Who Are the Creature Commandos? Members & Their Powers
One recently announced DCU project was a seven-episode animated series called “Creature Commandos.” Following the restructuring of the DC cinematic universe, James Gunn and Peter Safran decided to include some lesser-known characters in their lineup, and Creature Commandos seem perfect for that. Still, since not many DCU fans are acquainted with the upcoming characters and their source material, we’ve decided to explore this bizarre team of superheroes in more detail. In today’s post, we will discuss who Creature Commandos are, who the members are set to appear in the animated project, and most importantly, what are their powers and abilities.
Who are the Creature Commandos?
Creature Commandos are a team of supernatural military heroes often dubbed as the “stranger and more bizarre” Justice League. J.M. DeMatteis and Pat Broderick first introduced the superhero team in Weird War Tales #93 in the 1980s. The team consisted of unique characters with strange powers, and the individual stories were set during WWII. Originally Creature Commandos series was planned only as anthology series, but some characters from the team became so popular that they have become a regular occurrence and permanent fixtures of the team.
The Creature Commandos were created as part of Project M, a secret laboratory located beneath the Statue of Liberty. Renowned scientist Professor Mazursky led the project to create a team of super-powered soldiers that could inspire fear in enemies through their frightening appearance.
Who are the members of Creature Commandos?
The initial team consisted of three army officers who volunteered for the transformation – Warren Griffith, Vincent Velcro, and Elliot Taylor – and a fourth member, Doctor Myrra Rhodes. The team members were transformed into monster-like beings that resembled a werewolf, a vampire, the Frankenstein Monster, and a fourth, undisclosed creature.
In the upcoming animated series, Gunn already announced what the team’s rooster would be. It consists of seven main members: Rick Flag Sr. (a recurring part of the new DCU), Nina Mazursky, Doctor Phosphorus, Eric Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, G.I. Robot, and Weasel. And we’ve decided to use this opportunity to bring you a small preview of each member of the Creature Commandos as well as their origin, powers, and abilities.
Rick Flag Sr.
Rick Flag Sr. was originally the leader of the Suicide Squadron during WWII. This squadron, as the name insinuates, was filled with “expendable” criminals that committed felonies and were now destined to take part in the most dangerous missions imaginable. Rick Flag Sr. led the Suicide Squadron to glory, managing to hammer in some discipline into the most hardened criminals. Due to this, after the war, he was designated to lead the so-called Task Force X, a special Task Force that dealt with superhuman and supernatural affairs.
In terms of powers and abilities, Rick Flag Sr. is not a superhuman as far as we know, but he is an accomplished pilot and brilliant strategist with unparalleled leadership skills. He is likewise known to be a skilled hand-to-hand combatant. Going by Gunn’s announcement, we can expect to see Rick Flag Sr. in other projects set within the DCU.
Nina Mazursky
Nina Mazursky is unlike Rick Flag, directly connected to Creature Commandos’ origin story. Nina was a scientist that worked For the SHADE organization, and after her daughter died, which resulted in her immediate divorce, she created the first generation of Creature Commandos. That first generation of Creature Commandos was doomed to fail since Nina, following the loss of her daughter, got too emotionally attached to them. Creatures couldn’t cope with their emotions correctly, and they soon became extraordinary threats.
Instead of seeing her children be killed, Nina asked Dr. Ray Palmer to trap them in a microscopic prison called simply “The Zoo.” The second generation of Creature Commandos is the one we’ll see in the series, Nina helped create them as well, but this time she didn’t get too emotionally attached. She even joined the term herself. As far as her abilities go, Nina Mazursky is mostly known for being an amphibian humanoid, meaning she can breathe, move and function underwater like an aquatic animal.
Doctor Phosphorus
Doctor Phosphorus is mostly known as Batman’s villain. Dr. Phosphorus was known as Dr. Sartorious before he got himself involved in a tragic accident that took his normal life away and gave him superpowers. Originally a member of the Tobacconists’ Club, he wanted to build a nuclear plant in Gotham City but was forced to build it far from the city due to public opposition.
While alone at the nuclear plant, a meltdown occurred, causing him to be blasted by irradiated sand and transforming him into Doctor Phosphorus. Doctor Phosphorus sought revenge on Gotham by planning to poison the water supply, as his mutation caused his skin to burn at any contact and his skeleton to show through his skin. He was stopped on time by Batman, fortunately.
Dr. Phosphorus has the potential to be among the most powerful members of the Creature Commandos due to his ability to emit radiation. He likewise learned how to utilize this radiation, but at the same time, he became extremely dependent on it; it is commonly believed that due to the absence of his organs, Dr. Phosphorus now uses radiation to supplement natural metabolic processes and energy consumption.
Eric Frankenstein
Doctor Frankenstein created Eric Frankenstein through the use of stolen body parts and the blood of the alien king, Mr. Melmoth. After being tortured in the lab, the monster is freed by Doctor Frankenstein’s wife and seeks revenge by killing the guards in the mansion and Doctor Frankenstein himself. He has worn one of their coats ever since. Frankenstein was likewise a SHADE agent like Nina Mazursky as well as his wife, the Bride of Frankenstein, and they worked under Father Time.
Like every classic take on Frankenstein, his powers and abilities include superhuman strength, durability, stamina, immortality, and limited skills in unarmed and armed combat.
The Bride of Frankenstein
As we had learned before, the Bride of Frankenstein is an ex-wife of Frankenstein. Even though their relationship started as any other and was filled with love and support, it ended badly following their terrible accident with their son. Frankenstein and The Bride wanted to create their own biological son through the SHADE program but ended up creating an abomination instead. He was extremely violent and posed a threat to pretty much everyone, which forced Frankenstein to kill him. The Bride was never able to forgive him for that, so the two separated.
Eventually, after the dissolution of SHADE, The Bride learned that their son was alive all the time but was being held in custody by the organization. The Bride managed to track down her son, but she was met by a grim creature that begged only for death. Ultimately, The Bride was the one that killed her son.
Like Frankenstein, The Bride is a creature with undead physiology and superhuman strength, speed, durability, and reflexes. She is a quite skilled spied and, like her ex-husband, quite skilled when it comes to armed and unarmed combat.
G.I. Robot
There were several versions of G.I. Robot throughout the character’s long history, but only one, JAKE II, became a member of the Creature Commandos. J.A.K.E. II, also known as Jungle Automatic Killer – Experimental II, was designed to aid the U.S. military during World War II by Project M’s scientists. Sgt. Blaney and his team assembled J.A.K.E. II when he was delivered to Tattu Island as a replacement for the destroyed G.I. Robot. J.A.K.E. II initially failed to activate, but after the Japanese soldiers released their own version of the G.I. Robot, Krakko, J.A.K.E. II activated and defeated Krakko with his detachable head.
Like any robot, J.A.K.E. II has superhuman strength, durability, and enhanced intelligence, and he conveniently has weapons everywhere he goes. Even though J.A.K.E. II is not a sentient being, he has demonstrated some human emotions, such as loyalty and loneliness.
Weasel
Weasel was originally known as Firestorm villain; he is an anthropomorphic weasel with villainous tendencies. Weasel’s real name is John Monroe, and he was at first a member of the Secret Society of Super-Villains, an evil version of the Justice League stationed at Earth-3. Weasel was part of another villainous group that went under the name Menagerie and was composed solely of animal-themed villains. He was supposedly killed by Stever Trevor and Killer Snow when he attempted to ambush them in Central Park.
Weasel has, well…weasel physiology which gives him the ability to attack with his claws and fangs. He is extremely agile, and due to his low intelligence, he has the ability to resist most forms of telepathic attacks.
