Captain Planet and the Planeteers
Captain Planet is a superhero in the animated series Captain Planet and the Planeteers and The New Adventures of Captain Planet. He was voiced by David Coburn.
Character history plus development[]
Ted Turner created Captain Planet in 1990 with the intent of entertaining viewers and increasing awareness of environmental hazards.
Background information[]
Captain Planet is formed by combining the powers of the rings of the five Planeteers, which represent the four Classical elements: Earth (wielded by Kwame), Fire (Wheeler), Wind (Linka), Water (Gi), and the additional power of Heart ([Ma-Ti (Captain Planet)|Ma-Ti]]). Upon his formation, he proclaims, "By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!".
Captain Planet is the combined and magnified powers of all five of the Planeteers' rings, and stands for all that is good and environmentally-friendly. The Captain is sky-blue skinned, with a grass-green mullet and eyebrows. He wears red shorts, a half-shirt, and gauntlets with matching red knee-high boots. His body is composed mainly of a crystal compound.
Captain Planet has a very impressive array of powers: he can fly, has great strength (enough to throw a small asteroid from Earth all the way to Jupiter), the ability to blow hurricane-force winds, telepathy, telekinesis, shapeshifting, and matter transmutation. Much like Superman relative to kryptonite, Captain Planet also possesses weaknesses to pollution, radiation, toxic waste, smog, etc. In one episode, when he meets The Führer, a character based on Hitler, he compares prejudice and hatred to a pollutant. The powers of the Planeteers' rings are also diminished by excessive pollution in the environment around them. He, like Gaia, is also bound to the physical realm of Earth. Although he is capable of flying into space, his powers, and even his very existence, begin to fade when he travels from the planet. Conversely, Captain Planet is often healed from the damage he sustains from pollution by absorbing solar energy, water, or other natural elements. Sometimes, he can intimidate his enemies with insults, as he did with Captain Pollution in one episode.
Captain Planet is an ancient entity, who has served with Gaia for many centuries. While his appearance and certain mannerisms are taken directly from the minds of the Planeteers, he is a sentient being with his own will. He is also quite aware of current events, even those that occur when he is not active. His modern-day superhero attire and name seem to stem from the modern world, as even Gaia does not give his name in the beginning.
Captain Planet possesses a wry sense of humor and has been known to crack jokes and use puns at times.
Though powerful, as in the first episode, when Rigger tries to drill him with a diamond tip drill used for drilling oil and failed to do any harm, he has become depowered at least three times in the series. In one episode, when the powers of Heart and Earth could not return to their rings due to being in outer space; Captain Planet re-forms with only those two rings, effectively leaving him with only the Earth and Heart abilities.
In another episode, when Gaia is taken from Hope Island and transformed into a human being, both Captain Planet and the rings lose their powers, leaving Captain Planet powerless and weak as a normal human. In this story, he is also forced to wear an old hat and coat taken from a dumpster to "blend in" while they search for Gaia.
Also, in a third episode, he seems to have been "killed" when Hoggish Greedly is sucking up trees and Captain Planet had turned part of himself into wood and was holding onto a tree. He is pulled into the shredding machine with it. Mat-Ti screams and the Planeteers try to call Captain Planet back, but nothing happens. Later in the show, they are able to call him for help, but he told them that he was not at full strength.
Public Service Announcements[]
Each episode ends with one or more Public Service Announcements. It shows the dilemmas that face the environment in relation to the episode (such as radiation or ozone depletion). One comes right after the show is over, before the final commercial break. The second -- if there is one -- comes before the end credits. There usually is only one, especially during the original series.