Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Creature Commandos
The DCU has just confirmed that Amanda Waller continues to face the same problem with her teams of supervillains and monsters, thanks to Creature Commandos. Whether it's with Task Force X or Task Force M, Waller's missions to protect the interests of the United States government almost always end the same way. To that end, it seems as though Waller may never escape what's essentially become the biggest struggle behind her methods.
Using incarcerated metahumans and gifted operatives to serve as part of her strike teams, Viola Davis' Amanda Waller first debuted in 2016's Suicide Squad and has since continued making appearances in multiple DC live-action movies and shows. To that end, it's easy to identify the forming pattern whenever Waller deploys one of her teams, the mission's outcome, and the reasons why she sent them in the first place. Likewise, Amanda Waller's failings and problems seem to have only persisted in the DCU's new Creature Commandos series.
I'm Seeing A Major Pattern With Amanda Waller
Solving Problems She Helped Create
From the very beginning in the DCEU, Amanda Waller has frequently had to solve problems she or her government creates, and her teams often end up generating as much harm as good. Likewise, that good is often in spite of Waller herself. In 2016's Suicide Squad from director David Ayer, Waller lost control over the Enchantress, who subsequently took over Midway City. This meant that Task Force X's first mission was to save Waller herself who was trapped in the city, before taking out the Enchantress.
Likewise, James Gunn's The Suicide Squad in 2021 saw Waller sending two Task Force X teams to the recently overthrown Corto Maltese to destroy a Nazi-era lab known as Jötunheim. However, the real mission was to destroy all evidence of the US government's sinister involvement and secret funding of "Project Starfish" otherwise known as the giant mind-controlling alien named Starro who'd been experimented on for decades. With Waller having kept the mission's true nature a secret from her team on the ground, the resulting tension once the truth was revealed directly led to Rick Flag Jr.'s death.
Even the smaller "Project Butterfly" team in Peacemaker season 1 dealt a pretty serious blow to Waller herself while working to prevent a secret alien invasion, as Amanda's own daughter chose to expose the Task Force program to the public after Waller intended to frame Peacemaker to cover up the alien invasion's existence. While the result is always the world being saved, Waller arguably creates just as many problems and damage as her teams manage to actually solve, and this trend has only continued in the DCU's first official project.
The DCU Continues The Task Force Problem With Creature Commandos
Waller and Task Force M Were Duped By Princess Rostovic
Once again, Waller and her new team end up making things worse in Creature Commandos. Wanting to maintain relations with the oil-rich Pokolistan and its imminent new monarch Princess Illana Rostovic, the newly created Task Force M (Waller's loophole team to circumvent new restrictions from Congress) is sent to protect Rostovic from the Amazonian sorceress Circe and the Sons of Themyscira. However, a captured Circe shows Waller a vision of the future where Rostovic kick-starts WWIII and the deaths of multiple heroes.
Creature Commandos will kick off James Gunn's new DC Universe with an animated TV series including some of the weirdest DC Comics characters.
As such, Amanda Waller sends her team back to Pokolistan to kill the Princess, only to be duped by Rostovic herself into believing the vision wasn't credible. Thankfully, it was The Bride who realizes the truth and kills the Princess to prevent this dark future that would have indeed come to pass, though not before Task Force M lost two of its members and one was put into a coma. As such, Waller and her team ultimately made things a lot worse before saving the world, not unlike her teams in the past.
Will Amanda Waller Ever Have A Clean Win In The DCU?
The Bad May Always Outweigh The Good...
One could argue that Waller's problems may just come with the territory of employing teams of incarcerated and morally ambiguous metas and monsters. However, it's not hard to pin lots of the issues on Waller's inherent ruthlessness. She's using assets she believes are expendable, assets she's been unable to fully control as has been proven more than once.
Waller's core motivation is to protect the interests of the US government first and the world second. As such, her desire is more often about cleaning up the government's messes and/or her own, while her team ends up saving the world in spite of her. To that end, it's highly unlikely that any of Waller's Task Forces will ever have a clean win and victory, though the blame seems to lie with Waller herself. This is something I sincerely hope is explored further in the Waller solo series in development from James Gunn and DC Studios.
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Creature Commandos follows the exploits of a secret team of incarcerated monsters recruited for perilous missions unsuitable for humans. Released in December 2024, the film explores themes of redemption and collaboration as the monstrous squad is tasked with handling threats that present dire challenges beyond human capability.
Release Date
December 5, 2024
Franchise(s)
DC
Network
Max
CastIndira Varma
, Sean Gunn
, Alan Tudyk
, Zoe Chao
, David Harbour
, Frank Grillo
, Peter Serafinowicz
, Jake Tapper
, Tony Cavalero
, Viola Davis
, Maria Bakalova
, Anya Chalotra
, Flula Borg
, Michael Rooker
, Robbie Daymond
, Keith Ferguson
, Piotr Michael
, Derek Phillips
, Maury Sterling
, Paul Ben-Victor
, Joe Zieja
, Steve Agee
, Stephanie Beatriz
, Linda Cardellini
, Keston John
Character(s)
The Bride (voice)
, GI Robot / Weasel (voice)
, Dr. Phosphorus (voice)
, Nina Mazursky (voice)
, Frankenstein (voice)
, Rick Flag Sr. (voice)
, Dr. Victor Frankenstein (voice)
, Reporter (voice)
, Incel Son (voice)
, Amanda Waller (voice)
, Princess Ilana (voice)
, Circe (voice)
, German Oberst (voice)
, Sam (voice)
, Little Sure Shot / Stage Manager (voice)
, Amethyst Knight / Host (voice)
, Exuberan Host / Prosecuting Attorney / Son of Chemyscira 1 (voice)
, Billy / Justin (voice)
, Sgt. Rock (voice)
, Bulldozer / General King / Large Son (voice)
, Doofus Son / Jury Foreman (voice)
, Economos (voice)
, Aisla MacPherson (voice)
, Elizabeth Bates (voice)
, Co 1 / Lieutenant (voice)
Producers
Dean Lorey
, James Gunn
, Peter Safran
, Sam Register
, Rick Morales
Custom Image by Kevin Erdmann
English (US) ·