Phantom Limb (character)
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Phantom Limb is a fictional supervillain on the Adult Swim television series The Venture Bros. He is a parody of articulate and "gentlemanly" supervillains, such as Ernst Stavro Blofeld of the James Bond books and films. His code name is a reference to phantom limb syndrome, and his true name (Hamilton G. Fantomos) may be a reference to the French supervillain Fantômas, as well as the science fiction detective Gil Hamilton (who lost an arm and developed telekinesis before the arm was replaced). His costume also bears a strong visual resemblance to the Lee Falk comic strip hero the Phantom.
[edit] Character outline
Phantom Limb, unlike most other characters on the show, is cool, cunning, generally serious (although he has his ridiculous side), and occasionally even rather chilling in his ruthlessness. He is clearly able to plan well-ahead and in the course of only a few episodes is revealed to be a dangerous man to tangle with, able to even deal with Brock Samson at his own level while garnering Samson's respect. Phantom Limb looks down upon the Monarch, often calling him "the butterfly" as a sign of disrespect, yet is so self-involved as a Guild operative (i.e. pencil-pusher) that he takes time out to organize the Monarch's re-admittance to the organization, complete with paperwork.
In spite of his ability (or possibly because of it), Phantom Limb is extremely arrogant and pompous to the point of drama, and appears unable to leave his "role", which is often self-sabotaging:
- He kills a potential buyer for stolen paintings just to show how villainous he can be — and nearly ruins a valuable rug he's fond of.
- He is prone to overacting when confronting several Monarch henchmen who he murders and often uses a far more extensive vocabulary than the situation demands ("Hate Floats").
- He has a penchant for using mismatched metaphors, like "precise gezpacho soup" and "big fish rats."
- He can be condescending and sexist towards women, and seems unable to understand why this may anger them — which may explain some of his issues with Doctor Girlfriend.
- He ultimately makes a play for control of the Guild, which backfires spectacularly.
- He is completely clueless about how early the Monarch seduced Doctor Girlfriend, the Monarch having claimed to be another villain entirely during their first meeting — Manotaur. Phantom Limb even went so far as to kill Manotaur, to whom the Monarch bears absolutely no resemblance.
The series presents a humorously confusing set of rumors for the backstory of Hamilton G. Fantomos and how he became the villain known as Phantom Limb in the episode "Victor. Echo. November.". The Monarch, Hank Venture, and Monarch henchmen #21 each give a version of Phantom Limb's origin, each only similar in that Master Billy Quizboy is part of it.
- The Monarch attributes Phantom Limb's villainy to a failed "muscle growth accelerator" created by himself and his 12-year-old roommate, Master Billy Quizboy. The device malfunctioned, causing Phantom Limb's arms and legs to become invisible and giving him his "death touch" power by way of accelerating his limbs beyond the speed of light. Billy's missing hand is a result of trying to turn it off. The Monarch goes on to explain that another side effect of the accident is that Hamilton became a "humorless dick."
- Henchman #21 claims that Phantom Limb and Master Billy Quizboy were heroic scientists working on a time machine they had funded using money gleaned from Card Sharks. During a test run it malfunctioned and teleported just Phantom Limb's arms and legs, as well as Billy's hand when he reached out in an attempt to help, forty years into the future, where they now wait.
- Hank Venture gives the most ridiculous telling of events. According to him, Phantom Limb was a stage magician who, during a performance for the Queen of England, accidentally caused his limbs to disappear, transported to the moon with a number of other magical accouterments. Phantom Limb then chopped off and ate Billy's hand.
It is never made clear which one of these is true, if any of them. The Monarch's is by far the most plausible of the three, as Hank's is dismissed immediately by his brother, and #21's story fails to take into account that Phantom Limb's limbs are obviously still there, just invisible. The episode ends with a scene where Master Billy Quizboy admits to Dr. Venture that he doesn't remember how he received his robotic hand, which may also rule out the Monarch's. In "Hate Floats", however, Phantom Limb refers to himself as a former "goody-goody" super-scientist and possesses the muscle growth accelerator featured in the Monarch's story. He also tells Brock that his "killer hands" (and most likely his invisible limbs) are "the outcome of a botched experiment that made [him] evil."
[edit] Character history
According to Dr. Girlfriend, Phantom Limb's real name is Hamilton G. Phantamos. Despite being a high ranking member of the Guild of Calamitous Intent, Phantom Limb's early villainous career is said to be quite low-class by his own account, with Limb living off of instant meals and driving a Honda Accord with a ghost on the hood as his vehicle. He quickly worked his way up the ranks, becoming a feared and ruthless villain. He seduced Dr. Girlfriend (then known as "Lady Au-Pair") into joining the Guild, renaming her "Queen Etheria" and taking her on as both his second-in-command and lover. The relationship would not last, as Queen Etheria was seduced away from Phantom Limb by the Monarch, a move that has resulted in a long-standing rivalry between the two villains. Ironically, Phantom Limb is not aware of how early said seduction took place as, upon catching Queen Etheria with the Monarch, the Monarch claimed he was a villain called 'Manotaur' which Phantom Limb believed without question.
