The Venture Bros. Characters
Team Venture composes the central characters in the show; they live in a fortified compound in an undisclosed location somewhere in the United States. The compound doubles as the headquarters for Dr. Venture’s company, Venture Industries.
Henry Allen “Hank” Venture (voiced by Christopher McCulloch): A teenage boy, one-half of the eponymous pairing. Hank is a combination of Joe Hardy, Jonny Quest and Fred Jones of Scooby Doo fame. He tends to be more athletic and better at disguises than his brother. He is also shown as more outgoing and less wimpy (but less intelligent) than his brother. He is always up for adventures and solving mysteries, but can be rather naïve, and his impulsiveness frequently gets him into trouble.
Dean Venture (voiced by Michael Sinterniklaas): A teenage boy, the second half of the eponymous pairing. Dean is timid, selfless, and more “bookish” than Hank. He is a combination of Frank Hardy, Peter Parker (in fact, he wears Spider-Man pajamas in several episodes) and a stereotypical boy from the 1950s (e.g. Henry Huggins, Buddy Holly). He has an obvious crush on Triana Orpheus.
Dr. Thaddeus S. “Rusty” Venture (voiced by James Urbaniak): Father of the Venture twins. A diet pill addict, he constantly lives in the shadow of his famous father Dr. Jonas Venture, from whom he inherited Venture Industries. There is some question as to his actual degree of ability in the nebulously defined field of “super-science”. While Dr. Venture desperately wishes to emerge from his father’s shadow, ultimately his knack for cutting corners proves his undoing, with his shoddy attempts at genuine technological innovation typically resulting in utter debacle (serving as the premise for several episodes). The doctor seems to dislike his sons (especially Hank); it is somewhat unclear whether he actually cares for them at all. However, he keeps cloning them and has not tried to cash in on the process, which suggests more than scientific curiosity. His childhood time with the original team Venture has had an undeniably traumatizing effect on him, and he still wakes up at night with nightmares of his worst adventures. Given that he takes pills to manage his erratic psyche, hallucinations and stress he may suffer from a form of post traumatic stress disorder.
Brock Samson (voiced by Patrick Warburton): Though not related to the Ventures per se, Brock is the bodyguard of the Venture family and an agent with the Office of Secret Intelligence. As a “Super Secret Agent,” he has a license to kill and an amazing zeal to use it. His background has been revealed to be “half Swedish, quarter Polish, quarter Winnebago“. Though Brock usually displays a relaxed and casual attitude, his temper can cause him to snap into psychotic violence at the slightest provocation. His ability to dispense punishment is equaled by his ability to sustain it, to the point that he is seemingly unkillable. He also has a superhuman sexual appetite, with conquests ranging from beauty queens to sleazy strippers to “the Queen of the Ant People.” He is extremely loyal to the Venture family, actually living with them in the compound, and now seems to serve as a bit of a mentor for the boys, with whom he shares an avuncular relationship.
Sergeant Hatred (voiced by Brendon Small in season 2 and Christopher McCullogh in seasons 3 and 4): Dr Venture’s new arch-nemesis after The Monarch’s forced leave from arching Venture, he is a large man with a giant red ‘H’ tattooed on his face (the rest of the word “hatred” is tattooed vertically down his body) and wears military fatigues much like the Marvel villain Nuke. He is also now the Monarch’s next door neighbor after the Monarch moved into Phantom Limb’s former house. Sergeant Hatred mentions at a party he hosts that he can’t be within 50 feet of a minor due to a court order, though he is married to Princess Tinyfeet and has a massive foot fetish. The Monarch’s henchman, namely 21 and 24, routinely steal parts from Hatred’s technology, using his hover tank to rebuild the cocoon and 21 stole jet packs from him as well. He has revealed that he’s taken Venture as his arch-enemy as revenge on the Monarch for his years of theft, as he’ll treat them “like a goddamn king” and make Venture’s life wonderful. He was Brock’s former supervisor in the O.S.I. In Season 4, Hatred has become the Venture’s new bodyguard.
