Captain Planet In situations that the Planeteers cannot resolve alone, they can combine their planetary powers to summon the titular
Captain Planet (voiced by
David Coburn), who is Ma-Ti's magnified heart power in the form of a male superhero
avatar with blue skin and green hair. He possesses the Planeteers' amplified powers, along with typical superhero powers such as flight and superhuman strength. Once his work is done, Captain Planet returns to the planet and leaves viewers with the message: "The power is yours!" While he usually manifests to deal with a crisis before leaving, some episodes explore him existing beyond this. For example, in the episode "Greenhouse Planet", he is summoned while Kwame and Ma-Ti are in space, preventing the energy from their rings from returning to its source and depowering him to a human level. Captain Planet's weaknesses are pollution and smog. When he comes in contact with either, his powers are weakened and he has to return to the earth to recover.
Planeteers The Planeteers are a group chosen by Gaia to protect the planet from environmental disasters and to educate humanity to prevent further disasters. Gaia uses her "Planet Vision" in the Crystal Chamber to discover where destruction is occurring, which is usually caused by the Eco-Villains, and sends the Planeteers to help solve the problem. The Planeteers use
solar-powered transportation, usually the Geo-Cruiser, to avoid causing pollution themselves. •
Kwame (voiced by
LeVar Burton) – From
Africa, Kwame has the power of
earth. •
Wheeler (voiced by
Joey Dedio) – From
Brooklyn, New York City, United States, Wheeler has the power of
fire. •
Linka (voiced by
Kath Soucie) – From the
Soviet Union (changed to "
Eastern Europe" from Season 3 onward), Linka has the power of
wind. •
Gi (voiced by
Janice Kawaye) – From
Asia, Gi has the power of
water. •
Ma-Ti (voiced by
Scott Menville) – From
Brazil, Ma-Ti has the power of
heart. Ma-Ti was raised by his tribe's shaman. •
Suchi (vocal effects provided by
Frank Welker) - Ma-Ti's pet
spider monkey.
Gaia Gaia (voiced by
Whoopi Goldberg in seasons 1–3,
Margot Kidder in seasons 4–6) is the spirit of Earth, whose physical manifestation is that of a dark-skinned woman. She sends five magic rings to five chosen youths from around the world. Four of the rings have the power to control an
element of nature (earth, fire, wind, and water), and one controls the element of Heart. Gaia claims to have been asleep throughout the 20th century and to have awakened to a more polluted world than when she was last awake; however, this is contradicted by a flashback episode set in the 1920s in which people receive guidance from her.
Villains Eco-Villains The Eco-Villains are a group of antagonists, each representing a particular way of thinking that can cause ecological problems. They endanger the planet through pollution, deforestation, poaching, and other activities that harm the environment in order to gain wealth, land, or power. While they usually work alone, they are willing to work together when it suits their plans. The only time they work as a team is in "Summit to Save Earth" where they are led by Zarm. •
Hoggish Greedly (voiced by
Ed Asner) – A large pig-faced man who represents the dangers of
overconsumption and greed and is the first villain that Captain Planet and the Planeteers encounter. "Smog Hog" reveals that he has a son, Hoggish Greedly Jr. (voiced by
Charlie Schlatter), who is negatively affected by his polluting Road Hog plot. As a result, Greedly is forced to work with Captain Planet to save him. "Hog Tide" reveals that his grandfather Don Porkaloin (also voiced by Asner) was defeated by another group of Planeteers in the past and later became environmentally friendly as shown in "The Ghost of Porkaloin Past". •
Rigger (voiced by
John Ratzenberger) – Greedly's main henchman. Though he sometimes questions Greedly's orders and is concerned when his actions hurt the environment, he remains loyal to him. In "The Ghost of Porkaloin Past", Rigger claims that the main reason he works for him is because no one would hire him. •
Verminous Skumm (voiced by
Jeff Goldblum in season 1,
Maurice LaMarche in season 2–5) – A humanoid
rat-like creature who represents urban blight, disease, and drug abuse. He can control rats and has a personal
helicopter called the Scum O'Copter. •
Rat Pack – A group of humanoid rats who work for Skumm. •
Duke Nukem (voiced by
Dean Stockwell in seasons 1–3,
Maurice LaMarche in seasons 4–5) – A doctor who transformed himself into a radioactive rock-skinned
mutant and represents the misuse of
nuclear power. Along with Zarm and Captain Pollution, Duke Nukem is one of the few Eco-Villains who can fight Captain Planet one-on-one. He generates radiation, which he can use to fire radioactive blasts from his hands, and possesses x-ray vision.
