Episode - Season 3, Episode 1 (Production Code: 3-32)
First Aired - June 1, 2008
The Monarch is thinking back to his honeymoon with Dr. Girlfriend aboard his escape cocoon when she revealed her big secret. A laser blast suddenly zings past The Monarch's head, punching a hole in his wing. Dr. Girlfriend yells at him to pay attention as the camera backs away, revealing that the two are fighting a horde of killer robots sent by the Guild of Calamitous Intent.
21, 24, and the other Monarch henchmen are gathered in the crashed remains of the Cocoon. They discuss The Monarch's disappearance when the Murderous Moppets, Tim-Tom and Kevin, insist that they are in command now due to their superior rank. (#2 to Dr. Girlfriend as opposed to the Monarch's henchmen, none of whom rate higher than in the teens.) The Monarch henchmen point out that they outnumber and out-size the diminutive Moppets, but the Moppets team up and defeat the henchmen easily, establishing their dominance.
The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend, having been captured by the robots, are being interrogated separately by the Guild's "Council of 13." The Council appear as shadowy outlines on large view screens. They ask Dr. Girlfriend about the betrayal of Phantom Limb, and she explains that Limb ruined her life. However, the Council claims that Limb allowed to her become a supervillain in the first place and shows her footage of her first date with Limb. During a picnic, Limb reveals to her his invisible limbs (having worn gloves, a long jacket, and long pants to cover them at first.) He asks her to join him.
Separately, the Council points out to The Monarch how easily Dr. Girlfriend is seduced. The Monarch admits he knows Dr. Girlfriend's past and dismisses them. However, he is reluctant to admit his own connection to Phantom Limb. The Council shows him footage of Dr. Girlfriend preparing for her career as a #2 after failing in her solo career as Lady Au Pair. Watch and Ward lead her through the Guild's "Citadel of Attribution" to find her a new position. They suggest a sexual theme, but she would rather have a position that allows her to apply her knowledge and training. After she rejects several options, Phantom Limb and his army of henchmen, known as "Shadowmen," arrive with Limb announcing that he would oversee Dr. Girlfriend's training personally. Watch and Ward concede as Limb orders one of his Shadowmen, #9, to prepare Dr. Girlfriend. Shadowman 9 can't stop staring at her, and, in the present during her interrogation, Dr. Girlfriend realizes that he was actually The Monarch before launching his solo career.
The Council reveals to The Monarch that they are aware he has been arching Dr. Venture since college, before he had the proper training and licensing from the Guild. The Monarch confesses that he first tried to kill Venture in college with an explosion in the science lab, but Venture was unharmed and blamed for the explosion, which blew off Werner Ünderbheit's jaw. After Venture left college following the death of his father, The Monarch continued to torment him. Another video shows The Monarch, in a prototype costume and Monarch mobile, attacking Venture in his compound. However, Venture's bodyguard at the time, Myra Brandish, easily dispatched him. The Monarch tries to claim that he didn't know about the Guild at the time, which is why he didn't join, but the Council reveals they have official complaints filed by Venture as well as The Monarch's time spent as a Shadowman (and as a henchman for other supervillains) to prove that is a lie. The Monarch must now stand trial for his transgressions against Guild law, with the penalty being execution.
Back at the Cocoon, 21 and 24 plan to overthrow the Moppets who have been riding the henchmen hard. They realize they can't fight the Moppets themselves but know someone who can: Brock Samson.
The Monarch defends himself against the Council's charges. He has the Council show footage from the night he first "made it" with Dr. Girlfriend. He, in his Shadowman 9 role, was scheduled to serve hors d'oeuvres at a Guild ball hosted by Phantom Limb. Shadowman 24 (later Henchman 24,) finds him changing into his Monarch costume. He convinces 24 to take his place in return for becoming The Monarch's #2 when he takes on his new role as a supervillain. The Monarch believes this shows that he wasn't just breaking the rules to torment Venture, but also to woo Dr. Girlfriend.
Dr. Girlfriend has the Council show footage from later that same evening. The Monarch was successfully hitting on her at the ball and the two had sex in his car. Afterwards, Dr. Girlfriend gives him ideas on improving his costume and playing up the Monarch theme. As they brainstorm, he decides to admit his secret. He removes his helmet but before she can recognize him, Phantom Limb's Shadowmen pull him out of the car. Phantom Limb plans to dispose of him but before he can, the Council of 13 gather outside, attracted by the commotion. In order to avoid making a scene in front of his superiors, Limb releases The Monarch, but not before Limb demands to know his name. The Monarch makes one up, "the Manotaur," and Phantom Limb swears that he will get revenge. 24, wearing The Monarch's Shadowman 9 costume, asks him to fulfill his end of the deal, but Dr. Girlfriend says no, since "9" is the one with the "staring" problem.
After the video, Dr. Girlfriend makes her case. She says Phantom Limb couldn't possibly have been stupid enough not to recognize The Monarch as one of his own Shadowmen, and the whole thing must have been a set up. The Council screens switch off and newlyweds are reunited, with The Monarch still thinking he is about to be put to death. The Sovereign appears to announce the Council's ruling.