H.E.L.P.eR. (voiced by “Soul-Bot”): The Venture family’s personal helper robot. H.E.L.P.eR. is an acronym for Humanoid Electric Lab Partner Robot. He was created by Dr. Jonas Venture Sr. to look after his son Rusty, but now assists Brock in looking after Dean and Hank. He does not speak, but rather communicates via electronic beeps that are more or less understood by the Venture clan, similar in many ways to R2-D2. Though he has very sensitive feelings, the Ventures often treat him like an old appliance or pet.
ORDER OF THE TRIAD
Dr. Orpheus (voiced by Steven Rattazzi): An expert necromancer and mystic who rents a portion of the Venture Compound and is friendly with Dr. Venture. Along with Brock, he is the only associate of Dr. Venture who displays any sort of competence, although his pomposity tends to detract from his abilities. His character is a parody of vintage comic book magic-users such as Doctor Strange and the even older (and cornier) Mandrake the Magician. His face and hair are similar to those of Vincent Price. He has been confused for Dracula a number of times. His speech is filled with overly dramatic phrases, delivered in a theatrically grandiose voice with extreme emphasis on mundane topics, usually over a background of ominous trumpet-laden music. After witnessing Dr. Venture’s various enemies, he develops a fervent desire for an archnemesis of his own. He is fiercely protective of Hank and Dean Venture.
Jefferson Twilight (voiced by Charles Parnell): 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 back story such as his mother was taken by marauding Blaculas when he was ten and he was a tank commander in the USMC.
The Alchemist (voiced by Dana Snyder): Another old friend of Dr. Orpheus, who is searching for the philosopher’s stone (“as a metaphor for enlightenment”) as well as a cure for AIDS. Unlike Twilight and Orpheus, it would seem that he is much less serious about his business and would rather mix business with pleasure; however, his true opinion on the Triad was revealed in the episode “Showdown at Cremation Creek”, where he stated that he was more into helping the balance of the Universe than running around fighting one Super-Villain. It has been openly acknowledged that he is gay and a fan of Jimmy Buffett. He is sometimes referred to as “Al”, but whether this is his real name or merely short for Alchemist is uncertain. He has an open hatred of the Internet due to finding out his boyfriend was cheating on him via MySpace.
“FRIENDS” OF VENTURE
Dr. Jonas Venture, Jr., also known as J.J. (voiced by James Urbaniak): Dr. Venture’s deformed twin, who was absorbed by Rusty in the womb. Until the first season finale, he appeared only in Dr. Venture’s nightmares. He was freed from Rusty’s body via surgery after being mistaken for a tumor. Desperate to claim the life that was stolen from him, he tried to murder Dr. Venture using a giant mechanical suit that he made out of household items. Though he has the body of an infant, his head has matured to an adult appearance and bears a striking resemblance to that of his father. He also seems to have inherited his father’s brilliance, unlike Thaddeus, as he earned two doctorates within the period of a month (the amount of time Thaddeus had spent escaping his former life). By the end of the first season, Thaddeus has agreed to share his Venture birthright with his brother. He is given the old Venture compound on Spider-Skull Island, as well as the X-2, the boat built by their father. Jonas Jr. appears to be everything his brother is not: scientifically astute, hard-working, attractive to women, about two feet tall, and the possessor of a full head of hair.
Pete White (voiced by Christopher McCulloch): An albino computer scientist and co-founder of Conjectural Technologies. He went to college with Venture and Ünderbheit where he hosted a New Wave radio show called “The White Room”. After college, White and Billy Quizboy worked in tandem on a Jeopardy-styled gameshow, called “QuizBoys” in which Pete hosted and Billy participated. After a debacle concerning the show seeding Billy’s answer display with the correct answer, regardless of what he put down, White and Quizboy were fired and left to find new lives. While the two had a short falling out, Pete eventually rejoined Billy (after his short unwanted stint with O.S.I. and his task of spying on Phantom Limb). They find refuge in a trailer near the Venture Compound where they currently reside. Like Venture and Quizboy, White tends to be somewhat lazy and half-hearted in his efforts. On occasion, characters refers to him as “the gay albino”, although it is unlikely that he is truly a homosexual.
