James Gunn is putting on a pair of red pants, grabbing the Lasso of Truth, and lighting up the Bat-Signal, as the man behind Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy gets to work building a new DC Cinematic Universe alongside producer Peter Safran. The pair have unveiled some of their plans for this Phase 1 of this new endeavor, which they're calling, "Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.” Gunn has worked with DC characters before, having helmed 2021’s The Suicide Squad and the John Cena-led Peacemaker TV series.
Despite some confusion about what parts of the old DCEU — the one developed by Zack Snyder in movies like Man of Steel and Batman v Superman — are coming over to the DCU, Gunn has made it clear that the animated show Creature Commandos is the official starting point for his continuity. Effectively The Suicide Squad with the training wheels taken off, Creature Commandos is a certified hit that’s already been renewed for a second season. As the DCU takes off quicker than the Flash, there are already questions about whether the foul-mouthed Creature Commandos could make the leap into live-action.
The Creature Commandos are a grittier Suicide Squad
First appearing on the pages of DC Comics for 1980’s Weird War Tales #93, the original iteration of the Creature Commandos was confined to the trenches of World War II. It was made up of weird and wonderful characters, including a werewolf, a gorgon, a vampire, and a Frankenstein’s monster-inspired creature. Apart from being led by a human and the inclusion of G.I. Robot, this lineup is nothing like the team Gunn in his new show. But adding in comic characters like the Bride of Frankenstein and the aquatic Nina Mazursky has worked in the show’s favor.
Unlike David Ayer’s 2016 Suicide Squad movie, which struggled to introduce the various members of Task Force X in a tight time frame, Creature Commandos got to take its time and fleshed out the backstories of the tragic troupe across seven episodes. Even the bestial Weasel, who was introduced in Gunn's The Suicide Squad (2021), got his time to shine, revamped from a supposed child killer to just another misunderstood monster. The Bride, voiced by Indira Varma, was a highlight; she feels like the DCU’s new Harley Quinn at a time when many have given up on Margot Robbie playing the Clown Princess of Crime ever again.
Even though some might write off Creature Commandos as just some cartoon akin to Max’s Harley Quinn, it’s shown it’s got plenty of heart and proves what Gunn could’ve done with The Suicide Squad, which failed to meet expectations. Spending $185 million on an R-rated movie is a ludicrous act unless you can bank on it being a huge hit like Deadpool & Wolverine, and that was just the start of The Suicide Squad’s problems.
Five years between Ayer’s Suicide Squid movie and James Gunn's The Suicide Squad was simply too long for fans to wait, and many were confused about whether it was a sequel, spin-off, a reboot, or even the same movie. This wasn’t helped by rumors that Will Smith’s Deadshot was being recast with Idris Elba. The failure of the 2020 Birds of Prey suggested that Robbie’s Harley wasn’t the antihero cornerstone the DCEU needed, and many saw the "twist" of killing Jai Courtney’s returning Captain Boomerang in the opening scene coming a mile off. Throw in a smattering of cameos from the likes of Michael Rooker and Pete Davidson, a drawn-out plot in Corto Maltese, and the laughable Starro as the big bad, even those who might’ve cared about another outing for Task Force X struggled to find much to like in The Suicide Squad.
The movie ultimately flopped. Although Warner Bros. put it down to the pandemic, many seemed to miss the underlying problems. Thankfully, Creature Commandos has a totally new story and less pressure to perform at the box office. Much like Gunn plucked a group of Marvel heroes out of obscurity for his first Guardians of the Galaxy movie in 2014, using the Creature Commandos to kickstart his new DCU seems like a gamble that’s paid off.
Could the Creature Commandos make the leap into live-action?
Creature Commandos was been renewed for season 2 well before the finale aired this past Thursday, which is good news for fans of the series. It makes you wonder if we'll see these characters in live-action sooner or later. After all, Creature Commandos’ Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) is already confirmed to appear in Gunn's live-action Superman movie later this year, playing a connective role akin to the one Nick Fury played in the MCU. David Harbour, who voices Eric Frankenstein in Creature Commandos, talked about his live-action hopes to Collider:
"I'm just like, ‘Go ahead. Put it out there!’ Because I do think it'd be super fun. We talked about it casually. There's nothing planned, but I talked to him [Gunn] a little bit about the realities of what that would look like in terms of CG or practical effects, and he had all kinds of different thoughts and ideas."
The biggest clue that the lines between live-action and animation are blurring is the return of King Shark. After being sidelined in favor of Killer Croc in Ayer’s movie, Gunn finally brought the fan-favorite fish to our screens with Sylvester Stallone voicing him. Despite King Shark seeming to get a happy ending in The Suicide Squad, the Creature Commandos finale revealed he’s back in Belle Reve and is now incarcerated in Amanda Walker’s Non-Human Interment Division. While Stallone has been swapped out for Diedrich Bader, fans are right to be pumped that King Shark has made the jump from the DCEU to the DCU.
Even if Creature Commandos remains an animated curiosity among all the live-action DC movies and series we'll be getting over the next several years, that’s okay. The first season, which you can stream now on Max, includes cameos from out-there villains like Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man and Congorilla, people fans didn't expect to see. The finale episode, "A Very Funny Monster," set up an even bigger team that feels like it harkens back to the original team from the comics, one that may include the vampiric Nosferata and Khalis the mummy. With a fire-breathing kaiju roaming Metropolis in the Superman trailer, it’s clear Gunn isn’t afraid to embrace the wacky. They could find a home in a show like this where they may not in tentpole Batman and Superman movies.
Creature Commandos has already proved it likes to dive into the annals of DC Comics and make lead characters out of obscure antiheroes. A live-action outing could bring more under-appreciate creatures to the DCU. We could see a Jekyll and Hyde-esque Man-Bat take flight. We could see Mister Mind, Zebra Man, Pigeon Person, Inque, and more. Hey, we’d even take Gentleman Ghost. The new DCU is in its formative stages, and with Gunn confirming he’s only revealed about half of the projects for “Chapter One: Gods and Monsters,” there’s plenty of room for a kooky cavalcade of critters to join the Creature Commandos in the future. May it be bright.
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