Kicking off the new DCU under James Gunn and Peter Safran, Creature Commandos tells the story of Amanda Waller’s newest Suicide Squad, Task Force M, a group of monsters led by General Rick Flagg Sr., who are tasked with stopping the Amazonian, Circe, from killing the princess of Pokolistan. Each episode follows the journey of the team while shifting focus to the backstory of each of the team members: The Bride, G.I Robot, Weasel, Doctor Phosphorus, Nina Mazursky, and (non-member of the team) Eric Frankenstein. While the main plot is fairly simplistic in nature, it is these backstories that really help paint the thematic narrative of the show. Each episode hits back to the idea that anyone is capable of acting as/being a monster, despite the preconceived notions of what appearances may describe. Additionally, Gunn plays with the conventions of classic Hollywood by playing with classic Hollywood tropes in the way that he defines some of the characters.
Right off the bat, the show demonstrates that all of these characters are placed under the same banner: monster. This banner is purely based on their appearance with some of the characters being very violent in nature, such as Doctor Phosphorus and G.I Robot. But, even with these similarities, these two characters are part of that same idea, that as a society, we judge too harshly based on appearances alone. One of the characters here is a robot designed to kill Nazis and constantly seeks to achieve his prime directive; whereas the other was an altruistic doctor, who unfortunately fell in with criminals and took over his own criminal empire after his family was brutally murdered. For these characters, Gunn is clearly trying to demonstrate that some beings are purely violent or evil in nature. But, regardless of what they became, there was always some inciting incident that caused them to behave in the way they do now that is completely separate from how society views them because of their appearances.
On the flipside, you have two characters who are either kindhearted or ambivalent in nature. Nina Mazursky was somebody who was born with a bodily defect that required her father to place her on various machines and eventually turned her into an amphibian human hybrid. She never used this difference for violence and was instead ostracized by society purely because of her appearance. For Weasel, he was an animal-humanoid hybrid that unfortunately got blamed for murder after he was playing with some kids that accidentally started a fire. While these characters are not particularly violent or evil in their nature, society chooses to view them as monsters purely based on some preconceived notions of what beings with their physical appearance may be capable of doing. This is demonstrative of society’s inherent view of bad or evil and associating those things to ugly and unfamiliar.
This all serves as a story dichotomy for the current day plot which sees the team trying to save the life of the princess, as they understand that she is being hunted. Well, the ideas the main core plot juggles is that she may or may not be complicit in a plot to destroy the Earth. By the end of the story, it is revealed that she does have plans of world domination. The princess is portrayed as a beautiful, blonde, young woman, who is constantly smiling and happy and kind to everybody, despite her true intentions. The message here is that monsters can come in all shapes and sizes. The princess, appearing as an ideal person has zero relevance on who she actually is in her mind.
For the most part, the character spearheading this narrative in the present is The Bride. Her character is fairly unique in that she also comes from a very storied past, but never really identifies as good, bad, evil, or benevolent. Instead, she seeks to live the life that she feels is the best to live, all while being tracked down constantly and pined after by Eric Frankenstein. Because of this, she becomes the perfect de facto leader of the team when Rick Flagg Sr. is not present. Her story sees her tiptoe that line between someone who is capable of caring and choosing non-violence, while resorting to violence easily when it is necessary. This, combined with her very cynical view of the world, paint her as an ideal bridge between the worlds of the visual monsters of all shapes and types.
Eric Frankenstein is one of the more different characters because he acts as a powerful and violent antagonist while also being relegated to the background of most of the episodes. He is an excellent example of a character that acts as a criticism of classic Hollywood in the way that it glorified the means in which men would pine after women back in the early 1900s. This is definitely done in a very exaggerated way, however, his incessant need to be with The Bride showcases that delusion to the eleventh degree. This character choice strengthens the character of The Bride who spent decades escaping from Eric, reaching a point where she simply ends his season-long journey within seconds. Because of his actions, she presents zero need to explain herself and thus treats their encounters as minimal roadblocks even though one may think this is simply the way she conducts her life.
Rounding out the main cast of characters is Rick Flagg Sr., who acts as the ride along character until the story gets to a point where he is no longer a necessary guide. His character is written just as well as Rick Flagg Jr. was in Gunn’s Suicide Squad, showcasing an altruistic everyman whose unfamiliarity with this world allows the audience to relate to something right off the bat. While his story will continue in other DCU projects, the parts displayed in Creature Commandos make him very endearing and interesting.
Creature Commandos works for several reasons, but mainly because of Gunn’s desire to portray the characters as the focus instead of the plot. Additionally, he opts to focus on these lesser known characters rather than allowing every episode’s discussion to revolve around cameos. Even the appearance of the Batman in Doctor Phosphorus’s origin is shown as simply an in-universe event rather than something fans should linger on (despite the fact that they will anyway). Not only does the show command itself as a strong first stop in this new universe, but it also holds its own as a powerful self contained piece of media.