Baron Werner Ünderbheit

Baron Werner Ünderbheit IV is a fictional character and antagonist appearing on the Adult Swim show The Venture Bros. He is voiced by T. Ryder Smith and is a close parody of the famous Marvel Comics supervillain Doctor Doom: he bears a physical deformity, wears armor and a cloak, and is the tyrannical ruler of a small European nation. His first name is even strikingly similar to the last name of Doom's adopted son, Kristoff Vernard. To a lesser extent, he bears some physical resemblance to X-Men villain Apocalypse.

Character history
Ünderbheit is a villain and member of the Guild of Calamitous Intent, and he seems to be one of its more competent members shown so far (Hank and Dean Venture believe him to be their father's arch-nemesis). He is also the dictator of Ünderland, a country smaller than Delaware that borders Michigan,though based on the accent that Werner and his henchmen display they appear very similar to the Germanic region of Europe (similar to Latveria, the fictional nation ruled by Marvel villian Dr. Doom).

The Baron commands great respect in his country, as men serve a mandatory term in the Ünderland army and seem unfazed by the knowledge that they will be executed at the age of 38. His closest confidante is his slave Manservant, who was a gift from his parents when he was in college. His inner circle of national advisors was composed of villains known as Catclops (a cyclops with a cat's face in place of an eye), Girl Hitler (a female resembling Adolf Hitler, even having his signature mustache), and Manic Eightball (a human magic 8-ball); shortly after their first appearance in the series, however, he attempted to execute them for treason (before trying to kill them with bombs strapped to tigers, he gave them gifts of Tiger Balm -- an oblique reference to the upcoming "tiger bombs").In the episode "Love-Bheits" it is revealed that Catclops and Girl Hitler survived the attempt and became leaders of a underground movement that plays practical jokes on Ünderbheit, Manic Eightball is also alive and is kept as a personal prisoner of Ünderbheit who still uses him for advice.

Ünderbheit seems to rule his home country ruthlessly. The nation's laws, which include mandatory attendance at national landmarks (including the "Ünderbheit Birth Crevasse"), are collectively known as "Ünderlaw." There are no prisons in Ünderland, as the Baron has seen fit to impose the death penalty for all infractions of Ünderlaw. Public morale is enforced in an equally violent manner: when production in the "benzene chewables" mines decreased, the problem was addressed by amputating the feet of the "alpha males and popular girls."

Ünderbheit's most distinguishing physical feature is his metal jaw. According to Ünderbheit, he was forced to have the metal replacement installed after an accident in college that was most likely caused by his lab partner, a young Dr. Venture. As he told fellow villain The Monarch, where he comes from "a lab partnership is a sacred trust" which Venture failed to honor properly. The jaw can be detached, although Ünderbheit's tongue hangs grotesquely from his exposed throat; the teeth are apparently strong and sharp enough to saw through a thick chain.

Before suffering his disfiguring accident, Ünderbheit shared a tenuous friendship in college with Venture, Peter White (who was his roommate), and Mike Sorayama. On occasion, Ünderbheit's overbearing, imperious manner caused friction between himself and the others, although Venture and White often allied themselves with him in order to play jokes on Sorayama. Ünderbheit incurred Sorayama's wrath by tricking him into smoking oregano while insisting that it was potent Ünterland cannabis. Although Sorayama experienced a severe allergic reaction to the spice and nearly died, he was more upset over subsequently missing a study date with a girl on whom he had an intense crush.

After college, Ünderbheit returned to Ünterland, where he became the ruler (the chain of events that led to this appointment has not been explained as yet; as Pete White described him as " a prince or something," it is likely he inherited the throne). He vowed to get revenge upon Dr. Venture for disfiguring him, and he views him as the last remaining enemy of Ünterland. In the episode "Home Insecurity," he dispatched a squad of soldiers to deposit a scorpion in Venture's bedroom, but coincidentally The Monarch had implemented a similar scheme in which his henchmen released a tarantula at the same time; the two arachnids fought each other until Venture awoke. Ünderbheit and The Monarch argued vehemently over who deserved the honor of killing their mutual foe, until they eventually resolved to cooperate. Unfortunately, Dr. Venture's out-of-control security android decimated both teams of henchmen. The Baron also appeared in the episode "Tag Sale -- You're It!," in which The Monarch manipulated him into starting a riot.

He crashes the Ventures' plane X-1 over his country and imprisons the team in a pantry (due to the lack of prisons) except for Dean Venture, whose dressing as Leia Organa confuses the Baron into thinking he is actually a girl. Brock, Dr. Venture, and Hank successfully escape the pantry and meet up with the Ünderground resistance, who are actually quite pathetic with low-minded goals. With Brock's help the resistance storms the wedding; although the Ventures failed to keep Dean from being married, Hank reveals that 'Dawn' is actually his brother: Catclops and Girl Hitler arrest Ünderbheit for same-sex marriage and Ünderland becomes a democracy, with Girl Hitler and Catclops as its new leaders. Ünderbheit, exiled, comes to the Monarch's base and requests if he may stay there for the time being.

Basis
As noted, Ünderbheit is a parody of the Marvel comics supervillain Doctor Doom; The Monarch even disparagingly refers to him as such. Both characters are rulers of fictional European nations with subjects who are blindly loyal to them. Doom and Ünderbheit were both foreign exchange students at American universities where they met their respective nemeses, who they blame for inflicting horrible disfigurements on them. Both characters hide their mutilation with metallic attachments: Doom wears a mask in order to obscure facial scarring while Ünderbheit wears a prosthetic jaw to replace his natural one. (It should be noted that while Doom wrongly blames Reed Richards for his accident, it is quite likely that Venture is indeed responsible for the loss of Ünderbheit's jaw) though in "Love-Bheits" Venture says nothing was proven.

Additional notes
The Baron's last name is a mock-Germanification of "underbite", a misalignment of the jaw. This reference can be considered a darkly humorous foreshadowing of the loss of his jaw (similar to Pete White being albino). It is unclear whether the same incident that cost Ünderbheit his jaw caused the loss of his hair, but in flashbacks the college-aged Werner has a mop of hair, whereas the "present-day" Baron is largely bald with a few strands of hair remaining.In "Love-Bheits" he is seen wearing a wig that looks like his old hair.