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Two Futures Part II
Season 1, Episode 25
TwoFuturesBlight Pt 2 (12)
Air date May 25, 1991
Episode guide
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Two Futures Part I
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Heat Wave

Two Futures Part II is the twenty-fifth episode in the first season of Captain Planet and the Planeteers.

Main Characters[]

The main characters featured in this episode are:

Plot Synopsis[]

Wheeler, faced with the dystopian future which he has unwittingly brought upon Earth, decides to find the other Planeteers (who now are 35 years older) and convince them to work together to save the planet.

Episode Summary[]

Wheeler changed history by preventing his past self from accepting the Ring of Fire, but then quickly regrets his decision after seeing the resulting future. Gaia says what happened after he left; Dr. Blight then called in her ally Hoggish Greedily. Greedily and Rigger in turn used to go to the portal in the 1950s, when there were lower environmental standards. Gaia warns Wheeler about the consequences, and conscripts MAL into making portals to transport Wheeler wherever he wants to go. In 2026, most of North America, including Wheeler's hometown of New York City, is flooded from global warming melting the polar icecaps, which caused the ocean levels to rise. If that weren't bad enough, Wheeler travels to other parts of the globe, via the time pool, and finds the future counterparts of his friends, who never succeed as a team, all fighting losing battles (or very limited victories) against pollution.

In Asia, typhoons have become commonplace, and Gi lives as a recluse, using her Water power to rescue a few near-extinct dolphins. In Africa, Kwame uses his Earth power to fight off loggers to protect his village's trees, the only surviving vegetation left on the entire continent. In the USSR, Linka uses her Wind power to hold down riots and keep limited food rations in check, as the Ozone layer has been destroyed over the Northern Hemisphere, decimating food production. In South America, the area has become a heavily over-industrialized and impoverished city to the point that the rainforest no longer exists, Ma-Ti lives as a homeless beggar, using his Heart power to convince the few wealthy people to donate money to the homeless and hungry.

All four former Planeteers recall how at one time the Planeteers attempted to band together to save the world, but the team was incomplete, so they disbanded. Wheeler tries to convince each of them to reform the Planeteers and use their powers to save the world, but all four of them angrily rebuke him, claiming that the destruction has now gone too far to be undone, and that the Planeteers can never form, ever again.

Wheeler seeks out Gaia at Hope Island, but to his horror, Hope Island got converted to an energy-wasting Vegas-like island, courtesy of a now wealthy and elderly Hoggish Greedly and Rigger, and Gaia's hut is now a toxic waste storage facility, and Gaia has been killed. Wheeler calls Greedly and Rigger out on how they sped up Global Warming through the time portal, and Greedly and Rigger are alarmed that Wheeler knows about it. They try to stop him with the help of the robotic guards they created, but Wheeler manages to escape through the time portal wanting to set history back the way it was.

Returning to the moment in history when he had stopped himself from accepting the ring, Wheeler stops his other self from intervening, saying that their original self should claim the ring as it was in the original timeline. Both Wheelers then asks to go back to the point he started from, and bodies merge. Once back in the present, he and Dr. Blight are still trapped in the ice and running out of air, but Wheeler is too happy to care. A moment later, the four Planeteers, having physically dug through the ice for two hours, manage to rescue them. Dr. Blight then orders Rigger and Hoggish Greedily to use the time portal to go to the past where they will cause such damage it cannot be undone, but Captain Planet is able to reverse the flow to send them to a future where the Planeteers set a good example, and pollution, poverty, and wars are reduced, and the ideals of Greedly, Rigger, and Dr. Blight are a laughingstock.

A little Indian girl who is a Planeteer points out, "Incredible. How could such stupid, selfish people ever have had any influence?" to the five middle-aged Planeteers. Among them is an aged Wheeler, who chuckles and shrugs his shoulders.

Planeteer Alerts[]

Captain Planet: We all wonder what effect each of us has on the future. Every person can set an example for bad – or for good.
Linka: Together, with each of us setting good examples...
Ma-Ti: ... we can save the planet!
Wheeler: And protect the future!
Captain Planet: The power is yours!

