Season 1 of Creature Commandos ended this Thursday, January 9, 2025. Quickly renewed for a season 2, the first series of DCU Did she live up to it? The answer right away!
Creature Commandos, a monstrously good series?
Creature Commandos has a somewhat special status. James Gunn was working on it before finding himself propelled into management (with Peter Safran) of DC Studios and in charge of creating a real universe to replace fire DCEU. But instead of throwing his idea in the trash, he continued with it and used it as an “appetizer” to the DCU in his own words, before the film Superman.
The plot is simple: Amanda Waller can no longer use humans for secret missions (The Suicide Squad). Except that she still has on hand all those who do not fall into this category… The monsters, whose mission will consist of protecting the princess from Pokolistan, Ilana Rostovic attacked by the witch Circe. The team finds themselves chaperoned by Rick Flag Sr, father of Rick Flag killed by Peacemaker In The Suicide Squad.
The first episode is very classic and we witness the creation of the team. From the start, we can notice that the animation is of good quality, the French studio Bobbypills did a very good job, especially on the action scenes which are very dynamic.
However, from the second episode, the structure finds its rhythm: the following six episodes will all have flashbacks centered on one of the monsters (which will also be at the heart of the episode). Without wanting to spoil anything, the writing of James Gunn in these flashbacks is excellent. She knows how to be touching without trying to emphasize pathos. We think in particular of the history of G.I. Robot or even Weasel.
In the dubbing, we find a number of actors, including Frank Grillo, David Harbour, Viola Davis, Indira Varma et Sean Gunn. They all manage to do a very good job, managing to bring their characters to life. I am thinking in particular of the soft and romantic voice that David Harbour gives to his Frankensteinthinking himself romantic while Bride hates him.
-In addition, we feel all the love that James Gunn backwards DC Comics. He said that his vision for the DCU was that his characters had always existed. Between Bride et Frankenstein that have existed for 200 years or G.I. Robot present during the Second World War (in particular), the promise is served. The Easter Eggs are very numerous and cover a very wide range of characters, whether very well known or more obscure. The monsters are, once again in this type of production, never the real monsters.
It is interesting to see a second possible reading of the characters in Creature Commandos. Women are strong and they are the ones who raise the issues and move the story forward. As for men (apart from Dr Phosphorus), these are often seen as being stupid or even very macho (Frankenstein is unable to understand that Bride will probably never love him), very focused on sex, and are also very easily manipulated.
So, is the series perfect with its qualities? Not entirely. The main plot remains relatively uninteresting. Not to mention its almost too quick and too sober conclusion and a fairly shallow enemy whose plan seems very convoluted. An additional episode would undoubtedly have been welcome. Some may also criticize James Gunn to take advantage of the adult aspect of the series to include lots (too many) sexual allusions, with most of the action scenes, a good dose of gore. In short, not the series to watch with your child. Finally, the rewriting of certain characters (notably Frankenstein) may not please.
In the end, we will remember a series that served exactly what was promised to us, namely something to keep us waiting before the main course, namely Superman. Nevertheless, Creature Commandos remains an animated series worth watching, especially if you like the style of James Gunn.
The entire season 1 of Creature Commandos is available on Max.
Related News :