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DC Super Hero Girls - #EmperorPenguin (S1E40)
When Barbara Gordon attempts to do something nice for a friend, she ends up in the clutches of The Penguin, a high school mob boss who blackmails her into an increasingly desperate situation from which only Batgirl can save her. The episode was released on streaming services on April 16, 2020.
| Runtime (min) | 11 |
|---|---|
| Air Date | 2020-04-19 |
| Genres | Animation, Action & Adventure, Family, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Kids, Comedy |
| TV Rating | TV-PG |
| Network(s) | Cartoon Network |
Storyline
Barbara Gordon tries to do something thoughtful for a friend, but her good intentions take an unexpected turn when she becomes entangled with The Penguin, a student who operates as a high school mob boss. The Penguin uses blackmail to force Barbara into increasingly difficult and compromising situations, trapping her in a web of escalating demands that she cannot escape on her own.
As the pressure mounts and Barbara's predicament worsens, she must turn to her superhero alter ego, Batgirl, to break free from The Penguin's control. The episode explores the tension between Barbara's civilian identity and her crime-fighting persona, showing how her dual life creates both vulnerabilities and solutions. Through Batgirl's intervention, Barbara confronts the consequences of her choices and finds a way to outsmart the scheming mob boss who has been exploiting her kindness.
What kids learn
This episode teaches children about the dangers of allowing themselves to be manipulated or blackmailed, even when the situation starts from good intentions. Barbara's experience demonstrates how small compromises can snowball into serious problems when someone with bad intentions exploits kindness or mistakes. Young viewers learn the importance of seeking help from trusted allies when facing pressure or threats, rather than trying to handle everything alone out of fear or embarrassment.
The story also reinforces themes of personal accountability and resourcefulness. Barbara must acknowledge her misstep while also recognizing that she has the strength and skills to resolve the crisis. Children see that making a mistake doesn't define you, but how you respond to it does. The episode shows that standing up to bullies and manipulators requires both courage and strategy.
Additionally, the dual-identity aspect highlights how different parts of ourselves can work together to solve problems. Barbara's intelligence as a student and her abilities as Batgirl both play roles in her escape, teaching kids that their various strengths and identities are all valuable resources they can draw upon when facing challenges.
Parents' top 5 questions
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| How is blackmail portrayed in this episode, and is it age-appropriate? | The blackmail is presented within the context of a high school setting and superhero adventure, keeping the tone consistent with the show's animated style. The Penguin's threats escalate Barbara's predicament but remain within the bounds of typical cartoon conflict. The episode uses the situation as a teaching moment about manipulation and standing up to bullies, making it suitable for the show's target audience while providing an opportunity to discuss these serious topics in an accessible way. |
| What does this episode teach about handling peer pressure? | Barbara's journey illustrates how peer pressure and manipulation can trap someone in increasingly difficult situations when they try to handle everything alone. The episode emphasizes that seeking help from trusted friends and allies is a sign of strength, not weakness. Children learn that it's important to speak up when someone is pressuring them to do things they're uncomfortable with, and that the sooner they reach out for support, the easier it is to resolve the problem. |
| Is The Penguin portrayed as a frightening villain for younger viewers? | The Penguin in this series is reimagined as a high school mob boss rather than a traditional scary villain, fitting the show's lighthearted superhero tone. The character operates through schemes and manipulation rather than violence or terror, making the conflict more about outsmarting a bully than facing physical danger. The eleven-minute runtime and animated style keep the tension manageable for the show's elementary and middle-school audience. |
| How does Barbara's dual identity play into the story? | The episode explores the unique challenges of maintaining a secret identity when Barbara's civilian life creates problems that only her superhero persona can solve. This creates an interesting dynamic where Barbara must figure out how to use her Batgirl abilities without revealing her secret. The story shows children how different aspects of our lives and personalities can complement each other, and that the skills we develop in one area can help us in unexpected ways elsewhere. |
| What conversation starters does this episode provide? | Parents can use this episode to discuss what children should do if someone tries to blackmail or manipulate them, emphasizing that they should always tell a trusted adult. The story also opens conversations about the difference between keeping harmless secrets and keeping quiet about something that makes you uncomfortable or scared. Additionally, Barbara's initial good intentions gone wrong provide a chance to talk about how we can help friends without putting ourselves in vulnerable positions, and the importance of setting boundaries even when trying to be kind. |
