When it comes to comic book adaptations, lesser-known IPs always provide a greater range of freedom for creators, as the MCU’s entire world-building procedure has proven time and again. In that sense, an animated series based on Creature Commandos, a band of obscure paranormal soldiers inspired by classic modern monster lore, seems like a perfect starting point for the DCU under James Gunn’s leadership. Team up ventures are his special interest anyways, and from early reviews of the animated series, it seems like the DCU is off to a great start already. So without wasting any time, let’s take a deep dive into the lore of DC’s League of Horrors and get acquainted with all the members who will appear in the series and the additional roster from comics.
Project M for Monster
Created by writer J. M. DeMatteis and artist Pat Broderick, Creature Commandos were inspired by DC’s popular Weird War Tales during the 1980s, which combined the elements of war comics along with horror elements. The original intention behind the creation of the team as part of Project M (Monster) was to create soldiers for psychological warfare by charting the common root of subconscious archetypes of horror and fear. In simple terms, using scientific means to create legendary horror monsters in order to create superhuman soldiers who will not only thwart their human adversaries but create major fear and panic in their wake to demoralize the opposition. It should be mentioned that the Creature Commandos were created by a coalition of the USA and the rest of the Allied Forces to take on the Nazis in World War II; in a way, you could consider them a countermeasure to Hitler’s obsession with using occultism in war efforts.
The animated series’ version of the team doesn’t seem to have roots in this history; except for maybe G.I. Robot, none of the members seem to have fought in World War II. This version has been put together by Amanda Waller, who was apparently under a lot of heat after Task Force X’s agenda of exploiting metahuman prisoners created a ruckus. Waller has decided to use non-human soldiers to do her bidding this time to avoid accountability, and the responsibility of leading the team rests with Rick Flag Sr., father of the former leader of Task Force X. Let us take a look at every team member who is going to make an appearance in the series. It has already been revealed that in the DCU, actors will reprise their roles in both animated and live-action ventures, so needless to say, the cast of Creature Commandos will make their live-action appearance in the near future as well. Also, remember a year ago, while announcing the slate of DCU, James Gunn had named the first chapter of its overarching narrative as Gods and Monsters. With Creature Commandos, we are starting off with the latter.
Rick Flag Sr.
Actor Frank Grillo is going to play the role of Rick Flag Sr., a decorated army officer and father of the bleeding heart leader of Task Force X, Rick Flag Jr., who met his end at the hands of Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad. Waller has entrusted Rick Flag Sr., the only human/non-powered member of the team, to lead the troop of monsters. Aside from the series, Rick Flag Sr. is going to play a crucial role in the upcoming Superman movie and the second season of Peacemaker as well.
Nina Mazursky
An amphibian-human hybrid/mermaid, Nina Mazursky has been actively involved in the creation of Creature Commandos in some iterations. Formerly a human, she had experimented on herself to turn into an aquatic humanoid monster. Along with Frankenstein, Nina used to be a member of S.H.A.D.E., and there is a chance that the upcoming animated series will refer to the organization as well. In the series’ version of the character, Nina’s father seems to have played a significant role in her transformation and in the creation of the eponymous team as well. Actor Zoë Chao will portray Nina in the DCU.
Eric Frankenstein
Based on author Mary Shelley’s monstrous creation, Eric Frankenstein is an undead creation of scientist Victor Frankenstein, who used several body parts from corpses to reanimate this hideous abomination. As an inhuman undead, Eric grapples with an existential crisis, and his desperate search for a human identity stands at odds with his violent, murderous tendencies. Eric is imbued with superhuman strength, durability, healing factor, and enhanced physiology. Actor David Harbour will play the character in the DCU.
The Bride
Just like Frankenstein, the Bride, or Bride of Frankenstein, is inspired by the existing legend of the character in literature and media, although it’s still not confirmed whether Victor Frankenstein is behind her creation as well. Nothing much is known about the Bride except for the fact that she is a female counterpart of Frankenstein’s monster, and from the trailer, it becomes pretty apparent she shares Eric’s strength and knack for violence as well. Actor Indira Verma will play the role of the Bride in the DCU.
Dr. Phosphorus
A lesser-known yet quite amazing Batman villain who was a prominent figure in the Bronze Age of comics, Alexander James Sartorius, aka Dr. Phosphorus, will appear as one of the members of the Creature Commandos. While battling with Batman, Sartorius fell into a nuclear reactor and was transfigured into a flaming/radioactive skeleton with the power to emit and manipulate radiation. Although from the trailer, it seems this iteration of Dr. Phosphorus is the creation of some sort of vile experimentation by a deranged scientist. Actor/voice actor Alan Tudyk will portray the role of Dr. Phosphorus in DCU. One of the fascinating aspects of the creature design of Dr. Phosphorus in the upcoming series is that the animators have created the ‘Kirby Krackle,’ named after legend Jack Kirby’s art style—a black field to denote negative space, which looks cool in the print and surely will look amazing animated on screen.
