makeout session with the Monarch's wife, the Monarch doesn't even bat an eye. Manta Claus did much nastier things to his woman ''while he watched''.}}

** Dr Venture's id: "And there shall be laughing! And mirth! And also ass-grabbing!"

* [[Arson, Murder, and Lifesaving]] - Brock gets this once.

* [[Art Evolution]]: The main cast's faces became a lot more detailed by season two, while Dr. Orpheus' face just settled. Backgrounds were more detailed by season three. By season four there is more detail all around and the colors are more vibrant.

* [[Author Avatar]]: In the DVD commentaries, Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick have said whenever they're stuck on the writing, they create a pair of characters loosely based on (and frequently voiced by) themselves. #21 and #24 are the Ur-example; others include Watch and Ward, the Moppets and the Lepidopterists.

* [[Awesome but Impractical]]: A common source of humor in regards to many of the [[Zeerust]] devices.

** The Walking Eye, which of course has many important uses: general Walking Eye stuff.

** The Monarch's Battle Panoply

** 21's design for the Mark V henchman battle armor. It's far too advanced for current technology to actually ''create'' most of its systems.

*** Subverted occasionally as 21 thinks that the henchman suits are just for show, but turn out to include first nightvision goggles and later the seemingly impossible functional butterfly wings.

** Colonel Gentleman, whose season two death was handwaved away as being in a diabetic coma.

** {{spoiler|Henchman 24}} returns in season four as an Obi-Wan-esque ghost. In the season four finale, {{spoiler|it is revealed that he wasn't a ghost at all, but just 21's wishful hallucination}}.

** Even ''that'' turns out to be {{spoiler|part of an even bigger Gambit organized by Hunter Gathers, to get Brock free of O.S.I. and recruit him for the newly restructured SPHINX.}}

** Which was {{spoiler|just a Xanatos Roulette by General Treister to install Hunter as new head of the O.S.I. and flush out Doe and Cardholder as moles}}.

* [[Beethoven Was an Alien Spy]]: [[Buddy Holly]] and the Big Bopper -- among others -- are alive and members of the Guild of Calamitous Intent, which previously counted as members [[Mark Twain]], [[Aleister Crowley]], and [[Oscar Wilde]], to name a few.

{{quote|"So...anyone who doesn't immediately show you respect, you murder?"}}

** Also, apparently, rudely hitting on Triana Orpheus in front of Dean. Or her father.

* [[Berserker Tears]]: Dean. See above.

* [[Big Bad]]: The Monarch, Phantom Limb (in season two), {{spoiler|Molotov Cocktease and Colonel Hunter Gathers' Black Hearts Mercenary group}} in season three, and back to the Monarch again in season four. {{spoiler|Phantom Limb}} has returned as of season four and is back on his game, fully intent on taking back the position. Subverted, however, with Sgt. Hatred in season three; while he's Rusty's official nemesis for that season, he is dead set on gaining Rusty's respect and love, largely to torment the Monarch by not killing Rusty.

* [[Bilingual Bonus]]: In the pilot, the character "Otaku Sensuri" is introduced as representing "the Onani Coporation of Japan". Onani, in Danish and Japanese, means masturbation, and "onanism" is an [[Viewers Are Geniuses|archaic English]] word for masturbation. Not to mention "Sensuri" - or rather, "senzuri" - is itself another Japanese slang word for masturbation. Pair this with the well-known word "Otaku" (meaning "fanboy"), and the whole damn company is basically about [[Fan Wank]]... whether literal or metaphorical is best left unsaid.

** In English, the sin of Onan refers to a Biblical tale of a guy who loves to spill his seed. Hardly an archaic use; anyone well versed in Judeo-Christian theology would understand that an Onanist is a wanker. The Danish term would have the same origin, don't know about the Japanese term.

* [[Biting the Hand Humor]]: Done ''very'' subtly. The creators had to fight tooth and nail with Cartoon Network to get them to cough up the money to use a licensed song in the second season premier. According to the commentary for that episode, the network may well have had a decent point because (according to Doc Hammer) the rights cost an eighth of entire series budget.

** The same commentary plays with biting the hand humour too, playing a message from CN denying them the money, and revealing that the network only agreed after seeing the scene cut to music written by Doc Hammer which was bad enough to convince them they needed the track to make the sequence work.

** Venture Bros. box sets tend to have some digs at Adult Swim:

{{quote|'''Billy Quizboy''' (Narrating): ...With more special features than an Adult Swim DVD. }}

* [[Black Comedy Rape]]:

** King Gorilla trying and failing to rape the Monarch in prison, and Nancy and Drew Quymn attempting to rape Dean.

** In two episodes of season two Hank alludes to unseen incidents where he and Dean were Bad Touched by Sgt. Hatred, and they were both hilarious moments.

** In "The Revenge Society" short-statured Billy Quizboy wakes up from what he believes was a dream only to be greeted by recovering pedophile Sgt. Hatred. A later episode says all they did was cuddle.

* [[Blatant Lies]]: Practically the only thing that comes out of Dermot's mouth.

* [[Blood Is the New Black]]: After a fight Brock (especially in earlier seasons or flashbacks) will often be shown covered in paint-like swaths of blood.

