One of the biggest mysteries surrounding James Gunn’s new DCU is… Well, everything, we really don’t know much at this point. But a specific mystery that’s piqued fan interest is who actor Alan Tudyk is playing in 2025’s upcoming Superman. And now, thanks to this week’s episode of Creature Commandos, we may have our answer: Will Magnus, creator of the team known as the Metal Men.
That’s a lot of info to pack into one paragraph, so let’s break this down into component parts, like if you were trying to figure out the inner workings of a robot. And spoilers for this week’s Creature Commandos past this point.
In Episode 3, “Cheers To The Tin Man,” we walk our way through part of G.I. Robot’s (Sean Gunn) origin story. And after World War II, during an awkward talk show interview where G.I. Robot low-key threatens to kill the host, he draws the interest of one audience member… Will Magnus. The professor takes G.I. Robot back to his lab where he removes his legs and studies his inner workings; not to help him, but to make better versions of him. He asks G.I. Robot what he wants, and the answer — as always — is to kill Nazis. But what if he had a secondary wish, if his primary function was fulfilled? He’d want to “see my boys,” meaning Easy Company who he served with in World War II.
That’s all well and good, but Magnus seems far more concerned with improving on the G.I. Robot model to create automatons. A quick cut to a board set out like a blueprint confirms that… Magnus may be starting with the GI Robot design, but he’s looking to improve it.
Will Magnus’s Board Teases The DCU Arrival Of The Metal Men
Eagle-eyed viewers will notice that there’s one area on the board that’s circled. And in that circle are six symbols, that are the symbols of none other than the Metal Men, classic heroes from DC Comics. The circle with a dot in it (the symbol for the sun) is Gold, the “L” is Lead, the male symbol (for Mars) is Iron, the one that looks like a female symbol with devil horns (aka the symbol for Mercury) is Mercury, the “4” which is actually the symbol for Jupiter is Tin, and the “P” is for Platinum.
The Metal Man were created in real life by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru in 1962’s Showcase #37, and have since appeared in hundreds of comics including several iterations of their own self-titled series. In most iterations, they were created by Dr. William Magnus, a scientist who powered them up with a device called a responsometer — basically a computer chip that gives his robots life and personality.
So whatever comes next for Tudyk’s Will Magnus in the DCU, this is thus far lining up nicely with the arrival of the Metal Men at some point in the future.
But Will Alan Tudyk Play Will Magnus In Superman?
Here’s the other half of the equation. Tudyk’s main role on Creature Commandos is playing the voice of Doctor Phosphorus. However, we know both from reports and from James Gunn dancing around the topic at New York Comic Con that Tudyk will not play Doctor Phosphorus in 2025’s live-action Superman movie, but he will have a role in the film.
We also know from Gunn that the plan is to cast people to play their roles in both animation and live-action… Everyone in Creature Commandos, assuming they survive Season 1, has the option to appear as their character in a live-action project as well. And in fact, Frank Grillo, who voices Rick Flag Sr. on CC, will reprise the role both in Peacemaker Season 2, and Superman.
So while Tudyk could be anyone, it seems like a likely possibility that if he’s playing multiple roles on Creature Commandos, one of those roles will end up in Superman. If not Doctor Phosphorus, then what?
Well, mild spoilers here, but it’s already been confirmed that Tudyk will be voicing the role of Batman villain Clayface later in the season, though a different Clayface than the one he portrays on Harley Quinn. However, it’s far more likely that he could play scientist Will Magnus, creator of the Metal Men on the big screen. Timeline-wise, he’d be pretty old by the time Superman rolls around, unless its a period piece. But flashbacks like this one, a recording, or an android body/an unnaturally longer life could account for Tudyk playing a character so key to other characters that are clearly being set up here.
And to further this theory, this is sort of a non-spoiler, but Magnus and the Metal Men do not appear anywhere in the rest of Creature Commandos. Meaning that’s a thread that could likely be picked up another time. And if it is picked up in live-action, why not Superman? Heck, Gunn has even recently been talking about how the upcoming feature is a Silver Age science-fiction feature. What’s more… That… Than the Metal Men? And Will Magnus?
We’ll find out when Superman premieres on July 11, 2025.
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: “The Collywobbles”
- Thursday, December 5, 2024: Creature Commandos, Episode 2: “The Tourmaline Necklace”
- Thursday, December 12, 2024: Creature Commandos, Episode 3: “Cheers To The Tin Man”
- Thursday, December 19, 2024: Creature Commandos, Episode 4: “Chasing Squirrels”
- 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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