Guild of Calamitous Intent

The Guild of Calamitous Intent is a fictional organization of supervillains in the Adult Swim program The Venture Bros.. The Guild was first mentioned in the season one episode "Home Insecurity", with its first major appearance being in "The Trial of the Monarch".

History
Little is known about how the Guild of Calamitous Intent came into existence. In a promotional video sent to Doctor Orpheus in the episode Fallen Arches, The Guild claims to have been founded in 1910, and to be "the recognized leader in organized havoc", having a membership dwarfing rival groups such as "The Fraternity of Torment", and "The Peril Partnership", as well as "freelance" villains. They credit their large numbers to the fact that they offer protection from authorities and benefits such as free health and dental insurance to all members, as well as access to henchmen and other technology to help villains commit crimes. In exchange, Guild members are required to follow a code of honor with regards to how they carry out their criminal schemes (see "Honor Code").

The Guild approves heroes, or teams of theme appropriate colleagues, to be assigned their very own certified super-villians. A "villain screening" may be scheduled to allow the hero to select a villain. Having a member of The Guild as your own "arch-enemy" is a highly sought after status symbol for some heroes in the Venture Brothers universe. In the episode Fallen Arches, Doctor Venture becomes jealous of Doctor Orpheus's approval and seeks to entice villains waiting in line for the screening by salaciously washing his "giant walking eye" invention while shirtless.

Because of their policy (referred to as "controlled costumed aggression"), the Guild of Calamitous Intent enjoys a level of popularity and acceptance in society and amongst law enforcement. They have even turned their popularity and "trustworthiness" into an official motto: "Hate You Can Trust". (The Trial of the Monarch)

Sovereign
The Guild is run by The Sovereign, (first appearance: The Trial of the Monarch), who unknown to all but the upper echelons of Guild members, is not actually a person, but a title given to the highest ranking Guild member. Should something happen to The Sovereign to prevent him from fulfilling his duties the next highest ranking member takes over the title and duties of Sovereign. (Showdown at Cremation Creek (Part II))

The Sovereign usually appears to fellow Guild members over a "tele-screen" as a heavily distorted and red tinted image with a modulated voice.

As of the end of the second season, the current Sovereign was revealed to be musician David Bowie, who, in the Venture Brothers universe, is a shape shifting super-villain as well as an internationally acclaimed musician.

Watch and Ward
The Sovereign is personally aided by two assistants, Watch and Ward. They oversee the Guild's activities as well as the Guild's various espionage programs and serve as a link between Sovereign and his number two. The two characters are based upon show creators Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick, both visually and in their dialogue, the bulk of which is taken from casual, everyday interaction between the two creators.

Phantom Limb
Phantom Limb was a high-ranking Guild operative, having achieved his lofty position through years of service inside the Guild. Limb was powerful enough within the Guild that he was able to seize command following the apparent assassination of the Sovereign, David Bowie. (It is unclear, however, if he was actually the Guild's second-in-command, and thus assumed the Sovereignty legitimately, or if he merely claimed the position for himself by winning the loyalty of the Guild's armed forces.)

Phantom Limb's rank within the Guild was such that his home would occasionally serve as a secondary base (Base "B") of operations for the Guild. While he did not have the coveted position of "Sovereign", Phantom Limb was shown to be have free reign over the resources of the Guild to such an extent that he could deploy the Guild's chief minions, the "Strangers", on a whim.

After Dr. Girlfriend dumped him (for the second time) to accept the Monarch's marriage proposal, Phantom Limb was verbally warned by the Sovereign against any acts of vengeance. After promising that he would allow the wedding to proceed undisturbed, Phantom Limb and a group of loyal "Strangers" violated the orders and attacked the ceremony. In the midst of the ambush, it was revealed that the wedding itself was only a secondary target; with the true objective of the attack being to kill the Sovereign, David Bowie, who was attending. With the Sovereign apparently dead at the hands of his traitorous bodyguards, Klaus Nomi and Iggy Pop, Phantom Limb assumed command of the Guild and moved to completely wipe out the Monarch's henchman. But with Brock Samson leading them, Phantom Limb was delayed just long enough to allow Bowie, who had used his superhuman powers to transform into a cigarette during his implied destruction. After factions from all sides collided (literally, as the Order of the Triad suddenly arrived in the X-1), Phantom Limb's aircraft went down. Following the crash, Bowie--unhurt--casually reconfirmed his position as the true Sovereign and declared that his traitorous former subordinate was now the Guild's newest archenemy. In a cruel twist of fate, it appears that Phantom Limb's appearance may now be more than superficial, as at least two invisible severed limbs were detected at the final crash site.