Significant Moments and Facts[]

An aged Wheeler would be revisited in another episode where he is married to Linka and has fathered several children. However, due to what he saw in Population Bomb, he is not sure that is ideal.

Quotes[]

Wheeler: (Standing on the remains of the Statue of Liberty, in a flooded New York City, in the year 2026) GAIA!! ANSWER ME!! WHAT'S GOING ON?!!

Gaia: (Via the time pool) You're in New York: 35 years in the future. Right where the time pool sent you.

Wheeler: But the city's trashed! It's under six feet of water!

Gaia: Global warming melted the polar icecaps. Every coastal city looks like this.

Wheeler: But how'd it get so bad? Why didn't anyone stop it?!

Gaia: I told you, Wheeler. Because you changed history.

Wheeler: This is the pits! The Planeteers had to do something!

Gaia: What Planeteers?

Wheeler: Gi, Kwame, Linka, Ma-Ti? What happened to them?

Gaia: They got 35 years older.

Wheeler: Tell MAL I want to see them.

Gaia: The time pool can take you anyplace you want. But I can't go with you. And in an hour, you've got to go to your real time.

Wheeler: No problem! First, I want to see Gi. (The time pool show's Gi's island home in Asia) Yeah, that's it. Put me there!

Gaia: These images come from MAL's databank. It's how it looked in your time. You may find it different in the 21st century.

Wheeler: We'll see about that. (Jumps into the time pool)


Wheeler: (after the Time Pool has, per his request to see Gi in the year 2026, transported him to her island. He notices broken collapsed trees all around, as the area has been ravaged by a severe storm) Wow! It looks like the worst hurricane in history came through here!

Gi: (Now in her 50's, is nearby removing the netting from a beached dolphin) We get lots of bad storms since the polar icecaps melted, and sea levels rose. But this one is only half over. (Points upward) We are in the eye of the storm.

Wheeler: Gi? Gi! You're older.

Gi: I am told I look pretty good for over 50. Now, who are you, young man? And how did you get on my island?

Wheeler: Young man? But it's me, Wheeler. I've missed you!

Gi: I don't recognize you.

Wheeler: (Thinking of himself) Of course, she doesn't. I changed history, so... we never met. (To Gi) I guess you remind me of someone I once knew. Someone who cared a great deal about the planet.

Gi: (Shows Wheeler her ring) Long ago, I was given this ring. I use it to help whenever I can. Like saving this creature. (Indicating the beached dolphin) One of the last dolphins on Earth. (Continues unnetting the dolphin)

Wheeler: Last dolphin? But there must be millions of them.

Gi: Right! Maybe 30 years ago. Now they are one of the few species not yet extinct. (Points her ring at the dolphin) Water! (The power causes a wave to lift the dolphin off the beach and back to sea)

Wheeler: Extinct? How?!

Gi: (As the winds start to pick up) Overfishing, pollution, you name it.

Wheeler: Then why are you living here, like a hermit? You could be out using your power to change the world!

Gi: (Sarcastically, as lightning flashes across the sky, and rain starts to fall) Oh sure! Change the world? When I was young, I tried joining a group called the Planeteers. But not enough people came.

Wheeler: Not enough people?

Gi: That's why I don't miss people! Now, you had better find cover! The eye of the storm is passing.

Wheeler: Gi, wait! It's not too late! You and I can still be Planeteers!

Gi: Wake up, and smell the carbon dioxide! It's too late for this world! It's all I can do to help a few dolphins. (Storms off in a fury)

Wheeler: It's no use. I'll try Kwame. (To MAL) Can you find his village in Africa? (The time pool shows an image of his African village, surrounded by trees) That's it! I remember all those trees we planted! It can't have changed too much! (Leaps into the time pool)


Wheeler: (after the Time Pool has, per his request to see Kwame in the year 2026, transported him to his village in Africa, surrounded by trees) Kwame? Kwame!

Kwame: (Now, in his early 50's, emerges from a hut) Who calls my name?

