by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
The DCEU’s ashes are still falling in the wake of James Gunn’s arrival as the savior of DC. His approach has been wildly different from Zack Snyder and Kevin Feige, as he’s kept some continuity, while maintaining a level of independence for a few franchises. It’s a welcome approach, and Gunn has plenty of experience to bring a vision for the troubled studio. With the Superman trailer dropping and The Penguin getting people jazzed for Matt Reeves’ next Batman movie, the first new story in the DCU is out.
Creature Commandos is about a group of monsters, led by Rick Flag Sr. (voiced by Frank Grillo), sent to keep a princess from Pokolistan safe from an enemy. Throughout the journey, we get to know each team member while watching them learn to be a team together. If this sounds eerily familiar to other groups of misfits that Gunn has shepherded forward to a general audience, buckle up, kids.
Between The Suicide Squadand Guardians of the Galaxy, Gunn has a knack for bringing forward a group of lesser-known comic book characters and making them palatable for general audiences. Creature Commandos is similar, filled with characters that casual fans might not know about. Gunn does a fantastic job of introducing these characters, giving us backstory, and turning them into a team. Some of the characters are better socialized than others, but when the stories hit, they are incredibly done.
Gunn’s choice of animation is also brilliant, considering how violent the show is and how quickly DC got this out. It can be over the top sometimes, which feels like a staple of Gunn’s career — Creature Commandos is adult animation through and through, with violence and sex in every episode. The beauty of using animation is that there can be a blunting of the visual effect that can be jarring for some viewers. The color scheme and action scenes help mask some of the more graphic content and make the series feel more like a comic book come to life, something that most live action movies or shows (except Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) struggle with immensely.
From a story structure, each episode splits between pushing the story forward and giving backstory to one of the characters. This structure helps clarify the characters’ motivations, explaining their issues which led to their incarceration. Episodes featuring Weasel (Sean Gunn) and Nina (Zoё Chao) help show some of the characters’ problems, like abandonment and mistrust from authority figures. Weasel is featured in a gut-wrenching episode that brings some outstanding nuance to a character which on the surface is just a weird-looking humanoid animal. Both of these episodes show the cruelty of a world which rejects someone who doesn’t look like a human.
Two characters who have traditionally fallen under this curse are Eric Frankenstein (David Harbour) and The Bride (Indira Varma). I’m not going to lie, I had no idea these literary and movie characters were part of the DC bench, and I was shocked to learn they were included in Creature Commandos. But after settling into that idea, I like how the two characters are uniquely connected. The Bride’s story is crushing, as she is taken advantage of and groomed for a particular purpose. She’s a strong leader, I’m the most excited about seeing where her story goes. Frankenstein is more for comic relief, and his story is a little muddled. I’m curious to see how he will be incorporated in future seasons.
The most enjoyable character in the show is G.I. Robot (Sean Gunn). What struck me about him is that he parallels Captain America’s story as someone plucked from their time. The robot has a quirk about him, as he’s explicitly programmed to kill nazis. He is the funniest character (another hallmark of Gunn’s stories), but his arc has an odd end.
Dr. Phosphorus (Alan Tudyk) is the only character I didn’t find compelling. It’s not because Tudyk is deficient in his role; in fact, I found him to be a great addition to the cast. He has a tragic backstory, like everyone else, but his story makes him the most likely character to be put in jail for a legitimate reason.
I have three main issues with the series. The first is that Gunn feels like he’s injecting some of his problems from his time at Disney into the fold. A line in the final episode about princesses is a little too on-the-nose to not be a swipe at the House of Mouse. Second, the show is slow at times, and without the backstory for each character, the main narrative could have been done in a few episodes. Finally, I’m a little confused about some of the continuity between the DCEU and Gunn’s DCU. There’s overlap, and that’s not inherently a huge issue — Marvel has had some overlap, and even had characters appear in both live action and animation. Those had mixed results, and I wonder if the same will be valid for DC.
In this new era for DC, Creature Commandos is a great start to a fun, new story. I’ve been a fan of Gunn for a long time, and I enjoyed his comedy and the heart he blends with expert precision. The characters are all fun, so chalk up another win to Gunn for bringing these characters to life. The show is over-the-top and not without its faults, but given how the DCEU ended, I just appreciate that it didn’t suck.
Rating: Liked It
Creature Commandos is currently streaming on Max
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