Captain Sunshine (Chuck Scarsdale) (2024)

Captain Sunshine
The Venture Bros. character
First appearance	Handsome Ransom
Voiced by	Kevin Conroy
Information
Full name	Chuck Scarsdale
Aliases	Captain Sunshine Wonder Boy (formerly)
Occupation	Super Hero Anchorman
Notable characteristics	Disturbing attachment to teenage sidekicks Emotional instability Flight (but still drives a car) Projects powerful beams of sun-light Solar-powered Super strength
Current Alliances	Desmond (butler) The Super Gang Wonder Boy V (current sidekick)
Prior Alliances	Wonder Boy II (former sidekick) Wonder Boy III (deceased) Wonder Boy IV (former sidekick)
Enemies	Asbeastos Boggles the Clue Clown (deceased) Crime-O-Dile (deceased) Henchman Zero (deceased) The Monarch Scorpio

Captain Sunshine is a solar-powered superhero with the ability to fly and produce powerful bursts of solar light that can blind and sunburn opponents. His secret identity is Chuck Scarsdale, a wealthy television news anchor on the Channel 5 Action News Team.

History

Background

Chuck was the first Wonder Boy in the 1960s under Desmond, who was the original Captain Sunshine. The duo fought Red Mantle and other villains during their partnership, but it ended when Desmond retired and passed the title of Captain Sunshine to Chuck.

Season 1 & 2

Captain Sunshine was the archnemesis of The Monarch, who tricked him into believing The Monarch was invincible, which Sunshine still believes to this day.^[1]

His sidekick, Wonder Boy III, was killed by a drunk and heartbroken Monarch following a breakup with Dr. Girlfriend. During his time in prison, The Monarch ordered Henchman 21 and Henchman 24 to send Wonder Boy's charred remains to his mentor.^[2]

Season 4

The death of the recent Wonder Boy deeply affected Captain Sunshine, motivating him to have his revenge on The Monarch. However, he only took him to prison, from which the Monarch was promptly released due to Sunshine literally just throwing The Monarch into the prison, which violated his right to due process. Sunshine also rescued Hank Venture from The Monarch's clutches, temporarily making Hank the next Wonder Boy.^[3]

When The Monarch led an assault on Sunshine's home while he was absent in his civilian job, Sunshine quickly returned out of concern for losing Hank, hijacking Action 5's news helicopter in the process. Afterward he was confronted by The Monarch, who was inadvertently dressed in a Wonder Boy costume. This triggered Sunshine to become psychologically unhinged, which the Monarch exploited. Furthermore, The Monarch, aware that Sunshine had no powers at night, attempted to burn Captain Sunshine with his own power using a ray gun (made by his wife) that would mimic Sunshine's solar burst. However, he inadvertently charged up Sunshine's body, giving him the power to defeat The Monarch and his henchmen. After dealing with The Monarch, Sunshine was forced to say goodbye to Hank when Rusty Venture showed up to save his son.

In Any Which Way But Zeus, his butler Desmond was kidnapped by Henchman Zero. Captain Sunshine later showed up to save the wounded Desmond, who fought back against Henchman Zero but was too weakened by old age to stand a chance.

Season 5

Chuck was later seen attending the Boggles The Clue Clown's funeral alongside his unnamed fifth Wonder Boy.^[4] While somewhat emotional over his archenemy's death, he believed the Clue Clown had one last trick up his sleeve as he always had the last laugh. It was proven true when the Clue Clown's last message was read by Monseñor, which held one last riddle about a Jack-in-the-Box. Just then the coffin sprung open with the Clue Clown hanging from a spring coming out of the coffin, which proved Captain Sunshine's suspicions of him wanting the last laugh. When the coffin was finally closed, Captain Sunshine had an emotional breakdown and cried over the coffin before it was buried.

Episode Appearances

Season 1

• Return to Spider-Skull Island (mentioned)

Season 2

• Powerless in the Face of Death (mentioned)

Season 3

• Shadowman 9: In the Cradle of Destiny (mentioned)

Season 4

• Handsome Ransom
• Self-Medication (mentioned)
• Any Which Way But Zeus

Season 5

• Bot Seeks Bot

Gallery

Trivia

• His name is a reference to WNBC anchorman Chuck Scarborough and the town of Scarsdale, New York.
• Captain Sunshine is a parody of both DC Comics superheroes Superman and Batman as well as pop music legend Michael Jackson:
  • His voice actor, the late Kevin Conroy, had also voiced Batman in countless cartoons, video games and animated movies.
  • His bitter hatred towards The Monarch is similar to Batman's after the Joker killed Jason Todd (the second Robin ).
  • His relationship with Wonder Boy is similar to the often times pedophilic and hom*osexual relationship some people and critics perceived between Batman and Robin as depicted in the comics of the 1950s and 1960s. This was due to many panels featuring scenes that, while supposedly innocent at the time, would be perceived as sexual or improper today, such as the adult Batman and his young boy sidekick sharing a bed. This line of thinking was the basis for the infamous 1954 book Seduction of The Innocent by psychiatrist Fredric Wertham, a fierce opponent of comic books who believed they lead to juvenile delinquency.
  • His powers and outfit are reminiscent of Superman's, who also draws his strength from Earth's sun.
  • Chuck is a television reporter, a nod to Superman's alter ego, Clark Kent who had a similar job at the fictional WGBS channel during the Bronze Age.
  • Captain Sunshine's team is a parody of the Quality Comics characters (and later DC team) The Freedom Fighters, which suggests Captain Sunshine to also be a parody of the light-powered superhero The Ray.
  • His light-based abilities, white-and-rainbow uniform, and name all evoke the Michael Jackson character Captain EO, echoing the accusations of pedophilia that marred Jackson's own career.
  • His home, Stately Scarsdale Manor, was largely based on Neverland Ranch, Michael Jackson's famed estate.^[5]
  • The creators of the show have stated that Captain Sunshine is not a pedophile or an ephebophile, claiming that he is simply highly emotionally scarred and traumatized, which seems to be the cause of his rather obsessive and questionable relationships with his wards. This is similar to what was believed to have been what lead to Michael Jackson's questionable behavior around children, due to being brought up in an aggressive pop star environment and being emotionally abused by his father and manager Joe Jackson.

References