Brock, having answered 21 and 24's call, arrives at the Cocoon and walks up to the Moppets. 21 and 24 watch from a distance, unsure of why Brock is just talking to them. They are even more confused when Brock picks up a hammer to work on the Cocoon repairs. 21 and 24 argue as Tim-Tom sneaks up from behind them. Tim-Tom thanks them (at knifepoint) and says he wants them to call more of their friends. Eventually, a large number of Guild supervillains show up to help rebuild the Cocoon.
The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend are stripped down to their underwear while the Sovereign congratulates them. They survived the fight with the robots, stayed loyal to each other during the interrogation, and even proved The Monarch's innocence. The Sovereign gives them the Guild's blessing for duo-ship and the ceremony is completed by binding their hands with a snake. The Sovereign gives them their first mission: usurpation of Phantom Limb's home. The Monarch and his henchmen burst in to raid the place, then The Monarch carries his new wife over the threshold of their new home.
In the Stinger, an elderly, retired Manotaur (now working as a security officer,) enters his apartment. Phantom Limb, looking disheveled with one arm and one leg replaced by prosthetics, confronts him. Manotaur claims that he's retired from supervillainy but Phantom Limb tells him that "no one retires from Phantom Limb's shit list." Manotaur goes for his costume, but Phantom Limb has already taken it. Limb uses his still in-tact right hand to kill Manotaur, proving Dr. Girlfriend wrong: Phantom Limb really was that stupid (or insane.)
Tropes:
- Auto Erotica: A flashback shows The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend making out in a car.
- Biting-the-Hand Humor: When The Monarch complains that the Council changed the song playing during the video of the first time he and Dr. Girlfriend had sex, the Council replies that they couldn't get the rights to it. For the season two premiere, the Venture Bros. producers had to fight tooth and nail with Cartoon Network execs in order to use a licensed song, which ended up costing 1/8 of the shows entire budget.
- Bland-Name Product: In a flashback, when Dr. Girlfriend visits Watch and Ward to prepare for her career as a #2, Ward is carrying a bag of "Fritas" brand corn chips.
- Casual Danger Dialog: The Action Prologue has The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend fight random mooks while discussing intimate matters.
- Continuity Nod: During the Monarch's flashback to his unsanctioned arching of Dr. Venture, Myra is serving as his bodyguard, which we saw in "I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills".
- Cut Lex Luthor a Check: The Guild has the technology to show video from seemingly any moment in a person's life, even before they were associated with the Guild, which would be incredibly useful in seemingly infinite legitimate ways. Justified, this being the Guild of Calamitous Intent and all.
- Foreshadowing: When The Monarch asks the Council if they know who killed Jonas Venture Sr., Vendata is the one who very quickly changes the subject.
- Groin Attack: The Pupa Twins take out a fluttering horde this way.
- Hard-Work Montage: The "friends" 21 and 24 call rebuilding the Cocoon.
- Shout-Out:
- ''Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" by Holst is heard during the Guild ceremony for The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend.
- 24 says he hopes the Moppets will pull a "double Villechaize," a reference to dwarf actor Hervé Villechaize who committed suicide.
- The song playing when The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend first have sex was apparently by The Sugarcubes, as the council references band members Einar Orn Benediktsson and Björk.
- The villain Truckules is based on the appearance of Optimus Prime, and he even says "roll over" at one point, like Optimus says "roll out."
- While repairing the Cocoon, one of the henchmen is seen rolling a giant penny with The Monarch's face on it. This is a reference to a giant penny Batman once used to capture a minor villain, the Penny Plunderer. That giant penny is stored in the Batcave.
- One of the supervillains the Guild offers Dr. Girlfriend the chance to work for is the Pinup Murderess Bettie Rage.
- One of the supervillains The Monarch henched for was Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Nightmare Coat.
- The Monarch calls the Council of 13 "Super Creeps," a reference to the David Bowie song "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps). In the previous episode, the Sovereign is revealed to be Bowie himself.
- When The Monarch talks about what he perceives as lousy torture to the Council, he asks: "Why they don't just drill into his teeth... Or something..." This is a reference to Marathon Man, where a character is tortured by having a dentist drill into his teeth.
- Silence, You Fool!: Used by the Council of 13 during the trial (Tribunal? Crucibal?). 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").
- Special Edition Title: The opening credits replace Hank and Dean with The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend.
- Summon Bigger Fish: When 21 and 24 fail to defeat the Moppets, they call henchmen killer extraordinaire Brock Samson to do it for them.
- Unreliable Narrator: When discussing the first time he fought Dr. Venture, The Monarch claims that the only reason he lost was because Rusty had an army of Ex-Navy Seal Cyborg Ninjas. The flashback shows that Myra Brandish beat him up with just her bare hands.
- Villain Episode: The episode revolves entirely around The Monarch, Dr. Girlfriend, and their men. The Venture brothers don't appear at all, while Dr. Venture only appears in a flashback and Brock appears only in one bit part with no lines.
