Line #10 Fridge/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers


1	[[foldercontrol]]
2	!!FridgeBrilliance
3	[[folder:General]]
4	* Obviously, 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.
5	* A lot of people have a field day with how badly pollution affects Captain Planet. One way of explaining this is that he has the Planeteers' powers magnified, but he also has their ''weaknesses'' magnified. The same things that would make them sick in days or years make him sick in minutes.
6	* Similarly, certain factions of the audience snark that Captain Planet could be easily taken out by something as minor as an empty can thrown his way... except this statement is false. Cap is harmed by toxics (whether liquid or gaseous) and by radioactivity. Things like empty cans, paper scraps, plastic and so on are simply trash which he handles without breaking a sweat.
7	[[/folder]]
8	[[folder:Relationships]]
9	* 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, unlike Gaia and Cap who see them as family to care for and protect 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 ever give his occasional allies/lackeys. [[EvilIsEasy Evil may be easy]], but [[EvilWillFail it also tends to sow the seeds of its own destruction.]]
10	* 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 (except for being unable to leave Hope Island for too long), he either is inaccessible (episodes like "The Conqueror" and "The Dead Seas") 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.
11	* Gaia and Ma-Ti:
12	** 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.]]
13	** There are actually a few possible reasons for why Ma-Ti seems to be Gaia's favorite:
14	*** As [[TheBabyOfTheBunch the youngest of the Planeteers]], and [[HeartwarmingOrphan an orphaned one at that]], he may cause her maternal instincts to kick in easily.
15	*** He's the only Planeteer to [[UndyingLoyalty never have betrayed her]], even accidentally.
16	*** The Heart Ring might have a passive ability to strengthen such bonds.
17	* Gaia and Wheeler:
18	** 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 and, like Ma-Ti, she doesn't usually correct him in a biting or angry way.
19	** 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 assume that ever since then, he's determined to make sure the BadFuture never happens.
20	* Wheeler and Linka:
21	** Wheeler and Linka's BelligerentSexualTension wasn't just sexual. In the first two seasons, at least, it was also [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar political and ideological]].
22	** 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. Fire, in turn, can warm up the wind, making it more pleasant. Likewise, Gi and Kwame (if you see them as a couple) also have complementary elements.
23	* Wheeler and Ma-Ti's friendship looks a little {{odd\|Friendship}} at first glance, but on second thought, it makes a fair amount of sense, despite all their differences:
24	** 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.
25	** Wheeler has a younger cousin, Joey, of whom he's fond; he has experience with downplayed IntergenerationalFriendship. The other Planeteers don't appear to have similar experience; Ma-Ti, Gi, and possibly Kwame seem to be only children. Kwame has a BigBrotherMentor and Linka has an older brother she adores, but that wouldn't teach them about interacting with people younger than themselves.
26	** 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. Combine this with the fact that Ma-Ti (for whatever reason) is likelier to praise him when he does something right, and it's no surprise that Wheeler quickly developed a soft spot for him.
27	** Ma-Ti's powers allow him to read people's thoughts and feelings. [[MindOverManners Although he presumably doesn't use this on his teammates very deeply most of the time]], even a little bit would probably be enough to tell him that Wheeler's real self [[HiddenDepths is more complicated than the way he looks]]. The others don't have the same boost.
28	[[/folder]]
29	[[folder:Eco-Villains]]
30	* Lots of people (mostly the Nostalgia Critic and Linkara) like to say that the Eco-Villains were just polluting for the hell of it, but close inspection of the series shows that most had an insidious but not entirely insane reason for doing what they do:
31	** Hoggish Greedly and Looten Plunder were, quite literally, [[Film/WallStreet Gordon Gekko]] Expy 1 and 2 – all they cared about was their business interests (well, [[VillainousParentalInstinct Greedly also 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.
32	** 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's hardly surprising 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.
33	** Dr. Blight showed many different motives throughout the series. Often, as a MadScientist to the extreme, she got joy out of seeing how much carnage she could cause from her experiments, but in a few episodes she was shown using her scientific genius to make money in unethical ways, much like Looten Plunder and Hoggish Greedly. In "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS5E2Hollywaste Hollywaste]]", where her only motivation was jealousy, she attempted to destroy her sister's Hollywood career.
