Venture Bros: Are You There God? It’s Me, Dean

I seem to have missed something. What prompts Brock’s massacre of the Monarch’s henchmen? Is that Brock’s gift to the Monarch, lest the Monarch feel bored and disappointed on his birthday?

Venture Bros: Ice Station Impossible!

One of the things I like about The Venture Bros. is how, aside from all the ugliness, scabrous humor, scatology, cruelty and misanthropy, there is almost always some really interesting idea.

This time, it’s Mrs. Impossible.

First of all, props to Publick and Hammer for coming up with a cogent, valid comment/criticism on the Fantastic Four.  Reed Richards is a preening, callous prick and Professor Impossible strikes me as a serious consideration of what that guy would be like in a real-life sense: cold, calculating, controlling and ultimately murderous. 

But his wife (Sally?) as the woman who becomes invisible, but only her skin, well.  It sticks with me.

Great idea for a character.  Maybe not a superhero, because there’s not much “super” about her, but a tragic flaw.  A beautiful woman who, unless she concentrates really hard, cannot maintain her outer beauty.  The scenes between her and Rusty have a real punch for me because a) Mrs. Impossible is a great piece of character design (meaning, I, like Rusty, want to have sex with her) and then b) it’s impossible to see her beauty again after you’ve seen the muscles and tendons twitching beneath her skin.  Endlessly attractive when her skin is on, one wants to stay with her forever.  And yet, one could never relax around her, as you’d always worry that the next time you looked, AAAGGHHH!  The red, twitchy muscles again.  And no eyelids to boot.  Beauty, lest we forget, is only skin deep.

Rusty is such a shallow, hateful man.

ON SECOND THOUGHT: When “Race Brannon” dies, he says to Brock “Tell Johnny I love –” then dies.  I was fully expecting a scene where Brock would track down “Johnny” (whoever he is), tell him that Race’s dying words were “Tell Johnny I love him,” and then realize that Race’s dying words could easily have been “Tell Johnny I love Jane” or “Tell Johnny I love his cooking” or “Tell Johnny I love Alias.”  And maybe the news that Race loves him wouldn’t make Johnny feel better, but then Brock wouldn’t have it in him to redact his message.  And one more person would be made a little more unhappy by Brock Samson.