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He’s been absent from the world stage for almost 30 years, but with all manner of threats facing the world today, it’s finally time for Captain Planet to return, older, wiser, and with a new look that reflects the years he’s been gone — and he’ll be back in time for 2025’s annual Earth Day, fittingly.

The environmentally-themed hero initially appeared in an animated series co-created by media mogul Ted Turner in 1990, before being revived for a second series three years later. In the original mythology of the series, five children were chosen by Gaia, the spirit of the Earth, to protect the world from environmental disasters as the Planeteers; when they combine their powers, they summon Captain Planet, a superheroic avatar whose powers are inexplicably weakened by pollution — a significant problem for anyone dealing with environmental issues, it has to be said.

The animated series won hordes of fans, including comic book writer David Pepose, who is heading up the new revival of the character for Dynamite Entertainment — the publisher of his acclaimed Space Ghost series. “Every comic creator has their own personal white whale — that singular property they’ve been itching to make their mark on — and for more than a decade, Captain Planet has been mine,” Pepose said in a statement about the new comic book series.

For the new series, Pepose and artist Eman Casallos will reboot the property, and tell the story of the Planeteeers as they first met and learn to know each other, in what Dynamite is saying “will appeal to both those who grew up on the show and are now seasoned adults in tune with the real world headlines that inspire the challenges of the Planters, as well as their children and other younger readers.”

The revival is a long time coming; multiple attempts have been made to reboot the show in past years, including three separate attempts to bring the franchise to the big screen — including one that would have been produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and starring Glen Powell, surreally. Thankfully, the new comic book series is staying true to the property’s aims: the new comic will be printed on 70% recycled paper, according to Dynamite.

Captain Planet #1 will be released in April, with covers from Jae Lee and June Chung, Ben Oliver, Christian Ward, and Mark Spears — each one showing off the newly bearded hero, who’s also lost the iconic mullet he sported in the 1990s. Check out the covers, and Casallos' designs for the Planeteers, in the gallery below.

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