34	** Duke Nukem and Verminous Skumm both have the same purpose and, in fact, worked together in the past: they want to wipe out mankind as it exists and replace it with their own kind; and the fact they openly work together on more than one occasion shows they probably agree as to what "their own kind" is -- mutants deviated/evolved from normal humanity by exposure to pollution. Duke Nukem was ''vaguely'' sympathetic in that he couldn't live without radiation any more, and in many ways he ''had'' to do what he did to survive (though this depended on the episode).
35	** 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 protecting and/or ruling peacefully.
36	** And then, there's plain old urge to take revenge on the Planeteers, Captain Planet and Gaia.
37	* Why do the villains [[NeverRecycleYourSchemes always come up with new schemes, instead of simply tweaking the old ones]]? Of course, from meta-perspective, it's to keep the show interesting, but what about in-universe? The answer is actually quite simple – if they did the latter, the Planeteers would have already known how to ruin their scams. By ''not'' reusing the old plans, the villains (knowingly or not) keep the element of surprise on their side.
38	[[/folder]]
39	[[folder:The Planeteers -- general]]
40	* In two episodes ("Summit to Save Earth" and "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS5E7NoPlaceLikeHome No Place Like Home]]"), the Planeteers group-hug Gaia after she has had a close call. In both cases, Linka is the first to reach her, with Ma-Ti very close behind. 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.
41	* When the Planeteers all get their rings, Kwame, Gi and Linka are just doing things they normally do, and Ma-Ti rescues Suchi. What's Wheeler doing? He's stopping a thug. There's more to the scene in hindsight, since while the [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower Heart Ring]] could become the most lethal Ring if used in just the right way, of the four remaining Rings, Fire is the easiest to utilize in a potentially deadly manner and therefore can't be put into the hands of a BloodKnight. The scene shows that despite his tendency to get physical, Wheeler is most definitely ''[[MartialPacifist not]]'' [[MartialPacifist a Blood Knight.]]
42	** 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. Though they don't get much interaction before Wheeler gets distracted by the ring, the guy doesn't seem to consider him a TerrifyingRescuer, despite just seeing him threaten someone, hinting at Wheeler's kinder side.
43	** Secondly, while Wheeler makes a show of threatening the thug, he immediately drops the tough guy act as soon as the thug flees, rather than chasing after the thug to pummel him because he can, demonstrating his nobility and indicating that he was fighting only to defend.
44	** 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 daylights 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, though.[[/note]]
45	** 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.
46	** 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 the depth of her faith in Wheeler's strength of character.
47	* In "The Conqueror" and "Summit to Save Earth", Kwame helps Gaia when she ends up needing physical support to, respectively, stand and walk. It ''is'' rather clear why Ma-Ti and the girls couldn't do it – they're simply too short – but what about Wheeler, who is as tall and strong as Kwame? It's not that Wheeler isn't protective of Gaia – he is, and fiercely so – but Kwame became the ''de facto'' head of his family when his mother fell ill. Likely, it's already second nature for him to provide all kinds of support to those who need it.
48	[[/folder]]
49	[[folder:Ma-Ti and the power of Heart]]
50	* It's been shown that [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower the Heart Ring]] can be potentially the ''deadliest'' of the five rings that 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.
51	* 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 his grandfather also has telepathic abilities. Ma-Ti could have inherited them. In fact, that could even have served as a secondary reason why he 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. That would help him and the other Planeteers, who communicate at a distance using his power.
52	* Ma-Ti [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway gets mocked by certain factions of the audience]] because his powers usually work better for support than for offense. However, it makes sense. By Ma-Ti's own definition in "Summit to Save Earth", Heart is meant for loving and taking care of other beings, whether by communicating with them, understanding their feelings, or enlisting assistance from passersby. Ma-Ti's power is ''meant'' to be supportive.
53	* Although it's not part of ClassicalElementsEnsemble, the power of Heart was ''not'' added as an afterthought or made up in order to create a FiveManBand. Of course, earth/ground, fire/heat, wind/air and water are all very important to the planet's various ecosystems... but without plants, animals and other living organisms, there simply ''wouldn't be'' any ecosystems. In other words, "Heart" is a shorthand for "Life In All Its Aspects", which not only explains its most commonly seen abilities (telepathy and empathy), but is also the reason why Ma-Ti could command Kwame's white cells in "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E10AnInsideJob An Inside Job]]".
