Review: Venture Bros. ‘SPHINX Rising’

In the latest episode of Venture Bros., 21 finally gets a little bit of time to shine.  Unfortunately for him, the end result is less than he desires.  The result for the audience, however, is a chaotic, fun episode that brings back some characters and ends the S.P.H.I.N.X. storyline once and for all.

We begin with 21 trying to do good with the S.P.H.I.N.X. organization that he’s inherited.  But some wires get crossed and it turns out that he’s just getting in the way of Brock Sampson and the plans of O.S.I.  Still, he really wants to turn his one man group into something better.  So what to do?  Well, in the Venture Bros. world, the best way to find recruits to your super hero squad is to put out a want ad.  A few good men show up, including Hank, though they aren’t really there to help out.

As it turns out, the people 21 brings on happen to be the original members of S.P.H.I.N.X., as in before the O.S.I. was using it as cover (see season 4).  They want their old evil base back and have plans to take revenge on OSI for beating them around.  So the G.I. JOE Cobra rip-offs take over the giant, flying S.P.H.I.N.X. ship and set out to blow OSI to bits.

Meanwhile, the Monarch is still in full arching mode, this time trying to plant explosives under the Venture Compound so that he can blow it sky high.  His plans, however, get thwarted by Sgt. Hatred and Dean.  The end result - another failed Monarch attack and the complete decimation of all-things-S.P.H.I.N.X.   So it looks like 21 is out of a job, but at least the whole S.P.H.I.N.X. story element has been put to rest.  We have to wonder where 21 will end up next.

It seems like the show may be moving 21 toward being less of the bad-ass that he evolved into over the last few seasons, which would be unfortunate.  If he decides to go back to work for the Monarch, he strays from the path of “good” that he’s decided to take.  If he sticks to being a hero, then I have to wonder at what they’ll do with him in the future that will be interesting enough to want to follow.

Hank, on the other hand, is just getting cooler and cooler.  After last week’s stint as The Bat, he now puts on a set of sexy power armor (yes, sexy) and proceeds to do at least a little damage.  I’m hoping for more of this in the future, as the action-hero version of Hank is far more interesting than he’s been in most of the previous seasons.

Everyone else just kind of ran their usual pattern this time around, though we did at least get to see Brock back in action for a small while.  Next week’s episode, Spanakopita looks like it will focus more on Doctor Venture as his entourage, so perhaps we’ll get a break from the Monarch and have a chance to see some new villains on the show.  As much as I love the Monarch, unless he’s tied into the main story, he just kind of shows up at random.  Hoping that they focus on him more seriously as the season progresses.

For a quick peak at next week’s episode, head to Adult Swim and watch the teaser.

SPHINX Rising courtesy of toddalcott.com