Review: Creature Commandos
Creature Commandos by James Gunn is the first new property of the new DC Cinematic Universe after the dissolution of the previous one for a variety of reasons. What does this have to do with grimdark? Well, James Gunn is a man who can do both silly as well as incredibly dark if you’re familiar with his previous work. The Suicide Squad was a story of antiheroes, black comedy, moral ambiguity, and an utterly corrupt US government among its gleefully madcap use of DC continuity. DC used to be famous for its moral paragons and colorful worlds, but it has been the darker of the two comic companies for decades now. So, yes, I’m going to say Creature Commandos is something worth watching for grimdark fans. It is the “fun” sort of grimdark where tragedy is hilarious.
The premise for this HBO Max exclusive cartoon is simple: after the events of Peacemaker, Amanda Waller has been banned as using superpowered criminals as cannon fodder for government black ops and wet work. Undeterred by ethics or the spirit of the law, she decides that instead of using criminals, she will use “nonhumans” that do not technically have rights according to US law. These include the Bride (Indira Varma), Doctor Phosphorus (Alan Tudyk), the Weasel (John Gunn), GI Robot (John Gunn again), and fish-woman Nina Mazursky (Zoe Chao). They will be led by Rick Flagg Senior (Frank Grillo), who is basically there to substitute for his dead son.
This is basically the latest instalment of the Suicide Squad collection along with the original, The Suicide Squad, and Peacemaker, Suicide Squad: Assault on Arkham, Suicide Squad Isekai, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Frankly, it is a huge push for a niche corner of the DC universe. The world seems front loaded with morally ambiguous antiheroes forced to work for the government versus, well, Superman and even Batman projects by comparison. Let alone other heroes like Green Lantern, Flash, or Wonder Woman. Still, I have to say that this is probably the best of the Suicide Squad adaptations despite being a cast from an entirely different comic.
Creature Commandos functions a bit like Lost of all things. Each episode gets into the backstory of one of the commandos and how they got to be in the position they did. All of them are compelling with most of the “monsters” having reasons for what they did before society drove them to the brink. The most compelling of them was Doctor Phosphorous’ story despite the fact he has the most “traditional” villain origin of them all. I also felt GI Robot and Weasel’s stories were ones that reflected how society is generally scummy and incapable of accommodating anyone different. I don’t exaggerate when I say that the tales are easily the darkest and most messed up thing I’ve seen outside of The Penguin in years.
The actual story is needlessly complicated with the Creature Commandos being sent to an Eastern block monarchy called Pokolistan to stop Wonder Woman villain Circe from overthrowing its government with an army of online incels. No, seriously. To be honest, the “metaplot” that binds all the personal stories together doesn’t hang together in the slightest and ends as abruptly as it began. Still, I loved Princess Ilana (Maria Bakalova) and wish we’d gotten more of her. We also get glimpses of Batman and other elements of how the “new” DCU functions, which seme a lot denser and wackier than is typical for cinematic superhero universes.
James Gunn clearly had complete freedom for Creature Commandos and his fingerprints are all over the work from beginning to end. Everything from its over-the-top action, wacky humor, personal tragedies, extensive jukebox soundtrack, and oddball misfits trying to save the day. This is not for kids and there’s a couple of sex scenes (mostly off screen but clear as to what’s happened). The violence is also incredibly graphic as can be done when you’re animating something. Creature Commandos feels a bit like Heavy Metal from the Eighties crossed with Guardians of the Galaxy. I recommend it for people who love more obscure portions of the DCU and what the Suicide Squad should be like.
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