History Fridge / CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers

** Wheeler’s tendency to charge headfirst into action with no regard for his own safety, to the point of sacrificing himself multiple times, might imply that [[DeathSeeker he has suicidal tendencies]]. After all, his verbally abusive father spent his childhood making him feel like he’s worthless unless he’s useful and given that he's less experienced than the others in everything except city problems, he might easily feel useless.

** It may seem strange that Zarm was willing to let the Planeteers have a chance at fighting him. However, given his usual [[{{Pride}} hubris]] and cruelty, it makes perfect sense. He never said the battle (or rather battles) would be even remotely fair. He also didn't only want Gaia dead; he wanted tu rub his victory in her face by making her watch her adoptive children get defeated one by one, with the implication that he'd later kill them nonetheless, just like he almost did to Ma-Ti (presumably intending to make an example out of him).

** Whether or not UsefulNotes/{{Voodoo}} was real in this episode, it's possible that the vision of the cemetery seen by Lucien's ''maman''[[note]]French for "mum/mom"[[/note]] was actually sent by Gaia, considering that [[LikeASonToMe two of her Planeteers]] were in there, too. The same may apply to Maman's advice to Wheeler to "look beneath the surface", as well.

** What if the real reason why Wheeler was upset about not having time to celebrate New Year's Eve is because he never got to do it at his home? Or, at least, not with loved ones.

** What if the real reason why Wheeler was upset about not having time to celebrate New Year’s is because he never got to do it at his home? Or, at least, not with loved ones
[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E26HeatWave Heat Wave]]" is the next episode after "Two Futures". Not only did Wheeler see Gaia dead in the BadFuture, but he also had to see it almost happen in the regular timeline directly afterwards.

** Firstly, the thug's victim isn't a rival gang member; it's an ordinary citizen who is obviously unlikely to be able to fight off his assailant. Cue Wheeler who chases the thug off. Afterwards, Wheeler turns to the guy he rescued who, despite just seeing Wheeler threaten someone else, is completely at ease in his presence rather than considering him a TerrifyingRescuer, hinting at Wheeler's kinder side.
** Secondly, while Wheeler makes a show of threatening the thug, he immediately drops the tough guy act as soon as the thug flees, [[TheSoftHeartedWarrior choosing to make sure the victim is okay]] instead of chasing after the thug to pummel him because he can, demonstrating Wheeler's nobility and indicating that he was fighting only to defend.

* Wheeler’s tendency to charge headfirst into action with no regard for his own safety, to the point of sacrificing himself multiple times, might imply that he has suicidal tendencies. After all, his verbally abusive father spent his childhood making him feel like he’s worthless unless he’s useful and given that he's less experienced than the others in everything except city problems, he might easily feel useless.
** On a similar note, one episode has Wheeler comment that some city folk "don't see a future for themselves; territory is all they feel they have." Wheeler's impulsiveness, which his teammates tend to rag on him about, could easily have developed because he saw no long-term future for himself either.

* "Two Futures": The state of Gaia's body implies she might have died shortly before Wheeler arrived. But even if he had gotten there earlier than he did, this is a timeline where he never was a Planeteer. The alternate Gaia might still have viewed it as dying with [[ComfortTheDying a sympathetic stranger]] by her side rather than one of her kids.
* "

* "Mind Pollution": It's sad enough that Linka lost her favorite cousin, but her Uncle Dimitri lost his ''son'' – and by the looks of it, Boris was his only child.

* On a similar note, one episode has Wheeler comment that some city folk "don't see a future for themselves; territory is all they feel they have." Wheeler's impulsiveness, which his teammates tend to rag on him about, could easily have developed because he saw no long-term future for himself either.

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E26HeatWave Heat Wave]]" is the next episode after "Two Futures". Not only did Wheeler see Gaia dead in the BadFuture, but he also had to see it almost happen in the regular timeline directly afterwards.

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS4E5TheUnbearableBlightnessOfBeing The Unbearable Blightness Of Being]]": Why does Gaia-as-Blight tell MAL to be gentle with Captain Planet when the latter is chasing their aircraft? Aside from the fact that she and Cap are friends, she has already made MAL believe that they're trying to get the Planeteers on their side. Treating Captain Planet brutally would have roused suspicions (whether or not Blight knows about it, that very type of mistake ruined Zarm's attempt to corrupt the team) and ruined her double masquerade.

