For a while now, Cartoon Network has been trying to find some new shows that will match the popularity of some of the more trendsetting titles from the past.Adventure Time,Regular Show,andSteven Universewill always have a place in the channel’s history as being fantastic animated journeys that both children and adults find comforting and relatable. On the other hand, nostalgic fans from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s will point to a different batch of shows that they feel epitomize the channel’s best attributes.Dexter’s Laboratory,Ed, Edd n Eddy,andCourage The Cowardly Dogare some of the most acclaimed series from that time period that are even talked about today. Let’s not forget about the all important classics,Samurai JackandThe Powerpuff Girls.
The first show is about a silent and gritty swordsman from Feudal Japan who is thrown into a devastating future by a shape-shifting demon, and the other is about three brightly colored young girls named Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup who were created with the ingredients of sugar, spice, and everything nice. At first glance, they sound like total opposites. But over the years, fans have noticed a whole host of details that connect these two shows in ways that explode the imagination but also ask if a much bigger story might be taking place.
Let’s take a look into these two different universes that came from Cartoon Network and see if they are possibly intertwined into the same branch of animated storytelling. Is the Powerpuff Girl’s father — Professor Utonium — a descendant of Samurai Jack? Is Mojo Jojo a reincarnated form of Aku? Let’s find out.
Dystopian Future Meets An Adorable Reality
Samurai Jack
The easiest detail that helps bring these two animated series closer together is Genndy Tartakovsky. He is a Russian-American animator who wrote, directed, and drew storyboards forSamurai Jackas well as forThe Powerpuff Girlsfor the first four seasons. While an individual working on two shows at the same time isn’t proof enough of a connection between said shows, a single image in both shows visually gives more credence to the theory.
In the second episode ofSamurai Jack,the lead characterwalks through the remains of a barren city (that eerily resembles thePowerpuff Girl’sTownsville). In the background, the remnants of a billboard can be seen that is selling dog food with the help of a larger-than-life talking dog. This same billboard is at the top of a building during the season one finale ofThe Powerpuff Girls. While the presence of talking dogs is still very much a spectacle inThe Powerpuff Girls, they become a normal occurrence inSamurai Jack(which would follow the hypothetical timeline ofSamurai Jacktaking place afterthe Powerpuff Girls).
Both Heroes and Villains Have Similar Traits
The Powerpuff Girls
Another significant piece of the puzzle is the similarities between the two leading men. Cartoon Network fans are quick to point out that Professor Utonium (the fictional father-creator of the Powerpuff Girls) looks very similar to Samurai Jack. For example, the black and white color scheme of their clothing, their broad shoulders, and pale skin. The easy explanation that follows the billboard timeline is that after the Powerpuff Girls were destroyed by Aku, Utonium turned into a very angry but mute swordsman,vowing revengeon those who killed his daughters. Since that doesn’t fit into the time-traveling story aspect, Utonium could very well be a distant relative of Jack who looks strikingly similar.
Related:Best Samurai Jack Episodes, Ranked
Similarly, the antagonists of the two shows also bare interesting similarities. As described in the fourteenth episode ofPowerpuff Girls, Mojo Jojo was a normal monkey loved by Professor Utonium before coming into contact with a black mutagenic substance called Chemical X in his lab. Once infected, Jojo begins to show the same green and black coloration as Aku fromSamurai Jack(along with the accent). You can see an even more visible kindling when the evil monkey obtains more of Chemical X inThe Powerpuff Girlsmovie and grows into an enormous size with razor-edge teeth.
Combining these two sequences with the fact thatthe main antagonist ofSamurai Jackoriginated from a black, tarry-like mass, fans in unison equate Chemical X to the physical crux of Aku. How a small sample of the demon’s essence ended up in Professor Utonium’s hands is a matter of interpretation.
A Comic Book Crossover Becomes The Key?
With all the talk centering on what-ifs, one small detail regarding the connection betweenSamurai JackandThe Powerpuff Girlsthat has been made canon is that the two universes are implied alternate versions of the other. In the first issue of an IDW comic book, Dexter (fromDexter’s Laboratory) explicitly says toProfessor Utonium and his three daughtersthat Jack’s world is one of many that connect the multiverse (the others being numerousold-school cartoonslikeCow & ChickenandJohnny Bravo). This introduces multiversal relations and the possibility of further lore down the line — in one medium at least.Related:21 Cartoon Network Shows You Should Rewatch as an Adult
In aRedditAsk Me Anything thread, Tartakovsky did deny that the two cartoon shows are set in the same universe. He never responded as to why the same billboard was used or why similar character designs were placed on both theprotagonists and antagoniststhough. The origins of Chemical X are still a secret as well. With some questions seemingly never being answered, the mysterious relationship betweenThe Powerpuff GirlsandSamurai Jackwill remain strong for a very, very long time.
