“Don’t harpoon tase me, bro!”
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
The Venture Bros. started with a relatively clean slate for Season 6. And after a couple episodes aimed at catching up fans with the current whereabouts of all the major players, “Faking Miracles” seemed to solidify the overall direction for the season. This episode set a number of balls rolling and offered a better idea of what to expect from the show over the next month. It was also consistently hilarious.
“Faking Miracles” built pretty directly on last week’s installment, with The Monarch and Henchman 21 exploring the unexpected treasure trove beneath their house and Billy and Peter settling into their new roles as researchers at VenTech. The episode opened with a welcome flashback to classic Team Venture days and the debut of the Green Hornet-esque hero Blue Morpho (voiced by none other than Paul F. Tomkins). The revelation that Monarch’s father was a costumed crimefighter masquerading as an aimless playboy is a fun twist for the character. There’s always been the sense that there’s a big story to tell behind Monarch’s mysterious childhood and his rise to power as a villain. Finally it seems like Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer are getting around to telling it.
As poorly as Monarch’s attempts to rebuild his reputation are going, you have to wonder if he’ll wind up throwing his hat in the superhero ring before Season 6 is finished. This week delivered another major blow to the once mighty Monarch when he ran afoul of the smooth-talking, manipulative Copycat. Basically Dean Martin with Multiple Man’s powers, Copycat established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the New York underworld this week. It seems he has designs on both Dr. Mrs. The Monarch and one of the empty Guild seats. With the way this season is treating the Venture/Wide Wale rivalry as very matter-of-fact and “it’s just business” in scope, maybe Copycat is being set up as the real baddie? Perhaps, although it would still be nice to see the show put a little more weight behind Wide Wale as a villain (no pun intended).
This episode made the most of the Dr. Venture/Billy/Pete dynamic as the trio combed through the VenTech archives in search of some old invention to market. It was a grim reminder that Rusty hasn’t changed one iota since inheriting this new fortune. He’s still perfectly willing to cut corners and seek the path of least resistance when it comes to scientific glory. That corner-cutting led to Dean being infested by a puddle of highly-advanced nanobots and a very entertaining sequence where Brock had to deal with what he thought was demonic possession.
It was a treat just to see Brock bonding with Dean over something as mundane as a college application after all the years he’s spent as a globetrotting super-spy away from the Venture family. It’s clear there’s still a strong bond between Brock and the boys after all this time. I have some concerns about the way Brock seems to have reverted to his old status quo, but at least there’s still potential for him in that role. His interaction with Dean offered some welcome insight into Brock as a person. He may have trouble wrapping his head around some of the more eccentric trappings of Dr. Venture’s world (including his disdain for the “interactive… smart-surface…mirror… crap”), but he’s obviously intelligent and well-read enough to make Sylvia Plath references and recognize ancient Sumerian on the spot.
While Dean managed to get himself accepted to college this week (after a fashion), Hank’s latest flight of fancy has him serving as a pizza delivery boy. Hank being Hank, it was only a matter of minutes before the whole thing devolved into a scene from Disney’s Aladdin and Hank was dodging Wide Wale’s bodyguards and wooing the fair Italian American Princess, Serena (voiced Christin Milioti). Hank’s little pizza delivery adventure was amusing, and his relationship with Serena is quickly becoming one of the most entertaining new elements this season. Hank’s complete earnestness and the fact that he’s utterly unaware of his own mediocrity give him a special sort of charm. And if the war between Wide Wale and Team Venture is ever going to get personal, it’ll probably be Hank’s clandestine romance with Serena that does the trick.
The new Venture Bros. status quo has been a real boon for the show so far. Not only has it offered the characters a fresh start, it’s opened up all sorts of interesting new conflicts. This episode was consistently entertaining, whether it focused on Dean’s botched college application, Hank’s strenuous first day on the job or Monarch being muscled out by a new villain on the scene.