Wheeler: (Runs to him) You don't know me, but I'm a blast from the past. (Suddenly they both gasp, as a fireball is flung towards them)

Kwame: Down, you fool! (Shoves Wheeler to the ground, as more fireballs are shot towards them)

Wheeler: Someone's shooting at us!

Kwame: Ah! You noticed. But they will not be for long. (Aiming his ring at the shooters) Earth! (The power causes a boulder above the shooting men to shake and fall, causing them to flee)

Wheeler: Hey! You sure got rid of them!

Kwame: They will return. They always do.

Wheeler: What do they want?

Kwame: This land. The only oasis left in the whole region. Look around you, boy!

Wheeler: (Looks outside the village, to see nothing more than barren desert wasteland) Oh no! All the land here used to be green and beautiful! Now it's a desert!

Kwame: Global warming changed the weather. The rainfall moved away from us.

Wheeler: But we planted trees out there to hold the water and stop erosion.

Kwame: No one ever planted trees out there.

Wheeler: What are you talking about? The Planeteers helped you!

Kwame: The Planeteers?! Ha! We had fine ideas, but others did not do their part, and eventually we went our separate ways. I planted the few trees in our village. But I am only one man! If others had helped me, maybe we could've saved much more! (Suddenly, the men are firing at Wheeler and Kwame again, as the two hide)

Wheeler: Kwame, let me help now! We can revive the Planeteers! We can do something to save the planet!

Kwame: Stop talking nonsense, boy! Save the planet? I am in a war to save this one oasis! If you want to help, then fight! (As trees start to ignite from the shots fired) No, you fools! Without these trees, all of us will die! (Aiming his ring) Earth! (Fires his power at the shooters, as Wheeler flees)

Wheeler: He won't listen, but Linka will. (To MAL) Try her hometown in the Soviet Union (The Time pool shows farmers in Moscow) Bingo! (Leaps into the Time Pool)

Wheeler: (after the Time Pool has, per his request to see Linka in the year 2026, transported him to Moscow, now full of dead farms, and a large crowd gathered around a van, all wearing overcoats, sunglasses and holding bowls) What's going on? All the crops are dead! And why are people all bundled up on a hot day?

Soviet Man 1: (As a ration of gruel is poured in his bowl) You call this a food ration?! I have been waiting for five hours! We want more! (The crowd starts to riot, as another man throws his bowl at the van)

Linka: (Now, in her early 50's, emerges from the van) Silence, everyone! Back in line! We have little food, but we will share it evenly. Do not make me use force. (The Soviets continue to riot and charge at Linka, as she points her ring) Wind! (The Wind power breaks up the riot, forcing one man into the air)

Soviet Man 2: (Flying in the air, as a result of the Wind power) Nyet! Nyet! Put me down! (He is eventually lowered, as the crowd stops rioting)

Wheeler: (Approaching Linka) Linka!

Linka: (To Wheeler) Are you insane?! Where are your protective clothes and sunglasses? (To her burly assistants) Bring him into the van, quickly!

Wheeler: Hey... (The men grab Wheeler and throw him into the back of the van. Linka enters with them) Hey, lighten up! Since when is not wearing shades a crime?

Linka: Since the Ozone layer, over the Northern Hemisphere was destroyed. Where have you been, stranger?

Wheeler: The Ozone layer destroyed? Then solar radiation must be killing your crops.

Linka: Da. And it will kill you, if you do not wear protection, young man.

Wheeler: Why are you calling me, young man? I'm a year older than you.

Linka: Agh, he is out of his mind! (To her men) Lock him up, for his own safety!

Wheeler: No! NO!! WAIT!! I'm not crazy! I know you! You love birds. You can play their songs, right?

Linka: I used to love that. But... that was decades ago! Before pesticides wiped out all of the birds! How could you possibly know that?

Wheeler: I knew you! As a Planeteer!

Linka: Liar! Oh, there was supposed to be an American boy like you, but he lacked the courage to join us!

Wheeler: Ok, maybe I... he was wrong. But you're wasting your powers here.

Linka: Wasting? If I did not stop that riot, there would be no food for the other towns. Be practical!

Wheeler: Practical? You're worried about a few towns. We need to save the entire Earth!

