Creature Commandos Continues a Disturbing DC Trend James Gunn Has to Break

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The new DC Universe creatively led by writer and director James Gunn began with his third project for the overall storytelling universe. Gunn’s first film was the R-rated The Suicide Squad, which inspired the TV-MA live-action series Peacemaker. His animated series for adults Creature Commandos continues a troubling trend the DCU will need to break if it hopes to break through in pop culture. Adults shouldn’t be the targeted audience.

In fairness to DC Studios, Gunn said Superman would be “family friendly,” and that it serves as the actual kickoff to the new DCU. In fact, given all the recent DC releases, it makes sense the next “big movie” would be the rebooted universe’s inauguration. Creature Commandos references events that happened in films and shows now considered “not canon” to the DCU. Only hardcore or well-informed DC fans even realize this series is the official start of Gunn’s and Peter Safran’s tenure as heads of DC Studios. It also releases on the heels of Superman & Lois and The Penguin, two DC-inspired series that are related to other shared continuities than the one Gunn worked on before or that starts with Superman in 2025. Still, as mighty as the Man of Steel is, DC Studios needs more than just his film to make the DCU as great as its main rival.

How Marvel Studios Made the MCU the Biggest Franchise in Cinema

There Was Novelty With the MCU’s Characters, but They Were For Kids, Too

Characters like Superman and Batman have appeared in live action since their adaptation into 1940s film serials. When Fox’s X-Men debuted, followed eight years later by Iron Man from Marvel Studios, the Marvel Comics’ stable of characters were relatively new. Only Spider-Man and the Hulk appeared in live action before, both in film and in 1970s-era television dramas. Marvel Studios therefore had novelty on its side, but it also had another grand strategy in the MCU.

Every MCU film was rated “PG-13” — a rating that only made it more appealing to younger audiences. There was violence, some coarse language and mortal stakes to these stories, but they were also bright, fun, hopeful and perfect for families. Adults who waited their whole lives to see these characters on the big screen brought their kids with them to the premieres. While some of the television projects, particularly those on Netflix, skewed more mature the vast majority of projects were suitable for all ages. The DCU is a different story.

“Superman is the true start of everything, it’s a humongous epic. [Creature Commandos] is a way for people to just take a little nibble and see what [the DCU] tastes like.” — James Gunn in an interview.

Creature Commandos is violent, and it’s a fair question to ask which audience it’s for. The violence and mature themes in the animated series are very different from those in The Penguin. Similarly, while adults can latch onto the motivations of characters like Oz Cobb or Sofia Falcone, G.I. Robot, the Bride of Frankenstein and the other monsters have a more childlike appeal. If Creature Commandos was rated TV-14, it’s difficult to see what the series would lack other than shots of human viscera and language. Even the sex scene between Rick Flag Sr. and Princess Ilana Rostrovic wasn’t more graphic than audiences see on cable or even broadcast television after 10 P.M.

The DCEU Wasn’t Much Tamer Than Gunn’s R-Rated Fare

Zack Snyder’s Dark Universe Wasn’t Meant for DC’s Next Generation of Fans

Since James Gunn wrote the series before taking on the DC Studios job, Creature Commandos references DCEU events. While Gunn’s previous efforts with Peacemaker and The Suicide Squad were R-rated, the films that preceded them weren’t exactly made for children. In fact, the only DC movies made in the past half century that were rated “PG” were the Superman film series and Swamp Thing (released before PG-13 existed). Even the family-friendly Shazam! and its sequel The Fury of the Gods were rated PG-13.

“If Superman can’t handle [being forced to kill], then he’s fake, then he’s not… You got to like… He’s got to address the scenarios that come to him. He can’t pick and choose, as you can’t pick and choose when something is outside of your morality.” — Zack Synder in an interview.

Despite sharing the same MPAA rating as the MCU films, the DCEU movies from Zack Snyder and David Ayer’s Suicide Squad were nonetheless different. While the MCU films were bright and colorful, the DCEU adopted a darker, desaturated tone even with the brightly-colored figures in its roster like Superman, Wonder Woman or Aquaman. While The Flash visually bucked this trend, the film shows Michael Keaton’s Batman dying more than once, as well as a vicious battle between Barry Allen’s time variants in the “fishbowl” speedforce.

