In a social media post shared to his Instagram, James Gunn referred to the latest Creature Commandos episode, titled “Chasing Squirrels,” as his favorite episode to date. That’s probably because this episode managed to unveil the emotional backstory of a misunderstood creature: Weasel, the monster voiced by Sean Gunn who was introduced in The Suicide Squad. We had been led to believe that Weasel was in Belle Reve for murdering eight children. As this episode explained, Weasel was doing all that he could to save the children he thought of as his friends… until he was shot by townsfolk who feared him.
It’s exactly the type of tragic backstory that James Gunn has been cooking up for his Creature Commando team members in the previous episodes, so we should have been prepared to be moved to tears by the real reason that Weasel twitches in his sleep. He’s dreaming of the young friends he wasn’t able to save. However, in a subplot that still warrants discussing, Creature Commandos also gave audiences their first look at the DCU’s Trinity of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman. And given the fact that David Corenswet just made his live-action debut in the first Superman trailer, this glimpse at the rest of the DCU’s leaders is really special.
Batman and Wonder Woman have been sacrificed alongside Superman.
The first look at Batman and Wonder Woman comes as part of a nightmare vision that Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) suffers through when the Themysciran witch Circe (Anya Chalotra) tries to convince her that Princess Illana Rostovic (Maria Bakalova) is actually evil. Waller isn’t sure what to believe. Her instincts tell her that Circe is lying, but then the witch shows her an alternate future, where Rostovic has used her robotic guard to conquer the DC’s heroes, and march on Washington, DC.
Leading up the release of Creature Commandos Episode 4, we got the opportunity to speak with the show’s executive producer and showrunner, Dean Lorey. And when I asked him about the conversations he had with James Gunn about the vision – because it would be the first look that any of us got at the DCU’s Batman and Wonder Woman – Lorey explained:
Everything, particularly in that sequence, went through James. But I also don’t know, like, to what end (he) wanted specific things. But I will say that, he was very specific about what he wanted in that sequence. And it's also, just visually, it's shocking to see that stuff. All of that – the question of that potential future – plays out quite a bit in (episodes) 6 and 7.
The vision now creates a conflict in Waller’s mind. Initially, she sent her team to Pokolistan to protect the Princess. But Waller claims that the vision felt too real to be fictional. Now, she wants Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) to murder the princess before she can pull off this sinister plan. You know that’s not going to go over well, given their romantic entanglement.
What else do we see in the vision?
Familiar faces from the DCU.
The biggest reveals from Circe’s futuristic vision are David Corenswet’s Superman, an unidentified Batman, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Hawkgirl, and even Peacemaker, who will get a new batch of shows when Peacemaker Season 2 arrives in 2025. They have all been sacrificed by Princess Illana, and her cohorts – shockingly, she appears to team up with the classic Flash villain, Gorilla Grodd.
But how much of this is real? That’s one way that James Gunn can get away with saying that this vision doesn’t really show off a first look at his planned Batman. Because it still might be years before we see the DCU’s Batman appear in what we think will be his first movie, the upcoming DC film The Brave and the Bold.
Then again, given the fact that Gunn recently greenlit a Clayface movie from writer Mike Flanagan, we might see Batman in that movie, too.
The possibilities are endless. All I know is, I didn’t expect to head into Creature Commandos this week and see the DC Trinity in crosses. But these surprises are just one of the many reasons why I am so excited for the way that James Gunn is building this universe. Wait until you see more of the tricks he has up his sleeve as this series rolls along.
