Welcome back stinkers! The DCU has now officially launched with season 1 of Creature Commandos! Today I’ll be reviewing and breaking down Creature Commandos episode 1, The Cobbywobbles!
DC Intro
The Cobbywobbles and the rest of the series, is written by James Gunn! I still find it quite funny that he put himself in the opening credits. Now this is one of the first projects we see the official DC Studios intro. It played in front of the Super/Man Christopher Reeves documentary. Now all the intro really is, is the original comic book Superman, 1938’s Action Comics’ Superman. It then flips to the DC Studios logo, pretty much a carbon copy from the DC comics logo. Now I enjoy the simplicity of the intro, but I hope for it to evolve one day, similar to the vein of the MCU, but not exact.
Episode Run Time
Now with the runtimes of these episodes, they really have to move quickly to fit all of that story, and plotlines into one season. That’s why I think James Gunn made the right choice, for each episode to be character centric. So, the job of episode 1 was to introduce us to all the characters, the main story, and get us hooked on both things. That’s why I think this might be one of, if not, the most important episode. Now, I believe it’s not going to be the best, but it’s going to be one I’m more appreciative of as the show moves on.
Amanda Waller and Rick Flag Sr. (What’s Cannon?)
Moving on, we meet Rick Flag Sr. and Amanda Waller. Viola Davis reprises her role as Waller, and Frank Grillo is the voice of Flag. Right off the bat, we get references to James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker. Now, if you don’t know the whole deal with the cannon, James Gunn has stated that if that certain past event is stated or referred to, then that’s cannon. Rick Flag mentions the ending of Peacemaker season 1, when Waller’s daughter outed her in what she has been doing. So, that is cannon.
Waller mentions the death of Flag’s son and Project Starfish. So, those two events are cannon. The Suicide Squad movie however is not cannon. Those events happened in two separate universes. The DCEU and the DCU. You are able to just watch The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker Season 1 as a resource if that makes sense.
Circe and Pokolistan
We then get introduced to a bit of the main story and the villain of the show. Just diving right in, with connections to Themyscira. Flag and Waller then watch a report of the Sons of Themyscira invading Pokolistan. We also get introduced to the show’s villain, Circe. Circe is typically a Wonder Woman villain. Thanks to Gunn’s original DC slate, we know we are getting a Themyscira TV series, Paradise Lost. We could maybe see Anya Chalotra reprise her role as Circe in said series. Pokolistan is a fictional country from DC comics.
Waller Starts Task Force M
Flag and Waller then visit the lower levels of the Belle Reve Correctional center. Now due to Waller’s daughter, Leota Adebayo, revealing to the public what she has done. The government put an end to Task Force X. Waller was however able to find a loophole, and started Task Force M, using Monsters and non-humans. Another project that was a part of James Gunn’s slate, was a Waller limited series, which I would only assume picks up that plot line of Waller being outed by her daughter.
The Creature Commandos
The Creature Commandos is certainly an obscure group of characters from DC comics. They were originally introduced in Weird War Tales No. 93. Now this lineup of characters, is certainly different compared to the original. The only character that carries over from Weird War Tales, is G.I. Robot, which might just be a token character. The team was originally made to fight in WWII, in which G.I. Robot was made for the same purpose.
The original lineup focused on a human leader Lt. Matthew Shrieve. The rest of the team featured Dr. Medusa, a werewolf Warren Griffith, Private Eliot Lucky Taylor, and a bat, Sgt. Velcro. Maybe if this show goes on to have multiple seasons, we could see some new members being added on to the team. The new and current lineup features the likes of human leader, Rick Flag Sr., Dr. Phosphorus, Weasel, G.I. Robot, Nina Mazursky, The Bride, and Frankenstein, which we meet at the end of the episode.
Meet the Team
Going through the lineup one by one, we meet The Bride, played by Indira Varma. In the comics, she was a member of Agents of S.H.A.D.E. an even closer lineup to this Creature Commandos rosters. Next, we meet Dr. Phosphorus, played by Alan Tudyk. Dr. Phosphorus is a lesser known Batman villain. He could be a just about fantastic villain to include in the Brave and the Bold movie, since this universe is really going to take in those fantastical elements. We also meet Weasel and G.I. Robot, both voiced by James Gunn’s brother, Sean Gunn. Weasel nearly escaped his death at the end of The Suicide Squad, but he still manages to find himself back at prison. Last but not least, we meet Nina Muzursky, voiced by Zoe Chao.
Mission: Protect Rostovic
The Creature Commandos then make their way to Pokolistan, to protect Princess Ilana Rostovic from Circe. This plane sequence is very reminiscent of The Suicide Squad. This time Weasel has to be strapped in, because the last time, he just about drowned. Rostovic is voiced by Maria Bakalova. Flag’s breath is then just taken away, when he meets the princess. There’s going to be that same sort of tension all throughout the show. It’s through their conversation that we learn more about this universe’s Rick Flag Jr. People have been complaining how Frank Grillo doesn’t look old enough to be Joel Kinnaman’s father, but Sr. explains how Jr. was born when Sr. was only 18 years old.
James Gunn’s Oddball Team-Up Formula
Rostovic then invites the Commandos to dinner, and I just love the different ways they hammer down their foods. This is also where we see the birth of a friendship. Nina and G.I. Robot grow a bond together, that’s going to be fun to watch throughout the show. Something I love about James Gunn’s oddball team formula, is the bonds between the characters. It’s a formula James Gunn can use very well. With these teams, you are able to mix and match with different characters, and each and every pairing, will be something wonderful. We have Mazursky and G.I., Mazursky and Bride, Frankenstein and the Bride, Frankenstein and Flag, and much more.
Dr. Phosphorus and Rick Flag Sr.
Now, I found quite a lot of meaning behind this following sequence. Dr. Phosphorus tries to sneak into Flag’s room and tries to steal the tablet that would send shocks to the Commandos. Phosphorus and Flag duke it out, but Flag says that he’s not going to tell Waller of this, and he’s not hear to torture them. “We’re on the same team” he says. That shows quite the heart that Flag has, and he’s going to be a boss that I think will grow the team together.
Frankenstein Finds his Bride (Creature Commandos Episode 1 Wrap Up)
We then end the episode off with The Bride and Nina sneaking off to the Frankenstein mansion. That’s when an older woman sees them, and alerts Frankenstein on what happened.
That is going to do it for my breakdown of Creature Commandos Episode 1! Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to read yet another one of breakdowns. Stay tuned for my breakdown of episode 2, and check out The Big Stinker Channel, for my video breakdowns and reviews. So, until next time stinkers! Bye bye.