# DC Super Hero Girls

DC Super Hero Girls, also released as DC Superhero Girls, is an American animated superhero web series produced by Warner Bros. Animation for Cartoon Network based on characters from DC Entertainment that launched in the third quarter of 2015.
The DC Super Hero Girls series was later reimagined by Lauren Faust, who had previously worked on The Powerpuff Girls, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. This resulted in a full rebrand for the series, centered around an eponymous television reboot of the same name, which began airing on Cartoon Network in March 2019. The rebooted series was inspired by Faust's DC Nation Shorts entry Super Best Friends Forever from 2012, while carrying over certain themes from the earlier DC Super Hero Girls web series.

## 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 web series was announced in April 2015. Includes an graphic novel line, books from Random House, Lego tie-ins and action figures from Mattel. The intended audience is girls aged 6–12.

## Website

The website was launched in early July 2015. Characters featured at launch were: Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Supergirl, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Katana, and Bumblebee. Other characters including Hal Jordan, Barry Allen, Star Sapphire, Beast Boy, Cheetah, Hawkgirl, and Catwoman also appear. Amanda Waller is featured as the principal of the series' setting, Super Hero High. Many other DC Comics heroes and villains appear in the background as cameos.

## Publication history

DC Super Hero Girls was originally launched in 2015 with an animated web series on YouTube. Over the course of 2016, the web series was expanded with a graphic novel line, additional animated and digital content, toys, and apparel. Diane Nelson, president of both DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, stated in 2016: "We think DC Super Hero Girls can be bigger than a $1 billion brand".
A relaunch of the web series began with the 2019 DC Super Hero Girls TV series. Also that year, the DC Zoom imprint "launched with the continuation of [the] 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 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 to 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".

## Episodes

The series it was launched with a total of 112 divided into 5 seasons, Launched directly to 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 the same year as a cliffhanger.

## Cast and characters

DC Super Hero Girls has various characters inspired by the DC Universe. 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

| Voice actor | Character(s) |
| Grey Griffin | Wonder Woman Giganta Silver St. Cloud Platinum Robin |
| Anais Fairweather | Supergirl |
| Mae Whitman | Barbara Gordon/Batgirl (first voice) Speed Queen (first voice) |
| Tara Strong | Harley Quinn Poison Ivy Raven |
| Teala Dunn | Bumblebee Artemiz |
| Stephanie Sheh | Katana Bleez |
| Ashley Eckstein | Cheetah |
| Jessica DiCicco | Star Sapphire Lashina |
| Hynden Walch | Starfire Blackfire |
| Nika Futterman | Hawkgirl Cheshire |
| Danica McKellar | Frost |
| Lauren Tom | Double Dare Professor Minerva |
| Yvette Nicole Brown | Principal Waller Bumblebee's Mom |
| Greg Cipes | Beast Boy |
| Josh Keaton | Hal Jordan/Green Lantern Flash Steve Trevor |
| Maurice LaMarche | Red Tornado Oberon |
| Cristina Pucelli | Catwoman Miss Martian Amethyst Violet Lantern Ring |
| Phil LaMarr | Lucius Fox Killer Moth |
| John DiMaggio | Wildcat Gorilla Grodd Darkseid Anti-Hall Monitor |
| Tom Kenny | Crazy Quilt Commissioner James Gordon Parasite Sinestro Lobo |
| Helen Slater | Martha Kent |
| Dean Cain | Jonathan Kent |
| Tania Gunadi | Lady Shiva |
| Fred Tatasciore | Killer Croc Perry the Parademon Solomon Grundy Brainiac Ares Kryptomites Swamp Thing |
| April Stewart | Granny Goodness Stompa June Moone |
| Misty Lee | Big Barda Mad Harriet |
| Alexis Zall | Lois Lane |
| Khary Payton | Cyborg Firefly Lion-Mane |
| Julianne Grossman | Hippolyta |
| Anna Vocino | Oracle |
| Kevin Michael Richardson | Trigon King Shark Mrs. Clayface |
| Romi Dames | Lena Luthor |
| Cree Summer | Thunder |
| Kimberly Brooks | Vixen Lightning |
| Cristina Milizia | Jessica Cruz |
| Matthew Mercer | Green Lantern Ring Captain Cold |
| Erica Lindbeck | Mera Siren |
| Ashlyn Selich | Barbara Gordon/Batgirl (second voice) Speed Queen (second voice) |

## Reboot television series

In 2019, the DC Super Hero Girls was rebooted as a TV series developed by Lauren Faust, with a continuity separate from that of the previous version. Web series connected with the series began to be released online on 10 January (the first short had previously received a sneak peek screening with showings of Teen Titans Go! To the Movies), and the full series premiered on Cartoon Network on 8 March.

## Other media
### Films and specials
#### Special (2016)

| Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
| "DC Super Hero Girls: Super Hero High" | Jennifer Coyle | Shea Fontana | 19 March 2016 (2016-03-19) (Boomerang) 21 May 2016 (2016-05-21) (Boomerang UK) 30 May 2016 (2016-05-30) (Cartoon Network) |
| School is in session for DC Super Hero Girls. This is where students master their super powers to become the Super Heroes of tomorrow. When Supergirl crash lands into the cafeteria, it's evident that though she has incredible power, she has a long way to go before she becomes a Super Hero. As Supergirl learns to harness her powers, the Junior Detective Club investigates a mysterious rash of security breaches. ||||

#### Direct-to-video films (2016–2018)

| Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| "DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year" | Cecilia Aranovich | Shea Fontana | 23 August 2016 (2016-08-23) |
| "DC Super Hero Girls: Intergalactic Games" | Cecilia Aranovich | Shea Fontana | 23 May 2017 (2017-05-23) |
| "Lego DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain" | Todd Grimes | Jeremy Adams | 8 August 2017 (2017-08-08) |
| "Lego DC Super Hero Girls: Super-Villain High" | Elsa Garagarza | Jeremy Adams | 15 May 2018 (2018-5-15) |
| "DC Super Hero Girls: Legends of Atlantis" | Cecilia Aranovich Ian Hamilton | Shea Fontana | 2 October 2018 (2018-10-02) |

### Novels

Random House is publishing a series of text-only novels. 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).
| Title | ISBN | Release date |
| Wonder Woman at Super Hero High | 978-1101940594 | 1 March 2016 |
| Supergirl at Super Hero High | 978-1101940624 | 5 July 2016 |
| Batgirl at Super Hero High | 978-1101940655 | 3 January 2017 |
| Katana at Super Hero High | 978-1101940686 | 4 July 2017 |
| Harley Quinn at Super Hero High | 978-1524769239 | 2 January 2018 |
| Bumblebee at Super Hero High | 978-1524769260 | 3 July 2018 |

### Graphic novels

The DC Graphic Novels for Kids imprint published a series of graphic novels based on the series.
| Title | ISBN | Release date |
| Finals Crisis | 978-1-4012-6247-1 | 5 July 2016 |
| Hits and Myths | 978-1-4012-6761-2 | 1 November 2016 |
| Summer Olympus | 978-1-4012-7235-7 | 11 July 2017 |
| Past Times at Super Hero High | 978-1-4012-7383-5 | 26 September 2017 |
| Date with Disaster | 978-1-4012-7878-6 | 31 January 2018 |
| Out of the Bottle | 978-1-4012-7483-2 | 7 August 2018 |
| Search for Atlantis | 978-1-4012-8353-7 | 26 September 2018 |
| Spaced Out | 978-1-4012-8256-1 | 4 June 2019 |

### 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 style mini-dolls figures rather than traditional Lego minifigure, a design aimed at feminine markets.