The Powerpuff Girls' Older Sister, Bliss, Explained

The Powerpuff Girls have long been known as a trio ... but did you know about Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup's older sister, Bliss? If you've never heard of the fourth member of the crime-fighting sisterhood, that's partly because her time on the Cartoon Network tentpole was short-lived.

The story of Bliss unfolds in a five-part special titled "Power of Four," broadcast during the second season of the series' 2016 relaunch. We learn that 10 years prior to the experiment that birthed our favorite trifecta of heroines, Professor Utonium tries to make the perfect little girl using the same primary three ingredients he later uses to create the Powerpuff Girls: sugar, spice, and everything nice ... plus the mysterious Chemical W, which he adds by mistake. 

The experiment creates Bliss, who arrives with her own specific set of superpowers — telekinesis and teleportation — that differ from those of her younger sisters.

From childhood, Bliss struggles to manage her cool abilities, specifically an explosive power tied to her emotional output. In a sad twist, her unintentionally destructive nature causes her to leave Townsville to spare the Professor from having to endure her uncontrollable powers. From there, she relocates to Bird Poop Island and becomes close friends with a miniature elephant. Years later, Bliss returns to Townsville to reunite with her dad and help her sisters fight crime.

During the "Power of Four" special's final big battle, the supervillain Him pulls the planet Saturn out of alignment, intending to crash it into Earth. Once the Powerpuff Girls vanquish Him, Bliss departs on a journey across the solar system to put Saturn back in place.

Ultimately, Bliss goes the way of other characters like Bunny and Bullet the Squirrel who each had short runs helping the girls fight crime during the original 1998 series — one of Cartoon Network's best original shows. After she leaves to resolve the Saturn dilemma, Bliss has small appearances in three different episodes across the third and final season of the relaunch. Ultimately, the fan and critic reactions to Bliss were decidedly mixed, as can be expected pretty much whenever a classic show introduces a potential new regular character.