Creature Commandos streams new episodes every Thursday through January 9, 2025 on Max. UK airdates are yet to be confirmed.
Review
Are you done wiping away the tears yet? Just when you thought you had Creature Commandos all worked out. James Gunn pulls an episode like “Chasing Squirrels” out of his back pocket and shows us exactly why he is the man in charge of DC’s incredible pantheon of characters…
It doesn’t take much thought to work out which of the characters the title is alluding to. Sean Gunn’s Weasel is in the spotlight this week but certainly not in a way that anyone will expect. “Chasing Squirrels” is the finest example of Creature Commandos balancing out its various plots. Weaving in Frankenstein (David Harbour) and bringing him closer to the central plot. But never forgetting Circe (Anya Chalotra) and using her interrogation at the hands of Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) as a magnificent way to do some truly mind blowing world-building.
Back in my review of episodes one and two I repeatedly used the word meticulous to describe how Gunn has approached constructing Creature Commandos. That word feels very much back in play in describing “Chasing Squirrels” as the series really tips its hat towards what Gunn, Peter Safran and all the creative minds in the DCU have planned. What’s even more mind-boggling is how all this happens in an episode which is putting the majority of its focus on a character used as point of comedy in The Suicide Squad. There’s absolutely no way James Gunn doesn’t know how fans will react to certain moments in “Chasing Squirrels” so it’s even more impressive how matter of factly they’re built in to the plot. Particularly when there is so much else going on.
It’s hard to know where to start. Let’s go with the main plot. After claiming the world is now doomed, Waller wants to sit down with Circe to unravel her plans. The problem is Circe is still able to get into Waller’s head even without her hands to help her wield magic. When she doesn’t open up Waller it’s to show off an apocalyptic vision for the future. A vision which flips the entire series upside down. Gunn has pulled a midway switcheroo which is a game-changer moving forwards. The way it’s presented is beautiful on screen. It’s also going to be one of the biggest talking points of Creature Commandos as a whole. I’ll just leave it there for now…
With Task Force M back in Belle Reve we have chance to see their new found connection put to the test behind bars. It’s interesting the series is placing Nina (Zoe Chao) as the heart of the group. Only because we’ve yet to see an episode focussed on her and so she remains one of the remaining mysteries. But there’s also no denying that Chao’s performance portrays a character others would feel protective towards. Each of them has come quite far in the three episodes so far and that’s displayed in their willingness to come together for another mission. With them on their way back to Pokolistan we turn our focus back to poor Weasel.
All season Gunn has written the monsterous characters as relatable, even sympathetic characters. We’ve seen the devastation of their backstories, learning in the process how it has shaped them in to the people they are today. But Weasel is the first of these characters who already has a history on film. Gunn has previously alluded to the events of The Suicide Squad so any preconceived ideas about Weasel the audience has are still entirely at play. So it comes entirely out of left field when Gunn is able to flip all of that history and take the character from punchline to tragedy. We’ve heard mention of Weasel’s terrible past but now we get to witness it first hand and learn just how misunderstood the character is. All of his flashback scenes are heartbreaking. I had real tears in my eyes when events snowball out of his control and Weasel is left to be the villain purely because society lacked the tools to understand someone who looks the way he does. Creature Commandos has found its MVP.
Elsewhere “Chasing Squirrels” introduces two pre-existing supporting characters from the pages of DC Comics. Elizabeth “Betty” Bates, a criminal defence attorney created by Bob Powell prior to Crisis On Infinite Earths. Then there’s Isla MacPherson, first seen in the pages of Gotham Academy, but here a university lecturer with a keen interest in the history of Themyscira. Both characters add to the already impressive world-building we’ve seen on the show. It adds more layers to Gunn’s already rich DCU but for avid fans shows his reverence for the source material and his ability bring that level of authenticity in to his stories.
Verdict
”Chasing Squirrels” is by far the best episode of Creature Commandos so far. An incredible one-two punch of a story which is heartbreaking to watch unfold on screen. Gunn’s incredible ability to re-contextualise his characters is on full show in an episode which is pivotal to the series credibility. If Creature Commandos is setting the bar for the DCU then consider it high.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