Master Billy Quizboy (voiced by Doc Hammer): A self-proclaimed “boy genius,” Billy Whalen is actually an adult (35 in “The Buddy System”, 37 in “Handsome Ransom”) with a speech impediment and growth hormone deficiency. He suffers from hydrocephalus, although his intellect seems to be unaffected by this condition. He starred as a contestant on the game show Quizboys hosted by Pete White. When White gave him the answer to the final question, they were both kicked off the show and Billy’s winnings were frozen by the FCC. White and Billy went to Mexico, where Billy was accidentally entered into a dog fight, thinking it was an underground quiz match. Billy lost a hand and eye in the mix up. Billy left White, and was recruited by O.S.I. agents Brock Samson and Hunter Gathers, who provided him with a mechanical hand and camera eye. Brock and Hunter sent Billy undercover to spy on Professor Fantomas. Fantomas had Billy help with his experiment, but the experiment went wrong, Fantomas became Phantom Limb and Billy lost his left eye again. After a mind wipe, Brock (newly assigned to Venture) smuggled Billy out of O.S.I. and left him with White. He then became a neurogeneticist and co-founder of Conjectural Technologies. He is a virgin as revealed during a conversation with Pete White and Dr. Venture. In “The Invisible Hand of Fate”, Billy hits his head on a toilet and remembers everything.
The Pirate Captain (real name unknown) (voiced by Christopher McCulloch): 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”.
Triana Orpheus (voiced by Lisa Hammer): Dr. Orpheus’s 17-year-old quasi-goth daughter. She has purple hair, and is fairly friendly with the Venture Boys. 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.
ARCHVILLAINS AND HENCHMEN
The Monarch (voiced by Christopher McCulloch): Dr. Venture’s self-styled archnemesis. His real name is Malcolm. He is obsessed with Monarch butterflies, which he claims raised him as a child after he survived the plane wreck which killed his parents in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. In fact, he only spent a few months unsuccessfully imitating them before returning to claim his inheritance, and still seems to have almost no understanding of their biology or behavior. He then attended State University where he began arching Dr. Venture, but for reasons as yet unrevealed. He then began henching for a variety of villains, and was employed by Phantom Limb as Shadowman 9, until he became the Monarch and seduced Dr. Girlfriend (then known as Queen Etheria). Though he frequently describes himself as Dr. Venture’s nemesis, their rivalry resides almost completely in the Monarch’s imagination. In reality, Dr. Venture considers him more a nuisance than a genuine threat. His plans against the Venture family are usually bizarre and fail for a number of sad reasons. For instance, his first attempt on Venture’s life instead mutilated his lab partner, Werner Ünderbheit (Ünderbeit believes Venture was responsible). At the end of season one, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to prison after being framed by the Phantom Limb. However, in the second season, he escaped and began to rebuild his criminal operation, being reunited with Dr. Girlfriend in the process and eventually marrying her. As of the third season, the two have moved into Phantom Limb’s old mansion in a town called Malice.
Henchman 21
- , whose real name is Gary Stu (voiced by Doc Hammer): An overweight pop-culture geek who lives with his mother (except when living in the Monarch’s flying cocoon headquarters). He is always accompanied by Henchman 24. Wrote (or at least provided the cover-photo for) “Flight of the Monarch”, a tell-all that starts the chain of events ending in the Monarch’s incarceration. In the first episode of season two, being without costume for the first time, he is described by 24 as resembling Kevin Smith. He briefly toyed with the idea of becoming a supervillain himself, “the Viceroy”. He claims that he joined the world of henching when he was kidnapped by the Monarch’s henchmen when he was 15 (though further details of this event have not been given). When not henching, Number 21 runs a comic book hotline, the “Atomic Comic Collection Connection” from his bedroom. It is also revealed that he has a crush on Doctor Girlfriend. He seems to have a friendship with Hank.
