Adult Swim's longest-running show, The Venture Bros., is full of references to classic pulp fiction, '60s adventure cartoons, and, notably, DC Comics. The show premiered in 2003 on Cartoon Network, with season 8 currently in production. Since its beginning, the show has often presented parodies of recognizable figures from popular culture, with the main characters and the show's title referencing both The Hardy Boys and Jonny Quest. While The Venture Bros. is not a direct satire of the superhero genre in the vein of show's like DC's Harley Quinn animated series, over the years, there have been several — often hilarious — references to characters and storylines from DC Comics.
The adult-oriented animated comedy The Venture Bros. derives its humor from its cynical, and often dark, parodies of light-hearted adventure properties, such as the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons and pulp magazine heroes like Doc Savage and the Shadow. When the series does engage with comics, it's often referencing the comic book culture of the past, rather than engaging in the current Superhero genre, which has expanded exponentially into multi-media franchises. Nostalgia is a core theme running throughout The Venture Bros., so it makes sense that showrunners Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer are primarily engaging in the silly, problematic, and dorky world of Silver Age comic books.
The core cast of The Venture Bros. are based on the main characters in the 1964 cartoon Jonny Quest, and most of the characters introduced early on in the show's run are tied in some way to '60s-era cartoons. While none of the main characters in the early seasons are direct parodies of DC characters, as The Venture Bros. expanded its world of supervillains and superheroes, the show added more "caped crusader" style heroes to its existing world of pulp heroes (and its G.I. Joe-inspired military operation, "O.S.I."). By season 7, there are several more costume-wearing superheroes living in urban areas fighting crime for a living. In fact, there are even a few core characters who are direct parodies of well-known DC Comics figures.
The Bat Is A Batman Reference
One of the best running-gags in The Venture Bros. is Hank Venture's obsession with the fictional character "The Bat" — who just happens to look a lot like Adam West's Batman. Hank, who is at times more imaginative than is wise (or safe), often wears his "the Bat" costume and adopts the personality of a brooding, mysterious vigilante. The mask and accompanying outfit have the appearance of a cheap Halloween costume or pyjamas (Hank comments at one point that his tongue keeps getting stuck in the mouth slit), suggesting that in The Venture Bros., DC's Batman is as prevalent as he is in real-life.
Eventually, Hank's "the Bat" costume is confirmed in the show to be a Batman costume. Most notably, in The Venture Bros. season 3, episode 12, "The Family That Slays Together, Stays Together (Part I)," Hank and the hired assassin Le Tueur bond over Silver Age comics and Batman (who Le Tueur says "has the best villains"). While the costume Hank wears seems to be based on Adam West's Batman (it has eyebrows!), Hank's demeanor when he's "the Bat" is much less campy and more brooding. This, and the conversation Hank has with Le Tueur, suggests that The Venture Bros. is referencing Silver Age DC Comics Batman.
There is the possibility that Batman exists as a hero in The Venture Bros. world: in season 4, episode 2, "Handsome Ransom," Hank asks Captain Sunshine to put in a good word to Batman for him, prompting the (jealous) aged hero to yell at the youngster to leave. The interaction suggests that Hank is either confusing reality and fantasy, or that Batman exists in the same way that heroes like Captain Sunshine and Warriana do.
Captain Sunshine References Batman and Superman
In the aforementioned The Venture Bros. episode, Hank falls under the mentorship of Captain Sunshine, a superhero who "rescues" and adopts Hank when he mistakes him for an orphan. Hank becomes the hero's new Wonderboy sidekick (Monarch killed the last one). Captain Sunshine is a parody of two major DC Comics characters: Batman and Superman. Like Superman, Captain Sunshine can fly, is powered by the sun, and has an alter ego — Chuck Scarsdale — who works as a TV news anchor (similar to Superman's Clark Kent, who is a journalist for The Daily Planet).
