The Mantis-Eye Experiment

Summary

When the Guild of Calamitous Intent finally approves Dr. Orpheus for his very own arch nemesis, he calls upon old friends The Alchemist and Jefferson Twilight to resurrect their former super-team, The Order of the Triad. While they audition supervillain candidates at the Venture Compound, a jealous Doc isn't about to let Orpheus steal the show. Let loose the walking eye!

Capsule

The Guild of Calamitous Intent. Hate you can trust.

WATCH
Hello [covers mouth]

VOICE
Dr. Orpheus and team.

WATCH
[continuing] You have been approved for your very own Guild certified super-villain.

WARD
Here at the Guild of Calamitous Intent, your nemesis is our business. But don't take our word on it. Right, Sovereign?

SOVEREIGN
That's right, Ward. Since 1910, the Guild has been providing first-rate professional menace to all who qualify.

WATCH
Wow, 1910!

WARD
That's a history you can trust!

SOVEREIGN
The Guild is the organized leader in havoc! Just look at these numbers!

WARD
Wow, those are some impressive figures, Sovereign! Why would a hero look anywhere else for a villain?

WATCH
Hold on a minute, Ward! Why doesn't [covers mouth]

VOICE
Dr. Orpheus and team.

WATCH
[continuing] just get his own costumed enemy?

WARD
Ohh Watch, will you ever learn? I think this little film may help you understand.

A short film plays with some of the downsides of not allowing the Guild to select your arch. They include disregard of treaties (a villain busts into a hero's home while he is eating dinner with his family), improperly matched animosity (a tiny villain is paired up with a large hero) and inappropriate behavior (a villain makes out with a hero he has strapped to a table with a laser about to slice him in half).

Dr. Orpheus turns down the volume and asks who delivered the tape. Triana answers that it was some guy with a winter coat and techno goggles. And pipes coming out of him. They argue about Splash for a second when Dr. O notes that the meeting with potential arches (and his team of 2 - 4) is scheduled for today. He freaks out and disappears in a puff of smoke.

Roll opening credits.

In the Venture Industries lab Dr. Venture is showing Brock and the boys his new walking eye that does walking eye stuff. Brock and Dean come up with a few things it might be good at (and Hank with a not so good one) and Dr. Venture writes them down. Perfect. Just then a crapload of Guild operatives land on the Venture compound. Brock doesn't freak out, however. Although they did land in his herb garden.

Meanwhile in a subway somewhere (France maybe?) a vampire hunter named Jefferson Twilight is fighting two vampires. He jumps one and pushes him down, then grabs his front fangs. He comments it's going to really hurt, and the vampire begs him not to. Sorry, Twilight needs them for his vampire tooth necklace. Another vampire that he knocked over stands up and is about to strike when he's hit by some red magic. Twilight looks back and then at the source of the magic. Dr. Orpheus. He smiles, then rips out the vampire's fangs and slices off his head.

JEFFERSON
I haven't spoken to you in like sixteen years and you suddenly show up and rescue my- what gives? You rescued my situation!

DR. ORPHEUS
That was a coincidence, dear friend. I am here to extend and offer from the Guild of Calamitous Intent.

JEFFERSON
Get out! Approval? A name brand arch enemy? That took long enough. Woah! This is so-

[DR. ORPHEUS zaps the VAMPIRE again]

JEFFERSON
[not noticing] Woah!! But man, you had a kid, got married and got into that balancing good and evil kind of crap.

DR. ORPHEUS
My wife left me, my daughter has a driver's license and keeping the cosmos from chaos lacks so much of the razzle-dazzle. My piers perceive me as a layabout.

JEFFERSON
No man, you have a secret identity. That's classic comic stuff! You're like captain- you're all... Aquaman!

DR. ORPHEUS
Aquaman doesn't have a secret identity. He's always Aquaman.

[DR. ORPHEUS zaps the VAMPIRE again]

JEFFERSON
Okay, bad example.

DR. ORPHEUS
Nobody believes that Aquaman is a stay-at-home dad. Everybody knows what Aquaman does.