* "Heat Wave" is the next episode after "Two Futures". Not only did Wheeler see Gaia dead in the BadFuture, but he also had to see it almost happen in the regular timeline directly afterwards.

[[/folder]]

!! FridgeLogic
See also [[Headscratchers/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers Headscratchers]] page.

* Wheeler’s tendency to charge first into action with no regard for his own safety, and even sacrifice himself multiple times might imply that he has suicidal tendencies. Possibly from his verbally abusive father making him feel like he’s worthless unless he’s useful.

** If Dr. Blight actually managed to convince Plunder to have a child (i.e. Betsi) with her, then by attempting to blow up the hotel when Betsi was inside, he would have been trying to murder his own daughter... over a lost presidential election.

* While all five Planeteers are [[ExtremelyProtectiveChild very protective of Gaia]], Wheeler has one more reason for this than the others do: in "Two Futures", he had seen an AlternateTimeline in which the consequences of his RefusalOfTheCall ended up killing Gaia. And although it's never explicitly confirmed, it's not really a stretch to imagine that ever since then, he's determined to make sure the BadFuture never happens.
* Gaia [[ParentalFavoritism seems closer to Ma-Ti than to the other Planeteers]], in spite of viewing all five as her "children". Often, this kind of thing provokes resentment from the "unfavorite" children, but there's actually a reason it might not be the case here -- ''all'' of the other Planeteers have a soft spot for him that rivals the size of Earth itself. The fact that Gaia also has a massive soft spot for him [[LovedByAll is just business as usual with Ma-Ti.]]
* There are actually a few possible reasons for why Ma-Ti seems to be Gaia's favorite:
** As [[TheBabyOfTheBunch the youngest of the Planeteers]], and [[HeartwarmingOrphan an orphaned one at that]], he may cause her maternal instincts to kick in easily.
** He's the only Planeteer to [[UndyingLoyalty never have betrayed her]], even accidentally.
** The Heart Ring might have a passive ability to strengthen such bonds.
* Why is [[BruiserWithASoftCenter Wheeler]] so fond of Gaia? Well, consider that before becoming a Planeteer, he pretty much lived on the streets. Whether they realize it or not, she gave him a second chance to have a loving home. Also, she probably reminds him of his own mother, who was his only affectionate parent growing up.

* Wheeler and Linka's BelligerentSexualTension wasn't just sexual. In the first two seasons, at least, it was also [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar political and ideological]].
* Wheeler, the carrier of the Fire Ring, is in love with Linka, the carrier of the Wind Ring. Their elements are complementary; wind can fuel and spread fire, while (for instance) water puts it out. Likewise, Gi and Kwame (if you see them as a couple) also have complementary elements.
* Wheeler and Ma-Ti's friendship looks a little {{odd|Friendship}} at first glance, but on second thought, it actually makes a fair amount of sense, despite all their differences:
** They actually have some pretty decent {{Commonality Connection}}s. On a less serious note, they're both playful pranksters who appreciate little ways to enjoy themselves even when they're in the middle of a mission. On a more serious note, they're the team underdogs: Ma-Ti lacks the physical strength and Wheeler lacks the environmentalist knowledge that the other Planeteers possess. As such, they complement each other in this regard.
** Wheeler has a younger cousin, Joey, of whom he's fond; he has experience with IntergenerationalFriendship.
** Ma-Ti is gentler with Wheeler than the others sometimes are; even when he corrects his older friend, he goes for a friendly, non-aggressive approach[[note]]see "Skumm Lord" and "Ozone Hole"[[/note]] rather than becoming angry or sarcastic. People who feel they're under attack (even verbal attack) tend to close up. Ma-Ti is probably the team member who is least likely to push Wheeler into defensive mode and least likely to trigger any scars he might have from his highly critical father.

