| Shoreleave | |
|---|---|
| The Venture Bros. character | |
 | |
| First appearance |
"The Invisible Hand of Fate" |
| Voiced by |
Doc Hammer |
| Information | |
| Aliases |
Shoreleave Holy Diver The Red Throated Loon The Fruit Bat Conquistadorable |
| Occupation | Secret Agent |
| Notable characteristics |
Anchor tattoos Frosted tips on hair Mustache Firearms expertise Skilled in hand-to-hand combat and lockpicking Sassy attitutde |
| Boyfriend |
The Alchemist |
| Current Alliances |
O.S.I. |
| Prior Alliances |
New S.P.H.I.N.X. |
| Enemies |
Dr. Schumpmaker The Guild of Calamitous Intent (including the Council of 13) Old S.P.H.I.N.X. (defunct) |
Shoreleave is a major character and an O.S.I. agent on The Venture Brothers. He is a parody of Shipwreck from the animated G.I. Joe series. He is voiced by Doc Hammer.
Character History
Shoreleave was first seen in the episode The Invisible Hand of Fate, where he and other O.S.I. agents destroy the original S.P.H.I.N.X. and later mock Hunter Gathers and Brock Samson for their investigation of The Guild of Calamitous Intent, which at the time was not seen as a serious threat. He appeared again in The Family That Slays Together, Stays Together (Part I) as a former O.S.I. agent who with another former agent, Sky Pilot. They call themselves the "Soul Mates", himself, "Holy Diver", and lead the fastest-growing youth ministry in Southern California, The Action Bible School. Brock meets up with them while on the run with the The Venture Family in the hope of using their boat to get to safety on Spider-Skull Island. Unfortunately the duo refuse to use violence and resort to prayer as Brock is attacked by the assassin Go-Fish. Shoreleave's supposed religious awakening was in fact a ruse to hide that he was an agent of the resurrected S.P.H.I.N.X.,now being used by ex-O.S.I. agents to handle threats the O.S.I. was unable to deal with due to bureaucratic complications.
It was revealed in Everybody Comes to Hank's, that he had a romantic relationship with The Alchemist, but he erased the latter's memory when he got possessive and tried to move in with him after breaking up with his boyfriend. However, their relationship appears to have been fully rekindled by the end of Operation: P.R.O.M..
In Any Which Way But Zeus, Shoreleave is kidnapped by Zeus, later to revealed as Scott Hall, to fight other henchmen, sidekicks, and heroes in brutal death matches.
In What Color is Your Cleansuit?, Shoreleave and Brock investigate the wreckage of Molotov and Monstroso's limo and discover that the two have survived the crash and escaped. Later on, he and the other SPHINX agents are allowed to rejoin the O.S.I. after it is put under the control of Hunter Gathers who becomes the new General.
In O.S.I. Love You, he and the other agents have tracked down Molotov and Monstroso before proceeding to capture them. He is then seen having a video chat with The Alchemist before being interviewed by government investigators who are later revealed to be The Investors. He also supposedly went through a short-lived, ill-conceived Madonna period. In Bot Seeks Bot, Shoreleave takes the alias "Red Throated Loon" to infiltrate Don Hell's, a nightclub run by Don Hell, one of the Guild's Council of 13.
In Red Means Stop, he disguises himself as Brock, but Brock wins a game of rock-scissors-paper claiming that "nothing beats rock" and plays himself in the trap while the still disguised Shore Leave goes out on the town, intending to bring Hank and Dean to the famous night club The Limelight, only to be upset to learn that it has been turned into a mall.
In the The Inamorata Consequence, he engages in the "pool battle" with Phantom Limb during the treaty negotiations. He appeared to have won after Limb is seen to have a broken arm.
In Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart, he assists the O.S.I. in the investigation on the attack of their secret lab in Queens by ARCH. He later helps Dr. Mrs. The Monarch escape Guild and O.S.I. custody when she was framed for the attack.
Character Appearance & Personality
Shoreleave has an athletic, muscular build, though not to the extent of Brock or Sky Pilot. He is very proud of flaunting his figure, leading him to wear as little clothing as he can get away with, with anything he does wear revealing as much skin as possible. He is rarely seen without an undersized sailor's hat sitting atop his head. Despite his brown hair, he sports a prominent black mustache. His forearm also sports an anchor tattoo.
After leaving the O.S.I., Shoreleave got his chest tattooed with a large anchor-like cross, in aid of his cover as a "religious nutjob". He also began "frosting" the front portion of his hair.
Shoreleave is openly gay, and does his best to make sure everybody knows it. His personality is highly flamboyant, fae and aggressively catty. He is fond of giving people nicknames, sometimes insulting ones, but rarely means anything actively harmful.
Despite his playful personality, Shoreleave is a highly capable agent, proficient in both firearms and hand to hand combat. His preferred method of combat are twin pistols, accompanied by parkour and acrobatics. He is also one of the few people Brock trusts to help guard the Venture family.
Relationships With Other Characters
Brock Samson
Both Brock and Shoreleave knew each other when they were in O.S.I. Shoreleave mocked Brock and Col. Gather's belief in The Guild of Calamitous Intent and they had a contentious relationship. However, after joining S.P.H.I.N.X. the two of them have come to respect each other and become good friends, though this does not stop Shore Leave from taking shots at Brock whenever an opportunity presents itself. Despite their camaraderie, Shoreleave is openly jealous of Brock's reputation and responsibilities, even admitting to wishing he was Brock.
Hunter Gathers
Both Hunter and Shoreleave knew each other when they both worked for the O.S.I.. Shoreleave mocked Gathers and Brock's belief in the Guild of Calamitous Intent leading to a contentious relationship. However, Shoreleave came to work under Gathers' command when the latter revived SPHINX and the two have come to form a more friendlier relationship as Gathers often sends Shoreleave on missions. When the O.S.I. is put under control of Hunter Gathers, Shoreleave is allowed to rejoin the O.S.I. and continue to work for the latter.
Sky Pilot
For years, both Shoreleave and Sky Pilot lived under the cover of being a gay Christian couple. After joining S.P.H.I.N.X. and dropping the cover however, the two have not been seen interacting. Sky Pilot openly admitted he had to "pretend to be in love with Shoreleave", causing an offended Shoreleave to declare he "had to pretend I enjoyed having sex with him every night."
The Alchemist
In Everybody Comes to Hank's it is revealed that he slept with the Alchemist but wiped his memory because he was getting possessive, and even broke up with his boyfriend to move in with him. In Operation P.R.O.M., they appeared to have reconciled their differences as they have a friendly argument about Dr. Ventures' first name and ultimately share a kiss at Hank and Dean's home school prom implying a relationship between the two in future episodes. The two were seen Skyping during O.S.I. Love You showing they have gotten back together.
Episode Appearances
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5
Season 6
Season 7
Movie
Christmas Songs
Trivia
- Shoreleave's appearance mirrors that of various members of the Village People (essentially an amalgam of the Military Man & Leatherman) as well as G.I. Joe's Shipwreck and Gung Ho.
- Originally introduced in the credits as "Shore leave" in The Invisible Hand of Fate (2008), he was credited as such throughout Season 3 and 4. Starting with the Season 5 episode What Color is Your Cleansuit? (2013) he was credited as "Shoreleave" and has been credited with a one-word instead of two-word name ever since.
Gallery
