Uncover the monstrous origins of DC's spookiest team! From their conception in 1980 to their upcoming animated series, we're diving deep into the Creature Commandos' history. Learn about their bizarre backstory, rotating cast of characters, unique powers, and their potential impact on the new DCU. Get ready for a frightfully fun journey through comic book history!
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're delving into the history of one of DC's spookiest
00:10teams.
00:11We'll be getting into all things Creature Commandos related, so consider this your spoiler
00:16warning.
00:17CONCEPTION
00:23The Creature Commandos were created in 1980, debuting in issue 93 of Weird Wartell.
00:29They sprung from the minds of J.M.
00:30DeMatteis and Pat Broderick.
00:32The idea was for a monster-heavy team that lived up to the weirdness of the title they
00:37were appearing in.
00:38Punching Nazis, taking names, and sending shivers down the spines of all involved were
00:43their main objectives.
00:44It was an out-there idea, and when DeMatteis pitched Creature Commandos to editor Len Ween,
00:50he was given the green light to step into the land of the bizarre.
00:53However, the original run for the Creature Commandos was short-lived, hardly setting
00:58the world on fire.
00:59Roughly three years after their debut, Weird Wartell's would be canned in 83.
01:05But this plucky team of monstrous misfits and spooky soldiers had a way of bouncing back
01:10from the dead.
01:11BACKSTORY
01:12In pretty much all continuities, the Creature Commandos are an off-the-books military special
01:23ops team.
01:24In their original history, they were part of Project M, a top-secret organization within
01:29the government.
01:30To say that they were hard to find would be an understatement.
01:33Project M's base of operations happened to be a special lab hidden underneath the Statue
01:38of Liberty of all places.
01:40They experimented in the areas of radical biotechnology and robotics, even dabbling
01:45into dark arts like necromancy.
01:47The lead scientist, Professor Mazursky, theorized that a group of straight-up nightmarish-looking
01:52super-powered individuals would send the bad guys running.
01:56Not to knock this guy's educational background, but you hardly need to be a scholar to come
02:00up with that kind of conclusion.
02:02With a goal to quite literally weaponize fear, Project M's lab rats would go on to become
02:07the titular Creature Commandos.
02:09The Creature Commandos ran missions during World War II that only they were best equipped
02:14for.
02:15For example, they once went to Dinosaur Island and got the dinosaurs to revolt against the
02:19Axis forces occupying the area.
02:22Yeah, not sure if Sergeant Rock and his platoon would have been able to pull that off.
02:27During the New 52, the team went through somewhat of a makeover.
02:30Most of their origin was the same, but with some overhauls, mainly that they were now
02:35under the umbrella of S.H.A.D.E.
02:37It was a new agency within D.C. that focused on taking down monsters and the supernatural.
02:42This new era was really kicked off by Nina Mazursky.
02:46Wow, another Mazursky, what are the odds?
02:49In this rebooted continuity, she was a scientist who developed the first Commandos.
02:54When they ended up being faulty, she went back to the drawing board.
02:57Once she made a revised version, she willingly turned herself into a fish woman and became
03:02a Commando herself.
03:04Now that's some serious dedication.
03:06No matter what version you're looking at, being a Commando meant always having your
03:10life in danger.
03:11With the introduction of S.H.A.D.E., this team had to adapt or die.
03:15These assholes aren't human.
03:17Members.
03:18These four Commandos have had a bit of a rotating cast through the decades.
03:22Their very first incarnation had a variety of, let's just say, eccentric characters.
03:27Hey, if they're from a book called Weird Tales, it makes sense to hammer in the weird,
03:33right?
03:34For starters, there was Vincent Vel Coro, a guy who was essentially a living vampire,
03:39not unlike Michael Morbius, followed by a werewolf named Warren Griffith and a gorgon
03:43named Dr. Medusa.
03:44There's also a lovable robot in the mix known as GI Robot, but you could also call
03:53him Jake.
03:54That's still not the weirdest, though.
03:57We've also got Lucky Taylor, better known as Patchwork.
04:04He's a particularly interesting one since at first glance, you'd think he's Frankenstein's
04:08monster.
04:09I mean, he's got the rotting flesh, sickly complexion, and limited vocabulary down to
04:14a T. Despite that, he's actually not him.
04:18He's kind of like bootleg Frankenstein.
04:21Just don't tell him we said that, okay?
04:23To round out the group is their leader, a fairly regular military man with no powers
04:27or mutations named Matthew Shreve.
04:30The modern incarnation saw some more shakeups.
04:33Characters like the Bog Man and Autumn the Mummy would go on to join the ranks in later
04:37stories.
04:38But when Shade was introduced and the team was revamped in the New 52, more agents entered
04:43the fold.
