This week, Creature Commandos on Max will introduce James Gunn’s brand new DCU (DC Universe) to the world, to be continued next year in the big-screen Superman. Except there’s one little asterisk, which is that the DCU is continuing some elements from the previous iteration, the DCEU (DC Extended Universe). So while this is a brand new start… Well, there are still some things you might need to know, first.
Confusing, right? Well, don’t worry — watching the premiere of Creature Commandos will get you caught up to speed quickly with the info you need to know to enjoy the show about Amanda Waller’s (Viola Davis) monster squad. But there’s still a a fair amount of info-dump going on, and if you are a completist you might be wondering what you forgot from the DCEU that you’ll need to know to enjoy the DCU.
With that in mind, here’s a brief bit of “what to watch” before you get into Creature Commandos. And for more, check out our spoiler-free Creature Commandos review.
1. Rick Flag, Jr. Died In The Suicide Squad
So back in 2016, Warner Bros. released a movie titled Suicide Squad. It introduced, among other characters, Rick Flag, Jr. (Joel Kinnaman), the non-superpowered human liaison to the villain team. It also introduced Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, the non-nonsense creator of Task Force X, aka the Suicide Squad. Then in 2021, writer/director James Gunn soft rebooted the series as The Suicide Squad, but brought over Kinnaman, Davis, and a few more (notably Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, though you don’t need to worry about that at the moment).
Oh, also we met A.R.G.U.S. agent John Economos (Steve Agee), who will show up at some point on this new animated show. Cool!
Anyway, in The Suicide Squad, Rick Flag, Jr. was killed by Peacemaker (John Cena) at the directive of Waller when he threatened to release info on the United States’ involvement in experiments in Corto Maltese, where the Squad was currently on assignment. I mention this because Creature Commandos introduces Flag’s father, Rick Flag, Sr. voiced by Frank Grillo. The elder Flag is not just going to show up here, though. He’s also in Peacemaker Season 2, presumably to settle a few things about his dead son, and in 2025’s Superman.
…But that’s pretty much all you need to know from The Suicide Squad, that Rick Flag, Sr. is bummed about his dead son! Lots of explanation for that one sentence, huh?
2. Amanda Waller Can’t Use Humans To Do Her Dirty Work After Peacemaker Season 1
In 2022, James Gunn again wrote and directed most of Peacemaker Season 1, a direct spinoff of The Suicide Squad. That streamed on Max, and if you do want to do a rewatch, most of that show is canon to the DCU. The one part that’s not, which we’ll get to in a second? The Justice League (sorry, Justice League). However, there is a crucial plot point that happened at the end of Peacemaker Season 1 you’ll need to know going into Creature Commandos.
In the series, we met Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), who turned out to be Amanda Waller’s secret daughter. In the season finale, she pulled an “I am Iron Man” and released all of Waller’s secrets to the world: Task Force X, the events of The Suicide Squad, and Project Butterfly (the main plot of Peacemaker), among other things.
The fallout here will definitely impact Peacemaker Season 2, but our main concern is that we discover quickly that while Waller has been hobbled by Adebayo’s actions, she can’t stop, won’t stop. The directive from the government is that she can’t use humans to do her dirty work… So instead she recruits monsters. Tricky, Waller!
Oh, also John Economos showed up in Peacemaker, as well. John Economos: glue of the DCU.
3. You Really Don’t Need To Know Anything Else From The DCEU
So, what about the rest of the DCEU? The actual answer is “we don’t actually know yet,” because James Gunn could decide to bring in elements from the previous superhero universe at will. However, we do know that the Justice League has been pretty much wiped clean. There’s definitely a new Superman (David Corenswet, instead of Henry Cavill). There’s a to-be-cast Batman. Gal Gadot is most likely no longer Wonder Woman.
…And then there’s The Flash (Ezra Miller). Just to clear this up here, the much-maligned 2023 box office bomb The Flash was ostensibly supposed to reboot the DC cinematic universe. And while technically it may have done that, the events of the movie don’t seem to be connected to the DCU in any way. Yes, Barry Allen rewrote the multiverse in that movie, but it ended with — spoilers — George Clooney as Batman, and Jason Mamoa as Aquaman. Neither of those actors will be playing those characters going forward. For all intents and purposes, this DCU is an entirely brand new universe… Other than the aforementioned plot points.
So when it comes to a rewatch to prep yourself for the DCU? All you actually have to watch is Creature Commandos, because the info is in the show. But if you want to be completist? The Suicide Squad, then Peacemaker Season 1, and that’s it.
Where To Watch Creature Commandos:
Creature Commandos Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
The first two episodes of Creature Commandos premiere Thursday, December 5 at 3 am ET / Midnight PT on Max. One episode a week premieres after that, leading to the season finale on January 9, 2025.
Here’s the full list of episodes in Creature Commandos, with premiere dates:
- Thursday, December 5, 2024: Creature Commandos, Episode 1
- Thursday, December 5, 2024: Creature Commandos, Episode 2
- Thursday, December 12, 2024: Creature Commandos, Episode 3
- Thursday, December 19, 2024: Creature Commandos, Episode 4
- Thursday, December 26, 2024: Creature Commandos, Episode 5
- Thursday, January 2, 2025: Creature Commandos, Episode 6
- Thursday, January 9, 2025: Creature Commandos, Episode 7
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