Creature Commandos

Creature Commandos
Weird War Tales #93, art by Joe Kubert
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Weird War Tales #93 November (1980)
Created by	J. M. DeMatteis (writer) Pat Broderick (artist)
In-story information
Type of organization	Military unit
Base(s)	Project M (modern version)
Agent(s)	Aten Bogman Gunner Hunter Medusa Patchwork Velcoro Wolfpack G.I. Robot Matthew Shrieve

The Creature Commandos are a fictional DC Comics team of military superhumans originally set in World War II.^[1] The original team, created by J. M. DeMatteis and Pat Broderick, was introduced in Weird War Tales #93 (November 1980).^[2]

The modern team first appeared in their own mini-series Creature Commandos #1 May 2000, this version was written by Tim Truman and drawn by Scot Eaton.

History

Project M

Project M is a secret government organization which began during World War II and specializes in experimental biotechnology and necromancy. Known creations of the Project include the Creature Commandos, Miss America and the G.I. Robot. The Project's main scientist is one Professor Mazursky. He was aided by Robert Crane. As told in Young All-Stars #12, they operated from a secret underground complex on mythical Ferris Island in New York.^[1]

In 1942, Project M created the Creature Commandos. They were: Lt. Matthew Shrieve (normal), Warren Griffith (werewolf), Sgt. Vincent Velcro (vampire), Pvt. Elliot "Lucky" Taylor (frankenstein's monster) and Dr. Myrra Rhodes (medusa).

A Weird War
Art by Jim Craig

Project M yielded other interesting specimens. Most notably, they were behind the creation of the heroine, Miss America. Prof. Mazursky kidnapped her after his original subject perished. At first, his experiments appeared to have left her incapacitated. He later returned her unconscious form to the surface world. After that, she began a career as a masked hero but was critically injured while fighting alongside the Freedom Fighters. Project M recovered her and nursed her back to health. While there, Project M was visited by the Young All-Stars, who had discovered that Project M had been infiltrated. A criminal named Deathbolt was there seeking a new physical host for the disembodied brain of the Ultra-Humanite. The Ultra-Humanite took over the body of a dinosaur recovered from Dinosaur Island.

During the same visit, the All-Stars witnessed the unfinished body of the creature that would later be known as G.I. Robot.^[3]

World War II

The team's first mission was in France, where they destroyed Nazi manufactured android duplicates of the Allied leaders. In their next mission to France to free scientist Dr. Renee Frederique. The Commandos ultimately found her in a death camp, and they had no choice but to kill her. Her knowledge of a chemical nerve gas was too risky to be left in Nazi hands. Because of his part in the killing, Taylor attempted suicide. Although the doctors attempted to repair him, he remained mute for the rest of the series. On another morally dubious mission the team caused the deaths of dozens of super-soldier children.

In 1943, the Commandos were deployed to Dinosaur Island in the South Pacific. They were supposed to solve the disappearance of several Allied spotter planes. They discovered a hidden Axis naval base and were able to trick the dinosaurs in turning on the Japanese navy. Shrieve took pictures for his commanders as proof of the island's existence. But Taylor destroyed them, he believed that the war would bring destruction to the dinosaurs.

When next they returned to Dinosaur Island, they met the first J.A.K.E., the G.I. Robot. He met the Commandos when their plane was attacked by a dinosaur and crashed into the beach. Together, the soldiers discovered an underwater civilization, a supposed lost colony of Atlantis situated in the Pacific. The lost colony had created a group of robots to carry on the work of Atlantean conquest, and these androids took control of the G.I. Robot's mind. J.A.K.E. ultimately overrode their commands and sacrificed itself to destroy the colony.

At the end of the war, the remaining Creature Commandos and J.A.K.E. 2 (and his cat and dog) were forced to man a rocket aimed at Berlin. But the rocket went radically off course and headed out of the atmosphere into deep space. Much, much later, they (with J.A.K.E. as of Action Comics 872) appeared as captured in Brainiac's ship (Action Comics 868).^[3]

Creature Commandos #1
Art by Scott Eaton

Modern Era

Somehow the original team later returned to Earth and to Project M, where they continued to serve as a special operations force. To keep pace with their aging physiology, Mazursky the doctor who had originally transformed them, continued to perform a series of body modifications. This process extended their lives, but at the cost of their humanity.

