Planeteer

The Planeteers are the five teenage characters of the animated series "Captain Planet and the Planeteers". A globally diverse group, they are entrusted with five magical rings that give them control over the Classical elements (as well as "Heart"). Using the rings, they seek to protect the planet from environmental destruction. When they use the rings in conjunction, the Planeteers can summon Captain Planet himself.

The Planeteers are loosely based on the characters from a short-run Marvel Comics series "Psi-Force", who have similar abilities. Marvel Comics published the "Captain Planet" comic book series.

Members

Kwame

Kwame is the Planeteer in charge of "Earth". He is voiced by LeVar Burton of "", "Roots" and "Reading Rainbow" fame.

Kwame is from Africa, where he spent much time working to help keep the land from becoming a desert by planting trees. (Most likely from Ghana, as his name is Twi for "Born on Saturday"). One day, as he pulled his staff from the ground after inserting a seed into the soil, he found a ring on its end with a golden band and a green symbol of earth upon it.

Kwame became the Planeteer who can control the power of earth, able to manipulate the ground to create earthquakes, landforms, and craters, though only to a certain extent.

Kwame is considered the leader of the Planeteers when they are in action. Though he has no established authority, he bears typical qualities of leadership and usually makes decisions that the others follow. When summoning Captain Planet, Kwame always starts the procedure by stating "Let our powers combine."

Wheeler

Wheeler is the Planeteer who controls "Fire". From the United States of America, specifically the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, he is voiced by Joey Dedio. He is somewhat aware of martial arts and other techniques for handling tough situations, primarily from movies and television.

One night, Wheeler happened to notice a couple of thugs mugging a helpless bystander. Wheeler jumped into the conflict and was able to force the thugs away. While Wheeler was trading congratulations and thanks with the person he had saved, a pillar of fire erupted from a nearby garbage can. As the tongue of flame curled towards him, it flung a silver-banded ring bearing a flame symbol onto his hand. Wheeler had become the Planeteer with the power of fire. While the others were chosen for their environmental attitudes, Gaia chose Wheeler for his short temper and attitude, the fighting spirit of the team.

With his powers, Wheeler is able to send out projectiles of flame and create fires nearby, though his powers are limited. They represent Wheeler's hot nature; typically small and effective, though they can end up raging out of control and consuming everything in the area. For the most part, however, Wheeler is rather sensible, his action-readiness not over emphasized.

Wheeler has an apparent romantic interest in Linka, although Linka at first does not seem to share those same feelings towards Wheeler at all. However, Linka does later care for Wheeler, even if she isn't willing to openly admit it. It is later revealed that in the past, he had close ties with Trish, one of those who followed the leadership of Verminous Skumm during his time as a ganglord. Wheeler has also had conflict with his father, Nick, who was disappointed in his life as a Planeteer, considering it a good thing to do, but no real job or way to live. This situation is visited in the fourth season of the series, when they finally patch things up. By this time, Wheeler's father had suffered severe liver problems due to a lifetime of drinking. Little is known of his mother.

Wheeler was often portrayed as the cynic of the team, as well as the one who would often know the least about environmental issues, a trait which critics of the show like to point out, saying that Wheeler's actions give the impression that most Americans are apathetic about environmental issues until said issues directly affect them. However, by the time of the New Adventures episodes, these qualities were eliminated, showing Wheeler to be smarter than before.

It should also be noted that Wheeler was a wannabe surfer in the early episodes before Turner took over production. He particularly liked windsurfing, as seen in episodes such as "The Predator", "Last of Her Kind" and "Population Bomb". The phrase "wannabe" is justified by a few things, such as in "Population Bomb" when he decides to keep windsurfing despite a big storm, which nearly gets him killed and destroys his sail board. Also, just about every time he surfs, he manages to wipe out. The one exception is in the "The Predator", where after he and the other Planeteers crash in the GEO cruiser, he uses his "windsurfer", better known as a "sailboard", to get everyone to safety. Wheeler did do some standard surfing at least once in "The Blue Car Line" and once again managed to wipe out. It is not clear as to how Wheeler learned to surf or wind surf. It is implied in "Population Bomb" that Gi may have been teaching him. While Wheeler was living in New York his family clearly could not afford to purchase such expensive surfing gear, so it is likely he started after he arrived at Hope Island. Later, after Turner took over, Wheeler took up basketball, more logical for an inner city kid than surfing.