54	[[/folder]]
55	[[folder:By episode]]
56	* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E1AHeroForEarth A Hero for Earth]]":
57	** Aside from the fact that confrontation scenes simply look better in a dark setting, there's a good reason why Wheeler and Ma-Ti are introduced during the night, unlike Kwame and the girls. The Planeteers come from different [[https://www.timeanddate.com/time/map/ time zones]], with Wheeler and Ma-Ti being the closest apart (one hour or no difference at all, depending on where exactly Ma-Ti's village is located). Thus, Wheeler stops a mugger and Ma-Ti rescues Suchi in the night; Kwame is out planting saplings in the early morning; Linka is playing bird tunes on her keyboard around midday; and Gi is swimming with dolphins in the afternoon.
58	** When Gi takes control of the Geo-Cruiser, we learn that she has a driver's license and Wheeler doesn't, even though he's supposed to be older than she is. This makes sense for two reasons:
59	*** Wheeler grew up in a poor neighborhood, whereas Gi is the daughter of two scientists; her family probably had more money to put towards things like driving lessons.
60	*** New York is an urban environment with public transportation; that presumably makes having (and therefore knowing how to use) a car less important. Wheeler not only had less opportunity to learn; he also had less reason.
61	* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E6TheConqueror The Conqueror]]":
62	** When Zarm introduces himself to the Planeteers, posing as an alien, Linka wonders how he can possibly know the human language. He, in turn, claims that it's "a simple language", but the tone of his voice is somewhat hesitant. When first watching the episode, it might be easy to chalk it up to him doing his best not to insult the Earthlings he just met. However, [[RewatchBonus upon rewatching]], it seems quite likely that Linka's question actually caught him off-guard, and he had to improvise.
63	** In line with Zarm being the show's SatanicArchetype, some elements of his corruption of the Planeteers bear a resemblance to the "original sin" passage in the Literature/BookOfGenesis:
64	*** There are humans who've received from a BigGood all they need, and are happy with it until a very cunning BigBad arrives and plants a seed of doubt in their hearts.
65	*** The Big Bad starts his scheme with a false statement about the Big Good and the humans' capacities, to which one of the humans objects, thus unknowingly taking the bait and hook.
66	*** The Big Bad then offers the humans something (seemingly) much better than what the Big Good gave them.
67	*** The humans accept the offer and are satisfied for a short while, before realizing that they've been tricked.
68	** When Gaia says she must go to the military base that the four older Planeteers are tearing apart, Ma-Ti protests, pointing out that she's now mortal, and by going there, she'll be putting herself in danger. To convince him, Gaia replies that "peace requires a brave heart". Taken at face value, this statement means ''she'' has enough courage to risk her life in order to bring her terribly misguided Planeteers back on the way of peace. However, there's more to that. Ma-Ti's power is Heart, and at that point, he's scared and feeling helpless. Thus, Gaia gently makes him realize that "peace requires a brave Heart" – in other words, that they ''both'' need courage in order to succeed.
69	** Linka spotting Gaia and Ma-Ti among the debris of the missile base just in time to stop Wheeler from using the Fire Gauntlet may seem like a convenient coincidence to move the plot forward, but there's actually a good in-universe reason for it as well – Ma-Ti, whose powers make him TheBeastmaster, used the Heart Ring to summon a flock of birds, banking on Linka's love for them to attract her attention.
70	** Whether it was intentional on the writers' part or not, Gaia and Ma-Ti represent the group which suffers the most in every war -- innocent civilians; in particular, women and children.
71	** When four of the Planeteers turn away from Gaia, she becomes mortal and apparently loses her powers. How is she able to use Zarm's crystal ball, then? Because she hasn't lost ''all'' of them; she still has had access to the power of Heart, thanks to Ma-Ti staying loyal to her. [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower "The greatest power of all"]], indeed.
72	** While they're under Zarm's influence, Linka, Gi and Kwame destroy a military base, and Wheeler almost blows up the nuclear missiles left behind by the soldiers, which could have started WorldWarIII – and [[KarmaHoudini none of them gets prosecuted, not to mention punished, for it]]. In Wheeler's case, it could be argued that he didn't actually ''do'' anything (Linka stopped him at the last moment), but what about the others? Well, given that they were standing some distance away from the base, out of the soldiers' sight, in an area without security cameras, it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, to prove that they had anything to do with the destruction. Also, given that it's still early in their "career", and they're not yet famous – any prosecutor who'd try to accuse them would probably have to defend his or her own sanity, as [[CassandraTruth the idea of people causing natural disasters at will sounds utterly ridiculous]], unless one knows about the Planeteer rings.
