What if our powers combined to create Captain Planet, and we try to resurrect him for the first time in 30 years?
>> Guido: Well, we decided to do this episode for a few reasons. One is we're about to enter a superhero summer. A pretty wild superhero summer as we've been talking about with Superman, Fantastic Four. I mean, Ironhears coming out. Not that I think we're going to be covering anything related to that. What am I missing? Is it really just Superman and Fantastic Four? It feels like there's more. I gu. There's more. One Hollywood blockbusters, but those we have plans to cover. Lots of Superman things, lots of Fantastic Four things. We're going to be dipping back into the amalgam universe and have some guests on. So we wanted to do something not Marvel or dc. Still superhero, but not Marvel or DC for the moment.
>> Rob: Marvel adjacent. We'll get into that a little later.
>> Guido: Guess it is. That's true. That is true. Marvel was involved in part of this at some point. But the other thing, I don't know if our listeners are aware, this podcast has spaw a few other creative projects for you and me, not the least of which is my writing Queer Mythology, but also you and I started a retro nostalgia, company doing some selling of vintage stuff and also some movie screenings. So it's been just about a year since actually the first screening. I don't think you remember that, but.
>> Rob: No, no, it's been longer than a year. We did our first one in October 2023.
>> Guido: Oh. So it's been a year and a half. My mater a it s been a year and a half. But what is that project called?
>> Rob: That is called Sleepover Trading Company, because our idea was to create the perfect sleepover experience. All those things that you loved as a kid.
>> Guido: Yes. And so with that, we go on a lot of retro and nostalgia binges, you and I, whether it be TV shows or flea market finds or anything. And today's episode was totally inspired by that.
>> Rob: Completely. Well, we'll get into that in a moment. But if you're joining us here for the first time, we have three parts of our journey through the multiverse today. Origins of the story, Exploring multiversity and pondering possibilities. So thanks for coming along and remember.
>> Guido: We really need your five star reviews. You can find us online at, deerwatchers.com where all of our previous episodes are searchable.
>> Rob: And with that, welcome to episode 161. And let's check out what's happening in the omniverse with our travels. Today's alternate universe. And today, we are putting all of our rings together to form the question, what if our powers combine to create The Mega macdaddy of ecology tapped in Planet and we try to resurrect him for the first time in 30 years.
>> Guido: What if, and I have to point out to our listeners, we did not come up with the language in that question. It is from the second iteration of the theme song sung by French snyner of the B52s when he calls them, the Megama Mac Daddy of Ecology. It's a strange, strange Meg Ma Steady Jocology. Exactly. Very strange twist and turn on this, brief journey with Captain Planet.
>> Rob: And of Planet is. Is saving the ocean. You know what he saves then? The rock lobsters.
>> Guido: It's true, it's true. They could have done a whole lot of synergy there, but they did not do it. We have never talked Captain Planet, we've never talked this Earth or any of the Earths s here. We have talked TV adaptations that got turned into comics before, such as, of course Buffy, Heman and Sheirra. And Marvel did a whole lot of these, including today's, usually under the Star Commic Bananner, though today's is just direct from Marvel. So we've never visited this Earth before. We could call it Earth Gaia, although I guess that's like saying Earth Earth. But we're gonna go with it anyway. It is gonna be Earth Gaia.
>> Rob: Well, what is your background, Guido? With our blue skinned hero, Captain Planet. Blue sk.
>> Guido: Blue skin mullet. The important thing is the mullet. You need m. Need to always include the mullet because both iterations, Even like the 95 Modern Cool update, still had that mullet. He just happened to have a design shaved into the side of it or.
>> Rob: Whatever, which is also very 90s too.
>> Guido: Well, this was. I mean, you and I both are sort of, We straddle the perfect ages for this property, I think because it started when I was a kid and continued to when you were a kid. Really loved it a lot. I had a few of the toys. It was definitely not up there though with things like he man and Sheer Ra or even Thundercuts. For me, probably because there's not a whole lot of serialized storytelling or world building. It's sort of silly. So I remember watching the cartoon a lot, but I really was bored until Captain Planet came. Which is ironic because watching it now as an adult like Captain Planet is barely in it and barely interesting. It'little like what I was thinking.
>> Rob: It's a little like the Power Rangers 2 where it's fun, but then you kind of want to wait for them to make the Mega Zord at the end, which you just know is gonna happen. And it's all kind of building up to that moment.
>> Guido: So, I mean, it felt so pervasive. Captain Planet, I felt like it was huge for a minute, and really only a minute, though. I guess it was six years. But I remember having. I showed you the image today of the acid rain test kit from Captain Planet. Like, I had all these environmental things because that's the other thing I sort of remember this with was it feels like the late 80s into the early 90s was the beginning of the major Earth Day movement post, you know, the Silent spring, Rachel Carson, early 70s stuff, and my mother. I remember taking me to Earth Day in 1990 when this show was debuting. And 1990s also when there's that really big ABC TV special for Earth Day where all the different, sitcoms crossover. So, like, 1990 must have been a big Earth Day year. And push Greenpeace was becoming big and universally known. And so Captain Planet sort of fit into that as a kid and. And was a big part of that. So I was a big fan.