JEFFERSON
I don't know what Aquaman does. Doesn't he like protect some lame fake-ass kingdom?

[DR. ORPHEUS zaps the VAMPIRE once more]

DR. ORPHEUS
I thought he fought Black Manta? [the VAMPIRE raises again] Oh come on!! Why won't he just die?!

JEFFERSON
You gotta remove his head. But I get the teeth.

Meanwhile in the Cocoon, 21 is constructing some fake Guild Arching IDs for himself and 24. So they can be a team of super villains. 24 refuses on grounds that being a henchman almost gets him killed daily, nevermind being the one in charge. 21 notes that they could do it better than the Monarch, but 24 notes that the Monarch is very ruthless. Very ruthless indeed.

The Monarch, meanwhile, has enlisted the, er, company, of a, uh, lady? Well I'll just say it; he's about to have sex with a hooker who has on a wig and hat on like Dr. Girlfriend. Problem is she won't do the voice right. It needs to be deeper. No, keep trying. Nope, deeper. Way deeper. This isn't going to work is it?

The Venture Compound is now crawling with Strangers... or Guild members anyway. Watch and Ward express their appreciation for the late Dr. Jonas Venture and how he was responsible for stealing Ward's father's leg and the reason Watch got into 'this business'. Dr. Venture tells them to keep everyone out of his lab since he has some pretty impressive stuff in there. No really. Why are you laughing? Dr. Venture then asks where Orpheus is, and Watch and Ward tell him he's still assembling his team. Dr. Venture comments that a team is awfully wimpy of Dr. O... Ward clears his throat. Jealous!

Meanwhile...

DR. ORPHEUS
The Alchemist! I presume?

THE ALCHEMIST
Byron Orpheus, you old bag of salt crackers! How long's it been?

DR. ORPHEUS
Too long my friend.

JEFFERSON
[offscreen] Let me in! [bangs on the door] I can't astral-project because I'm not magic.

[THE ALCHEMIST waves his hand and the door opens]

JEFFERSON
Knew it! Still all on that stool and looking for the Philosopher's Stone! I see that, mmm hmm, right there.

THE ALCHEMIST
The Philosopher's Stone is a metaphor for enlightenment. So in a way, yes, I am searching for it. And the cure... for AIDS.

DR. ORPHEUS
Noble! Now I feel a little stupid for asking you this.

JEFFERSON
So you're still, umm, uhh- [he rocks his hand back and forth] You know?

THE ALCHEMIST
Nah I grew out of that. Yeah, you know. Just a phase, and I- yeah, no, of course I am. Hello?

JEFFERSON
Hey, just asking.

DR. ORPHEUS
We're thinking of reforming the Order of the Triad!! I- we, have been approved for an arch-villain!

THE ALCHEMIST
Great! I'm in!

DR. ORPHEUS
But what of your most important work?

THE ALCHEMIST
I need the publicity. You know, nothing gets the people in your corner like that hero crap.

DR. ORPHEUS
See?

JEFFERSON
What, I'm here, aren't I?

THE ALCHEMIST
Plus, I could use the exercise. I don't know about you guys but I'm getting a little paunchy.

JEFFERSON
Tell me about it. Least you have a robe to hide it.

THE ALCHEMIST
Aw, come on, black is slimming.

[JEFFERSON raises his eyebrow]

THE ALCHEMIST
No, no, I mean black clothing is slimming.

DR. ORPHEUS
You gentlemen should switch to pinstripes. It leads the eye down.

Back at the Venture Compound, Hank and Dean are bored in their room. Well, Hank is. Dr. Venture comes in and tells Hank he needs to speak to Dean alone. Hank doesn't want to leave, but Dr. Venture tells Hank to go wash his face or he'll end up all gross and pimply. Hank runs off in horror and Dr. Venture attempts to have 'the talk' with Dean. Sort of.

He tells Dean that he wants him to watch Triana (Dr. O asked Dr. Venture, but he doesn't want to do it of course)...

DR. VENTURE
I want you and Hank to entertain her today.

