The VVV

+ October 31, 2021 (Cartoon Network Mexico)
* May 23, 2023 (Max United States)

"**The VVV**" is the third episode of the first season of *Villainous*, and the third episode overall. It was released on HBO Max Latin America on October 29, 2021. and aired on Cartoon Network Mexico on October 31, 2021, and it was released on Max United States on May 23, 2023.

The episode pays respect to many aspects of Mexican culture.

## Synopsis

Late at night, the bellring echoes through Black Hat's manor's halls, leading a grumpy Flug to answer the door. There, a hooded woman with a *calavera* mask insists on seeing *El Charro Negro;* Flug takes her to the dreaded office, and while reluctant on disturbing his boss, Black Hat announces he was expecting their guest just as the clock hits midnight.

Demencia and 5.0.5. arrive in time to see Black Hat's gentlemanly display of courtesy to the client, much to the lizard's jealousy. She informs them that her target is the wrestler known as El Valiente and their task is to remove his mask, as it is the symbol of a luchador's honor. The subortinates watch in fear as she signs the contract, and Black Hat reaps her soul for himself.

The Hat Ship arrives at a stadium, where the wrestler defeats Nahual, a werewolf-esque contender. Gloating about his victory, El Valiente witnesses the arena morphing around him, and is stoked to be in the presence of El Charro. However, Black Hat mocks him for thinking he would fight the villain himself, claiming he's only there to enjoy the show, much to the wrestler's confusion. Suddenly, a narrator emerges from a dark pit, announcing Black Hat's chosen fighter: Demencia, going by the stage name *El Alebrije*.

El Valiente at first doesn't think very highly of her, but his boasting is interrupted when she pounces at him and delivers a powerful uppercut, followed by a piledriver. In the sidelines, Flug and Adelita watch the fight, where Demencia makes short work of the fighter, much to the amusement of her boss and the concern of the client. Ripping off his mask (but failing to see another one underneath it), Demencia does a victory dance while Adelita rushes to the side of El Valiente, worried about his well being. The wrestler, who the woman adressed as Pedro, seems to have no recollection of the fight, but she reassures him that they'll be fine - and dramatically reveals to the audience that they are married.

Adelita then explains the events that led to the current situation - El Valiente was the hero of their town, until he faced and defeated the villain known as Mascara Macabra. However, upon unmasking the foe, the mask latched itself onto his face, and Pedro became its new vessel. Flug expresses his concern of the mask being a parasite, who had just found a stronger host: Demencia. Taking over her mind, Mascara Macabra taunts Black Hat, asking how many more he would send before fighting himself; the demon, however, is unimpressed, and all eyes turn to Flug as a spotlight shines upon him, much to his horror. He then proceeds to be laughed at by the spectators, by Mascara and by Black Hat himself.

Black Hat commands Flug to bring back Demencia to their side, and changes him into *luchador* attire. Annoyed from having to clean her mess, the doctor summons two Hatbots to defeat her, to no avail. He pleads her to come to her senses, but Mascara Macabra has taken over completely; Flug then offers 1000 Hatcoins to whoever could remove the mask from her, and several villains in the audience spring into action. While she fights, Flug goes to the corner where 5.0.5., Adelita and Pedro await, and is reminded by the Narrator that Black Hat expects him to finish the job, and is impatient. Accepting his fate, Flug bids farewell to his dear creation, while the couple erects an Ofrenda in his memory.

The audience cheers for the champion of the ring, who massacres Flug while the Narrator taunts him with commentary. He's then left on the floor, broken, and finally Black Hat descends to the ring. He expresses his pleasure and delight in watching such a brutal fight, praising their performance. Mascara Macabra gets pumped up to the final challenge, but its gloating is interrupted when the demon commands Demencia to remove the mask - which she promptly does, much to the shock of the parasite, Flug, Adelita and Pedro. Black Hat sends the Narrator back to the underworld and throws the mask into a containment vat that Flug is holding, and demands him to get it ready for vivisection, teleporting his team away from the arena.

They arrive at a ghost town, where the team wonders where their clients are. Black Hat shows them the contract signed by Adelita and ominously claims they won't go far; he summons then a hellish horse and rides off into the night, leaving the team to walk back to the ship. While crossing the town, Flug remarks that, all things considered, he likes visiting Mexico and wishes they could stay a while longer. Demencia then replies that they could, and the team smiles. A montage depicts the team enjoying their time with various cultural activities, and celebrating with mariachis. Demencia shouts "Viva México" and Flug attempts to stop her from cussing.

In the mid-credits scene, Mascara Macabra attempts to convince the members of the team to wear it, being rejected or ignored by all of them while they grab something from the fridge during nighttime.

## Credits

* English version
* Spanish version

* **Dubbing Studio:**
	+ VOA Studios Miami
* **Translator:**
	+ Cindy Perez
* **Director:**
	+ Jose Aparicio
* **Sound Engineer:**
	+ Nico Chang
* **Voices by:**
	+ Alan Ituriel as Black Hat
	+ Yian Ruiz as Dr. Flug
	+ Cindy Eliz as Demencia
	+ Jose Aparicio as Mascara Macabra
	+ Margarita Coego as Adelita Guerrero
* **Secondary Voices by:**
	+ Sahid Pabon as Nahual
	+ Jose Aparicio as El Valiente
	+ Jackie Rodriguez as Emilia

- **Producer/Director**
	* Alan Ituriel

- **SVP & CM WarnerMedia Kids LATAM**
	* Pablo Zuccarino

- **Head of Original Production WarnerMedia Kids LATAM**
	* Jaime Jiménez Rión

- **Executive Producers**
	* Humberto Cervera
	* Andrés Milán

- **Associated Producers**
	* Ernesto Alemán
	* Jácora Xochitl

- **Executive VP of AI Animation Studios**
	* Mayte Sanz

- **Written by**
	* Diego Valenzuela
	* Stephan Schöer Silva
	* Alan Ituriel

- **Story Editor**
	* Diego Valenzuela

- **Original Story**
	* Alan Ituriel

- **Storyboard Artists**
	* Ariadna "Ami" Guillén
	* Carlos Ramírez Bernal
	* Lucía Delgado Mixcoatl
	* Julio Villegas
	* Ana Guerrero
	* Gerardo Alejandro Oviedo Rodríguez
	* Alan Ituriel

- **Original Score by**
	* Kevin Manthei

- **Performance by**
	* Mariachi Mexicana Hermosa

- **Recording Studio**
	* Coyotools Multimedia Estudios

- **Audio Engineer**
	* Martin Cavazos

- **Songs**
	* "La Dama Aragonea"
	* "El Son de la Negra"
	* "La Culebra"
	* "La Leyenda de El Valiente"

- ***Mariachi Mexicana Hermosa***
	* **Violins**
		+ Ma. Isabel Aguilar Parra
		+ Maria Isabel Manrique
		+ Vania Clío Pérez Alvarado
		+ Rosa Itzel Vichis Pizano
		+ Monserrat Sanchez
		+ Azul Vichis Pizano
		+ Zaira Yosselm Martinez Corona
		+ Patricia González Oviedo
	* **Viheula & Guitar**
		+ Maria Litiana Tello González
	* **Trumpets**
		+ Maria Luisa García Valencia
		+ Alicia Ramos de Jesús
		+ Evelin Velazquez Aguilar
	* **Harp**
		+ Reyna Aguilar Castillo
	* **Guitar**
		+ Vania Clío Pérez Alvarado

- **Casting**
	* Karla Falcón

- **Dialogue Director**
	* Alan Ituriel

- **Voice Cast**
	* José Macías as Dr. Flug
	* Melissa Gedeón as Demencia
	* Mark Fischbach as 5.0.5.
	* Alan Ituriel as Black Hat
	* Magalena Leonel as Adelita Guerrero
	* Lourdes Arruti as Emilia
	* Gutllermo Corta as El Valiente
	* Humberto Vélez as Mascara Macabra
	* Roberto Rodriguez as El Nahual
	* Stephan Silva as Narator BHO

- **Additional Voices**
	* Elliot Leguizamo
	* Diego Valenzuela
	* Marysol Lobo
	* Mauricio Pérez
	* Pablo Moreno
	* Roberto Gutiérrez
	* Betzabé Jara
	* Stephan Silva
	* Alan Ituriel

- **Production Manager**
	* Adriana Cid Flores

- **Production Assistants**
	* Ailé Salinas Villegas
	* Giovann Peña Ulloa

- **Production Coordinator**
	* A. Gabriela Morales Piña

- **Lead Character Artists**
	* Miguel Ángel "Thor" Sánchez García
	* Alan Ituriel

- **Character Artists**
	* Ramsés Uriel Villegas Ochoa
	* Gerardo Alejandro Oviedo Rodríguez
	* Carlos Ramírez Bernal
	* Diana Vanessa Montoya Calvadón
	* Christian Paul Cárdenas Galarraga
	* Ami Guillén
	* Paul Köhn Díaz
	* Ruben Steven Cárdenas
	* Ornella Antista
	* Gerardo Rául Cepeda Carranza

- **Concept Art**
	* Miguel Ángel "Thor" Sánchez García
	* Ramsés Uriel Villegas Ochoa
	* Alan Ituriel

- **Art**
	* Ramsés Uriel Villegas Ochoa
	* Miguel Ángel "Thor" Sánchez García
	* Ana Guerrero
	* Christian Paul Cárdenas Galarraga
	* Alan Ituriel

- **Props Design**
	* Miguel Ángel "Thor" Sánchez García
	* Ramsés Uriel Villegas Ochoa
	* Carlos Ramírez Bernal
	* Paul Köhn Díaz
	* Christian Paul Cárdenas Galarraga
	* Diana Vanessa Montoya Calvadón
	* Gerardo Rául Cepeda Carranza
	* Alan Ituriel

- **Background Supervisor**
	* Oscar "Yoke" Flores Tovar

- **Background Artists**
	* Oscar "Yoke" Flores Tovar
	* José Manuel Cuautle Sortano
	* Alma Canchola
	* Jesús Enrique de María y Campos
	* Joris Sanchez
	* Maritza Agutlar Camacho
	* Andrés "Kalegrro" del Valle
	* Miriam "May" Serrano
	* Juan Urueña

- **Location Design**
	* Oscar "Yoke" Flores Tovar
	* Miguel Ángel "Thor" Sánchez García
	* Paul Köhn Díaz

- **Animation Supervisor**
	* Ana Guerrero

- **Layout Animation**
	* Ana Guerrero
	* Aide Eth Paulina Olvera Ruiz
	* Ornella Antista
	* Adrian Andrés Vargas Naranjo
	* Marco Antonio Villagómex
	* TheFlyingPanda (Nanda W)
	* Ruben Steven Cárdenas
	* Stephan Silva
	* Jose Cruz "Joe"
	* Alan Ituriel

- **Clean Supervision**
	* Adriana Cid Flores

- **Clean Animation**
	* Jesus "Krizth" Rojas López
	* Daniela Trejo Rutz
	* Mariolt Granados León
	* Stephan Silva
	* Iris Lilián Palacios Fernández
	* Veronica González Riviera
	* Hernán Rodríguez Carrillo
	* Ramsés Uriel Villegas Ochoa
	* Claudia "Hioseb" Quezada

- **Intermission Animation: MECHANICAL VIRUS**
	* Diego Antonio Acevedo Aguilar
	* Sarah Emilia Paramo Turpin
	* Paulin Gutiérrez Wong
	* Rodrigo Martinez Riviera
	* Adrian Trujeque Biberos
	* Christian Arredondo Narvádez
	* Mariana Lira Treviño
	* Fabrian Bernardo Yanez Moran
	* Santiago Yrigoyen Yazquez
	* Paulina Leal Herrera

- ***Mokiki Animation Studios***
	* **Color Supervision**
		+ Ana Ferrer
		+ Adriana Cid Flores
	* **Colorists**
		+ Araceli Calderón Garcia
		+ Hernán Rodríguez Carrillo
		+ Ramsés Uriel Villegas Ochoa
		+ Jesús "Krizth" Rojas López
		+ Vicente "King Bee" Cacía Serrano

- **Composition Supervision**
	* Iván Javier Hernández García

- **Lead Composition Artist**
	* Brenda Lizeth López Becerra

- **Composition Artist**
	* Adrian Valdivia Marin

- **Episodic Intro**
	* Gerardo Alejandro Oviedo Rodríguez

- **Animatic Editor**
	* Gerardo Alejandro Oviedo Rodríguez

- **Editing Supervision**
	* Carlos "Xicuer" Damián

- **Editing**
	* Gerardo Alejandro Oviedo Rodríguez

- **Editing Assistant**
	* Alejandra María Belmont Alvarez

- **Recording Studio**
	* SDI Media de Mexico

- **Additional Recording**
	* New Art

- **Audio Post-Production**
	* Audio 4 Media

- **Dialogue Editing**
	* Juán David Chaparro

- **Foley Artists**
	* Robert Pérez
	* Mauricio Mendoza
	* Nicolás Gutiérrez C.
	* Nikol Pizarro

- **Sound Design**
	* María Claudia Mora
	* Juán David Chaparro

- **Sound Design Assistant**
	* Robert Pérez

- **Final Mixing**
	* María Claudia Mora
	* Juán David Chaparro

- **Characters from *Victor & Valentino* belong to**
	* Diego Molando

- **Characters from *OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes* belongs to**
	* Ian Jones-Quartley

- **Characters from *The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy* belong to**
	* Maxwell Atoms

- **Special Thanks to**
	* Paola Jacobs
	* Crystal Cason
	* Hernán LaGreca
	* Brendan Rogan
	* Lucas Arechaga

## Cartoon Network/Warner Bros./Hanna Barbera references/cameos

* The majority of the crowd audiences are villains from the Cartoon Network series, *OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes*.
* Eris from the Cartoon Network series, *The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy*, makes a cameo where she's seen sitting in the bleachers - and incredulous at Demencia being labeled an agent of chaos instead of her.
* In the scene where Eris is shown we also see mic and hun

## Trivia

* This episode was lip-synched to Spanish.
* The mariachi music in this episode was performed by real-life mariachi band, Mariachi Mexicana Hermosa.
* Some of the inbetween animation was outsourced to Virus Mecanico and Mokiki Animation Studios. This marks the first Villainous episode to have outsourced animation.
* The Narrator from the *Orientation Videos for Villains* miniseries is seen animated for the first time. He has a megaphone for a head.
* The ghost town where Black Hat dropped his team off, plus him riding off on his fiery horse, are reminiscent of the first *Ghost Rider* movie.
* Flug's line to Demencia while she chokes him, "We're like Jessie and James!", is in reference to José Macías also being the VA for James, from *Pokémon.*
* The sponsors shown in the episode, "Doing" and "Xoxo", are notions to Mexican drink brand *Pascual Boing* and Mexican convenience store *Oxxo*.
* Before fighting Demencia, Flug quotes the song *Recuérdame*, from the Disney/Pixar animated movie *Coco.*
* During Demencia's beatdown of Flug, two shots depict a reddish glow after she lands a critical blow. This is a reference to the popular platform figthing game *Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.*
* During the end credits when Mascala Macabra hears 5.0.5. talking, he responds that he "sounds like a YouTuber". This is a nod to 5.0.5.'s voice actor Mark Fischbach's, also known as Markiplier, YouTube career.
	+ This was ommitted in the English version with Mascala Macabra saying "I don't speak bear. Where are your subtitles?" instead.