>> Rob: Yeah. Made me think of the global Jeopardy. Comic, which we've covered on, this show from a few years later. And that was in 93. But it all feels like it was the same way. And it was like, okay, you know, the way to pitch this to kids is put superheroes into it.
>> Guido: Yeah, environmentalism was cool, and Captain Planet was sort of at the center of that. So, yeah, I was a fan. And then for reasons that we'll talk about here, like, I didn't. Once I stopped being a kid, I moved on, and it wasn't a part of my life. But I think that's true for all of us. And we'll talk about why when we give some background. But before that, what was your background with Captain Planet? Being a few years younger, I still got into it.
>> Rob: Big fan of Captain Planet. I don't know if I watched some of. I definitely probably watched some, of this series when it was first coming out. Well, the new episodes. And then I would imagine it was on syndication. So I was definitely really into Captain Planet. And now it kind of feels like it was that tier under, like, GI Joe and Turtles. Like, that's the top tier. And then, like, you have Captain Planet, you have Cops and some other shows from that era that were like, just a little like James Bond Jr. Like, those were just like a, the teier under, like, the big phenomenons that are like Turtles and. And Joe.
>> Guido: So. But I was some of it is. They feel a little kiddier for some reason. Even though they're not like turtles is super kitty. I don't know why it feels different, but. But yeah.
>> Rob: Anyway, we do. And I had a bunch of the toys I had to.
>> Guido: Well, you love villains.
>> Rob: I had a few of the villains. I had Verminus Scum, who is the giant rat guy. And he was one of my all time favorite action figures still upstairs in our attic. Because he had like the removable cowls.
>> Guido: Yeah.
>> Rob: The hoodt face. And I would.
>> Guido: But you didn't have Dr. Blight.
>> Rob: I did not have Dr. Blight.
>> Guido: We just looked her up and you could twist her hair to reveal her half scarred face. Of course she has that, you know, typical, woman. Means business short bob cut that Emma Frost had around the same timees. But it covers scars on her face. And the figure. You can twist the hair. So we will definitely be tracking that figure down. I wish you had it.
>> Rob: No, and I had. I had one of the other guys that, Now I'm forgetting his name. Bute M not one of the better ones. Better villains. I don't think I had Dude Nukem, who was also pretty cool. I think he glowed in the dark, which makes sensee.
>> Guido: Yes. Oh, I think I might have had him. Maybe he's upstairs. I don't know. I need to dig him out.
>> Rob: Yeah, I had a few of them. And of course, none of the kidsus they were the boring ones.
>> Guido: Thath.
>> Rob: My God.
>> Guido: I know. No, they were probably in, you know, the $.99 liquidation bin at the front of the KB store, so.
>> Rob: And like you, I think it was also some of that supplemental thing. I'm sure I had some comic books and other things that were related to it. And my dad was very into the environment and was a conservationist, so I don't know if he was an influence on me getting into it. And I think it's been one of those series that it's remained like there's so many things that people forget completely about, like Cops or something like that. Like that's. Yeah.
>> Guido: Are Jason the weeled Warriors.
>> Rob: Jason the Whee Warriors. Like you don't remember, but this is a show that I think has stayed m Again, not up to like turtles level, but it's like stayed in like the back end of people's minds's.
>> Guido: talk about why.
>> Rob: Okay, well, we'renna go back to the beginning of the Earth, its origins of the story. Right now on this very show, you're going to get the answer to all your questions, our amazing story begins a few years ago. So Guido, why don't you start off by telling a little bit about.
>> Guido: We're going to both give of background. Yeah, well it's a weird property because.
>> Guido: We're so used to properties that were developed really explicitly as marketing something, a toy generally to kids and this was not developed that way. It's not to say that the creators didn't have profit in mind, but it feels like they really were interested more in the mission of it. So it's conceived by media mogul Ted Turner. Of course, that's Ted Turner who created CNN and TBS and was married to Jane Fonda. So Ted Turner and Barbara Pyle, who was a media activist working on environmental issues, co created Captain Planet. So that alone is unusual. Right. By the 1990 Ted Turner is already a huge multi probably billionaire in today's money, certainly media mogul. And yet he has a direct hand in creating this character. So that is so interesting. Pyle also then became the chair of the Captain Planet foundation which was dedicated to environmental causes and claims that the five Planeteers were inspired by real life activists or groups that she knew of and had potentially worked with the original show when it started. The animated series was produced by Deke, the studio behind Inspector Gadget and Care Bears, the real Ghostbusters and a whole lot of other 80s and 90s good.
>> Rob: And a studio that you would always make fun of on the playground.
>> Guido: The show ran for six seasons and a total of 113 episodes. So it ended in May 1996.
>> Rob: And the show was really known for its A list voice cast that included Lear, strange guest star, some strange people. So yeah, Levar Burden from Reading Rainbow and Star Trek as the planeteer, Kwame Willopi Goldberg and later Margot Kder as Gaia.
>> Guido: There was some topic interchangeable to those two. You could see them playing the same role rightactly.
>> Rob: They were always up.