* [[Bond Villain Stupidity]]: Why not just kill a hero? Because the Guild of Calamitous Intent's bylaws prevent it. In fact, supervillains are generally not even allowed to arm their henchmen with actual guns, which is why the Monarch and his henchmen use darts. [[Joker Immunity|Heroes also have to adhere to this]] if they don't want to piss off the Guild, which is described as a powder keg of psychos who like using kid gloves but have access to far, far worse.

* [[Bored with Insanity]]: After his escape from the Guild of Calamitous Intent's prison in season four, Phantom Limb gradually regains his sanity, culminating when Professor Impossible restores his limbs completely with the added side effect of screwing on his head tightly in place.

* [[Bottle Episode]]: "Tag Sale - You're It!" was meant to be one, as it took place entirely on the Venture compound, except that Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick loaded the background with brand-new bit characters, going against the whole idea... They tend to do that a lot.

* [[Brainwashed and Crazy]]: Hank and Dean in "The Incredible Mr. Brisby."

** Rusty's childhood consisted of a lot of this, thanks to his father being a complete [[Jerkass]], a constant with the fathers/guardians of former boy adventurers/detectives. Thus, this applies to Dean Venture as well.

** Lovable loser Henchman 21 gets broken in season four.

* [[Brick Joke]]: There are a few here and there, but the [[Call Back]] to "Dawn Venture" in the third season finale was a stealth [[Crowning Moment of Funny]].

** In one of the earlier seasons, it's mentioned that the boys had a crush on the postwoman who delivered to the Venture compound, as she was the only female they ever saw. Hank tries to take her to prom in the season four finale.

* [[Butter Face]]: Anna Baldavich. [[Take Our Word for It|Apparently]]. When {{spoiler|she died in season two, a news banner states she receives a closed-casket funeral.}}

* [[Butt Monkey]]: Billy Quizboy. Most of the characters are on the receiving end of tons of abuse, but Billy is roundly dismissed as a loser even among his fellow losers. However, [[Beware the Nice Ones|don't push him too far]]. He's [[Groin Attack|groin punched]] [[Badass|Brock Samson]] [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|and lived]], not to mention he apparently managed to shake off the effect of O.S.I. brainwashing technology as well as being shown to be a brilliant amateur surgeon.

** Most of the members of the aforementioned OSI, who resemble [[The Village People]] and are all very enthusiastic about "hitting the showers" together. Eventually we learn that [[Hello, Sailor!|Shoreleave]] was kicked out of the group for being gay, indicating that the group apparently lives in a [[Transparent Closet]].

{{quote|'''Col. Gathers:''' "Oh yeah? Well, the Village People called, and ''[[Crowning Moment of Funny|and they want you to fucking kill yourself, you prancing bastard!]]"''}}

*** Even before, {{spoiler|he was a villainous version of the Phantom, down to the purple suit with cowl and ghost motif.}}

** "¡Viva los Muertos!" gave us the [[Scooby Doo|Mysteries Inc.]] gang with the members switched out with famous criminals.

** Captain Sunshine seems to be a cross between All-Star Batman and Superman, complete with a [[Jason Todd]] Wonderboy uniform behind glass.

** Le Tueur aka Kraven the Hunter.

** General Traister is the absolute king of this. He's Nick Fury and Iron Man, and even tries to be {{spoiler|The Hulk}}.

** [[Dr. Doom|Baron Ünderbheit]]. He is even [[Lampshade Hanging|called a "dime-store Dr. Doom"]] when mentioned in the first episode.

** Most of the cast ends up corresponding with someone. Dr. Venture is [[Jonny Quest]] as an adult, his father was [[Doc Savage]]. Visually he's based on Benton Quest... somewhat. Mostly the beard.

** And yet it's implied, as well as being outright stated, that (at least some of) the real characters exist in-universe, like the Quest family, as well as Daphne and Velma. Even odder when you consider characters like Rusty and the fake Scooby Gang in season 2 are parodies of certain real life counterparts (Johnny Quest and, well...the Scooby Gang, respectively.)

* [[Cargo Cult]]: The season three episode "What Goes Down Must Come Up", where {{spoiler|a group of chemically addled children trapped in an underground bunker}} derive their entire culture from {{spoiler|punchcard recordings Jonas Venture made to educate Rusty in the event of a nuclear apocalypse... and VH-1 Classic.}}

** Phantom Limb and 'Lady Nightshade,' a high-heeled shoe he stole from Dr. Girlfriend's closet.

** Rusty (Brock, Hank and Dean) with that "iron cylinder of unearthly delights" they call the Joy Can.

* [[Caught with Your Pants Down]]: One episode has the Monarch watching Dr. Girlfriend seducing Dr. Venture on a video monitor. He starts rubbing his chest, his hand drifts downward... and stops abruptly when a henchman passes through.

* [[Cavemen vs. Astronauts Debate]]: 21 and 24 debating [[Who Would Win]] in a fight: Anne Frank or Lizzie Borden? "We are talking about a large, healthy woman- of questionable stability..."

* [[Celibate Hero]]: Deconstructed with Col. Bud Manstrong, who is so sexually repressed that his girlfriend cheats on him with Brock Samson. He's shown to be a complete Mama's Boy too, and it is later revealed that {{spoiler|his mother's an [[Evil Matriarch]] whose bullying of her son has caused him to repress any and all sexual desires, to the point of having a [[Heroic BSOD]] when said girlfriend gives him a handjob right before she dies}}.

