Everything Creature Commandos Taught Us About the New DCU

Creatures Commandos has given DC fans their first look at the DCU and what a look it was. Many people questioned the wisdom of starting with such an unknown concept, but Creature Commandos‘ cast of monsters has proven to be a very interesting doorway into the all-new cinematic universe based on DC Comics. The show was packed with clues about the shape of the new DCU, revealing many familiar aspects. Now that the first season is over, it’s time to look at everything the show set up and see just what might be in store for the future. All of it points to it being an exciting future for DC fans.

The DCU Already Has Films In Its Canon

So, we’ll start with the easy stuff. The very existence of Task Force M shows that much of James Gunn’s previous DC work is canon to the DCU. The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker happened, down to that story about Superman getting shot. This is to be expected; since Gunn is in charge of things, it makes sense for those projects to be canon. John Economos and Amanda Waller are the same characters, and the death of Rick Flag Jr. at Peacemaker’s hands had been established by Waller and Rick Flag Sr. Flag probably doesn’t know all the details, but that’s just how Waller rolls.

Amazons Are A Controversial World Discovery

The show went into greater detail about the DCU as the season progressed. Its first phase concentrated on Circe and the Sons of Themyscira, establishing that Themyscira is not only known to the world but also rather controversial with the chuds of the manosphere. There are even university classes taught about it, as evidenced by Professor McPherson, who Clayface killed and impersonated in an attempt to trick the Creature Commandos in going back and killing Princess Illana Rostovic in Pokolistan. An interesting little wrinkle about Pokolistan is that the Princess’s knights are vaguely reminiscent of the Atomic Knights, survivors of a nuclear holocaust on either a future or alternate Earth, depending on the DC continuity in question. This fits Grodd’s plans for the world – he may have created that nuclear Earth if he got his way.

DC’s WWII Heroes

G.I. Robot made fans of DC’s Golden and Silver Age very excited. The robot’s origin episode establishes that Sgt. Rock and his Happy Company exist in the DCU. This opens DC’s entire slate of WWII war heroes – including the Losers, who are Flag family-relations – and also could open the door for the Justice Society of America to exist at some point. G.I. Robot’s meeting with scientist Will Magnus also opens things up for the Metal Men, a group of robots with different personalities and element-based capabilities made by the roboticist.

The Long History of DCU’s Monterverse

The stories of The Bride and Eric Frankenstein show that the monster side of the DC Universe is in full effect. Both of them have been long-time DC characters, and their existence also means that perhaps the Patchwork Man – a Swamp Thing-related monster that is created similarly – potentially exists. Monsters are a very important part of the show, and this fits in with the name given to the first story arc of the DCU: “Chapter One: Gods and Monsters”. Monsters have always been special in the DC Universe; while many of them are frightening enemies, just as many are heroes. Task Force M could play a major role in the future dealing with the monsters of this world.

RELATED: Creature Commandos: DC Studios Logo Pays Homage to a Classic Superman Story

The DCU Batman Universe

The biggest reveals from Creature Commandos are all Batman-related. The show’s inclusion of Doctor Phosphorous let us know that Gotham exist (something reinforced by the appearance of Clayface), but the season’s penultimate episode showed that Gotham is pretty much exactly the way it is in all other media. Well, Rupert Thorne is dead, but other than that, it’s Gotham. Viewers even got a glimpse of the Caped Crusader himself. James Gunn clarified that Batman has existed for some time in the DCU, meaning that we’re not jumping in at the exact beginning of the heroic age. This is a universe that has been in motion for a very long time, which is extremely exciting for fans of DC Comics. Also, Marvel Comics exists in the DCU – the Bride called Doctor Phosphorous “Ghost Rider.” So that’s interesting and does fit something that DC and Marvel have done in previous years, with comics often showing aspects of the other fictional universe of superheroes.

More Hero & Villain Teases

Star City and Metropolis are things as well. The latter is obvious because of Superman (2025), while Nina’s origin episode revealed Star City, which opens the door for heroes like Green Arrow to eventually show up. Gorilla Grodd has been established as a major potential threat in the DCU, using his telepathic powers to move people like pieces on a game board, all in the pursuit of the destruction of humanity, a familiar role for the simian tyrant.

This is actually perfect for Grodd; while he’s often portrayed as a brutal monster – which again plays into the title “Gods and Monsters” – he’s also a cunning evil super genius, who can manipulate events from the shadows. Grodd’s existence means that Gorilla City exists (fingers crossed we get to Solivar and maybe even the Ultra-Humanite in the albino gorilla body), which also opens the door to the Flash and the DCU version of twin cities of Central City and Keystone City. That last one depends on whether the DCU is going to do a classic Earth-Two, which is the original home of Keystone and the Justice Society; after all, multiverses are all the rage).

The DCU Is More Fully Formed Than We Guessed

Creature Commandos turned out to be the perfect way to introduce fans to the DCU. For years, everyone thought that the only way to be successful was the MCU’s method – a slow rollout at the beginning of the universe, holding fans’ hands and showing them everything as it builds and progresses. However, Creature Commandos went in a different direction: Gunn used what fans already knew about DC – The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker, Batman, Gotham City, Themyscira – to widen the foundation of his universe. He used each member of Task Force M to expand upon a variety of things, opening doors for a lot of DC characters and concepts to come.

Creature Commandos was a perfect starting roadmap for the DCU, building excitement for what’s to come. It’s the most entertaining extended trailer for a franchise universe ever – a seven-episode run that teased the breadth of this new DC cinematic endeavor. In Gunn we trust.

You can stream Creature Commandos on Max.