The power dynamic in the DCU has shifted, and that’s because we’ve now begun. It’s James Gunn’s Creature Commandos, and I’m going to bury the lede: it does not disappoint.

Wow, what an unbelievable start to the DCU. Creature Commandos launched this morning, and it’s the first premiere in James Gunn’s vision of the DCU. I see it. I see the vision.

The first two episodes dropped on Max. Watch them if you haven’t, because we’re going to spoil the heck out of it.

The James Gunn Itch

I believe this piece is going to scratch that very specific James Gunn itch, the one we weren’t sure was going to get scratched. All those images coming out of Superman, David Corenswet and the hope and everything Superman is supposed to be in that style. This isn’t that. This is the same James Gunn who brought us The Suicide Squad and the same James Gunn who brought us Guardians of the Galaxy.

This is firing on all thrusters. This is shooting with both barrels. This is all the different euphemisms I can give for aiming a gun accurately. Either way, James Gunn’s doing an amazing job, man.

It is what it seems. There’s no big story or overarching seasonal plot yet that I can see. Right now they’re introducing elements, and the story begins pretty simply, with Waller and Flag. This is Rick Flag Sr., the father of Rick Flag Jr.

Mentioned Means Canon

Remember, James Gunn said that until something from the past is mentioned, it isn’t canon. Once it gets mentioned, you know that event happened. This is a great example of that.

Waller calls Flag, they start heading down, and he’s like, I thought you guys weren’t allowed to do certain things, that the government closed you down since your daughter outed you. So Task Force X, the Suicide Squad, can’t operate currently because her daughter outed her. When did that happen? Peacemaker Season 1.

You can take that to mean all of Peacemaker Season 1 is canon now, but all it does is lock in that one event. As James Gunn has described it, if an event from the past gets mentioned, that event becomes canon. They also establish that Rick Flag’s son was killed, which means that event did happen too.

Task Force M

We’re introduced to a brand new villain we haven’t seen yet in DC, and that’s Circe, the Themysciran sorceress, or the Themysciran witch if you will. She’s currently fomenting an uprising, and that’s why they’ve asked for help. So Waller has sent Flag along with a very unique team: Task Force M, or the Creature Commandos.

It consists of the Weasel. It consists of Doctor Phosphorus, or Mr. Phosphorus, whatever his name is, voiced by Alan Tudyk. There’s a fish girl. And there’s the Bride, played by Indira Varma, who does an amazing job. If we ever get an opportunity to see Indira Varma in live action as the Bride, it will be unbelievable.

Of course you can’t have the Bride without eventually having Frankenstein himself, and David Harbour brings that voice to life. James Gunn’s brother plays the voice of not only the Weasel but also G.I. Robot, which is basically a Nazi-killing robot from the ’40s who has survived to this point. It’s very fun. And of course they’re all being controlled by electrical whatever the heck.

It’s so funny, because when they get to the place they’re supposed to be, the princess’s country is very much “we love America,” to the point that they know a lot of our pop culture references. They’re just about a decade or more behind. It’s actually pretty funny.

Don’t Park Your Kid in Front of This

I am so glad this is not a kids’ cartoon. I’m going to pre-warn you right now. If you’re thinking, oh, Creature Commandos, let me just put my kid here to watch this thing, and you’re going to let them run off, big mistake. There’s nudity, mature content, suggestive situations. I say suggestive situations. They flat out go there. As an animated series, they don’t leave a whole lot to the imagination, and that’s real.

The Bride and Two Hundred Years of Frankenstein

You get to see the Bride’s background. Dr. Frankenstein made her, and he made her for Frankenstein. The problem is Frankenstein couldn’t handle the fact that you have to teach them, and they have to learn, the whole thing. In that process she falls for the doctor instead, which breaks Frankenstein’s heart.

So apparently they’ve been fighting across 200 years or more of events, and you get this really great flashback in Episode 2 of all those things going on. It’s wonderful. He’s coming, and I do believe he’s going to join the Creature Commandos, so we’ll see more about all of that.

An American Attempt at Anime

The animation’s really good. This feels like an American attempt at anime, meaning if you look at the eyes, the way some things are done, some of the effects and whatnot. I love the aesthetic they’re going for. I would have thought it might be just this particular storyline, but the truth is the intro and everything else is very much that grungy, punk look, and I love it. The music’s good. It’s fun. You do get to see James Gunn as an animated character.

The Track Record

Look, the haters are going to hate. You’ve got to understand, they’re going to hate everything. But James Gunn thus far still has a pristine track record in my opinion, making him arguably one of the most consistent comic book filmmakers of our generation.

People might argue that Kevin Feige did some stuff, that he was an associate producer or a PA or whatever on X-Men and he’s been involved in a lot. Yes. But James Gunn as a filmmaker proper has been knocking it out of the park since Guardians of the Galaxy, without a doubt. Anyone who says otherwise, you’re selling something.

Man, this is amazing. It has the tone of Peacemaker and The Suicide Squad, and it’s a great tone for this. I’m really interested to see whether this will be that diametrically different a tone from Superman and the other things that are going to come out. I hope it will. I’m pretty sure it’s going to.

The Verdict

Creature Commandos, the two-episode series premiere, is an 8 out of 10 on the Know-It-All Index.

Normally I’m the guy that’s like, I want this to go somewhere. I’m still giving this easily, easily, hands down, an eight out of 10. There are so many other elements story-wise coming into play in this whole thing.

Welcome to Know-It-All Nation, and welcome to James Gunn’s DCU.

Let me know your thoughts on the whole thing. The conversation lives in the comments on the video above.