Writing
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Directing
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| Season # | Episode # | Episode Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | When six ordinary girls meet and discover that they each have extraordinary powers, they decide to join forces to take on one of Metropolis's most sinister villains. |
| 1 | 2 | When six ordinary girls meet and discover that they each have extraordinary powers, they decide to join forces to take on one of Metropolis's most sinister villains. |
| 1 | 3 | When six ordinary girls meet and discover that they each have extraordinary powers, they decide to join forces to take on one of Metropolis's most sinister villains. |
| 1 | 4 | When six ordinary girls meet and discover that they each have extraordinary powers, they decide to join forces to take on one of Metropolis's most sinister villains. |
| 1 | 5 | Zee asks Kara to look after her two magical bunnies, which quickly start to multiply to unmanageable numbers, wreaking havoc all across Metropolis. |
| 1 | 6 | Hal's ex-girlfriend Star Sapphire shows up at a Metropolis High football game and attacks him. Jessica tries to control the situation with nonviolent tactics. The episode was released on cable Video On Demand on March 17, 2019. |
| 1 | 7 | Babs is at her job at the Burrito Bucket fast food restaurant. A bank robbery breaks out across the street, and Babs tries to thwart the bank robbery while following the instructions of her boss Shane O'Shaughnessy. The episode was released on cable Video On Demand on March 24, 2017. |
| 1 | 8 | Barbi is envious of Diana who keeps upstaging her. She uses a cheetah statuette from her dad's collection to place a curse on Diana. |
| 1 | 9 | Karen stumbles across a villainous plot led by Harley Quinn to blow up a bridge. |
| 1 | 10 | Kara deals with not getting her equal share of the credit for rescuing the people of Metropolis, while her cousin Superman gets all the credit. |
| 1 | 11 | Leslie Willis gains popularity on the website MetropoVids by posting mean-spirited videos, causing Wonder Woman to question the moral integrity of the people who live in the World of Man. |
| 1 | 12 | Karen tries to upgrade her Bumblebee suit so it makes her giant-sized instead of bug-sized. Giganta beats all the other Super Hero Girls and it's up to Bumblebee to stop her. The episode directly follows the first four according to a Twitter post by executive producer Lauren Faust. |
| 1 | 13 | Supergirl attempts to foil a burglary perpetrated by Catwoman. |
| 1 | 14 | Babs tells her friends how she wanted to be Batman's sidekick before moving from Gotham to Metropolis. Batman calls her father, Commissioner Gordon, alerting him about a Gotham villain coming to Metropolis. Babs sees this as her chance to impress Batman and join the Bat-team. The episode was released online on July 19, 2019 on the Cartoon Network website. |
| 1 | 15 | Diana Prince is admired by her friends and schoolmates at Metropolis High, until Steve Trevor shows up and makes her love-struck. The episode was released online on July 19, 2019 on the Cartoon Network website. |
| 1 | 16 | Jessica Cruz and Pam Isley bond over protecting an ancient tree from being cut down. When the workmen arrive to cut the tree, Pam attacks them as Poison Ivy while Jessica protects them as Green Lantern. The episode was released online on July 19, 2019 on the Cartoon Network website. |
| 1 | 17 | Zee tries to win over crowds at the Metropolis pier with her magic. The episode was released online on July 26, 2019 on the Cartoon Network website. |
| 1 | 18 | Babs and Kara enter their respective dogs Ace and Krypto into a dog show. The episode was released online on July 26, 2019 on the Cartoon Network website. |
| 1 | 19 | Babs and Harley go to the GothamCon convention where Babs hopes to meet Batman but meets Robin instead. The episode premiered July 19, 2019 at the San Diego Comic Con. The episode was released online on July 26, 2019 on the Cartoon Network website. |
| 1 | 20 | The Super Hero Girls investigate what they believe to be spray-tag vandalism when they encounter a rival superhero team, the Super Hero Boys. Together, both teams fight off an invasion of three Kryptonians bent on world domination. The episode was released on September 2, 2019 on online streaming services. |
| 1 | 21 | The Super Hero Girls investigate what they believe to be spray-tag vandalism when they encounter a rival superhero team, the Super Hero Boys. Together, both teams fight off an invasion of three Kryptonians bent on world domination. |
| 1 | 22 | Harleen Quinzel, Babs's best friend, moves from Gotham to Metropolis. Harleen is disliked by Babs's new friends, and Babs doesn't get along with Harleen's new friends. |
| 1 | 23 | Harleen Quinzel, Babs's best friend, moves from Gotham to Metropolis. Harleen is disliked by Babs's new friends, and Babs doesn't get along with Harleen's new friends. |
| 1 | 24 | Diana meets Tatsu and faces off against the vigilante Katana who traps the souls of people in her sword. |
| 1 | 25 | Diana meets Tatsu and faces off against the vigilante Katana who traps the souls of people in her sword. |
