Recap / The Venture Bros S 1 E 12 The Trial Of The Monarch

Episode - 1-13 (12th in Broadcast Order)

First Aired - October 23, 2004

Hank and Dean, dressed as Indiana Jones and Thomas Magnum respectively, are exploring ancient ruins when they come upon a treasure chest. Dean attempts to read the Sanskrit tablet in the chest when a giant statue comes to life and attacks. Brock, dressed as Michael Knight, jumps in to save them by defeating the statue. The Monarch, who appears much more physically imposing and wearing different armor, then freezes Brock in ice. Acting quickly, Hank and Dean combine to form "Mecha Shiva" in order to battle The Monarch.

The scene shifts to a court room, where Hank and Dean made up that story as part of their testimony. An incredulous Monarch, as the defendant, objects to their obviously fictional story while the rest of the courtroom erupts into chaos. The Monarch is being prosecuted by Tiny Attorney, a conjoined midget attached to a dimwitted mute. Outside, a man in a large coat and hat kills the security guards merely by touching them. The man then radios in for a clean-up team to remove the bodies.

As the court proceedings continue, The Monarch begins testifying on his own behalf. His story starts with the publication of Flight of The Monarch, a tell-all book about his life, which The Monarch claims is full of lies. A flashback shows The Monarch threatening to kill all of his henchmen unless the author comes forward. Henchman 24 admonishes Henchman 21 for authoring the book, but a different Henchman is subdued and taken to The Monarch as the author. The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend get into a fight over some details in the book, causing Dr. Girlfriend to flee to Phantom Limb, her ex-boyfriend.

Dr. Girlfriend is revealed to be in attendance and gives her own testimony. When discussing Phantom Limb's flirtations, Dr. Venture objects since his boys are in the room. Brock is then made to take the boys into the hallway. In a flashback, The Monarch is shown arriving at Phantom Limb's house and refuses to leave, causing a disturbance.

Outside, while the boys play detective, Brock notices that the security guards have been replaced with Guild operatives known as "Strangers." Dr. Orpheus emerges from the bathroom and heads into the courtroom to give a testimony via mind reading. He gets approval to read The Monarch's mind, and it reveals that a police officer showed up to investigate the disturbance The Monarch was causing at Phantom Limb's. The Monarch is tranquilized and, while unconscious, a Guild Stranger bribes the police officer to go away. The officer's disappearance is blamed on the The Monarch, hence his arrest and court appearance.

Before Orpheus can give this testimony, Phantom Limb (the man in the hat and coat) orders a "freeze team" of strangers to attack the court. Brock, knowing how the Guild operates and that Venture isn't in any danger, takes the boys into the bathroom and does not interfere with the Guild's attack. With everyone in the court room frozen, the Strangers haul off their target: Tiny Attorney. Limb orders memory wipes for everyone in the courtroom and subjects a frozen Dr. Orpheus to hypnotic suggestion. He whispers to Orpheus that The Monarch is a very bad man who will hurt the Venture family and is guilty of all charges. In return, the Guild will give Orpheus the archenemy he wants.

Dr. Girlfriend, uneasy about setting up The Monarch, uses hypnotic suggestion on him telling him that she had nothing to do with this, and blames it on the Venture boys. The Strangers leave the courtroom, with one thanking Brock for not interfering. Brock and the boys return to the courtroom just in time for everyone to unfreeze, unaware that anything has happened. Orpheus ponders if his promised archenemy will be female, then gives the suggested testimony that The Monarch is guilty.

The Stinger shows The Monarch in prison, having no blame for Dr. Girlfriend and wanting the Venture boys dead. It appears that he is being visited by Dr. Girlfriend, but a reverse angle shows that it is actually Henchman 24 in drag.

Tropes:

• Antiquated Linguistics: Rusty lampshades Dr. Orpheus' tendency to use this trope with a near-Mystery Science Theater 3000 level of snark as Orpheus testifies in court.
• Brain Bleach: What the judge wants after The Monarch describes Phantom Limb pounding his "invisible meat" over Dr. Girlfriend's old Queen Etheria costume.
  Judge: "I want that last bit stricken from the record... and my mind."
• Break the Cutie: The Monarch dumping Dr. Girlfriend, especially given how he reduces her to tears by calling her a whore.
• Courtroom Episode: Obviously.
• Creator Cameo: Mirroring Stan Lee's first cameo in The Trial of The Incredible Hulk, Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick appear as jurors.
• Didn't Think This Through: 21 and 24 squabble over writing The Monarch's biography, with 21 blaming 24 for the Monarch finding out to 24 admonishing 21 for putting The Monarch's face on the cover.
• Everyone Has Standards: Even Dean freely admits that Hank's completely random statements (which Brock likens to Hank "channeling dead crazy people") are just bizarre. Hank himself questions if it's a cry for help.
• Fake Action Prologue: The opening scene with "Mecha Shiva," which is just a story made up by Hank and Dean.
• Freeze Ray / Harmless Freezing: The Guild Strangers combine these tropes to freeze everyone in the courtroom so they can take Tiny Attorney and wipe everyone's memories.
• Grievous Harm with a Body: During Hank and Dean's less-than-truthful testimony, they claim that Brock knocked off the arm of a stone golem and then used the arm to repeatedly punch it in the crotch.
• Karma Houdini: 21 and 24 are never tied to the writing of Flight of The Monarch, and receive zero repercussions for ruining The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend's relationship and inadvertently kicking off the events leading up to the season finale and beyond.
• Lampshade Hanging: When the judge expresses skepticism at Dr. O's mind reading, others in the room quickly point out it's the least ridiculous thing going on.
  Judge: This is most unorthodox.
  Rusty: Unorthodox!? The defendant is in a crown for God's sake!
  Tiny Attorney: I myself am growing from the torso of an inbred simpleton.
• Never My Fault: 21 and 24 blame each other for The Monarch learning about his unauthorized biography.
  21: You told me he wouldn't find out!
  24: You're such a dick! You put his face on the cover!
• Noodle Implements: The giant hairdryer used during The Monarch's torture of the grunt 21 and 24 used as a patsy for writing his biography. Just as its lowered in The Monarch's flashback the scene cuts back to the courtroom, so we have no idea what it was used for.
• Noodle Incident: The Monarch's unauthorized biography has a photo of Dr. Girlfriend sitting on Monstroso's lap. She claims it meant nothing because it was at a party and points out Monstroso's lap is so big there's four other people sitting next to her.
• On the Rebound: After being dumped by The Monarch, Dr. Girlfriend then shows up at Phantom Limb's place, completely despondent, and begins dating him.
• Police Are Useless: Played with. Venture says that if he knew you could just call the cops on the costumed crazies, he would have done it years ago. Brock explains that the Guild pays off the police to look the other way when it comes to Guild sanctioned arching, but if someone in the Guild directly messes with the police, they will be arrested.
• Shout-Out:
  • In the opening sequence, Hank is dressed as Indiana Jones, Dean is dressed as Thomas Magnum, and Brock is dressed as Michael Knight.
    • Hank and Dean dressed as Indiana Jones and Thomas Magnum, respectively, could also be considered a nod to Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, as Chip and Dale's regular attire in the show were inspired by these two characters.
  • The book that Orpheus uses in the courtroom in place of the bible is the Necronomicon, written about by H. P. Lovecraft and as depicted in the Evil Dead film series.
  • The Flight of The Monarch book mentions Monarch being pictured with Lydia Lunch and Stiv Bators at the Danceteria, while Dr. Girlfriend is pictured skinny dipping with Jim Foetus^note  a.k.a. series composer JG Thirlwell. All fixtures in the early-1980s "punk" scene.
  • The Monarch insults the police officer in the flashback with references to Ponch from CHiPs, Fonzie from Happy Days, and the works of fetish artist Tom of Finland.
  • Tiny Attorney is a parody of Kuato from Total Recall (1990). His "simple country lawyer" persona is a parody of Ben Matlock.
  • The Guild Strangers are named for the "strangers" mentioned in the David Bowie song "Oh! You Pretty Things." Their appearance is similar to the antagonists from the movie Dark City.
• There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Whatever The Monarch did to the henchman who took the fall for his "biography", it wasn't pretty.
  Dr. Girlfriend: You should have replaced his blood with acid after this part. The sharks won't touch him now.
  The Monarch: Thanks, Dr. Girlfriend. Now you tell me. LOWER THE GIANT HAIRDRYER!
• Touch of Death: Phantom Limb demonstrates this as his superpower when taking out the security guards.
• Tranquil Fury: The Monarch is eerily chipper as he's showing off the embarrassing biography one of his henchmen (21 and 24) wrote, before he drops this completely and announces "This is no book. THIS IS A SUICIDE NOTE! Good news! The euthanasia will be carried out by me personally!"
• Unusual Euphemism: Hank's tendency to use these is finally addressed by Brock and Dean when Brock asks what is wrong with him.
  Hank: And they kill clean! Don't let dames get in the way.
  Brock: ...honestly Hank, where do you pick this stuff up?! I never see you read!
  Dean: It's weird, right?
  Brock: It's like he channels dead crazy people!
  Hank: You think it's a cry for help?