* [[Cerebus Retcon]] (relatively speaking): Billy's inability to remember how he got his robotic hand.

* [[Chaos Architecture]]: Underland is somehow in Eastern Europe and at the same time bordering with Michigan.

* [[Character Development]]: Most of the characters started out as ''[[Jonny Quest]]''/pulp comic parodies whose personalities could be summed up in one or two sentences, but all of them have become more complex and three-dimensional as the show progressed. For example:

*** Dean is by no means a Badass, but let's be fair, he did manage to kneecap Baron Ünderbheit with a steel baton after being caught *completely* off-guard by The Revenge Society. Definitely an improvement over Dean's previous onscreen fight, where he just flailed wildly against Dermott. In the same scene his rape whistle seems to disable Mr. Impossible, or at least forces him to put his hands over his ears instead of using his stretching powers to subdue Dean. It takes Phantom Limb's "killer hand thing" to drop him.

** The Monarch has become more intelligent and sane in his villainy, even pulling off a [[Batman Gambit]] -- though it's possible he was always this way, since he became horrifically lethal the moment he was arching anyone other than Venture. His relationship with Doctor Girlfriend (now Dr. Mrs. The Monarch) has dramatically evolved, too.

** The entire purpose of Dr Henry Killinger is to force this in characters. He's like a more affable [[Walkyverse|Mike]].

** While still not all that smart, Hank isn't nearly as naive or childish as he used to be in early seasons now that he's older. The largest evidence came during his angry speech {{spoiler|when 21 kidnapped him and his brother and accused them of killing 24. Brock's absence, while unfortunate, is actually having a pretty cool effect on his personality and actions.}}

** Henchman 21, following {{spoiler|24's death,}} has become one of the most competent people not just in the Monarch's organization, but in the Guild. He was actually capable of earning praise from Brock Samson {{spoiler|for their fight.}}

* [[Characterization Marches On]]: The writers describe their characterization process as simply writing [[Rule of Funny|whatever was funniest at the time]], then modifying the character afterward so that it comes across as [[Hidden Depths]]. This off-the-wall approach has led to some characters going in wildly different directions - Hank and Dean went from one step short of [[Single-Minded Twins]] to extreme opposites of recklessness and cautiousness; the Monarch went from joke villain to a bad ass villain with character depth to make him one of the most fully developed characters of the series.

* [[Children Forced to Kill]]: A clip from ''The Rusty Venture Show'' shows young Rusty being forced to shoot a bad guy to save his father.

** In the season 3 finale, Doc tells Sgt. Hatred that his father made him kill a man with a house key. He was ten.

* [[The Chosen Zero]]: Dean Venture's bizarre mental breakdown during the season two finale has him imagine himself as the chosen one of a fantasy world. The ruler of the fantasy land is not impressed and assumes that it's some kind of a joke.

* [[Christmas Episode]]: "A Very Venture Christmas".

** 'Venture Motors' SAAB 96 in which Hank and Dean were likely conceived.

* [[Crapsack World]]: One of the themes of the show is how the age of super-science that occurred in the 1960s and 1970s never produced the cool technology (such as jet packs and flying cars) promised to the common man.

* [[Crippling Overspecialization]]: Implied to be the bane of Jefferson Twilight, [[Blaxploitation|Blacula]] hunter, since he exclusively hunts black vampires. [[Subverted|Later countered]] when it's revealed that he is a former army vet and has a ton of practical skills such as the ability to drive a tank. That said, abandoned, fueled-up, ready-to-drive tanks that can actually be driven by one guy are probably ''much less'' common than Blaculas.

** [[wikipedia:Shawn Nelson#Tank rampage|Don't...be so sure.]]

* [[Cross-Dressing Voices]]: Dr. Girlfriend

* [[Curb Stomp Battle]]: Though ''any'' scene where Brock puts a beatdown on the Monarch's henchman is an example, nowhere is this more noticeable than in the first episode where he runs them over with his car. He had to turn his windshield wipers on to clear the blood away so he could find more to run over.

** Played straight with Jonas Jr. who makes a comfortable living selling the advanced tech he initially improvised to try and kill Rusty.

* [[Cyanide Pill]]: Brock has a false tooth loaded with arsenic, which he offers to Dr. Venture in "Love Bheits".

* [[A Date with Rosie Palms]]: "Don't knock or anything! It's not like I live with 80 guys and no women, so there is ''no chance that I am masturbating!''"

** '''Dean:''' "I'm practicing being a boyfriend, Pop!" {{spoiler|Subverted. He's just kissing his hand}}.

* [[Dead for Real]]: {{spoiler|Wisdom}}

* [[Death Montage]]: When we find out {{spoiler|the boys are clones}}, we are treated to a hilarious montage.

* [[Den of Iniquity]]: A low-key example of this appears in the fourth season; it's a room inside the Monarch's cocoon where his minions would quietly gather for drinks on their downtime.

* [[Did Not Do the Research]]: From circumcision to orangutans, the Amazon in the episode "Dr. Quymn, Medicine Woman" looks more like the Malay Peninsula.

* [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?]]: The Outrider literally does this in "The Better Man."

* [[Disney Villain Death]]: Both {{spoiler|Molotov Cocktease and Monstroso go off a cliff in a limo in the season four finale. The explosion is rather telling.}}

* [[Doomed New Clothes]]: We'll miss you, Butterglider.