| 1 | 26 | Zee recounts to Karen her embarassing transition into magichood and her relationship with her father at that time. The episode was released on November 25, 2019, on online streaming services. |
| 1 | 27 | Jessica tries to find an adoptive home for the cat Dexter, who turns into a member of the Red Lantern corps and attacks her. The episode was released on November 26, 2019, on online streaming services. |
| 1 | 28 | Everything is going well for Kara Danvers, both as a teen and a superhero, until she starts taking the blame for things she didn't do, and the emergence of a new supervillain threatens to destroy Supergirl's hard-earned reputation. |
| 1 | 29 | Babs tells Flash he can travel back in time, and she travels in time with him to change various events in her past. The episode was released on November 28, 2019, on online streaming services. |
| 1 | 30 | Supergirl is presumed dead by the media after a battle with Livewire. The episode was released on November 29, 2019, on online streaming services. |
| 1 | 31 | The student alter-egos of the Super Hero Girls, Super Hero Boys, and super villain girls are given a home economics assignment of caring for an egg. The episode was released on Video-On-Demand on December 18, 2019. |
| 1 | 32 | Oliver Queen sabotages the audition of Mortimer Drake for a play written and directed by Zee, and later finds that Mortimer is out for revenge on Zee for upstaging him in a play years ago. The episode was released on Video-On-Demand on December 18, 2019. |
| 1 | 33 | The girls recruit Catwoman to help them plan and execute a heist for the Book of Eternity which is in the posession of Lex Luthor. The episode parts are numbered 39 and 40 by Cartoon Network and released on video-on-demand on March 4, 2020. |
| 1 | 34 | The girls recruit Catwoman to help them plan and execute a heist for the Book of Eternity which is in the posession of Lex Luthor. The episode parts are numbered 39 and 40 by Cartoon Network and released on video-on-demand on March 4, 2020. |
| 1 | 35 | Jess takes Garth, Babs, Hal, Karen, and Pam to her parents' cabin retreat in the woods. The episode is numbered 31 in a Cartoon Network press release from March 4, 2020. The episode was released on video-on-demand services on March 4, 2020. |
| 1 | 36 | Babs meets Rose who moved to Metropolis to spend more time with her father. The episode is numbered 45 in a Cartoon Network press release from March 4, 2020. The episode was released on the Cartoon Network website on March 6, 2020. |
| 1 | 37 | When Zee's friends are held captive in their nightmares by a dream demon, she'll have to confront her own hidden insecurities, or risk the Super Hero Girls being trapped in a prison of their own fears forever. The episode is numbered 32 in a Cartoon Network press release from March 4, 2020. The episode was released on the Cartoon Network website on March 27, 2020. |
| 1 | 38 | Zee Zatara is flattered when she meets an overeager admirer Casey Krinsky, but soon realizes that "her biggest fan" wants much more than just an autograph. The episode was released on the Cartoon Network website on March 27, 2020. |
| 1 | 39 | Jessica Cruz is hired by billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne to chaperone young Dick Grayson's Metropolis birthday bash and brings Karen Beecher along to help, but the girls get more than they bargained for when the TWEEN party guests reveal their TITANic personalities. The episode was released on the Cartoon Network website on March 27, 2020. |
| 1 | 40 | When Barbara Gordon attempts to do something nice for a friend, she ends up in the clutches of The Penguin, a high school mob boss who blackmails her into an increasingly desperate situation from which only Batgirl can save her. The episode was released on streaming services on April 16, 2020. |
| 1 | 41 | Lois Lane's attempt to get an internship at the Daily Planet leads to her trying to unmask the Super Hero Girls, which forces the girls to a battle of wits with their greatest nemesis yet. The episode was released on streaming services on April 16, 2020. |
| 1 | 42 | When a high-speed chase breaks out during her driver’s test, Diana Prince’s desire to fight evil clashes with her desire to undergo a World of Man teenage rite of passage, getting her license. The episode was released on the Cartoon Network website on April 17, 2020. |
| 1 | 43 | Ra's Al Ghul uses red kryptonite to make Kara susceptible to mind control and use her on his mission to purify the world, starting with the music of Karen's favorite boy band, Up Past 8. The episodes are numbered 35 and 36 by Lauren Faust. |
| 1 | 44 | Ra's Al Ghul uses red kryptonite to make Kara susceptible to mind control and use her on his mission to purify the world, starting with the music of Karen's favorite boy band, Up Past 8. The episodes are numbered 35 and 36 by Lauren Faust. |
| 1 | 45 | When the Super Hero Girls discover that Diana doesn't actually have a home, they gladly open theirs up to her… until they discover that life with an Amazon is much more challenging than they expected. The episode was released on the Cartoon Network website on April 17, 2020. |
| 1 | 46 | Carol gets a new boyfriend, and Hal tries to win her back. The episode was released on streaming services on September 9, 2020. |
