with a penchant for mischief and a flair for the dramatic. Easily excitable and eager to please, they offer their services as hench-people to any villain who needs an extra pair of hands (or two) to assist in their evil plans. Logline: The misadventures of two supervillain minions-for-hire as they bungle their way from job to job. The Henches is a 22-minute 2D-animated episodic action-comedy series meant to be enjoyed by audiences of all ages (kids and adults).
Hench sibling duo. He’s the one most often coming up with their frequently hare-brained schemes. He often boasts about the fact that he graduated from the Academy of Evil with a degree in Criminal Science…though he won’t say it was an associate’s degree. ben is the slightly younger sibling of the two, and as such he feels the need to constantly prove himself. beneath the scheming mad scientist persona he likes to put on, ben is driven by his obsessive, perfectionist tendencies and a desire to always be the very best. despite his many insecurities, ben harbors a genuine passion for both science and trickery, and wouldn’t have it any other way. (Character qualities: boastful, creative, curious)
She likes carrying out the dirty work and touting both her beauty and her martial arts skills. Proud to a fault, she’s willing to charge into any situation determined to win, though her boisterous attitude means she lacks the tact needed for stealth operations. As the slightly older sibling, jenny fancies herself the “cool and responsible” one of the duo, though in most situations she can only handle responsibility for about five minutes before she either breaks something accidentally, or decides that things are getting boring and breaks something on purpose. that isn’t to say she can’t be entirely trusted by her peers, however- she still has that “big sister instinct” and can be very protective toward ben when the need arises. (Character qualities: Headstrong, excitable, confident)
from the DVA- Department of Villainous Affairs. Their supervisor, Agent Zero- “the sneakiest snake in the business”- is always on the lookout for any underhanded dirty work that requires people with their skill sets. In his youth, he was considered one of the greatest spies in the world, but has since retired from field work due to a debilitating injury. Now, he uses his prowess in scheming to help up-and-coming villains get their big break. Part evil mastermind, part perpetually- beleaguered boss, zero constantly has his hands full with both running the dva and keeping the henches on the best behavior he can expect from evil minions. Though he possesses a sour exterior, he truly does care about the hench siblings and want them to succeed- though whether there is a warm spot somewhere in his cold, black heart, or if he just doesn’t want to feel like a failure due to his forced “retirement,” he’ll never say. (Character qualities: commanding, calculating, Wry) Meet ZERO
Zero’s ever-faithful secretary, Reese Flunkie. Reese follows the Evil Minions Code to a fault- “Follow Orders First, Ask Questions Later.” As the ultimate evil assistant, Reese has every tool for every job and provides the Henches with training, equipment, and backup. while she primarily works as zero’s sceretary, her wide array of skills see her taking on many jobs such as getaway driver, cleanup crew, nurse, or gondolier (handy when the big shot villains destroy the city dam for fun and profit!) reese oozes cold professionalism on the surface, but if she didn’t feel the need to be so rigid all the time she would be just as excitable as the henches. in fact, she would consider them her best friends- if villains were allowed to have friends, that is, since zero has told her that they don’t. (Character qualities: Diligent, Professional, Loyal) Meet REESE
rocked by the conflicts between larger-than-life heroes and villains! Stanleyburg is a hub of modern technology and economics, thus drawing ambitious people from varying walks of life. Some use their ambitions for the forces of good, becoming vigilante heroes who work to protect and uplift their fellow citizens. Others prefer to walk the way of professional supervillainy, and want to take everything for themselves. The ongoing conflicts between heroes and villains in Stanleyburg are almost impossible to ignore, and have begun to dominate the city’s popular culture. Many of the citizens tune into their local news reports like it’s professional wrestling, so they can root for their favorite hero/ villain.
siblings come in. Everybody knows the stories: heroes have sidekicks, villains have minions. When your city’s socio-economic profile is in near-constant turmoil and you’re in need of a steady job, who’s more likely to have an opening? While “superpowers” don’t exist in this world, the technology and science is so highly advanced that the heroes and villains of Stanleyburg nearly always have the right tool for the job, and Clarke’s law (“any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”) may as well be at play.
Stanleyburg is Captain Freedom, employed by the mayor himself to keep Stanleyburg‘s crime on the down-low...or at least try to. He’s charismatic, headstrong, and dedicated to his people, but can be a little bit overzealous when it comes to stopping villains in their tracks, making him an amusing but formidable opponent for the Henches. Captain Freedom is often assisted remotely by Ruthie Farrell, a 13-year old hacker who, despite her age, is usually more sensible than the muscle-headed Captain. Freedom sees Ruthie as his greatest confidante, his “Little Justice,” his extra pair of eyes. Unfortunately, just as the mayor tends to put pressure on him, Freedom tends to put pressure on Ruthie because of this. Freedom thinks the Hench siblings are more dangerous than they actually are and is frankly both disgusted and disappointed with them, thinking they’re throwing their lives away in wanting to become villains. Meanwhile, the henches both think Freedom is full of hot air and should consider himself honored to cross paths with the likes of them.
freedom in her crime-fighting capabilities is stanleyburg’s second most famous hero, lady hook. A rock climbing and parkour enthusiast who lost her left hand in a climbing accident, hook is a dare- devil at heart. In hero mode, she replaces her prosthetic with a grappling hook and swings high across the skyscrapers of stanleyburg, searching out trouble. she’s also In a budding romance with Captain Freedom, but make no mistake- she made the first move. despite having a fiery personality on the streets, deep down lady hook is a caring person who tries to find the good in anyone- sometimes, even within the henches.