* [[The Dragon]]: Dr. Girlfriend made a career out of playing "Number 2" to various supervillains, including the Monarch and Phantom Limb. Shortly after their marriage, however, she and the Monarch became an [[Evil Duo]], with the Pupa Twins (formerly Dr. Girlfriend's Murderous Moppets) acting as twin Dragons.

** Depending on whether or not one sees Rusty as a [[Villain Protagonist]], Brock Samson could also count.

* [[Dressing as the Enemy]]: Attempted by the original Venture Team in ''[[FemBot]] swimsuits''.

* [[Dropped a Bridget On Him]]: Inverted in that Dr. Venture never learns Ginny is a woman ''because'' he's not remotely attracted to her.* [[Dude, Not Funny]]: Invoked in-universe when the Monarch accidentally brings cigarettes to King Gorilla's welcome home party. To be fair, he expected the cancer about as much as we did.

* [[Dumbass Has a Point]]: When Dermott gives Dean girl advice, Hank marvels that it was actually ''good''.

* [[Emo Teen]]: Hank in season four.

* [[Equal Opportunity Evil]]: in Ünderland, both men and women are apparently subject to conscription into Baron von Ünderbheit's army until age 38, at which point [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness]].

* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: Rusty Venture (who's just very, ''very'' morally ambiguous, as opposed to evil) {{spoiler|refusing to clone Hitler in the season four opener}}.

** It's later revealed that {{spoiler|Billy Quizboy and Dr. Girlfriend}} ''also'' went to State University, but not at the same time as everyone else, and that {{spoiler|Phantom Limb}} used to ''teach'' there, having taken over Professor Impossible's position at the school when Impossible was involved in a scandal involving a student named "Sally".

** It's lampshaded again in season four when the Monarch meets Pete White for the first time, and remembers White from his college radio show and acts surprised that they hadn't met before then.

** The Council of Thirteen, though some of them can be identified by their silhouettes (Wild Fop, for one...) However, Word of God says that they often use silhouettes when they haven't decided exactly what a character will look like.

*** Two councilmen, 8 and 3, were revealed in ''The Revenge Society'' as Dragoon and Red Mantle (or as {{spoiler|The Big Bopper and Buddy Holly}} in their earlier days).

** In "The Buddy System," The Captain (fake [[Ghost Pirate]]) describes his past adventures as a villain to the kids, which all sound like episodes of ''[[Scooby-Doo (animation)|Scooby Doo]]'', particularly the part about getting to meet "the guy who did the vaice fer [[Inspector Gadget]]." The implication is that the Captain is, in fact, really from ''[[Scooby-Doo (animation)|Scooby Doo]]''.

** "Self Medication" included some dialogue between Dr. Venture and his fellow former boy adventurers that referred to Daphne and Velma as if they were real, with Action Johnny having slept with Velma, much to the surprise of his companions who all thought she was a lesbian.

* [[Fake High]]: Unfortunately the victim of the prank was allergic to oregano.

* [[Fantastic Voyage Plot]]: [[Lampshaded]].

{{quote|'''Pete White:''' ''[[Innerspace]]'' is not a classic.

* [[FemBot]]: The Leslie Cohen gynoids in "Past Tense".

* [[Fetus Terrible]]: {{spoiler|Jonas Venture Jr., Dr. Venture's fetus-in-fetu parasitic vanishing temporarily evil twin.}}

*** Tiny Attorney is a direct shoutout to "Kuato", the leader of the Mutant Rebellion in Arnold's ''Total Recall''.

* [[Film Noir]]: Hank's detective agency daydreams are a parody of this.

* [[Good Costume Switch]]: Seargent Hatred not only switches to a venture compound suit, he also removed the H tattoo on his face and replaces it with a V tattoo.

** Better, it used to say HATRED down his front, he removed all but the D because that one was "in a tender area".. so now it just says.. VD...

{{quote|'''Gathers:''' Do you want the bad news or the good news first?

'''Brock:''' I don't know, the good I guess.

* [[Heroes-R-Us]]: The OSI, technically.

* [[Heroic Albino]]: [[Meaningful Name|Pete White]]. Well, okay, he's kind of a loser, but still. And let's not even get into his old coke habit...

* [[Heroic Sociopath]]: Brock, Molotov, etc.

* [[Heterosexual Life Partners]]:

** Dr. Venture and Brock Samson

* [[Highly-Conspicuous Uniform]]: The Monarch's [[Mooks]] wear bright yellow uniforms with ridiculous oversized butterfly wings on the back.

** [[Lampshaded]] in season four when 21 complains that their uniforms make them stand out without actually providing any protection and that the non-retractable wings make it difficult to get through all the tapered doorways in the Cocoon.

* [[Historical In-Joke]]: The ghost of Abraham Lincoln pins {{spoiler|Colonel Manstrong}} in a full nelson, referencing Lincoln's past as a wrestler.

* [[Hollywood Nerd]]: Henchman #21, whose "weapons arsenal" consists of replicas, collectibles, and Hulk Hands.

* [[Instant Awesome, Just Add Ninja]]: Judging by the boys' recollections and Brock's flashbacks, a good chunk of the family's adventures.

* [[In the Future We Still Have Roombas]]: H.E.L.P.eR.

