| "The Bellicose Proxy" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Venture Bros. episode | |||
 | |||
| Episode no. |
Season 7 Episode 6 | ||
| Directed by | Juno Lee | ||
| Written by | Doc Hammer | ||
| Production code | 706 | ||
| Original air date | September 9, 2018 | ||
| Episode Chronology | |||
| |||
| List of The Venture Bros. episodes | |||
The Bellicose Proxy is the sixth episode of Season 7 and the overall seventy-seventh episode of The Venture Bros.
Plot[]
The Monarch and Henchman 21 train Augustus St. Cloud how to be a supervillain as part of The Guild of Calamitous Intent's Big Villain Program. Their efforts turn into a proxy war between The Monarch and his arch-nemesis Dr. Venture, pitting St. Cloud against Master Billy Quizboy and Pete White, who receive aid from Dr. Venture and his team.
Episode Cast[]
- James Urbaniak: Dr. Venture
- Patrick Warburton: Brock Samson
- Chris McCulloch: The Monarch, Hank Venture, Dr. Z, Watch, Pete White, Augustus St. Cloud, Col. Gentleman, The Egoist
- Doc Hammer: Dr. Mrs. The Monarch, 21, Billy Quizboy, Ward, Rose
- James Adomian: S-464
- Katie Flahive: Agent Kimberly McManus
- Mark Gagliardi: Enzo, The Splotch
First Appearances[]
Episode Transcript[]
See: The Bellicose Proxy (transcript)[]
Connections to Other Episodes[]
- Dr. Venture tells Billy Quizboy that he once built a killbot named G.U.A.R.D.O. with his own voice programmed into it. This was shown in the first season episode Home Insecurity.
- Augustus St. Cloud still owns the replica X-2 ship as seen in Spanakopita!
- Enzo brings up Doctor Venture stealing the Blue Morpho costume in A Party for Tarzan.
- Pete White dons Killer Drone's costume, who was mentioned by The Blue Morpho and was seen on the Crime Computer screen in Arrears in Science.
- Dr. Mrs. The Monarch is seen interrogating Guild Stranger S-464 after it was learned that he may be a mole for The Peril Partnership in The Inamorata Consequence.
- Agent Kimberly McManus cites the Treaty of Tolerance from the previous episode (The Inamorata Consequence) to stop the Level 1 arching with a Level 6 lightning gun.
Cultural References[]
58 Joralemon Street (Brooklyn Heights, New York)
- The brownstone facade that houses the entrance for Guild Strategic Operations is located at 58 Joralemon Street in Brooklyn Heights. It was originally a private residence built in 1847, but was purchased in 1908 by a transit company who gutted the interior, converting the structure into "the world’s only Greek Revival subway ventilator".
- After Guild Stranger S-464 tries on several outfits with no consensus, Dr. Mrs. The Monarch and Dr. Z finally agree on him wearing a uniform reminiscent of Adam Ant during his stint with Adam and The Ants in the 1970-80s.
- Augustus St. Cloud owns the Batmobile from Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992).
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
- The Guild's Big Villain Program is a reference to the charitable organization Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, a non-profit that helps children via volunteer mentors.
- While waiting for St. Cloud in their rental costumes, Billy told Pete he looks like "the girl from the Blind Melon video", referring to White's Killer Drone costume looking like the bee girl from the music video for their song "No Rain".
- Augustus St. Cloud owns the Blue Thunder helicopter from the eponymously titled movie (1983) and TV series (1984).
- When Pei Wie flies the Blue Thunderhelicopter, he wears a helmet labeled JAFO for "Just Another Fucking Observer"--police/military jargon popularized by the film.
Christopher Street (Manhattan)
- Henchman 21 drives Augustus St. Cloud's Batmobile past Christopher Street as he crosses the West Village.
- Colonel Gentleman and Rose Whalen are shown in their apartment on Christopher Street.
City Hall Subway Station (Manhattan)
- Guild Strategic Operations is based off of New York City's out-of-use City Hall Subway Station, located underneath the public area in front of New York's City Hall.
Clueless (1995)
- During the makeover montage between Dr. Mrs. The Monarch, Dr. Z, and Guild Stranger S-464, the three are seen walking with shopping bags, gesturing happily. Dr. Mrs. The Monarch is dressed as Cher Horowitz and Dr. Z is dressed as Dionne Davenport from Clueless, in a nod to the Tai Frasier makeover montage.
Coles Sports and Recreation Center
- The Monarch and Henchman 21 train Augustus St. Cloud on the New York University athletic department tennis courts on the roof of the Coles Sports and Recreation Center in Manhattan.
- A Guild operative has been surgically altered to resemble Dave Grohl, former drummer from Nirvana, and front man of the Foo Fighters.
Delta of Venus (1977)
- Billy Quizboy wears a costume previously owned by "Delta Boy of Venus", a reference to the 1977 Anaïs Nin erotic short-story collection Delta of Venus and the 1994 film of the same name it inspired.