>> Guido: I guess they both have hu voices that that's maybe what they were going for with Gaia there.
>> Rob: Yes, there was some real big top notch voice actors. Kathy, Susie, Scott, Menville people still working today. And then the villains were where the big folks were. So like this list is pretty insane.
>> Guido: You kind of think there's someone like made it up. But then you watch the episode and you're like no, no, they're actually credited there.
>> Rob: And this is where Turner probably came in. Because I.
>> Guido: That's true. I never thought about that. But that is definitely true.
>> Rob: Yeah, because you had Ed Asner, Jeff Goldblum, Dean Stockwell, Meg Ryan.
>> Guido: Meg Ryan, who was at like the peak of her career here and playing Dr. Blight, like that is wild.
>> Rob: Academy Award winner James Coburn, Tim Curry, Martin Sheen, and then three people all playing the same character actually at different times. Sting, David Warner and Malcolm McDowell.
>> Guido: Really wild. I think there's probably others you're not even mentioning.
>> Rob: Well, there's a bunch of other people. Like I know Bob Weir from the Grateful Dead, like is in an episode. Just like a lot of folks that like I think were probably friends again with Ted or were into environmental causes.
>> Guido: Yeah.
>> Rob: And funny enough, one of the people with the smallest resumes is David Kober. No relation. James Coburn, who voiced the title character. He has appeared in other many other animated shows, though I saw he also was on one episode of the Sopranos.
>> Guido: Like oh my gosh, we have to go find him.
>> Rob: Paris. He was a bartender on an episode of the Sopranos. That's it. So w. He was still around. And then the show did undergo a pretty major overhaul starting in season four. It switched production companies from Deke to Hannah Barbera. Many of those big name actors left playing the villains and were recast. Like Maurice Lamarch actually took on a whole bunch of the characters and it was rebranded as the New Adventures of Captain Planet. And as you mentioned that the final season also got a raapped intro song from French Snyder, which I don't think you and I even knew existed until we started doing research. No w big B52's fans too. So I don't know how that never.
>> Guido: Came about because they didn't release a soundtrack. Come on, Mondo, somebody release that soundtrack now.
>> Rob: Everyone knows the other song, you know.
>> Guido: I know. And it' really good. It's so good. It is, yeah. Let's talk about the pilot then for this segment. Yeah, we watched the pilot, we watched a few other bits and pieces, but we're go goingna focus on the pilot. The origin story.
>> Rob: Yes, this is. Well, the proper title of the show is Captain Planet and the Planeteers. They do get title billing. This is from September 15, 1990 and it's called A Hero for Earth.
>> Guido: The story is by Nicholas Boxer, the teleplay is by Billy Rubin. It's directed by Will Muo. I'm assuming Muo's credits include GI Joe, Silver Surfer, Robocoup and X Men Evolution. While the story person helped develop the series and doesn't seem to have too many credits. And Ruben, who the teleplay writer might be a pseudonym because apparently Bill Rubin is the compound that makes your urine yellow. So it speculated that it might not be a real person that l the.
>> Rob: Only credit on Indb so and when I typed his name in, everything was coming up with this urine thing. So I don't know that'it's Earth and the body is all related.
>> Guido: So a quick summary in case someone hasn't seen this episode since 1990 or maybe even never. What happens in the Origin of Captain Planet and Planetr well, Gaia, the spirit.
>> Rob: Of Earth, who's, I guess, been asleep for a century.
>> Guido: It's a little unclear with no explanation, but, yeah, she wakes up, she summons.
>> Rob: Four teenagers and a young boy who'I guess Mai is younger than the others and also a monkey from five different corners of the world to help her in the battle to save the planet.
>> Guido: Because pollution has gone up, like in the last hundred years. So she's distressed over this.
>> Rob: Their first assignment is to battle Haoggish Greedlee, who's like a giant pig man, really, and he's got an oil rig operation that's jeopardizing the coastline. And of course they do their best, but, you know, when they can't do it alone, they put all their powers together and Captain Planet comes out and, of course, saves the day.
>> Guido: Our powers combined.
>> Rob: Yes, exactly.
>> Guido: And so, yeah, we have five powers. We have wind, Water, Earth, Fire and heart. And they combine them for Captain Planet. They don't have their powers when he appears. And then often, very often, he'll get, like, toxic sludge put on him and that'll weaken him and they'll have to, like, free him and then he'll save the day and he goes away and they get their powers back. So, that's, that's the general gist for those who don't remember or haven't seen it ever and are still with us on this. So rewatching this episode, which we've watched before, what, what do you think of the Origin, the setup, the show as a whole?
>> Rob: I like it. I think it's a pretty simple setup, but I think it makes sense. You could also see, and this was, I think, other shows, you know, you were talking at the start about how things were taking the environmental approach here, but I think there was also a lot of things the same time. We'like let's bring all the Earth together and have people from different backgrounds. So, it makes a lot of sense. Hear how you have, like, the one girl is from the Soviet Union and you've got someone from Asia and Africa in The US So I think that kind of makes sense as, as a way to like kickstart this. This story.
