''DC Super Hero Girls'' or ''DC Superhero Girls'' (in various countries) is an American superhero web series and franchise Produced by

Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a flagship of Warner Bros. Discovery. As the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons, which was active from 19 ...

for Cartoon Network based on characters from DC Entertainment that launched in the third quarter of 2015. In 2017, DC revealed that the ''DC Super Hero Girls'' line would be reimagined by

Lauren Faust Lauren J. Faust (born July 25, 1974) is an American animator, writer, voice director, and storyboard artist, best known as the creator of the animated series '' My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic''. Faust has collaborated with her husband Craig ...

, who had previously worked on ''

The Powerpuff Girls ''The Powerpuff Girls'' is an American superhero animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera (later Cartoon Network Studios) for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Telev ...

'', ''

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends ''Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends'' (also known as ''Foster's Home'', or simply ''Foster's'' for short) is an American animated television series created by Craig McCracken for Cartoon Network. It was produced by Cartoon Network Studios as ...

'', and '' My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic''. This resulted in a full rebrand for the franchise which happened in January 2019, centralized around an eponymous television reboot of the same name, which began airing on Cartoon Network in March 2019. The rebooted series was heavily inspired by Faust's ''

DC Nation Shorts ''DC Nation Shorts'' are animated shorts featuring characters from DC Comics that aired in a series on Cartoon Network on Saturdays at 10/9c. Production On March 3, 2012, the shorts premiered as part of the ''DC Nation'' block, produced by Warn ...

'' entry ''Super Best Friends Forever'' from 2012, while carrying over certain themes from the earlier ''DC Super Hero Girls'' web show.

Overview

Premise

At Super Hero High School, well-known DC heroes, both male and female, attend challenging classes and deal with all the awkwardness of growing up with the added stress of having unique superpowers.

Announcement

The multipronged franchise was announced in April 2015. The announced range included an animated web series, a graphic novel line, books from

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

, Lego tie-ins and action figures from

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

. The intended audience is girls aged 6–12.

Website

The website was launched in early July 2015. Characters featured at launch were:

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

, Batgirl,

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as a comic relief henchwoman for the supervillain Joker in '' Batman: The Animated Series'', and debuted in i ...

, Poison Ivy,

Katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the '' tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge f ...

, and

Bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related genera ...

. Other characters including Hal Jordan, Barry Allen, Star Sapphire,

Beast Boy Garfield Mark Logan, better known as Beast Boy, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He has also gone under the alias Changeling. Created by writer Arnold Drake and artist Bob Brown, he is a shapeshifter who po ...

Cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

Hawkgirl Hawkgirl is the name of several superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original Hawkgirl, Shiera Sanders Hall, was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, and first appeared in ''Flash Comics' ...

and

Catwoman Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she is ...

also appear.

Amanda Waller Amanda Blake Waller (née White), also known as "the Wall", is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''Legends'' #1 in 1986 and was created by John Ostrander, Len Wein, and ...

is featured as the principal of the series' setting Super Hero High. Many other

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

Heroes and Villains appear in the background as cameos.

Publication history

''DC Super Hero Girls'' was originally launched in 2015 with an animated web short on YouTube. Over the course of 2016, the franchise was expanded with a graphic novel line, additional animated and digital content, toys, and apparel.

Diane Nelson Diane Dezura (born July 1, 1958 in Burnaby, British Columbia as Diane Nelson) is a Canadian retired curler and Olympic medalist. As Diane Nelson, she played lead on for the Kelley Law rink in the early 2000s, one of the best teams in the world ...

, president of both DC Entertainment and

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE; also known as Warner Bros. Games or WB Games) is an American video game publisher based in Burbank, California, and part of the newly-formed Global Streaming and Interactive Entertainment unit of ...

, stated in 2016: "We think DC Super Hero Girls can be bigger than a $1 billion brand". A relaunch of the franchise was announced in 2017; the relaunch began with the 2019 ''DC Super Hero Girls'' TV series. Also in 2019, the DC Zoom imprint "launched with the continuation of he''DC Super Hero Girls''" graphic novel line. The DC Ink and DC Zoom imprints were built off both the creative success of the post-

New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new series ...