DEAN
Triana? So, so you want us to put on a show for her?! Uhh, should we write a script or should we do something she knows?! Oh my goodness, ahh, we need costumes!

[DEAN tries to run away but DR. VENTURE pulls him back]

DR. VENTURE
I thought you would react this way. Now sit down and let me explain something that every boy your age has known for like five years.

Next we have a montage of Dr. Venture teaching Dean about the birds and the bees with Dean looking horrified and embarrassed.

DR. VENTURE
...and there she is, you can see her right there, just writhing on the hood of the car! What was David Coverdale to do?

DEAN
Break up... umm, white... lion?

DR. VENTURE
That's Whitesnake, Dean, and yes, both Brock and I lay the blame squarely on Tawney's hot, silky shoulders. Now let that be a lesson to you.

DEAN
About what?!

DR. VENTURE
Ah, I'm so glad we had this talk.

Back at the Cocoon 21 is showing 24 the spoils of war. Jet packs stolen from Sargent Hatred.

HENCHMAN 24
Please tell me you filed them with supplies.

HENCHMAN 21
Oh my god when did you become such a dainty little flower?

HENCHMAN 24
When the idiot I work with forged documents and stole jet packs!!

HENCHMAN 21
Okay are you telling me you don't want to fly into some chick's window, all super cool with like a three-day beard, and a fucking jet pack!

HENCHMAN 24
Granted, that is kind of sweet.

HENCHMAN 21
It is so sweet.

HENCHMAN 24
We'll uh, we'll need costumes.

HENCHMAN 21
Got 'em! And they are so leather. I'm gonna be totally flying into some hot chick's bedroom.

HENCHMAN 24
Oh totally, and she'll be like dating the good guy! And I'll come in and I'll be all "I'll spare his life, but only for you, sugar pants!"

HENCHMAN 21
Dude, and then you will have sex!! You will be having sex!! Sex!!

The Monarch, meanwhile, has finished his business with the hooker. He tells her he's left money on the nightstand for her. She asks if he can give her directions to Liberty Street, or at least the center of town... the Monarch goes into a speech about how peril awaits her and he is the mighty Minotaur! He drops his robe to reveal a crazy Minotaur tatoo on his back. He tells the hooker than she has to earn her freedom since the Cocoon has 'witnessed her sins'. Uh oh. A trap door on the bed slides open and the hooker falls into... who knows?

Commercial.

Back at the Venture Compound the Intangible Fancy (who you may remember from Tag Sale, You're It!) converses with a previously unseen villain, Torrid. They discuss costumes (Intangible Fancy can't wear costumes) and genitals (Intangible Fancy doesn't have any) until Torrid sees Dr. Venture's lab and leaves to do something... torrid.

In the meeting room, Dr. O, Jefferson and the Alchemist are interviewing a... guy in a SCUBA outfit. He's not going to get called back.

Hank, meanwhile, is uh, wearing a dress... and squeezing his pimples (comes out like EZ Cheeze). Okay? He heads into the bathroom to grab some benzol peroxide, but Torrid is on the can. He's about to yell at Hank for not knocking when the toilet paper catches fire. He quickly pulls up his pants and disappears in a huge blue flame right as Hank comes into view. All that remains is a foul, foul stench.

Meanwhile in a field or something, 21 and 24 are testing out their new arch-villain personas. They're wearing jump suits and have weird buckets on their heads:

HENCHMAN 24
Dude, you said you had leather costumes!

HENCHMAN 21
The pads are leather. They're leather-like.

HENCHMAN 24
Where did you get these things? Why is there a bowl on my helmet?

HENCHMAN 21
Yeah it was on Family Double Dare, I totally swiped it.

HENCHMAN 24
Well that makes me feel better about all the stains.

HENCHMAN 21
Oh yeah, that's gak. You know, physical challenge? Alright, let's do this, ready?

HENCHMAN 24
Oh thank god, a guy can only wear a jet pack for so long without using it.

[24 turns on his jet pack and flies away]

HENCHMAN 24
[offscreen] Dude, my shoe's on fire! I just lit my shoes on fire!!