73	* "[[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 episodes 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!
74	* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E19OzoneHole Ozone Hole]]":
75	** When Kwame and the girls get trapped in ice much too close to Nukem's radiation, Linka gets a major sunburn on her face very quickly, and Gi gets the second worst case of sunburn. Obviously – Linka is White, so she has a lot less melanin in her skin to protect her than her two friends do. Kwame, who's African, has the most melanin in his skin and would take the longest to be affected.
76	** When Wheeler sees that Linka's group got trapped, he immediately becomes much more thoughtful [[LeeroyJenkins than usual]] as he takes command of the mission, despite his earlier KnowNothingKnowItAll moment that led to the team splitting up. This makes sense for a number of reasons:
77	*** Wheeler has just spent hours trekking across the arctic with Ma-Ti in tow, plenty of time for him to admit he made a foolish decision by not following Linka's lead and to revert to kicking himself (in his head at least) for putting the two of them to such trouble and possibly in danger.
78	*** Though Wheeler is impulsive and BookDumb, he isn't stupid. "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E1AHeroForEarth A Hero for Earth]]", "The Dead Seas", "Smog Hog", and "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E13TroubleOnTheHalfShell Trouble on the Half-Shell]]" have him coming up with workable spur-of-the-moment plans to achieve what the team needs at the moment with what they've got.
79	*** Before gaining his tough guy reputation on Brooklyn streets, he must have learned how to pick his fights. He might be impulsive, but he's smart enough to properly assess the situation to avoid getting into a fight he certainly won't win, and two humans with pollution-sensitive power rings against a NuclearMutant who exudes radiation is not good odds.
80	*** With Kwame, Gi, and Linka trapped, Wheeler knows that the situation is desperate. If he goes down, he's not just dragging himself down; he's also dragging down his teammates, including [[EveryonesBabyBrother Ma-Ti]], with him.
81	* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E24And25TwoFutures Two Futures]]":
82	** 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 [[{{Pun}} burnt out]]!
83	** There are a few reasons why Gaia is so stern with Wheeler, even though she has treated Ma-Ti and Kwame much more leniently in their AchillesInHisTent / TenMinuteRetirement episodes:
84	*** First of all, Ma-Ti and Kwame felt self-doubt and sadness. Wheeler, in turn, is full of anger directed right at Gaia.
85	*** Secondly, while Ma-Ti and Kwame acted on their emotions on the spur of the moment, Wheeler has had much more time to think about his feelings and process them. Yet, he still went through with the original plan to stop his past self from becoming a Planeteer, despite having a chance to simply stand by without interfering, had he changed his mind.
86	*** Thirdly, related to the above, neither Ma-Ti nor Kwame expressed a wish to never have received their rings; they acted and reconsidered their actions in the present. Meanwhile, Wheeler deliberately changed history, and at first refused to accept being in the wrong.
87	*** Fourthly, it may be a case of AngerBornOfWorry. Considering that Gaia can see and show every possible future, she might have noticed something alarming in the alternate Wheeler's fate (in fact, given that everyone else's lives went downhill, she almost certainly did), and wanted to prevent it.
88	** Wheeler first spent about an hour trapped in the ice cave with Dr. Blight, and then about as much in the Time Pool. Yet, Gi later says that she and the others were tunnelling for ''a couple'' of hours, implying she lost track of time at some point. It does seem like a plothole, but Wheeler's trip into the future doesn't last an hour from the viewer's perspective, either. It's hardly possible to tell just how much time he spent on January 5, first stopping his original past self from becoming a Planeteer, and then talking sense into his rebelling past self after the horrible trip to the 21st century. And even if ''that'' didn't take long, there's nothing to indicate that the Time Pool's inside is synchronized with the outside world. [[YearOutsideHourInside What seemed like a bit over an hour to him could have easily been several hours for everyone else]].