* If Gaia had to clean up every single mess humanity made, [[HoldingOutForAHero they would become weak and too complacent]], but it's also understandable why she creates the Planeteers. It's one thing to teach kids to try and fix the mess humans have made of Earth so that their future isn't a disaster, but when the world has people like Dr. Blight, Verminous Skumm, Duke Nukem and Zarm screwing things up for their own personal agenda or just for the hell of it, it's only natural she'd react by giving them the tools necessary to deal with threats that are too big to be handled by just recycling and conserving energy.
* The relationships between Zarm, Gaia, Captain Planet and the Planeteers echo the show's emphasis on sustainability. Zarm, even before he shows his true colors, is only interested in the kids as short-term tools to achieve his own goals, as opposed to Gaia and Cap seeing them as family to be cared for and protected long-term. In the short term, this seems to put the good guys at a disadvantage, but in the long run, it means that [[TheSociopath Zarm]], [[LoveIsAWeakness who disdains the idea of being bound to anyone else]], keeps getting his plans thwarted by a group who have more resources to draw on and a greater reason to stick together than Zarm could give his occasional allies/lackeys. [[EvilIsEasy Evil may be easy]], but [[EvilWillFail it also tends to sow the seeds of its own destruction.]]
* While all five Planeteers are [[ExtremelyProtectiveChild very protective of Gaia]], Wheeler has one more reason for this than the others do: in "Two Futures", he had seen an AlternateTimeline in which the consequences of his RefusalOfTheCall ended up killing Gaia. And although it's never explicitly confirmed, it's not really a stretch to imagine that ever since then, he's determined to make sure the BadFuture never happens.

* Gaia [[ParentalFavoritism seems closer to Ma-Ti than she is to the other Planeteers]], in spite of viewing all five as her "children". Often, this kind of thing provokes resentment from the "unfavorite" children, but there's actually a reason it might not be the case here -- ''all'' of the other Planeteers have a soft spot for him that rivals the size of Earth itself. The fact that Gaia also has a massive soft spot for him [[LovedByAll is just business as usual with Ma-Ti.]]

* Despite [[ShipperOnDeck Kwame and Wheeler clearly rooting for them]], Gaia and Captain Planet can't be a couple, [[AnchoredShip at least for the moment]]. While she can interact with the Planeteers pretty normally (aside from being unable to leave Hope Island for too long), he either is inaccessible (episodes like "The Conqueror") or only exists when summoned (episodes like "Two Futures"), leaving the kids powerless as a side effect. Him staying around long enough to have a romantic relationship with Gaia would defeat the whole purpose of the rings. Thus, the two are better off as just friends...at least until the Planeteers can bring the eco-crises under control.

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E6TheConqueror The Conqueror]]": When four of the Planeteers turned away from Gaia, she became mortal and apparently lost her powers. How was she able to use Zarm's crystal ball, then? Because she didn't lose ''all'' of them; she still had access to the power of Heart, thanks to Ma-Ti staying loyal to her. [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower "The greatest power of all"]], indeed.

* "Two Futures": Wheeler explicitly says that he got the Fire Ring eleven months ago. That means everything in the first season -- all the learning-on-the-job, all the running from one location to another, all the near-death experiences -- happened in a single year. No wonder [[KnightInSourArmor Wheeler]] is feeling burnt out!

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E17And18SummitToSaveEarth Summit to Save Earth, Part 1]]":

* "Summit to Save Earth, Part 2": When Gaia is getting transformed back to her normal self, Linka is the first to run to her for a hug. That makes sense, considering that she apparently grew up without a mother and that Linka's longer legs simply let her take bigger steps, and thus give her an advantage over Ma-Ti, the other member of the group who lost his mother.

** Wheeler is the sole team member whose fate in the alternate future goes unexplored. However, New York's condition and Wheeler's lack of resources as a homeless teen [[DeadAlternateCounterpart offers one very strong possibility]].

* The Planeteers' situation as they grow older has two possibilities, neither of them without negative sides:
** Possibility #1: At some point, the Planeteers will leave their home on Hope Island to start families and find paid jobs, just like millions of people around the world do every day. Saying goodbye to Gaia, Captain Planet and one another will surely be difficult for everyone involved. And even if the Planeteers do come to visit every now and then, possibly with their spouses and children, it just won't be the same as living all together as a family. Also, they will eventually look older than Gaia, due to her being [[TheAgeless ageless]].
** Possibility #2: Assuming that "Two Futures" would represent what would happen if ''any'' of the rings (not just the Fire Ring) had no wielder, the Planeteers are bound to their positions until either the world reforms itself or Gaia can find replacement bearers (which according to most future episodes will end up being the current team's children). Hopefully they didn't have too many plans for their futures before coming there. Even supposing that they didn't, they can't see their families (those of them that ''have'' healthy families) without a long Geo-Cruiser ride and any plans are always at risk of being disrupted by another eco-emergency.

