Creature Commandos: Season One – Review
It was not long ago that James Gunn began the newest DC shared universe with the DCU, replacing Zack Snyder’s DCEU. I was excited and cautiously optimistic that this new start would get DC off on the right foot.
While first movie in the new DCU was Superman, the first actual instalment was the Creature Commandos animated series. I really liked the idea that the new DCU would be made up of television and movies, animated and live action.
Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to watch Creature Commandos until recently because it was not streaming on a service that I had. I actually only saw it because for a limited time it was available on YouTube.
What did I think of it?
I had mixed feelings about it, with some of it being good and some of it less good. This was for a number of reasons.
One of my problems, and this is just me, is that grew up reading Creature Commandoes in Weird War Tales. (Amazon affiliate link) But this was a different Creature Commandos, a group of soldiers who were transformed by the government to fight the Nazis during World War Two. G.I. Robot, who does appear in Gunn’s Creature Commandos was also a part of that series.
This is probably not fair but Gunn’s Creature Commandos have very little to do with the Creature Commandos that I grew up with. That is not bad but to me this did not feel like the name of the series.
My other problem was that this felt too, well James Gunn-ish. There are things I like about Gunn, like his love for obscure characters. But I also feel like his shows, including Peacemaker, are all aimed at thirteen year old boys. Superman demonstrated that he can rise above that, but this seems to be where he is most comfortable.
There is gratuitous violence and sex. I am no prude but it seems to be included just because it can and not to further the story.
Speaking of the story, the actual storyline was not that interesting. If you want to know what Creature Commandos was like, just think about Gunn’s The Suicide Squad.
Having said that, there were some interesting parts, including the development of some of the characters. It was not a horrible series, it just was not great. I will watch the next season, and I hope it will be better.
Creature Commandos is significant in that it introduces some ideas and some characters that play important roles in the DCU. However, I look forward some James Gunn led but not written and directed instalments of the DCU.
