Captain Planet and the Planeteers cartoon information

In situations that the Planeteers cannot handle on their own, they can combine and magnify their powers to summon Captain Planet, who possesses all of their powers magnified, symbolizing that the combined efforts of a team are stronger than its individual parts. Captain Planet only appears in his Captain Planet garb. These are not clothes but elements of the Earth that are integral to his composition. He is able to rearrange his molecular structure to transform himself into the various powers and elements of nature. Captain Planet's outfit does not represent a specific culture. He has grass-green hair, sky-blue skin, earthy brown eyes, a fire-red chest, gloves and boots, and a sun-yellow globe insignia.

Kwame: From Africa, Kwame possesses the power of Earth. He is 18 years old and has a soft spot for plant life. Growing up in a tribe in his homeland, he is at one with the land and its purpose, and does what he can to preserve it. Unofficially considered the leader of the group, he's the voice of reason that keeps the Planeteers in check when the group begins to lose faith in a given situation.

Wheeler: From North America (specifically Brooklyn), Wheeler controls the power of Fire. At 17 years old, Wheeler is the street-smart comic relief for the group who, while having his heart in the right place, tends to get himself into tight spots with his impulse actions. He also tends to annoy Linka, whom he has an ongoing crush on throughout the series. His compassion and fighting spirit adds to the team's backbone.

Linka: From the Soviet Union, Linka has the power of Wind. At 16 years old, Linka closely studies bird life. She's also a master of strategy and logic, as well as a computer wiz. With a feisty personality, she's a no-nonsense girl whose common sense has helped the group when in their most critical moments. She seems to like Wheeler but gets turned off by his frequent annoying behaviour. Later on in the series her introduction stated that she was from Eastern Europe rather than the Soviet Union after the fall of the latter in the early 1990s.

Gi: Hailing from Asia, Gi controls the power of water. This power is the only power that requires tapping into a source in order to be useful. Also at 16 years old, Gi is a self-proclaimed marine biologist. Her compassion for sea life contributes to the overall effort of the Planeteers' protection of animals.

Ma-Ti: From the Amazon Rainforests of South America, Ma-Ti uses the power of heart to instill love, care, compassion, and empathy into the people of the world to care for the planet. He can also use this power to communicate with animals telepathically. At 12 years old, Ma-Ti is the most impressionable, but his youth and innocence also aids in the level of love and caring that keeps the group together.

It should be noted that this representation of Gaia was depicted not as a Hellenic Greek, but as a mix of the three primary racial ethnicities: dark brown skin, prominent cheekbones, wavy black hair, and blue eyes.

The only ally of the Planeteers (besides Gaia), who appeared more than once in the series, was former cold war soldier Commander Clash. He helped the Planeteers to defeat Captain Pollution as well as Zarm.

Villains

The evil Eco-Villains united in Summit to Save Earth, Part 1. Clockwise from left: Dr. Blight, Verminous Skumm, Duke Nukem, Hoggish Greedly, Zarm, Looten Plunder, and Sly Sludge.A small group of villains, usually referred to as the Ecovillains, make appearances repeatedly in most episodes. They are well aware that what they do is wrong, yet they do it anyhow, simply because of greed, selfishness, or a desire for power. Due to conflict among them from their varying self-serving interests and backgrounds, they tend to work alone most of the time. Each of these villains represent a specific ecological disaster. These include:

Hoggish Greedly - A pig-like human who represents the dangers of unchecked industrialization and greed.
Rigger - Hoggish Greedly's henchman.
Looten Plunder - A wealthy poacher and greedy businessman who represents the evils of uncontrolled capitalism.
Argos Bleek - Looten Plunder's main henchman.
Pinehead Brothers - Oakey and Dokey are two oversized lumberjacks, who work for Looten Plunder.
Sly Sludge - An unscrupulous garbage collector who represents apathy and the dangers of short-term thinking.
Ooze - Sly Sludge's sniveling dumpster friend.
Tank Flusher III - Sly Sludge's strongman servant.
Duke Nukem - A radioactive mutant who represents the evils of nuclear power.
Leadsuit - Duke Nukem's lead-covered cowardly accomplice.
Verminous Skumm - A part man, part rat who represents the evils of poor sanitation and urban sprawl.
Dr. Blight - A mad scientist who represents the dangers of uncontrolled technology and unethical scientific experimentation.
MAL - Dr. Blight's evil high-intellectual supercomputer.
Zarm - The former spirit of the earth who left Gaia in search of other lands and ended up laying other populous planets to ruin. He seems to represent war and destruction.
All seven joined forces only once, under Zarm's leadership, in the two-part "Summit to Save Earth" episode.

"The New Adventures of Captain Planet" also featured the Slaughter family led by their mother Mame Slaughter and her second-in-command son Stalker Slaughter. They were a family of poachers, often in direct monetary competition with Looten Plunder.

Various other one-time villains were also used.