Showdown at Cremation Creek (Part I)

"Showdown at Cremation Creek (Part I)"
	The Venture Bros. episode
	; "Thank you for doing this, David."
Episode no.	Season 2; Episode 12
Written by	Jackson Publick; Doc Hammer
Production code	2-25
Original air date	October 8, 2006
Guest Stars
	Brendon Small as Sergeant Hatred
Episode Chronology
← Previous; "¡Viva los Muertos!"	Next →; "Showdown at Cremation Creek (Part II)"
	List of The Venture Bros. episodes

Showdown at Cremation Creek (Part I) is the twelfth episode of Season 2 and the overall twenty-fifth episode of The Venture Bros. It is the first part of the two-part season finale.

Plot[]

After a romantic tryst between Dr. Girlfriend and The Monarch goes sour over the Monarch's jealousy of Phantom Limb, Dr. Girlfriend gets ready to leave in a huff when Monarch proposes to her. Dr. Girlfriend lays out a few stipulations, the last one being that Monarch ends his vendetta against Dr. Venture. After some reluctance, the Monarch agrees and Dr. Girlfriend accepts. One month later, the Cocoon has been trashed (thanks to the Monarch's bachelor party) and scores of disheveled henchmen, including 21 and 24, wake up to discover that the entire Venture family, including a shirtless and annoyed Brock Samson, are locked up in the holding cell.

In the meantime, the Monarch meets with Phantom Limb to pick up Dr. Girlfriend's (now Dr. Fiancée's) belongings. While there, Phantom Limb chats with Monarch while doing some hunting; his prey turns out to be Monarch's former prisonmates. In quick order, he shoots Mr. Monday, takes out Dr. Septapus and shoots off White Noise's arm. Limb reveals that he had Tiny Attorney win their appeals, then promptly shoots a naked Tiny Attorney. After briefly turning the gun on Monarch, he lets him go pick up Dr. Girlfriend's belongings, but not before warning Monarch that he will have his revenge.

During this time, The Order of the Triad is fighting Torrid over the "all seeing orb," a giant round object that resembles a large eyeball. The team forms a pyramid and successfully subdues Torrid. The battle, however, was less than impressive for the trio, all of whom complain about holding up Dr. Orpheus and feel slightly embarrassed. Orpheus chalks it up due to a lack of practice and admonishes them to work harder and decides to convene a training session at his house, one that The Alchemist assumes is a "slumber party".

Upon returning to the Cocoon, The Monarch is horrified at the discovery of the Venture family, knowing that Dr. Girlfriend would assume that he was behind it and would be furious. His horror gives way to surprise and asks his henchmen how they even pulled off the capture, especially without The Monarch's command, given that they haven't succeeded in this task in ten years of trying. It turns out that after the bachelor party, the henchmen got very inebriated and decided to get a tattoo for 21, at the same tattoo parlor that Brock Samson was coincidentally also patronizing. Upon seeing him, the henchmen decided to attack, while Brock was off his guard. After a vicious struggle, with the "predictable casualties," they managed to overpower and capture him. Upon realizing that the Venture family was now defenseless, they drunkenly stormed the Venture compound and captured the now unprotected Venture family.

After this revelation, Dr. Girlfriend walks in. Upon seeing the Venture family, she is infuriated and threatens to call the wedding off. The Monarch quickly comes up with an explanation: Dr. Venture is his best man in a gesture of good faith and that they were only in the cell because of Hank's curiosity. He lowers his voice and tells Dr. Girlfriend that Hank isn't exactly the "sharpest tack" and that he probably thinks they're in a submarine or something. This explanation is helped when Hank groggily asks where he is. Accepting this, Dr. Girlfriend goes to get dressed, but not before giving The Monarch a long kiss and grabbing his butt, which leads Dr. Venture to finally realize that she was "Charlene", the woman who pretended to seduce him but instead turned him into a giant caterpillar.

Meanwhile, The Sovereign notifies Phantom Limb that his request, upon review, has been denied and directs him not to commit any acts of vengeance against The Monarch. The Sovereign adds that the Guild cannot authorize such requests because of Breakups, and suggests that Limb keep a diary instead, or jog with friends. Phantom Limb gives The Sovereign his word that he will not move against the Monarch (in the conversation, the Sovereign lets it slip that he has a "wedding to get to" but changes the subject). However, after their communique ends, Phantom Limb is seen massing a large helicopter strike force...

