Janet Perlstein

**Janet Perlstein** is Arnold's (known) cousin and a recurring character in *The Magic School Bus Rides Again*. She is voiced by Annelise Forbes.

In *Hero Sluggers*, she becomes one of the members of the Hero Sluggers team in service of the Grand Army of the Federation of Universal Sustenance to fight against both crime and evil, along with Ms. Frizzle's class (except for Phoebe) and Mikey Ramon.

Also, it was revealed that she was Arnold's three cousins.

## Biographical Description

* **Full Name**: Janet Karen Perlstein
* **Nickname**: Bossy Redhead
* **Age**: 10
* **Hometown**: Walkerville
* **Gender**: Female
* **Species**: Human
* **Martial Arts**: Karate, taekwondo, Krav Maga, Jujutsu, Brazilian jiu-jutsu, aikido, boxing, mixed martial arts, judo, muay Thai, kickboxing, Wing Chun, hapkido, capoeira, Jeet Kune Do, iaido, arnis, savate, kajukenbo, catch wrestling, ssireum, fencing, stick-fighting and inbuan wrestling
* **Aura Animals**: African bush elephant, Masai giraffe, black-tailed prairie dog, New Zealand fur seal, southern elephant seal, Steller sea lion, walrus, grey seal, gemsbok, meerkat, yellow mongoose, slender mongoose and Indian gray mongoose
* **Superpowers**: Shapeshifting, atomic manipulation, telepathy, substance mimicry, healing factor, magnetic manipulation, fire control, electricity control, illusion, merging, scrying, intangibility, phasing, levitation, acid control, superhuman hearing, time control, 360-degree vision, enhanced acrobatics, power disabling, antimatter manipulation, voice manipulation, musical empathy, mass manipulation, dust generation, elasticity, superhuman strength, superhuman speed and telekinesis
* **Tricks**: Jump tumble
* **Catchphrase**: "Slap the enemy, for I'm Janet Perlstein!"
* **Franchise of Origin**: *The Magic School Bus Rides Again* (Netflix)

## Background

Janet is Arnold's abrasive, stubborn, arrogant, know-it-all yet lovely cousin who tends to brag about how she can be better at anything. She most often tries to sabotage the class in some way to gain something for herself. She initially appeared in the book *The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System*, where it was stated that she went to another school. In the the 1994 TV series, she visits from another class at the same school. She is considered by many to be the worst character in the series because of her rude personality and awful hair and glasses.

## Appearance

Janet has curly orange hair, much like her cousin Arnold. She also wears attire similar to his and the same colors, except with short sleeves, and a skirt. She has the letter J on the front of her shirt. Her glasses are pink with oval frames. She wears yellow and white striped socks and blue Mary Janes. Her signature colours are blue and yellow like her cousin.

In the computer games, her only appearance was *The Magic School Bus Explores the Solar System*, and her hair is blonde and her glasses appear about the same style but in red.

In *Works Out*, she wore a golden yellow hooded jumper with the letter J in blue, golden yellow trousers, and red and white sneakers.

In *Gets Swamped*, when she agreed to go with Valerie's class, she wore a yellow rain hat, a blue rain coat with the letter J in yellow, and yellow gumboots.

In the new series, Janet's hair is longer and straight. Her glasses are now more square-shaped like her cousin's, and her yellow and white striped shirt is replaced with a fully green shirt, she retains her skirt to which she sometimes wears black shorts underneath, and brown ballet flats. She now has freckles.

In *Hero Sluggers*, she wears a new Hero Slugger outfit, which consists of a green one-strapped sports bra with yellow trims, a blue boxing skirt (with a white elasitc waistband and bliack cycling shorts underneath), red socks and brown boxing shoes while keeping her glasses as well. She will be wearing a green mouthguard, a green-and-yellow wristwatch and a pair of green-and-yelllow fingerless MMA gloves when in combat, and in case of harsh weather conditions, a lavender-and-indigo boxing robe.

## Bio

Janet has one brother, Jacob and one sister, Jane.

## Family

* Albert, Amaya, Andy, Annie, Arnold, Arthur, Asher and Austin Perlstein (cousins)
* Jacob Perlstein (younger brother, born 10/12/2005)
* Jane Perlstein (baby sister, born 07/14/2021)

* Mr. Perlstein (Janet's father) (father)
* Mr. Perlstein (uncle)
* Mrs. Perlstein (aunt)
* Mrs. Perlstein (Janet's mother) (mother)
* Arizona Joan Perlstein (great-aunt-in-law)
* Jean and Judith Perlstein (aunts-in-law)
* Alex, James and Stephen Perlstein (uncles-in-law)
* Grandma Perlstein (niece-in-law)
* Grandpa Perlstein (nephew-in-law)

## Appearance

### Season One

Janet's first appearance is in "Gets Lost in Space." She starts off as an insufferable know-it-all who constantly brags and redeems herself in the end when Arnold freezes himself to show what would happen if she stayed on Pluto. This is her only appearance in season one of *The Magic School Bus*.

### Season Two

When she returns in "Butterfly and the Bog Beast," she's back to her old manipulative self, but she's more despicable than before. She successfully turns the class against Phoebe when she points out they're playing her old school in soccer that afternoon, but at the end, she sees the error of her ways. This is her only appearance on season two of *The Magic School Bus*.

### Season Three

Despite redeeming herself in "Butterfly and the Bog Beast," Janet is back to her former self in "Gets a Bright Idea," where she uses Arnold to trick the class in order to prove that a magic show would have been a better class trip than a light show. Arnold isn't too happy when he realizes she was using him for her own personal gain, but he seems to forgive her at the end, laughing off the whole thing. In "Works Out," she has no moment of redemption, though Mr. Sinew, who she was supporting in the Teacher Triathlon, congratulates Ms. Frizzle for winning. She has a brief appearance in "Goes Upstream," her last appearance in season three of *The Magic School Bus*.

### Season Four

Janet's next major role isn't until "Gets Swamped," when she's debating Carlos on whether or not a new mall should be built on the wetlands. If not for the flood, she would have been successful in getting the town to vote yes on the mall. She has another brief appearance in "Sees Stars," Arnold showing embarrassment when he sees that she's the one who buys the star the class wanted to get Dorothy Ann for her birthday. In "Makes a Stink," she deliberately sabotages the class when they make a fantastic smell for the scent competition. Like in "Works Out," she doesn't have a moment of redemption.

## Apperances

### Season 2

* Going Batty (Indirectly mentioned)
* Butterfly and the Bog Beast
* Out of This World (mentioned)

### Season 3

* Gets a Bright Idea
* Goes Upstream
* Works Out

### Season 4

* Gets Swamped
* Goes Cellular (mentioned)
* Sees Stars.
* Gains Weight (mentioned)

### Season 5

* Meet the Class (mentioned)
* Frizzle of the Future (mentioned)
* Pigs in the Wind
* The Magnetic Mambo (indirectly mentioned)
* Space Mission: Selfie (Indirectly mentioned)
* Ralphie Strikes a Nerve

### Season 6

* I Spy with My Animal Eyes (Indirectly mentioned)
* The Good, the Bad, and the Gnocchi (mentioned)
* Janet's Mystery Gene
* Making Magic (Indirectly mentioned)

### Season 7

* Kids in Space (mentioned)
* The Frizz Connection (mentioned)

## Trivia

* Her favorite color is blue.
* She is 10 years old.
* She is 11 years old.