Linka

Linka is the Planeteer with the power of "Wind". She is from the Russian Federation, which at the time of the series' creation was part of the Soviet Union — this is generalized in the beginning opener as "Eastern Europe" after the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991. She displays the communist symbol, the Red Star, on her belt buckle. She is voiced by Kath Soucie.

Linka is particularly interested in birds, learning to play their songs and sings for them on her keyboard. It happened that an injured bird that she helped was carrying a golden ring with the symbol of wind in its beak.

Linka joins the Planeteers as the mistress of winds, able to create powerful gusts, small tornados, and even fly; though the concentration required to levitate is very tiring, and she rarely flies with the exception of emergency situations. She is typically one of the most logical and compassionate planeteers, which several times gets her in trouble for seriously misjudging people.

Linka, a very independent and strong-willed young girl, is the romantic interest of her friend Wheeler, usually to her annoyance due to his pushy nature and her own skittishness. However, Linka does care for Wheeler, even if she isn't willing to openly admit it, while he is generally comfortable with everyone else knowing that he is attracted to her. The two come close to kissing one another in early season one episode "Beast of the Temple", and even embraces Wheeler at the conclusion of said episode when he is rescued from Hoggish Greedly's clutches by Gi. One episode even has a dream sequence where they are married and had several children (from which Wheeler learned about the dangers of overpopulation, after which he vowed to only have two children if he ever did get married). When other girls show interest in him (like Teresa, a young, homeless, Mexican girl whom Wheeler befriended) she openly shows jealousy towards them (when Teresa kissed Wheeler, she growled and looked at them in envy). In episode 1 of season 2, "Mind Pollution" she became an unwitting victim to a drug called Bliss, while visiting a relative, a clearly "stoned", uninhibited Linka came on to Wheeler and tried to use an affectionate demeanor to make him take the same drug she had become addicted to. Wheeler knew what was wrong with Linka and did not take her up on her offer. Linka is also one of the more intelligent Planeteers, and her wind powers compare well with her quick thinking.

Gi

Gi is the Planeteer whose ring allowed her control over "Water". She is of Southeast Asian descent (Most likely Thai due to the common Thai name Gi and her educated status. Thai students enter college at 16, due to an alternate system compared to the U.S.) She's voiced by Janice Kawaye.

Gi was and remains a college student of marine biology, with a special enthusiasm for whales and dolphins. On one occasion that she was swimming amongst dolphins, she threw a toy hoop to one of them. The dolphin returned the hoop, and fixed to it was a golden ring bearing a blue stone with the symbol of water.

Predictably, Gi gains the power of water, enabling her to control water in a telekinetic manner, so long as it is clean enough to be affected by her ring.

Gi tends to be the most scientifically informed of the Planeteers and is usually the authority on technology. She's also apparently the eldest of the Planeteers; at the beginning of the series she's the only one old enough to have a driver's license, therefore she's the first pilot of the Geo-Cruiser, and it's hinted that she was a college freshman at the time of her arrival to the group. Gi is also a skilled diver and surfer as well. The opening to the show credits this.

In an episode that teleported Wheeler to the future, it was shown that she would have become an oceanographer if she did not join the planeteers.

She is a team player, though she can be a bit too impetuous at times. Gi is intellegent and a calm spirited at heart and takes the well being of underwater life very seriously.

Ma-Ti

Ma-Ti is the Planeteer of "Heart". From Brazil, he is voiced by Scott Menville.

