I like how they specifically decided for Henchman 21 to turn around to wind up the backhand slap after the "Boo": if he just attacked Brock after it it would've been a bit generic and predictable, instead there's this split second where it looks like 21 is just going to turn his back and flee like he did back then when he was a chump. But this time, 21 ain't running, even if fighting Brock is a lost cause.
I like how they never changed 21’s general shape. Like even after he started working out and wasn’t a doughy nerd anymore he was still pretty husky because that’s just his body type. He’s always a nerd but now he’s able to kill basically anyone
@@EmptyMan000 He can probably kill normal civilians easily without any weapons. It's just that he's in a world with people who have exceptional superhuman abilities. By all intents and purposes, 21 is just a regular guy.
@@Supperdude9 We’re all heaps proud of him. It’s super hard to maintain & hold onto progress ya make when ya try to put the work in to change and be better and improve. Y’know ? Get the gym membership and eat better for a couple weeks can be done, but how many of us keep that up, maintain it, not revert back into sloth after two weeks ? Gary is a good example, positive influence, & deserving of praise.
Crazy how much respect he earns for himself over the series. Starts as a nobody henchmen that the Monarch only recognized because he was fat. Monarch occasionally makes friendly banter with him than realizes 21 is nearly unkillable. Goes on to become friendlier towards each other. After 24s death, 21 mentally and physically toughened up and becomes a more confident and stronger person. He becomes an elite soldier and leader. He gained respect from everyone involved with the Monarch, and even elite agents like Brock. By the end he is best friends with The Monarch with the two going around accomplishing as much by themselves as what the Monarch accomplished with his army.
I also love how he and the Monarch are getting closer and how in the end he keeps fighting with him, rather than for him, because they're genuine friends at this point.
The Monarch and 21 becoming best friends was the only healthy way they could develop and it makes me feel stupidly happy for these two fictional characters knowing they’ve got each other.
@Nyrkes On one hand, you are absolutely correct. On the other hand, the creators of Venture Bros took years between seasons crafting this world. I would *love* for this to be an industry standard, but it's unrealistic, especially with how writers get paid. Man, I need to rewatch this series again to get redy for the movie.
Henchman 21 is my favorite character in the show. He took his grief and turned himself into a certified badass who even earned Brock Samson's respect. The whole Monarch family is gold.
I love the singular line "Very nice, somebody's been training" Brock very much knows who Gary is and does in fact remember nearly killing him a couple times
I mean in their first meeting gary made it clear that he knew who brock was and still ran up to fight him. Probably the bravest thing a character does in this show
Gary became like the perfect hybrid of what every geek wants to be and what every geek truly is. He's a karate fighting badass with loads of self respect and confidence, but he doesn't compromise his geeky side to achieve that. He wears it on his sleeve. He will kick your ass wearing a Jedi cosplay. it's awesome And he's one of few dudes in life who can pull off a ponytail.
That's what actually strong people look like they aren't shredded they are a big bicep it's what power lifters look like plus he's also a little naturally stocky for sure
god Gary is amazing. he went from just some random ass kid getting kidnapped by moronic henchmen, became a "what's happening" Henchmen himself who ends up not dying like the rest, lost his best friend and became insane and tough as nails for it and has become The Monarch's Number 1 henchmen and best friend. that is growth in a story if i've ever seen. he is up there with Dean and even The Monarch himself.
The first time I heard 21 and 24 singing the Mars: Bringer of War theme like the absolute dorks they are, I knew I'd love them forever. and I was right.
@@theprojectproject01 and that says alot. brock kills everything easily no matter the skill, and the fact that a relatively okay self trained (i know the henchmen get training but its incompotent so...ya) fat nerd gets a few good hits on him and even gets broke on the ground is impressive by itself. plus after the first hit i think brock recognized him even with the change. hes kicked his ass so meny times brok most have notesed the fat dude atleast once
Always been crazy to me that there was a piece of pop-culture/music trivia that Dr. Orpheus was more knowledgeable about than 21. And I've always liked that Orpheus always seems enthusiastic about helping out people, even when he doesn't know them. He seems like one of the more authentically heroic people in the show, even if his lack of association with organized heroics and villainy stops him from getting involved in much.
Dr. Orpheus is a hero through and through, albeit his title of necromancer is typically that of a villain, and he even looks like the classic Dracula. But he knows 21 needed a friend, even if he’s drunk as a skunk.
He went from being a joke character to a bona fide badass. Hell, he's not only the best friend of the Monarch, but he can also just casually strike a conversation with Red Death. With Red fucking Death.
5:47 Monarch casually contemplating killing 21 and 24 because he's embarrassed to have them around 6:28 Monarch considers 21 his best friend. What an arc
6:14 is my favorite scene of this episode. You never would've expected this back in season 1. Gary was willing to throw away the entire Guild life if it meant he could stay by Malcolm's side. Their friendship is probably one of the best parts of the later seasons.
“I’ve seen my only real friend die. I’ve seen a giant penny roll over a guy dressed like a rainbow. I’ve seen the Donkey Kong kill screen. I’ve seen attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion.” "G-A-R-Y! You ain't got no alibi! You're Gary! What, what, you're Gary!" "Ok, I have not seen that EVER!" So much beauty.
Yeah, not clueless, just drunk. I can guarantee this is not the first time he has had someone in denial of a close ones death claim that the ghost is hanging around.
