The Venture Bros.
Series, 2004, The mid-2000s, Set in The Venture compound
The Venture Bros. is #9 of 16 in release order and #9 of 16 in chronological order in the Adult Swim Classics.
The story
Hank and Dean Venture, with their father Doctor Venture and faithful bodyguard Brock Samson, go on wild adventures facing megalomaniacs, zombies, and suspicious ninjas, all for the glory of adventure. Or something like that.
The Venture Bros. recap
Dr. Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture was a famous boy adventurer in the 1960s, the son of the great scientist Jonas Venture. As an adult he is a bitter, pill-popping, failing scientist who drags his naive teenage sons, Hank and Dean, on adventures, protected by the violent bodyguard Brock Samson. Their arch-enemy is The Monarch, a butterfly-themed supervillain with a henchman army, his partner and later wife Dr. Girlfriend, and his henchmen 21 and 24. The show starts as a parody of Jonny Quest and similar cartoons and grows into a dense serial over seven seasons, from 2004 to 2018. The boys are revealed to be clones, regrown each time they die. The Guild of Calamitous Intent regulates super-villainy, the OSI is a spy agency, Brock leaves and returns, the Ventures move to New York, and Rusty takes over his late brother's company. Later seasons tease family secrets, including links between the Ventures and The Monarch.
The Venture Bros. ending explained
Adult Swim cancels the show in 2020 after season 7, which ends with Hank leaving home. The 2023 film The Venture Bros.: Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart wraps it up. The family survives a villain who lifts the Venture tower into orbit, Hank forgives Dean, Dr. Mrs. The Monarch hints she may be the boys' biological mother, and The Monarch learns he is, like Rusty, a clone of the original Rusty, unrelated to the Ventures. He still vows to hate Rusty.
Where to watch The Venture Bros.
The Venture Bros. is streaming on YouTube TV, Adult Swim, and Spectrum On Demand in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 8.6/10
Where it fits
- Release order: after InuYasha, before Squidbillies.
- Chronological order: after InuYasha, before Squidbillies.
Cast
- Doc Hammer as Dr. Girlfriend / Henchman 21 (voice)
- Christopher McCulloch as Hank Venture / The Monarch (voice)
- Patrick Warburton as Brock Samson (voice)
- James Urbaniak as Dr. Venture (voice)
- Michael Sinterniklaas as Dean Venture (voice)
- Steven Rattazzi as Haranguetan (voice)
- Paul Boocock as Dr. Jonas Venture / More Pirates (voice)
- Lisa Hammer as Jeanie / Leslie Cohen / Lesliebots (voice)
- Dana Snyder as Dog-Man (voice)
- Mia Barron as Ladyhawk Johnson (voice)
- Charles Parnell as Mandalay (voice)
- Brendon Small as Action Johnny (voice)
Created by Doc Hammer, Christopher McCulloch.