Monday, May 11, 2009

Captain Planet and the Planteers #3 (And Bonus!)


According to Captain Planet, the power is mine. And that's true - I have the power to fling this comic right at the wall.




NOTE: If you're wondering why Bhargo didn't reprise his role as Ma-Ti for this video, it's because I'm an idiot.

ALSO: TGWTG 1st Anniversary Dance-off!

76 comments:

Draco_Dracul said...

Why doesn't anyone with the ability to control water ever suck the water out of their enemies leaving them anywhere from rather parched to a mummified corpse? Even if you didn't want to kill them you could dehydrate them enough to render them unconscious and then put the water back.
Also why do these kids have almost zero imagination when using their powers, did Gaia go out of her way to find the five lest competent and/or imaginative kids in the world?

Alex Stritar said...

Another great comic review by the internet's greatest comic book revewer guy - Linkara!

Also, in my opinion, there is no such thing as a worthless superpower. This episode did showcasse a few of the increadable abilities heart comes with. Any superhuman ability can be powerful with just a little imagination. I mean, just look at Squirrel Girl.

And remember, THE POWER IS YOURS!

Perry Renarldo Singletary Jr. said...

Wheeler's hilarious. Unlikeable characters are usually very entertaining.

SynjoDeonecros said...

...Wait, what? I distinctly remember the cartoon giving a clear and unambiguous description of what the power of Heart entails, and while it does allow its user to read the minds and emotions of humans and animals, and even give them a degree of mind control, it cannot be used on a living creature in a highly agitated or drugged state, nor can it be used to incite them to perform acts of aggression, so while putting the two terrorists to sleep could be plausible, leading a group of animals in an attack simply cannot happen. Were the comics and the cartoon written exclusive from each other or something?

Lotus Prince said...

Oh man, I love the business card. I hear he's ruthless! Also, I love the way you said "Well, if it's uncharted, how the hell does it have a NAME?" Furthermore, I love how the raccoon not only knows English, but he also knows puns about tails. What an intelligent little raccoon.

Once again, I simply cannot get over how awesome that crossover of reviewers was. I really wish I could have been there. Who knows: with any luck, maybe I'll somehow get everyone's attention and be able to join the most glorious team in existence!

Jeremy said...

his ring isn't like wonder womans whip. It's more like ghostriders penance stare ( i Gusse ) but anyways don't worry about having the "real" Ma-ti here, we got him like 2 days ago. Though if he were up to it he should definently have his own series of videos. And did Ma-ti ever use these multiple powers in the show. from what i remember he was more like an empath, which would still wouldnt be useless he could sense scared hostages or angry villians. But he was as bland and dumb as rest and never thought of using his powers for that stuff

Unknown said...

Actually the girl who control the water the strongest because most of the earth is covered with water

but it could be argue that Earth is easier to find around when you walk all the time

Razorgeist said...

Rather funny they bring up animal testing since I recall an episode of the cartoon that was in favor of humane animal testing for medical and scientific purposes.

mightysamurai said...

Actually fire is an element, in a certain sense. The Planeteer powers were based on the Classical Greek elements, one of which was fire. Even Heart kinda-sorta fits in there if you interpret it as representing "aether".

But I digress, watch Avatar: The Last Airbender sometime if you want to see some really creative and effective methods of elemental control.

日本文化のマニアック said...

Not challenging you on this or anything, but what's the deal with recycling paper? It's always been the one thing I've cared the least about (since it disintegrates naturally and is easily renewable), but what makes it "bad"? (truly does not know)

Lewis Lovhaug said...

I could give the full break down of why, but it boils down to this:

-We're not running out of trees
-It takes far too much energy to recycle paper
-Recycling paper actually produces pollution

If you want a more entertaining breakdown, I leave it in the hands of Las Vegas entertainers Penn and Teller.

D. R. McLeod said...

Also, the logging industry actually plants more trees. More demand for paper = more trees. It's like how the populations of useful animals like horses and delicious animals like cows have grown, whereas un-tasty animals like dodos and un-useful animals like pandas are either dead or dying out.

Philosophista said...

