| Red Mantle | |
|---|---|
| The Venture Bros. character | |
 | |
| First appearance |
Shadowman 9: In the Cradle of Destiny (as Council of 13 silhouette) The Revenge Society (revealed) |
| Voiced by |
Doc Hammer |
| Information | |
| Full name | Charles Hardin Holley[2] |
| Aliases |
Buddy Holly Councilman 3 |
| Occupation |
Council member Supervillain Former musician |
| Nationality | American |
| Notable Characteristics |
Magic use Red cloak Second head (see current alliances) |
| Current Alliances |
Dragoon (head transplanted) Brimstone Assembly The Council of 13 The Guild of Calamitous Intent |
| Previous Alliances |
The Sovereign (former leader) Redusa (former lover)[1] |
Red Mantle (born September 7, 1936[2]) is one of the oldest members of the Guild of Calamitous Intent and serves as Councilman 3 of The Council of 13, the leaders of the Guild. He is one of the two oldest members of the Guild alongside fellow councilman Dragoon. Aside from his position within the Guild, he's also one of the oldest members of the Brimstone Assembly, a neutral order of magic users.
When he and Dragoon were kidnapped by the The Revenge Society, Dragoon's head was sewn onto his body to their mutual anger.
History
Red Mantle was not originally a super villain but joined The Guild while it was a safe haven for washed up rock-stars in the 1950s, adopting a costume and super villain name at a later date. It is heavily implied that he was the musician Buddy Holly and was recruited into The Guild, along with the Big Bopper, by Fantômas. This would lead to the assumption that the tragic events that occurred "The Day the Music Died" were faked in order to cover their induction into the Guild. Furthermore, at the time of his kidnapping he is about 73 years old.[3] During an attempt to gain power of the Guild, Phantom Limb kidnaps both he and Dragoon.
The Dragoon/Red Mantle Hybrid
After kidnapping Billy Quizboy, he forces him to sew Dragoon's head onto Red Mantle's body. Then he forces the three to join his "society" and help him find the Orb. Mostly due to murder threats, he and Dragoon both apologize to the Guild as they were forced to work alongside Phantom Limb. When the Orb's shown to be broken, The Sovereign has Phantom Limb removed. Thus, freeing the two. However, Red Mantle is now seen sharing a body with Dragoon, much to the personal annoyance of the latter.
In A Very Venture Halloween, he is able to trick Dragoon into coming to the annual Brimstone Assembly meeting by telling him it was a costume party. Through most of the party he annoys Red Mantle by calling most of the sorcerers and sorceresses "blasphemers". The only time he actually agreed with his friend was when The Outrider and Tatyana were next and they performed a "transfer everyone to Hell" illusion straight out of Hellraiser. After facing off against Toaster Face, the The Outrider solves the Rubik's Cube and returns the Assembly to Orpheus' quarters.
The performance disturbed even him as he considered it too "kinky". After Orpheus (who was also disturbed by the performance) left, The Alchemist convinced the others (including Red Mantle) to raise an army of the undead for fun. Not thinking for others' safety the others rose an undead army of zombies, unknowingly from Potter's Field, where Dr. Venture and Brock Samson hid most of the dead bodies of enemies and henchmen. Father Christmas appears at the party and the Assembly realizes that it was The Master in one of his many forms. He quickly complains how he had to destroy the zombies they brought back to life. He chastises them for forgetting the true meaning of Christmas when a baby was born to remind them not to raise armies of the dead.
He also quickly scolded Red Mantle for bringing Dragoon to the Assembly. As it was mortals weren't allowed to the Assembly, he begrudgingly admits that he just didn't want to miss the fun. When Orpheus returns inside to give trick r' treaters some hors d'oeuvres and he sees the Master is there. The Master complains about the Assembly misusing their magic to summon zombies, and Orpheus is angry that they summoned zombies when there were children around. The Master tells him that everything is cool, since he already lectured them.
In All This and Gargantua-2, Red Mantle, Dragoon, and Dr. Z fled from the Guild, most likely after hearing of the other council members suddenly being murdered. They sought sanctuary and a deal at OSI headquarters. In exchange for full immunity, they would reveal The Sovereign's location. Mostly, the three fled out of fear of both the Sovereign and the Investors. But after the deaths of the Sovereign and the Investors, Red Mantle and the other surviving council members returned to the Guild. Their disguise was made to make Dragoon's head look like a cyst. The three Guild council members eventually gave OSI the location of the Sovereign's secret headquarters in return for immunity. The Sovereign eventually met his doom at due to a misfired shot from Headshot.
During seasons 6 and 7, a new vigilante the Blue Morpho ran amok, killing EMA Level 10 signers of the Fiends and Family Plan to arch Dr. Venture. Eventually, the matter was settled through external circumstances: the reappearance and death of the original Blue Morpho, whom took the blame for the villain killings. The Council as a whole never discovered that the true killer was the Monarch.[4]
The Council of 13 was also ultimately unsuccessful in recruiting enough members to fill the missing seats left from the Sovereign's purge, as revealed in the Terminus Mandate. In order to allow the defunct Council to reestablish itself as the governing body for the Guild without for recruiting more members, the Guild Council enacted a protocol that would require Council members to retire from active supervillainy. Before this mandatory retirement, each was given one last assignment to arch their greatest enemies as determined by the Guild. Dragoon and Red Mantle were given a single sealed envelope, to which they felt trepidation of opening because of their ages. Dragoon and Red Mantle spent most of the following night watching television and procrastinating on reading the letter. However, when Dragoon and Red Mantle got around to finally reading the letter of their last assignment, they were delighted to discover they had outlived all of their enemies. The next day, Red Mantle and Dragoon accepted retirement from individual villainy in order to become Council members full time.
In the Saphrax Protocol, Red Mantle and Dragoon were involved in the Tenning ceremony for the Monarch.
Abilities
- Earth Manipulation - During the funeral of Boggles the Clown, Red Mantle has been shown to be able to manipulate earth and rock, as shown when he buried his long-time friend. This is likely a nod to his name as the Red Mantle.
Episode Appearances
- Shadowman 9: In the Cradle of Destiny
- The Revenge Society
- Any Which Way But Zeus
- A Very Venture Halloween
- Bot Seeks Bot
- All This and Gargantua-2
- Hostile Makeover
- Faking Miracles
- A Party for Tarzan
- The Rorqual Affair
- Arrears in Science
- The Inamorata Consequence
- The Terminus Mandate
- The Saphrax Protocol
Trivia
- While the others didn't state their beliefs, Red Mantle expressed his fears that the Sovereign had gone crazy and had been driven to desperation by the influences of the Investors.
- It's noted in the Episode Commentary that Red Mantle's voice is modeled after actor Sir Alec Guinness.
- In Hostile Makeover his name is listed as "Red Dragoon" on Dr. Mrs. The Monarch's echats screen.
- In Faking Miracles it is revealed he once had a relationship with a super-villainess named Redusa.
- In Bot Seeks Bot it is revealed that Red Mantle's drink of choice is single malt Scotch served neat.