Recap / The Venture Bros S 3 E 10 The Lepidopterists

Episode - Season 3, Episode 10 (Production Code: 3-36)

First Aired - August 3, 2008

The Monarch's Cocoon descends upon Spider Skull Island, the home of his new arch enemy: Jonas Venture Jr. JJ orders his team, consisting of himself, Sally Impossible, Ned, and the Pirate Captain, to form "Ventronic," a giant combining mecha. After a brief battle, The Monarch finds his Cocoon badly damaged and stalls for time by communicating with JJ. He and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch inform JJ that it's against Guild rules for JJ to kill his arch enemy. Doing so would bring escalation from the Guild, and soon, they would kill JJ and his team.

After fixing up the Cocoon and dumping some weaponry, The Monarch calls for a retreat, but not before sending Henchmen 21, 24, and 1 to complete a "dark s-seven" maneuver on the island.

Meanwhile, JJ contacts the Guild in his confusion over the whole "arch nemesis" thing but is told that they are "antagonist" relations only and tells him to call the O.S.I. However, he is only successful in contacting the O.S.I. dry cleaning service.

Shortly after, the Pirate Captain informs JJ of a "knock at the front door." The Captain answers the door but is immediately tranquilizer darted by two men in suits. They introduce themselves to JJ as Mr. Doe and Mr. Cardholder, two specialists from the O.S.I. They introduce themselves as "Lepidopterists" and that they are there to help with JJ's "butterfly problem." They bring in Brock, who is an expert on the matter. They explain to JJ that it isn't wise to piss off the Guild by killing his arch enemy, since this little game they play keeps the heavily armed psychopaths with private armies from committing real crimes. They then begin to formulate a plan to deal with the Monarch, using the giant "late '60s ultra death ray" Scaramantula originally installed on the island.

As this is going on, The Monarch is preparing a plan of his own. Dr. Mrs. The Monarch informs him of a Guild rule stating that if the antagonist (The Monarch) survives a kill attempt by the protagonist (JJ,) the antagonist would then be permitted to expand his arching to include "Guild sanctioned relatives," Rusty Venture being a Guild sanctioned relative of JJ's. Basically, if JJ tries to kill The Monarch, then he would be allowed to go back to arching Rusty.

The Henchmen are on the island to execute the "dark s-seven" maneuver. The Genre Savvy 21 and 24 make fun of the new Genre Blind Henchman #1, informing him that he is the one "who doesn't make it back." He brushes them off at first, but their constant needling eventually gets to him. He tells them his name is "Scott Hall," to which they reply that knowing his real name will only make his eventual death even sadder. When #1 wants to sneak around a security grid, 21 and 24 simply walk across it, predicting that nothing bad will happen to them. #1 tries it and immediately sets off the alarm, just as 21 and 24 predicted. Despite this, #1 is able to successfully tap into the island's security system.

While JJ, Brock, and the agents prepare the death ray, they notice the alarm going off in the museum. Brock rushes off to deal with it while JJ prepares to shoot down the Monarch's fast-approaching Cocoon. Brock finds #1 and chases him down, defeating him in a fight (and presumably killing him.) 21 and 24, meanwhile, successfully hid in a museum display of other supervillains. They also run into the Pirate Captain, now strung out on tranquilizers. He begs for them to shoot him with their tranquilizer guns, and they reluctantly oblige.

In the death ray room, JJ takes aim at the Monarch's Cocoon, firing just as the credits roll.

The Stinger reveals that JJ actually fired harmlessly into the clouds, as the "dark s-seven" maneuver completed by Henchman #1 created an illusion of the Cocoon in JJ's security system. Since that counted as an attempt to kill the Monarch, he is now free to go back to arching Rusty Venture.

Tropes:

• Awesome, but Impractical: Once again subverted by 21, who thinks the Monarch Henchman uniform Utility Belt is just for show. Henchman 1 reveals that it actually comes full of useful gadgets and armaments.
• The Bad Guy Wins: The Monarch gets exactly what he wants at the end of the episode. After baiting JJ into attempting to kill him, he is now, by Guild law, allowed to arch JJ's "Guild sanctioned relative", Rusty.
• Batman Gambit: The Monarch's scheme of getting JJ to try to kill him so that he can arch JJ's "Guild sanctioned relative," Rusty. It works.
• BFG: The room-sized "late '60s ultra death ray" built into Spider Skull Island. Brock gushes over its specifications and admits to being jealous of not getting to use it.
  Cardholder: If that thing were a woman, I'd marry it.
  Doe: And I'd jeopardise our friendship by nailing your hot wife.
• Chair Reveal: The Monarch insists on doing "that cool spin-thing" when confronting JJ. Dr. Mrs. The Monarch points out that it's a bit of a cliché.
• Combining Mecha: Ventronic. Created by JJ, each member of his family (and the Pirate Captain) each control a limb which come together in this fashion.
• Continuity Nod: Henchman 24 references events from the first episode, such as comparing Henchman #1 to Speedy, and how Brock Samson drove his car into one of 24s' kidneys.
• Crapola Tech: The "Lightning Cannon" that Monarch tries to use to attack JJ just kind of fizzles out.
  The Monarch: "Ah, the lightning cannon sucks!"
• Curb-Stomp Battle: The Monarch's Cocoon is no match for the Ventronic, and the only reason JJ doesn't kill The Monarch and everyone in the Cocoon on the spot is that he's warned the Guild of Calamitous Intent will strike back.
• Disproportionate Retribution: JJ doesn't feel like "playing make believe" with arch villains like his father and brother, instead wanting to just outright kill The Monarch. Just as planned.
• Dude, Not Funny!: The Monarch calls JJ a "retard" in the presence of the mentally challenged Ned. Jonas calls him out on it, but The Monarch points out that he's a villain and isn't going to be politically correct.
• Even Evil Has Standards: 21 and 24 are disturbed by the Pirate Captain's addiction to tranquilizer darts.
• Genre Blind: Henchman #1, according to Genre Savvy Mauve Shirts 21 and 24. His gung-ho attidude and over-the-top falling into classic henchmen cliches make it clear to them that he won't make it back from the mission.
  21 (to 1): You're the one who doesn't make it back.
• Genre Savvy: Played straight and discussed by 21 and 24 in regard to themselves in comparison to the Genre Blind Henchman 1. By hanging back and using their knowledge of the genre, they avoid the inevitable henchman death they see coming for him.

• Insistent Terminology: According to the Guild, there are "protagonists" and "antagonists," NOT "good guys" and "bad guys."
• Leader Forms the Head: Comes up when JJ Venture's team spoofs Voltron with the "Ventronic," complete with the "I form the..." exclamations. The combined form has two heads, the one formed from JJ's robot, and the "left arm" clown head, shaped in a way to be recognizable and comfortable to Ned. Instead of just putting the clown head on top, they wind up with a stubby, useless arm, not too dissimilar to JJ himself.
• Mauve Shirt: Discussed by 21 and 24 with Henchman #1, who is a Red Shirt by comparison. The Monarch and Dr. Mrs. the Monarch also lampshade it:
  Dr. Mrs. The Monarch: Is there a reason you always use #21 and #24?
  The Monarch: I know it sounds crazy, but they both have that rare blend of "expendable" and "invulnerable" that makes for a perfect henchman.
• The Men in Black: Doe and Cardholder, two OSI agents who arrive to aid JJ against the Monarch and wear the classic uniforms and avoid acknowledging who they really are or why they're there.
• Nominal Importance: Henchman #1 is a study in all aspects of the trope, but it doesn't appear to save him.
  24: You are nameless-
  1: I'm Scott Hall! My name is Scott Hall!
  24: Mmmmm, nope! Not gonna help!
  21: Yeah, now it's just pathos. You're all dying in my lap and I'm all, SCOTT, SCOTT DON'T YOU QUIT ON US, DON'T YOU DARE!
  24: You've just made your unavoidable death more pathetic.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: Discussed after JJ chastises Monarch for saying "retard" in front of the mentally challenged Ned. The Monarch reminds JJ that he's a villain and doesn't care to be politically correct.
• Shout-Out:
  • Ventronic is based heavily on Voltron.
• Skilled, but Naive: Henchman #1, a totally by-the-book henchman who's clearly never been on a single mission. While 21 and 24 infiltrate JJ's museum with carefree abandon (due to their Surprisingly Elite Cannon Fodder status), Henchman 1 continually runs into problems and is eventually hunted down by Brock. Throughout their mission, 21 and 24 attribute Henchman 1's difficulties to him being a newbie and not actually knowing what he's doing, and continue to tell him exactly how he's going to die (at Brock's hands).
• The Unfettered: According to Brock, as explained here, villains arch heroes as the alternative leads to a pack of maniacs running amok without any rhyme or reason.
• Those Two Guys: Doe and Cardholder. It's clear they've been working together for a long time and they finish each other's sentences.
• Tranquilizer Dart: The Pirate Captain becomes hooked on them after being shot by Doe and Cardholder. They also try to shoot Ned with one, but it can't pierce his thick skin.