DCYou program, which "employed younger creators than the New 52 titles, with the titles having a more contemporary feel", and "the financial success of the ''DC Super Hero Girls'' property". Dan DiDio, DC's co-publisher from 2010-2020, explained that "a lot of that had also to do with our interest in getting the young adult marketplace. That was DC testing the waters and wondering what a young adult book would be from DC Comics".

Cast and characters

''DC Super Hero Girls'' has various characters inspired by the

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...

. Certain characters are voiced by actors who have performed as the same characters previously. The characters listed below are listed on the franchise's website:

Voice cast

Media

Web series

The ''DC Super Hero Girls'' has a series of animated shorts on YouTube and their site centered on the young heroes and villains attending Super Hero High. The first season premiered on 1 October 2015. The second season premiered on 21 April 2016. The third season premiered on 26 January 2017, while the fourth season premiered on 18 January 2018. The fifth and final season premiered on 2 August 2018 and ended on 27 December 2018 as a cliffhanger.

Television series

In 2019, the ''DC Super Hero Girls'' franchise was rebooted as a TV series developed by

, with a continuity separate from that of the previous version of the franchise. Shorts connected with the series began to be released online on 10 January 2019 (the first short had previously received a sneak peek screening with showings of ''

Teen Titans Go! To the Movies ''Teen Titans Go! To the Movies'' is a 2018 American animated superhero comedy film based on the television series ''Teen Titans Go!'', which is based on the DC Comics superhero team of the same name. This film is directed by Peter Rida Mi ...

''), and the full series premiered on Cartoon Network on 8 March 2019.

Films and specials

Special (2016)

Direct-to-video films (2016–2018)

Novels

is publishing a series of text-only novels.

Original series

Lisa Yee wrote every novel for the original series which each focus primarily on one character's experiences as a student at Super Hero High. American "big box" retailer Target has released special editions of the Wonder Woman and Batgirl novels that include additional materials (character profiles and posters).

Rebooted series

The novels for the rebooted series are written by Erica David.

Graphic novels

The DC Graphic Novels for Kids imprint is publishing a series of graphic novels.

Original series

=Rebooted series

Toys

From 2016 to 2018, Lego featured a product line using ''DC Super Hero Girls'' logo. 12 Lego sets were distributed. These sets used

Lego Friends Lego Friends is a product range of Lego construction toys designed primarily for girls. Launched in 2012, the theme introduced "mini-doll" figures, which are about the same size as traditional Lego minifigures but are more detailed and realist ...

style mini-dolls figures rather than traditional

Lego minifigure A Lego minifigure, commonly referred to as a minifig, is a small plastic articulated figurine produced by Danish toy manufacturer The Lego Group. They were first produced in 1978 and have been a success, with over 4 billion produced worldwide as ...

, a design aimed at feminine market.

Video games

References

External links

*
DC launches female centric universe
–

The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts. The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media ...

DC Unveils New Interactive Look at Its Promising "Super Hero Girls" Line
–

The Mary Sue Daniel Abrams (born May 20, 1966) is an American media entrepreneur, television host, legal commentator, and author. He is currently the host of the prime-time show ''Dan Abrams Live'' on NewsNation, ''On Patrol: Live'' on Reelz and ''The Dan Ab ...

* {{Superhero toy lines 2015 web series debuts 2010s American animated television series 2010s American high school television series American animated web series American children's animated action television series American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated comedy television series American children's animated drama television series American children's animated superhero television series Superhero web series DC Comics action figure lines Fashion dolls DC Comics animation DC Comics franchises Animated television series about teenagers Television series by Warner Bros. Animation Mass media franchises introduced in 2015 Mattel Lego themes Child versions of cartoon characters DC Comics superheroes DC Comics characters DC Comics supervillains Superhero schools