Henchman 21, 24, and the Monarch lead the Venture family around the Cocoon after they agree to go along with the wedding. Brock and the Monarch get into a minor argument in which Brock questions the Monarch's sexuality and Dr. Girlfriend's femininity, which the Monarch attributes to jealousy and in turn, insults Brock's tattoo ("Hell-o, jealous much? Heh, excuse me, but I am not the rough trade in the tight camisole with a naked guy tattooed on my arm!"). Brock had been attempting to get an Icarus tattoo from the Led Zepplin albums, which the Monarch also mocks ("Super fucking cool - when I was, like, 14."). Hank and 21 exchange putdowns over life as a henchman and Hank's clothing while Dean annoys 24 with his pseudo-scientific questioning. Dr. Venture spots a murderous moppet and slips away to find Dr. Girlfriend. On arriving at her room, he enters and begins to hit on her. After some initial confusion, she remembers her previous liaison with Dr. Venture.

At the Venture Compound, Orpheus is busy with Jefferson Twilight when the Alchemist arrives, dressed in Hawaiian garb. The Alchemist suggests they start drinking, but Orpheus and Twilight are put off by this, as it's still before noon, and Twilight is a teetotaler. After a brief back and forth, the Alchemist tempts Twilight with "Nik-L-Nips", sweet colored sugarwater that comes in tiny bottle-shaped wax containers. Twilight snaps and fights with Alchemist for taunting him. Later, we see that Twilight drank all the Nips and is passed out from his sugar binge. The Alchemist asks Orpheus if he really thought that a bunch of middle-aged guys were honestly going to take this whole 'superhero team thing' seriously, and continues that being magic superheroes who keep chasing the same guy "...is completely gay! And that is coming from a guy that voluntarily has sex with men!" Disappointed, Orpheus says that he'd hoped they would, but is interrupted by an alarm from his brooch, which tells him that great destruction and death is coming. Orpheus assumes that the Alchemist isn't interested, but Alchemist tells him that this is the kind of thing he is interested in. Enthused, both he and The Alchemist (as well as Nien Nunb, whom they conjured from a Star Wars trading card) prepare to intervene along with the still-unconscious Jefferson.

At The Monarch's cocoon, the wedding is about to begin. 21 and Hank argue over the contents of 21's closet, which 21 insists are collectibles, but Hank dismisses as toys. After playing around with some of 21's stuff, 21 lets Hank borrow an old-school henchman costume (one of the henchman costumes from the pilot episode) for the wedding (which is attended by mostly supervillains, necessitating an appropriate costume for Hank). Hank also puts on a fake goatee, and jokes around by pretending to be a minor Russian villain named "Russian Guyovitch". The weak disguise proves useful, as he ends up seated next to Sergeant Hatred, whom Hank remembers "bad touched" him.

Tired of Dean's pestering, 24 suggests to Dean that he go "exploring" to the engine room, but warns him not to touch anything. While Dean is outside the engine room door, however, it opens and a henchman enjoins Dean to deliver an urgent report to the Monarch: the radar indicates numerous helicopters are en route. However, Dean sees something interesting and heads into the engine room.

As the wedding begins, David Bowie arrives to give away Dr. Girlfriend (after some threats exchanged with Brock, who apparently has a past with Bowie). Dr. Killinger performs the ceremony, but just before The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend can say "I do", Guild Wasp helicopters surround the cocoon and Phantom Limb appears on the com monitor. In violation of direct orders from Sovereign, he announces that if The Monarch doesn't hand over Dr. Girlfriend in five minutes, he will destroy the Cocoon... and all inside.