HENCHMAN 21
Wait up! [he flips on his jet pack but only rises a foot or so off the ground] Ahh, ahh, it's not working! Hol- hold on! Time!!

Meanwhile, back at the compound:

JEFFERSON
Yes, I only hunt Blackulas.

FISH CREATURE
Oh, so you only hunt African-American vampires.

JEFFERSON
No, sometimes I hunt British vampires. They don't have African-Americans in England.

FISH CREATURE
Oh yeah. Yeah, good point.

JEFFERSON
So I hunt Blackulas.

FISH CREATURE
I was just trying to be...

JEFFERSON
Man I specialize in hunting black vampires, I don't what the PC name for that is.

DR. ORPHEUS
Is that a mask?

THE ALCHEMIST
Oh my god, I was just gonna ask that! Ooooo.

In Hank and Dean's room, in the meantime, Dean and Brock are putting on a play for Triana, who is clearly unimpressed and reading a magazine. Brock reads a line and Dean (who is also wearing a dress, and now Hank wearing one suddenly makes sense) yells at Hank for missing his cue. Hank informs them that he's in the bathroom and it smells like 'gunpowder throw up poo poo eggs'. Brock uses this as an excuse to leave, much to Dean's disdain (he's also Lady Agatha).

Back in the meeting room the Triad are facing a potential arch, Curse, who has magic and stuff. They surround him in preparation for their test fight.

JEFFERSON
On three we give him the ol' rochambeau!

THE ALCHEMIST
Rock, paper, scissors?

DR. ORPHEUS
What, uh, does a general from the American Revolution have to do with this?

JEFFERSON
American Revolution? Rochambeau sounds French to me.

DR. ORPHEUS
Well yes, the Franco-American forces-

JEFFERSON
They fought with Spaghetti-O's and meatballs?

THE ALCHEMIST
Why would a company called Franco-American make Italian food?

Curse, clearly inspired by this discussion, charges Dr. Orpheus, who says a spell that makes Curse's legs disappear. The Alchemist does another spell that removes his arms and he slides over to Jefferson who pins him down with his foot and puts his swords up to his neck.

THE ALCHEMIST
Gentlemen, that ruled. Was that the rochambeau?

JEFFERSON
No.

DR. ORPHEUS
Ohh, it really should be!

And no, we haven't forgotten the hooker. She's running through the Cocoon and playing right into the Monarch's weird mind games. She comes to the end of a hallway and is confronted with a selection of doors to open.

THE MONARCH
[over a loudspeaker] Ohh, but which door to choose? That one could have fun surprises and a year's supply of Turtle Wax behind it.

[THE HOOKER opens the door, and a polar bear springs out and roars at her]

THE MONARCH
[over a loudspeaker] Or the polar bear from Lost.

In the lab Brock is helping Dr. Venture move his walking eye outside. It apparently needs air. Dr. Venture asks why Brock is dressed in a tux and Brock informs the doc that it's to help out Dean and his play for Triana.

BROCK
Said it was your idea.

DR. VENTURE
Hardly. I was trying to tell him about the birds and the bees.

BROCK
Yeah, how did that work out for ya?

DR. VENTURE
He staged Lady Windamere's Fan.

In the bathroom Dean comments that the smell smells like Hank pounded garbage into his butt. Hank, however, only wants to solve the bathroom mystery. Triana comes in, wondering why Hank and Dean have been in the bathroom for so long... and then she smells it.

TRIANA
[gasps] Ohh, Hank, what is wrong with you?

DEAN
Right? It smells like a Bible story in here.

TRIANA
Did my grandpa teach you to crap?

DEAN
We should get Brock.

HANK
Doh, every time there's a super-cool mystery to solve, you go get a grown up! Lame!

Outside the Compound Dr. Venture loudly thanks Brock for helping him move his walking eye. His dirty, filthy walking eye. As a line of potential arches watch he washes off the walking eye. They perk up, of course. Just to add to the fun of the situation Dr. Venture takes off his shirt and rubs up against the soapy walking eye a little. Yeah.

