by Tony Rhea, Reporter

Action, adventure and…butterfly villains? The Venture Bros. offered a lot of unique and funny episodes in its time. With seven seasons over the last 20 years, it’s a show that has withstood the test of time. For many of us that grew up watching old episodes of Johnny Quest and other similar action cartoons, it was a tongue-in-cheek-nod to all those classic cartoons while being something entirely all its own. Venture Bros. brings it’s viewers into the world of Dr. Rusty Venture, his two son’s (Hank and Dean), and their always-busy-but-hardly-challenged bodyguard Brock Samson. Their adventures (or rather, mis-adventures) against villains such as the Monarch, Phantom Limb, and the Guild of Calamitous Intent provide hours of hilarious jokes and commentary spoofing not only the previous mentioned Johnny Quest, but also shows like G.I. Joe, comics such as the Fantastic Four, as well as numerous action movies.  The DVD release of The Venture Bros.: The Complete Series is upon us!

Set Highlights:

“Dia de los Dangerous”: The season 1 premiere (not to be confused with the “Terrible Secret of Turtle Bay” Pilot Episode). A trip to Tijuana goes sideways when Rusty loses a kidney, the boys get kidnapped by the Monarch (who may be more capable of caring for them than their father), and Brock get’s buried alive.

“Powerless in the Face of Death”: Starting with Doc Venture running away (and a musical opening that is too fantastic not to mention), Brock manages to drag him back to find that his brother, Jonas Venture Jr., has been more successful with his lab. Tampering with a teleporter splits him into thirds and spreads them over the compound. Dr. Orpheus (not to be confused with any masters of the mystic) learns the truth about the boys, and Monarch executes an escape from prison with the help of Gorilla Gr…King Gorilla. I said King Gorilla.

“The Invisible Hand of Fate”: A flashback episode featuring Billy, former boy genius, and his origin story. This episode deep dives, also giving us the backstory for Pete, and the origin of the villainous Phantom Limb! A fantastic episode showing how deeply tied many of the characters stories are.

“Pomp and Circuitry”: When Dean’s learning bed prints out a graduation certificate, Rusty tries to push him further into super science by taking him to his old college to get him enrolled with his not-so-legacy status. Hank doesn’t get a graduation certificate, and tries to join S.P.H.I.N.X., and has a surprising aptitude (due to having survived so many different kidnappings. This episode also features the villainous turn of Impossible (a comedic take on Mr. Fantastic).

“What Color is your Cleansuit?”: Dean takes a note from Spider-Man 3 and makes friends with some college interns his father hires to help build an energy shield (until they start mutating). Monarch still can’t believe that 21 quit, and convinces Dr. Mrs. The Monarch to create some mutants of their own.

“Rapacity in Blue”: Monarch and 21 take on new(?) identities, with Monarch taking on the guise of his true father, the heroic Blue Morpho (no relation to Green Hornet). Brock deals with his feelings. Rusty, Billy, and Pete develop mind control gas that has unintentional side effects.

“Arrears in Science”: This episode reveals much of the hidden history of the Monarch’s childhood, his Father, and a team venture ally.

“The Saphrax Protocol”: Hank is in a coma, and the Monarch and 21 face their toughest test yet. Brock must find a way to save the doc, and a lineage is confirmed! This was the final episode of the season and ended up being the final episode aired.

Special Features:

It doesn’t look like there are any new special features, but there are numerous cast and creator commentaries, included specials, and deleted scenes. It would have been nice to see some added features (like maybe a special peek at the upcoming Movie, Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart), as this is the complete series DVD, but what is here is still more than worth watching.

Overall:

The Venture Bros. is a love letter to everything that we and our parents grew up with. The team behind Team Venture should be proud of what they’ve created, and the fandom that it has inspired. It would have been great to see this DVD set released in Blu-Ray with additional content (such as a retrospective look at the series), but a DVD release still allows fans to have full access to the series whenever they want (who knows how long it will be available on streaming with all the content that MAX is purging). This set would be a great gift for a long-time fan, and would be a fantastic way to introduce a new audience to this fantastic series.

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives The Venture Bros.: The Complete Series – 4 out of 5 arching villains!

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