* Despite [[ShipperOnDeck Kwame and Wheeler clearly rooting for them]], Gaia and Captain Planet can never be a couple. While she can interact with the Planeteers pretty normally (aside from being unable to leave Hope Island for too long), he only exists when summoned, leaving the kids powerless as a side effect. Him staying around long enough to have a romantic relationship with Gaia would defeat the whole purpose of the rings. Thus, the two are better off as just friends.

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS4E5TheUnbearableBlightnessOfBeing The Unbearable Blightness Of Being]]": Why does Gaia-as-Blight tell MAL to be gentle with Captain Planet when the latter is chasing their aircraft? Aside from the fact that she and Cap are friends, she has already made MAL believe that they're trying to get the Planeteers on their side. Treating Captain Planet brutally would have roused suspicions and ruined her double masquerade.
* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS4E22TeersInTheHood 'Teers in the Hood]]": When Gi finally snaps and tries to drown Zap, the gang member who shot her friend King, she seems to prolong it a bit... which might make sense to her insofar as karma. King wasn't [[InstantDeathBullet killed by the bullet]]; he and Gi (the latter by proxy) have spent all this time suffering, [[ToThePain so why not draw out Zap's punishment]]?

* "OK at the Gunfight Corral": When Gaia says that there's been a disturbance in the time-space continuum, Wheeler asks if it means that somebody went back in time and changed history, prompting Linka to wonder how he knows that. He, in turn, claims that [[Film/BackToTheFuture he'd seen it in a movie]]. While it is a good explanation, he might have also thought about his own time travel from "Two Futures".

** Thirdly, when Wheeler shows up and does little more than threaten a gang member, presumably a lifelong criminal and fighter, with his empty fist... the gang member flees like a scared rat. This means that Wheeler has A) done this before and B) kicked the shit out of someone who wasn't as smart and didn't run. The word apparently got around: you mess with the poor, you mess with Wheeler... and if you mess with Wheeler, you end up looking for your teeth on the sidewalk. He's basically Ginger Batman. [[note]]Mind you, "Two Futures" retcons this scene to show the thug putting up a ''bit'' of a fight.[[/note]]

* It's been shown that [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower the Heart Ring]] can be potentially the ''deadliest'' of the five Rings Gaia gave to the Planeteers. So why did she hand it to [[NiceGuy a little boy so kind]] that he'd never use it to its full potential? She did it ''because'' [[AllLovingHero Ma-Ti]] [[IncorruptiblePurePureness wouldn't abuse the powers of the Heart Ring]] -- which, if both the series and the comics are believed, can potentially include ''terrifying'' skills like MoreThanMindControl, BrainWashing, [[TheBeastMaster command of wildlife]], knocking people out, etc. This is further supported by "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E24And25TwoFutures Two Futures]]", in which Wheeler's absence cripples the team and Ma-Ti gets accustomed to using his powers unscrupulously -- even the BadFuture Ma-Ti, who is desperate and depressed from seeing his home destroyed and his neighbors reduced to begging to survive, only uses the bare minimum of the Heart Ring's mind control powers.
* Ma-Ti occasionally shows telepathic abilities when Captain Planet is present, and therefore his ring has no power (e.g. "The Ultimate Pollution" and "Energy Vampire"). However, in "Radiant Amazon", the show demonstrates that Ma-Ti's grandfather has telepathic abilities. He could have inherited them. In fact, that could even have served as a secondary reason why Ma-Ti ended up with the Heart Ring; if he's already telepathic, he would have practice and suffer the least disruption as a result of suddenly being linked to the others.

** When she's given the chance [[SadisticChoice to save either herself or the Planeteers]], Gaia rescues the kids without a second thought – and promptly gets defeated by Zarm, [[VirtueIsWeakness who sneers that she's made the wrong choice]] and as such, will now lose everything. However, saving the Planeteers meant that they were later able to save ''her'' in turn, while making the opposite choice wouldn't have guaranteed her victory over Zarm.

** Wheeler is probably right in his suspicions that Gaia's tale wasn't completely true. At some points, she seemed to come up with details on the fly, and as soon as she said what became of the proto-Planeteers, she flat-out refused to answer any more questions. Also, while Wheeler may not know it, she herself stated in "A Hero for Earth" that she was asleep for a century. Given that the 1940s are referred to in the show as "fifty years ago", there is no way she could have sent the rings to anyone back then, unless she traveled back in time to do so. However, ''that'' would mean Ma-Ti couldn't think he and his friends were the first Planeteers. So, what most probably happened was that she took a peek at the real story and embellished it for the sake of entertainment.