>> Guido: Well, the other thing, it adds that I think adds a little fun. I think it's an untapped potential. And we'll talk more about this in our next segment, I think. But it adds almost an X Men quality. A post giant size, like a new X Men quality. You have these different people, they have distinct personalities. You've got, you know, the rebel kid from. From Brooklyn. You've got the moral core of Kwame. You've got the smart, clever gi. You've got the. I don't know what to say about the Soviet Union girl, but I really like her voice. So. But I don't know alse to describe her personality, but they are different. And so you have the potential of like that sort of team interplay, fun thing that makes things like X Men, Teen Titans, even things like the Avengers work really well.
>> Rob: Well, they're related to their elements too. Right. Like the, Which is also kind of a very Marvel, very Fantastic Four kind. Yeah.
>> Guido: I'm hot headed. I'm fire.
>> Rob: Exactly.
>> Guido: You know, I'm commmon. Soothing. I'm water. I'm. I'm grounded and of the Earth. And I'm Earth. Like. Yeah.
>> Rob: And the American Wheeler, who has the firepower, he's a very. He struck me as a very Marvel kind of character because he's supposed to be from Brooklyn and he has speaks with like this very heavy like Brooklyn ease, which I don't even know was like as much of a thing in 1990 even. But it's a very kind of like Ben Gren, a little like Peter Parker kind of thing where he's like the sarcastic one, cracking jokes and he's the one like hitting on the girl from. From the Soviet Union as well. Like I can see that as being that. That super kind of Marvel, like down to earth New York character.
>> Guido: The other fun thing that I think it does, and especially in other episodes, maybe not as much the first is Captain Planet has a lot of personality and sometimes he's really corny and. But he puns and quips a lot. Like they almost make him Spider man esque. And that's cool because to have this character who's essentially like a deu. Ex machina who's just gonna get summoned to save the day, who represents the power of the Earth combined, like he could just be a boring force essentially. And he's not like they gave him a lot of personality. And I think that was a Good move. I don't know how much it's used other than the quippiness while he's battling. But the quippiness while he's battling is enough to elevate it slightly, I think.
>> Rob: M And the villains have so much personality.
>> Guido: Oh, my gosh.
>> Rob: One thing they did, and this is almost like a Batman 66 thing, that every villain also has, like a sidekick villain. So Hge Greedley has this other villain who John Ratzenberger voices. And like, he's tiny, he's very skinny. And of course. And Hgge Greedley'like really big.
>> Guido: Thatat so I blight has now the AI computer. Yeah, it's very fun. We watched a final season episode where they're all running for president, which is, eerily prescient, I'd say. But it's just fun to watch these quirky characters and how they want to take over the Earth by getting elected president.
>> Rob: Yeah. And they're all very fun too. And like, and it's never really explained why this guy is kind of like half. Mostly human, but also like, kind of like a pig at the same time. Like, it's more. He's more pig than. It would just be like, oh, he just like, looks a little like that. It like, does feel like a mutation. But clearly this is not the kind of show that's going to explain why that is the case.
>> Guido: Well, and in some ways, that's also where it's a little X Men. Like, not to keep comparing this show to X Men, but I do think a lot of the ingredients are there.
>> Rob: You just everything to X Men, though.
>> Guido: That's for better and for worse. Ah, but in this case, they are the only ones with powers, if you will. Right. It's not a world overrun with superpowers, nor, like, there's not magic in the world. Nothing. It's like the Planeteers have these five rings. The villains are all slightly, like, warped and have access to great technology or, our bionic or something. But there's not. It's not a supernatural world. It's these sort of supernatural and surreal characters in the real world around.
>> Rob: And their powers have limitations. So the water actually, she just can't create water out of the air. It actually has to come from.
>> Guido: Right.
>> Rob: A water source. And. And Wheeler, who has fire, is like, always accidentally setting fire to things. So that, again, has this very marvel feel where there are limitations. It's not Superman. Like, they can't do everything. They do have these restrictions, which I think does help follow the story. And it also obviously prompts them to need Captain America. Captain America, Captain Planet at some point.
>> Guido: The last thing I'll share in case people aren't remembering, is the show, like most animated series did, because at some point, they were required to. That is probably no LONGER True in 1990 and on TBS. But they have a moral at the end. In this case, though, the moral is always this planet tip and this way that you can take care of the planet. And it's. It's fun to see that because they actually animate them and they have the characters go do something that they recommend you can do. And now, of course, it's a lot of greenwashing. It's like, you know, don't shower for too long. Turn the lights off when you leave the room. Like, stuff where it's like, okay, well, that's not actually going to save the Earth. In fact, it's corporations who need to change their ways. But there's a little bit of that. Like, there was the one about voting. Talked a lot about working for candidates who want to support the Earth. So I think they have good messages in there.
>> Rob: And I think it had, like, a lasting impression on me, even as a kid, and seeing these other things where it's like, oh, okay, like, I can do my part. Like, you're saying, like, yes, like, that's not gonna be, like, the end all. Be all of, like, saving the plan. But it's like, yeah, I mean, hopefully, maybe you start. Started there, and then it can grow just something bigger.
