Cartoon Network recently revealed that a new PowerPuff Girl would be joining the puff squad. Most importantly (for many people), she is a person of color!
Bliss’s back story seems pretty depressing, however, as she is the older sister of the PowerPuff girls. In general, the PowerPuff girls have been seen as triplets, so the idea that Professor Utonium made one before them, is surprising to many, especially considering the fact that she has been missing for years.
The tragic backstory is Bliss, the first actual PowerPuff girl, grew up with professor Utonium as a perfect little girl. The issues with her powers however, were that whenever she got upset or agitated, she would release an extremely dangerous wave of energy that could destroy everything. One day after one of her freak episodes, she decides that she is too dangerous while Professor Utonium is passed out from her blast and decides to fly away. She flies to (now stay with me on this one) “Bird Poop Island.” Other than a tiny elephant she befriends, there is nobody and nothing on the island, seemingly, aside from the extraneous amounts of bird poop.
The arrival of Bliss Utonium has already created a lot of buzz. Some see her as a “token” character randomly added to the PowerPuff girls, whereas others fully appreciate her joining the family. With Bliss having uncontrollable emotions, seemingly wide hips, and this backstory with a missing father figure, the criticisms involving perpetuating a stereotype increased. However, at the end of the day, Bliss is a character that many little black girls can relate to. And more than anything, she is a PowerPuff Girl.
I, personally, cannot wait to see how her character develops despite my disappointment that she wasn’t the large afro haired PowerPuff girl of my dreams.