** If the alternate Gaia really had died not long before Wheeler found her, it's only logical that the other Planeteers' rings would have stopped working at that very moment (compare with "No Place Like Home", when Gaia loses her powers). Thus, Gi would have to save dolphins manually; Kwame would lose his one-man war to protect the last oasis; Linka would no longer have any means to stop the hungry, angry people from rioting and making things worse; and Ma-Ti wouldn't be able to get the rich to support the poor anymore.

* "The Ark": When the Planeteers get teleported onto Collector's spacecraft, they're initially confused, and later – despaired that they might never see the Earth again. This alone is bad enough, but think about how Gaia must have felt; it's quite possible that her adoptive children's sudden disappearance left her downright ''terrified''.
* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E23HateCanal Hate Canal]]": Why does [[BruiserWithASoftCenter Wheeler]] look more upset about Ma-Ti being bitten by a mutated rat than [[NiceGirl Gi]]? Gi hasn't been hanging around one of the first responders since getting to Venice. Wheeler has heard Risa talk about the mysterious plague as a threat to people's lives that they still don't have any idea how to cure. Both of them know that Ma-Ti is sick, but Wheeler also knows that there's no antidote waiting at the hospital.

* "Dirty Politics": In order to have a daughter, Dr. Blight would have to either become a TrulySingleParent in her lab (with a little help from MAL), or manage to find a man to, ahem, ''reproduce'' with. However, unless she convinced Plunder, there wouldn't really be a good candidate among the Eco-Villains. This means that Betsi's father might well be some random, and perhaps unwilling, man.

** Ma-Ti's story adds some additional trauma to "Radiant Amazon". His unusually upset behavior and attempt to take on the villains of the week personally may not just have been because it was his home they attacked. The circumstances may also have called up memories of the day his parents were murdered.

** If that had happened, between Gi's noted BewareTheNiceOnes characteristics and the SurvivorGuilt she'd probably be suffering (given that they were both captured and Wheeler sacrificed himself as a distraction to let her escape), the fact that Captain Planet had her powers at the moment and/or the question of whether she could use the clean water Plunder and his gang had consumed to throw them off the edge might have been all that saved the villains from an acid bath.

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E23HateCanal Hate Canal]]": Why is it that [[BruiserWithASoftCenter Wheeler]] looks more upset about Ma-Ti being bitten by a mutated rat than [[NiceGirl Gi]]? Gi hasn't been hanging around one of the first responders since getting to Venice. Wheeler has heard Risa talk about the mysterious plague as a threat to people's lives that they still don't have any idea how to cure. Both of them know that Ma-Ti is sick, but Wheeler also knows that there's no antidote waiting at the hospital.

* In more than one episode ("Summit to Save Earth" and "No Place Like Home"), the Planeteers group-hug Gaia after she has had a close call. In both cases, Ma-Ti and Linka are the first to reach her. This makes sense given their backstories: Ma-Ti got orphaned at an early age and [[MissingMom Linka's mother was never seen or even mentioned in the show]], leaving Linka and her brother to have been raised by their father [[RaisedByGrandparents and grandmother]]. Gaia may just be the ''only'' mother figure they've had in years (or in Linka's case, maybe her entire life). It makes sense for them to feel attached to Gaia even more than their friends are.

* "Summit to Save Earth, Part 2": When Gaia is getting transformed back to her normal self, Linka is the first to run to her for a hug. That makes sense, considering that [[MissingMom her mother was never seen or even mentioned in the show]], leaving Linka and her brother to have been raised by their father [[RaisedByGrandparents and grandmother]]. Gaia may just be the ''only'' mother that Linka has had in years, if not in her entire life. As for why Ma-Ti wasn't the first to get to Gaia, even though it would make sense from the meta point of view (he also suffers from lack of parents, due to their deaths) – Linka's longer legs simply let her take bigger steps, and thus give her an advantage over him.

* "No Place Like Home": Once they're all back safe and sound on Hope Island, the Planeteers run up to Gaia for a group hug. And just like in "Summit to Save Earth", it's Linka who reaches her first, with Ma-Ti being a close second. Given that they both suffer from a lack of biological mothers (Linka's [[MissingMom was never seen or mentioned]], while Ma-Ti got orphaned at an early age), it makes sense for them to feel attached to Gaia even more than their friends are.