- Pete White tells Billy Quizboy that he looks like a can of Diet Pepsi when he wears the Delta Boy of Venus costume.
- Henchman 21 drives Augustus St. Cloud's Batmobile down Gay Street as he crosses Christopher Street.
- The Monarch likens his efforts to raise his EMA Level (by working with Augustus St. Cloud in the Big Villain Program) to selling Girl Scout Cookies to earn a merit badge.
Goodfellas (1990)
- When recounting the fight with Augustus St. Cloud to Hank and Dean, Pete White references the 1990 Martin Scorsese film Goodfellas several times.
- The costume Billy borrows from Enzo is based off of the Grumman Moon Suit, a prototype space suit from 1965.
- Rose Whalen mentions taking the medication Humira for her arthritis.
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
- St. Cloud has docked the X-2 at Pier 84 on the Hudson River, directly next to the USS Intrepid at Pier 86. The Intrepid is a decommissioned aircraft carrier that has served as the foundation of the museum since 1982.
- When Pei Wie flies the Blue Thunder helicopter, he wears a helmet labeled JAFO--police/military jargon for "Just Another Fucking Observer", which was popularized by the film.
Lidsville (1971-1973)
- The Monarch refers to Billy Quizboy and Pete White's costumes as looking like they came from the 1970s Sid and Marty Krofft television show Lidsville.
- When Augustus St. Cloud plasters his face with orange-bronze makeup to cover the beating he received from Rose Whalen, The Monarch says he looks like "if Michael Kors worked at the Wonka factory." Kors is a billionaire fashion designer.
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
- Augustus St. Cloud has the golden Fertility Idol from the 1981 Indiana Jones film Raiders of the Lost Ark aboard the X-2.
- The Guild's "Hologram Training Center" is a reference to Ray Bradbury's short story "The Veldt", in which the holographic lions in a family's virtual reality nursery become real and eat the children's parents.
- American actor, singer, Protestant minister, and former professional American football player who authored Rosey Grier's Needlepoint for Men in 1973. Colonel Gentleman is seen reading Grier's book when St. Cloud breaks into his Christopher Street apartment.
- After seeing the helicopter that Roy Scheider flew in the 1983 film Blue Thunder, The Monarch marvels at the actor's six pack abs from the 1976 film Marathon Man and refers to him as "Jaws dad".
- The torture method that Dr. Mrs. The Monarch threatens Guild Stranger S-464 with is called scaphism. It was supposedly used in ancient Persia.
Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (1973-1975)
- Augustus St. Cloud has the original Sigmund the sea monster costume from the 1970s Sid and Marty Krofft television show Sigmund and the Sea Monsters aboard the X-2.
Spies Like Us (1985)
- The scene when The Monarch and Henchman 21 stand on the platform that drops into Guild Strategic Operations is a reference to the "Why don't you gentlemen have a Pepsi?" scene from Spies Like Us.
- Augustus St. Cloud has a model TIE Fighter from the Star Wars series aboard the X-2.
The Dark Crystal (1982)
- Augustus St. Cloud has the actual Dark Crystal from the 1982 Jim Henson fantasy/adventure film The Dark Crystal aboard the X-2.
The Fly (1986)
- Augustus St. Cloud has a telepod from the 1986 David Cronenberg version of The Fly aboard the X-2.
The Matrix (1999)
- The screen Watch and Ward look at in their comms room runs the same green symbol code as seen on the human resistance's screens in The Matrix.
They Live (1988)
- St. Cloud's line, "I'm here to bust things up and chew bubblegum, and I find bubblegum unpleasant", is a pathetically weak paraphrasing of John Nada's (Roddy Piper) famous line from the movie They Live.
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
- When Augustus St. Cloud plasters his face with orange-bronze makeup to cover the beating he received from Rose Whalen, The Monarch says he looks like "if Michael Kors worked at the Wonka factory." The Oompa-Loompas in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory were diminutive factory workers with bright orange skin.
Trivia[]
- The title "The Bellicose Proxy" refers to an escalating proxy war in this episode between (unofficial) arches Dr. Venture and The Monarch through the coaching of their respective Level 1 proteges, Billy Quizboy and Augustus St. Cloud.
- Augustus St. Cloud sends a Declaration of Villainous Aggression, a formal Guild threat calligraphed on a scroll of parchment, to Billy Quizboy at the VenTech Tower.
- First mention of the Big Villain Program, The Guild of Calamitous Intent's mentorship program for aspiring low-level supervillains.
- 21's weapons orientation with the lightning rifle for St. Cloud is similar to a number of scenes in movies and television shows, such as Corporal Hicks' demonstration of the M41A Pulse Rifle for Ripley in Aliens and Zorg's demonstration of the ZF-1 to the Mangalores in The Fifth Element.
| Preceded by: "The Inamorata Consequence" |
The Venture Bros. episodes Original Airdate: September 9, 2018 |
Followed by: "The Unicorn in Captivity" |