' rich, complicated and often ridiculous back story is a large reason why the series is so enjoyable, to the extent that some otherwise lackluster episodes can succeed based solely on the merits of the juicy details they reveal about the series' history. " The Revenge Society " is definitely one of those episodes. Although its main story doesn't exactly spring to manic life in the way you'd hope, both its minor and major revelations carry enough comedic weight to make the episode memorable.

The Revenge Society " sees The Phantom Limb return after his defeat in " Showdown at Cremation Creek " to gain control of The Guild of Calamitous Intent. Having suffered from a serious psychotic breakdown after his fall from grace, his plan doesn't make much practical sense, and involves kidnapping two of the Guild's council members, having Billy Quizboy surgically sew the head of one council member to the body of the other, and then forcing them to reveal how the Phantom's grandfather was the true founder of the Guild (thus making Phantom Limb the rightful sovereign). Because they rightly fear for their lives, the council members indulge their kidnapper, and Billy Quizboy reveals that the powerful Orb is located at the Venture Compound. This sends both the Guild and Phantom Limb on a crash course towards the compound with the hapless Venture family unaware why so many villains have descended upon their lawn.Normally this set-up would make for the sort of hilarious fireworks display that made "Showdown at Cremation Creek" and "The Family That Slays Together, Stays Together," so phenomenal, but the action never quite lives up to the amusing revelations certain characters let slip over the course of the episode. That's not too much of a problem, though, considering just how hysterical some of those revelations are. Learning that Dr. Venture frequently vomits on his speed suit out of fear made me howl, as did hearing that Hank once locked himself in the research lab after seeing Dog Day Afternoon for the first time.And those are just a couple of the minor revelations. The episode's two major reveals also add lot of humor and depth to the series' bigger picture. The fact that Phantom Limb's grandfather started the Guild partly as a way to form a background group for his terrible sousaphone playing made sense in a roundabout way, considering the organization has a long history of being run by musicians. Also, I was glad to learn that Dr. Venture's own grandfather wasn't in fact killed by his bodyguard as suggested in " ORB ", and that Eugen Sandow actually just broke the doomsday device. This revelation made for a nice punch line for the episode's comedy of errors, and it also made me hopeful for Brock Samson's eventual return.The episode also had some other highlights, but they all seemed rather incidental to the actual plot. I got a good laugh out of watching Sergeant Hatred try to explain pedophilia to Dean, and Hank continues to steal every scene he's in. Seeing Billy Quizboy do so much with his time in the spotlight was likewise a pleasant surprise. Still, I can't help but feel like there was a lot of unrealized potential in this story. I surely expected more from an episode that saw both Phantom Limb and David Bowie step back into the forefront.