Recap / The Venture Bros S 4 E 2 Handsome Ransom

Episode - Season 4, Episode 2 (Production Code: 4-41)

First Aired - October 25, 2009

The Monarch has Hank and Dean held hostage, then demands a $10 million dollar ransom from the incredulous Dr. Venture; this surprises his wife, Dr. Mrs. The Monarch, since it's not his usual MO. The Monarch and Dr. Venture plan to meet the next day for the exchange. After ending the communication with Dr. Venture, Captain Sunshine bursts into The Monarch's Cocoon. His attack leaves everyone in the Cocoon temporarily blinded and sunburned. He then takes the Monarch off to prison (literally, he just drops him in the prison yard.)

A while later, The Monarch returns to the Cocoon, having been released from the prison due to a lack of "due process." Dr. Mrs. The Monarch, badly sunburned over half her body, explains that Captain Sunshine returned and flew off with Hank. The Monarch instructs a beefed-up #21 to kill the cab driver that brought him back from prison. (21 just pays the driver and tells him to keep it a secret.)

Captain Sunshine mistakes Hank for an orphan, and hopes to have Hank replace his lost sidekick, Wonderboy, who was slain by the Monarch at the end of season one (as revealed in a throwaway line in the season finale.) Hank accepts and takes to the superhero lifestyle well at first. However, several incidents strongly imply an inappropriate relationship between Captain Sunshine and the former Wonderboy. (Each turns out to be harmless, such as Hank being instructed to apply Astroglide to his "buttocks and inner-thighs," but only to help him slide into his costume It just really, really looks like something inappropriate is going on to an outsider.)

Venture and Hatred arrive to pay the ransom, planning to spring a trap on the Monarch. They fail miserably, however, and The Monarch demands that they pay the ransom. Sgt. Hatred cites a Guild policy of releasing all captives, which Monarch cannot do since he doesn't actually have Hank. Monarch pretends he still has Hank and takes an I.O.U. from Venture, releasing Dean. They agree to meet again the following day, where Monarch says he'll have Hank but expects Venture to have the $10 million.

Venture first tries to call his brother, Jonas Jr, for the money. However, the Pirate Captain informs him that JJ is in outer space building his Gargantua-2 space station. Venture then reaches out to Billy and White, who are shown celebrating new found wealth they got committing insurance fraud, exactly $10 million.

Captain Sunshine has Hank, dressed as Wonderboy, out on patrol. They are taunted by Scorpio, a scorpion themed supervillain. When Scorpio mentions Monarch killing the last Wonderboy, Captain Sunshine goes berserk and attacks the villain, all while remaining incredibly protective over Hank. Sunshine then reveals he has a night job, hosting the 11 o'clock news as Chuck Scarsdale.

Venture, using the shrink ray from previous episodes, shrinks Sgt. Hatred down and puts him in the bag with the money. The Monarch gives one of his henchmen, in a hood wearing Hank's old clothes, to Dr. Venture. Venture sees through the ruse immediately, as "wild horses couldn't get Hank to take off Brock's jacket." Monarch, thinking fast, just kicks Venture in the balls and steals the money. Billy tries to shoot the bag with the money and a tiny Sgt. Hatred inside, but the device malfunctions, allowing Monarch to escape. Monarch's victory is short lived however, as Dr. Mrs. the Monarch explains that they are now obligated by Guild rules to return Hank, who they don't have. Venture also finds this out through Sgt. Hatred, and realizes that if he gets Hank back himself, Monarch will have to give the money back.

They each trek to Captain Sunshine's mansion at night (while he is at work on the news.) Hank successfully fends off the Monarch and 21 as they try to take him back. Captain Sunshine, as Chuck Scarsdale doing the news, sees breaking news of an "amateur video of a UFO," which is actually Monarch's Cocoon flying to his mansion. He freaks out, steals the news helicopter, and flies home. Venture, Billy, and White get to the mansion as well. They knock out the butler but are forced to hide when they see Chuck Scarsdale running towards them (as they don't want to be on the news...)

