The term "hero" is something that can only be loosely associated with the recently cancelled (and hopefully soon-to-be-revived) The Venture Bros. In its parody of Hanna-Barbera, action cartoons, and satire of mid-20th Century American values, The Venture Bros. put a dark, sobering spin on adventurers, spies, and superheroes, the likes of which have only been seen before in Watchmen.
The main character from Jonny Quest became a drug addict. The soldiers of G.I. Joe are actually the killer pawns of their country. The Avengers try to shake people down for protection money. In a world where it's so hard to find a real hero, those who truly embody the heroic spirit shine brightly through the series' muddied and recycled animation cels.
10 Dr. Jonas Venture Could Only Loosely Be Called A Hero
As the series went on, the original Dr. Venture could only be loosely called a "hero." The viewer learned more and more about his morally ambiguous science experiments, his various conspiracies to eliminate competition, and, of course, his poor parentage over one Rusty Venture. However, unless some upcoming material just full-on says that he was a supervillain, the Jonas Venture was still a humanitarian of sorts, albeit one who let his own ego and possessiveness get ahead of him.
He famously fought against villains of all sorts, set up a decades-spanning plan to prevent an alien from destroying the world, and was a trusted median in creating peace between the Guild and the O.S.I. For all of his faults, Dr. Venture did try to do good during his life.
9 Captain Sunshine Is The Embodiment Of Shining Justice
Certain weaknesses aside, the Chuck Scarsdale version of Captain Sunshine (played by Batman: The Animated Series actor, Kevin Conroy) was a loving (and, again, dark) homage to Silver Age comic book heroes. By default, he is the most classic, schoolboy hero in the series.
He's a faithful crime fighter, a powerful embodiment of shining justice, and one of the major staples of the series' superheroes (who aren't being paid off by crime bosses). Whether he was facing off against the Clue Clown or tearing Scorpio to shreds, Captain Sunshine had the sunshine beams that any villain could come to fear.
8 Brown Widow Is One Of The Few Heroes Working Outside Of The Crusaders Action League
In a city where most superheroes are jock jerks who work under the leading crime boss, Brown Widow gets to crawl through the cracks to attentively watch his city. While the man himself, Jared, may be a trying character just working to get his acting career off the ground and to survive the various social woes of college life, he's proven time and again to be a true trooper when it comes to crime-fighting.
After his superscience thesis goes wrong, Jared gained the incredible yet gross abilities of spiders. Using his newfound powers for good, he became the Brown Widow, a Spider-Man homage and one of the few heroes to act outside of the Crusaders Action League. He altruistically protects New York and has often come to the aid of the Venture Family.
7 General Treister Cuts Through The Cartoony Nonsense
Whenever someone thought of the Office of Secret Intelligence, they'd originally think of the wild cowboy that was General Timothy Treister. A true blue fighter who juggled federal bureaucracy and weathered the various squabbles of his comic book-esque world, Treister was a soldier who had truly seen it all and could always be trusted to cut through all of the cartoony nonsense to get to people's needs.
Even when corruption and betrayal began to infect his organization, he caught on early and prepared his own contingency plan, managing to be two steps ahead of his successor. In his last moments in the series, Treister became a "Hulk" who'd work alongside Jonas, Jr. to save the passengers of the Gargantua-2.
6 Shore Leave Is Always Up For Any Mission
As much as fans can love the violent stoicism of Brock Samson, it's shocking to believe that the creators had someone like Shore Leave under their sleeves and didn't make him the series' main entryway into superspies. Shore Leave is the perfect embodiment of both the surgical skill required of a superspy agency as well as the charisma and passion necessary just to live in this world.
An adventurer at heart, Shore Leave is always up for any mission; and despite his sassy banter, he's often more focused on the task at hand than anyone else. Fun to watch, listen to, and probably hang out with, Shore Leave certainly earned his way into becoming a recurring character.
5 Brock Samson Is A Strong Advocate For Principles & The Fight Against Evil
Brock Samson, in so many words, is the man. He's the ultimate culmination of what 20th Century action stars like Burt Reynolds or Steve McQueen came to represent to angry, anxious teens everywhere. In a world full of caped bad guys and giant lasers, he bravely fights back using a Dodge Charger and a knife. Never a gun.
While his exact methods are an utter nightmare to whoever may be within his crosshairs, Brock is a strong advocate for principles and the fight against evil, happy to do what he believes is right. And while he may not always be in control of that philosophical conversation, it can't be understated the subtle character evolution that he's gone through to search for peace.
4 Colonel Hunter Gathers Acts As The Proud Emissary For Crime-Fighting In The O.S.I.
Colonel Hunter Gathers was practically born to be an agent of justice. The man is always looking ahead, past the alliances and bureaucracy, to see the bigger picture and, as he's proven time and again, will do literally anything to do what's right.
He was Brock's trusty mentor during the henchmen slayer's early days, one of the first people to catch on to the Guild of Calamitous Intent's resurrection, and the leader of the revised S.P.H.I.N.X. when the O.S.I. couldn't be trusted to handle non-supervillain jobs. Succeeding Timothy Treister as the leader of the O.S.I., Hunter Gathers now acts as the proud emissary for crime-fighting in the seemingly cleaned O.S.I.
3 Dr. Orpheus Is A Strong Advocate For Peace & Connection Between All Things
There's something to be said about the ethical dynamic between the morally ambiguous super-scientist that is Dr. Thaddeus Venture and the doting father and neighbor that is Dr. Byron Orpheus. Whenever the Venture Family gets into a tight bind, they can always rely on Dr. Orpheus to astral project in an instant to save their lives.
More of a bleeding heart than dogmatic zealot, Orpheus is a strong advocate for peace and connection between all things so long as they serve humanity. He's always a quick critic of Rusty's less-than-good ideas, a boy scout when it comes to crime-fighting, and a dedicated servant to his higher studies.
2 Hank Venture Has A Sense Of Wonder For Adventure
Hank Venture doesn't have Brock Samson's skills or muscles, Shore Leave's expert marksmanship, or even his family's classic intelligence. However, he does have the few things that some of this series' most tired and anguished characters have forgotten. He has the sense of wonder to always sniff out adventure. He has the spunk to always try new things.
He has the bravery to fight the good fight despite any challenges that may come his way. While he can honestly be lambasted for being a dreamer and an airhead, Hank has grown in the series to be one of the purest symbols of an adventurer and hero.
1 Billy Quizboy Is The Voice Of Reason
Billy Quizboy is far from the ideal image of a hero. He's not big. He's not strong. He's far from the most prominent voice that someone wants to listen to. Despite all of this and the various misadventures that he always finds himself getting swept into, Billy "Quizboy" Whalen always surprisingly tries to do the right thing.
Whether this is because of his upbringing around Rusty Venture cartoons or some hidden spark to his intelligence, Billy always acts as the voice of reason and adventure within the new Team Venture. Even during his solo adventures, he's a faithful doctor that tries to save everybody and anybody (despite him being kidnapped for it) and a dreamer who's willing to sacrifice everything even for just the smallest symbol of goodness.