>> Guido: The other thing, it's. And it's. We're, starting to make it sound like an issue show. But I think what is so cool about it is it never becomes an issue show. Like, even when, you know, the animals are dying and the endangered species are being kidnapped. Like, it's all wrapped up in comic book action adventure. But there is an episode that neither of us knew existed, which is shocking. And we watched last year, actually, right around this time during Pride Month, an AIDS episode. And it is actually an incredible episode, because what happens is the villain is convincing everyone that AIDS is this horrible, communicable disease that they should all be scared of and they should all turn away from people who have it, which, of course, is what was actually happening in the world. And the lesson and the important learning that comes from the Planeteers here is, no, you need to invite people in and take care of them, and that, in fact, you're not going to catch this disease from. From touching them or from spit. And people who have AIDS our neighbors and our friends. And it's really extraordinary that this was happening on a children's TV show when we know that children's TV shows to date are quite censored.
>> Rob: O, yeah. And I saw another episode which we didn't watch, where they take one of the Poluter villains to court and he actually wounds up winning the court case.
>> Guido: Oh, wow.
>> Rob: And like, it was one. The only one I saw that, like, the villain kind of gets away with it in the end. And I would imagine, like their. I would imagine what they were trying to say is, yes, sometimes. Right.
>> Guido: You can't always win.
>> Rob: You can't always win. Or the. The way justice falls, it's not always going toa be. So. I like that there are these nuances. And. And yeah, even with the, AIDS episode, it's not. It's more about the stigma around it than the disease itself, which I think is such a good way of handling it.
>> Guido: So let's switch medium.
>> Rob: Yeah. Did you know that Captain Planet also had a comic? Well, here it comes. It's exploring multiversity.
>> Guido: I am your guide through these vast new realities.
>> Rob: Follow me and poundnder the question. What if this is Captain Planet and The Planeteers? Issues 1 through 12 from Marvel Comics, October 1991 to October 1992.
>> Guido: And they are mostly standalone issues, a little continuous stories. We really just skimmed some and Deep Red, the first two mainly. So we'll talk broadly about the whole series, which had a variety of creators, particularly toward the end. Most of the writing, though, ends up being by Barry Dutter, with some help from Jim Salakrupp. In the beginning, there's some guests writing by Ian Rimmeer and Simon Fuhrman. Toward the end, the art starts off from Jose Delbo, but ends up mostly being by Pat Broderick. And then there's a lot of fill in artists in some of the stories. Mike Darlo is one of the Inors. There's others, Jim Masara, Letterer, others. I'm crediting the first issue, people who really set the tone, and Brad Vnkataa as the colorist. The editor is Rob Tokar. He edited the whole run. So because there were some of these stories adapted from the TV show, we didn't want to spend too much time on them. And I, will mention that the ones that adapt the TV show actually don't credit any of the TV show creators, which is really surprising to me because even the first one is directly lifted from the episode. Like seen by scene, beat by beat. And there's other Ones like with Captain Pollution that pull from it. And it's really also clear that this is meant to be an ongoing run. They started a letters page in issue five and you keep having these comments from the editors about like, tell us what you like and send in letters and get your friends to read this. But then you can really tell that it's starting to probably not sell well or hasn't been selling well. And they're using like inventory stories to get the final issues out. Like they're chopping up stories into three parts and then spreading them out over these issues. And they'all different artists. And the last issue actually has this one random page that shows Wheeler and What's Har's name? Maty. Maty. So Wheeler and Maty, like just sitting at home. And it's like a one page story of that. So it is clear. And a pinup that's meant to be a cover. It's clear it got canceled. It's all very strange how it ends up unfolding sadly. And there's a few. What's fun. One quick note that's fun is there's a few fun homage covers. The best one is a fantastic for number one homage which is really good. Newukemb's first appearance. So they have HEM coming out of the earth and all the Planeteers as the Fantastic Four. There's an Avengers 53 which is the first Avengers vs X Men battle cover homage. So they do a really fun job with that. So let's talk about this series as a whole. What did you notice? What did you like? What would you change?
>> Rob: Well, I mainly concentrated on reading the second issue because the second issue did seem to have a. What I saw was a completely original story. Maybe something would correct me if I'm wrong, but they did put some jokes in there to bring it above like kitty status. So there is like this giant dragon and the dragon kills what destroys probably doesn't kill them to airplanes fighter jets that are trying to stop it. And the guy in the third fire jets says like, oh no, they just stopped Iceman, and. And Maverick or something like that. So they're making a Top Gun reference.
>> Guido: Well, even here, the other thing, I don't know if you noticed that the dragon's name is sm.
>> Rob: Oh yes. Oh no. Yeah.
>> Guido: Which of course the dragon and hobbit is smog. But it's clever here because the dragon breathes smog and blight makes the dragon by, exposing a baby dragon to a ton of pollutants. That's how she makes them. So it. It's. Yeah, there are a lot of clever meta references, in there that make it, like you said, a little different than just a kitty cartoon comic, which I think is what the later issues that they're rushing out become more of.
>> Rob: And some of the art almost reminded me, and big fans of this will say I'm completely off, I'm sure, if you look at the two of them. But Big, the art almost reminded me of some of the Todd McFarlane's.