I don't know why, but here this show has always been appreciated by the children... I mean, the first time it passed about more than 10 years ago... I guess that when they translated for portuguese they cut almost ninety percent of the stupid puns and about the storyline...
Yeah, its very stupid and is that kind of betraying toon that tries to educate you offering fun... but all the kids around here didn't ever cared, just watched it and then moved to see demons being slaughtered in Yuyu Hakusho and this stuff...

About Ma-Ti (that sounds more like a chinese name) power... The heart was a kind of "power of the life", I think the idea for it was that all the other elements creates the enviroment that could support life... and with this he could sense life (animal more easily), understand emotions and asks for the animals to perform some tasks. It's a kind of Empathy power. I didn't remeber that he could people to sleep (also I didn't remember EVER beem guys with guns, NORMAL guns, just machines that pollutes and this stuff)... So this is true that the union of their power produces the Captain PLANET, wich is like Doc Manhattan plus MacGyver and Al Gore's mind...

What I did remember is one episode, when a kind of Alien Stallone came to Earth or awakes in earth and offer the guys some gauntlets to they have their powers EMPOWERED (meaning that they couldn't use their powers at will and size, what could been more explicit saying that, so at least they would have to use wisely their powers...), so as that Winka creates a giant tornado, Kwami then makes an entire mountain appears, Wheeler than set the entire mountain on fire then Gui creates a giant wave to put the fire off... Ma-ti refuses to command all the hearts of the world, saying that they abuses from the nature as tehir enimies and bla bla bla...

Well that was cooler than the regular powers, but that shows HOW MUCH the series prefered to put ambientalism first and storyline development in last of their priorities. Thats fucking SHITTY, because to pass ANY message the most important is always put storyline first to make a GOOD job then came with the messages using wisely the story and etc...

But yeah, well you stop to think about that is lame, totally... and heart as an element is strange... Weird... but...

EcchiOtaku said...

Here's a list of other things that could be done with the ring's powers that I can't understand why it doesn't even enter into the Planeteers' minds to use them that way:

Water: You could just point the ring at a person and as soon as you yell "Water!", you could do serious damage to them. The human body is over 50% water so if you can control water, you pretty much have control of most of the human body, aside from causing dehydration like Draco suggested, you could control blood flow and who knows how many other bodily functions and disrupt them, you could potentially damage internal organs too. Actually, if you don't want to hurt anyone too badly then you could use your ability to control water to fill the insides of your enemies' ears with water, like an ear infection, and that would disable or at least greatly weaken them.
Another use would be that if you can get the water to move fast enough, you could actually cut through just about anything.
Also if you can control water, then that means you can probably control moisture too and since there's moisture in the air, then, even though it would probably take concentration, it wouldn't matter if you're surrounded by enemies since you have a supply literally all around you.

Wind: Okay, Linkara covered most of the better ways to use the power but here's one more. Try harnessing wind speed, specifically that of a tornado or a hurricane. You know how in certain tornadoes, and hurricanes things like straw end up getting stuck in or puncturing through wooden powerline poles? Imagine what that would do aimed at a bad guy.

Earth: Well, Linkara covered most of the uses for this one so the only thing I could think of, if you were far enough away and were also in a DBZ style "place that's a million miles from nowhere that couldn't possibly exist on this planet, and it's right over there" kinds of locations, you could potentially wipe out all of your enemies by tearing the earth open down to where magma would be. Though without the prementioned conditions...

Fire: Okay in the hands of a complete imbecile like Wheeler, the ring's power is the most useless. However, if you had good aim, you could cripple an enemy by targetting their hands or feet (would they be able to use it if you gave them a third degree burn? not likely).
You could fry an enemy up just by aiming at the ground or floor they're standing on and turning it molten.
Assuming the power of fire is to control heat, you could disable or even kills an enemy by drawing the heat out of their bodies (yes, I got the idea from Tsukihime if anyone's curious).

Heart: Okay, the controlling animals bit has possibilities too. Aside from having them attack enmass, you could take control of flea ridden animals that have some sort of disease that would have a nasty effect on humans and have them just walk by an enemy and, well you know what happens next.
Also if Heart grants telepathic abilities, you might be able to use something similar to Matt Parkman's (Heroes) power where you basically put a command or idea into someone's mind and they'll do it.

