With all of the excitement behind James Gunn’s Superman movie, set to release July 11, 2025, it’s easy to forget that Creature Commandos, also written by Gunn, is the true start of Warner Bros. Discovery’s newly formed DC Studios. Maybe “new” is a poor choice of words however, because the tone and themes presented here are very much in line from Gunn’s previous two DC projects: The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker. Whether you like Creature Commandos is really going to depend on if you liked those projects or not, and even then, this is the weakest of those three. However, adult animation fans should find a lot to like here, with plenty of beautifully animated action sequences and its mature rating adds surprisingly a lot of the show’s heart.
The premise is as follows: After Congress decommissioned Task Force X sometime after the events of Peacemaker, A.R.G.U.S. leader Amanda Waller (Viola Davis is as good as ever) is forced to assemble a new team, Task Force M. She recruits Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) to lead the team, consisting of The Bride (Indira Velma), Nina Mazursky (Zoë Chao), Weasel (Sean Gunn), Dr. Phosphorus (Alan Tudyk), and G.I. Robot (Sean Gunn). Waller sends the team to the fictional country of Pokolistan in order protect Princess Illana Rostovik (Maria Barkalova) from the villainous Circe (Anya Chalotra) and the Sons of Thesescria, a hate group that Circe recruits as her personal army. Elsewhere, Frankenstein (David Harbour) is searching desperately for The Bride, believing that she was made for him by their shared creator.
It’s hard not to appreciate that Creature Commandos is a relatively self-contained story, and while there are easter eggs and nods to various DC properties, it doesn’t tease much else besides a season two (recently announced in the wake of season one’s success). In fact, each episode’s runtime is split between the present-day plot and character focused flashbacks, with the flashbacks usually being the more interesting part of the episode. Each “origin” was unique, and Gunn really explores all the various ways in which a soul can be tortured. Gunn’s greatest strength as a writer is his character work, so it’s no surprise that each member of Task Force M is deeply complex, even the more sinister ones (except for Frankenstein, he’s simply the worst…).
It is a shame, however, that the main plot isn’t as strong as the flashbacks. Barkalova’s Illuna is a big part of the story, but she is easily the weakest character in the show. We learn very little about her, and after learning why Circe is after her, it makes even less sense. If Gunn had dusted off a C level character from the DC catalog to replace her role in the story, it would’ve done a lot to get viewers more excited as the story unfolds. Rick Flag Sr. is also a missed opportunity, given that he starts to fade away as the show progresses. This character is already slated to appear next in Superman and Peacemaker Season Two right after, so here’s hoping we get to know him a little better.
The choice to make this an animated series gives the show the freedom to fully embrace its creative potential, as animation allows storytelling and visuals that would be far more difficult to achieve in live action. The 2-D animation is greatly appreciated, where the medium is scarce as 3-D animation seems to reign supreme on both the small and big screen today. The most visually complex of the group, Dr. Phosphorus and G.I. Robot, are unsurprisingly responsible for some of the show’s best action sequences. In fact, each character is given a colorful design that really makes them pop on the screen, and the subtle yet constantly rotating facial expressions are a huge plus. It seems like animation will be a big part of DC Studios, which is clever considering how little Marvel utilizes the medium in the MCU. In other words, the DCU doesn’t seem to be copying the Marvel formula at all, at least visually.
While Flag Sr. is likeable enough and Frank Grillo is fine in the role, Indira Velma’s The Bride is the far better protagonist. This twist on the classic Mary Shelley novel causes Frankenstein to misinterpret The Bride’s refusal to accept him as affection, leading to a particularly fantastic montage of them killing each other through time. She clearly asserts her independence, refuting his assumption that they belong together because of their shared origin. Her relationship with Nina is also a highlight of the show, where Nina brings out a side of the Bride that even she didn’t know she had. If Gunn was going to bring any character back into live action, it simply has to be The Bride.
