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Here’s the thing about James Gunn’s new Max series Creature Commandos: it’s not Suicide Squad (2016). If audiences thought so, they might be expecting characters to show up who are likely above this show’s pay grade. This is Gunn’s trademark brand of bloody, action-packed, profanity-laced storytelling, with a group of superhuman types deemed subhuman enough to be forcibly recruited by military head honcho Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) to do bad things for semi-good reasons. But they involve keeping America in charge and making the world safer. What could go wrong?
Spoiler: don’t expect Harley Quinn to show up, but there are some faces who will be familiar to anyone with a slight knowledge of the DC Universe, as well as different takes on characters who’ve shown up elsewhere. It’s a fun way to keep things freewheeling, since canon is taken far more lightly here than in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is likely why this slice of superhero storytelling shows no signs of slowing down in the face of supposed audience exhaustion with the genre.
Gunn also knows how to mix in heartfelt moments along with the deranged social commentary, and if nearly every character has the tragic backstory you’d expect, there are enough twists to keep things interesting, and most shocking of all, some unexpected developments that are genuinely heartbreaking for the implications of the violence humanity inflicts on those they’ve othered. It ends up feeling more real than animation about undead brides and sea creatures has a right to. And often, it’s genuinely funny.
For anyone who has some stamina left for metahuman fare, it’ll likely do something truly remarkable: leave them eager for whatever comes next. TV-MA, seven 22-minute episodes
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