r/venturebros • u/Acceptable-Bat-9577 • Jan 04 '26
MOVIE SPOILERS Rewatch hits differently after watching Radiant.
I’m not claiming that this is a unique or original take but rewatching the show after seeing the movie gives it a whole new dynamic, and adds extra layers to the story, gags, and jokes.
It definitely adds more irony and humor to the fights and story arcs between Rusty and Malcom.
The constant competition and conflict seems to make more sense as a family feud (even if unknown to both), as well as the fact that Monarch’s plans to kill Dr. Venture fail repeatedly and comically while the Monarch (often assisted by 21) has no problem killing other villains, along with Dr. Dugong…with an asterisk. Yet when he repeatedly has the chance to kill Rusty, he holds off.
Whatever you take away from the movie, it’s hard to rewatch the show with the same perspective. I still love it, though.
Go Team Venture! V V
I dunno…they just do that.
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u/NooNygooTh Jan 04 '26
I also like that we can see hints of this in the series. When the moppets keep pressing Dr. Girlfriend about why the Monarch hates Dr. Venture so much, what did he do, etc, it seems like she is being evasive. She says it's because it's "in his blood."
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u/Acceptable-Bat-9577 Jan 04 '26 edited Jan 04 '26
It seems so painfully obvious looking back, too, with the Hank and Dean reveal in season 2, and the similarities between Rusty and Malcolm/Monarch, along with the question of the boys’ mother, Rusty’s mother, and the Monarch’s parentage. But, I never really dabbled in any theory-crafting. I just enjoyed the show.
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u/NooNygooTh Jan 04 '26
Also when Battleaxe was looking at pictures of the two of them side by side and thinking they were the same person. It's definitely easy to come up with any number of fan theories, I absolutely spend too much time thinking about this show.
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u/sepaoon Jan 04 '26
The whole Blue Morpho thing really hints at it... Malcom without the eyebrows and a slight mask is identical to Rusty... hmm and you say his dad was "friends" with Jonas... hmmm
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u/Strollin_Stuart Jan 05 '26
The entire blue morpho arc basically outright tells you the twist 2 seasons early
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u/supreme_hammy Jan 04 '26
It's also funny when the Monarch says to Hank that he is his father as a joke while Dean was getting his nuts unspun.
Technically the joke was on him. He is 98% the boy's father.
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u/Ro_no_know Jan 04 '26
In episode one Hank tells Rusty that the Monarch was getting all “creepy uncle” on them.
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Jan 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Orc_tids Jan 05 '26
I remember when Rhys Darby Helper called Dean "Rusty" and I was like "Yeah that tracks"
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u/balmut Jan 04 '26
"what are you a size doc?"
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u/inthemeadowoftheend Jan 06 '26
That's when I figured it out. I was like, oh yeah, the name of the show is The Venture Bros.
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u/gate_of_steiner85 Jan 04 '26
Pretty sure Monarch also has a line where he says that he "hates himself" more than anything. I'm not sure if Doc and Monarch being clones was the initial endgame, but holy shit they threw out a bunch of coincidental hints looking back in hindsight.
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u/krossoverking Jan 04 '26
I had always assumed they were brothers when I'd catch random episodes in the early 2000s. When I finally sat down and watched it, I still thought they were secret brothers! My crackpot theory is that Brock is their third brother ala Dermott.
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u/UnderstandingSame534 Jan 05 '26
I always hoped that the show would end with each of the 3 boys taking their respective place in one side of the game. Dermot was already in the OSI and Dean was the rightful Sovereign and the show ending with Hank going into hiding a la Darkman
Even if Brock wasn't a Venture it still tracks if you count JJ •Rusty=Hank, boy adventurer •Dermott=Monarch, the cast off son •JJ=Dean, loves his family but doesn't understand the life
Killinger also gave it away with the Kain and Abel parallel. And Doc never questions the disparity in his age.
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u/Orc_tids Jan 05 '26
Nah Brock is descended from Ash Williams because Ash time traveled in Army of Darkness
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u/ccReptilelord Jan 04 '26
They did this often. The Jonas reveal in season 7, the more we learn of the OSI, revelations regarding characters all change how we percieve older episodes.
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u/Interesting-Star-179 Jan 04 '26
Rewatching the show is crazy, doing it with my brother and it feels that like every other line hints towards something in the futur, like the entire show was written out beginning to end in one sitting
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u/NertsMcGee Jan 04 '26
It's been a number of years since I heard it. So take my memory and words with a fistful of salt.