Captain Sunshine changes himself into his uniform as the Monarch falls through Wonderboy's costume-applying slide. Now dressed as Wonderboy, The Monarch rants about killing Wonderboy and about improper sexual relations between Sunshine and Wonderboy. Finally, he uses a "sunlight ray-gun," designed by Dr. Mrs. The Monarch, to attack Captain Sunshine. However, this just charges Captain Sunshine's powers (as he is otherwise powerless at night.) Using this power, Sunshine blasts the Monarch and his men.

Captain Sunshine overhears Hank call Rusty "pop," and realizes that he isn't an orphan after all. Hank, knowing that Captain Sunshine is just using him to replace the previous Wonderboy, tells Sunshine that he is leaving. Before he does so, Captain Sunshine kisses him on the lips and tells Hank, "You broke my heart." As he leaves, Hank asks Sunshine to put in a good word to Batman for him, which infuriates him.

The Stinger shows a very badly sunburned Monarch, Dr. Mrs. the Monarch, and 21 getting out of a cab in front of their home. The cabbie demands his payment, prompting the Monarch to shoot him with a dart.

Tropes:

• Actually Pretty Funny: The Monarch has to stifle his laughter when he finds out Hank called Dr. Venture a "honky" during an earlier argument they had.
• And Starring: Kevin Conroy as Captain Sunshine.
• Captain Ersatz: Captain Sunshine is a combination of Superman and Batman, with Wonderboy as his Robin, and the powers of The Ray.
• Characterisation Click Moment: According to the creators, they properly figured out how Sergeant Hatred should work in relation to Doc when they wrote the scene where he goes undercover in the bag of money—that is to say, doing the kind of ludicrous and humiliating work that Brock would never do.
• Comically Missing the Point: When Captain Sunshine (in his secret identity) crashes the newscopter into his front lawn and runs into his mansion screaming for Wonderboy, Dr. Venture and company run and hide because they think they'll be put on the news.
• Complexity Addiction: Monarch attacks Captain Sunshine at night when he's powerless, which would have worked if he hadn't tried to kill him using a gun that fires sunlight.
• Continuity Nod:
  • The plot of this episode is based on a throwaway line in the season one finale, Return to Spider Skull Island. An imprisoned Monarch asks 21 and 24 if they've completed a list of tasks, one of which was to "mail the charred remains of Wonderboy to his beloved Captain Sunshine.'' Monarch tells his wife in this episode that, while they were broken up back then, he got drunk and "slew" Wonderboy.
  • When attacking the Monarch in his Cocoon the first time, Captain Sunshine mentions that he knows Monarch to be "invulnerable." This comes from a Noodle Incident story Monarch told Dr. Girlfriend in a Flashback to impress her at a Guild ball in Shadowman 9: In the Cradle of Destiny.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Captain Sunshine easily defeats the Monarch and his henchmen at the start of the episode. After Monarch inadvertently repowers him, Sunshine dishes out another one-sided battle at the end of it.
• Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Discussed. The Monarch paid a couple of million dollars for some robot caterpillars just so that he could ransom the Venture boys for ten million, not exactly a great return on investment. He explicitly says that he is doing this For the Evulz.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: Pausing on the scene where Billy hands Pete the check reveals that it is from the "General Consolidated Insurance" company. This provides some sneaky Foreshadowing to "The Silent Partners" later in the season.
• Get Out!: Captain Sunshine at the end.
  Hank: Hey, do you think maybe you could, you know, put in a good word with Batman for me?
  Captain Sunshine: GET OUT OF MY SANCTUM SOLARIUM!
• Hit Them in the Pocketbook: The Monarch agrees to return Hank and Dean if Dr. Venture pays a ransom of $10 million for them. When Dr. Mrs. The Monarch asks what he's doing, he responds with this trope.
  The Monarch: You wanna know how to really hurt Venture?
  Dr. Mrs. The Monarch: Not really, but as a wife, I try to be supportive, so-
  The Monarch: You strike him in the pocketbook!
• Hoist by His Own Petard:
  • The Monarch wants to give Captain Sunshine a taste of his own medicine, blasting him with a weapon that mimics Sunshine's solar radiation. Instead, it just charges his powers, allowing him to use them at night.
  • Additionally, while he's fortunate enough that nothing comes of it, The Monarch's Oh, Crap! expression when Captain Sunshine approaches him slowly while saying that he knows he's invulnerable makes it clear he's realized how easily that deception could turn into this against an enemy who is as strong as Superman and usually doesn't kill people.
• Mistaken for Pedophile: According to the producers, Captain Sunshine is not actually a pedophile. It's really, really, really easy to make that mistake however.
• Motive Decay: Subverted by The Monarch. Both Dr. Venture and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch are shocked when he demands a ransom from Venture for the boys, but he explains that he's doing it to hurt Venture where it hurts him the most: his wallet.
• No-Sell:
  • Hank trying to punch the much more buff 21 has no effect.
  • The Monarch trying to shoot Captain Sunshine with a gun that shoots simulated UV radiation, which predictably just gives the superhero back his powers instead of hurting him.
• Not Hyperbole: Captain Sunshine literally threw the Monarch in jail.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: The superteam Captain Sunshine is part of is easily recognizable as the Action News team.
• The Power of the Sun / Light 'em Up: Captain Sunshine's powers, to the point where they don't work at night.
• Replacement Goldfish: Captain Sunshine trying to replace the lost Wonderboy with Hank.
• Secret Identity: Captain Sunshine is Chuck Scarsdale, anchor for the 11 o'clock news. The rest of the news team also consists of superheros in their secret identities.
• Shout-Out:
  • The Action 5 news team is a thinly veiled Expy of the Freedom Fighters:
    • US Steel as Uncle Sam
    • Barbie Q as Firebrand and Phantom Lady, with name a portmanteau of Barbie and BBQ.
    • Captain Sunshine with the powers of The Ray.
    • Ghost Robot shares similarities with the Human Bomb, as well as Alphonse Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist, being a ghost inhabiting the body of a metallic construct (a robot instead of a suit of armor.)
  • Captain Sunshine has his "Sanctum Solarium," similarly named to Doctor Strange's "Sanctum Sanctorum," which is "almost as cool as the Batcave," according to Hank.
  • The narrator for the final battle scene mimics the narrator of the Superfriends.
  • "You broke my heart, Hank. You broke my heart."
  • Hank apparently lied to Captain Sunshine about having been in the circus, which is the backstory for Dick Grayson, the original Robin. (Robin is also frequently referred to as "The Boy Wonder.")
  • Captain Sunshine literally throwing The Monarch into the prison yard is basically what Superman does to Luthor at the end of Superman: The Movie, complete with salute. (Although Supes at least says he's putting Lex and Otis there "until they stand trial".)
  • The Monarch's rant to Captain Sunshine includes a reference to this old PSA for do-it-yourself fruit juice popsicles: "You'll have a fun time eating sunshine on a stick!"
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: As the Monarch lampshades, you can't just literally throw a super villain in jail.
  The Monarch: He threw me in jail. Literally. Threw me right into the yard at the state prison. Then he shouts up to the warden, "Looks like this one won't be causing any more trouble!" And he flies off with a gay little salute.
  Dr. Mrs. The Monarch: Oh my god.
  The Monarch: Apparently nobody ever told him what due process was.
• Vigilante Injustice: Parodied. Captain Sunshine tries to put Monarch in prison by literally dropping him in the courtyard, however, the warden just lets Monarch go since Sunshine didn't consider the legal requirements to actually put him in prison.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: The Monarch tries to go for an Ironic Death for Captain Sunshine by intending to kill him with a sunshine blaster during the night when his sun powers don’t work. Unfortunately, Sunshine’s powers not working at night doesn’t mean he doesn’t have them, and the blaster instead activates his powers.