Back in the bathroom Triana tells Hank to retrace his steps. He says he was walking in the door and someone was probably on the toilet. Triana sits on the toilet and suddenly is engulfed in blue flames and disappears.

HANK
Dude I killed your girlfriend!

DEAN
She's my girlfriend?

HANK
Probably. Before I killed her.

DEAN
Awww!!

Back in the Cocoon the hooker remains unscathed but is currently navigating a hallway full of those swinging blades like in The Pit and the Pendulum (only there's more than one). The Monarch, now showering (with his Minotaur tatoo washing off) continues to talk to her over the loudspeaker:

THE MONARCH
Down, down, still unceasingly, still inevitably, down! Still I quivered in every nerve, to think how slight a sinking of the machinery would precipitate that clean, glistening axe on my bosom!

Back at the Venture Compound meeting hall Dr. O and friends meet up with... Lady Au Pear? Dr. Orpheus, however, swears he has seen her before. She talks and freaks them out. Jefferson asks if she smokes cigarettes or eats them. Lady Au Pear leaves in a huff. Her murderous moppets stay behind. Anyone want on?

In the bathroom Hank continues to apply face cream or something... Dean says they should get Dr. O, but Hank thinks that's a bad idea since they kind of killed her.

DEAN
[sighs] You're right. List our clues again.

HANK
One, goth chick catches fire and disappears. No smoldering body beating 'kill me, kill me' in Morse code with what is left of her head.

DEAN
Stop it!

HANK
Three. The smell of a dumpster full of burning diapers, and four-

DEAN
Wait a minute, run the shower. And only the hot.

Hank does so (without looking in) and puts out Torrid who was apparently hiding there the entire time. The room fills with steam (well, water vapor really) and a message appears in the mirror: "I'm in the torrid zone. Tell my father."

HANK
You're a genius! It's Triana's handwriting!

DEAN
How can you tell?

HANK
She dotted her i with a big circle. That's a total chick move. It says; 'I'm in the torrid zone, tell my feather.' [gasps] We have to find her feather!

Oh and don't forget 21 and 24, still out in the field. 21 has both jet packs on and is flying very badly as 24 watches from below:

HENCHMAN 24
Give it up already, we can take a bus.

HENCHMAN 21
Dude, Jet Boy and Jet Girl do not take busses. [he lands]

HENCHMAN 24
For the last time, we are not Jet Boy and Jet Girl, I don't care if I get to be Jet Boy. Those names suck.

HENCHMAN 21
But it's a French song. Street cred with the indie crowd. The Damned do a cover of it.

HENCHMAN 24
Then we should be The Damned! That is a way cooler name!

Back at Arch-con 2006, Dr. O, Jefferson and the Alchemist are (finally) interviewing Torrid who informs them that he kidnapped Triana. We have a winner!

Meanwhile Dr. Venture is eating a sandwich and watching as a ton of villains attack his walking eye.

DR. VENTURE
Right, that eye is crawling with villains! Yeah, they gave up on Orpheus and his little coffee clash. Oh they know a real arch-rival when they see one. You want a sandwich?

BROCK
No, I ate already. You, uhh, want me to rescue it or something? Pull 'em off it?

DR. VENTURE
Whatever there's Guild security out there shooting foam at them. You know between you and me the stupid thing hardly worked anyway. But, when word of this gets out business will pick right up!

BROCK
Well I'm gonna go out there and get some of that action.

DR. VENTURE
Uhh, don't you wanna change?

BROCK
No way, I love wearing a tux when I kill guys. Makes me kinda feel like James Bond.

[he leaves and the Order of the Triad with HANK and DEAN (DEAN on JEFFERSON's shoulders) enter]

DR. VENTURE
So, who's the lucky winner?

DR. ORPHEUS
A fetid little firebrand named Torrid.

JEFFERSON
Yeah the son of a bitch kidnapped his daughter to the torrid zone.

THE ALCHEMIST
Ohh, torrid zone. So butch.

DEAN
I solved that mystery!