89	* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E1MindPollution Mind Pollution]]":
90	** Wheeler is the only Planeteer who calls the moaning, shambling mob of Bliss-addicted people "zombies". More than one episode (e.g. "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS4E14BugOff Bug Off]]" and "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. It's even more appropriate given that the modern idea of zombies as opposed to the VoodooZombie variant originated from the 1968 movie ''{{Film/Night Of The Living Dead\|1968}}'', a North American production.
91	** 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 had been making over the past few weeks, 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.
92	* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E17And18SummitToSaveEarth Summit to Save Earth]]":
93	** The Planeteers only become suspicious when they notice a radical change in the Summit President's discourse. However, at the beginning of the scene, the President's eyes briefly glow red – just like Zarm's did back in "The Conqueror". This is the first clue for the viewers as to who the "President" actually is.
94	** In her initial battle against Zarm, Gaia's first move is... unleashing a swarm of butterflies. It [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway may seem ridiculous]] – her opponent has just attacked her with some ''toxic ooze'' – but earlier in the episode, Zarm himself all but explicitly states that he needs a certain, presumably high, level of pollution to exist as something more than a hologram; butterflies, on the other hand, need the air as clean as possible. So basically, Gaia was hitting Zarm with his KryptoniteFactor ''represented'' by butterflies.
95	** After Zarm traps the Planeteers in a toxic tornado, [[ShipTease Wheeler is shown holding Linka]]. If you watch the whole sequence frame-by-frame, you'll notice that they were sent flying separately. This means that at some point, Wheeler must have caught Linka – presumably with no intention of letting go of her no matter what.
96	** 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 chose wrong]] 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 ''might'' have quickened her victory over Zarm, but wouldn't have ''guaranteed'' it.
97	** Zarm says two times that Gaia will be "destroyed". Considering the show's overall aversion of NeverSayDie, it seems at first that he just chose to refer to Gaia and Earth with the same verb, either for convenience or out of disrespect. However, not long after he says it for the second time, it turns out that he meant it ''literally'', as according to his plan, [[ReducedToDust Gaia will turn to dust upon dying]].
98	** 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 to rub his victory in her face by [[ForcedToWatch 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).
99	** 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 her longer legs simply let her take bigger steps, thus giving her an advantage over Ma-Ti, the other member of the group who lost his mother.
100	** In their first battle, Gaia was seconds away from defeating Zarm, until he decided to cheat his way to victory. Logically, she should be able to repeat [[CurbStompBattle the curbstomping]] even without outside help. Why then does she only summon monkeys and birds to distract Zarm while the Planeteers call Captain Planet? Because she's still weakened after everything Zarm has put her through and [[{{Synchronization}} due to Earth's condition]]; notice that during the escape, she at first ''ran'' alongside the Planeteers, but eventually needed Kwame's support to be able to ''walk''. Also, summoning the animals required the power of Heart, which – unlike other elements – Zarm can never counter or replicate because of being heartless.
101	** Back in "A Hero for Earth", Gaia said in no uncertain terms that without Heart, the elemental powers are useless. This statement [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway seems ridiculous]]... until you consider her dynamics with Zarm, clearly visible in this episode. They both have elemental powers at their disposal, but she outmatches him quite easily ''twice'', despite being weakened the second time around. This is because she also has the power of Heart, which he may understand enough to use it against her – by attacking the Planeteers to distract her – but which he ultimately isn't and never will be able to fully overcome.
102	** Of course, Captain Planet doesn't like Zarm in the slightest, but why is he so [[TranquilFury coldly furious]]? During his scheme, Zarm threatened and/or harmed ''all'' of Cap's {{protectorate}}s. He ruined Earth, forced the four older Planeteers to "fight" him one by one, tried to murder Ma-Ti – and almost killed Gaia, with whom Captain Planet is really close friends and for whom he may or may not have romantic feelings.
103	* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS3E8OKAtTheGunfightCorral O.K. at the Gunfight Corral]]":
104	** 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, [[{{Shoutout}} claims]] that [[Franchise/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".
105	** When the Planeteers find the villains' time machine, Gi concludes that it operates on a simple system. It might seem odd, considering that it was built by [[MadScientist Dr. Blight]], but the machine was designed and created to be used by Greedly, Rigger and Sludge, none of whom are as brilliant as Blight. Of course, she'd have to simplify it for them.
106	** Wheeler is the first one to jump into the time portal, and without any hesitation, too. Of course -- not only is he excited about seeing the Old West, but he also has already traveled in time in "Two Futures". He's not afraid, because unlike the others, he has some experience.