Phantom Limb first appears in the series at Dr. Venture's tag sale, where he runs into Dr. Girlfriend while the Monarch is in the bathroom. He chides her for still being with "the butterfly" and asks her to rejoin him, to which she angrily rejects, stating that she "has a good thing going on now". Limb, still carrying a torch for his ex-girlfriend (he kept her old costume in storage, with a few crusty spots on it which he told Doctor Girlfriend were his tears), frames the Monarch for murder to break the two up for good. Despite Phantom Limb's best efforts (and perhaps spurred on by Phantom Limb's refusal to use his position in the Guild to help him escape jail), King Gorilla personally helped the Monarch escape from prison, after making Monarch vow that he succeed in his plans to reunite with Dr. Girlfriend.
Doctor Girlfriend eventually grows bored with the more realistic and even mundane aspects of Phantom Limb's crimes, as well as his pomposity and obsession with developing a cultured appearance and air. She seems to miss the over-the-top villainy of the Monarch, as well as the fact he respects her more. When the Monarch seems to manage to kidnap Doctor Girlfriend back in "Hate Floats" (Monarch had actually dropped her out of sight), Phantom Limb enlisted Brock Samson's aid in getting her back, claiming that the Monarch had kidnapped the Venture family (they did manage to get Dr. Venture). The two happily cooperate in the rescue, but Brock angered Phantom Limb by repeatedly questioning whether Dr. Girlfriend was a transsexual, leading to Phantom Limb shooting Brock in the neck with a tranquillizer dart.
In the two-part season finale, "Showdown at Cremation Creek", Phantom Limb is officially dumped by Dr. Girlfriend, after Monarch reconciled with her behind Limb's back and ultimately proposed marriage. Furthermore, the Guild Sovereign refuses to allow Phantom Limb to kill Monarch in return. As a result, Phantom Limb stages a coup d'état, planning to kill both the Sovereign and the Monarch, whose wedding the Sovereign is attending. He gets his supporters Klaus Nomi and Iggy Pop to assassinate the Sovereign, who is revealed to be international superstar (and Homo Superior shapeshifter) David Bowie. Limb nearly succeeds, but Bowie's shapeshifting powers allow him to trick Iggy Pop and survive his assassination attempt. The combination of Bowie's survival, Brock Samson leading The Monarch's henchmen in battle against the Guild, and the accidental intervention by the Order of the Triad brings Phantom Limb's betrayal to a (literal) crashing halt through a massive aircrash involving the Monarch's airship, the X-1 (which the Order of the Triad commandeered to assist in the battle), and Limb's own aerial assault vehicle. Limb survives the crash and escapes, but loses an arm, a leg, and a third appendage implied to be his penis (discreetly taken by the Alchemist for his own use).
For his treachery, Bowie vows to use the combined resources of the Guild to kill Phantom Limb, while the Monarch declares Phantom Limb his new arch-nemesis. In the post-credits sequence of the season 3 premiere, a disheveled looking Phantom Limb (with a visible, prosthetic arm) is seen attacking Manotaur, claiming that "no one retires from Phantom Limb's shit list"; the Monarch, prior to becoming a licensed supervillain, used 'Manotaur' as an alias when he was confronted by Phantom Limb for making a move on Dr. Girlfriend, despite being in similar-looking attire to his current incarnation as well as being one of Phantom Limb's "Shadowmen".
[edit] Powers and abilities
The Phantom Limb's arms and legs are completely invisible (hence his name). In fact, his costume consists of a purple, short-sleeved, legless garment with an open-faced hood and domino mask; as such, it is not clear how much of his body is actually visible, other than his head, which is fully visible for two scenes in the season three premiere.
Phantom Limb possesses the ability to kill or incapacitates others through physical contact. When he uses his power, the blood vessels and bones in his arms light up with a flashing red and green pattern. His invisible limbs and/or their strange powers are also capable of deflecting projectiles. Phantom Limb has complete control over his powers, allowing him to touch people without killing them. Direct bodily contact is not always necessary for Phantom Limb to use his powers, as he kills a security guard by grabbing the man's gun with a gloved hand. David Bowie, the Guild Sovereign, has proven immune to Limb's powers, thanks to his status as a 'Homo Superior'.
While Phantom Limb is dangerous on his own, he is nothing compared to the resources at his command. As a high-ranking member of the Guild of Calamitous Intent, he has access to the Guild's full resources of minions and equipment at a moment's notice, giving him a large reach regarding evil actions. As such, he can order a person's death on a whim. His influence within the Guild allowed him to convince both Klaus Nomi and Iggy Pop to join his coup d'etat against David Bowie without Bowie realizing that the two (who served as his bodyguards) had betrayed him until they had made their move. Of course, as per Limb's tendency to overreach himself, his plan failed and he is now being hunted by the organization he once commanded.
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