One more thing I should point out that also shows how stupid Wheeler is. If you set a loaded gun on fire, enough to make the metal red out, you could potentially set the ammo off and the gun will burst sending out bullets and probably even shrapnel out in all directions. Congrats doofus, you just killed/seriously injured the terrorist and your teammates, plus I'm sure the sound of the blast alerted the bad guys.

Lewis Lovhaug said...

Further illustrating that in fact Wheeler is the most worthless character in the show.

Ryan Gardiner said...

everyone was useless. I mean name one person who genuanly enjoyed that show and ill give you a medal

YhuntressE said...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't Wheeler and Ma'ti (sp) really good friends on the show? I remember Wheeler calling him little buddy so it just struck me as weird that he'd be a total jerk to him. I know, I know giant Continuity Alarm for me.

GeoffLovesComics said...

Well, Captain Planet once again shows how inconsistant the characters powers are, and how horribly written they are, and defined.

I remember with the series, their powers were really inconsistant in each episode, especially episodes that highlighted characters like Matei or Wheeler. Because then in other episodes with all of the Planeteers, some of their powers would be downplayed and never used like they were in a focus episode.

But yeah, it always bothered me how Fire is considered and element when its really not an element at all. Its a chemical reaction caused by friction and oxygen. How it's even considered an element is just beyond me. Technically the only elements that should exist on the team are Earth, Wind, and Water. Heart and Fire are completely subjectitory in how they are used and considered.

But yeah, the comic has a horrible PSA message, contradicts what is supposed to be helpful methods of recycling paper and such, and all together just shows us how stupid Captain Planet really is as a kids show, and an environmental PSA.

One could say that Captain Planet has had some meaningful messages, but none can be taken into practice because they are either grossly inaccurate in their research(or lack there of), or some of them are just so worthless in trying to be conservative, thats its just not worth the effort since some conservative efforts are just more trouble than they are worth.

But anyways, Nice job Linkara as always!

The House of C.R.P said...

Have you seen Avatar: The Last Airbender? It used the concept of elemental control to great effect. In fact, that whole "making rocks come up under people was actually used more than once on the show. They also acknowledged that Fire was only really good for destruction (One of the characters lamenting about it).
Hell, all the technology of the world was powered by their elements.

Seriously. Avatar I think perfected the concept of elemental powers.

SuperSlappy said...

They should totally make an Anti-Planet team of kids to face off against the protagonists of the show. Their powers would be oil to fight water, poison gas to fight wind, toxic sludge (I love that word... say it with me now... sluuudge) to fight earth, global warming to fight fire and finally disease to fend off that pesky heart. They'd be so emo yet so awesome...... yeah.

Lewis Lovhaug said...

I actually do recall a two-part episode where some of the recurring villains got together, created evil versions of the Planeteers' rings, and made Captain Pollution.

I also recall a disturbing scene where they have to bathe him in pollution.

D. R. McLeod said...

Also, he was a surfer dude, because annoying long-haired white guys from California are diametrically opposite to annoying long-haired white guys from California.

...

...wait.

Anonymous said...

About this "Fire Nonsense"
You are right, Fire is not on its own natural, But remember water is a natural substance that we get From combined Hydrogen atoms with an oxygen atom.
Wind is cause by several factors, I really am not knowledgeable enough to go into it, But look it up and youll understand.
Then Earth SHOULD pretty much be every element, And eart is baisically where all chemicals, And minerals are from. But i guess we could simply assume earth means dirt.

So water is an offshoot of air, Wind is an offshoot of earth, And fire is an offshoot of earth also involveing friction, Or heat.

Anonymous said...

May 12, 2009 12:38 AM
Anonymous GeoffLovesComics said...


But yeah, it always bothered me how Fire is considered and element when its really not an element at all. Its a chemical reaction caused by friction and oxygen. How it's even considered an element is just beyond me. Technically the only elements that should exist on the team are Earth, Wind, and Water. Heart and Fire are completely subjectitory in how they are used and considered.