** If the alternate Gaia really had died not long before Wheeler found her, it's only logical that the other Planeteers' rings would have stopped working at that very moment (compare with "No Place Like Home", when Gaia loses her powers). Thus, Gi wouldn't be able to save any more dolphins; Kwame would lose his one-man war to protect the last oasis; Linka would no longer have any means to stop the hungry, angry people from rioting and making things worse; and Ma-Ti wouldn't be able to get the rich to support the poor anymore.

* Why is [[BruiserWithASoftCenter Wheeler]] so fond of Gaia? Well, consider that before becoming a Planeteer, he pretty much lived on the streets. Whether they realize it or not, she gave him a second chance to have a loving home. Also, she probably reminds him of his own mother.

** All this combines into Fridge Heartwarming. Given the dire consequences that could result if the Planeteers go rogue (up to and including the destruction of Earth) and the ease with which the Fire Ring could be misused, the sheer fact that Gaia entrusted a hothead from an abusive background with that power implies a lot about how deep is her faith in Wheeler's strength of character.

** Verminous Skumm accidentally [[GettingHighOnTheirOwnSupply hooking himself on Bliss]] not only works as LaserGuidedKarma, but also helps avert some FridgeHorror that might otherwise bother the audience. Given how much of the drug Skumm has been making, he might remember enough to recreate the recipe even after Captain Planet burned his notes, but soon afterwards, he gets addicted to a drug that has very nasty effects on the victim's mind. Even if Skumm remembered anything, it would presumably be gone by the time he's clear-headed again.

** Assuming the episode represents what would happen if any of the rings' wielders had rejected them (rather than the Fire Ring being particularly hard to find a permanent replacement for), it adds some lingering horror to other episodes in which one of the team takes a TenMinuteRetirement. In fact, some of them might have had even worse results; at least in Wheeler's case, the other Planeteers were still alive and trying to help where they could thirty-five years in the future. If Kwame and Ma-Ti hadn't overcome their {{Heroic BSOD}}s when they did, the other Planeteers would have been massacred by the villain of the week.

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E23HateCanal Hate Canal]]": Why is it that [[BruiserWithASoftCenter Wheeler]] looks more upset about Ma-Ti being bitten by a mutated rat than [[NiceGirl Gi]]? Gi hasn't been hanging around one of the first responders since getting to Venice. Wheeler has heard Risa talk about the mysterious plague as a threat to people's lives that they still don't have any idea how to cure. Both of them know that Ma-Ti is sick, but Wheeler knows that there's no antidote waiting at the hospital.

!! FridgeBrilliance

** Thirdly, when Wheeler shows up and does little more than threaten a gang member, presumably a lifelong criminal and fighter, with his empty fist... the gang member flees like a scared rat. This means that Wheeler has A) done this before and B) kicked the shit out of someone who wasn't as smart and didn't run. The word apparently got around: you fuck with the poor, you fuck with Wheeler... and if you fuck with Wheeler, you end up looking for your teeth on the sidewalk. He's basically Ginger Batman. [[note]]Mind you, "Two Futures" retcons this scene to show the thug putting up a ''bit'' of a fight.[[/note]]
** That scene also takes on an additional meaning after "A Mine is a Terrible Thing to Waste." Wheeler was in the victim's position the night [[AbusiveParents his father]] drove him away from home and got rescued by two street teens. Rather than his rough childhood and adolescence [[StoppedCaring making him stop caring]] about anyone besides himself or even becoming a StartOfDarkness, Wheeler grew up to protect others the way he'd been protected that night, further justifying Gaia's decision to give him the Fire Ring.
** All this combines into Fridge Heartwarming. Given the dire consequences that could result if the Planeteers go rogue (up to and including the destruction of Earth) and the ease with which the Fire Ring could be misused, the sheer fact that Gaia entrusted a hothead from an abusive background with that power implies a lot about how deep her faith in Wheeler's strength of character is.
* It's been shown that [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower the Heart Ring]] can be potentially the ''deadliest'' of the five Rings Gaia gave to the Planeteers. So why did she hand it to [[NiceGuy a little boy so kind]] that he'd never use it to its full potential? She did it ''because'' [[AllLovingHero Ma-Ti]] [[IncorruptiblePurePureness wouldn't abuse the powers of the Heart Ring]] -- which, if both the series and the comics are believed, can potentially include ''terrifying'' skills like MoreThanMindControl, BrainWashing, [[TheBeastMaster command of wildlife]], knocking people out, etc. This is further supported by "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E24And25TwoFutures Two Futures]]", in which Wheeler's absence cripples the team and Ma-Ti gets accustomed to using his powers unscrupulously -- even the BadFuture Ma-Ti, who is desperate and depressed from seeing his home destroyed and his neighbors reduced to begging to survive, only uses the bare minimum of the Heart Ring's mind control powers.
* Ma-Ti occasionally shows telepathic abilities when Captain Planet is present, and therefore his ring has no power (e.g., "The Ultimate Pollution" and "Energy Vampire"). However, in "Radiant Amazon", the show demonstrates that Ma-Ti's grandfather has telepathic abilities. He could have inherited them. In fact, that could even have served as a secondary reason why Ma-Ti ended up with the Heart Ring; if he's already telepathic, he would have practice and suffer the least disruption as a result of suddenly being linked to the others.

