During the mid-1990s, Cartoon Network launched its own in-house animation studio to produce all-original animated shorts. Eventually, they expanded into half-hour shows, and grew from a small stable of characters to a multitude, all through the first decade (and a half) of the 21st Century.

Today CN has about a dozen currently-running original animated series, many of which have premiered at least in this decade like “Steven Universe.” But at least one program is a reboot of one of their 90s classics, “The Powerpuff Girls.” While the first season of the revival was fairly faithful to the old, in the ongoing season 2, the network is ready to make some major changes, such as turning the three Powepuffs into four.

Meet Bliss

The new “Powerpuff Girls” series, which started last 2016, has performed decently but had an uphill struggle to endear itself to fans of the original 90s show. Criticism of it ranged from the original creator’s non-involvement to recasting the titular superhero girls, to the widespread use of internet slang and memes. Early this September, Cartoon Network announced their most controversial move yet in creating a fourth Powerpuff to join Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup. Said new addition will appear in the second season’s five-part movie event “The Power of Four” which airs Sunday, September 17.

With that underway, Cartoon Network posted the first good reveal of Powerpuff Girl number four on Twitter, as well as her name: Bliss.

Although judging from the “Power of Four” special, Bliss should actually be designated as Powerpuff number Zero, being the first attempt by the Girls’ creator/father figure, Professor Utonium, in his experiment to create life with his “sugar, spice and everything nice” formula. Due to circumstances not yet revealed, Bliss disappeared after her “birth,” not returning until the present time (in-universe) to reunite with her (actually younger) sisters.

A ‘Powerpuff Bunny’ that stays on

Granted, the idea of expanding the Powerpuff Girls by one member is not original. The original series run had one episode where the core trio created a one-off additional sister named “Bunny” (who expired at the episode’s end and has a near-similar color scheme as Bliss now).

In Bliss’s case, however, she looks fit to be sticking around after the “Power of Four” special runs its course on Cartoon Network.

One special feature of the new character Bliss is that her debut appearance has her being voiced by a multitude of actresses depending on the region. Confirmed voice actors include Toya Delazy for Cartoon Network South Africa, and Wendy Ayche for CN Australia/New Zealand. Time will tell if this significant change to the “Powerpuff Girls” mythos will survive the often-bitter disillusionment of classic "PPG" fans and last far beyond the special that introduced her.
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