Creature Commandos review: "James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands"

Creature Commandos, written and created by Gunn, is the vulgar, explosive, and surprisingly heartbreaking fresh start that DC needed. The animated series takes an arguably lesser-known superhero team, which made its debut in a 1980 issue of Weird War Tales, and turns it into a seven-episode epic that’s worthy of comparison to Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski’s almost untouchable Batman: The Animated Series. I’ve spent most of my adult life chasing the high of BAS, wondering when something just as dark and daring would make its way onto my television screen – and Creature Commandos is close enough.

Knocking it all down and starting from scratch is no easy task, especially when the “it” in question is the multi-million dollar studio responsible for live-action and animated adaptations of one of the world’s biggest comic book companies. I know I’m not the only lifelong DC fan who lost faith after Joss Whedon’s Justice League debacle and gave up entirely after The Flash. James Gunn is good at what he does (and his talent pre-dates Guardians of the Galaxy; see also: Scooby-Doo and Slither) but I was admittedly skeptical when he was announced as the new co-CEO of DC Studios. Can a writer/director with a horror background and weird, niche interests save the DC Universe as we know it? Short answer: yes.

The show sees Viola Davis return as Amanda Waller, who, after assembling the Suicide Squad, has another (potentially fatal) idea in mind. She enlists Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo), father of slain Suicide Squad leader Rick Flag Jr., to lead an unconventional team of anti-heroes that is equal parts Halloween and Looney Tunes: half-amphibian half-woman Nina Mazursky (Zoe Chao); Nazi-killing, military android G.I. Robot (Sean Gunn); a Tasmanian Devil-like creature with a heart of gold known as Weasel (also Sean Gunn); a radioactive skeleton in a lab coat named Doctor Phosphorus (Alan Tudyk); and the Bride of Frankenstein herself (Indira Varma). Together, they make a team of morally ambiguous creatures with tragic backstories who, after being thrown in a prison built to hold super freaks and weirdos, have absolutely nothing to lose.

Gunn knows his way around a tragic backstory – I still haven’t forgiven him for Guardians of the Galaxy 3 – and these stories are the true core of the series as well as what DC has been missing for quite some time. I didn’t feel bad for Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen, murder and all, nor did I feel it in my heart to root for Ben Affleck’s Batman or Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. But Weasel and his short-term memory loss combined with his undying love for the children who didn’t treat him like a freak? Nina and her father’s unconditional love, despite her apathetic mother and being born different from everyone else? Even the Bride and her backstory that veers off the path from Mary Shelley’s novel and into something of a love triangle between the Doctor and the Monster aka Eric Frankenstein (voiced by none other than David Harbour) – these are the characters we need. They’re weird, they detour from the traditional heroes that people think of when they think of DC, and they feel. There is so much life in these animated characters that I started crying around episode 3 and didn’t stop until the end credits rolled on episode 7.

 A good time, not a long time 

And that’s one of my few gripes with the series: there are only seven episodes, and each episode has a runtime of around 22 minutes. When you do the math, that’s a little over two hours. Most HBO shows are an hour long, but the 60-minute episode format doesn’t always lend itself to animated shows. Still, I was left wanting more, and it would be a crime for the show not to get a second season. It may be a long wait until it arrives considering it took some three years for Invincible season 2 and we’re still waiting for a positive update on Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse which might not hit theaters until 2027.

That being said, we also might have to wait a few years for some more character development: I'm not super stoked about what they did with Rick Flag Sr.’s character, or, more specifically, what they didn’t do. Aside from giving him a moral quandary involving one of the show’s most ambiguous and important characters (and a loud, uncomfortable sex scene right out the gate in episode one), we still don’t know much about him by the end of the series. This handsome, grief-stricken military man was hand-selected by Amanda Waller herself to lead the team, and we don’t really get to learn why. The same goes for Steve Agee’s John Economos, who is wildly underused in the show save for some funny quips and a helpful factoid here and there. I’m hopeful that a second season of Creature Commandos will rectify this - though, because these characters are canon and will continue onto the live-action projects, we might only have to wait until August 2025 for Peacemaker season 2.

 A morally ambiguous Guardians of the Galaxy 

The tragic backstories of each Creature Commandos member aren't quite comparable to Rocket Raccoon and his upbringing at the evil hands of the High Evolutionary. In fact, I don’t think the early Guardians of the Galaxy comparisons to Creature Commandos are fair, even if it was Gunn who made the comparison in the first place. The show isn't, in his words, "less sentimental" than Guardians, it’s just sentimental in a different, less family-friendly way, and 'Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)' isn’t playing over what’s supposed to be an important and emotional moment.

While it’s easy to compare and contrast with Gunn’s other works, Creature Commandos stands on its own. Yes, it’s the same formula that we’ve come to expect from Gunn – a rag-tag group of weirdos who form an unlikely bond and are given the seemingly impossible task of saving the world – but there’s just something different here.

It might be because it’s impossible to watch without knowing that the series isn’t just some new series; it’s the beginning of a brand new era. There's a certain amount of expectation automatically associated with the show. It was such a smart choice to start off a brand new slate with such an unconventional project.

It’s easy to get caught up in fan service, just look at Marvel, but Creature Commandos brings the new with just a pinch of the old – and the result is one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had watching a superhero anything. Though I’m still not totally sold on the sex scenes, this heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters is an explosive first entry in James Gunn’s new slate, and it more than proves that the new DCU is in good hands. I’m ready for more – and Superman can’t come fast enough despite the comparisons to a speeding bullet.

Creature Commandos hits Max on December 5 with the first two episodes in tow. For more, check out our list of all the upcoming DC movies and shows you need to know about, or, check out our guides to the best Max movies and the best Max TV shows to stream right now.