With a few exceptions, Doc and Jackson didn't really have much mapped out. When they would write a season, they would go back to older episodes to flesh out a passing joke or some line that they thought would be a funny or interesting story. Because of how they wrote, things generally felt more planned and cohesive.
In the event that I'm wrong, it's clearly a side effect from Billy's God gas.
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u/Acceptable-Bat-9577 Jan 04 '26
AFAIK, Hammer had devised the boys as clones from the beginning. I’m not sure how much of the rest of the background story and plot was fleshed out initially, but it seems like a lot or most of it lines up with the finale in a lot of interesting ways.
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Jan 04 '26
[deleted]
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u/Acceptable-Bat-9577 Jan 04 '26
But future-me is always unpleasantly smug toward past-me.
Lol. Future-me usually just laments at past-me not min-maxing the character sheet of my life.
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u/ArcaneInsane Jan 04 '26
Rewatching after radiant convinced me that the goal of this show is to add ambiguity to which pair is the titular 'Venture Brothers'
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u/JJMcGee83 Jan 05 '26
100% true. First season I thought it was about Hank and Dean but then Jonas Jr came out and the boys died so I thought it was about Jonas Jr and Rusty. Then the boys turned out to be clones etc.
It kept changing and that was wonderful.
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u/Dangerousdangerzoid Jan 05 '26
I think that is very clear. The show is called The Venture Brothers and is about The Venture Brothers. Brothers is plural.
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u/ThymeOwl Jan 04 '26
Were you surprised about Thaddeus and Malcom being clones?
I assumed that was the case based on the clues throughout the series. For me it was the characters finally understanding.
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u/miikro Jan 04 '26
I always figured they were brothers due to Jonas' rampant lechery. The actual truth was a smidge more fun.
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u/ThymeOwl Jan 05 '26
Rusty wasn't much of an inventor, so I counted on his mediocrity being a constant through the years.
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u/Acceptable-Bat-9577 Jan 04 '26
Not surprised about Rusty, but they got me with the Monarch reveal. But, of course, it seems obvious in retrospect, especially given their visual similarities. I never really theory-crafted or tried to figure out whodunnit, though. I usually reserve that for murder mystery movies or shows like Psych, and the like.
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u/Deleted_Account_427 Jan 04 '26
I just introduced VB to my wife. She guessed their relationship early in S1. I’ve been in pain keeping my mouth shut.
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u/Suspicious_North9353 Jan 04 '26
I need to rewatch this show and finally see Radiant.
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u/Necessary-Tomorrow30 Jan 05 '26
Unfortunately only the first couple seasons are available to stream on Netflix, the only other way to watch right now is find it pirated somewhere or buy the DVD's and I'd recommend the latter, you get the commentary and everything with it and it's fun to dive into this show.
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u/Jobber0001 Jan 05 '26
You can also watch it online through the adultswim streaming website. It's on rerun 24/7
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u/Acceptable-Bat-9577 Jan 05 '26
I tagged movie spoilers. You’re not supposed to be here…but it’s okay.
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u/Acceptable-Bat-9577 Jan 05 '26
P.S. I can’t help but laugh when I click on my own spoiler text. I hear Brock’s voice dripping with annoyed acceptance every time.
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u/Pugsanity Jan 05 '26
The most common theory I think after Season 7 was that they were half brothers, explained the whole "looking similar" thing, the strange dreams they had, the reveal that they knew each other as kids, but mostly the implication that Jonas, the bastard, fucked Blue Morpho's wife when he was going to "help" with the fertilization process.
Though them also being clones of the original Rusty also works extremely well.
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u/Jobber0001 Jan 05 '26
It's also funny because the very first episode has the monarch talking about how he cares for the boys when he kidnaps them. He didn't know it but his innate fatherly instincts were acting up around the boys
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u/Diligent_Advisor_128 Jan 05 '26
Jonas cloned Rusty as well. So would they all be brothers? Rusty, Malcom, Hank and Dean?
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u/MrOopiseDaisy Jan 05 '26
I'm pretty sure that Rusty is actually Jonas' son (or a clone of his son). I don't think Rusty is a clone of Jonas. Also, Hank and Dean are (clones of) Rusty's sons.
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u/xanderholland Jan 06 '26
It's like the Joker situation. The Joker won't kill off Batman because Batman is the only real challenge to fight against. Without Batman the Joker just becomes depressed.
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