Remember when it was cool to protect the planet? Where our greatest resource was Earth itself and poor rainforests were being wiped out entirely? How were we going to breathe? We needed a savior. A hero that was ready to save Earth, the ultimate damsel in constant distress. Jesus was busy. Al Gore was still knee deep in the internet. Enter: Captain Planet and the Planeteers!!!

Captain Planet and the Planeteers was an interesting cartoon. I can’t think of any other time in my life when I wanted to defend Earth from pollution more. What better way to do that then by collecting plastic figures? But hey, at least some of the toy packaging was made from recycled materials. These toys were green before going green was even a “thing.”

I loved the cartoon and toy line. First of all it was so cool to see a cast of Planeteer heroes hail from various countries with different ethnicities. I really liked learning about all the multi-cultures instead of everyone looking like they came out of a bag of Wonder Bread. Each teen had their own special ring that called upon Captain Planet and controlled one of the elements including a new fifth magical element called Heart. They fought to keep the Earth safe and green.

Enough of the do-gooders though! The villains were just as cool. Of course the coolest villain from Captain Planet was Dr. Blight, the devious and demented biochemical genius! Let’s check out some pictures of the Vintage Toy of the Month!

Isn’t she just pure fun? Decked out in a magenta jump suit with rubber looking gloves and boots, this chick means business. She wants to wreak havoc on Earth with all kinds of evil at her disposal, like her accomplice, the Mal Evil Computer!

My favorite thing about Dr. Blight is her hair action feature. I love that behind that sultry hair is a charred toxic mess. I really felt like an edgy rebel owning this anti-pretty toy with missing eye.

Here is a better picture of the Mal Evil computer.

The face actually looks like that Dr. Wily alien-thing from Mega Man 2. Here are some interesting Captain Planet factoids: Meg Ryan briefly voiced the vile Dr. Blight in the cartoon for some episodes while Tim Curry was Mal Evil for a couple years. How cool is that? I mean this cartoon had a touch of gravitas to it!

This picture shows all the interesting stuff occurring on the back of the card. As you can see Dr. Blight was the only female from the first series in the Captain Planet toy line. Of course she was. Why on Earth would a toy company release numerous females in a 1st series toy line? That would just be crazy. Le sigh.

At the top of the card Captain Planet wants to give us all a friendly environmental tip. (Feel free to read it over.) I like how this tip predates the whole concept of stores selling reusable shopping bags for $1.99, along with the eventual obsession of bulk buying at stores like Sam’s and Costco. Oh Captain Planet you were so on trend.

“Collect them all!” the yellow banner says with excitement. Here were the offerings for the 1st series Captain Planet figures. There was:

Captain Planet- Powerful environmental super hero.
Planeteer Wheeler- With the power of Fire!
Kwame and Ma-Ti- Planeteers Kwame and Ma-Ti with the power of Earth & Heart.
Verminous Skumm- King size sewer-rat villain.
Dr. Blight- Devious and demented biochemical genius.
Duke Nukem- Walking nuclear radiation accident.

The trading card also gives out a brief bio of Dr. Blight. I love trading cards with bios on them. This bio has got to be the best bio in the history of toy bio cards. Check it out for yourself but here are a few of my favorite quotes…

“She has previously tried to create the perfect human, and has tested some of her experiments on herself first.” (That is dedication.)

“Dr. Blight is now so demented that she even flirts with her computer…” (This is like the state of the 21st century.)

Dr. Blight was truly one of my favorite toys. In fact when I was younger I had two and just recently nabbed this mint version. What a great toy from a great cartoon. Now the biggest question of all is when will we see this cartoon and toy line return? I want a reboot, because the Earth is silently crying, waiting for a hero; with green mullet hair. Just remember folks: The Power Is Yours! Be sure to check back on the 15th of every month for a walk into the past as NERD Society celebrates a new Vintage Toy of the Month! Take care.

• Tweet