Geoff, Fire in the context of Greek Classical Elements is an element. When I say "classical" I mean "ancient", as this outdated theoretical idea was used to explain phases of nature. It was proposed by Aristotle, the same philosopher that theorized about the atom.
The original phases were, "Earth" "Fire" "Water" "Air" and the powerful fith element "Aether"(not exactly heart, but pure). Now like Linkara pointed out this method is outdated, modern science has discovered the atom and now not only is fire a chemical reaction but Earth Water and Air are now "compounds" that can be broken down into atoms of real multiple elements. Now although this "classic" system is outdated, it is still used in literature and film as a plot device. Like Pokemon and Final Fantasy for instance, both use this system for spell casting and elemental attacks. Or the action packed, Fifth Element obviously. It is very popular in fantasy fiction where magic is abound you see. This show draws a lot of inspiration from that classic Greek system. They even named the spirit of Earth "Gaia", since that is name of the Greek goddess of Earth. The problem with this show is its one dimensional villains, one dimensional good guys, inconsistent plot, poorly researched PSAs, and general terrible writing overall.

Anonymous said...

Blogger Draco_Dracul said...

"Also why do these kids have almost zero imagination when using their powers, did Gaia go out of her way to find the five lest competent and/or imaginative kids in the world?"

Well the intro did say that she granted five magical rings to five "SPECIAL" young children.

Anonymous said...

aculty The House of C.R.P they did wend into how fire can be used to make stuff (there is a reason why the Fire Nation has steam punk) also what most fire benders use isn't true fire bending, it's a corruption of what it use to mean, (life I belive)

Anonymous said...

Uh, Lewis, the Penn & Teller episode you linked to was debunked. http://www.de-fact-o.com/fact_read.php?id=62

Zelda said...

How the hell did I possibly watch this show as a kid? Lord have mercy.... You think Gaia would not have chosen idiots to control the elements (and heart), but seriously these guys are stupid....

Linkara, I salute you for making it through another bad comic.

Lewis Lovhaug said...

While I am aware that "The Eight Great Myths of Recycling" has been deconstructed, that doesn't address the fact that there is no need to reduce the amount of virgin pulp utilized for paper, nor the fact that there is no need to reduce the amount of solid waste, especially since, let's face it - paper is considerably easier to biodegrade than plastic.

And while it's true that the amount of pollution produced by recycling paper has been reduced as technology had advanced, it's still an economic drain, it's still unnecessary, and it still produces SOME pollution.

Also, that statement from the EPA from 1995 in the article says that recycling paper reduces use forest resources, which makes no sense considering they don't cut down forests to make paper.

Anonymous said...

Actually if you expand fire to mean not only inducing combustion (which is all we see Wheeler do) but also inhibiting it than it makes the fire ring a lot more powerful. I say this because if you are able to stop all combustion then most of the modern forms of battle would be useless (guns, bombs, and most vehicles work by causing controlled explosions) and as such would make someone who can stop all of that a great support person. For example in the comic if Wheeler had done that he could have stopped the rocket before it took off, or at least made it so that any guns pointed at the team would not work allowing the rest of the team to take care of the terrorists.

Lord Seth said...

You know, I'm fairly familiar with the cartoon, and let me tell you, Wheeler is horribly out of character in this comic. It's true he was a little more obnoxious than the others, but he was still overall a decent guy. This issue just went way overboard with him.

It's true fire is a chemical reaction rather than an element (and I have to say that this comic is quite possibly my favorite parody of this), but it's just based on the classic four elements of air/water/fire/earth. Lots of series have used those as sources of energy so it's not exactly strange that this did.

Philosophista said...

Guys, you're worrying too much with this stuff of "Fire is not an element"... Because with you start to see, almost all the stuff in earth would be a quimic or physic reaction!!! The own Wind is a physic reaction caused by the different presures of air masses in move. The water is the mix of two different gases and Earth is... well, I think it is a various kind of mineral sorts in little pieces... (this I don't know if is the same as the sand, that are the dust from the rocks on the beach...)

These four elements are element cause tey are ELEMENTAL FORCES NECESSARY TO THE LIFE!!! At least, they are for the human beings. Soil to stand and produce food, water to drink and refresh the body, air to breathe and fire to keep the body warm... That's all that is elementary to live, and that's why their called Elemental forces.

BS Digital Q said...

Oy vey...

Not to sound like a troll or douche or anything, but can anyone just suspend their disbelief and actually just enjoy something for what it is? I mean, CP has TONS of ridiculous stuff wrong with it without going into 'fire isn't an element!' I mean, of course its ridiculous, but who cares?! We're talking about predominantly fantasy stories that use common recurrent tropes that've been used for ages. Can't anyone just suspend their disbelief and enjoy something without deconstructing the obvious violations of physics that make these things possible in the first place? Just let it go and enjoy the show, or hate for what it TRULY messes up.

