After an explosive double episode premiere that was equal parts quirky and dark while exploring the origin of Bride—one of the core members of the eponymous team of monstrosities—the first venture of DCU, Creature Commandos, returned this week with a new episode, shedding light on the past of G.I. Robot, another luckless nonhuman from a bygone era who has been forced into joining the good fight by Waller and co. This particular episode was interesting as it also focuses on the existing world-building of DCU—by introducing characters like Sergeant Rock and Will Magnus—and some bizarre inclusions from DC comics.
Previously, led by Rick Flag Sr., the Creature Commandos arrived at Pokolistan to protect Princess Ilana from Circe and her accomplices, the incel militants known as the “Sons of Themyscira.” As Bride went to reconnect with her roots, revealing her haunting past in the process, Nina followed her, and the duo got captured by Circe and co. As the team rushes to rescue them, G.I. Robot ‘remembers’ his good old days.
Spoilers Ahead
Sergeant Rock and Easy Company
Although the identity of the creator of G.I. Robot remains unknown, his first appearance is revealed to be on the Western Front during the Second World War, as he is seen assisting Sergeant Rock and his troop—Easy Company—by butchering Nazis with mechanical efficiency. DC fans might be quite familiar with Sgt. Rock, given he is a prominent character in the war comics subgenre of DC, and the honorable war hero has appeared in several animated ventures erstwhile. Rock, and the rest of the Easy Company members—Little Sure Shot, Bogman, Canary, Bulldozer, Wildman, and Four-Eyes—appear to have a really good rapport with G.I. Robot as they thank him for making a difference at the warfront. “Cheers to the tin man” as the episode title indicates, is their way of expressing their gratitude to their robot comrade. After the war ended, G.I. Robot didn’t serve much of a purpose and wasn’t quite fit to become a government propaganda piece—given most of his vocabulary and thought processes led to a single directive—killing Nazis.
Inspiration for Metal Men
Dr. Will Magnus, a prolific scientist whom DC Comics fans will recognize as the creator of the heroic team of sentient robots, the Metal Men, had shown interest in G.I. Robot after realizing that, even back in the 40s, he was set up with an advanced AI system that imbued him with sentience. After bringing G.I. Robot to his lab, Magnus uses his operating system as inspiration for his future creation—although the Metal Men aren’t mentioned in this context, the indications are pretty obvious. On one occasion, Magnus questions G.I. Robot about whether he possesses any personal desire beyond his directives, and the robot reveals he wishes to be reunited with his comrades of Easy Company one day.
Eventually, after G.I. Robot served his purpose in Magnus’ lab, he was passed along to several collectors until he ended up with a certain Sam Fitzgibbon—a seemingly kind loner living with his cats, who found the robot to be good company. With Sam and his cats, G.I. Robot probably shared a familial connection as well—although his inexpressive metallic face doesn’t express what he truly felt. However, Sam was revealed to be a neo-Nazi, as he took G.I. Robot to a secret neo-Nazi conference in Hub City (where the vigilante Question operates). Upon identifying the people around him as Nazis, G.I. Robot butchered every single one of the attendees and, as a result, was incarcerated in Belle Reeve penitentiary for manslaughter.
As G.I. Robot is shown to be transported in Belle Reeve, two obscure, weird DC supervillains make their cameo appearance in the background. One of them, Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man (yes, that’s really his name), who had previously appeared in “Doom Patrol,” is seen locked up in a cell, while another one, Crimson Centipede, is seen inside a cell in his classic appearance. Anyway, G.I. Robot had remained imprisoned until, at present, he got recruited in Waller’s Task Force M and found himself accompanying a new team of soldiers.
Is G.I. Robot Dead?
Coming back to the present timeline, Flag and co. track the location of Nina and Bride to Frankenstein’s mansion, where they are being held captive, and Flag considers using stealth to rescue them but finds out that Circe and her lackeys have simply left them tied up. Only now does Flag seem to realize that they were tricked into leaving the princess unguarded to rescue their comrades, and the team rushes back to the palace. G.I. takes the entire bathtub where Nina had to seek refuge as she was out of her protective suit and takes her to safety. As shown in the premiere, Nina appeared sympathetic towards him, and G.I. reciprocates her feelings with kindness as well.
By now, Circe and her goons have wreaked havoc, killing the majority of the royal guards, and Ilana somehow manages to get captured by the lecherous scoundrels of the Sons of Themyscira. The team reaches in time but gets cornered, facing heavy gunfire. However, the battle takes a turn as Flag Sr. lets G.I. go into combat mode by mentioning the attackers are Nazis, prompting him to unleash hell upon the Sons of Themyscira, annihilating them. There is a sense of joy in G.I., the kind that can be seen in people when they do something they love—and needless to say, this robot loves nothing more than killing Nazis.
However, his happiness is short-lived, as Circe crashes the party; using her magic, she promptly destroys G.I. within a second and proceeds to almost kill Ilana—until Weasel viciously attacks Circe, and Phosphorus provides good support to temporarily incapacitate the sorceress. Before completely shutting down, G.I. remembers the gratitude of his comrades for one last time, as Nina, still holding his robotic head, breaks down in tears.
A pinned-down Circe curses the Creature Commandos for putting the world in peril, and the episode comes to a close by dangling the question of just what she meant by that. Also, G.I. Robot might have been terminated, but his consciousness might still be stored somewhere else, and he can be brought back to ‘life’ in the near future, as there have been multiple variants of G.I. Robot through the years. Also, the cameo of Sgt. Rock in this episode raises questions about the recently greenlit live-action movie based on the same character, where Daniel Craig will play the role of DC’s decorated stalwart jarhead. Some extent of Circe’s plan will be revealed in the upcoming episode, which might explain why she is trying to hunt down Ilana. A nightmare sequence involving the fate of the DC heroes has been teased in the series trailer, which might come into focus as a connection with Circe’s warning as well.
