The Rowdyruff Boys

File:RRB oldlook.jpg

The RRB as they first appeared.

The Rowdyruff Boys are evil male counterparts to The Powerpuff Girls introduced in the 12th episode of the first season of the PPGs show. They were created by Mojo Jojo and destroyed in that same episode, but were eventually resurrected by Him in another episode. The Powerpuff Girls each used a single kiss to cause the boys to explode. They are extremely violent and confrontational, often fighting one another with very little provocation at all.

Creation

In the beginning of the Rowdyruff Boys' self-titled debut episode, Mojo Jojo created them during a stay in prison. Desperate to find a way to create a power equal to the Powerpuff Girls, Mojo Jojo placed an anonymous phone call to Professor Utonium, who was all too willing to tell "the stranger on the phone from Townsville Community College" his recipe for the girls' creation (despite the fact that Mojo already knew the recipe, having gained his super-intelligence from the same accident that created the Girls).

Finding the ingredients of sugar, spice, and everything nice "too girly" for his needs, Mojo Jojo made a few variations on the recipe with everything he needed available in prison: snips (armpit hair ), snails (escargot from the prison cafeteria), puppy dog tails (pulled from the Talking Dog), and prison toilet water (the only substance potent enough to substitute for the final ingredient, Chemical X). The Rowdyruff Boys were created that very night under the light of the crescent moon.

When the Powerpuffs and Rowdyruffs first met, they practically trashed all of Townsville in the ensuing fight, which ultimately concluded with the Rowdyruffs leaving the girls bruised, broken, and beaten. As the girls recovered, Miss Bellum suggested a different way of fighting the boys as they were superior in combat. Taking her suggestion to heart, the Powerpuffs managed to find the Rowdyruffs and ultimately destroyed them with a single kiss, which triggered an explosive reaction between the Rowdyruff Boys and every boy's greatest fear...cooties.

The Rowdyruff Boys are:

• Boomer: blond-haired, blue-eyed, dressed in blue (voiced by Rob Paulsen)
• Brick: red-haired, red-eyed, dressed in red with a cap (also voiced by Rob Paulsen)
• Butch: black-haired, green-eyed, dressed in green (voiced by Roger L. Jackson)

File:RRB newlook.jpg

The RRB the way they look now.

Later appearances

The Rowdyruff Boys made a reappearance a few years later with the Boys are Back in Town episode, partially due to the requests by some fans. The character Him brought them back to life and added an anti-cootie vaccination to prevent the girls' kisses from having the prior deadly effect. They have different hairstyles and slightly different personalities (sexism, male chauvinism, and misogyny to some) from their first incarnation, which have not yet been fully explained.

In another episode, titled Custody Battle, Mojo Jojo and Him have a major argument as they debate over who the Rowdyruffs should follow. The boys ultimately break up the fight by proclaiming that they live only to destroy the Powerpuff Girls

They also appear in an episode where the girls have flashbacks to various things that never actually happened in the series, including visiting the future and seeing their teenaged selves. The Rowdyruffs are also teenagers in this, and despite seeming to still be "bad boys", have calmed down and become more slacker-ish about it, and are only about as evil as the average teenage boy (on which opinions may vary). Butch even drives an Escalade, which the ditzy teenaged Powerpuffs confuse with an escalator. Despite this, the boys seem to have a crush on their girl counterparts, and vice versa.

Currently, the Boys are now starring in new stories written for the Cartoon Network Action Pack! comic book.

Personalities

When they were first introduced, the personality of the Rowdyruff Boys were very similar as their only goal was to defeat the Powerpuff Girls and cause havoc. When they were revived by Him, their personalities began to differ, although they still strive to have fun while causing havoc as well as defeat the Powerpuff Girls.

Just like Blossom, Brick has taken liberty of being the leader of the Rowdyruff Boys. When they were introduced, Brick did most of the talking. When they were revived, Brick became much more bossy. He will always have the final say in anything the Rowdyruff Boys do. This also contributed to his arrogant nature as he sees himself as the smartest out of the boys and he usually gloats.

Boomer, like Bubbles, is often picked on by the other two due to his stupidity (though Brick and Butch are almost as stupid). Sometimes Boomer will try to make a comment only to be rebuked by Brick or other characters. He is also subjected to a lot of dares and orders by Brick. He is said to have the best aim out of the three boys as this is mentioned by Brick after Bubbles, disguised as Boomer, tries to spit down a plane only to hit Butch in Bubble Boy.

