WTF WEDNESDAY
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| By Our Powers Combined. |
The year was 1990. The first George Bush was president, the 90s era (sweet crimeny) of comics had begun, Rob Liefeld was about to ruin super heroes for a decade, the golden era of toy driven cartoons was dying down and the world seemed poised for another economic breakdown after a war with the space beavers. We needed a hero. Enter Ted Turner.
A billionaire playboy by day and Captain Outrageous by night. He wanted to give kids a hero that was both entertaining and educational. An edutainment hero who would lead us into a glorious and beautiful future filled with sparkling green meadows and billowing waves of oceans and tears and puppies and kittens and monkeys. He gave us Captain Planet.
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| 90 % more mullet than other heroes. |
Captain Planet and the Planeteers was a cartoon show that ran from 1990 to 1992 but has left an indeclinable mark on our cultural psyche (for better or worse). Everyone has seen an episode of Captain Planet but if they haven't they probably should.
The plot is a rather creative one, actually. Gaia, the spirit of Earth (basically chick god), awakens and finds the earth is getting messed up by humans. Now, Gaia, being a benevolent demigod decides to fight the plight with teenagers (works for Zordon). Gaia sends five magical rings, each imbued with one element, out to five teenagers around the world. These five are dubbed the Planeteers and given the task of defending the Earth from the blunders of humanity.
Coming up against impossible odds the Planeteers combine their powers to summon an almighty djinn, Captain Planet. Comparable to Silver Age Superman, Captain Planet's powers are usually relevant to the situation, he gets his power from sunlight and he is nearly unstoppable. His only weakness is pollution.
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| Earth! Fire! Wind! Water! Heart |
Here is a quick rundown of the individual Planeteers.
Name: Kwame (voiced by LeVar Burton)
Element: Earth
Nationality: African
Role: Voice of reason, De facto Leader, Can be a tool
Personal Opinion: Played by Levar Burton, 'nuff said.
Name: Wheeler
Element: Fire
Nationality: American
Role: Clown, Hothead, American
Personal Opinion: Kind of a jerk. Imagine giving Stifler a power ring.
Name: Linka
Element: Wind
Nationality: Eastern European (Originally Soviet Union but the union fell during the shows run)
Role: Strategist, logician, Girl for Wheeler to pine after
Personal opinion: She never made much of an impression but she is admirable as a good female role model. She is feminine but strong.
Name: Gi
Element: Water
Nationality: Chinese
Role: Mechanic, Forensics, Dolphin hygienist
Personal Opinion: A little obsessed with dolphins. Seriously. Squeaky bastards.
Name: Mati
Element: Heart (Not really an element but whatever)
Nationality: South American
Role: Monkey wrangler, bleeding heart, least lucky of the 5
Personal Opinion: My favorite character because he is the underdog. When Mati got serious, you knew things were about to get awesome. I just wish he ripped out a few more hearts with his telekinesis....what?
The other great thing about Captain Planet were the reoccuring villains played by celebrities like Tim Curry and Ed Asner.
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| The yellow guy is called Duke Nukem, btw. |
So then why does this show have such a bad reputation? I think its because Captain Planet and the Planeteers is so obviously liberal, green and educational (sometimes incorrectly) that it reminds some people of school. Furthermore, the show's stories are a little lame and characters grating, though there are a few good episodes.
Ex. Gaia became a homeless lady in one episode and in other they have to compete in an alien game show to save earth.
Yet, despite how people talk about how much it sucked, we still watched it. I happen to like the show but even I would admit it is for nostalgia and cheese. So what kept people coming? The theme song!
So the show is odd but why bring it up? Enjoy this horrifying but funny video where Captain Planet (Don Cheadle) finally unleashes his true power after decades of being teased by all those bad ass post modern people who thinks he is lame. This is hilarious, mortifying and hilarifying!