Strangers
Besides its vast membership of actual villains, the Guild employs its own henchmen, called "Strangers". Loosely based upon the villains of the film Dark City, "strangers" are the main field operatives of the organization. They dress in fur-lined trench coats and fedoras, as well as having cyborg implants. Strangers mainly carry out Guild business, which can include serving as deadly assassin squads, acts of espionage, and armed forces for Guild assaults.

Honor Code
What separates the Guild from most villain organizations is the complex Honor Code that the Guild abides by. The code was partially conceived as a set of rules and outlined in the Guild of Calamitous Intent's official handbook and has since been expanded over the years with the signing of various treaties between major heroes, such as Jonas Venture Sr., and unspoken "gentlemen's agreement" forged with various law enforcement organizations. These involve the Guild providing resources such as new police cruisers to local precincts, and banning its members from harming or murdering local cops under any circumstances, in exchange for the police turning a blind eye to the crimes committed by Guild members as well as the Guild.

Following the Honor Code is required by all Guild members as a condition to join the group. While some members willingly follow these rules and don't question them, others see the rules as a bothersome formality that must be followed so as to ensure that they can still receive the Guild's very generous health and dental plans as well as a level of immunity from local law enforcement groups.

The code of conduct is complex; among the rules enforced are:
 * Villains and their henchmen are limited in their choice of weapons, according to the severity of their situation.
 * Crimes such as rape and sexual assault are forbidden.
 * Any hero who is associated with the Guild through its "Arch-Nemesis Assignment Program" will never, under any circumstance, be paired off for battle against a villain who is more powerful than the hero in question.
 * Local law enforcement officers are off-limits and can not be harmed under any circumstances. (The Trial of the Monarch)

Furthermore, all Guild members are required to follow and honor all treaties signed with the super-hero community, a number of which were negotiated personally by Jonas Venture, Sr.. These include treaties banning Guild members from attacking heroes on holidays. Another treaty, "Rusty's Law" states that a Guild member must allow a hero and their children to leave their custody in the event that the hero's child becomes injured during the hostage situation so they can receive medical treatment. Rusty's Law further states that the hero and family are required to return after the medical crisis is resolved. Rusty's Law was named after Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture, and it's implied by the Monarch that it stems directly from an event in his childhood involving Jonas Venture, Sr., Rusty, and the Guild. (Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean)

In Past Tense, Brock mentions that Ünderbheit wouldn't cause trouble at a funeral because they are on "hallowed grounds", which may mean there are agreed upon areas where no fighting can occur.

Breaking these rules can result in expulsion from the Guild, who will rescind any prior vows of help. In one particular case, the villain King Gorilla was abandoned by the Guild and later sentenced to life in prison for dismembering and raping (in that order) Mötley Crüe member Vince Neil on national television.

Trivia

 * The Guild, in having most of the villains in the "Venture Brothers" universe's as dues paying members is similar to the DC Comics supervillain team the Secret Society of Super Villains and the Legion of Doom from Superfriends. Most specifically, the enemies of the Flash (aka the Rogues) have been established for years as having a unionized organization, including a dental plan.
 * According to Doc Hammer, the Guild was created specifically to allow the "super scientists" and "supervillains" in the Venture universe to co-exist for the Tag Sale – You're It! episode.
 * The Guild is mentioned briefly in Home Insecurity, which aired before Tag Sale – You're It! but was produced immediately after: Baron Ünderbheit refers to the need to file an "Article of Collusion" with the Guild in order to work with another supervillain.