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| The Venture Bros. character | ||||||||||||||||
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Sergeant Hatred is one of the main characters on the Adult Swim show The Venture Bros.. A supervillain and member of the Guild of Calamitous Intent, his villainous 'theme' is that of an evil soldier, complete with flying tank and henchmen dressed as infantrymen. He bears many similarities to Nuke of Marvel Comics, including his facial tattoo, military theme, and general demeanor. In spite of being a convicted child molester, he has a reputation in the world of supervillainy for being especially hospitable and genial to his friends and enemies alike.
Hatred was first mentioned early on in Season 2 as having been the victim of robbery at the hands of The Monarch's henchmen. After being alluded to throughout the season, he finally made a brief cameo appearance in the Season 2 finale before becoming a major character in the show's third season.
Background
Hatred's full backstory is yet to be addressed in the show. He is briefly depicted as "Sgt. Haine" (haine is the French word for "hatred"), Brock's superior in the Office of Secret Intelligence in the flashback episode The Invisible Hand of Fate, during which it is revealed that he was a double agent whose true loyalty was to the Guild. Apparently, he served in the O.S.I. to cover up the Guild's existence, by making Brock and Col. Gathers look foolishly mistaken in their attempt to prove it -- which the remainder of the O.S.I. apparently doubted.
Hatred is first mentioned in Season 2, when the Monarch's henchmen tell him that they repaired his Cocoon fortress by stealing parts from "Sgt. Hatred's hover tank." He makes an unidentified cameo appearance in "Fallen Arches", as part of a crowd leering after Dr. Venture's inventions. He isn't mentioned again until "I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills", when Hank tells Myra Brandish that Sgt. Hatred sexually molested him. He makes his first identified appearance in "Showdown at Cremation Creek", during which it is revealed that he has married a Native American named "Princess Tinyfeet", with whose feet he is obsessed.
Hatred became a major character in Season 3 of the show, beginnng with "Home is Where the Hate is", in which he was assigned by the Guild to be Doctor Venture's new archnemesis. The episode revealed that, in spite of being a super-villain and registered child sex offender, Hatred is in fact very genial and personable, and has a reputation for hospitality amongst his fellow villains.
Hatred proved to be a much less adept nemesis than the Monarch, forgetting on which days he was scheduled to attack Dr. Venture and finding that, due to Venture's exposure to bizarre acts of violence since childhood, none of Hatred's conventional weaponry frightened him. In "Home is Where the Hate Is", Hatred confesses to the Monarch that he got himself assigned as Venture's nemesis so that he could be as nice to him as possible, in order to frustrate the Monarch out of spite for stealing from his Hover Tank.
At the end of Season 3, Hatred launches a half-hearted, ill-fated strike on the Venture Compound, which ends with Hatred locking himself in a bathroom to cry and attempt suicide. He later confesses to Dr. Mrs. The Monarch that Princess Tinyfeet has left him and that he now feels himself to be an inadequate villain. At the end of the episode, he tries to get Dr. Venture to murder him before the sight of a shirtless Hank reinvigorates him. After surviving a brutal massacre at the hands of the Monarch, Hatred appears to reconsider his villainous ways and rivalry with the Ventures, and ends the season asking to be their new bodyguard.
Appearance
Hatred appears to be a huge man in his late 40's or early 50's, very muscular and barrel-chested with a huge pot-belly and red crew-cut hair framing a jolly, cherubic face (though he originally had a lean physique identical to that of Brock Samson, when he was posing as a commander in the O.S.I.) Most notably he has the word 'HATRED' tattooed in red on his body, with the H on his face and the letters descending down the front of his body. Though it is (naturally) never shown, it is implied that the D is over his genitals (which were clearly censored by a superimposed star). He dresses in an American military-style uniform, in a khaki-green sleeveless shirt and pants, and usually wears a helmet and combat-boots. He also talks in a loud, screaming voice characteristic of a drill-sergeant, but is normally boisterous and jolly.
Sergeant Hatred seems to bear the insignia of a Master Sergeant, with a skull between the chevrons. He has his sergeant stripes tattooed on his left shoulder.
Character background
In a director's commentary for "The Buddy System", series creators Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick recalled once seeing a man with a crew cut at Starbucks, who appeared to be looking at barely legal pornography on his laptop without regard for the comfort of those sitting around him. The man's intense demeanor, coupled with his blatant disregard for sexual mores, inspired Jackson and Hammer to create Hatred. They view him as a sympathetic character and state that despite his urges, Hatred realizes that his attraction to minors is wrong and is attempting to keep them in check, an aspect of his personality that they view as redeeming and sympathetic.
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