Triggered to Thinking

Since my blog touches on aspects related to critical thought on culture, I wanted to discuss a show in American culture that everyone should think about watching. This is, of course, the cult classic known as The Venture Bros. The Venture Bros. was an animated series that appeared on Adult Swim on Cartoon Network on February 16, 2003, and concluded on October 7, 2018 (Venture Bros. Wiki). While the show was originally cancelled in 2020, the series did receive a finale film called Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart, which was released in July 2023 to conclude the series.

This show was special to me because it was not just another animated comedy series. It was a show that really made you think, and it was full of themes, stories, and relatable content that all of us can go through at some point in our lives. One of the most persistent themes of the show was failure and how we all experience it at some point. Jackson Publick, the co-creator of the show, stated, “It was definitely in my mind, but I didn’t completely realize that’s what we were doing until Doc encapsulated it in that expression — that the show was about ‘failure.’” (Publick, 2011).

Failure is something that humans can face at some point in their lives, but it is what we do and how we respond that is important. The Monarch, one of the main antagonists of the series, is unable to defeat Dr. Thaddeus Venture. His henchmen are often easily killed by Dr. Venture’s bodyguard, Brock Samson. However, he continues to try, even when it is never clearly explained why he hates Dr. Venture so much. In the episode “Tears of a Sea Cow,” the Murderous Moppets, who were henchmen for The Monarch’s girlfriend and later wife, Dr. Girlfriend, ask her why The Monarch hated Dr. Venture. They were unable to get a straight answer. Later in the series, The Monarch moves to New Jersey and has to deal with the sudden extraordinary fame of his nemesis, Dr. Venture. Dr. Venture inherited a large sum of money from his younger and more successful brother, Jonas Venture Jr. Jonas Venture Jr. had originally tried to kill Dr. Venture, but Dr. Venture ultimately decided to spare his life because he had literally emerged from his body and showed genuine compassion. Can we extend empathy and compassion to people who have tried to harm us?

Relating to the theme of failure, Jonas Venture Jr. goes on to become more successful than Dr. Venture. Hints of jealousy are present throughout several episodes. In the episode “Which Way, But Zeus?,” other scientists are kidnapped, but Dr. Venture is not. This causes him to think he is not well-known enough, but later his boys stage a kidnapping, and Hank Venture interrogates his father. While the show often presents Dean Venture as the “favorite” and more intelligent brother, Hank is seen as more athletic and more prone to getting into trouble. Dr. Venture thus admits that he sees parts of himself in Hank, and he knows that Hank does not truly want the superscientist lifestyle.

The two boys, Hank and Dean Venture, are eventually revealed to be clones who had died several times in the past. Dean himself is more in touch with science, but Hank is more athletic, often gets into trouble with his father, and spends time playing music with a boy named Dermott Fictel. Dean unsuccessfully attempts to gain the attention of a young girl named Triana Orpheus and tries to impress her by impersonating a scene from Lady Windermere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde. Later, in the episode “Operation P.R.O.M.,” he seethes with jealousy over her new love for a paraplegic boyfriend named Raven.

Apart from failure, the show brought many new memorable characters to light and successfully parodied former movies, literature, and historical or cultural events. The Order of the Triad included the necromancer Dr. Orpheus, the alchemist known as Al, and the hunter of Blackulas, Jefferson Twilight. Characters continued to develop and change as they went through different situations.

Dean went through a depressive stage after Triana but eventually moved past it. Hank managed to get a girlfriend. The formerly overweight and nerdy Henchman 21 eventually became stronger and turned into a valuable henchman. His transformation was largely a response to the unfortunate death of his best friend, Henchman 24.

One of the most intriguing fan theories centered around Scare Bear. Scare Bear became almost an instant obsession among Venture Bros. fans. During the wait between Season 7 and the finale movie, dozens of theories were proposed about who or what this mysterious figure was. Scare Bear somehow knew that Hank’s girlfriend was cheating on him and helped bring Hank closer to the dorm where she was staying. He also appeared in random locations throughout different episodes. However, the identity of this masked bear figure is never fully revealed.

There is much more that can be said about The Venture Bros. References to Edgar Allan Poe, Oscar Wilde, counterculture, and action-adventure shows are woven throughout the series. The beauty of the show lies in how well-crafted the episodes were, which gave the series a devoted following and encouraged years of fan discussion.

Go Team Venture!

References

Publick, J. (2011, August 3). Shadowlocked interview with Jackson Publick. Venture Bros. Blog. Venture Bros. Blog Interview

The Venture Bros. Wiki. (n.d.). The Venture Bros. Retrieved May 25, 2026, from The Venture Bros. Wiki