Ma-Ti is the 12-year-old son of a leader of the South American Kayapo Indians and a white South American who pursued peace between the two cultures. When conflict resulted in Ma-Ti's parents' apparent deaths, he ended up living with his grandfather, a shaman of the Kayapo nation in the rainforest. On one particular day, Ma-Ti discovered a trapped monkey, a jaguar advancing on it; he jumped between them and with but a gesture sent the cat away. Ma-Ti freed the monkey, who presented him with a ring with a heart upon its stone.

Ma-Ti became the Planeteer of Heart, able to communicate with others telepathically and feel and convey emotions directly. Though not powerful in the way of action, Ma-Ti's power was mentioned to be the most important by Gaia in the first episode. It keeps the Planeteers together and helps them to be in tune with not just nature, but the people with whom they interact. Ma-Ti's power can also influence the feelings of others, enabling him to draw aid from creatures in the surrounding area. This is more akin to empathy than mind control; Ma-Ti's powers can only influence behavior by drawing out what kindness already exists in a being's heart; as such, most villainous people are barely influenced by the power, and it has no effect at all over beings of pure evil, such as Zarm. His power can, however, serve to protect him from external psychic manipulation. Additionally, his power is also necessary to call Captain Planet in his full power. There is an instance in which Captain Planet is summoned in a lesser form. When Ma-Ti and Kwame are in space, their powers are unable to return to them and instead returned to earth and resummon Captain Planet. This shows that Earth and Heart is probably the bare minimum needed for Captain Planet's existence - Earth as his Body and Heart as his Soul. He also uses his power to allow the Planeteers to communicate with Gaia.

Ma-Ti is the most compassionate and sensitive of the Planeteers, yet also very insecure and sometimes prone to childish or impulsive actions, like when he allowed his rage to consume him when his village was almost wiped away. In the first-season episode "Rain of Terror" he almost resigned as a Planeteer after an embarrassing accident left him fearing that his small stature was a liability, but it turned out to be an advantage since at one point, to help his friends, Ma-Ti had to sneak inside a warehouse through a small hole.

While he is both wise and learned about the ways of nature, some of the more modern forms of entertainment can consume him, such as in "The Big Clam Up": an episode in which he is so obsessed with mystery novels that he began treating missions like mystery stories. Although in one episode, "Teers in the Hood", it is revealed that Ma-Ti takes special education classes.

The monkey that Ma-Ti rescued from the jaguar stays with him after joining the Planeteers and was named Suchi. For the most part, Suchi's role in the series is rather small, though on occasion he may serve a role in the movement of the plot or some sort of comic endeavor. Suchi is voiced by Frank Welker.

Hope Island

The Planeteers are based on Hope Island (or Planeteer Island), a decently-sized island where Gaia must stay. Hope Island featured several small huts, an obstacle course for the Planeteers to keep fit, and a boat dock. Hope Island’s most significant feature, however, is the mountainous vein of crystal which stands in the centre of the island. It contains caverns which serve as Gaia’s quarters and a meeting place where the Planeteers receive their assignments. The crystal structure is also the location of Planet-Vision, a computer-like system which can instantly view any location on Earth - typically to zero in specifically on ecological disasters. It is upon the facets of the crystal that the Planet-Vision can be activated. The Planeteers' vehicles are also stored on the island (possibly within the crystal structure).

While never specifically shown, Hope Island generally contains basic living quarters, as the Planeteers eat, sleep, and bathe all on the island. Each has their own hut. While a clean island, the Planeteers are responsible for the general upkeep of the island itself, raking leaves and other cleaning. All clothing and food is provided on the island. The island also has its own power supply (likely solar), as the Planeteers keep televisions, radios, and other electronic equipment on hand for personal use (the island may also have a powerful antenna array, as the island is too remote to pick up basic radio signals). It may be that both power and communication is conducted through the crystal structure, as Planet-Vision already demonstrates it to be a transmitter

Hope Island is prone to attacks from Eco-Villains. In the season one episode, "Heat Wave", Dr. Blight and MAL located the island and tortured Gaia by blanketing the island with a forcefield that generated a type of greenhouse effect. Zarm, being a spirit of Earth, can also access Hope Island at will.