04:44We mentioned Nina Mazurski already, but what about the other fresh blood?
04:48The other newcomers among the modern lineup were the actual Frankenstein's monster and
04:53his bride.
04:54We call her The Bride.
04:59Even Ray Palmer the Atom was hanging around the group, but only in a microscopic capacity.
05:04We'll clarify by saying he wasn't exactly an actual Creature Commando.
05:09He was just working for Shade as a scientist and occasional field agent slash hero.
05:14But still, that tiny bit of overlap is pretty cool, right?
05:18Though the team has varied from time to time, every version is pretty much guaranteed to
05:22be filled to the brim with the most powerful and vicious monsters you've ever seen.
05:27Monsters!
05:28You guys are monsters!
05:31Powers and Abilities
05:32The Creature Commandos are an interesting case when it comes to what makes them so special.
05:37Some of these Commandos don't have any powers at all, like Matthew Shree for instance.
05:41Instead, he relies on his tactical prowess and years of military training to get the
05:46job done.
05:47Matthew's really just the outlier, though, as the rest of the Commandos are pretty gifted
05:51in the powers department.
05:52We'll give a quick rundown of some of the standouts.
05:55Vincent Valcoro has Vampirism, meaning he can fly with his wings, use super strength,
06:00and even become a bat.
06:03But Vampirism weren't enough.
06:04You've also got Werewolfism with Warren.
06:06Basically, that means you've got a completely feral beast when you need it.
06:10Speaking of feral beasts, Frankenstein's another major player here.
06:13He's got massive strength, but also a surprising amount of agility as he's an expert swordsman.
06:19Because of special cybernetics gifted to him by Shade, he's also able to tap into technology,
06:25so maybe he's not so feral after all.
06:28When the going gets tough and things are in a real pinch, Alton the Mummy is a viable
06:32asset in the fight.
06:34His bandages have special healing properties unlike anything else.
06:37There's definitely more we could dive into, but all you need to know is that this team
06:41brings a lot to the table.
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07:01Adaptations
07:02There hasn't been a whole lot of other media that the Commandos have shown up in outside
07:11of the comics, however, that has slowly begun to change.
07:14The team was featured in a handful of animated shorts on Cartoon Network.
07:18They also had a guest appearance in Batman the Brave and the Bold.
07:21That's all well and good, but we doubt that's what everyone's really interested in.
07:33So let's talk about the elephant in the room.
07:36The Creature Commandos happen to now be the stars of their very own TV show.
07:41The animated Max Original has more major implications than you might think.
07:45That's because this project is the first real glimpse we have at DC's newest cinematic
07:51universe.
07:52Technically, the upcoming Superman movie is considered the official launching point for
07:56the DCU, but Creature Commandos comes out before that.
08:00So in a way, it's up to them to make a great first impression.
08:04No pressure or anything.
08:05The show's roster is a pretty interesting one.
08:08It's got a dynamic cast of characters, with many of the usual suspects you'd expect from
08:13the comics.
08:14Nina Mazursky, Frankenstein's monster and the Bride, and GI Robot will all be part of
08:19the team.
08:20Some of the other members joining the ranks are a lot less traditional.
08:24Characters like Rick Flagsinger, Dr. Phosphorus, and Weasel will be rounding out the group.
08:28None of those gentlemen have ever actually been Creature Commandos before.
08:32The show also seems like it's going to present the team as a sort of Suicide Squad offshoot.
08:38Task Force M kind of gives that away.
08:40This isn't necessarily a complaint, though.
08:42James Gunn has been known to toy around with characters and concepts plenty of times before.
08:47A somewhat unconventional lineup and a change in who their government overlords are can
08:52still be very entertaining nevertheless.
08:54The Commandos also have the potential to go beyond the confines of their show.
08:59The intention for the new DCU is to have characters be played by the same actors regardless of
09:04the medium.
09:05That means that the voice actors for this show can possibly show up down the line as
09:09those same characters in other live action projects or even video games.
09:14This show is its own thing, and every single project that comes out of DC Studios is going
09:20to be its own thing.
09:21In fact, we already know that's going to be happening.
09:25It's got a dynamic cast of characters, with many of the usual suspects you'd expect from
09:29the comics.
09:30Overall, there are some exciting possibilities all around for what can happen next, and a
09:35lot of that ties back to the Creature Commandos.
09:38For a group that seemed like nothing more than a team DC would prop up for Halloween,
09:42the Commandos are just getting started.
09:45Sometimes the best heroes aren't the noble ones, they're the terrifying ones.
09:55Are there any traumatizing tidbits about this team that we missed?
09:58Let us know in the comments down below, and also let us know if you're looking forward
10:02to the new Creature Commandos TV show.
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