>> Guido: Spider E. I completely agree.
>> Rob: Oay.
>> Guido: That's the Pat Broderick art. And it is very similar. And it's the same exact moment. It's a little after. So it's clearly inspired by, but absolutely it. And I wouldn't be surprised, maybe Mike Darlo even inked some of McFarlane's Amazing Spider man, because I totally agree with you. Yeah.
>> Rob: So if you're a fan of that kind of art. And in fact, I think the art, even Hog is greedy in, like, the first one. Like, he's very well drawn. And the way that they. They're not just replicating the shots from the show, they are adapting it for a comic look so, like, they can do, like, these close ups and, like, these different angles, while obviously on the TV show, it is very straightforward. It looks like a children's cartoon from the 1990s, but they do take it in a little bit more of an artistic direction in the comic.
>> Guido: Yeah, agreed. So why do you think it got canceled or what? Didn't seem to work about it.
>> Rob: I think the tone is one of the things like. Like, would the kids be getting the references, say, to Top Gun there? Maybe not. But also the overall show, the original cartoon, of course, is very much geared towards kids. So I don't know ultimately if they would be, you know, I don't know. I think that's the tricky thing with the tone. It's like, was this appealing to kind of a more teenage or older comic book reading audience, or was thisappealing more towards the much younger audience? That's probably gravity gravitating towards the Animated Series.
>> Guido: Yeah, I think that's probably true. And for me, some of that, and it might be the reason you're describing comes apart in the structure, because every episode obviously has the same structure. There's an issue the Planeteers try to deal with it can't call on Captain Planet. The comics do the same thing. And it just gets really boring. Like, it just becomes. I read a few more of them than you and it's just the same thing over and over and over. The only interesting one was one that lifts from the series where the villains all get their own evil rings and then summon Captain Pollution. And that one's a little fun and structured a little differently and continues over multiple issues. But it's all lifted from the series.
>> Rob: So put some. There was in the issue number two that I was reading, like, there's a mysterious figure that like plants something and oneed the Planeteer'ear that's building to them.
>> Guido: The Captain Pollution storyline.
>> Rob: Okay, so there is there hinting at a little bit more of that serialized storytelling, but it's not quite there. And it's making me think I's a character that we've talked a lot about and one that you love is He Man. But like, if you were to read the Filmation TV show as a comic, it would be probably also pretty boring because it's like, oh, it's kind of the same thing over and over again. So when they did the he man comics, like, they really invested in the lore and everything like that. So I think like, yes, that that would have been the way to go. Maybe go like, okay, let's really explore how did the rings come about and who is.
>> Guido: Why was Gai asleep or all those things. Or even invent characters which maybe they weren't allowed to with the licenser. But that's the other thing. He man has such a deep bench of characters. And while Captain Planet has some really great memorable characters, it doesn't have a deep bench even for six seasons. Like, it really just reuses the same few people. So I think that is also what makes the comic not stand out as all that original. Well, it's not going toa be the end of Captain Planet and comics.
>> Rob: What? It's not. Oh, okay. I, guess I need to go to Pondering Possibilities to find out.
>> Guido: Will.
>> Rob: The future you describe be avertederttederted? So, Guido, what are we talking about for our pondering possibilities?
>> Guido: Well, here's the weird thing for a property from 1996 on this property is not seen again until what we're going to cover in this segment. So we're talking 20 years before the first thing I'm going to mention and 30 years before what we're getting finally now. And that, that'shocking and some of it might have to do with, you know, there's all sorts of background that we didn't do a deep dive on in terms of Turner getting sold to aol. And then they wanted. They had to close the nonprofit part of the foundation. But the foundation still owns the rights to Captain Planet, but probably so does Hannah Barbera or someone like, owns part of the right. So it's probably a more complicated property than some because of the way it was created. But shockingly, it's 2017 before anyone sees anything related to Captain Planet. We're even talking toys, everything. And in 2017, there's a cartoon Network little mini show that you and I had never heard of called Okko Let's Be Heroes. And there's an episode where you have Kwame, voiced by LeVar Burton, you have Dr. Blight, not voiced by Meg Ryan, and you have Captain Planet with his original voice actor. And they show up in. It's silly and fun. And Kwame gives the characters of the show the rings, and they summon Captain Planet to fight Blight, who's working with the villain of. Okay, Ko. Let's Be Heroes. Really cute. You and I watched it. Very funny, good jokes, good homage to Captain Planet. Without making fun of Captain Planet at all.
>> Rob: No, I don't think it was making fun of it at all. And then it ends also with a Publicix PSA kind of moment.
>> Guido: animated in the old style, which is cool, actually.
>> Rob: Yeah. Most of the time, it's Captain Planet and Kwame are animated in the style of this show, but then in the end, they're animated in the style. And then you see the ship, the characters from, Okko that are now animated in the style of Captain Planet style, which is a really fun.
>> Guido: And the other Planeteers who aren't in the episode, like, are in the scenes of the Earth message. So, yeah, it was really cute to watch and fun, but shocking that that's the first incarnation of Captain Planet until now. And now there is a comic that just started weeks before we're recording this. Captain Planet and the Planeteers. The second issue should have been out, but thanks to Diamond'complete implosion. I don't know when we're going to see it, but hopefully the week after record.
