Creature Commandos Scored 94% on Rt, but Is It a Worthy Start for the New DCU?

James Gunn, who had taken over as head of DC Studios, announced a major overhaul of the franchise's development vector, and Creature Commandos became the starting point for a new world of superhero stories.

The decision to start with an animated series was probably made to save money and because of the need to release the first project of the updated universe before the end of the year. And Creature Commandos manages to inspire hope and fear at the same time.

What Is Creature Commandos About?

Amanda Waller officially lost her right to use people in illegal operations after the events of Peacemaker. The ban affected both ordinary agents and humanoid heroes with superpowers.

But Waller is cunning in her inventiveness and decides that monsters will do just fine. The squad's first mission is to support a friendly regime in one of the states, where the sorceress Circe is causing a stir with her vague aims.

Creature Commandos Looks Like Another Instalment of Guardians of the Galaxy

James Gunn has made Guardians of the Galaxy again. For the fourth time, he tells essentially the same story: a group of outcasts, brought together by circumstances beyond their control, eventually become a dysfunctional family.

The same clashes between the characters, the same heartbreaking backstories, the same fateful choices. Gunn changes the names and the setting, but the essence remains the same – friends conquer all with humour and songs from the author's favourite bands.

Creature Commandos Animation Is Inferior to Other Modern Animated Series

The positive qualities of Gunn's series end with the rollicking music and the rare successful action moments. The animation leaves much to be desired due to the tight schedule: the quality of execution in Creature Commandos is inferior to both Invincible and the recent sequel to the 90s hit X-Men '97.

The anime references remain more of a fun stylistic gimmick, and the rendering of the backgrounds is either reminiscent of superhero animations from the end of the last century or the lack of time on the part of the artists.

In short, Creature Commandos does not stand up to criticism when compared to current animation projects.

Creature Commandos Is an Unimpressive but Satisfying Project

All in all, the start of the first part of the DC Universe looks passable. The series has a total of seven episodes, two of which have already been released, so the final quality of Gunn's work can only be judged in mid-January.

But the director is true to himself and continues to sharpen his pen on stories about charming villains. The result is quite satisfying, considering that Creature Commandos is a relatively cheap series, but the feeling of novelty soon fades.

The extent to which Gunn's tactics will be justified in more global projects with less absurd heroes – next in line is a feature-length reboot of Superman – will only become clear next year.