Henchman 24
- , (voiced by Christopher McCulloch): a tall, thin man with voice characteristics resembling comic Ray Romano. He and Henchman 21 frequently have arguments about unusual hypothetical situations. Is described by 21 in the first episode of the second season as resembling Jerry Seinfeld with a unibrow. He tends to repeat words that are dirty or have a double entendre like “loin” and “jerkin”. Number 24 served as Shadowman 24 for Phantom Limb at the same time the Monarch was Shadowman 9. The Monarch promised to make him his “number 2” in return for a favor, a promise which has never been carried out (possibly due to Dr. Girlfriend’s reservations about 24, in reality the Monarch using 24’s number, due to issues with ‘staring’). Number 24’s powder blue Nissan Stanza becomes the replacement Monarch Mobile after the Monach’s lair is destroyed but is promptly stolen by a fleeing prostitute. The Stanza later inexplicably reappears in the garage of the Monarch’s Cocoon. It was heavily damaged when the Cocoon crashed in the Grand Canyon. The Monarch doesn’t remember much about 24 besides the fact he thinks his voice sounds like aforementioned Ray Romano. A former factory worker before he joined up with the Monarch, 24 has revealed to Dean that his ex-girlfriend married his father and that he has always wanted to be a cabinet maker. Number 24 dies in an explosion at the end of the season three finale. His skull makes appearances throughout season 4 as an object #21 converses with like they did previously. In Pinstripes & Poltergeists, #24 is apparently a ghost that has decided to haunt #21 due to lack of options, the other choices being the Cocoon lair, which gets blown up frequently, or his ex-girlfriend from when he was 15, which would have been ‘way too creepy’.
Doctor Girlfriend (voiced by Doc Hammer): Wife and assistant to the Monarch (now going by the name: Dr. Mrs. The Monarch.) Her real name is Sheila. She bears a remarkable similarity to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, at one point dressing in her famous short pink jacket and pillbox hat, and shares her New England accent. Her comically deep voice (the character is voiced by a man) is a parody of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ relatively low voice for a woman, and at one point, the creators claimed that they originally imagined her as sounding like actor Harvey Fierstein. Rumors that she is transsexual have been dispelled as a red herring. She was introduced to the world of costumed villainy by Phantom Limb, her then-lover and former professor. She initially failed as an independent villain named Lady Au Pair. She then served as Phantom Limb’s second-in-command under the codename Queen Etheria, until she was seduced by the Monarch at a party. Dr. Girlfriend was the undisputed brains behind the Monarch’s operations, but she felt unappreciated by him. After a short separation, Dr. Girlfriend and the Monarch renewed their relationship on the condition that the Monarch stop arching Dr. Venture and make Dr. Girlfriend his partner, not just his “number 2”. They were married in the Season 2 finale and recognized by the Guild of Calamitous Intent as “villain and villainess” in Season 3. Dr. Girlfriend now goes by the name Dr. Mrs. The Monarch and has designed a new butterfly-themed costume for herself. According to the show’s creators, her title of doctor is honorary in nature. Her doctorate was received after donating a large sum of money to an unnamed evil college.