Apogee temporarily renamed the
eponymous character of
Duke Nukem to "Duke Nukum" to avoid possible trademark claims from the producers of
Captain Planet. However, the character was later found to be under no trademark and the games were restored to their original titles. •
Leadsuit (voiced by
Frank Welker) – Duke Nukem's henchman,who wears a full-bodied lead
hazmat suit to withstand the radiation released by Nukem's body. He claims that he works for Nukem because he will become second-in-command when he takes over the world. •
Dr. Barbara "Babs" Blight (voiced by
Meg Ryan in 1990–1991,
Mary Kay Bergman in 1992–1996, Tessa Auberjonois in ''
OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes'') – A
mad scientist who represents the dangers of uncontrolled technology and unethical
scientific experimentation. As a result of self-experimentation, the left side of her face is scarred and is usually hidden by her hair. "Hog Tide" reveals that her grandmother Betty Blight assisted Don Porkaloin in the past. "Hollywaste" reveals that she has a sister named Bambi (voiced by
Kath Soucie). •
MAL (voiced by
David Rappaport in 1990,
Tim Curry in 1991–1996) – Dr. Blight's
A.I. husband and henchman. He has the ability to hack into other computer systems, allowing him to take them over and reprogram them. MAL is often the control and main power source for everything in Blight's labs and the vehicles she travels in. •
Looten Plunder (voiced by
James Coburn in seasons 1–3,
Ed Gilbert in seasons 4–6) – A wealthy
poacher and corrupt businessman who represents the evils of unethical business actions. He is also shown to have a nephew named Robin Plunder. Plunder is the only Eco-Villain to succeed in his schemes as in "Whoo Gives a Hoot" when the Planeteers fail to prove to a judge that Plunder was illegally cutting down trees in an
old-growth forest and the judge learns of his trickery too late. •
Argos Bleak (voiced by
S. Scott Bullock) – Looten Plunder's main henchman and
bodyguard who also works as a
mercenary and does most of his dirty work. He usually travels in helicopters or other aircraft and is proficient in handling firearms. Argos Bleak once operated on his own in "The Predator" when he was targeting the
basking sharks in
Florida. •
Pinehead Brothers (voiced by
Dick Gautier and
Frank Welker) – Oakey and Dokey are two towering
lumberjacks who serve as Looten Plunder's henchmen in the sixth season. •
Sly Sludge (voiced by
Martin Sheen in Seasons 1–3,
Jim Cummings in Seasons 4–5) – An unscrupulous
waste collector who represents laziness, ignorance, and the dangers of apathy and short-term thinking. However, since many of his schemes involve waste management, which is a legitimate environmental issue, he often exploits this to gain apparent respectability. He is the only main villain to defect to the Planeteers after his recycling program makes him money by the end of "No Small Problem". The money allows him to propose plans to mass-produce an affordable, environmentally friendly way to safely dispose of waste. •
Ooze (voiced by
Cam Clarke) – Sludge's henchman who is often underpaid and works for him because he has no other option. Like Rigger, Ooze does most of his heavy work. •
Tank Flusher III (voiced by
Frank Welker) – Sludge's
strongman servant who debuts in "A Mine Is a Terrible Thing to Waste Part One" upon answering an ad for "A heinous henchman to serve a Machiavellian master" despite not knowing what it means. •
Zarm (voiced by
Sting in 1990–1992,
David Warner in 1992,
Malcolm McDowell in 1993–1995) – A former spirit of the Earth who left Gaia in search of other worlds and ended up destroying several planets, lacking Gaia to balance out his methods. He represents war and
destruction. While lacking henchmen, he often manipulates others to do his bidding, such as in "Summit to Save Earth", where he unites the Eco-Villains under his leadership. In addition to war and destruction, Zarm also promotes hatred and
totalitarianism, which he believes are the most dangerous pollutants to humanity, as evidenced by his role as kingmaker to the dictator Morgar. He also tells the Planeteers that he has been the guiding force behind every despot of the 20th century except for one despot that turned him down and dares the Planeteers to guess which one that would be.
Captain Pollution Captain Pollution (voiced by
David Coburn) is an evil counterpart to Captain Planet who appears in the two-part episode "Mission to Save Earth". Dr. Blight steals the Planeteers' rings and creates polluting duplicates of them with the opposite power of the Planeteers, which she gives to most of the Eco-Villains. • Duke Nukem has a Super Radiation Ring (counterpart of Fire). • Looten Plunder has a
Deforestation Ring (counterpart of Earth). • Sly Sludge has a Smog Ring (counterpart of Wind). • Verminous Skumm has a
Toxic Ring (counterpart of Water). • Dr. Blight has a
Hate Ring (counterpart of Heart). Captain Pollution resembles Captain Planet, but has pale yellow skin covered with brown lesions and red hair and eyes, and wears a costume similar to his, except that the globe on his chest is torn in the middle. Captain Pollution is Captain Planet's polar opposite in personality, as he is arrogant and sees himself as a god and his creators as servants rather than partners, which Captain Planet says is his downfall. Captain Pollution is weakened by contact with pure elements, such as clean water or sunlight, and gains power from contact with pollutants, being able to absorb pollutants and emit radioactive rays. When he is summoned, he says "By your polluting powers combined, I am Captain Pollution!!", and when he disappears, he states "The polluting power is yours!" In his first appearance, he is sent by the Eco-Villains to destroy the Planeteers, but is chased off by Commander Clash, and after a fight with Captain Planet, he returns to the evil rings, causing them to explode. In "A Mine is a Terrible Thing to Waste", he is brought back to life by the toxins of the five evil rings, which seep into the planet, but is defeated again and destroyed by Captain Planet.
Other villains •
The Slaughters – A family of poachers who debut in "The New Adventures of Captain Planet" and represent the endangerment of animals and the evils of poaching. While they are often in direct monetary competition with Looten Plunder, they work with him and Argos Bleak in "Horns A'Plenty". •
Mame Slaughter (voiced by
Theresa Saldana in the first appearance,
Mitzi McCall in the second appearance) – The leader of the Slaughters. •
Stalker Slaughter (voiced by
Charlie Adler) – One of Mame's sons and her second-in-command.
Other characters •
Commander Clash (voiced by
Louis Gossett Jr.) - A Cold War veteran who has aided the Planeteers in the two-part episode "Mission to Save Earth" and "Summit to Save Earth" Pt. 2 •
Sky Runner (voiced by
Robby Romero) - A Native American rock singer that the Planeteers know. In "Stardust", Sky Runner is tricked by Hoggish Greedly into funding his land-ravaging surface mining operation. In "Bitter Waters", Sky Runner calls the Planeteers when Looten Plunder and Argos Bleak plan to trick his people into selling their land for their urban development. •
Dr. Derek - A paraplegic scientist and friend of the Planeteers whose inventions are often targeted by Dr. Blight. ==Episodes==