** Wheeler is the only Planeteer who calls the moaning, shambling mob of Bliss-addicted people "zombies". More than one episode ("[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS4E14BugOff Bug Off]]", "Going Bats, Man") indicates he's a horror movie fan, so naturally, when they're forced to barricade the Capitol against a slow-but-determined dead-eyed horde, a ZombieApocalypse would be one of the first things to spring to his mind.
** Verminous Skumm accidentally [[GettingHighOnTheirOwnSupply hooking himself on Bliss]] works just as LaserGuidedKarma, but it also helps avert some FridgeHorror that might otherwise bother the audience. Given how much of the drug Skumm has been making, he might remember enough to recreate the recipe even after Captain Planet burned his notes, but soon afterwards, he gets addicted to a drug that has very nasty effects on the victim's mind. Even if Skumm remembered anything, it would presumably be gone by the time he's clear-headed again.

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E17DontDrinkTheWater Don't Drink the Water]]":
** If Looten Plunder thought Captain Planet was dead, why did he have Wheeler at the reservoir to pull out as a hostage? The slightly better possibility is that he was putting on an act of certainty to the other villains and wanted to hedge his bets. After all, this is hardly their first attempt to kill the Captain, and Plunder didn't seem at all surprised when Captain Planet showed up, completely un-murdered. The worse one? He brought Wheeler along to drown him (thus further contaminating the water and getting rid of an enemy in one go); Captain Planet's arrival saved Wheeler's life by making him valuable [[IHaveYourWife as a bargaining chip]].
** Making this worse? [[PoisonIsAcid Given the state of the reservoir at that point]], there might not have been a corpse to retrieve ([[IdentificationByDentalRecords or at least not one suitable for an open-casket funeral]]) if Plunder had succeeded in drowning Wheeler. Even if they had managed to retrieve a body, the fact that the eco-villains had polluted at least some of the water with radioactive materials might have meant they'd have to dump Wheeler's remains in a radioactive disposal site; the only thing they'd accomplish would be further traumatizing themselves by seeing [[BodyHorror the effects.]]

** Wheeler is the sole team member whose fate in the alternate future goes unexplored. However, New York's condition and Wheeler's lack of resources as a homeless teen [[DeadAlternateCounterpart offers one very strong possibility.]]
** Also in the alternate future, when Wheeler finds out that Gaia is dead, her body is intact. This means unless it's different for spirits or the toxic waste somehow preserved it, she died ''very'' shortly before Wheeler got there.
** Assuming the episode represents what would happen if any of the rings' wielders had rejected them (rather than the Fire Ring being particularly hard to find a permanent replacement for), it adds some lingering horror to other episodes in which one of the team takes a TenMinuteRetirement. In fact, some of them might have had even worse results; at least in Wheeler's case, the other Planeteers were still alive and trying to help where they could thirty years in the future. If Kwame and Ma-Ti hadn't overcome their {{Heroic BSOD}}s when they did, the other Planeteers would have been massacred by the villain of the week.
* In "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E23HateCanal Hate Canal]]", why is it that [[BruiserWithASoftCenter Wheeler]] looks more upset about Ma-Ti being bitten by a mutated rat than [[NiceGirl Gi]]? Gi hasn't been hanging around one of the first responders since getting to Venice. Wheeler has heard Risa talk about the mysterious plague as a threat to people's lives that they still don't have any idea how to cure. Both of them know that Ma-Ti is sick, but Wheeler knows that there's no antidote waiting at the hospital.
* Hopefully, Ma-Ti gets to give up his ring before he and the others get very old. Given that he's linked to the others by his powers, he'd feel it when the others eventually begin to suffer heart attacks and other maladies of older age. If he had to stay connected, he'd eventually have to feel his older teammates die.
* During the climax of "'Teers in the Hood", Zap is fighting like crazy to keep his head above the water Gi is stirring up with her ring. Obviously, Gi could have used her power to keep him completely underwater and drowned him much faster, meaning she was ''allowing'' him to struggle. She didn't just want him dead, she wanted to draw out his suffering first, which gives an even scarier subtext to her argument with Wheeler:

* "Two Futures": The state of Gaia's body implies it's possible she died shortly before Wheeler arrived. But even if he had been in time, this is a timeline where Wheeler never was a Planeteer. Gaia might still have viewed it as dying with a sympathetic stranger by her side rather than one of her kids.
* "Heat Wave" is the next episode after "Two Futures". Not only did Wheeler see Gaia dead in the alternate future, but he also had to see it almost happen in the regular timeline directly afterwards.

** Hoggish Greedly and Looten Plunder were, quite literally, Gordon Gecko Expy 1 and 2... all they cared about was their business interests ([[VillainousParentalInstinct Hoggish cared about his son]], but that's the sole exception). They did what they did not out of malice but bottomless greed and lust for cold hard cash. Even in "Bitter Waters", where he sets up things to economically help a reservation, Plunder is trying to take advantage of an impoverished community that is desperate for a quick fix to their economy rather than genuinely wanting to help them. He spends most of the episode trying to cover up the environmental damage before the Planeteers can show it to the tribe's chairman, because that would invalidate their contract, which required that no harm would be done to the environment. Wanting to help the tribe is just Plunder's cover story.
** Likewise, Sly Sludge was just a lazy asshole who wanted to get rich quick. Unfortunately for him, all his get rich quick schemes were spectacular failures, sometimes ending with Captain Planet saving him for himself. Therefore, it is perhaps unsurprising that in the end he did a HeelFaceTurn, discovering that he could make some quick money out of recycling the materials in his dump site.

** Only Zarm, the spirit of war and hatred, wanted to destroy, despoil and kill [[ForTheEvulz just for the hell of it]]. Which makes sense -- that's why he was exiled in the first place: because he wanted to conquer instead of rule peacefully.

** In the German dub (made after the fall of the Soviet Union), as well as in the Russian one, Linka is unambiguously stated to be from Russia.

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E6TheConqueror The Conqueror]]": When four of the Planeteers turned away from Gaia, she became mortal and apparently lost a lot of her powers. How was she able to use Zarm's crystal ball, then? Because she still had access to the power of Heart, thanks to Ma-Ti staying loyal to her. [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower "The greatest power of all"]], indeed.
* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E11TheLittlestPlaneteer The Littlest Planeteer]]": Wheeler, the team's resident [[FieryRedhead hothead]], shows a whole lot of patience and kindness towards a young boy named Jason, even after the latter accidentally gets him injured and temporarily unable to use the Fire Ring, then steals said ring in a misguided attempt to be a superhero. Then, many seasons later (in the last season's "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS6E13101Mutations 101 Mutations]]", to be precise), it's revealed that Wheeler has a younger cousin, Joey, with whom he's apparently pretty close. Aside from his gratitude for Jason's [[FanOfUnderdog unusual admiration]], that might be the reason he's so good with him – because he already has experience with Joey!

* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS3E10HogTide Hog Tide]]": At one point, Gaia's tale gets interrupted by a strong gust of wind forcing a window open. It also knocks what is revealed to be a law book off a shelf. Thing is, none of the Planeteers was ever shown to study law (even as a hobby), so what is a book related to it doing there? The most probable answer is that Gaia put it there along with other books, presumably regarding various subjects. It would make sense on two counts – first of all, Gaia cares about her "children's" overall well-being, so why should it be different regarding their education? Secondly, going by episodes like "Jail House Flock", the Planeteers seemingly attempt to work within the general boundaries of the law. How can they do that if they're not familiar with it?

** He's the only Planeteer to [[UndyingLoyalty never have betrayed her]].

** Also in the alternate future, when Wheeler finds out that Gaia is dead, her body is intact. This means that either the toxic waste somehow preserved it, or that she died ''very'' shortly before Wheeler got there.