* [[Jail Bake]]: Phantom Limb sends his regards to King Gorilla by baking a "Tarzan" into a cake.

* [[Jerkass]]: Almost everyone gets a turn.

* [[Large Ham]]: The Monarch, who does it for fun and show, and Doctor Orpheus, who seems incapable of ''not'' doing it.

** The only time that Orpheus doesn't speak this way is when he delivers withering sarcasm.

* [[Leader Forms the Head]]: Comes up when JJ Venture's team spoofs ''[[Voltron]]'' with the "Ventronic," complete with the "I form the " exclamations. The combined form has two heads, the one formed from JJ's robot, and the "left arm" clown head, shaped in a way to be recognizable and comfortable to Ned. Instead of just putting the clown head on top, they wind up with a stubby, useless arm, not too dissimilar to JJ himself.

* [[Legacy Character]]: Captain Sunshine, as it turns out. Not suprising since most of his character is a parody of Batman and the first Robin recently assumed the title.

* [[Leitmotif]]: Dr. Orpheus has his own ''dramatically'' '''RISING MUSIC''' ''whenever he'' '''''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioEgPlxjDok SPEAKS ALLLLOUD!]''''' Which is to say pretty much all the time.

* [[Light Is Not Good]]: Captain Sunshine, who is solar powered, just for extra irony. Well, OK, he's still a super''hero'', but he does some... questionable things.

* [[Lima Syndrome]]: The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend develop this regarding the boys in the first episode.

* [[Limited Wardrobe]]: Most of the cast. Exceptions include Brock, who has been seen wearing at least three different shirts.

'''Hank''': "Well, that doesn't mean I never wash it."

'''Monarch''': "Fair enough."|After which, Hank spends most of the rest of the episode in a minion costume.}}

* [[Logic Bomb]]: In season four, Sergeant Hatred speaks nonsense to the robotic guard outside Malice. The guard's head shoots sparks and its face pops off because while it's programed to answer over 700 questions, "none of which include chicken fingers."

* [[Lotus Eater Machine]]: The Joycan.

* [[The Men in Black]]: Mr. Doe and Mr. Cardholder.

* [[Mind Screw]]: The Christmas Special. It's a dream within a dream within a nightmare and when Dr. Venture wakes up from it, his legs are gone and the four of them are in Bethlehem.

* [[Mismatched Eyes]]: As near as it can be told, {{spoiler|the Mighty Sovereign, David Bowie}}, as well as Jefferson Twilight.

* [[Missing Mom]]: Nearly omnipresent. Rusty's mother is never even referred to, Hank and Dean's mother left right after they were born {{spoiler|on account of maybe being taken to a mental institute}}, and Triana's mother left her husband for another man.

** And to {{spoiler|[[Edgar Allan Poe]] in the fake preview for "Escape to the House of Mummies part 3" }}

* [[Never Found the Body]]: {{spoiler|Henchman 1/Scott Hall.}} After two seasons of being presumed dead, {{spoiler|he appears in season four as "Zero."}}

** The Trailer for ''The Better Man'' focused on a [[Department of Redundancy Department|"Hell Beast From Hell,"]] who was even in the [[Cold Open]] and wasn't even from Hell. Despite physical appearances, it was ''not'' on the level of Cthulhu. The rest of the trailer talked about Triana entering a "portal to the Second World." Except it's ''not'' a portal to the Second World. Orpheus doesn't ''have'' a portal to the Second World. Half the episode ''centered'' on Orpheus not having a portal to the Second World.

** None of the season four trailers can be trusted: AT.ALL!

** [[David Bowie]] and his associates Iggy Pop and Klaus Nomi. David Bowie gets another subtle one in "ORB" during the flashback to the Victorian Era Guild: "[[The Prestige|Tesla]] and the Avon Ladies are attacking."

** Brian Eno shows up, too, in "The Revenge Society". Flying in the Warm Jets, no less.

** Appearing for only a few seconds is the BDSM-themed supervillainess Bettie Rage.

** Guild council members Red Mantle and Dragoon describe an alternate explanation of the events of [[Don McLean|The Day The Music Died]] in ''The Revenge Society''.

* [[Not So Different]]: [[Villain Protagonist|Rusty]] and the Monarch, stated by Dr. Girlfriend.

** [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] when Phantom Limb is about to begin a speech about how [[Not So Different]] he and Brock are, but Brock cuts him off, saying he knows that speech well enough from hearing it every time.

** Pretty much called out in "The Lepidopterists" where not playing by Guild rules to satisfy their crazy supervillain games ends up getting a lot of people dead. When bored supervillains don't have heroes to play stupid games with they tend to commit real crimes.

* [[Oculothorax]]: "It's a giant eye!" Dr. Venture's eye robot.

* [[Offscreen Moment of Awesome]]: Used to an irritating degree. The Audience is never shown {{spoiler|The end of Brock's fight with Henchman 21, 21 and Brock vs. Monstrosso, Brock and the rest of the family fighting the fly women in (P.R.O.M.), and the battles between The monarch Henchmen and the OSI and the Monarch henchmen vs. guild henchmen, are continuously cut away from to showcase other characters antics}} The build up to these fight scenes, and no payoff represent the theme of failure in the show.

* [[Overshadowed by Awesome]]: As more time passes with Sgt. Hatred as the Venture bodyguard, we get to see that he actually has some competence, but it's all too easy to compare him to [[Badass|Brock]].