Captain Sunshine's characteristics are much more akin to Batman, however. He too owns a mansion with a secret lair underneath, but instead of being a "batcave" it's his "sanctum solarium" (the name is a play on Dr. Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum in the Marvel comics). Captain Sunshine's bitter hatred towards Monarch for killing the last Wonderboy, a clear Robin stand-in, echoes Batman's feelings towards Joker after the latter killed Jason Todd in the comics — like Jason Todd, the Wonderboy Monarch killed was actually the second version of the sidekick. Captain Sunshine is even voiced by Kevin Conroy, the iconic Batman voice actor.
Much of the humor in "Handsome Ransom" comes from the dark allusions to Captain Sunshine's pedophilloic feelings toward his boy sidekicks; this is a reference the controversies surrounding Batman and Robin's relationship. The book Seduction of the Innocent infamously suggested there were homoerotic undertones to the Batman and Robin stories that were corrupting the youth that read them. While Captain Sunshine never harms Hank in any way (although he does kiss him on the lips), there is an insidious feeling that Captain Sunshine wants to be more than a father figure to Hank.
The Super Gang References DC's The Freedom Fighters
During "Handsome Ransom," Captain Sunshine receives a call from his team of superheroes: The Super Gang. The name is a play on the DC 1960s animated cartoon Super Friends, which featured both Superman and Batman, but the team itself is a nod to a more obscure DC Comics reference: The Freedom Fighters. The Freedom Fighters team never had Batman or Superman as a member; instead, Captain Sunshine is taking the role of Ray, the team's hero with light powers (although his build and cape are more reminiscent of another teammate — Human Bomb).
Warriana
Season 6 of Venture Bros. introduces a slew of new costumed crime-fighters, including Warriana, an obvious parody of DC's Wonder Woman — she even wields the lasso of truth, and drives an invisible flying chariot. Warriana's appearance, however, is less based on Wonder Woman's design, and more her ancient Greek roots.
The fabled Amazons in Greek mythology were a tribe of warrior women who were sometimes mistaken for men. Warriana has the muscular tall stature of the Amazons as depicted in ancient sculptures — she even has a missing breast, which is part of the ancient Greek Amazon mythology. Warriana does, however, have Diane Prince's long black hair and golden cuffs (and her headpiece alludes to Wonder Woman's golden eagle armor).
Fallen Archer
The final DC Comics reference in The Venture Bros. is Fallen Archer — a hero with a foot-related pun as a gimmick. A member of Warriana's team, Crusader's Action League, Fallen Archer is a parody of both Marvel's Hawkeye and DC's Green Arrow. While his purple costume is much closer to Hawkeye's character design, his blonde facial hair is a trait more associated with Green Arrow from DC Comics. Furthermore, Fallen Archer's signature weapon, his foot arrows, is a clever wink to Green Arrow's infamous boxing glove trick arrows.
Other Notable DC Comics References
Brainulo is a reference to Brainiac: Brainulo is a time-travelling supervillain and enemy of the original Team venture. Like DC's Brainiac, he has electrodes all over his head.
King Gorilla is a reference to Gorilla Grodd: King Gorilla is a talking Gorilla supervillain who befriends The Monarch in prison. He is a reference to The Flash villain Gorilla Grodd, as well as another talking-Gorillia DC villain: Monsieur Mallah.
Radical Left is a reference to Two-Face: Radical Left is a supervillain and member of The Guild of Calamitous Intent. Like Two-Face in the Batman comics, Radical Left has one side of his body disfigured. His two sides represent "radical" ideals.
Presto Change-O is a reference to the Joker and Plastic Man: Another Guild member, Presto-Change-O is a silly shape-changing clown voiced by Mark Hamill, the actor behind the Joker in Batman the Animated Series. Hamill seems to be doing a parody of his own performance as Joker for this role. Presto Change-O's powers are very similar to the DC character Plastic Man.
Boggles the Clue Clown is a reference to the Joker and the Riddler: Boggles is only seen briefly, at his funeral in season 5. Given that Captain Sunshine is a parody of Batman, it's only fitting that one of his long-time arch-rivals is a combination of two classic Batman villains: Joker and Riddler.