Clayface
Another Batman villain, a famous one at that, will make his appearance as Clayface is revealed to be a part of the Creature Commandos as well. With shapeshifting ability and matter manipulation skills, Clayface is a formidable presence irrespective of which version of the character is being portrayed on screen. Fun fact: actor Alan Tudyk, who is voicing Clayface as well, has also voiced the same character in Harley Quinn the Animated Series, although the interpretation is likely to differ in both the animated series.
G.I. Robot
There have been multiple iterations of the war-android G.I.Robot, who was created with the purpose of assisting the Allied Forces in World War II. Despite appearing as an old-school robotic model, G.I. Robot units are fairly advanced for their age and have warfare and adaptability skills programmed into their system by their creator, Professor Zurin. There is an off chance that scientist Will Magnus, creator of the Metal Men who will appear in the series, turns out to be involved with the creation of G.I.Robot as well.
Weasel
The feral, weasel-like humanoid creature who appeared in The Suicide Squad is going to be a member of Creature Commandos as well, and this time, his ferocity will be on full display as highlighted by the trailer where the creature is seen decapitating even children. Both the role of Weasel and G.I.Robot will be played by actor Sean Gunn.
Circe
The legendary Greek sorceress and archenemy of Wonder Woman, Circe, will play the role of primary antagonist in the series, and with her introduction, the realm of magic is officially introduced to the DCU. The vile, vindictive Circe boasts a huge range of magical powers that range from telekinesis, telepathy, and energy projection to necromancy, conjuration, psychological manipulation, etc. Actor Anya Chalotra is going to play Circe in the DCU, and I am hoping that she makes an appearance in the upcoming Wonder Woman TV series, Paradise Lost.
Aside from the characters who have been confirmed to be a part of the roster so far, there are a number of mainstay characters without whom Creature Commandos remains incomplete, and I am hoping that the series makers will include them in the series or at least will refer to their presence. Given that these characters have been a part of the first iteration of the eponymous team, it will be great to see them get acknowledged in the animated series.
Warren Griffith, aka Wolfpack
The idea behind the conception of Creature Commandos was to explore war stories as period pieces with monsters of myths like vampires, mermen, werewolves, and zombies being treated as expandable foot soldiers, which is why the first member to be included in the team was Warren Griffith, aka Wolfpack, a neurotic farm boy who was suffering from lycanthropy and was experimented on in Project M, which gave him the ability to turn into a werewolf. Even though Warren’s transformation was uncontrolled, his savage nature along with enhanced physiology proved to be a major advantage in war.
Sgt. Vincent Velcro
If alliteration in naming wasn’t a clue enough, Sgt. Vincent Velcro was transformed into a vampire by getting injected with a serum made of vampire bat blood after he volunteered for Project M in order to avoid a prolonged sentence for treason. Aside from gaining most of the superhuman abilities that vampires are known to possess, Velcro exhibits bloodlust tendencies as a side effect of the experimentation. However, being a scientifically mutated vampire, he shows no aversion to existing religious iconographies like crucifixes and stuff like that and can operate in daylight as well. A comparison can be drawn between him and Blade from Marvel Comics.
Pvt. Elliot ‘Lucky’ Taylor aka Patchwork
Lucky’s luck ran out when, during the Second World War, he ended up stepping on a landmine, resulting in irreparable damage to his body due to grievous injuries sustained during the explosion. Scientists and researchers from Project M patched him up, and Lucky became the first iteration of Frankenstein’s monster in the Creature Commando’s roster. Despite having been given a second chance at life, Lucky found his existence to be a fate worse than death, as his monstrous, hulking appearance after his recovery robbed him of his identity.
Dr. Medusa
Dr. Myrra Rhodes exposed herself to a host of experimental gas and compounds, which resulted in her hair turning into live snakes, earning her the moniker of Dr. Medusa. However, she shouldn’t be confused with the mythological Medusa, who is a part of Wonder Woman’s lore in existing DC continuity as well.
Lt. Matthew Shrieve
The position, which now belongs to Rick Flag Sr., was originally taken by Lt. Matthew Shrieve, the only human member of the team and the de facto leader as well. Even though the experimented monstrosities didn’t share a good relationship with Shrieve, whom they blamed for their predicament, his leadership had proven to be effective for them to work as a team.
Aside from all these aforementioned members, a horde of other characters have appeared in the team of monsters, namely Aten the mummy, gnomes, Bogman, G.I. Zombie, a genius Sasquatch named Big, a Pharaoh mummy named Khalis—all sorts of weird and creepy elements who belong to the darker side of the DC Universe. The animated series is bound to take some liberties with characterizations of the established members in order to fit them in the larger DCU, which means cameo appearances by the likes of Man-Bat and Solomon Grundy, who have been temporary members of the Creature Commandos in the past, can be expected. One major issue that the series aims to address is that Amanda Waller once again is at the center of every government secret co-op and cover-up, which means the exposé by Adebayo in the first season of Peacemaker didn’t amount to much damage in her position. Waller’s growing influence sets the stage for Superman, where Authority—the government-controlled unit of heroes who don’t adhere to moral principles while serving justice. Creature Commandos might also serve as a setup to the larger metaphysical sphere of the DCU, introducing characters like Zatanna and Deadman, as the plan for the Justice League Dark venture has been shelved for way too long.
