Creature Commandos streams new episodes every Thursday through January 9, 2025 on Max. UK airdates are yet to be confirmed.
Review
Time for Indira Virma’s tortured Bride to take centre stage in Creature Commandos. If the series’ premiere wasn’t enough to convince you James Gunn has a unique vision for the DCU then prepare yourselves. The gloves are coming off as the animated caper cements its plans to defy expectation with its surreal yet deeply human portrayal of Task Force M.
Many people coming in to Creature Commandos probably don’t know too much about its core cast of characters and James Gunn knows this. So to see each episode approaching a character and exploring their history whilst simultaneously driving forward the main plot is really rewarding. Going between just the first two episodes its clear the series is going to play with tone and with genre with “The Tourmaline Necklace” leaning in to the obvious body horror of its central focus.
Virma’s formidable voice takes centre stage affording her the chance to show plenty of versatility both for the character and as an actor. Gunn dips in and out of The Bride’s backstory, expanding on her relationship with Frankenstein (David Harbour) and his creator, Victor (Peter Serafinowicz). Her backstory takes Creature Commandos and the DCU in to very unexpected territory. Whilst it touches on elements of Mary Shelly’s classic horror tale, Gunn also uses the underlying motivations of Frankenstein and Victor to explore their darker sides. It’s fresh and uniquely Gunn to explore a Frankenstein who simply just wants to love. It’s even more Gunn to do that and somehow be able instil a somewhat unsettling sense of humour which only further elevates the material off the page.
Even the animation style gets a flex when it comes to The Bride’s flashback storyline. Creature Commandos already exquisite style takes on a grainier quality, harkening back to classic horror films like the original Frankenstein. I already said this in my episode one review but the series feels so meticulous in its design and after two episodes it has yet to put a foot wrong.
This is certainly not a series for a young audience. Whilst I think that’s clear right out of the gate, “The Tourmaline Necklace” really drives that point home. There’s a fair amount of sex and violence but none of it is explicit or simply here for a TVMA rating. Gunn is a master of using moments like these to drive his character stories forwards and so seeing The Bride in a compromising position is about giving her agency as a character and as a creature created by and dominated by men. Likewise the brutal fight between The Bride and Circe (Anya Chalotra) illustrates the power each of these women has.
There’s no escaping how well the action sequences play to the strength of its animation. Creature Commandos is undoubtedly setting a new bar for comic book animated series. That’s a bar already set incredibly high by series like Harley Quinn and Invincible. There’s a level of fluidity in the character movement which somehow feels like a throwback to 90s comic book cartoons. As Circe and The Bride throw down it instantly took me back to sitting in front of the TV watching X-Men as a kid. But its ultra-clean lines and contemporary approach to colour make the final product something entirely unique to behold.
Verdict
Creature Commandos second episode cements its place as one of the most exciting and well-produced comic book animated shows in decades. “The Tourmaline Necklace” drives home that this series is about character as much as it is about super hero villain monster spectacle.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
