| Equal Fights | |
| Episode name pun on: Equal Rights and fights | |
|---|---|
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| Airdate: | January 5, 2001 |
| Credits | |
| Director: | Randy Myers and Craig McCracken |
| Story: | Lauren Faust |
| Writer(s): | Amy Keating Roders Lynne Naylor-Reccardi Lauren Faust |
| See also | |
| episode transcript |
image gallery |
| Episodes | |
| Previous "The Headsucker's Moxy" |
Next "Moral Decay" |
| Rating | |
A villainess named Femme Fatale convinces the Powerpuff Girls to hate men in order for her to get away with stealing all of the Susan B. Anthony coins in Townsville.
Plot
The city of Townsville has always been a place where people are satisfied---they get there fair share and help each other out.
While at school, the girls receive a call from the Mayor saying that the bank's being robbed and they dash into action. The narrator asks what kind of MAN is robbing the bank, but the robber turns out to be a WOMAN named Femme Fatale who demands Susan B. Anthony coins only (since other money has men on it). Right before she can escape, the girls appear on the scene and quickly haul her off to jail.
Femme Fatale claims to the girls that the city of Townsville belittles their talents, also pointing out that female superheroes aren't looked up to as much as male superheroes are. Realizing this shocks Buttercup, causing her to drop Femme Fatale. Before she hits the ground, her fall's broken by a construction worker and she flees, but the girls quickly apprehend her once more. Femme Fatale somehow convinces the girls that sending her to jail would be a blow for all womankind and that they're on the wrong side. They set her free and return home, allowing her to commit more crimes.
At school, the girls scare the boys when one knocks a girl down playing catch and causes much fear for them. Back at home the Professor is in the middle of cleaning the house and politely asks the girls to clean their room to which he receives a death glare, later while destroying her male dolls, Blossom receives a call from the Mayor asking them to save the day. Blossom denies, tells him to do it himself and hangs up. Ms. Bellum calls them and ask them to meet her in the Mayor's office where they are confronted by her and Ms. Keane. They talk about the girls' new outlook on life and try to correct it by making them realize that the boy who knocked the girl down was only playing with her, that the Professor only asked them to clean their own room and not do all the chores, and that the mayor couldn't save the city because he doesn't have superpowers.
Three other women then come forward and talk when the sisters talk about girls looking out for each other. A female banker whose bank Femme Fatale robbed Susan B. Anthony-coins from, a policewoman whose arm she broke, and a teenage girl whose hairstyle she stole (which she gets looked at funny for, as it was petty). The intervention helps the girls realize that not only did they go overboard with their whole "girl power" thing, but that Femme Fatale doesn't actually practice what she preaches.
Ms. Bellum and Ms. Keane talk to the girls.
Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, as they appear in this episode.
At a coin convention, Femme Fatale's confronted by Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup, who tell her the story of Susan B. Anthony:
- In 1872, Susan B. Anthony broke the law by voting (American women didn't get the legal right to vote until 1920)--she was found guilty, but, purely due to being a woman, the authorities wanted to go easy on her and not send her to jail. Susan B. Anthony didn't want special treatment, she wanted to be treated equally and demanded that she be sent to jail just like any man who broke the law.
After saying the last part, Blossom says, "And that's what we're gonna do to you!" to Femme Fatale--the sisters beat her up and send her to prison, where Femme Fatale gives a very stereotypical complaint about how the prison uniform she's forced to wear makes her look fat.
When the narrator closes the episode he states that there are no chick narrators and something's thrown at him.
The moral seems to be that men and women should be treated equally, just like "Members Only,"
Characters
Main Characters
- The Powerpuff Girls ( Blossom, Buttercup and Bubbles )
- Femme Fatale
- Miss Bellum
- Ms. Keane
- Professor Utonium
Minor Characters
- The Mayor of Townsville
- Princess Morbucks (referenced only)
- Sedusa (referenced)
- Joey Finkelmeyer
Trivia
- Although it's not mentioned in the episode, American women didn't get the legal right to vote until the 19th-amendment passed in 1920.
- Femme Fatale literally means "fatal woman" in French.
- When the girls tried pointing out that there are other superheroines besides them, they could only think of Supergirl, Batgirl and Wonder Woman. Femme Fatale wouldn't count Supergirl and Batgirl, claiming, "They're so lame. Merely extensions of their male counterparts." There are, in fact, a lot of female superheroes who are not intended as direct extensions to already existing male ones.
- Femme Fatale also states that villainy, like heroism, is dominated by men, even though there are tons of female supervillains. This may be because in the series, there are only two recurring female villains. Femme Fatale herself is a one-shot villain.
- Femme Fatale points out that while Superman and Batman already have their own movies, the Powerpuff Girls themselves do not. The series, however, did eventually get its very own feature-length film in 2002.
- Additionally, one attempt at a Catwoman movie was made in 2004, and a live-action Wonder Woman movie will be released in 2017.
- It's never actually explained why Femme Fatale is a misandrist. One popular fan theory is that she was mistreated by some male figure in her life, and it caused her great emotional discomfort. Given her selfish nature, it is also likely that she simply blamed men in order to excuse her crimes.
- This is the only major appearance of Femme Fatale. After this, she's never mentioned again in the series till the last episode (The Powerpuff Girls Rule!).
- In political terms, this episode is the last episode to air during Bill Clinton's time as U.S.A. President. Bill Clinton was the President of the United States from January 20, 1993 until January 20, 2001, and "The Powerpuff Girls" was created during Bill Clinton's term as United States President.
- The $100 bill in the episode is based on the real world US $100 bill.
- The teenage girl who talks to Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup is wearing a white t-shirt with a picture of Blossom on the front of it. The teenager also bears a striking resemblance to Femme Fatale as well (just younger with either acne or freckles).
- Femme Fatale makes references to Princess Morbucks (as "that little brat") and Sedusa (as "the chick in the underwear"), two of the recurring female villains in the series.
- At the beginning of the episode the trees outside the Girls house are pink.
- The episode has met controversy, as there's been arguing over whether or not the episode sends out a positive message of feminism. Lauren Faust has even confirmed that this episode was an old shame of hers, as she wasn't sure if the episode was a good way to teach feminism to children.
- This is one of two episodes that focuses on gender discrimination (sexism). The other being Members Only.