Captain Planet #6 // Review
The guardian of Earth’s biosphere is locked in a vicious combat with a man who had been known by his given name--Lucian Plunder. Perhaps in a different era, the hero could have defeated the villain without issue. Things have changed now...the villain has gained stength. He’s known as Captain Plunder now. He’s giving the hero the fight of his life in Captain Planet #6. Writer David Pepose and artist Eman Casallos conclude a story arc for the classic 1990s cartoon hero. Color comes to the page courtesy of Jorge Sutil. It’s a fun closing chapter for the story.
The Planeteers are in a bind at a nuclear reactor. The thing is going to ge tvery dangerous very, very quickly if they don’t do something about it. They’ve already summoned Captain Plaent. they don’t have muc power of their own. It would be suicide to go in and try to save the day on their own as he’s out battling Captain Plunder, but what more can they do? It’s not an easy decision to make. Meanwhile, Plunder is teachnig Captain planet a lesson about the nature of power...but the hero might just have a lesso for the villain as well...
Papose’s script concludes with a sense of urgency. The full ensemble gets a fairly balanced amount of time on the page. As cheesy as it seems throughout, there really is a sort of a powerful modern mythology that's filtering through the page. Papose has written something that feels very much alike. It's something out of an ancient legend. The original premise from the 1990s cartoon show was most of the way they are already.Papose’s treatment of the premise channels. The primal energy needed to really push it over the edge and turn it into something that could really be sort of an allegory for modern eco-consciousness. It may be really hokey, but it is actually I really strong allegory for the nature of human survival.
Cassallos doesn't get a whole lot of opportunity to really render the feeling of place in space as the conflicts play out. It's much more in the way of drama and action that focuses just on the characters themselves. There's a profound sense of action that filters through it all with some pretty impressive impacts. A scene set in low orbit between hero and villain at issues and could've come across as being really, really silly we're not for some very clever coloring work by Suin that creates impressive atmosphere
If the dialogue were tweaked just a bit, and the art was allowed to embrace the epic level nature of the struggle, Captain Planet could really turn into something remarkable. As it is it a step in the right direction from an initial premise that seemed to have its heart in the right place. It's just a matter of finding the right direction to move it in. And for the most part.Paposse has foound the right direction. Hopefully he gets a chance to explore more with the character inthe future.