* [[Paper-Thin Disguise]]: Despite the fact that Jonas Venture Senior is a 6'2" white guy claiming to be "Japanese man from the village of Japaninawa", despite dressing like a Chinese person and holding the outer corners of his eyes with his fingertips to make them look slanted, and despite Scaramantula explicitly pointing these facts out, he never fully realizes that he's talking to the man he's planning on blackmailing.

{{quote|'''Hank:''' Hello-ski! I am, how you say? Russian Guyovitch!}}

** The superteam in "Handsome Ransom" is instantly recognizable as the Action News team.

** In "Showdown at Cremation Creek Part 2," there is a [["Previously On..."]] which basically shows the major events of the previous episode in super-fast motion, ending with the scene of the cliffhanger, played normally.

* [[Product Placement]]: Brock: "Ever heard a ''Real Doll''? It's a type of sex doll that you can make look like anyone. You can even put a uhhh.."

* [[Punch Clock Villain]]: The Monarch's henchmen, and, previously, {{spoiler|the Monarch and Henchman #24}} for Phantom Limb, as well as Dr. Venture's single-episode "Venchmen". Mr. Brisbys bodyguard, Mandelay, was a great example of this as well.

* [[Put on a Bus]]: {{spoiler|Baron Ünderbheit}} after he was exiled from {{spoiler|Ünderland}} and refused lodging by the Monarch in "Love Bheits".

== Q-T ==

* [[The Rashomon]]: In "Victor. Echo. November.", three completely different origin stories are given for Phantom Limb by various characters and all of them involving Billy Quizboy somehow. In 'The Invisible Hand of Fate" Limb's origin is revealed and [[Continuity Nod|did indeed involve Billy]].

* [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]: Between the two most recent Venture body guards. To illustrate, Brock is a fit, [[Knife Nut]] and man of few words, Sgt. Hatred on the other hand is an overweight, pistol wielding fellow who talks a lot.

* [[Red Right Hand]]: This one is extremely common on the show. Almost every single villain, and a sizable fraction of the heroes, have some kind of freakish physical trait. Notable examples are Phantom Limb, whose arms and legs are invisible, and Scaramantula, who has ''eight'' fingers on his right hand and wears a rubber four-legged spider on his nose (with his eyebrows and mustache forming the other four legs).

** And Ginny, who is clearly attracted to Brock and considers him the only real man she's ever met.

* [[Reed Richards Is Useless]]: For all his money problems Doc Venture never considers selling cloned organs. However, the clone slugs seem to grow in real time, so doing so wouldn't be very fast. He ''was'' able to make a "quick and dirty" clone of a boy who died in "The Buddy System," but the quality of that clone was pretty questionable.

* [[Replacement Goldfish]]: In the season four premiere, 21 tries to convince Dr. Venture to clone {{spoiler|24}}. However, as the only payment he can come up with is a vintage comic book, Doc declines. In "Handsome Ransom", Capt. Sunshine seeks to make Hank his new Wonderboy. It's clear he's desperately trying to use Hank to replace his slain sidekick because he's not ready to deal with it, spoiling and sheltering him for fear that he'll feel that loss again.

* [[Reunion Revenge]]: "Past Tense" centers on Dr. Venture, Brock, Pete White and Baron Ünderbheit being kidnapped by a supposedly ({{spoiler|and actually}}) dead college classmate for their "crimes" against him - all of which are extremely minor, petty pranks which he thinks ruined his chances with the girl of his dreams (they didn't; he was a total loser and she wasn't interested).

* [[The Reveal]]: Averted. One detail contributing to the Monarch's enigmatic quality was that he always wears a hood, leaving all but his face obscured except in flashbacks... then, in "The Diving Bell vs. The Butter Glider," he unceremoniously appears without the hood. The mystery is dispelled in an extremely undramatic manner.

* [[Robot Buddy]]: H.E.L.P.eR

* [[Running Gag]]: Several, including 24's [[The Alleged Car|Nissan Stanza]] and 21 complaining about not being told about things, such as the fact that the wings on the henchmen's costumes are actually flight-capable. There are also other episode-specific ones, such as the lingering smell of the stinkbomb in season four's finale.

** There's also the episode commentaries. Throughout the entire series Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick joked about how no-one would listen to the commentary before seeing the episode. (Sometimes the season.) This culminated in season three when, at the beginning of ''every'' commentary, Doc told the listener that {{spoiler|24 dies at the end of the season}}. (See [[You Should Know This Already]]) This was later paid off when they were given a signed photograph by the ''one'' person who had listened to the commentary before seeing the episode.

** 21 does this at the end of Season 4, seemingly fed up with the Monarch and just leaves.

* [[Searching the Stalls]]: Brock is looking for Phantom Limb inside a bathroom. He begins searching each stall, encountering a different villain in each one, before finding his target.

* [[Seen It All]]: Everybody in the entire Venture universe.

** Played straight in the season three finale...

** ...and averted completely in another episode.

{{quote|{{spoiler|'''Dr. Mrs. the Monarch:'''}} Gary, you've seen too much.