Tim-Tom and Kevin
- (voiced by Christopher McCulloch and Doc Hammer, respectively): Achondroplastic dwarves who were Dr. Girlfriend’s “Murderous Moppets” in her solo career as Lady Au Pair. They apparently remain on good terms with her, helping in her application to be the Order of the Triad’s nemesis, helping her at her wedding, and organizing the rebuilding of the cocoon after its destruction. They speak to Dr. Girlfriend in a respectful manner, but outside of her presence, they are both surly, foul-mouthed, and utterly psychotic (they seem to ferociously attack with their matching stilettos with very little provocation). Both of them wear Little Lord Fauntleroy suits and ribboned hats. Tim-Tom is white (and speaks with a cockney accent) and wears a blond curly-top wig, whereas Kevin is black, and does not have a wig (he appears to have a jeri-curl, and thus curly hair like his partner). However they are now seen wearing matching cocoon uniforms now being associated with The Monarch. They apparently also deceive their mistress: she tells The Monarch that they were upset that The Monarch Henchmen pick on them, and that #24 was bullying them—when in fact they terrorize (and routinely brutalize) The Henchmen and Tim-Tom savagely knifed (and nearly murdered) #24 after he jubilantly poured Gatorade on him as a mischievous affirmation of The Moppets’ leadership. Dr. Girlfriend seemed to completely believe The Moppets’ story, but The Monarch seemed dubious. After Dr. Girlfriend becomes Dr. Mrs. The Monarch, the Moppets apparently officially join the Monarch’s organization, performing reconnaissance on the Venture compound for the Monarch (disguised as child participants in Dr. Venture’s “Day Camp for Boy Adventurers”) and accompanying the villainous couple on a mission while costumed as “the Pupaetwins”. Dr. Girlfriend treats them both as though they were her children, and they call her “mom” in turn but both of them also have sexual fantasies about her. Tim Tom admitted to Kevin that he snuck a look at her panties once when she knelt in front of them, and both of them enjoyed receiving hugs from her when she donned her revealing Dr. Mrs. The Monarch costume, taking the opportunity to openly stare at her breasts. While The Moppets have been shown to be relatively surly and fearless, they both were intimidated by The Monarch in Return To Malice when he peevishly confronted them outside of his wife’s presence.
Baron Werner Ünderbheit (voiced by T. Ryder Smith): A noted member of the Guild of Calamitous Intent and former tyrant dictator of Ünderland. He wears a prosthetic metal jaw and speaks in a thick, pseudo-German accent. He blames Dr. Venture for the loss of his jaw; as he says, “In my country, a lab-partnership is a sacred trust. One is always supposed to look out for one’s lab-partner! Venture… did not.” It has since been revealed that the explosion that disfigured Ünderbheit was actually caused by The Monarch, in an attempt to kill Dr. Venture. Baron Ünderbheit is a parody of Doctor Doom and Apocalypse, and has been jokingly identified as such in the context of show (e.g. The Monarch referred to him as “that dime store Doctor Doom”). Ünderland is a sovereign nation that shares at least one border with Michigan. Ünderland is a parody of Latveria and other fictional comic-book countries, which play on the reader’s relative lack of knowledge of geography.
Phantom Limb (voiced by James Urbaniak): A villain with invisible arms and legs. He is arguably the most competent villain seen thus far in the Venture Brothers universe, although he seems largely indifferent to the Ventures themselves. Although he is quite cunning and ruthless, he is also one of the more culturally refined characters in the show, judging from his interest in Persian rugs and fine cheeses. He framed the Monarch for murder and attempted to foil the Monarch’s escape plot, ostensibly because he wanted Dr. Girlfriend all to himself. It was later revealed in season 2 that the framing of The Monarch was simply part of a larger picture to lure out and kill The Sovereign/David Bowie and seize the leadership of the Guild of Calamitous Intent. Despite his intellect, he often comes off as pretentious, and at times clueless about the repercussions of his action – as if he’s too far into his ‘role’ to understand what he’s doing. At the end of season 2, he seems to have escaped, although minus one invisible leg (and perhaps another ‘limb’). His name and invisible limbs are references to the phantom limb syndrome experienced by amputees. The name and purple costume are also references to the comic book and comic strip hero The Phantom. It is revealed in episode three of season three that he was originally professor Hamilton G. Fantomas at a state college, and had tiny deformed arms. When Billy Quizboy was sent in by O.S.I. to spy on him, Fantomas made Billy his lab assistant, thinking he was a brilliant mind. During an experiment to turn his limbs to normal size, a malfunction happened which turned Fantomas into Phantom Limb. He later returns in “The Revenge Society” with the name Revenge. After leaving the guild he has completely lost his mind where his team is made up of a coffee cup, a toaster, and Dr. Mrs. the Monarch’s high heel shoe.