Why I love Ma-Ti.
1)Initially, for the first 14 or so years, I really didn't like Mati at all. I thought he wa s aworthless waste of space who added little to no value to the show, having the worst power and always being trapped in closets or fainting before saying the second sylable in "Heart" (that doesn't have two sylables) that is needed to summon Captain Planet. So, I alays thought he sucked. But I've come to realize that, when I think of the show, if I'm not reflecting on Linka's bitchy Russianess, or Wheeler's stupid American-ness, I think of Ma-Ti and his useleness, and that he had a pet monkey. I pretty much never go to Quame, Gi, Gaia or any of the villains. So, I suppose in truth, Ma-Ti is one of my top three favorite Captain Planet characters, if only for the fact his uselessness makes him memorable, in all the wrong ways.
- MaTi is what gives Captain Planet his heart, and also most commonly provides the plot device that keeps the Captain from appearing, since MaTi's part of the group summoning jutsu is the LAST part. Without him Captain Planet would be a souless monster, prone to creating earthquakes and floods to clean up the mess people have made, regardless of human lives lost. It is only because of Ma-Ti that the Captain has a soul. He's one of 5 kids, chosen from around the world, out of the ENTIRE world, of course he's important! And he has a monkey! he grew up in a jungle, an d in the first episode, wore nothing but a loin cloth! He is the sex appeal of the show!
3)I relate to the stupid polluting American Wheeler more, but yes, the jungle monkey boy can indeed grip me emotionally. Its the only power he has after all, he had better be able to! He's poor unsfferable plight, of very often being trapped in a mine shaft or a broom closet, or even on a space shuttle in one episode, is the worst of them all. Wheeler and Linka have angsty romantic tension, Quame and Gi are often forgot about, oh, poor Mati… To be the weakest and most useless member of the team, unable to affect the elements around him like the others can, not getting the power of "plantlife" or "metal" which would have been useful and made sense while tying into traditional elemetal combinations, not even able to actually talk to animals like his power should allow him to do... to know that halfway through the series his pet monkey got the real ring of power while he just got one made of tinfoil... and yet he never complains. that shows such great inner strength, how could I not feel his pain and love how he sacrifices for his friends? (and the monkey)
4)The couple in the show I most ship is Ma_Ti and Suichi (his monkey) all the way. Wheeler and Linka is obvious coupling, because they're always fighting and on to different occassions Wheeler had horrible dreams about overpopulation that involved him and Linka having like 28 kids. But they weren't always together. Mati and Suichi... ALWAYS together. Unless one was trapped in a closer and/or Space Shuttle.
5)If I could fix the character in one way, it would possibly make MaTi female, if he isn't already. The Uselessness might have been easier to tolerate if he had boobs and didn't run around in a loincloth. Or if SHE had boobs and only ran around in a loincloth, that would have been pretty sweet. Probably not suited for public television, but hey Jungle natives. They don't wear shirts, thats how it is....
Ma-Ti IS a boy, right?
6)How could anyone not love Ma-Ti? Seriously, his power is emotion manipulation, heart based specifically. He could probably get some serious action with that if he tried.
7)Ma-Ti is the character I would hype the most if I wanted to get other people interested in the show. Though really, Captain Planet is not a show you spread. Its a dirty secret you keep among yourself and your friends. But yes, the monkey is a selling point.
8)If you were to ask which character is most popular in the fanbase, and judging from the current poll, well... Of the five planeteers, Ma-Ti's probably in the top five, yes.