(S03E09) This was a real treat for all of those that love some old-school Team Venture action ("Action, action, action!"). In this episode, we found past and present protagonists and antagonists meeting for the first time in decades. The action-packed cold open featured Jonas Venture, Sr. as a terribly unconvincing Asian stereotype sporting a nipple on his face. You know, that same old story. Of course, this far-fetched disguise was just another part of the Team's plan to bring down Scaramantula and his Fraternity of Torment, a sort of a not quite as impressive Guild of Calamitous Intent boasting the powers of Brainulo and a young Manotaur.

It was fantastic to see the full Team in action and Rusty looking extra-sad as the tied up boy adventurer. Swifty even made an appearance, wearing hoverboots and his gloves. Huge Dr. Entmann didn't have his weird shaggy hair, but actually looked a bit like Andre the Giant. We also met Ook-Ook, the Team's resident caveman. And what in the heck was up with Kano's magic fire-breathing?! Bonus: We got another Wilhelm when the drill thingy burst through.

Scaramantula put a stopper on the fun by throwing the switch for self-destruction. However, something went wrong and the countdown stopped. Team Venture celebrated their new acquisition of Spider Skull Island. Ah! Origins! They even had their own photographer on board, young Dickey (Richard Impossible). More origins! I thought it was Professor Impossible, but I couldn't be sure without Stephen Colbert's voice. Yeah, Jackson Publick did the Professor's voice, after Colbert turned down the job this season. It's always sad when the world is deprived of another opportunity to hear his voice, but he's a busy guy. In the meantime, watch this Ode to Phil Ken Sebben to soothe your soul.



There was also some online speculation as to why Brainulo's "1969" was bleeped, as it sounded like the writers didn't want us to know the real year. I thought it was Brainulo being a smart-ass and throwing a "19-sh*tty-9", but I could be wrong. What do you think?

In the present day, Jonas, Jr. worked his charm and pulled together a party of heroes and villains alike to celebrate the opening of Jonas Venture, Jr.'s Museum of Jonas Venture on Spider Skull Island. I think this was the first time we got to see what became of the other "Ghosts of the Sargasso" pirates. I loved that that one guy still had his pantyhose headpiece, almost as much as I loved the Captain's "YARR!" of horror when he walked in on naked/invisible Sally Impossible.

I was super-surprised that the original Team didn't have any questions for Jonas Venture, Jr. apart from "What the hell are you?!" It's a tiny Jonas Venture with a robot hand, flying around in a jetpack! Aren't they in the least bit curious? I guess they've dealt with weirder things.

A scruffy, drunk Richard Impossible arrived to the party as well, much to the chagrin of Sally. Ned didn't seem to mind/notice though, spending the majority of his time running around half naked and getting chased by Captain holding his giant pants. Other familiar faces included General Manhowers and his mommy, Brisby and Mandalay, and one of those random bald guys from "Tag Sale! You're It". No speaking, though.

With all these famous heroes and villains around, Billy Quizboy kicked his geek love to high gear, treating the party like his personal Comic-Con. I wouldn't be surprised if most of the signing related scenes were inspired by Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer's own experiences at conventions, spending hours taking photos with fans and striking a "Go Team Venture!" pose. While Team Venture enjoyed the limelight, Scaramantula and the fake-senile big-head, Brainulo, attempted to cause some trouble. Scaramantula's efforts were juvenile in comparison to Brainulo's more sinister attempts to mentally disturb the party-goers' dark fears and secrets. By the way, it was a pleasant surprise to hear Toby Huss lend his voice talents to Scaramantula. I definitely didn't expect to see his name in the credits for this episode.

Brock, Rusty, Hank and Dean aimlessly made their way through the party. Rusty was less than pleased with JJ's attention and cockiness. His frustration mixed with an open bar led him to confront the original Team, accusing them of killing his father. My excitement in hearing about this new drama was interrupted by the awesome -- awesome -- reappearance of Colonel Gentleman. He was presumed dead after Hank and Dean found him cold and out in "Twenty Years to Midnight". As it turns out, he was just in a diabetic coma and was revived by his boy-toy, Kiki. In other news, Yoo-hoo is gross and Kiki's tiny, gold lamé shorts are awesome.

Rusty wasn't the only one feeling frustrated, as the Captain, fed up with JJ's treatment, led a mutiny and caused some trouble in the crowd. Professor Impossible pulled an Omen jump and passed out in front of every one and Brainulo's other mind-manipulated partygoers started beating the crap out of everyone. The chaos was quickly interrupted by some touching footage of Jonas, Sr. with Rusty, though. Shame that Brock, Rusty, and the boys had left already.

Thanks to a rogue cigarette left by one of the pirate-waiters, Scaramantula's decades-old self-destruct sequence kicked in again. Just as the X-1 prepared for take-off, Rusty seemed to have a moment where he wanted to go back to save his brother. I totally thought he was being serious for a moment. First of all, he pulled this the first time he met -- and was almost killed by -- JJ. Secondly, I thought we were finally going to see something come from Rusty's "The Doctor Is Sin" epiphany. Has Rusty already forgotten about Killinger's work? Is it just in the Venture blood to be a total jerk? Is douchebaggery a dominant gene?

In the end, Professor Impossible saved the day by allowing the explosion into his super-stretchy body. This final act of heroism was probably inadvertent, as he was most likely trying to kill himself. Poor guy even had to see JJ and Sally walk off, hand-in-hand.

Oh, hey. Did you know that this episode shares a title with an installment of the super-failtastic "new" Scooby-Doo cartoon, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo? Fun fact.

Shirt of the Week: Original Team Venture (but if you're looking for the modern Venture Industries logo, Adult Swim's official store has you covered). Absolutely no surprise here, folks. As soon as those geezers threw that first "Go Team Venture!" I knew what was going to happen this week. I don't think I'm going to pick up this one, because of my general avoidance of ringer tees and I feel super-weak for being unable to resist two shirts in a row. I cannot go for three. Oh, and I did notice that the page with previous shirts lists last week's Dr. Girlfriend tee as "Dr. Girlfriend (Mod Target)". I'm going to go ahead and assume that we've got another Dr. Girlfriend (or Dr. Mrs. The Monarch) one coming up.

Also, can you all believe there are only four episodes left in the season? The ever-popular Mantis-Eye has pointed us to the final episode names. Coming up next are "Lepidopteriot", "Orb", and the two-parter "The Family That Slays Together, Stays Together." Fingers crossed for a lot of ass-kicking.