DR. ORPHEUS
Yes you did. You see the torrid zone is merely the area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. I own an island there. In the Great Barrier Reef!

DEAN
So Triana is safe on Orpheus Island! Sunning herself in a bikini. And oiling her ski- her skin down... in her bikini.

JEFFERSON
Dude, what's the- [pauses] What are you doing up there? Okay, time to get off my shoulders! [he lowers DEAN to the ground]

THE ALCHEMIST
I just wanna commend you on accepting Hank for who he really is.

DR. ORPHEUS
Let's show Mr. Venture our thing.

They clasp forearms and do their Order of the Triad call. Neat.

DR. VENTURE
Get out of my kitchen.

Roll end credits.

Remember 21 and 24? 21 is still dressed as uh, Jet Girl, but 24 is in his Monarch henchman suit again and trying to hitchhike.

HENCHMAN 21
We can still do this, Jet Boy!

HENCHMAN 24
I can't hear you. Because I hate you.

[A car pulls up and stops in front of him]

HENCHMAN 24
You coming? Jet Girl.

[he opens the door and looks in]

HOOKER
No!! No not again!!

[the HOOKER floors it and drives away before 24 can get in the car]

HENCHMAN 24
I can't believe that whore stole my Stanza.

HENCHMAN 21
I can't believe that whore made it through the lake of acid.

Notes

• Watch and Ward, the two Guild control room guys, return in a fairly extended role and we see them outside of that room for the first time. We also see the supreme Guild commander for only the second time (first time was briefly in Trial of the Monarch) and we now know his name to be Sovereign. Sovereign, by the way, is Chris McCulloch. It looks to be video footage of him talking with some fancy warping and coloration effects applied to make him appear all spooky.
  
  
• Triana mentions Splash, which is a movie where Tom Hanks falls in love with a mermaid or something like that.
  
  
• Dr. Venture's Walking Eye is a tribute to the Jonny Quest episode The Robot Spy where a focal point of the episode is a spy robot that looks pretty much exactly like the one in this episode. Here's a screengrab.
  
  
• The subway Jefferson Twilight is fighting in has a French-sounding vampire, but there's a sign up that says '5th', so it may also be the New York subway. It's probably not important anyway, but it would be easier for Jefferson to get to the Venture Compound from New York than from France in such a short time.
  
  
• Speaking of Jefferson Twilight, he's part Blade and part Shaft, but here's the true inspiration, right from Jackson's mouth (or fingers, as it were):
  

  Seriously, he's based on a guy we've seen around town. Actually, several guys. Middle aged African American guys with leather (sometimes snakeskin, sometimes suede) car coats, silky poet's shirts, snakeskin boots, cargo or leather pants, and either a scorpion belt buckle, or, in one case, a crucifix necklace with a little knife in the bottom of the cross. Beaded or bone necklaces are another option. Occasionally, they top these outfits off with a floppy leather hat. And no joke, we've seen at least three or four of these guys, like it's a subculture or a fashion trend. I can't explain it, but the first time I ever saw one, I came back to the Astrobase and gleefully exclaimed to Doc "I just saw a Blackula hunter!" To my surprise, having never discussed it before, he said "I know exactly what you mean." I shit you not, they walk among us.

• Jefferson and Dr. O briefly discuss Aquaman who, indeed, does not have a secret identity. Well, sort of. His real name is Arthur Curry and he's the son of a human and an outcast Atlantean. As he learns of his powers he pretty much ditches Arthur Curry in favor of Aquaman and becomes the king of Atlantis.
  
  And yes, Aquaman does fight Black Manta.
  
  
• Interestingly enough, the fake licenses that 21 makes do not have the recited info that 24 says they do. While 24 claims the license says that 21 is "six feet and 135 pounds" the license actually says he is 5'9" and there doesn't appear to be a weight listed on it. It also says his name is Jake Cutter, which was the name of John Wayne's character in The Comancheros and also the name of the main character from Tales of the Gold Monkey, a short lived series on ABC in 1982. The latter is the most likely inspiration for this name for reasons you will soon see...
  
