Creature Commandos, written and created by Gunn, is the vulgar, explosive, and surprisingly heartbreaking fresh start that DC needed. The animated series takes an arguably lesser-known superhero team, which made its debut in a 1980 issue of Weird War Tales, and turns it into a seven-episode epic that’s worthy of comparison to Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski’s almost untouchable Batman: The Animated Series. I’ve spent most of my adult life chasing the high of BAS, wondering when something just as dark and daring would make its way onto my television screen – and Creature Commandos is close enough.
Knocking it all down and starting from scratch is no easy task, especially when the “it” in question is the multi-million dollar studio responsible for live-action and animated adaptations of one of the world’s biggest comic book companies. I know I’m not the only lifelong DC fan who lost faith after Joss Whedon’s Justice League debacle and gave up entirely after The Flash. James Gunn is good at what he does (and his talent pre-dates Guardians of the Galaxy; see also: Scooby-Doo and Slither) but I was admittedly skeptical when he was announced as the new co-CEO of DC Studios. Can a writer/director with a horror background and weird, niche interests save the DC Universe as we know it? Short answer: yes.