Linka: Ha! Save the Earth?! You poor lunatic! (To her men) Take him to the asylum!

Wheeler: (Escaping the van as Linka's men advance on him) Asylum? No! I'm not crazy!

Linka: STOP HIM!!

Wheeler: (To MAL, while running from Linka's men, who pursue him) Get me to Ma-Ti's tribe! To the Amazon rainforest! AND HURRY!! (The time pool shows the rainforest) Yeah, that's the place! (Leaps into the time pool)

Wheeler: (after the Time Pool has, per his request to see Ma-Ti in the year 2026, transported him to the Amazon rainforest, which has been replaced by a sprawling, polluted city) This can't be the rainforest! There's been some kinda mistake!

Ma-Ti: (Now 47 years old and homeless, sitting nearby, sighs) You are right. Both times. This place cannot be a rainforest anymore. And this city is a mistake. Please, young sir, some spare change?

Wheeler: (shocked) Ma-Ti!

Ma-Ti: Forgive me, but if I ever knew you, I have forgotten. I find life is easier if I can forget the past.

Wheeler: Ma-Ti, what happened to you?

Ma-Ti: The same thing that happened to all my people. Once, we were happy and healthy. The rainforest gave us everything we needed. Then greedy men destroyed the forests to raise crops and cattle, and dig for gold. For a short while, they became rich. But tropical soil was not meant for farming, and it soon gave out. (a wealthy man walks by)

Ma-Ti: Señor, please, some change? (the man knocks Ma-Ti down and walks on. Ma-Ti aims his ring at him) Heart! (the man tosses Ma-Ti a gold coin after the ring's power takes effect on him) Thank you, señor! (hands the coin to a homeless woman from his tribe, who is nearby with her daughter) Here. Buy some food for your child.

Homeless woman: Oh, thank you! (She kisses him, and then she and her daughter depart)

Wheeler: Ma-Ti, you could do so much more with your power! You could move people to care for the whole planet!

Ma-Ti: (sighs) You have much heart, young one. Why couldn't I have known you when I was a young Planeteer?

Wheeler: Well, I, uh...

Ma-Ti: But you cannot rebuild a rainforest. It is gone forever! And you think you can save an entire world? (cries)

Wheeler: Ma-Ti! You were my last chance! You can't give up... wait a second! There's one hope! Hope Island! I have to see Gaia! (The time pool shows Hope Island)


Wheeler: (after the Time Pool has, per his request to see Gaia in the year 2026, transported him to Hope Island, which is not occupied by an energy wasting Vegas-like city) Oh no! Not Hope Island! It looks like Las Vegas! I have to find Gaia. Where's her hut?

Prostitute: (To Wheeler) Gaia's hut? Oh yeah! You mean the place they store the toxic waste. Right over there, doll!

Wheeler: Toxic waste? (Rushes to her hut) Gaia! Where are you? Gaia?! (Finds her dead among some leaking barrels of toxic waste) GAIA!!! NO!!! Not you, Gaia! You're the spirit of the Earth!

Greedly: (Now elderly, approaches Wheeler, along with an elderly Rigger) She was the spirit of Earth. Past tense, kid.

Wheeler: Hoggish Greedly and Rigger?

Rigger: How does he know us? Do you think he's a Planeteer, Boss?

Greedly: (Bopping Rigger) Idiot. This is the 21st century. There are no Planeteers! But we better keep an eye on him.

Wheeler: You're older, but you're just as vicious. You did this to Gaia!

Rigger: Hey, we warned her, but she wouldn't leave.

Greedly: We just stored a little toxic waste in here. Who knew it would leak? (He and Rigger drag Wheeler from the hut and show him the city) The place was a pigsty when I bought it, but now my customers can wallow in luxury.

Rigger: And glitter and glamour! We burn more energy than most countries!

Wheeler: I know! That's why you two maniacs went back in time to speed up global warming!

Rigger: Hey boss! He knows about how we got rich! And about the time pool!

Greedly: A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. For the brat who knows it! (To his robot guards) Guards, seize him!


Gallery[]

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