>> Rob: Really bad for the Planet.
>> Guido: Exactly. Let's do away with Diamonds. So, anyway, what are we going to talk about now?
>> Rob: This is Captain Planet and The Planeteers number one from Dynamite Comics. This came out just now, April 2025.
>> Guido: It actually got delayed. It came out in May, and that's why the second issue is in limbo somewhere. So this is written by David Propose, who has done some Marvel work, some independent work.
>> Rob: Marvel.
>> Guido: He wrote a great run on Savage Avengers. The artist is Iman Casagoss. The colorist is Jorge Sutil. The letter is Jeff Eccleberry. The editor is Joe Ryant. And's I think up to six issues have been solicited. I don't know if that means it's potentially a SixU miniseries, but of course Dynamite is the house of licenses in particular right now they have a Thundercats ongoing and a bunch of spin offs. They started Silver Haawks last year. They are really leaning into the Nostalgia El titles and rebuilding them. They do a lot of the Elvira. They're doing the Elvira and Harley that's coming out this summer that we will surely be covering. So yeah, Dynamite. Well, as a company I have some questions if I would like them. I am just glad that they're doing this stuff at least. So why don't you give a quick summary that doesn't spoil too much even though we'll talk about the issue.
>> Rob: Well, it basically retells the origin story for the Planeteers that we've seen on the TV show and in the other comics. They are gathered together to save Gaia who's now actually under a lot more peril. In the original you she's just kind of living on her famous island and. But now she's really in peril because she's been captured by the villains Lot and Plunder and Argos Bleak. Both of those are characters from the original TV show.
>> Guido: And I think what's different here is that. So it's still an origin. It's not. It's not a rel. It's not a sequel. Certainly it's an origin. It's a reboot. But Gaia summons Captain Planet and Captain Planet distributes the rings and calls on the five Planeteers.
>> Rob: Ye. She actually has all the rigs, kind of like the Mandarin. She has them all on like it's very.
>> Guido: There's, it's. Or Green Lantern. There's a lot of Green Lantern looking references in here. So yeah, we get each Planeteer's origin. And the only significant they're all a little older. I'd say they're not going for the kid. I think they're going for like the 18 to 24 year old range for the planetrs. And GH is a lesbian or. Or bisexual or queer, which is fun. And I think those are the only major wheelers from Detroit. Detroit. I don't know why they made that change. I noticed that too.
>> Rob: I not sure. Maybe because.
>> Guido: Maybe because Brooklyn is too upper class at this point.
>> Rob: Yeah, we're like, oh, he's got to be from Detroit now. Yeah, that was one the only other differences. And I don't think there was a monkey. Right. Did I not see the monkey?
>> Guido: Oh, no, there was a monkey. and something there's. I'm guessing. I hope this. Well, we'll talk about how our opinions of it. But Kwame, there's some dark stuff going on, I think. And he's got all these animals assembled around him and they all have the yellow eyes and there's the monkey. There's a snake. It's clear.
>> Rob: Not Kwame.
>> Guido: Mai Maty. Ye. Yeah. And so yeah, I see them. Maty has a lot of power over the animals and is not as kumbaya as he is in the Animated series.
>> Rob: Well, the heart power, I think is always one way. They had to like. They kind of have a lot of leeway with that one. What. What do you do with that?
>> Guido: Yeah. So did you enjoy this? Are you gonna read issue two?
>> Rob: I don't think I'll be rushing to read issue two. Not.
>> Guido: Well, that's because you don't read any comics other than the ones we read for this episode. Very hard.
>> Rob: Not because I didn't enjoy it, but, Yeah, I don't know. I wasn't doing necessarily. I don't know. I didn't feel like it had a new spin on it enough for me to really want to watch. Want to read it at my current age. But not that. So not that I didn't enjoy it or didn't, but I don't know. Yeah, just.
>> Guido: I'll be curious if I'll be curious. I would imagine there'snna be. There's got to be something different. Maybe there doesn't have to be because it's a 30 year old property, but, Right. So far it's not doing anything different other than having Gaia be physically kidnapped, which I don't know how often Gaia herself was in danger, as you said. So that's gonna be a difference here. But I'll be curious once they move past the origin, if they get past the origin, like what their point is and how it works. And I think it'll be fun to see any twist on the villains other than Plunder. Plunder being the most humanly and generic of them. I think it'll be fun to see Blight and all the others. So I'll definitely keep picking it up and see. See what it turns into.
>> Rob: And I didn't. I mean, and I didn't also love the art, I think.
>> Guido: No, I'm not a fan of Dynamites. Art generally doesn't work for either of us, I suspect.
>> Rob: But I agree with'just a lack of detail. A lot of the characters, faces. I don't know if it was rushed or what the issue was there.
>> Guido: It also had a very, very digital coloring effect where it looked like a lot of Marvel Comics in 2007. Like it had that sheen. That is not something you or I, I think, connect with.
>> Rob: I also don't love, frankly, the redesign of Captain Planet. So, like, the big thing is his hair. It's gone from the back of his head to his.
