The third episode of DC Studios’ Creature Commandos delves into the backstory of G.I. Robot (Sean Gunn), the titular team’s resident artificial intelligence member and Nazi-killing enthusiast. While G.I., like most of his teammates, is a fairly obscure character from DC Comics canon, the exploration of his backstory connects him to several different corners of the burgeoning DC Universe. Here are the major Easter Eggs from Episode 3, titled “Cheers to the Tin Man.”
‘Creature Commandos’ Introduces Sgt. Rock and Easy Company
Image via DC Comics The first of several flashback sequences to G.I.’s past depicts him doing what he was designed for, fighting against the Axis powers in World War II. He is assigned to a unit dubbed Easy Company, led by Sergeant Frank Rock (Maury Sterling), both of which will be recognizable to DC Comics fans. Created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert, Rock, a fixture of DC war comics, first appeared in G.I. Combat #68, although he was not given his most well-known name, Sgt. Rock, until subsequent comics, which also introduced Easy Company. Although the group appeared in decades’ worth of more grounded war comics, they have also, at times, encountered superheroes and other more famous DC figures through plot devices such as time travel. The flashbacks and G.I.’s fond recollections of the group (which accepts and befriends him despite his inhuman nature) depict and/or reference many of Easy Company’s members in addition to Rock, including those nicknamed Bulldozer, Wildman, Little Sure Shot, Four-Eyes, Bogman, and Canary.
Although Rock and Easy Company’s appearance may simply be a nod to DC’s wider canon of World War II stories, it also may be intended to set up a future DC Studios release. It was recently reported that popular actor Daniel Craig, and director Luca Guadagnino, currently receiving critical acclaim for their recently released film Queer, are potentially looking to collaborate again on a Sgt. Rock film for DC Studios according to Deadline, presumably with Craig playing the titular character and Guadagnino directing a script credited to Queer writer Justin Kuritzkes. While it hasn’t been confirmed whether this film will be set within the interconnected DC Universe like Creature Commandos or be an independent Elseworlds story like Matt Reeves’ Batman franchise, if the former is the case, including an appearance from G.I. Robot would be a natural way to connect the film to the wider DC world despite it likely taking place decades before most other projects, and would be especially nice for fans if G.I.’s presumed death from the end of the episode proves irreversible going forward.
Flashbacks set in the 1960s show that, after frightening the audience of a talk show on which he made an appearance with his violent tendencies, G.I. is put in the care of scientist William “Will” Magnus (Alan Tudyk), an expert in robotics and artificial intelligence, whose curiosity is aroused by G.I.’s enduring enthusiasm for Nazi killing and love for his fellow soldiers. In the comics, Magnus is known as the creator of the Metal Men, robotic superheroes who have abilities tied to the metals that form their respective bodies. Other than Magnus’ presence itself, there’s no evidence so far suggesting that the Metal Men will appear in Creature Commandos or any other DC Universe projects, but as they are the kind of obscure, comedic characters franchise head James Gunn is known for spotlighting it wouldn't be surprising if they ultimately did so. Magnus is also the second character in the series portrayed by Tudyk, who also voices Creature Commando Doctor Phosphorous.
The DCU Introduces Hub City
Image via Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network's Justice League Unlimited (2004) Decades after Magnus’ scene, G.I. has been forgotten by the U.S. government and sold to a collector of military memorabilia named Sam (frequent Gunn collaborator Michael Rooker, making an unsurprising appearance). G.I. initially bonds with Sam due to their mutual interest in combat, but is saddened when he takes him to meet his friends at a gathering of a Hub City chapter of the Nazi party, with G.I. subsequently killing many of the attendees. Hub City is a common setting in DC media that’s been mentioned in past television series such as Arrow, and is most famous as the home of superhero detective Charles Victor Szasz, better known as Vic Sage or The Question.
Belle Reve Has Even More Weird Prisoners
Image via Warner Bros. Animation After attacking the Nazis, G.I. is arrested and sentenced to incarceration in Belle Reve Penitentiary, setting up his future recruitment for the Creature Commandos. A shot of him entering the prison shows him walking past several other inmates in their cells. The two that can be clearly seen appear to be two of DC’s more ludicrous supervillains: Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man and the Scarlet Centipede. Coincidentally, Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man, played by Alec Mapa, made his live-action debut in the DC TV series Doom Patrol, in which Alan Tudyk also appeared as the frightening, self-aware villain Mr. Nobody.
Ilana and Her Guards Could Be Connected to an Obscure DC Mythology
Image via Max Creature Commandos viewers have been wondering if Ilana Rostovic (Maria Bakalova), the princess of fictional nation Pokolistan, could be more than she appears, and behind-the-scenes info from Episode 3 suggests this might be the case. In the episode’s closing credits, Keith Ferguson is listed as the voice of an “Amethyst Knight”, one of Ilana’s armored bodyguards. Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld, is a DC Comics heroine and heir to the royal family of the titular mystical dimension. Could Ilana and company have a more grounded connection to this part of the comics' lore? Stranger things have happened.
New episodes of Creature Commandos premiere Thursdays on Max.
In "Creature Commandos," Amanda Waller assembles a covert team of monstrous operatives, including a werewolf, vampire, and gorgon, to undertake high-risk missions deemed too perilous for human agents.
Release Date December 5, 2024
Seasons 1
English (US) ·