“I just wanna help my best friend with his hate.” Gary is literally friends with everyone in this show. He just does this shit because of the people he meets along the way. And his friendship with The Monarch is so awesome in the later seasons.
I just finished rewatching the Venture Bros last night, which took like two months to properly pace myself . So, I guess spoilers? But since we are all here, we’re either okay with spoiling it for ourselves or we have already finished the series. Anyway, it was truly incredible to see The Mighty Monarch and Two-Ton 21 grow together, not only as friends but as individual characters. It’s a stark contrast from The Monarch talking to Dr. Girlfriend about doing away with 21 and 24 on the side of the road during “Tag Sale, You’re It” to Malcolm and Gary swearing an oath to each other even when it could mean renouncing The Guild during “The Saphrax Protocol.” Not to mention all of the little moments in between and seeing their friendship develop subtly by sharing interests. Game of Thrones? The Monarch would love the plotting and the backstabbing, likely very much appreciating the skill taken to pull off the Red Wedding, but 21 likely introduced the fantasy series to him. When they finally developed that bond, the two sharpened each other, 21 pushed him along in embracing the role of The Blue Morpho, The Monarch reminding 21 that in their business it is often eat or be eaten. (Which, as an aside, it feels like in a cosmic sense Malcolm was meant to be an anti-hero just as Rusty was meant to play the part of the villain. And that’s just one way to look at it! You could compile evidence that is completely different from my conclusions and it could still be valid! That’s an entirely different theme discussion though.) The Venture Bros is a truly masterfully crafted story, and while I’m sad to see it go, I’m happy that we had it.
this comment is better when you consider their origins rusty having an abusive and indifferent father while Malcolm if I remember correctly had pretty good parents never mind what his parents did in private as he wasn't aware of it till later. they both ended up as the opposites of who they should have been, thinking that the child of an abusive parent would grow up to continue the evil and so on.
I think this show has some of the best comedy writing ever, it has such a high jokes-per-minute count, I catch a new one every time I re-watch it. Not to mention the animation is gorgeous and Doc and Jackson are great at drama and action too. I wish it was as popular as Rick and Morty (but speaking of Dan Harmon, VB reminds me a lot of Community, and I lost it when James Urbaniak was in an episode.) Sorry about the nerd tangent.
Of all of Gary's incredible scenes, I think 16:04 will always stick with me. Gary finally comes to the total grip with 24's death. He'd realized that there was no one to blame earlier, and then attempted in superficial ways to put his best friend to rest, but as Orpheus and Jefferson reveal in their hilarious scene, 24 was likely never there. I know there's the theories of 24 actually being a ghost and simply disappearing to let 21 move on, but I think the writing and as such, scene is so much more potent if Gary's conscious had simply been keeping him down in the guise of 24. His refusal to let go and move on so strongly embedded in him that the only way he could break from it was a time where he had lost the semblance of his former identity in the Guild he'd cultivated for years and had logical fact crash like an airplane through the floor of his wonderland. But in this tear-jerker of a scene, Gary does truly find his way to move on. He incorporates with Sphinx, before returning to and finding his new best friend with Malcom, the subservient at long last becoming the peer. Becoming the friend. It's such an unspoken fact in the show made obvious by their dynamic and constant sticking together, hell with the Monarch losing Sheila to her Guild duties and Gary finding himself competent but alone, the two were beautifully crafted to eventually become the best buds in the entire show, rivaling White and Billy or the members of the Triad
As much as I love the 24 and The Monarch interactions, I always look forward to the scenes where its just Dr. Mrs. The Monarch and Gary talking about their feelings- it practically always means awesome character development
17:00 Good lord this was hella well directed. I've never even seen this show and I know what this moment meant for him. Shit was so real, and everyone's personality is so over-the-top and yet still - real. I wish people communicated as well as they do on this show.
My bosses wife, in a cheerleader outfit, cheered my name to make me happy, over top the unconscious body of her husband. "I haven't seen *that* before!"
Seeing 21 quickly grab the floating balloons and jump onto the the Morpho Scooter from the Doom Factory was easily one of the best lowkey badass moments. It also really highlighted how he's changed; S1-3 Henchman 21 would have totally bottled the jump and probably would have been stuck next to the Monarch hanging from the door.
I love the St Cloud scene, when he talks about the grunt you can hear his voice quiver because he was on the verge of laughing in order to preserve the take.
its amazing how far he's come, as just being the generic nerdy henchmen to, the Monarch Right hand man and a total badass who monarch knows personally, he's kind of like a metaphor for the show itself, things only ever got better
Despite his massive changes to his body and general competence he is still the same person and likes the same geeky stuff he always liked and i love that about him
Out of all his accomplishments there is one that stands out above the rest, and that is seeing the donkey Kong kill screen and living to tell the tale.
Dr. Mrs. The Monarch, Red Death, Gary, Sergeant Hatred, Brock, Warriana, Professor Orpheus, Shore Leave, and Colonel Hunter Gathers are my top favorite characters on this show.
Gary honestly has one of the best arcs ever. Starting off as just a comedy relief gag with 24, losing his best friend and becoming so traumatized by it he turns himself into an actual threat, leaving the monarch crew and trying to branch off on his own, …going back to work with the monarch, and finally becoming not only his right hand man best his best friend too.
i fucking love how monarch doesnt even give a shit that 21 and drgf got busy on top of him. We're villains! we SWIING! in another context he'd be so pissed but that moment was just perfect
![Best of Henchman 21 [Venture Bros]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
