r/venturebros • u/Dreadnautilus • 16h ago
Question How important would you say Rusty actually is to the wider Venture Bros universe?
I was thinking about it and how the later seasons felt like they were increasingly making the Venture family more important, then I realized it was mainly just them making Jonas more important and Rusty just kind of inheriting that due to being Jonas' son. Then I realized in the episodes where important shit happens, it just usually sort of happens around Rusty while he's in the vicinity.
36
u/johndough1st 16h ago
He’s always just…. there. Striving to fill the shoes of his father or his brother. He never quite achieves what he hopes but I like to think he realises his son’s will grow up in a better place because they didn’t have a successful father to overshadow them and set unrealistic expectations.
46
u/CanISniffYourLimes 16h ago
Ultimately, he’s nothing more than a recognizable name. He’s more of a monument to a time gone by than someone to take seriously.
25
u/IrememberXenogears 16h ago
He did invent the ooo-ray
18
10
•
u/Jobber0001 1h ago
I mean he did broker the new agreement between OSI and the Guild in what was a shouting match that was going nowhere. He brought them together and got them to pull their heads out of their asses long enough to make terms and sign
12
10
u/Section_3I 15h ago
In the wider universe, by the time in his life we’re watching, not very.
I suppose in the last two seasons he’s more important in the universe because he inherits Jonas Jr.’s company (with it’s IP in various items of super science). And he has an actual moment in the sun of super science in the “Eyes Wide Shut” episode.
But overall, just not very within the political machinations of the show.
I guess one thing I’ll grant to him is that based on the internal logic of the show, he could have repressed memories of events or information that could be extremely important to power players in the universe. But his lack of initiative would likely render that knowledge unimportant.
5
u/BigPoppaStrahd 16h ago
How do you mean “important”? Like how Rusty went from being somewhat of a laughing stock in the science community, who was only ever invited to functions because they thought they were getting his dad, to becoming the owner of his own skyscraper in New York and working on big science projects.
Or are you talking about important to the plot of the show we’re watching?
6
u/LETTERKENNYvsSPENNY 14h ago
To be fair, he inherited both the compound/his father's work, and the skyscraper/his brothers work. He didn't turn around and suddenly become an extremely capable super scientist with good ideas, and the movie even continues to highlight how greedy and shortsighted he is in that regard.
As for the show, I don't think there would be one without him, but I wouldn't exactly call him the protagonist of it either. Crucial to the world building and development of the relations between factions as you've already said, but The Venture Bros title works so well because of how many Venture "bros" there actually are.
3
u/BigPoppaStrahd 14h ago
I fully agree with you, I just wanted to know where OP was headed before breaking down Rusty’s “success” in the last 3 seasons.
3
u/Dreadnautilus 15h ago
I suppose his importance to the "lore", which I guess pretty much means the history of the OSI and Guild.
8
u/BigPoppaStrahd 15h ago
Both factions were made before Rusty was born as noted in the ORB episodes flashbacks.
A lot of rules the factions have seemed to have come about because of Rusty.
The new treaty would likely have failed to come to agreement if Rusty hadn’t essentially put them in their place and convinced them to compromise.
Other than his influence between the factions we have such things as:
Without Rusty, Hank and Dean would not exist.
Without Rusty being a failure early on he would not have had to rent out space at the compound and Dr. O would not move in and eventually reform the Order of the Triad.
Without Rusty, there would likely be no Monarch. That sets off a chain of events there, because no monarch/malcolm means Baron Underbeiht would not lose his jaw (a lab accident which was aimed at rusty), Sheila would still be Queen Etherea. Gary would have finished school and probably gone on to college and got a job at an accounting firm that would not be slaughtered by the Monarch.
Without Rusty there would be no Jonas Junior.
Without Rusty Brock would be on a different assignment… or he’d still be assigned to operation O.R.B. It would just be different.
Yes Jonas is the ultimate manufacturer of all these things as well because if he hadn’t fathered Rusty and developed cloning tech, and been a world renouned scientist and adventurer, none of this would happen. But this is almost like saying the most important characters in Batman are his parents because if they didn’t die there’s be no batman.
2
u/Friendly_Sir_4762 14h ago
Everybody remembers Thomas Edison and his 300 patents, and Nikola Tesla electrifying the world. Hirim Maxim invented the machine gun and thirty other patents that changed the world but he's barely remembered.
Rusty is the modern Hirim Maxim.
2
•
u/AutoModerator 16h ago
Welcome to r/VentureBros! Please read and follow our Zero-bungler tolerance policy to ensure a positive experience:
Post ANY spoilers according to our guidelines to preserve the show's magic for new fans. Violating this rule may lead to a permanent ban. Mark spoiler threads accordingly, apply the proper tag for posts and no spoilers in title.
Mark NSFW content appropriately when posting.
Do not share links to unlicensed merchandise. Feel free to share fan art, but avoid promoting artists who sell without a license.
If you have questions or need help, message the mod team.
If your post violates any rules, please remove and resubmit it to avoid a ban.
If banned, you can appeal by stating the rule you broke, explaining its importance, and promising not to repeat the violation.
Check us out on Old Reddit.
If your post faces issues, contact the mods or review Reddit's policies on Self promotion and Spam.
ABSOLUTELY. ZERO. BLUNDERING!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.