All right everybody, make sure you’re seated for what I’m about to tell you: James Gunn made a good piece of superhero media. Truly, this is the curveball that absolutely nobody saw coming; who on God’s green Earth would ever assume that Gunn — the co-chair of DC Studios, the mastermind of the MCU’s triumphant Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, and the man responsible for two of the greatest works to come out of the otherwise-limp DCEU — might chow down on a superhero project without leaving a crumb?
But seriously, the fact that Creature Commandos has debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with a 100% approval rating after 10 reviews is as gratifying as it was anticipated, and DC’s long-starved fandom is rightfully taking it as a sign of much better days ahead.
serves as yet another example of the storyteller’s penchant for misfit ensembles, dark comedy, and found family.
Like the approval rating itself, this is the consensus across most all the reviews; Creature Commandos is, unmistakably, a product of Gunn’s trademark creative sensibilities. In other words, expect wanton but mostly cartoonish violence, a blanket of sweetness woven into the character dynamics, comedy that’s definitely way more fun to act out than to watch, and an overarching sense that the assignment was understood here.
Indeed, take or leave the Gunn Superhero Story as you will, but there’s no denying that he honors the emotional fundamentals of storytelling first and foremost, and that’s going to be a crucial piece of the DCU puzzle going forward, especially with the inevitable comparisons to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is currently seeking to re-tighten its grip on those fundamentals at the time of writing.
The real test of the DCU, of course, is yet to come. Gunn’s Superman film hits theaters on July 11, and while it’s been no difficult task to buy into the hype, it represents a challenge for Gunn that few seem to have realized. Between Peacemaker, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and now the Creature Commandos, Gunn’s signature move is to take relatively unknown comic book characters, and effectively create them (and subsequently, the stories) from scratch by taking advantage of their lack of history.
He obviously does not have this comfort with a character like Superman, and while he still seems to have the ensemble card up his sleeve here (between Green Lantern, Metamorpho, Mister Terrific, and Hawkgirl, there are a lot of superheroes in this movie), there’s no world in which this movie doesn’t fly if Superman isn’t the overwhelming, center-stage presence.
Still, we’ve very little reason to believe this will impede a filmmaker of Gunn’s experience and prestige, and to swing this hard out of the gates with Creature Commandos only compounds such faith. Strap in, nerds — the crisis on these infinite Earths has ceded.
Creature Commandos will launch its first two episodes on Dec. 5 exclusively on Max, with additional episodes released every Thursday until the series finale on Jan. 9.
Published: Dec 2, 2024 03:24 pm