Warning: major spoilers below! You know the drill. Don’t read this recap until youâve seen the fourth episode of The Venture Bros. season 6. Youâve been warned!
Following up on last weekâs revelation that his father was a superhero named the Blue Morpho, the Monarch eventually came around and embraced his destiny to become the new Blue Morpho, with Gary as his new Kano. But while the original Blue Morpho was a hero who pretended to be a villain, the Monarch is still a villain…heâs just pretending to be a hero to take out the villains ahead of him on the Guildâs list to arch Doctor Venture. That the Monarch and Gary inadvertently save Billy Quizboy is just the foreplay to his next epic arching. Oddly enough, their plan worked out more neatly than any of the Monarchâs previous schemes.
The Empire Strikes Back gag was well played (with a vocal cameo by the long missed Henchman 24), and the revelation that the original Blue Morpho (once again voiced by Paul F. Tompkins) was a swinger with Dr. Jonas Venture was another great comic moment. There are even some personal stakes for the Monarch, even if he doesnât realize it yet. The ending of the episode suggested that heâs alienating Dr. Mrs. The Monarch and he didnât care as long as she didnât suspect that he was out violating all sorts of Guild rules.
The running gag of the lab mice going through the worst stages of Christian history was amazingly funny, especially because no one in the Venture lab even bothered to look at them after exposing them to âGod Gas.â Thereâs an intriguing reversal at play here. The Monarch was an accidental hero and Rusty is becoming more of an amoral villain. Rusty isnât ambitious enough to go full villain, but he was perfectly happy to use human subjects for mind control gas. Thatâs pretty dark, even for Rusty.
Hankâs subplot about getting romantic advice from Brock and Dead was slight, but it gave us something more substantial for Brock. Despite his experience and his very funny kissing guide, Brock couldnât act on his desire for the Amazon heroine Warriana until he was exposed to Rustyâs God Gas. From the way that Brock and Billy reacted to that substance, it suggested that the gas made them more inclined to worship someone whom they already admired. For Billy, God is his childhood idol, Rusty Venture. And now we all know who Brock wants to take orders from.
Steven Rattazzi voiced the one-off villain, Harangutan, who was a fun addition while he lasted. Unlike Brock and Billy, Harangutan had a very bad reaction to the God Gas before Gary/Kano âpunched him to death.â Harangutan only saw Billy and Rusty as devils to be destroyed. The different reactions were intriguing, but thereâs no guarantee that the writers will ever follow up on that. But it worked in the moment, and it was very amusing. The recurring Superfriends style announcements was also a terrific running gag.
Jackson Publick and Doc Hammerâs brand of comedic insanity was back in full force last night, and this may have been the best episode this season. The plot was thin, but the laughs were huge. And who doesnât want to laugh?
What did you think about the latest episode of The Venture Bros.? Let us know in the comment section below!
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Image Credits:Â Adult Swim