Since the release of the first episode back in December, DCU’s debut project, Creature Commandos, has trended like anything, and the penultimate episode of the first season, “Priyatel Skelet,” has just amped up its traction even further, with DCU’s version of the Caped Crusader making his first appearance. Following in vein of the other episodes, which have all explored the pasts of the titular characters one by one, the sixth episode focuses on Dr. Phosphorus, aka Alex Sartorius’ tragic origin, and given the setting shifts to Gotham City in the flashback sequence, its grim protector was bound to appear, much to the delight of fans.
Previously, Circe’s deceit was discovered by Flag and Eric Frankenstein as they found out the real Professor MacPherson had been killed by the shapeshifting supervillain Clayface, who had assumed her appearance to convince Waller about the credibility of Circe’s lies. After engaging in a battle with Clayface, Flag Sr. was grievously injured while Frankenstein was able to defeat the mud monster. On the other hand, led by Bride, the Creature Commandos reached Pokolistan, and as Flag had warned Ilana about Circe, who had tricked Waller to send the team to kill her, the princess commands her armored military to hunt them down.
Spoilers Ahead
Flag Hangs On By A Thread While Eric Arrives in Pokolistan
Receiving the beatdown of a lifetime at the hands of Clayface, Rick Flag Sr. appears to be in a comatose state as Waller and Economos rush to meet him at the hospital. From the description of the person who had him admitted at the hospital, Economos is able to deduce that Flag had met with Eric Frankenstein, and given the patchwork monster is obsessed with Bride, it doesn’t take much speculation for Economos to predict that he is going after the Commandos in Pokolistan. Waller becomes desperate to learn what happened with Flag, as it might provide her some insight about why he had joined hands with Eric Frankenstein of all people, and orders Economos to double down on the search in all the airports. In the meantime, Frankenstein has already hijacked a private jet and reached Pokolistan.
Phosphorus’ Origin and Appearance of DCU Batman
At Pokolistan, the Creature Commandos remain separated as they continue to evade the royal guards. Phosphorus comes across a lonely child, who reminds him too much of his own son—whom he had lost in horrifying circumstances. What seems to be a lifetime ago, Phosphorus, aka Alex Sartorius, was a renowned nuclear scientist whose pioneering work of using nuclear fusion as a means to cure cancer was patronized by Gotham mobster Rupert Thorne. Alex was bound by the clause which conveyed that he had to details of his experiments to Thorne, who supplied the intel to the dictatorial government of the nation of Bialya. Alex’s wife, Parvin, had forbade him from doing so as she belonged to a third world country much like Bialya, where a diabolical government had turned the lives of the citizens into a veritable hell after gaining funding and resources from global superpowers like the United States and strengthening their vice grip on their people. Alex decided to take an immense risk by delivering false results to Thorne, and inevitably his ruse was discovered by the dreaded mob boss.
Thorne decided to teach Alex a lesson, and after murdering his wife and son, the mobster had him framed for the crimes. When Alex tried to escape, Thorne threw him inside one of the fusion reactor machines designed by Alex himself, and as Alex was torn apart in a series of radioactive explosions, he was reborn as Dr. Phosphorus—a skeleton burning with nuclear energy. A distraught, anguished, mentally broken Phosphorus decided to seek vengeance upon Thorne as he killed his entire family and every single member who assisted him in bringing misery to Alex’s life. Phosphorus assumes Thorne’s position as Gotham’s dreaded mob boss. However, he doesn’t get to enjoy his new role for much longer, as Batman is seen making an appearance on the rooftop of the nightclub Phosphorus was spending his time in, and it is implied that the Caped Crusader had him captured and thrown behind bars.
Earlier we got a brief glimpse at DCU Batman in Circe’s nightmare vision, although he appeared as one of the deceased heroes. In this scenario, Batman shows up in full glory, recreating the iconic dark night thunder background posture from “Batman: The Animated Series.” James Gunn had shared during this episode’s Easter Egg discussion that he deliberately refused to show the face or Batsuit of DCU Bruce Wayne, as he is unwilling to commit to any definite look just yet, which is why DCU Batman is shown in silhouette in his brief two-second appearance. However, judging from the shadowy appearance, it seems this version of Batman is quite bulky—much like Frank Miller’s version of the character from “The Dark Knight Returns” or the recent super hit, “Absolute Batman.” Hopefully this is not the last time we get a glimpse of DCU Batman before the release of “Batman: The Brave and The Bold,” where Batman and Damian Wayne’s version of Robin will appear together in live action for the first time.
Will Eric Frankenstein Be Able To Stop Creature Commandos?
At present in Pokolistan, Phosphorus offers some cereal to the hungry girl and returns her to her parents after learning his way around to the royal palace. In the meantime, all the members of Creature Commandos go on their little personal adventures. Weasel strays off in the woods, where he is surrounded by a pack of wolves, but instead of a violent struggle ensuing among them, the wild beasts actually bond with Weasel pretty well while playing fetch. Weasel finds peace in the presence of the pack, but suddenly he is reminded of Princess Ilana from a dream he sees about the girl he failed to save. Weasel decides to abandon the possibility of a happy life amidst his found wolf family to seek directions the palace, and I am already getting wrong signals from this. James Gunn better not play with our emotions any longer, as fans will surely riot if Weasel is harmed in any capacity.
Nina and Bride team up while evading the Pokolistani army and end up seeking refuge in a brothel. As two locals, the metahuman Craic brothers, arrive at the brothel and assault one of the sex workers and the owner of the brothel—Bride ends up killing both of them. Eventually, all four members—Bride, Phosphorus, Nina, and Weasel—reunite as they make their way towards the royal castle, and with Flag Sr. still fighting for his life, the duty to stop the Commandos in the finale falls upon Eric Frankenstein. It will be exciting to see whether Gunn and co. still have new surprises or larger DCU connections to share with fans, as Nina’s backstory is still carefully guarded, as it has been throughout the season, and I can’t help but think it might end up revealing a major hint regarding the upcoming Superman movie.