> Entry: 07/05/26
Venture Bros Analysis: Why The Monarch truly hates Rusty.
i think its really interesting how there are still so many people who don't know the exact reason as to why the monarch hates rusty so much, so here's my two cents on it as The Clonebugs Guy.
to start off simple:
the monarch hates himself. he hates himself more than most villains hate their arch enemies. he's all hate. and it is extremely likely that without a sufficient outlet for all of this hate he would've straight up killed himself.
"The Monarch's lost his headquarters. He lost his entire staff. He lost his cool gadgetry. He lost everything that made him The Monarch. He also lost his wife. Let's be honest—she's become very into her guild duties. If it weren't for gaining his friend and most loyal henchman, lord knows what The Monarch would've done." - Doc Hammer, on season 6
considering the monarch is a clone of rusty, it really shouldn't be a surprise that he ended up projecting all of this hate onto him. because they're the same guy twice. they aren't brothers, they don't see each other as family, they see each other as "i am you and you are me."
this aspect of their relationship makes a lot of previous scenes and episodes significantly more impactful. like in assisted suicide (s3 e14) where the monarch, while in rusty's mind trying to get him to kill himself, also nearly ends up getting himself killed.
also, if you would please consult the graph
the very thing that triggered this hate, however, requires a bit more digging to truly understand its obsessive nature:
during his college years, the monarch would've quickly found himself completely alienated from society, both due to everyone's inability to understand his passion for butterflies and his extremely unstable behaviors.
luckily for him, insert one rusty venture who would've reminded the monarch way too much of himself, and the worst part is that the monarch has absolutely no idea why. both of these factors tie into him developing such a huge grudge against rusty's mere existence, but it also finds him a true reason to live: that being to spend every waking moment ruining this guy's life.
rusty also deeply hates himself, but unlike the monarch, he can't spend his days seething over his own existence. he's got a legacy to uphold, and two sons to at least try to raise properly, not to mention a reputation to repair.
rusty's inability to see himself as a genuinely bad person (at least during the first couple of seasons; he does eventually admit that he's a pathetic loser) as he's still clinging onto his "hero" boy adventurer days means this hate isn't mutual, because to see himself in a supervillain would require him to unpack a lot of baggage that he'd rather never have to deal with (see: the doctor is sin) and it ends up being the equivalent of getting rejected by a crush for the monarch.
"There's something very "relationship" about the way The Monarch deals with Dr. Venture." - Jackson Publick, on season 3
i feel like after the events of baboon heart that this game of cat and also cat would end up becoming more equal due to jealousy over clone bullshit. and it would finally give rusty the motivation he needs to properly entertain the monarch; and thus they continue that cycle of self hatred that kept the both of them alive.
i say both due to the amount of times the monarch has unintentionally saved rusty's life + the way rusty relies on him to give him the constant attention he desires so badly.
i would also like to point out that this sort of obsession falls very in line with borderline personality disorder, and how it causes you to develop intense interpersonal relationships that alternate between idealization and devaluation. usually, this is depicted as romantic, so its always nice to see a different approach, and the monarch does it near perfectly with the specific way that he hates rusty.
losing my steam for this, but i do plan on writing more vbros meta about these two soon. i have So much to say.
but generally, their dynamic is supposed to be confusing. its supposed to be unconventional and Weird and because of that it becomes a goldmine for a themes and motifs addict such as myself.
thanks for reading ^_^