Episode Cast[]

James Urbaniak: Dr. Venture, Phantom Limb, Super-Secret, Fake Guest Star
Patrick Warburton: Brock Samson
Michael Sinterniklaas: Dean Venture
Chris McCulloch: Hank Venture, The Monarch, Henchman 24, Some Other People
Doc Hammer: Dr. Girlfriend, Henchman 21
Steven Rattazzi: Dr. Byron Orpheus
Dana Snyder: The Alchemist
Charles Parnell: Jefferson Twilight
Brendon Small: Sergeant Hatred
Sue Gilad: Princess Tinyfeet

First Appearances[]

Wedding Guests[]

The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend held their wedding in The Cocoon. Amongst the wedding guests were:

Connections to Other Episodes[]

The Incredible Mr. Brisby

David Bowie was first mentioned in the episode The Incredible Mr. Brisby as the original owner of Roy Brisby's "companda" Li-Li. Molotov Cocktease stole the panda from Brisby and called Bowie at the end of the episode to say she was returning Li-Li.

Mid-Life Chrysalis

Dr. Venture finally recognizes Dr. Girlfriend as "Charlene", the woman who pretended to seduce him but instead turned him into a giant caterpillar in the episode Mid-life Chrysalis.

The Trial of the Monarch

Phantom Limb kills Tiny Attorney, who originally appeared in The Trial of the Monarch.

Return to Spider-Skull Island

Phantom Limb kills Mister Monday and Dr. Septapus, who originally appeared in Return to Spider-Skull Island.

Powerless in the Face of Death

Phantom Limb kills White Noise, who originally appeared in Powerless in the Face of Death.

Fallen Arches

The Order of the Triad fights Torrid, the archvillain they picked from their tryouts in the episode Fallen Arches.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills

Hank Venture mentioned in I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills that Sergeant Hatred had previously touched them inappropriately, but that Dean didn't remember because he was passed out from the wine. ("Most of it was awful.") In this episode he approaches Sergeant Hatred with "Are you going to bad-touch me?"

Cultural References[]

Busby Berkeley

While inebriated, The Alchemist tells Dr. Orpheus that he was "a little Busby Berkeley" himself. Busby Berkeley was an American film director and musical choreographer. He devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns. Berkeley's works used large numbers of showgirls and props as fantasy elements in kaleidoscopic on-screen performances.

David Bowie

When Brock Samson instructs The Sovereign on entering the wedding procession to give away the bride, Sovereign responds "I know when to go out." This is the first line of the song Modern Love, the first track from the David Bowie album Let's Dance.

Grand Canyon

The title of the episode refers to Cremation Creek, an actual part of the Grand Canyon, which is where the episode takes place.

Green Arrow

Henchman 21 says the "Russian Guyovitch" goatee makes Hank look like the DC Comics superhero Green Arrow.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983-1985)

Henchman 21 mentions He-Man, the title character from the animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

Hugo, Man of a Thousand Faces

Hank removes the beard from Hugo, Man of a Thousand Faces and wears it for his Russian Guyovitch disguise. Released in 1975 by Kenner, Hugo was a hand puppet whose appearance could be altered using a variety of accessories, including wigs, facial hair, false noses and chins, and eye glasses. He came equipped with a non-toxic glue stick that could be used to stick the pieces to the dolls head temporarily.

Iggy Pop

The shirtless blond man who accompanies David Bowie is rock and roll pioneer Iggy Pop.

"Jessie's Girl" (1981)

At the altar The Monarch and Dr. Venture talk. The bride enters and Dr. Venture says "I wanna tell her that I love her, but the point is probably moot", a direct quote from the song "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield--which The Monarch was quick to point out.

Klaus Nomi

The supervillain with the unique costume/hairstyle who accompanies David Bowie is German countertenor Klaus Nomi.
Klaus Nomi famously performed the song "The Man Who Sold the World" alongside David Bowie on a 1979 episode of Saturday Night Live.

Led Zeppelin

Brock Samson begins to get a tattoo of the god Apollo, the logo for Led Zeppelin's record label Swan Song Records, but his session is interrupted by The Monarch's henchmen. Brock refers to it as "Icarus, from the Led Zeppelin albums." Led Zeppelin is, of course, Brock's favorite band of all time.

Manwich

Brock Samson derisively refers to Dr. Girlfriend as "Manwich" in the conversation where he tells The Monarch that he suspected she was actually a man.

Micronauts

Henchman 21 mentions "The Micronaut", a reference to the scifi Micronauts toys put out by Mego from 1976 to 1980.

Montel Williams

The Alchemist refers to Dr. Orpheus' amulet as a "Montel Williams neck pin".