Resources and tools

The Planeteers main vehicle is the Geo-Cruiser, a large flying vehicle. The Geo-Cruiser is a rounded, yellow craft with two large solar panel wings. It is capable of vertical-takeoff/landing (despite having no visible way to do so). Despite being frequently "shot down", the Geo-Cruiser apparently regenerates - it is always operable again despite never being repaired. The craft has six seats (one pilot and five passengers, though more people could be fit in if needed), an internal flight console/computer, fire suppression system, and internal solar batteries for night use. A winch inside allows for rescue operations and cargo transport. There is also cargo room which contained a small emergency boat.

Occasionally, the Planeteers also see use of their other vehicles. The Eco-Sub is an underwater equivalent of the Geo-Cruiser, which also operates on solar power (likely with larger batteries as it is meant for underwater use). The Sub optionally features two large grabber arms on the front as well as two TRID launchers (small missiles useful for clearing debris or other such obstacles), though aren't used often.

Earlier seasons also see use of the Eco-Copter, a standard helicopter which also ran on a solar battery. However, it has no solar panels and had to be recharged on Hope Island. It is mainly used as a secondary flight craft to the Geo-Cruiser. There are also five Eco-Cycles, small solar-powered motorcycles. These do not see much use given the need to transport them in first. The Eco-Cycles were only featured in two episodes (Don't Drink The Water & Jail House Flock).

Where Gaia obtained these vehicles is never stated, nor is it said why she has such advanced technology on the island when she went to sleep in the 1800s. One possibility (given the time travel seen in later episodes) is that the technology was from the future, likely sent by Planeteers of the time. Another, given Zarm's space travel, could be an alien origin. The Geo-Cruiser in particular, is likely from the future, or of alien origin, due to its ability to: a) regenerate and b) takeoff and land vertically with no visible means of doing so. Both could explain why Gaia never provided the technology to the Earth for mass production of "clean" fuel sources (i.e., they would be beyond modern technology's ability to replicate). However, both are speculation as nothing was ever stated officially.

While the Planeteers are not generally paid for their work, they do carry money, often to buy food or other necessities in the field. Gi may have also had a credit card, as she once rented a Jeep (she was also the only one stated to have a driver's license).

Toys

The Planeteers had decent releases within the "Captain Planet" toy line from Tiger toys. Gi only had one toy, Linka, Ma-Ti, and Kwame each had 2 versions, and Wheeler had 4 (these totals do not count minor paint variants).

First series:
* Kwame with binoculars, backpack, and actual working compass
* Wheeler with sparking action (early versions shot sparks out of the chest. Later versions saw the chest sealed with a translucent piece)
* Linka with helmet and parachute backpack
* Gi with water-squirting backpack
* Ma-Ti with hip pack, staff, and Suchi

Each came with a life-sized replica of their rings.

Backpack series:
* Wheeler with Tread Pack
* Ma-Ti with Rescue Pack

Talking series:
* Wheeler with eco-commands voice clip backpack
* Linka with eco-commands voice clip backpack

Misc:
* Wheeler with launching grappling hook
* Ma-Ti and Kwame 2-pack (had the rings, but no other accessories)
* Ma-Ti and Kwame 2-pack redeco (vastly different colored clothes)

Vehicles:
* Geo-Cruiser
* Eco-Cycle with helmet
* Eco-Sub with two TRID missiles
* Planeteer Copter with launcher
* Eco-Jailer

The Eco-Cycle, Eco-Jailer and Planeteer Copter were to scale with the toys. The Geo-Cruiser and Eco-Sub were not, however, each only holding one figure.

References

* [http://www.turner.com/planet Planeteers' site] http://www.tv.com/captain-planet-and-the-planeteers/show/2579/summary.html