

"Equal Fights" is episode 12B of The Powerpuff Girls. It aired on January 5, 2001.

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Synopsis

A blonde 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 the girls are at school, they receive a call from the Mayor saying that the bank's being robbed, and so 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 refuses, angrily telling him to go do it himself and hangs up. Ms. Bellum calls them and asks the girls to meet her in the Mayor's office where they are confronted by both 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 did it by accident and was only playing with her. The two also get the girls to realize that Utonium only asked for them to clean their bedroom while he did all the other chores and that the mayor couldn't save the city because he doesn't have superpowers.

While the girls realize that they overreacted, they still point out that Femme Fatale's the only real female villain in town, and Mrs. Bellum tells the Girls that they didn't stop her, which Buttercup justifies by saying that all girls have to look out for each other, only for a voice to go "Oh really?" and three other women come forward: a female bank teller whose bank Femme Fatale stole Susan B. Anthony coins from, a policewoman whose arm Femme Fatale broke and a teenage girl whose hairstyle Femme Fatale apparently copied. The three women ask the girls if Femme Fatale was looking out for them when she did these particular things to them. The intervention helps the girls realize that not only did they overreact, but that Femme Fatale is a hypocrite, thus revealing that everything she said was only a ruse so she could continue her crime spree unopposed.

At a coin convention, Femme Fatale is confronted by Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, who question her if she even knows who Susan B. Anthony was. When it becomes apparent that she doesn't, the girls decide to tell Femme Fatale the real story of her:

For a very long time, women weren't allowed to do much of anything, which Susan B. Anthony knew was wrong--in 1872, she had broken the law by voting in the Presidential Election, which American women didn't have the right for until August 18th, 1920. While Anthony was found guilty of what she did, the authorities wanted to show her leniency because she was a woman. But she didn't want any kind of special treatment, she wanted to be treated equally and demanded that she be sent to prison just like any man who had broken the law.

After saying that last part, Blossom says, "And that's exactly what we're gonna do to you!" The sisters beat Femme Fatale up and send her to prison, where she gives a very stereotypical complaint about how the uniform makes her look (she claims that horizontal stripes make her look fat).

When the narrator closes the episode, he states that there are no chick narrators and something was thrown at him.

Characters

Main

Minor

Trivia

There are two morals derived from this episode: 1.) Feminism is ultimately about gender equality and not necessarily women getting special treatment and/or being superior to/sexist towards men. 2.) Like in Members Only , men and women should be treated equally and given equal opportunities for the same things.

While Femme Fatale raises a good point in that female superheroes tend to be less popular or revered than male ones and that several heroines like Supergirl and Batgirl are extensions of their male counterparts, there are actually plenty of female superheroes besides Wonder Woman who were not created as gender-flipped versions of male ones. Femme Fatale also points out how villainy is similarly dominated by men like heroism is, even though there are actually tons of female supervillains. This may be because, in the show, only two recurring villains are female; all of the other female villains are one-shots. Femme Fatale points out that while Superman and Batman already have their own movies, the Powerpuff Girls themselves do not. The series eventually got its very own feature-length film in 2002. Additionally, a Wonder Woman movie was released in 2017.

It is never actually explained why Femme Fatale is a misandrist. There have been several fan theories, such as being a victim of misogyny, but her hypocritical behavior complicates the aforementioned idea.

Femme Fatale is a misandrist. There have been several fan theories, such as being a victim of misogyny, but her hypocritical behavior complicates the aforementioned idea. Femme Fatale is never mentioned or seen again in the series until the last episode ( The Powerpuff Girls Rule!!! ).

). In political terms, this episode is the last episode to air during Bill Clinton's time as the 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).

At the beginning of the episode, the trees outside the Girls house are pink.

The episode has met with 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 was not sure if the episode was a good way to teach feminism to children.

This is one of two episodes that focus on gender discrimination (sexism). The other being "Members Only"

At the end of the episode, the narrator says to notice how there are no female narrators and gets something thrown at him, there are actually plenty of different female narrators in different media including film, TV and so on.

While Blossom taking to The Mayor on the hotline telling him to save the city himself. The Mayor did tries to saves Townsville himself in an earlier episode, Hot Air Buffoon to be also its local hero and protector as well, instead of The Powerpuff Girls with a hot air balloon called The Dirigible and an extending punching glove called The Equalizer.