'''Henchman 21:''' Okay, I have not seen that ever! }}

* [[Sequel Hook]]: Each season finale had these. In fact, seasons one and especially three have had full on [[Cliff Hanger|cliffhanger]] deaths. On killing {{spoiler|Henchman 24}}, Doc Hammer stated that it was such a stupid decision that you ''have'' to see where they're going with it.

* [[Shotacon]]: Sgt. Hatred. Probably Captain Sunshine, though his obsession with Wonderboy ''may'' be non-sexual.

** Word of God from Jackson Publick's blog says this is not the case for Captain Sunshine

* [[Silence, You Fool]]: The Council of Thirteen in the season three opener. Lampshaded when the first council member to shout it out has to explain himself to one of his confused comrades ("I was just trying to sound intimidating."), then subverted when another member attempts it and repeatedly screws up the timing ("Ok, you need to do that when SHE'S talking.").

* [[Simple Country Lawyer]]: Tiny Attourney

* [[The Sixties]]: Most of the characters are drawn from the books, comics, movies, and cartoons of that decade, but with [[Deconstruction|modern twists]].

* [[Skippy Rules]]: The supervillain guild has a number of hostage-related regulations named after Doctor Venture, since he was constantly getting kidnapped as a boy hero.

* [[Sleep Learning]]: Hank and Dean. Dean has expressed a dislike/fear of this at multiple points.

* [[Smash Cut]]

* [[Smug Snake]]: Phantom Limb. Oh so much.

* [[Spirit Advisor]]: In season four, {{spoiler|24 appears to be this to 21, [[Hallucinations|until the season finale.]]}} The Master is one to Dr. Orpheus, and Dr. Orpheus helps Brock get in touch with a spirit guide that takes the form of Col. Gathers in season two. Jonas Venture gives Rusty this piece of unheeded advice in an early episode:

{{quote|'''Dr. Venture:''' You dont need diet pills, you just need to work a few things out.}}

* [[Stairs Are Faster]]: The Monarch and Henchman 21 take the chute down to the Monarchmobile while Henchman 24 takes the more sensible stairs. He gets there first and closes the sunroof just as they would fall into the car.

* [[Stalker with a Crush]]: Myra, Rusty's old bodyguard. In her defense, it's not exactly her fault she thought there was something between them after she {{spoiler|is implied to have had his children. See [[Shrug of God]].}}

* [[Stealth Pun]]: In the season four finale, "Operation: P.R.O.M." Sgt Hatred has most of his HATRED tatoos removed, with the exception of the D, as it's [[Groin Attack|in kind of a tender area]], and replaces the H with a V for "Venture," meaning his tattos now read "VD," venereal disease.

* [[Stock Scream]] In particular the Wilhelm Scream, but since this series a huge [[Deconstruction]] of the [[I Want My Jetpack|future of yesterday]] it's probably a homage to it more than anything else.

{{quote|'''The Alchemist:''' ''But being a magic super hero that keeps chasing the same guy? It's completely gay. That is coming from a guy that voluntarily has sex with men!''}}

** Apparently inverted with born-again Holy Diver and Sky Pilot, who are allegedly Gay Straight, but he revealed later that it was a cover-up and that he actually is still [[Camp Gay|very, very gay]]. Hell, [[Hello, Sailor!|he's in the navy]].

* [[Sweet on Polly Oliver]]: Baron Ünderbheit mistakenly attempts to marry Dean when he is dressed as Slave Leia.

* [[Take a Third Option]]: {{spoiler|Season four revealed that Eugene Sandow actually broke the Orb, instead of killing Colonel Venture. This could be justified as Sandow couldn't bring himself to kill Venture, but the potential threat the Orb poses was too great.}}

* [[Team Handstack]]: In the episode "Hate Floats".

* [[Technical Pacifist]]. Brock doesn't use guns, but will kill people with just about anything else, including his bare hands. And [[Improbable Weapon User|a lawnmower, a tattoo gun]], [[The Bible|the bible, a jawbone]], and, on one notable occasion, his butt. [[Not Quite Dead|Sorta]].

** If Dermott was half as awesome as he says he is, he'd be right up there with [[Badass|Brock]]. Instead, he gets his ass handed to him by Dean. Triana sees through his bullshit even before that.

* [[Teleporter Accident]]

* [[Tempting Fate]]: Do ''not'' brag about your [[Plot Armor]]. Someone dies in the season three finale, and it sure as hell isn't a Venture brother. {{spoiler|DOZENS of Venture Brothers die in that episode, just not the currently active Hank and Dean.}}

{{quote|"{{spoiler|Henchman #1}} is dead! I am Zero!"}}

* [[There Are No Therapists]]: After three seasons of seeing how messed up Dr. Venture is, he finally goes to a therapy session. The delay is even given an in-story justification, as it's revealed that Jonas Venture, the source of all of Rusty's trauma and mental issues, ''was'' his son's therapist and messed it up royally by sneaking out while his son talked and them went on a long-winding lecture condemning his son as an ungrateful whiner who should shut his mouth and never blame his father for his life, since the isolationism and forced trauma was considered by Jonas to be something "better" than the life of most normal kids. The episode has a second justification for this trope. {{spoiler|The therapist is killed by a snake that the Monarch had 21 plant so Rusty doesn't have an excuse to get out of arching. The Monarch is ''damn'' determined to get at Rusty.}}

** In a sense, this is avoided. Dr. Orpheus provides a unique brand of mental-spiritual healing from time to time. Also in seasons two and three, there is a minor character called Dr. Killinger who functions as a therapist, particularly in his episode with Rusty. Furthermore... Rusty's aversion to therapy and unwillingness to confront himself are direct contributors to the pill-popping habit he displays throughout the series. Rusty, and perhaps the similar super-scientists Dr. Impossible and Dr. Venture, have more faith in chemicals than they do in words and emotions.

