Creature Commandos follows a new Task Force team of Monsters sent to protect the Eastern European nation of Pokolistan from the invasion of Circe. It is the first entry in the new DCU, and features a cast of new characters alongside some returning members of prior DC movies.
This show is a brutally funny, gory and enchanting ride. Beautiful animation, strong character depth, and compelling political themes and twists. The DCU is carefully fleshed out, but what you’ll love is the characters.
It’s just really fun spending time in this world. It has hilarious character interactions, and a plot with enough mystery and conflict that keeps you engaged.
Story
The show takes advantage of it’s episodic format brilliantly. It dedicates each episode to telling the backstory of one member of Task Force M. This allows Gunn to craft a story that effortlessly weaves between the larger narrative unfolding, and each character’s motivations. In doing so, we understand not only where they came from, but what they are fighting for in the overall story.
The Bride for instance, has a personal connection to the story because she was born in Pokolistan where the action takes place. As a sort of horrid homecoming for her, this is a chance to reckon with her past and take on a new more commanding persona.
Other characters that have especially compelling backstories include GI Robot and Nina Mazursky. GI Robot is highlighted in episode three, which in my view is the strongest episode of the season thematically. The political discussion of GI’s involvement in the war against Axis forces is connected to present day political extremism in a way that provides relevant and compelling political commentary.
It is the best example of a trick that Gunn uses throughout the series, which is to cross-cut between a character’s flashbacks and their present day actions, drawing a thematic resonance between the two. This cross-cutting is often facilitated by music and kinetic editing that makes it more powerful.
More than that, the show is really hilarious. Some character interactions are laugh out loud funny, especially involving Frankenstein and Rick Flag Sr. Gunn is good at placing opposing characters at odds, but allowing them find common ground through humour.
The plot has some surprising twists and maintains strong momentum to it. The main complication of the mission has a few bumps that lead characters to make tough decisions and have internal conflict.
Style
The animation provided by various talented artists, character designers and background artists. They are mainly supported by two studios, Bobbypills and Studio IAM.
The visual style shines the most when large sprawling backgrounds are on showcase, such as the castle in Pokolistan. Characters all have vibrant and colourful designs that make them pop. The animation is at its strongest during fight scenes, when the style showcases brilliant action choreography and great visual effects for some of the powers—particularly Doctor Phosphorous and Circe.
The soundtrack, as with many Gunn projects adds excellent flare to the show. A selection of punk and rock music, mostly with Eastern European (but often English lyrics) influences provides a ragged and aggressive soundtrack. American punk rock band Gogol Bordello appear in the soundtrack many times, with different songs. Their music has a Romani and Ukrainian influences mixed with punk and dub style. It’s brilliantly and works really well with the kinetic editing of the actions scenes that often showcase brutal and gory violence.
What is the DCU like?
As the first entry in the new DCU, many fans want to know the impact this show has on establishing the larger universe. The show was already written before the new DCU was even an idea, and so it is unsurprisingly isolated in its story. However there are a few key ways that it brilliantly sets up the aesthetic, canon, and dynamics of the DCU.
The first thing that is clear is that the aesthetic of the DCU is distinctly different to the real world. Instead of being grounded in reality like some MCU movies, the DCU feels more like an alternate history.
Both present-day and historical sequences clearly present a world that has a different every day flavour to it. Most obviously this means that fictional countries, cities, police forces and organisations exist. We get a taste for what the political dynamics of Themyscira are like. We understand that in this universe, the US uses monsters to fight in resource-wars in developing nations.
But more broadly we get a feel for the everyday aesthetic of the world. People look through racey magazines of nude metahumans. Certain establishments run into problems when metahumans use their powers unexpectedly to attack staff. The use of magic, superpowers and vigilantism are commonplace.
More specifically, the show does a great job of carefully and subtly expanding the map of places and characters of the DCU. Multiple mentions, and even visits to key cities in the DC Universe make it feel like a fleshed out place where each city has its own personality. And appearances of key characters, sometimes in speaking roles or simply in the background make it feel like a lived-in and vibrant tapestry of potential narratives.
Finally, the show establishes a clever way of maintaining continuity. If you’ve ever read a comic book, you’ll be familiar with the following logic. Essentially, anytime something is mentioned in the show, it becomes canon.
Mentions of previous events from The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker therefore make those events canon. Examples include Amanda Waller stating that Rick Flag Sr’s son died in Corto Maltese during “Project Starfish”, which she also says Weasel survived. By clearing flagging a past event, it allows fans to understand what happened before, and seek out to watch that movie if they’re interested in seeing that event.
It’s just the same as when a comic book mentions “previously in issue #133”. It’s simple, it works, and honestly it shouldn’t even need to be explained because the only thing that matters is a good story. But as a fan of the many iterations of the DC Universe, it’s nice to see that the current writers care enough to actually pay close attention to what makes up the history and canon of these characters.
This review won’t mention spoilers, but I can share that there are a few moments that will excite DC fans and give a tease of the characters and dynamics that are to come. Some key characters appear. Some key locations appear. Some minor characters also appear. Importantly, even the minor character appearances make the universe feel like a fleshed-out world with different pockets of crime, business and scheming that are happening all over the country and the world. Much like the comics, the universe has its own ongoing dynamics. Themyscira, Gotham, Metropolis, the United States, Amanda Waller’s operations, and all of these cultures, areas and organisations have their own conflict and motivations.
Overall, Creature Commandos is an incredibly emotional, well written and beautifully animated show. Each episode tells a well-crafted story of each character’s background, while unfolding an overall narrative with strong mystery and surprising twists.
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