Captain Planet is set to return more than three decades since it first broadcast on TV. A new comic book series by Dynamite Entertainment promises to bring the 1990s environmental hero to a new generation. For those of us who grew up watching the original show, the message feels just as urgent today as it did then. As a researcher in sustainability and education, I often reflect on how early experiences shape our environmental values. Captain Planet was one of the first moments that made me think about our responsibility to the world around us. Writer of the new series David Pepose has said he wants to stay true to the original, while updating the story for today’s world. He stressed: “The reason Captain Planet fights for the environment is because he doesn’t want to see anyone die, and that’s something really powerful and timeless.” The villains, still driven by greed and destruction, seem even more real now than they did in the early 1990s. At the time, my family lived in a small village in rural Punjab, Pakistan, a place untouched by city life or the concept of climate change. Life was calm and slow. Each morning started with the call to prayer. Most evenings ended in darkness due to regular power cuts. As children, we had few distractions, playing cricket or hide-and-seek in the street. But in one corner of our living room stood something that connected us to a different world – a colour television. It was rare in the village, and it quickly became a shared object of wonder. Children from the neighbourhood would gather in our home during the brief hours when state television allowed Cartoon Network to air, around 3pm to 5pm. Among all the shows, one cartoon series stood out: Captain Planet and the Planeteers. The plot was simple but powerful. Captain Planet is a superhero fighting pollution, corporate greed and environmental destruction. He could only be summoned by the Planeteers, a group of five internationally diverse teens with magical rings: Kwame (Africa, Earth), Wheeler (North America, Fire), Linka (Eastern Europe, Wind), Gi (Asia, Water) and finally Ma-Ti (South America, Heart). With all those powers combined, Captain Planet would rise majestically into the air, ready to do battle with pollution-spreading villains. The executive producer of the original 1990 series, Barbara Pyle, said the goal was to inspire and teach young people about protecting the environment. Pyle mentioned that the show’s success was not about selling toys, but about including real environmental issues in the storylines. In my view, they achieved their goal. Read more: Why ocean pollution is a clear danger to human health None of us understood English well enough to follow every word, but we understood the energy and emotions. Rage when forests were burned. Sadness when oceans were poisoned. Joy when villains were defeated. Above all, a sense that the natural world mattered. I remember the day I was walking with my father past the fields near our village. A newly built factory was releasing black smoke into the sky, and its pipes discharged foul-smelling water into a stream used by some animals. I felt uneasy, even angry. It reminded me of the villains from the show’s characters such as Hoggish Greedly and Dr. Blight who treated the Earth like something disposable. I asked my father why nobody could stop this. He was surprised. I wished I were a Planeteer with a magic ring to call Captain Planet. That cartoon did more than entertain. It gave names and faces to ideas we had never heard in school. Our textbooks did not talk about pollution. Nobody taught us the value of trees or clean water. But Captain Planet made those things feel important. It suggested that someone should care. That maybe, that someone could be you. The show’s message stayed with me. Today, my research focuses on sustainability and education. I often reflect on how a cartoon played a part in shaping that interest. I did not realise it then, but those glowing rings and the famous line “the power is yours” planted an idea that never left me. Read more: Five satellite images that show how fast our planet is changing Captain Planet’s message still matters Children today grow up surrounded by technology. They scroll before they can cycle. The connection to nature that felt instinctive in our childhood is fading. And yet, the message of Captain Planet is still relevant. Perhaps more than ever. Children who watched the original series are now adults. We have careers, votes and voices. We understand that the threat is not fictional. The planet is under the same threats – pressure from rising temperatures, deforestation, polluted oceans and the relentless push for profit over preservation – only now the stakes are much higher. The message remains the same – small actions matter. Our choices can combine to create something powerful. The power to care, to act and to inspire others never disappeared. It was passed to us. Read more: Deforestation is causing more storms in west Africa, finds 30-year satellite study I often think about the importance of early environmental messages. Captain Planet did that in the 1990s for me. We cannot expect people to care about the future of the planet if they have never been encouraged to think about it. Now, with the return of Captain Planet, there is a chance to inspire a new generation to believe that the power is theirs. Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like? Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.