Creature Commandos Continues One Of James Gunn's Key Themes In The DC Universe

The DC Universe is here to change the hierarchy of power in, well, the DC universe. But rather than start with Superman or Batman, the first title in the latest attempt at an interconnected DC cinematic universe is an adult animated show about a group of little known monsters from the comic books.

Showrunner Dean Delorey and writer James Gunn deliver a worthy opening act with this story of a lovable team of outcasts becoming a found family. "Creature Commandos" boasts a killer soundtrack, a lot of gore, and plenty of profanity. This is essentially a spiritual sequel to "The Suicide Squad" that has all of Gunn's charm, his love of animals and misfits, and also one of his key themes in the world of DC so far: interrogating masculinity.

In the first episode of "Creature Commandos," we learn the stakes of the mission and a bit about the state of the DC Universe. Turns out, a sorceress called Circe is commanding a militia made out of incels who hate the idea of Themyscira being an island only for women, and support Circe's plan to stage a coup, take over the island, and open it up for everyone. Several times throughout the first two episodes we see some adult crybabies express how "unfair" the idea of Themyscira is, while they shoot their assault rifles at either Task Force M or bystanders. The fact that G.I. Robot, whose sole purpose is to identify and kill Nazis, relishes in killing these guys, should tell you everything you need to know about them. 

Even Frankenstein's Monster (here called Eric Frankenstein) is reimagined as a monster who is thoroughly obsessed with his Bride and is convinced she loves him, unable to process the fact that she wants nothing to do with him and has tried to kill him for centuries. 

These themes are reminiscent of Gunn's first DC series, "Peacemaker," which followed John Cena's eponymous jingoistic mercenary and antihero as he tries to save the world from alien parasites. In that show, Gunn dives deeply into the character of Christopher Smith aka Peacemaker, who he had previously called "toxic masculinity at its most toxic," and instead delivers a nuanced lesson on radical empathy and forgiveness. "Peacemaker" breaks Christopher Smith down and builds him back up. It looks back at his horrific upbringing and, in the present, shows him slowly coming to question his morals and ideals — all while still being a silly, funny and very gnarly show about a guy whose best friend is an eagle. 

"Creature Commandoes" explores similar themes, but at a much slower pace that uses them as more of a background throughline than the main storyline. Frankenstein will probably take a bit longer to realize he shouldn't expect the Bride to just be in love with him, but his reimagining as a stalker is inventive. Likewise, the idea that the moment the larger world found out about Themyscira it would make toxic men complain about its women-only policy is inspired (perhaps by real events) and makes for not just a good recurring gag, but a bit of world-building that could carry over the rest of the DC Universe. After all, it wouldn't be surprising if at the very least there are a few jokes about bigots criticizing Superman for being weak when he shows compassion.