I swear people have no imagination nowadays...

Lewis Lovhaug said...

For some things? Certainly. If it was just a brainless action movie I can sit back and enjoy the ride and flashy effects.

But if a story like this one actively depends on you NOT THINKING in order to enjoy it, it's an insult to the reader and if I don't critique it, it encourages them to produce more crap along the same lines.
/sfdebris OFF

Don't worry, I understand what you're saying and I don't consider you a troll or a douche, but hey, remember - I said in the review we can forgive the inclusion of heart and fire as elements because of dramatic license. ^_~ Actually I was expecting more posts and drama based around the recycling stuff, not the discussion of elements. XD

Alex Stritar said...

"Actually I was expecting more posts and drama based around the recycling stuff, not the discussion of elements. XD" - Linkara

That makes two of us.

Btw, great dancing in the vid. ;)

D. R. McLeod said...

I think it's actually pretty funny that there was a character named Linka in a book reviewed by Linkara.

But I'm easily amused.

BS Digital Q said...

Thank you for understanding Lewis. It just frustrates me sometimes when I see people go after a particular medium or genre I like and nitpick at things like that, when there are other, more legitimate reasons sitting there, like the absolutely nonsensical bullshit that can only be enjoyed by turning your brain off so your intelligence isn't insulted. Like this here Captain Planet comic (or hell, even the CP cartoon episodes in general!).

Unknown said...

I hope that the Captain Planet movie never comes out. That would be just wrong.

Lotus Prince said...

Actually, there was one thing I found strange about Penn & Teller's criticism of recycled paper. While all of their points are valid, there is one thing that they never covered, which is the entire purpose of recycling: conserving resources.

Yeah, we may not be running out of trees, or anything like that, but the point of recycling is to curb the need to consume more natural resources to produce more products.

Philosophista said...

Just remembering, they uses trees in many other stuff than to create celulosis for making the paper, so recycling paper at least polute, but in that count is better than cut down more trees... But yeah, now they can raise trees with a (shi I don't know how to speak this in english), with some planning to create the eucalipt trees to produce paper (I gues they uses eucalipt...) and then plant more trees to grow in some years and cut other trees, always creating a cycle renewing the sources of wood every season to avoid chopping any tree in sight...

Actually, the greatest agression to the nature, If I remember right is burn forests to create cows...

Paul S. said...

Sadly this comic appears to be better thought out and produced than most episodes of Captain Planet.

What always astounded me about the show was how much money Turner put into promotion and getting celebrity voice actors... but the animation was extremely cheap and the writing almost seemed like an afterthought.

Then again what can you expect? The show's animation was produced by DiC and the only good things they ever did was Heathcliff and... you guessed it. Inspector Gadget.

Achilles said...

The only cool thing about Captain Planet was the fact that Jeff Goldblum lent his voice to the show. Other than that the show was crap.

rizzo said...

Great job once again. [snip]I had a whole incoherent rant here about how much I hate Captain Planet, but I'll just say this: Fuck Captain Planet.

Queen Anthai said...

Aw hell, that looked like so much fun filming that video. Now I'm getting that "I wish I could have hung out with the cool kids" feeling. :P

日本文化のマニアック said...

Leave it to the religious studies student to fixate on the most offensive part of that Penn and Teller sketch: their use of the term gris-gris. I don't like using comment boards for rants, but suffice it to say that the prejudice and misunderstanding toward Vodun and its practitioners is not helped by two white guys calling it idiotic superstition. >:(

Lewis Lovhaug said...

Well, to be fair, they're not exactly big on religion as a whole. ^_~ I grumble about it same way I do about Chuck Austen, but at least they make it halfway entertaining.

Lord Seth said...

Why doesn't anyone with the ability to control water ever suck the water out of their enemies leaving them anywhere from rather parched to a mummified corpse?For balancing. That is just way, way too powerful.

If you need an in-universe explanation, just assume it doesn't work on water in someone's body for some reason.

But yeah, it always bothered me how Fire is considered and element when its really not an element at all. Its a chemical reaction caused by friction and oxygen. How it's even considered an element is just beyond me. Technically the only elements that should exist on the team are Earth, Wind, and Water. Heart and Fire are completely subjectitory in how they are used and considered.As I already mentioned (but I felt I should say it again), it harkens back to the classic elements of Earth, Water, Fire, and Air. There's nothing particularly new about characters having the power of one or more of those. If you need a fifth element, heart or spirit tends to be the one that they pull out. (Except in Avatar, where the fifth element is THE POWER OF DEUS EX MACHINA!!! Yes, I'm still bitter about that part of the finale)

I mean, it was funny when, as I said, Redcloak made fun of it but to actually criticize a show's usage of it is pretty absurd.

Then again what can you expect? The show's animation was produced by DiC and the only good things they ever did was Heathcliff and... you guessed it. Inspector Gadget....and SatAM. And The Real Ghostbusters. And "Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?" Heck, throw in Liberty's Kids as well; that was pretty good for an educational show. I thought The Adventures of Super Mario Brothers 3 was pretty good also; definitely much better than The Super Mario Brothers Super Show. DiC made its fair of stinkers but they also had plenty of good stuff.

Truce Weston said...

One word review for this video - hilarious!!!

I never thought Captain Planet was that bad, but looking at it now, it holds up as well to logic, as wet toilet papers does to a barrage of bullets. This video is proof enough.

I had no idea about the recycling thing though. How strange!


But yeah, I never had a problem with Ma-Ti. I thought his power was cool, because it was unique. Kind of like telepathy, mind control, psychology, empathy, and a lot of other related stuff all in one. Because how many people with fire related powers exist in Marvel alone? And he was representing us Latinos! And yeah, that Squirrel Girl comment I saw earlier, brings about another example that all powers serve some purpose.

Overall funny video! I still never knew they had a comic book though. And until Ma-Ti sends his animal friends to go kick Wheeler's ass and make him scream and cry like a little bitch, MAKE MINE LINKARA!

Philosophista said...

This is how Ma-Ti should look like: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/%C3%8Dndio_patax%C3%B3.jpg/220px-%C3%8Dndio_patax%C3%B3.jpg

Mela said...

Another great review, although I have a question. This is, like, the third review that's had its comments turn into a philosophical discussion. Will this become a tradition?

And am I the only one who thought that the artist made Wheeler look like the bastard son of Guy Gardner? Cuz that's an insult to Guy.

Lewis Lovhaug said...

It's certainly not deliberate. XD As I've said elsewhere, I find it fascinating that in a video where I attack recycling, where I say terrorists should not be negotiated with under any circumstances, and that medical testing on animals is a good thing, the topic that everyone's focusing in on is whether Fire is an element. XD

mightysamurai said...

"Except in Avatar, where the fifth element is THE POWER OF DEUS EX MACHINA!!!"Well yeah, it's supposed to be. The fifth element in Avatar is aether. I agree it was clumsily handled, but it doesn't come out of nowhere.

RADIX said...

I think I know why Gaia sends the Planeteers out to do her dirty work rather than go herself: she doesn't want to start a panic. Five kids going around doing environmentally friendly things is safer, rings aside.

Also, Wheeler's idiocy is fairly easy to explain: Look at the cartoon. Look at how often they bash America (according to them, we're all polluting scum). Notice that all the main villains are white (or unknown), and that the sole American on the good guys' team is the butt monkey and, in later seasons, total asshole. There was more than one writer on that cartoon that had a hate-on for America, I'm sure.

Another great review (I've been watching them for a while now). :)

PR said...

In your review you stated that "fire isn't even an element, its a chemical reaction". However if we wanted to be specific then neither are any of the other kids. The power over the element would be something like the power to control Lead (Pb) or Hydrogen (H).It would make more sense if they had the power over states of matter. Such as gases, solids, liquids and plasma. Of course you could include other states of matter like the theoretical anti-matter (Matter that exists outside our universe.) or Bose-Einstein Condensates (Matter that has lost as much energy as theoretically possible). However as Bose-Einstein Condensates exists only in labs, dark matter is outside of our universe, and plasma is common, but not on earth. Therefore I think the intended gist of it is the perceived forces of nature by ancient societies, based on natural disasters. Such as droughts and floods equal water, earthquakes equal earth, fires equal (obviously) fire, and hurricanes and tornadoes equal wind. Therefore the one to whine about is the power of heart, because it does not fit in with the rest.