While all three boys love to cause havoc, Butch seems to enjoy it the most. Often, he'll be twitching just to get out and do anything destructive. In the Boys are Back in Town he is seen acting like a dog whenever Brick announces a game.

Weaknesses

The one big difference between the Powerpuff Girls and the Rowdyruff Boys are their weaknesses. Though the Powerpuff Girls have been defeated before, they don't have any glaring weaknesses. The Rowdyruff Boys, on the other hand, have big weaknesses that have been exploited several times by the Powerpuff Girls.

• Girl Kisses/Cooties-While they have superpowers, they are still boys and most little boys fear girly kisses due to cooties. This is no different with the Rowdyruff Boys and is actually the reason why they are defeated in the first place. After the Powerpuff Girls regain consciousness after their defeat at the hands of the Rowdyruff Boys, Ms. Bellum tells them that there is one thing all boys hate, hinting at their weakness. Heeding Ms. Bellum's advice, the Girls land a kiss on the boys, causing them to explode. Ever since their revival in the Boys are Back in Town, they have become immune to girly kisses thanks to Him's anti-cootie vaccination. Alongside the vaccination, whenever they are kissed, they grow in size and power. It is unknown if this effect is ongoing.

• Threatening of Masculinity-While it didn't have the same effect as the kisses did, it was undoubtedly another big weakness for the Rowdyruff Boys. Due to their enormous size and immunity to their previous weakness, they were nearly unstoppable. However, after Buttercup forces Butch to bite his tongue, Butch begins to cry and shrink. Blossom then realizes that whenever their masculinity is threatened, they will shrink. With that, the girls all go and emasculate the boys by pulling down their pants to treating them like babies. It is unknown if this weakness still exists.

• Uncontrollable Destruction-Not as threatening as the other two weaknesses, but the Boys' love of destruction is used against them by the Powerpuff Girls. In Boy Toys, after making an agreement with Princess, the Girls use their vehicles to defeat the Rowdyruff Boys. The Boys, however, notice how much destruction the vehicles create and soon take control of each vehicle. However, it became their undoing as their love for destruction caused them to fire their weapons at each other, resulting in an explosion. Although the explosion did nothing, they enjoyed playing with the vehicles so much that their own laughter subdued them.

File:RowdyruffBoysZ.jpg

The Rowdyruff Boys as they appear in the Powerpuff Girls Z anime

Powerpuff Girls Z

It is confirmed they are in the anime version of the show where they resemble a street gang. Their uniforms are black windbreakers lined with their trademark colors. They also have some sort of skate shoes that increase their speed. And when they are introduced they dance as if in a rap video.

Like the original Rowdyruff Boys, they were created by Mojo Jojo after breaking into the Professor's lab and stealing Professor Utonium canister of Chemical Z. They were created from Momoko's curly straw, Miyako's used cotton swab, Kaoru's smelly sweat sock, and 11 snips of Mojo's hair combined with Chemical Z. The Rowdyruff Boys love to disgust and annoy the Powerpuff Girls Z, who they refer to as old hags, as well as the citizens of Tokyo City. They have no respect for anyone, including Mojo Jojo who they refer to as Mama. The boys, like the girls, have weapons. Brick uses a spitball straw (Blossom's curly straw), Boomer uses an earwax qtip (Bubbles' used cotton swab), and Butch uses a smelly sock as some sort of boomerang (Buttercup's smelly sweat sock). They love pulling pranks on innocent people.

Relationship with the girls

As villains, the boys obviously have a negative relationship with the girls. This may not be true the other way. As in the episode The Boys Are Back In Town, when Blossom tells the girls to 'give them some sugar', Bubbles replies, "I want the blond! I think he's cute!" In City of Clipsville the teenage version of the girls seem to be attracted to the boys and vice versa, but how this turns out is unknown.

In the Powerpuff Girls Z series, the boys have absolutely no respect for the Powerpuff Girls Z. Not only do they humiliate and gross them out, they call the girls old hags. In return, the girls hate the boys.

Trivia

• The Rowdyruff Boys are based on the Nursery rhyme entitled "What are Little Boys Made of?"

External links

• RowdyRuff.net (fan site)