* [[Those Two Guys]]: Pete White and Billy Quizboy, #21 and #24, Watch and Ward

* [[Throw-Away Guns]]: "We have more bullets, you know. You have to stop doing that."

* [[Thrown From the Zeppelin]]: Literally in "ORB."

* [[Time Travel]]: "Escape To The House Of Mummies Part II" with Grover Cleveland's Presidential Time Machine.

* [[Too Soon]]: "Handsome Ransom" involves a [[Captain Ersatz]] of Superman and Batman who takes a shine to Hank as his new Robin. It involves "sleepovers" and giving him lots of toys. For what it's worth, the season had started production ''before'' [[Michael Jackson]] died.

** Subverted in the first episode; Brock takes about a dozen butterfly darts, and only goes down when hit with a truck. Of course, [[Made of Iron|it]] ''[[Made of Iron|is]]'' [[Made of Iron|Brock]].

** The pirate captain has an addiction to tranquillizer darts in the episode "The Lepidopterists."

** 24's attempt to kill Hank in the episode "Tears of the Sea Cow" are averted because he didn't know his rifle only shot tranquillizer darts.

** Some think Dr. Girlfriend, due to her deep, masculine voice. Brock continues to make jokes about Dr. Girlfriend to both the Monarch and Phantom Limb throughout seasons one and two, and her gender is questioned when she enters a public restroom. In the season three episode "Home Is Where the Hate Is", she's caught smoking for the first time by her husband, the Monarch, at a party. After he comes to realize the clues that she's been smoking (since 1989), well...

{{quote|'''Sgt. Hatred:''' I guess I'll say it. Her three-pack-a-day voice?}}

 

== U-Z ==

* [[Ultimate Evil]]: {{spoiler|The Leviathan from "Assisted Suicide".}}

* [[The Unfavorite]]: As the series goes on, Dr. Venture shows more contempt - or at least snark and negligence - toward Hank, brought on by Hank's [[Too Dumb to Live]] [[Ted Baxter]] tendencies. This lead into an unexpected [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]] for Rusty when he held Hank back and told him "You only live once" after {{spoiler|Hank unleashed the naked clone army to be ground up in the season three finale, thus ending their effective immortality}}.

* [[Un Installment]]: "Escape to the House of Mummies", Parts I and III

** In a much earlier episode, Dr Venture says he's going to get the boys a new mommy. When Dean points out they don't know anything about their mom, Rusty scratches his chin and ponders, "That's right, I never really told you boys about her..." but is interrupted by car honking and leaves on a date before going any further.

* [[Urban Legends]]: Kidney theft is a major plot point in "Dia De Los Dangerous" as well as the chupacabra. There are apparently ''tons'' of them.

* [[Used Future]]: Whenever a utopian project is started in the past, expect to see its ruined present equivalent to be contrasted immediately. Most of Jonas Venture Sr.'s projects fall under this.

* [[Viewers Are Geniuses]]: There are so many obscure references, to just about ''any'' topic, in each and every episode that you kind of have to be one in order to fully appreciate the humor.

* [[Villain Episode]]: "Shadowman 9: In The Cradle Of Destiny". While many other episodes have a majority of the episode dedicated toward the Monarch, this episode did not cut to the Venture family at all. Brock has a cameo only and didn't speak.

** Dr. Zin Of ''[[Jonny Quest]]'', who revels in acting out as a [[Large Ham]] to the benefit of younger villains and heroes and to entertain kids.

* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]]: We never really find out exactly what Doctor Girlfriend said to Monarch at the end of season two.

* [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?]]: Manic 8-Ball, whose only power seems to be the ability to respond with Magic 8-Ball answers in his chest instead of speech.

** The Impossibles (save Dr. I) fall into this category and [[Blessed with Suck]]: Sally's skin is invisible (making her a walking anatomy model) and her power is to make it ''opaque'', Ned's entire body is severely callused (though not invulnerable, so he's in constant pain), and Cody is instantly combustible with oxygen (he ''also'' is physically sensitive to his own power, though he seems to immediately heal when extinguished).

* [[Why Am I Ticking?]]: Hank in "Ice Station Impossible".

* [[Will They or Won't They?]]: Dean and Triana. {{spoiler|They won't. Probably.}} Brock and Molotov. {{spoiler|Being that Molotov fell off a cliff in a vehicle that exploded, probably won't.}}

** ''Except'' that one time Dermott is being rude to Triana, and Dean ''kicks his ass.'' Brock beams with pride when he does.

* [[Worf Had the Flu]]: In the third episode of season four, Dermott shows up to hang out with Hank. When Hank brings up the time Dean beat the shit out of him, Dermott claims he was "cheap-shotted when I wasn't ready" and "had a massive stomach flu". Obviously, he's lying.

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Prime Time Cartoon]]

[[Category:The Millennium Age of Animation]]

[[Category:Trope Overdosed]]

[[Category:Western Animation]]

[[Category:Adult Swim]]