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Spoilers for "Creature Commandos" follow.
The main villain of "Creature Commandos" has thus far appeared to be the Amazon witch Circe (Anya Chalotra) and her incel army, the Sons of Themyscira. (An island of only women? That's reverse sexism!) Circe's Sons have invaded the Eastern European nation of Pokolistan and want to kill Princess Ilana Rostovic (Maria Bakalova), a U.S. ally. So, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) sent in the eclectic line-up that is the Creature Commandos to protect the Princess.
At the end of episode 3 — "Cheers to the Tin Man" — the Commandos defeat Circe, but after Doctor Phosphorus (Alan Tudyk) burns her, she drops a bombshell: she's trying to save the world. With the Commandos back in the U.S. in this week's episode ("Chasing Squirrels"), Waller interrogates Circe.
You see, Circe is a clairvoyant and she's foreseen that Princess Rostovic wants to conquer the world. If unchecked, she'll start World War 3 and turn Earth into a smoking ruin. Since "even the Devil doesn't want to see the world die," Circe was only trying to kill the Princess to prevent that apocalypse. Waller and Rick Flag (Frank Grillo) are unconvinced, so Circe shares her vision with Waller.
In Circe's future sight, Rostovic (now with a scar on her face) is dressed in the same mecha-knight armor as her royal guards. She leads them on a reign of terror: bombing cities, slaughtering innocents by the thousands, and recruiting super-villains like Gorilla Grodd. The vision ends with Rostovic sitting in the White House, doing the Gendo Ikari pose. Then the camera does a 180 spin and we see what Rustovic is looking at: the world's superheroes, all dead.
Superman is crucified, Batman and Wonder Woman skewered on spikes, and Peacemaker lies dead on the ground. Other superheroes skewered behind the Trinity include Peacemaker's pal Vigilante (next to Batman), Hawkgirl, and Supergirl (the latter two behind Wonder Woman.)
There are several other dead superheroes on the spikes as well. Since they're seen from a distance and the scene is set against a glaring sunset, though, it's harder to make positive identifications. What is clear by now, though, is that James Gunn's DC Universe will be a world that already has lots of superheroes.
The Justice League and Trinity already exist in James Gunn's DC Universe
Warner Bros. Animation
Every Marvel/DC writer has to wade through the mess of "canon" and Gunn is no different. The problem is that his earlier DC projects — "The Suicide Squad" and "Peacemaker" — were conceived and made as part of the old, failed DC Extended Universe that started with "Man of Steel." "Creature Commandos" is both a sequel to those, and an "aperitif" to the new DCU. Gunn hasn't done a great job conveying what DC movies/TV are and aren't canon, but a safe rule of thumb is to assume "The Suicide Squad" and "Peacemaker" are canon, and nothing else is.
The DC Universe skipping the origins to dive right in is consistent with Gunn's past projects. Like "Creature Commandos," "The Suicide Squad" was packed to the brim with B-list/C-list DC villains — meaning there must be lots of heroes to fight and put them away. "Peacemaker" referenced Green Arrow, even though he hadn't shown up in the DCEU and ultimately never did.
Gunn has previously said his 2025 "Superman" movie won't be an origin story. It'll also feature guest appearances from many Justice League members: Hawkgirl (Isabella Merced), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Green Lantern/Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), and Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan). "The Brave and the Bold" is going to star Batman as he mentors his son Damian Wayne as the latest Robin, and Gunn indicated the DC Universe's Bat-family is bigger than just those two.
In the DCU superheroes and villains can just show up with no grand introduction, and people just roll with it because this world has been weird for a long time. Gunn has been gifted an enormous toybox, so why not use every figure in the DC line-up?
Which DC characters does James Gunn intend to use?
Max
That attitude comes through in "Creature Commandos" too. Gorilla Grodd hasn't appeared in "Creature Commandos" before this and his whole deal (a talking, psychic gorilla) isn't explained. But he still shows up, and is apparently an established villain in this universe. Clayface, one of Batman's A-List enemies, will also be appearing in a future "Creature Commandos" episode.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe built itself gradually, giving each of its superheroes their own movie and then uniting them in "The Avengers." The DCEU rushed through the set-up, but it was still operating with the idea that the Justice League had to come together in a big epic story. In "Creature Commandos," during Circe/Waller's vision, note that Superman's tattered cape is affixed to a spike. That references Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding's cover for "Death of Superman."
DC Comics
One of the biggest criticisms of the DCEU was shoe-horning Doomsday and Superman's death into "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." Doing that story in Superman's (Henry Cavill) second appearance, before the Justice League formed? So backwards. The DCU isn't even bothering to play catch-up and is instead starting from the endpoint. Good call.
However, this Justice League cameo does suggest what's locked in and what isn't. Superman is clearly drawn to resemble David Corenswet, but Batman and Wonder Woman are drawn more vaguely. Batman's mask covers his face, of course, and his cape keeps most of his costume in shadow. Wonder Woman's face isn't seen and her costume appears to be the evergreen classic one, with no defining details.
It's good to know that Gunn's DCU won't be forgetting about Wonder Woman, but they clearly haven't cast her (or Batman) yet. It's also telling that other big name DC heroes like the Flash and Aquaman aren't among the dead Justice Leaguers; Gunn probably hasn't nailed down how to use them yet. Princess Rostovic killing the Justice League probably won't come to pass, but I hope Gunn's DC Universe does.
"Creature Commandos" is streaming on Max.
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