hook is usually busy fighting her arch-nemesis, professor heinrich vermicious oilslick. Considered the greatest evil scientist in the world, Oilslick is ben’s second biggest idol after zero, and jenny agrees that it would be an honor to work for him. Having begun his life of villainy long before the henches- and even before agent zero!-, he is a jack of all scientific trades who is always looking for his next big experiment, and is not above using innocent civilians as his test subjects. it is also rumored that professor oilslick is the one who built agent zero’s life support apparatus, but zero doesn’t like to talk about it.
from the nearby neighborhood of west oval, known in the criminal underworld as the head of her own antique smuggling ring. The Black Box Syndicate is a network of spies that agent zero used to work for. They have eyes everywhere...but are always looking for an extra pair. Blackbird was Zero’s old business partner at black box, who has since defected to form her own criminal organization, the corvid alliance. she and zero still have a fierce rivalry, and she may be the only person he fears... The Composers’ Court are a secretive order of stodgy old record producers who aim to control the masses through s ubliminal messaging in their music...so that the younger generation will finally appreciate what they consider “real Music.” Maya stern is a seemingly mild-mannered intern at slick laboratories who, unbeknownst to her boss, professor oilslick, has begun masquerading as the villain known as Miasma after becoming unsatisfied with his style of villainy.
and Jenny going about their daily activities, be it honing their supervillain skills at the DVA training facility, catching up on the stanleyburg news for the latest villain activity, or simply causing a ruckus on the city streets. They will then be contacted by Agent Zero, be it through text, mail, or any sort of other dramatic presentation, who will give them the briefing on their latest job. This includes giving a brief history of the villain they’ll be working for, and providing them with any equipment they may need. Whether the duo actually meet face-to-face with the “Villain of the Week” depends on what the job demands and what the villain is like. The “meat” of the episode should focus on the Hench siblings on the job, showcasing their respective skills- Ben’s with tinkering and mad science, Jenny’s with gymnastics and martial arts- and how they work together as a team. Their relationship as siblings is often the catalyst for their antics- they love to show off and try to one-up the other, which often causes them to lose sight of their objective. Their respective competitive streaks often get them into trouble, and sometimes pit the two of them against each other, but at the end of the day, they’re still best friends, and nothing can change that. There should be a balance of action and comedy within their escapades- the two elements should not try to stop one for the other, but should be blended organically, with each lending itself to the other to create a harmony and keep the momentum going.
show up and cross paths with the Henches. Depending on the situation they may be a serious adversary, or a comic obstacle, but whatever the case, they are an opposing force to throw a wrench into the Henches’ evil doings. The heroes don’t necessarily even have to win, their interaction with the Henches just has to be a catalyst for their loss. Inevitably, the siblings will fail their mission, often down to the wire, be it through being thwarted by one of Stanleyburg ‘s many heroes, or through their own doing. Whatever the case, there should still be something “comedic” about their failure- seeing a story where the characters are constantly downtrodden is no fun. Despite their many trials and tribulations, Ben and Jenny never let it get them down, always enthusiastically saying “we’ll get it next time! We’re the best at being the worst!”
siblings are contracted by the crime boss Madam Jewels to steal the Golden Sardines, a national treasure of Italy currently on loan to the Stanleyburg museum. While the initial theft goes off without a hitch, things go awry when the siblings accidentally spill the sardines out of their display box, and must either relocate the misplaced sardines or find convincing enough replacements. • The Hench siblings are hired to spy on a secret rendezvous between Captain Freedom and Lady Hook...only for that “secret rendezvous” to turn out to be an off-duty romantic dinner date. All the while, Freedom keeps nervously contacting Ruthie over the phone for advice on how to talk to girls. Being a superhero is hard enough, romance might be even harder! • Captain Freedom becomes distraught when he learns that Ruthie, his trusty sidekick, has been kidnapped! It turns out that Ruthie actually hired the Hench siblings herself to “kidnap” her because she feels that Freedom doesn’t appreciate how big of a help she is to him...and besides, this way she might get an up close and personal tour of the DVA! • Ben is offered the chance to study under Professor Oilslick, one of the world’s greatest evil scientists and a personal idol of his. Jenny, left on her own, must navigate working solo, and tries to teach herself a little mad science in the meantime, in the hopes that it would make her brother more proud of her. But Ben’s fancy new internship isn’t all rosy- Professor Oilslick isn’t just looking for a lab partner, but also for a new test subject! • The Hench siblings are hired by Professor Oilslick to steal Lady Hook’s pet tarantula for his latest plan. They succeed in nabbing the spider when she’s out of the house, but when Hook becomes distraught about the loss of her beloved pet- even more so when Oilslick grows it to the size of a house- Ben and Jenny start to question if this job was really the right call.
bad guy. They like when the conflict of a story is exciting, and when the instigators of the conflict are fun to watch. Villains are often more enjoyable than heroes because they aren’t as constrained to the rules of “what’s right,” allowing them to be more daring and flamboyant. They provide an escape for the audience by breaking social barriers and doing the things the audience sometimes wishes they could do, but wouldn’t dare. Outrageous, larger than life villains make us forget about our problems and the real evils in the world by turning evil into something that can be enjoyable to watch. More simply put, sometimes it’s fun to be a little naughty. But The Henches isn’t just a show about villains- it’s also a show about teamwork and perseverance. No matter how many hardships ben and jenny face on their path to becoming full-fledged supervillains, no matter how many times they get knocked down, they’ll always get back up and come back swingin’. It’s a show about a couple of scrappy underdogs trying to make it in a world gone crazy, and in the world we live in, we could all use a little reminder to never give up and to always have our best friends’ backs.
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