I still think Linkara is awesome though.

SynjoDeonecros said...

"Fire: Okay in the hands of a complete imbecile like Wheeler, the ring's power is the most useless. However, if you had good aim, you could cripple an enemy by targetting their hands or feet (would they be able to use it if you gave them a third degree burn? not likely).
You could fry an enemy up just by aiming at the ground or floor they're standing on and turning it molten.
Assuming the power of fire is to control heat, you could disable or even kills an enemy by drawing the heat out of their bodies (yes, I got the idea from Tsukihime if anyone's curious)."

The intro of the show (which, naturally, isn't indicative of the quality or events in the show itself, back then) showed Wheeler melting a part of the road into a puddle to trap one of the Eco-Villains (as they were called), so it's highly possible that the Fire ring also includes heat (which is sensible, considering the rings' basis on the classical elements, and the fact that geothermal energy is a reality).

Keihzaru said...

I can't believe the yactually made a comic follow up of that show XD
Great comic review, you should have mentioned the aspect of the beach where the yare palying that isntead of being yellow sand like in real life it looks like dark brown soil, like it was some kidn of dirty harbor or soemthing when it is supposed to be a "vrigin island".
Why is always the guy of the minoritary ethnic group the pussy?


oh by the way, I am a comic book fan too, and an aspiring comic book artist/writer, I mostly read obscure comic book (mostly because there is not such a comic book culture here in my country so they don't print the regular series and you have to buy the ones that are already n volumes or in the cas of manga Takobons) so, long story short, I would like if you checked a little sketch I made for the firs chapter of my yet nameless comic book. thank you

Keihzaru said...

wow I forgot to put the url http://juanpriest.deviantart.com/gallery/#Love-chocolat

Paul S. said...

I will contend that DiC had a few good shows (I'll give them partial credit on Sailor Moon.) But the vast majority of their output was... bleh.

Plus for a couple of years they had this weird fixation licensing a celebrity and not spending a dime on the actual show. Remember ProStars and Wishkid?

Emrys1987 said...

I used to love captain planet when i was a kid but man it sucks!!!!!! anyway the review was hilarious

When is lightbringer coming back????

Lewis Lovhaug said...

It KIND OF is coming back today. ^_~ Check back in a little bit to see a crossover strip with Vinnie D's AntiBunny. Otherwise I'm waiting for one more page from CR! before I officially resume updates.

Laughing Hyena said...

I remember those horrible Captain Planet comics. I think I had #1 at one point, where the cover mimics the Fantastic Four cover.

Does anybody remember the toys? Which came with light-up rings you could wear?

Yes, I was a fan of the show at the time. Like the N. Critic said, there really wasn't anything else on when CP aired. Now that I'm older I wondered why in the hell I liked it as a kid. But it's still so bad that its funny bad.

Seeing as which, I have a comic review request:
Archie's TMNT Meet the Conservation Corps or anything from the Conservation Corps mini-series (#1, #2, or #3). They are equally as bad as the Captain Planet comics.

With the main villain as a giant revenge seeking oil-covered duck. I'm serious...

Philosophista said...

In the cartoon Wheeler is less imbecile, he isn't a great douche-bag, but is more annoying Big Bully that well didn't bully anyone (I guess he was out his... ELEMENTE HHAHAHAHA ok, that was lame), and so become annoying saying a lot of shit and this stuff...

Well, I guess he could act in Save By the Bell anytime...

Max Barnard said...

Hold the phone! A bald person with orange sunglasses?! Since when was Agent X a villain in Captain Planet!

Scott Tibbs said...

I always hated Captain Planet. The purpose of a cartoon is to be entertaining, not to preach for a half an hour. If I want a sermon, I will go to church.

Lord Seth said...

Well yeah, it's supposed to be. The fifth element in Avatar is aether. I agree it was clumsily handled, but it doesn't come out of nowhere.No, it came out of nowhere. There was no setup, no foreshadowing. It was the definition of coming out of nowhere.

(I apologize for the late response, but I thought I did respond, but either it didn't go through right or I didn't actually post it, so...)

