Dick Hardly is a one-shot villain in The Powerpuff Girls, appearing as the main antagonist of the episode "Knock it Off". Driven by greed, he attempted to make and sell his own off-brand series of Powerpuff Girls to get rich, but transformed into a kaiju-sized monster after swallowing a beaker full of Chemical X.
History[]
Dick was an old college friend of Professor Utonium's, but during that time he took advantage of Utonium by stealing his experiments to make himself rich and famous. He would meet Utonium again years later to boast about his success, but when he saw the Powerpuff Girls for the first time, he wanted Chemical X in order to create his own Powerpuff Girls and make money out of them. After learning the recipe for Utonium's Powerpuff concoction, Dick stole a supply of Chemical X from Utonium's lab. He immediately got to work producing his own line of off-brand Powerpuff Girls, selling them to people around the world for high prices. The "Powerpuff Girls with Chemical Xtreme" proved to be a big success and demand for them skyrocketed. In order to meet the demand, Dick began speeding up the production process and used cheaper materials. While his Powerpuff clones looked mostly similar to the originals and shared their powers, they proved to be defective; over time they became deformed and even unstable, their bodies breaking down into their component ingredients. Dick didn't care that he was both creating and destroying life, only seeing the knock-off Powerpuffs as tools to make himself wealthy and didn't love them the way Utonium loved Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup.
Although Dick temporarily succeeded in gaining wealth, he was confronted by the Powerpuff Girls who demanded that he give up on his scheme. But Dick refused to back down and spitefully swallowed his remaining supply of Chemical X so that the girls couldn't take it from him. Soon after swallowing the substance, however, Dick underwent a terrifying transformation, becoming a hulking, green-skinned monster. With his newfound strength, he attacked the Powerpuff Girls and locked them inside a dome, intent on extracting the Chemical X from their bodies.
After having caught wind of Dick's plan, Professor Utonium headed to the factory where Dick was producing his fake Powerpuff Girls. He found Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup sealed inside the dome and begged Dick to release them, even offering himself up as Dick's slave to produce more Chemical X for him. Dick refused and began the extraction process, causing the girls great pain as the Chemical X was siphoned from their bodies. A tearful Utonium assured the girls that he loved them and they told him that they loved him too.
In a nearby closet, several of Dick's defective Powerpuff clones that were awaiting disposal overheard Utonium's words. They then emerged from the closet and attacked Dick while also freeing the real Powerpuff Girls. Angered that Dick hadn't shown them any love like the Professor had shown for his girls, the clones used their powers to tear down the factory. As the factory began to burn down around them, Utonium and the Powerpuff Girls escaped while Dick and his creations perished in the blaze.
Personality[]
Unlike other villains in the series, such as Mojo Jojo or HIM, who have a certain morality and funny or humorous moments, Dick Hardly is an extremely evil character and lacks morality and does not have any funny moments, since he is taken completely seriously and portrayed as a genuine threat. He is a greedy, selfish, sadistic, and cruel man whose only motivation is money and he did not care in the least about the emotional damage he caused his employees by pressuring them and forcing them to create perfect girls, and even saw his creations as merchandise unlike Professor Utonium, who always saw his trio of girls as daughters and always loved them.
His mutation is nothing more than just a way to unmask the monster that he really is and to show that he is nasty and terrifying both inside and out.
Appearance[]
Initially, Dick appeared as a handsome gentleman with blonde hair in a small ponytail and a scientist's lab coat. However, after swallowing the Chemical X, he mutated into a huge monster with green skin, clawed hands and tentacles emerging from his chest.
Abilities[]
Before mutating, Dick Hardly had no outstanding abilities, although he was skilled in the science of chemistry. He was also a manipulative smooth-talker and highly charismatic, able to persuade others into doing what he wanted.
After swallowing a beaker full of Chemical X, Dick transformed into a superhuman mutant with incredible strength. He had claws on his hands, sharp fangs, and tentacles emerging from his torso. His tentacles were capable of absorbing energy and he was also able to rapidly heal himself when injured. However, this healing factor was not enough to save him when his factory burned down around him.