107	* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS3E10HogTide Hog Tide]]":
108	** 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?
109	** 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 have thought he and his friends were the first Planeteers; in fact, they would have been the third or even fourth generation, depending on how long a particular team would have stayed around before starting families and finding paid jobs. So, what most probably happened was that Gaia took a peek at the real story and embellished it for the sake of entertainment.
110	** A bit of Fridge Heartwarming: the two proto-Planeteers who get any ShipTease just happen to be Wheeler's and Linka's counterparts. It's probable that Gaia did it on purpose, implying that she knows or suspects how Wheeler and Linka actually feel towards each other (or rather, how [[{{Tsundere}} Linka]] really feels, given that Wheeler has never been shy about his drive to win her heart), [[ShipperOnDeck and that she's all for it]].
111	* "I Just Want to Be Your Teddy Bear":
112	** Whether or not UsefulNotes/{{Voudoun}} 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 given to her by Gaia, considering that [[LikeASonToMe two of her Planeteers]] were in there, too. The same may also apply to Maman's advice to Wheeler to "look beneath the surface".
113	** After pushing Gi, Ma-Ti and Lucien into the quicksand, Greedly gloats that nature will [[ImpliedDeathThreat "take care"]] of them. And it did; just not in the way he hoped for. One would think he should have realized by now (by observation and/or gossip, at the very least) that the Planeteers are pretty much [[MotherNature Gaia's]] adoptive children...
114	* "[[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 the real Blight knows about it, that very type of mistake caused Zarm to fail at corrupting the Planeteers) and ruined her double masquerade.
115	* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS4E22TeersInTheHood 'Teers in the Hood]]": When Gi finally snaps and tries to drown Zap, the gang member who shot her friend, David King, she seems to prolong it a bit... which might make sense to her insofar as karma. David 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]] to even the scales?
116	* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS5E2Hollywaste Hollywaste]]": When Bambi admits she's Dr. Blight's sister, almost all the Planeteers become immediately suspicious of her. Wheeler is the only one who firmly believes in her innocence, on the grounds that one doesn't get to choose one's biological family. At first glance, it may seem random and strange for him to act as a voice of reason, but on second thought, it makes perfect sense. He believes Bambi, because he can relate to her on family matters. After all, just like she didn't choose to have an evil sister, he didn't choose to have an {{abusive\|Parents}}, [[AlcoholicParent alcoholic father]].
117	* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS5E13WhosRunningTheShow Who's Running the Show?]]": Of course [[CreatorCameo Fred Lerner]] would have a wrestling ring for the villains to use. His real-life counterpart, Ted Turner, owned Wrestling/{{WCW}}.
118	* "A Good Bomb Is Hard To Find": How come Hitler can weaken Captain Planet just by staring at him? Consider that Heart is a mix of [[PsychicPowers telepathy]] and [[TheEmpath empathy]] and that Hitler was one of the most hate-filled men in history; it'd probably overload a telepath/empath's mind really quickly.
119	[[/folder]]
120
121	!!FridgeHorror
122	[[folder:General]]
123	* 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 they 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 teammates die.
124	[[/folder]]
125	[[folder:By episode]]
126	* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E2RainOfTerror Rain of Terror]]": Verminous Skumm, a rat mutant, calls Linka "[his] pretty little Planeteer" and says she looks "out of sights", which means "amazing". Granted, sometimes villains use this kind of thing as [[YourLittleDismissiveDiminutive a dismissive statement]], but it also seems to imply he has an actual VillainousCrush on her... from the moment he first saw her.
127	* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E17DontDrinkTheWater Don't Drink the Water]]":
128	** If Looten Plunder thought Captain Planet was dead, why did he have Wheeler at the reservoir to pull out as a hostage?
129	*** 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.
130	*** 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]].
131	** Making this even 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]].
132	** If that had happened, then 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.
133	* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E24And25TwoFutures Two Futures]]":
134	** 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 offer one very strong possibility]].
135	** Also in the alternate future, when Wheeler finds out that Gaia is dead, her body is intact – not a single pollution-caused blemish or even the tiniest sign of decay. This means that unless it's different for spirits or [[ToxicWasteCanDoAnything the toxic waste somehow preserved the body]], she died ''very'' shortly before Wheeler got there.