In fairness to Snyder, producers and the Warner Brothers leadership at the time, the DCEU couldn’t be a carbon copy of the MCU. The DCEU’s narrative tone and substance were clearly meant to distinguish itself as the more “mature” superhero universe for audiences. They were concerned with capturing the box office audiences of the time moreso than speaking to the next generation of fans. Unfortunately, that’s been DC’s strategy for a long time.

Robert Pattinson’s Batman Isn’t for Kids, Either

Matt Reeves Is Creating a Grounded, Adult DC Universe Outisde of James Gunn’s

Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy is considered the highpoint for Batman on film, even with its obvious problems. One was that these films weren’t the most accessible for kids, at least not in the way Tim Burton’s first two were a decade earlier. When Zack Snyder cast Ben Affleck for his rebooted Batman, the character was obviously not one meant to capture children’s imaginations. The third Batman of the 21st Century, Robert Pattinson, suited up in Matt Reeves’s darker, grittier universe, again aimed at adult fans. Unlike the DCEU, Reeves doesn’t even offer anything like Shazam! for DC’s younger fans.

“[The Penguin,] it’s dark, that’s what I can tell you about it. It’s really dark, and really heavy, I think, certainly it was doing it. Which is not to say I didn’t have fun. I had an amazing time. But it’s incredibly violent.” — Colin Farrell in an interview.

The first spinoff to The Batman was The Penguin, which earned its TV-MA rating honestly. However, unlike the DCEU and Creature Commandos, Reeves’ universe is what a truly “mature” take on these stories look like. There’s no violence just for its own sake, and the dialogue in The Penguin, from the cursing to the emotional moments, felt authentic. There is obviously room for stories geared towards mature audiences, but after 20-plus years of comic adaptations, they can’t just be comic book stories with increased violence and harsher language.

Creature Commandos, The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker are all enjoyable comics adaptations, but they aren’t the foundation on which an entire universe can be built. They attract a certain kind of audience, but they don’t have the numbers or purchasing power the DCU needs to compete with the MCU or even the DCEU of old. Superman may be a sign that Gunn and Safran understand this, but in a world as saturated in media as this one, kids will need more than that. Even if Superman is the best adaptation yet, a single movie won’t capture the hearts of younger viewers eager for an entire universe.

The Future DCU Can Only Hope to Stand on the Arrowverse’s Shoulders

Family-Friendly Series on The CW Were the Only Thing Made for DC Kids

While the MCU dominated cinematic pop culture, children did have their own version of the DC Universe to turn to over the past dozen or so years. A generation of kids grew up with Arrowand the shared universe it built on The CW. While the suite of series varied in tone and style, the majority of the series featured almost the perfect level of interconnectivity. From name-drops to cameos to the crossovers themselves, it was just enough of a shared universe to reward fans while still allowing people to follow and enjoy one show without needing to see its sister series.

Even though Superman & Lois distanced itself from the Arrowverse, it maintained the kind of all-ages storytelling DC series on The CW was known for. Through its depiction of Clark Kent and Lois Lane as parents of teenagers, the storytellers proved a “mature” story isn’t mutually exclusive from one that’s “family friendly.” Fans can decide if Creature Commandos leans too far into its TV-MA rating than is necessary for the story. However, as the first entry in the new DCU — even if it’s not the most prominent one — the series should be one that attracts the widest possible fanbase. Otherwise, the DCU will never be able to capture the same level of success the MCU did.

Of course, it’s possible that Creature Commandos will enjoy a younger viewership than its rating intends. Even those families who know how to use “parental controls,” the kids likely know ways around them. Despite the show’s graphic nature, the story itself has heart and presents empathetic characters. Yet, for parents who already have their favorite Superman or DC Universe firmly ensconced in their hearts, the DCU’s first entries should be widely appealing. Things like Lanterns, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and other DCU projects in development need to remember their first intended audience should always be the kids who don’t yet know they love DC Characters.

Creature Commandos debuts new episodes on Thursdays on Max.

“}]] Creature Commandos is a fun adult-animated series with characters rarely seen outside of comics, but to break through, the DCU can’t forget children.  Read More