Back at the New York Comic Con panel for Creature Commandos, series writer and DC Studios chief James Gunn promised that there would be real, lasting deaths of characters on the Max series. And as of Episode 3, “Cheers To The Tin Man,” the show has claimed its first victim. Spoilers past this point, but GI Robot (Sean Gunn) dies in the closing moments of the episode.
Like how Episode 2, “The Tourmaline Necklace,” featured a flashback to The Bride’s (Indira Varma) origin, that’s what we get in Episode 3, as well (and every episode going forward). Or, more specifically, we see G.I. Robot operating during World War II with none other than Sgt. Rock (Maury Sterling) and Easy Company. As G.I. Robot has been driving home the past two episodes, what he loves more than anything is killing Nazis. That’s what he’s programmed to do, and more importantly that’s what he enjoys. He’s no Iron Giant, conflicted about being a gun; he’s conflicted about not being a gun. A Nazi-killing gun.
With the waning days of World War II, G.I. Robot loses his purpose for a time, until he’s bought be a war memorabilia collector named Sam Fitzgibbon (Michael Rooker) who seems nice at first but is actually a white supremacist. Guess what? G.I. Robot kills him, and everyone else at their white supremacist meeting. And he loves it.
Years later, as Circe’s (Anya Chalotra) minions attack Pokolistan, Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) gives G.I. Robot the go-ahead to murder once again… And thrilled, he blasts apart the so-called Sons of Themyscira (hilariously shortened to SofT). This is interspersed with the white supremacist murder spree back in the day, which landed him in Belle Reeve, and on the Creature Commandos, all while “Coin-Operated Boy” by the Dresden Dolls plays in the background.
…That is until Circe puts a stop to it, ripping G.I. Robot apart with her magic. Don’t worry, Circe gets hers when Weasel (also Sean Gunn) rips her to shreds and Doctor Phosphorus (Alan Tudyk) scars her face. Nina Mazursky (Zoë Chao), who almost seemed to strike up a flirtation with G.I. Robot, runs to where his head is lying and picks it up. His dying words? “Cheers to the tin man,” which isn’t just the title of the episode, but also what Easy Company had said to him, and what he quizzically asked to Sam while riding in his car.
It’s sweet and sad, and the first major death on the series. Granted, G.I. Robot is a, well, robot, so it’s relatively easy enough to bring him back to life, if the series wants to. But whether he’ll be back Terminator style or not, at least he died doing what he loved: killing Nazis.
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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