136	** 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", where Gaia loses her powers, but stays alive). 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.
137	** Still in the bad future: Greedly explicitly says that he ''bought'' Hope Island, but from whom? Certainly not from Gaia – she wouldn't have had any use of the money, and her synchronization with the island's condition would've amounted to a suicide if she had willingly let Greedly destroy and pollute her home – so that leaves only two possibilities. Either the disheartened alternate Planeteers felt entitled to do so... or somebody ''invaded and conquered'' Hope Island, and later sold it to the highest bidder, who just happened to be Greedly.
138	** The timeline only returns to normal once Wheeler returns to the night he got the Fire Ring and stops his New Year's Eve self from warning his original self against taking the ring. If he had been killed running around the BadFuture (which nearly happens when he arrives in Kwame's part of the world), the messed-up alternate timeline would have become permanent.
139	** 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 and the future would presumably have been worse as a result.
140	* "The Ark": When the Planeteers get teleported onto Collector's spacecraft, they're initially confused, and later – despaired that they might never see 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 distraught, if not downright ''terrified'', since at that time, she had absolutely no clue as to what happened to them.
141	* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E3DomesOfDoom Domes of Doom]]": Wheeler was actually pretty lucky that he ''didn't'' manage to escape being enclosed in the dome. If he had, not only would he not have had such an easy route to reach Plunder's lair, but also, he would have been trapped in the Amazon, without any access to the closest people who know the local dangers and survival techniques.
142	* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E13TroubleOnTheHalfShell Trouble On the Half-Shell]]": The episode ends with Greedly, mutated into a giant by Skumm's toxic waste, trying to catch and eat him to regain his normal size. Not only is the ease with which he decides to turn to eating a sapient being creepy, but also the earlier scene with Skumm's rats demonstrates that the shrinking effect happens very quickly after the mutated being eats non-toxic food. Assuming that Greedly wasn't wise enough to limit his consumption to something that his normal stomach could contain, he would have inflicted a very nasty (and possibly gory) DeathByGluttony on himself.
143	* "[[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, on the other hand, has heard Risa (a pathologist) 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.
144	* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS4E22TeersInTheHood 'Teers in the Hood]]": During the climax, Zap is fighting like crazy to keep his head above the water Gi is stirring up with her ring. Obviously, she 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:
145	-->'''Wheeler''': Gi, you don't really want to do this!\
146	'''Gi''': ''[[ToThePain Yes, I do!]]''
147	* "Dirty Politics":
148	** 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.
149	** 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... [[EvilIsPetty over a lost presidential election]].
150	** Whether or not Plunder is Betsi's father, if he had actually succeeded at killing her, Dr. Blight probably would've ripped him apart (maybe even literally), given that at one point, she explicitly [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes shows affection for her daughter]]. Given that Plunder is a pretty public figure (being a businessman), it's quite possible that Blight's RoaringRampageOfRevenge would have caught other people in the crossfire.
151	[[/folder]]
152
153	!!FridgeSadness
154	[[folder:General]]
155	* The Planeteers' situation as they grow older has two possibilities, neither of them without negative sides:
156	** 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]].
157	** 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 at least one future episode, 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.
158	* Wheeler's personality:
159	** Wheeler's [[LeeroyJenkins reckless]] and protective personal style has a number of explanations, not all of them pleasant:
160	*** 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.
161	*** Alternatively (but not much better), Wheeler doesn't want to die[[note]]if nothing else, "Two Futures" indicates he has a self-preservation instinct[[/note]]. However, he still feels worthless compared to the others. Therefore, when he and someone else are in trouble, [[DrawAggro he readily uses himself as a human target]], thinking that it won't really matter if it's ''him'' who dies.
162	** 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, about which his teammates tend to rag on him, could easily have developed because he saw no long-term future for himself either.
163
164	[[/folder]]
165	[[folder:By episode]]
166	* "Population Bomb": At one point, the Planeteers (besides Linka) were about to give up on finding Wheeler. Since everything that happened after Wheeler hits his head was a dream, does that mean he thinks [[TeamMom Gi]], [[NiceGuy Kwame]] and [[AllLovingHero Ma-Ti]] wouldn't care if he disappeared? Even Linka's part could be taken as a sign that Wheeler thinks she's attracted to him, but for his looks, not himself. After all, if there were anything worthwhile about his personality, his three friends would still be worried that he had gone missing.