Batzarro said...

If the power of heart applies beyond conventional animals and reaches into germs, bacteria and other microscopic beings, he could very well be the deadliest Planeteer, screwing up with people's Mitochondria and making them super-sick.

But that would be asking far too much from a Planeteer, is it?

mightysamurai said...

"No, it came out of nowhere. There was no setup, no foreshadowing. It was the definition of coming out of nowhere."

I'm sorry, but that's simply wrong.

There was plenty of setup and foreshadowing. If you know your history and you know the references DiMartino and Konietzko were drawing from, it makes perfect sense. Could they have been a little more explicit about it or included a little more lead-up to it? Probably. But the hints were there for the attentive viewer to see.

Anonymous said...

"PROTECT THE ENVIROMENT OR I'LL F*CKING KILL YOU, CAPTIAN PLANET!!!"

Everything ted turner touches taht isn't a busisness turns to poop.

Zerry said...

I freely admit, I friggin' LOVED this show as a kid. Growing up I got caught up in the early 90s environmental awareness fad and suddenly I had a purpose in life. No litterbug could possibly withstand being lectured by a preachy 6 year old!

... and yet, being the little Eco-Warrior that I was, the show drove me nuts. The bad puns and writing bounced off my thick child skull, but it was frustrating watching the kids be so useless and unimaginative as well as rely on the Summon Cap Ritual every. Friggin. Episode. Couldn't they ever actually solve a problem on their own?

... still, if someone were to do some major surgery and give it some decent writing, it could actually be pretty good...

shikome kido mi said...

While many have postulated that water COULD be used to control humans, the truth is that water elementalists rarely have power over anything that is anywhere near that impure.
Therefore, and I know I'm being nerdy even suggesting it, I vote the greatest power is Wind/Air, because human beings need it to breathe so any time you're fighting humans you're going have the element you control on hand and usually both you and your opponent will be completely surrounded by it.
Of course, if Heart could mind control more than two humans at once and do more than take up all your concentration making people sleep, it'd be the most powerful. Mind control trumps just about everything because if you have to you can just control someone with the abilities you need.

SynjoDeonecros said...

I think I may have found a reason behind why the Planeteers acted so stupidly with their powers. Take a look at this comment from the show's creator, Ted Turner, as spoken during an interview with Entertainment Weekly:

"We have more cartoons than anybody: The Flintstones, The Jetsons, the Smurfs, Scooby-Doo. They're nonviolent. We don't have to worry that we're encouraging kids to kill each other - like SOME of the other cartoon programs do."

Now, this quite is often attributed to why, under his watch, the Swat Kats cartoon was canceled (the theory being that, despite how popular it was, at the time, Turner simply found it too violent for his sensibilities to handle), but if we take that logic to Captain Planet, then we have a reason behind their stupidity: If the Planeteers were smart about using their powers and do what everyone on here suggests they do, then that could be classified as overly antagonistic attacks, and thus could not be allowed in Ted Turner's universe. That's probably why I remember hearing on the show how Ma-Ti couldn't use the Power of Heart to incite animals or humans to war; that would be too violent of him.

I know, it's a bit of a stretch, but really, it makes the most sense, in this case.

ShadowWing Tronix said...

I was going to wait until I went through the whole site before commenting on things (I don't like posting to outdated topics), but Bhargo totally wins the dance-off. Those were some amazing moves.

Anonymous said...

this could be the worst cartoon ever made.

RocMegamanX said...

I hadn't noticed this before, but in 14 min 32 sec, Ma-Ti is so disproportionate it's not even funny. His head is bigger than most of his body.

Didn't anybody overlook the art in the penciling stage before this was published?

Jeremy A. Patterson said...

Captain Planet WAS NOT THE ONLY 'Green Aesop' show DiC produced: One of its last offerings was a little ditty called 'Dino-Squad' that had a similar goal!

Jeremy.

Anonymous said...

You thought that was bad. There's an eptiside wher Dr.Bright (or whatever that Meg Ryan chartcher was named) meets herself from 20 years in the future *insert your own current events joke here* and they go back in time to make a deal with ADOLF FREAKING HITLER to prevent peace. If I don't know what's stupid(besides Marville) ,I don't know what is