>> Guido: Instead of a mullet's got a beard.
>> Rob: Ye. He doesn't have the mullet. He has a beard. I don't love the beard. I don't know. Maybe some of this is like, me clinging on to, like, what it was. He's also kind of got like this Earth gross around the yellow globe and around some of his body. Maybe just to give it less of a spandex kind of look and get.
>> Guido: Or maybe that will be explained. Maybe he'll be more sort of of the Earth, like he was living in the Earth. He's almost maybe more of a green man type character in this world. So I guess we'll see. It's all yet to be seen. But having now looked at all these different Captain Planet properties, I want to go back to a question, or not a question, but something you said earlier and ask a question. So why does this live in all of us when it has, frankly, some of the shortest, licensing stuff at least. I mean, it has over a hundred episodes, so that's a substantial run for a TV show. Some cartoons we know had 30, 40 episodes and we still remember them well. But it didn't license like crazy. There weren't adult collector toys 10 years ago. Captain Planet probably had its moment, but you don't see it on. You don't see any of the characters on Merch anymore. Like, so why does this live in all of us, do you think?
>> Rob: I think the biggest reason is because it is so singular in that there hasn't been something that's telling this kind of ecological story or giving this message ever sent. There was a lot at that time. I'm also thinking of actually something else that Tim Curry, who's a voice on this is Ferng Gully, the Last Rain Forest, also around the same time. And there was that era as we talked about at the beginning, and there really hasn't been since. While if you look at something like turtles, not only has that come back, but you can see other iterations of something similar. Maybe that has popped up. But yeah, there hasn't been something that has filled this niche in 30 years.
>> Guido: Yeah, I could see that. So you're thinking more about the story and the content. My supposition is I think the design has a lot to do with it. I think watching that 1990. First of all, I think the animation in the original series is great and I think that probably helps. But I think the design, the colors are so stark. Like you said, like, he's blue skinned. Who knows why? Who cares? I guess it's evoking Earth because he's got the blue skin, the green hair, but then he's got the red and the yellow. Like he just. It's, it's bold, primary colors. Right. It's why the X Men work. It's why the Avengers work. It. It's pops. The. All of the Planeteers have, like, they're consistent. They have their vests, they look like they're going out on a safari. Like, the design is just really simple and stark. And I think that's probably part of why it also borowed its way into so many of us in spite of not having a lot of revisit opportunities over the decades.
>> Rob: Yeah, I completely agree. And why don't you think, like also it's come back as a film or anything, Especially in this time where we're really going through every property that we could possibly. I don't know, they're making a, you know, an Uno gameie or whatever they're making now.
>> Guido: Well, supposedly a movie's been in development many times over the years. I don't know on the business side, if again, the rights of this make it a little more complex. But I also, this would be the optimistic reason it hasn't come back is that they haven't found the right way to bring it back. And that's maybe what. But the comic, we'll see if the comic is able to do it. I think it needs humor, but it can't be Deadpool humor. And I don't mean that in terms of the R rated side of Deadpool. I just mean in terms of like the slapstick, constant joke. Like you don't, you can't do that. That would just take away. And then who cares? Then it becomes too generic. But you also, how many people are going to go see, you know, an environmental, mission driven movie that doesn't feel like it has a lot more to it. So I think there's probably a struggle to tell an interesting story here. I mean, he man similarly has been a development hell. And that's a property that is licensed like crazy and does have a billion dollar consumer base. But we'll finally see next year if that works. And maybe, maybe even that could be a roadmap for this. I actually wonder if Barbie could be a roadmap for both of these. Not in the meta sense of it, because I really don't want he man to be meta, nor would I want Captain Planet to be meta, but just in the way that you can tell a sincere story with the essence of this property that isn't necessarily bound up in the world of the property. I think that's what Barbie did that it sounds like he man might be moving toward and maybe would work for Captain Planet two. I don't know.
>> Rob: Yeah, and it feels like this is 'a time for it because now probably, like there was this gap, like we said, where I'm sure environmental issues, a lot of people were talking about them, but now it really feels like again, this is at the forefront.
>> Guido: Yeah, we're in an environmental crisis. There'zero doubt. We all now live in a zone where the environment is really affecting people's lives. And so it definitely feels like the right time for Captain Planet to come back and save us. And again, watching that final, season episode, Dirty Old Politics, I think we, elected Dr. Blight. So there's literally a line in it.
>> Rob: Where, loot and plunder is like, my platform is that we're going to give tax cuts only to the rich.
>> Guido: The more you make, the bigger your tax break. He literally says that. So it's, yeah, definitely. We could bring Captain Planet back. I think if we do, it should not be satirical, it should be sincere. We'll see. We'll see what happens. So that is a WRP Deer Planeteers. On our episode, I have been Guido Blight, nephew to my Auntie Blight.
>> Rob: And I have been Rob be Resources.
>> Guido: The reading watching list is in the show notes. Follow us on all social media at.
>> Rob: Deerwatcher and leave us a five star review wherever you listen. We'll be back soon with another trip through the multiverse.
>> Guido: In the meantime, m take care of the planet.