167	* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E24And25TwoFutures Two Futures]]":
168	** Though Wheeler's complaints about having to work on New Year's Eve fit in with his fun-loving nature, his backstory makes it pretty likely that he wasn't able to celebrate many happy New Years at home. New Year's is supposed to be celebrated with loved ones, but Wheeler's family was profoundly dysfunctional. Now he finally ''has'' a decent "{{family\|OfChoice}}" with whom to celebrate, and Greedly's latest scheme derails it.
169	** 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.
170	* "[[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.
171	* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E1MindPollution Mind Pollution]]":
172	** Boris almost had to quit using Bliss when the prices skyrocketed. The only reason Skumm let him have more was that he happened to mention knowing one of the Planeteers (Linka), which ultimately allowed Boris to overdose and die. Assuming that Linka was told about it (or figured it out), the utter guilt she would feel would be soul-crushing. The worst thing is that such guilt on her part wouldn't even be justified.
173	** By the end of the episode, Linka's Uncle Dmitri [[OutlivingOnesOffspring has lost his son]]. That's sad enough, but the fact that they're alone in the house implies Boris might have been his only child.
174	* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E17And18SummitToSaveEarth Summit to Save Earth]]": If Zarm in his cruelty had murdered only Ma-Ti, [[CruelMercy letting the others go after Gaia's death]] – since their rings would then have been permanently useless anyway – they might have had NotEnoughToBury of [[TheBabyOfTheBunch their youngest friend]] and [[ReducedToDust almost certainly nothing]] of their TeamMom, except ''maybe'' for [[EmptyPilesOfClothing her empty clothes]], which would have forced them to arrange a [[BuryingASubstitute strictly symbolic funeral]]. And they couldn't have even been comforted by Captain Planet, their [[ParentalSubstitute paternal figure]], as with the rings destroyed and without the fifth team member, they wouldn't have been able to summon him anymore. Furthermore, if you accept the implications Captain Planet is in existence and aware when he hasn't been summoned, he would have had to watch the whole thing, [[AndIMustScream unable to do anything about it]].
175	* "The Great Tree Heist": [[BruiserWithASoftCenter Wheeler]] being the one who briefly goes into denial over Captain Planet's apparent death makes a cruel sort of sense when one remembers his family background. Most of the other Planeteers had a loving father figure whereas Wheeler's father spent his childhood demeaning him. Naturally, he wouldn't want to believe that the only proper father he'd ever had was gone.
176	* "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS4E1And2MineIsTerribleToWaste A Mine is a Terrible Thing to Waste]]": The Planeteers' backstories add some depressing realizations to multiple other episodes:
177	** Ma-Ti's story adds some more 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 night his parents were murdered.
178	** The climax of "Don't Drink the Water" is already laden with Fridge Horror, but Gi's story adds a different kind of emotion to the scene. When Gi was a little girl, circumstances forced her to leave behind one of her friends (a dolphin called Tisa), and by the time she could return, Tisa was so sick from the pollution in the area that all Gi could do [[DiedInYourArmsTonight was hold her as she died]]. When the escape goes wrong, she's again forced to leave a friend behind with people who have no scruples about killing, which clearly distresses her, given her tone of voice as she tells Captain Planet what happened. The short period between her escaping and Wheeler being brought safely onto the Geo-Cruiser must have put her emotionally through the wringer, though luckily it, didn't last long and ended better.
179	** [[HadToBeSharp While explaining his independent streak]], Wheeler reveals that his father constantly criticized him, going as far as calling him a worthless loser for being unable to fulfill his demand for [[TheAlcoholic another bottle]]. While the older Planeteers[[note]]Ma-Ti doesn't count, because he rarely criticizes anyone[[/note]] are more kind and have some positive interactions to balance things out, it's quite possible that Kwame, Linka and Gi semi-regularly (if {{innocently\|Insensitive}}) hit Wheeler's TraumaButton by treating him like a jerk or an idiot for not immediately understanding the problem of the week.
180	** Similarly, Wheeler has the least understanding of the power of Heart. According to Ma-Ti himself, Heart is about loving and taking care of other beings. Wheeler's family was the worst in the entire team; he has a deep-seated understanding of people ''not'' loving and taking care of others to overcome.

Context Fridge / CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers