The Powerpuff Girls is getting a live-action version through The CW, but the best spinoff idea isn’t bringing them to the real world, but giving them a new story as adults, which Kid Cosmic season 2 subtly and briefly referenced. Not all superheroes are grown-ups with capes and high-tech equipment, and some are simply doing what they can to keep their town and its residents safe with what they have. Such is the case of the Powerpuff Girls, the stars of the animated TV series of the same name that aired on Cartoon Network from 1998 to 2005.
Created by Craig McCracken, The Powerpuff Girls followed three girls created by scientist Professor Utonium (voiced by Tom Kane), who was trying to create the perfect girl, but when he accidentally poured some of the mysterious Chemical X into the mix, he ended up creating three girls with superpowers: Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup. The girls now use their powers to fight villains and monsters that attempt to destroy the city of Townsville, with the Mayor (Tom Kenny) calling them for help all the time. The Powerpuff Girls was a success with critics (though some pointed out how it can go from “innocent to violent” in a second) and viewers, and even though over a decade has passed since it came to an end, the show is still fondly remembered by many.
Given its popularity, The Powerpuff Girls wasn’t safe from the reboot and live-action trends that have been dominating the entertainment industry in recent years, and a live-action reboot is in development at The CW. However, the project has encountered a couple of obstacles, with the pilot being reworked, the script being leaked and receiving an overwhelming amount of negative reviews, and Chloe Bennet, who was cast as Blossom, leaving the show. What’s known about The CW’s take on The Powerpuff Girls, retitled Powerpuff, is that it will follow Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup as “disillusioned twentysomethings” resentful at the loss of their childhood in order to fight crimes and now having to reunite to save the world. It’s a predictable premise for a live-action version of a cartoon whose protagonists are kindergarten-aged girls, but a much better idea for a reboot would be having them as secret agents, as teased in Kid Cosmic season 2.
Netflix’s Kid Cosmic follows a young boy known as Kid (Jack Fisher) who dreams of becoming a superhero and finally does so after a spaceship crashes in the area he lives in and he discovers five “Cosmic Stones of Power”. Kid then forms his own team with his grandpa Papa G (Old Man Many Men), Jo (Portal Girl), Rosa (Niña Gigantica), and Tuna Sandwich (The Precognitive Cat). Season 2 saw the team fighting in space and finding the other eight Stones of Power to fight Erodius the Planet Killer, and in the season finale, they are visited by three agents from the PPG – Planet Protection Group, and they look a lot like grown-up versions of the Powerpuff Girls. One of the agents is a redhead with a hairstyle similar to Blossom’s, another is blonde and has a high bun reminiscent of Bubbles, and the other is a black woman with a hairstyle and voice tone just like Buttercup’s. The reference is even funnier and more interesting as Kid Cosmic is also a creation of Craig McCracken, who isn’t involved in The CW’s reboot. A new Powerpuff Girls TV show where the audience can see them as grownups working as secret agents for the government would be a lot more interesting and exciting to watch than having them as angsty-teens – after all, they have already been working with the government to an extent, thanks to the Mayor of Townsville.
The Powerpuff Girls as secret agents would be a fun twist in their superhero careers, as they know how to handle menaces as “small” as evil geniuses or as big as giant monsters, and they would have better control of their powers as well as the knowledge to help other superpowered individuals. The CW’s version of the Powerpuff Girls continues to be in development, and it’s unknown how much of the premise and tone will change, especially after all the criticism it has already got from those who read the leaked script and saw the set pics where the actresses wore costumes identical to the ones in the original show.