| 1 | 47 | Karen helps Carter reunite with his beloved. The episode was released on streaming services on September 18, 2020. |
| 1 | 48 | Diana Prince receives a care package from home, and her pet-raising skills are soon put to the test when a mysterious egg hatches. The episode was released on streaming services on September 18, 2020. |
| 1 | 49 | Tatsu contacts Babs and Kara to help her find and exorcise a ghost that is haunting a boarding school. The episode was released on streaming services on September 18, 2020. |
| 1 | 50 | Diana is visited by her aunt Antiope who arrives at Metropolis after being sent from Themyscira to change the locks on the cage of the Kraken. The episode is numbered 30 in a Twitter post by Lauren Faust. |
| 1 | 51 | Ember the dragon wants to eat Zee, mistaking her for a princess. The episodes were released on streaming services in New Zealand on September 21, 2020. |
| 1 | 52 | Ember the dragon wants to eat Zee, mistaking her for a princess. The episodes were released on streaming services in New Zealand on September 21, 2020. |
| Season # | Episode # | Episode Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | Batgirl finally has the chance to live out her life's dream and be the sidekick to her hero and inspiration—the Batman! |
| 2 | 2 | Batgirl finally has the chance to live out her life's dream and be the sidekick to her hero and inspiration - the Batman! |
| 2 | 3 | When Kara realizes that she needs to be in two places on the same night, a dinner with an important investor in her parents startup and a concert for her favorite band, she calls for reinforcements in the form of Bizarro Kara. |
| 2 | 4 | Garth meets a friend who shares his obsession with a particular fandom, but when that friend takes his obsession too far, Garth must learn the difference between being a fan and being a fanatic, or risk driving his friends away. |
| 2 | 5 | The Super Hero Girls decide to go in together to buy their first car but quickly learned that splitting an automobile six ways may prove to be there deadliest foe yet. |
| 2 | 6 | Diana is asked to sing in a talent show, but when she uses a magical artifact to hide how bad she is at singing, she unleashes mayhem onto Metropolis. |
| 2 | 7 | When Jess coerces Kara into addressing her anger management issues, Supergirl's superhero abilities become seriously compromised. |
| 2 | 8 | Zatanna makes a Birthday wish that it forces her to confront the dark side of her magic. |
| 2 | 9 | When Jessica is faced with a Green Lantern Corps disciplinary hearing, Hal appoints himself to be her Peer Advocate. |
| 2 | 10 | Karen is given a mission to prevent the apocalypse by DeathSting, a super-cool future version of herself. |
| 2 | 11 | When public relations whiz Max Lord tells Batgirl and Supergirl he can improve their image by doing publicity stunts, the two friends forget what being a hero is really about. |
| 2 | 12 | After Babs hooks Karen up with a job at the Burrito Bucket the two heroes encounter a new villain, the scourge of the fast-food underworld, the Condiment King! |
| 2 | 13 | Zee magically duplicates herself so she can shirk work and watch TV; things get out of hand when her copies start to make copies of themselves. |
| 2 | 14 | Diana receives her first ever A minus and becomes convinced that she needs to work harder, however, in order to do so, she resorts to rather drastic measures. |
| 2 | 15 | Supergirl loses her powers and, with the help of BumbleBee, must rely on her street smarts to save Garth from vengeful Toyman. |
| 2 | 16 | Feeling smothered, Babs urges her retired dad, Commissioner Gordon, to get a hobby, but her advice backfires when the commissioner becomes a substitute teacher at her school. |
| 2 | 17 | After accidentally destroying one of Babs' beloved, one-of-a-kind Batman keepsakes, Diana Enlists the help of Harleen Quinzel in order to find a replacement in Gotham City. |
| 2 | 18 | Hippolyta visits town, and Diana is desperate to win her approval; when Hippolyta unexpectedly takes a shine to Kara, Diana must curb her envy before they all get hurt. |
| 2 | 19 | Five socially disparate teens, Hal, Pam, Kara, Zee and Garth, find they have more in common than they thought after spending a Saturday in detention. |
| 2 | 20 | A malfunctioning device shrinks Karen into the Microverse, leaving technophobic Diana as her only hope. |
| 2 | 21 | Working towards her dream of making her school a better place, Jessica runs for class president. |
| 2 | 22 | Supergirl must rein in a reckless new hero, the Blue Beetle. |
| 2 | 23 | Zee worries that Zatara is lonely and volunteers to play matchmaker for her dad; when her meddlesome matchmaking accidentally sets her dad up with an old enemy. |
| 2 | 24 | For months, Garth sends Aquaman letters that greatly exaggerate his accomplishments in Metropolis; when the King of Atlantis comes for a surprise visit, Garth begs the Super Hero Girls to help cover for his little white lies. |
| 2 | 25 | Babs and Harleen bring the Girls to Gotham City to celebrate Halloween! However, the fun is put on hold when the Super Hero Girls run into Gotham's most notorious Super Villain. |
| 2 | 26 | Babs and Harleen bring the Girls to Gotham City to celebrate Halloween! However, the fun is put on hold when the Super Hero Girls run into Gotham's most notorious Super Villain. |
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