Nik-L-Nips

The Alchemist tempts Jefferson Twilight with Nik-L-Nips, small wax bottles filled with flavored syrup. He succumbs to temptation and ends up passed out after a sugar crash.

Pinky swear

The Monarch says that he made a "pinky swear" to Dr. Fiancée that he wouldn't arch Dr. Venture anymore.

Quisp

Henchman 21 mentions Quisp, a "water-sprite" with magical powers who was Aquaman's friend in DC Comics, but more often simply a nuisance.
Henchman 21 mentions Quisp, the mascot from a sugary cereal of the same name that was discontinued in the late 1970s.

Snapple "Real Facts"

When Hank asks Brock if he's seen Dean he replies that his brother is probably torturing Monstroso with "Snapple Facts".

Something old

Dr. Venture, when attempting to seduce the bride Dr. Girlfriend, says that he brought her something, "something blue", referring to himself in a blue tux. "Something blue" is the fourth line of a traditional rhyme that details what a bride should wear at her wedding for good luck: "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a [silver] sixpence in her shoe."

Star Trek

When Hank puts on the fake goatee, Henchman 21 says he looks like the "mirror mirror version of Hank", to which Hank replies, "Yeah, Evil Hank!" The episode "Mirror, Mirror" from Star Trek: The Original Series features a "Mirror Universe" where the inhabitants are aggressive, mistrustful, and opportunistic versions of the characters from the main universe--in short, their "evil" versions. In the Mirror Universe Mr. Spock sports a goatee.

Star Wars

Using a Star Wars trading card, The Order of the Triad conjure up Nien Nunb, a Sullustan pilot for the Rebellion who originated in the 1983 film Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi.

Tenderloin, San Francisco

After The Monarch's bachelor party a number of his henchmen "hit the Tenderloin" to continue partying, which led them to a tattoo parlor.

The Most Dangerous Game (1924)

Phantom Limb kills several characters from The Monarch's past in a style reminiscent of the short story The Most Dangerous Game, hunting them for sport on the grounds of his estate in Malice.

The Residents

The Alchemist holds a giant eyeball in front of his face and jokingly proclaims that he's in The Residents. The Residents are an American art collective best known for avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since 1974 its members have performed publicly while attempting to maintain individual anonymity. In public, the group appears silent and costumed, often wearing eyeball helmets, top hats and tails—a long-lasting costume now recognized as its signature iconography.

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Dr. Venture tells the Moppets to, "go help Willy Wonka or something", to get them to leave he and Dr. Girlfriend alone, thus comparing them to the Oompa-Loompas from the 1971 musical fantasy film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

You Only Live Twice (1968)

The metallic twin sphere video device that Phantom Limb uses to communicate with The Sovereign was seen in the 1968 James Bond film You Only Live Twice in the scene where Bond first meets up with the head of the Japanese secret service, Tiger Tanaka.

Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (1992)[1][]

When fighting Torrid, the Triad assume a formation dubbed the Thamaturgic Man-Mound, which involves a maneuver where Orephus is held up by his teammates and they simultaneously shoot magic into one attack, similar to the Final Shoot finisher seen in Zyuranger, the 16th season of the long running Tokusatsu series, Super Sentai. This finisher would also appear in the American adaptation, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, dubbed the Tower Formation Attack.

Production Notes[]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Showdown at Cremation Creek (Part I)

One of the animation directors (Kimson Albert) has a "nickname" inserted into his credits. Kimson Albert is not listed in the abridged credits for this episode.
This is the third episode to not have the theme song, the previous 2 episodes that do not include the intro were The Trial of the Monarch and Return to Spider-Skull Island.
The episode was very close to missing the Sunday broadcast as the plane carrying the videotape was struck by lightning, forcing it to be diverted to another airport. In addition, the episode did not premiere on the Adult Swim Fix on Friday as it was not delivered in time for conversion and posting, making it the only episode of the second season not to be shown on the Fix before airing on television. Shortly after its premiere, the episode was added to the Fix.
This is the only episode in the first two seasons of The Venture Bros. to be split into two parts; as a result, it has no end credits. The salient credits roll during the first scene after the opening titles instead.

	Preceded by: "¡Viva los Muertos!"	The Venture Bros. episodes Original Airdate: October 8, 2006	Followed by: "Showdown at Cremation Creek (Part II)"