  
• 24's arching license has the name Corky Kraptrucker, and interestingly enough Jake Cutter's best friend and mechanic in "Tales of the Gold Monkey" is named Corky. He doesn't seem to have a last name in the show, but so I'm guessing Kraptrucker is just a funny last name. So there's your connection.
  
  
• The Alchemist is, oddly enough, not really based on any comic book or film character. He's just an alchemist. He's also voiced by Dana Snyder, best known as the voice of Master Shake on Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Jefferson mentions that the Alchemist is looking for the philosopher's stone, which is something of a fountain of youth or holy grail in the world of alchemy with the ability to make people younger or turn common materials into gold. Also a metaphor for enlightenment as it is said that whoever makes the stone will conclude the great work.
  
  
• The tail end of Dr. Venture's birds and bees conversation with Dean is about the band Whitesnake. In specific Dr. Venture is talking about Tawny Kitaen, who was married to the lead singer, David Coverdale. She seen in a few Whitesnake videos (like Here I Go Again and Is This Love). They got married in 1989 and Whitesnake hasn't done very much since, even though they did divorce in 1991.
  
  
• The initial scene where the Monarch reveals his tatoo to the prostitute is taken from Red Dragon (later made into the film Manhunter and then Red Dragon with Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter). The main focus of the story is Francis Dolarhyde, who was abused as a child and is now a mentally unstable killer with a dragon tattooed across his back (inspired by the William Blake painting The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in Sun). Nobody can say how much this will play into the show's continuity (if at all, it could just be a gag), but it certainly follows the Monarch's downward spiral which has been occurring since the later episodes in season one.
  
  
• Torrid is an almost dead ringer for the DC superhero Deadman although their powers are nothing alike (Deadman is a ghost), they have a very similar look and costume.
  
  
• 21 and 24's (or should I say Jet Boy and Jet Girl) arching costumes are stolen from Double Dare, which anyone who grew up in the mid-80s to early-90's knows about. The show involved teams playing crazy games for points and money, often involving making a huge mess and wearing silly things on their heads (or other places).
  
  
• The play Dean is putting on for Triana is called Lady Windermere's Fan, which is a four-act comedy written by Oscar Wilde and first produced in 1892. In the play Lady Windermere's husband is cheating on her, and she is forced to deal with it.
  
  
• What's Rochambeau? Well there's Comte de Rochambeau, the French Lieutenant General who commanded 5000 French troops during the American Revolution against the British. It's also another name for Rock, Paper, Scissors (which you may recall Hank and Dean played in Dia de los Dangerous! in order to decide who would be giving their father a kidney).
  
  
• Lost is a TV series about a bunch of people stranded on an island thanks to a plane crash. There are polar bears on the island. I'm not going to explain any more than that because it'll give away some stuff, but there is a polar bear.
  
  
• The scene where Dr. Venture washes the walking eye is a take on a similar but far less disturbing scene from Cool Hand Luke where a blonde washes a car in front of some working convicts, right down to rubbing chest on the window of the eye/car.
  
  
• The line spoken by the Monarch while he is showering is take right from the Edgar Allan Poe short story The Pit and the Pendulum which is about a man and his thoughts as a swinging pendulum blade (similar to those in the show) slowly lowers over his restrained body.
  
  
• Hank's quip about "no smoldering body beating 'kill me, kill me' in Morse code with what is left of her head" after Triana disappears is a reference to the novel (and later film) Johnny Got His Gun, which is an anti-war story about a WWI soldier who survives an explosion but loses his arms, legs, eyes, ears and mouth. The soldier and main character, Joe Bonham, once he learns about his condition, can only communicate in Morse code by hitting his head against his pillow. Here are some excerpts from the book.
  
  
• Jet Boy, Jet Girl is originally a song by the new wave group Elton Motello. It was later covered by numerous bands including The Damned.
  
  
• I had no idea, so many thanks to Mistress Mattress in the comments for pointing out that Orpheus Island (the place Dr. O owns in the Barrier Reef and where Torrid stashed Triana) is an actual place. The more you know!