Creature Commandos

Twitter has an opinion on everything and James Gunn’s DCEU lineup is no different. Really all scrolling twitter has done on this topic is establish that people that don’t read comic books seem to have a lot of opinions on comic book movies. The lack of stories centering around the big three have pissed the casuals off, but for those of us that can read the new additions to the DC Universe are very exciting. DC is full of rich and interesting characters that have nothing to do with the big 3 and I can’t wait to finally see them shine. So if you don’t read comics but want to know what to expect from James Gunn’s live action adaptations then you came to the right place. Here is a brief background on the Creature Commandos and some stories that they could adapt.

J.M. DeMatteis had this to say about creating the Creature Commandos…

I was doing War Tales [sic] for about six months before the DC Implosion put me out of work for almost a year. And the last idea I had... I took a look at the title, Weird War, and I said, "Ya gotta have a lot of monsters". ... then after I was getting work there again was when they were trying to revive the mystery books by putting series in them. So I went to Len [Wein, editor] with the Creature Commandos — the actual title may have been Len's; I think it was — and he said the same thing: "That's so silly that it will work. Let's do it". And we did it and it was silly and nothing came of it and the book died anyway.

The team first came to the public in 1980 in Weird War Tales #93. The Creature Commandos were a result of Project M, a government organization that came to be in 1942 as a result of World War 2. The original team was made up of a single human, Matthew Shrieve, Warren Griffith who is a werewolf, a vampire named Vincent Velcro, Elliot “Lucky” Taylor who was a Frankenstein-esque monster, and a Gorgon named Myrna Rhodes. All creatures have some kind of military ranking.

In true DC fashion the original series was actually quite dark. The team's first mission involved going to France to find a free a scientist. But after the team finds her at a death camp they have no choice but to kill her, as her knowledge of chemical nerve gas was too dangerous to leave to the Nazi’s. After his role in the mission Elliot Taylor attempted suicide, and remained mute for the rest of the series. The original series actually explores some deep and substantial themes so choosing to adapt it is a lofty task but also a brilliant move.

As their stories continue they age, as such the doctor that originally created them performed multiple body modifications on them. This extended their lives but cost them their humanity. Again an incredible story vein to tap into. Their stories become more cosmic and start to get more complicated as they start to bring in more characters; however their original story lines are much more grounded and I hope that is the route that the DCEU takes.

Of course the line-up of the team changes as the years progress. No comic book team stays stagnant. But one of the most amazing things about this team is just how dark their stories were at the start. I truly believe that if James Gunn starts with their original line up and their original storylines it could be one of the greatest comic book adaptations and stories of all time.