At an unspecified date in the near future, the various original team members adopted code names. Project M continued to grow in size, and the originals came to form the core field team codenamed M-Team Alpha. The Alpha team was sporadically infused with new operatives as attrition took its toll. Presumably, Lt. Shrieve died or retired along the way. In his place came Capt. Lucius Hunter formerly of Hunter's Hellcats. Hunter was said to be 74 years old, and a recipient of extensive body modifications and rejuvenation therapies. Other new members are: Aten, a mummy-like communications specialist; The Bogman, an amphibian grunt resembling the Creature from the Black Lagoon; and recently revived cyborg Gunner MacKay, who—along with his partner "Sarge"--died during World War II. Both Lucius Hunter and Gunner MacKay were feature characters in Our Fighting Forces.^[1]

While deep undercover, Medusa discovered that Earth's dimension was in danger of invasion by a military alliance from the alternate earth of Terra Arcana. This other-dimensional conglomerate of warlords included Lord Saturna, Hyathis of Alstair (killed by Tazzala), Tazzala of Korrl (Queen Bee III), Sayvar reptile lord of Llarr, Kraad of Kranaal, Simon Magus of Blackstaff, Xotar the Weapons Master, Kromm of Mosteel (killed by Saturna), and the Troll King (killed by Velcoro).

In order to conquer earth the one remaining free dimension, Saturna's alliance enlisted the assistance of a powerful consortium on Future Earth. This group from Earth gave weapons and teleportation technology to the alliance in return for alien real estate. Tazzala and Magus soon betrayed Saturna, cutting their own deal with Murray. In the M-Team's raid on Terra Arcana, Velcoro and Gunner were captured by Claw the Unconquered. Claw was convinced to ally with them, and his people joined the battle against Saturna. In conclusion Tazzala killed Saturna and was, herself, killed. Terra Arcana's future was then left in the hands of its people.^[3]

The modern Creature Commandos later appeared in the OMAC Project mini-series, 2005–2006.

During the "Infinite Crisis: Villains United" one-shot, a metahuman prison named "Enclave M" was shown in New Mexico. It's connection to Project M is unclear at this time. In the Booster Gold 2008 miniseries, Maxwell Lord mentions Project M as still active, at least in the times of his cyberization, and claims he was able to use their resources to give himself a new human body, free from the manipulations of Kilg%re.

In the Justice League: Generation Lost storyline, Maxwell Lord, took control of the Creature Commandos to attack the old JLI embassy.^[4] During the battle Max reveals himself while posing as one of the Creature Commandos, in which he captures the Blue Beetle and escaped.^[5] Shortly thereafter the Creature Commandos were broken free from Max's influence, realizing they do not know why they are so far from their Project M base.^[6]

Membership

Original Team

• Warren Griffith – Warren was a simple farm boy who suffered from clinical lycanthropy. Project M gave him the ability to change into a true Werewolf.
• J.A.K.E. – The first G.I. Robot, destroyed itself and lost Atlantean colony.
• J.A.K.E. 2 – The second G.I. Robot. Lost in space with the Creature Commandos.
• Dr. Myrra Rhodes – Also known as Dr. Medusa. After inhaling strange fumes, she grew snakes for hair and superficially resembles one of the Gorgons.
• Lt. Matthew Shrieve – Matthew was their team leader. He was a fully human hard as nails soldier.
• Pvt. Elliot "Lucky" Taylor – Lucky barely survived stepping on a mine. He was stitched back together against his will so he resembles the Frankenstein monster and has damaged vocal cords.
• Sgt. Vincent Velcro (or, in modern series, Velcoro) – Vincent volunteered for the project in order to commute a 30-year sentence in the brig for crippling an officer. Like a Vampire, he can now change into a bat and requires human blood to survive.

Modern Team

• Aten – The Mummy like communications specialist.
• The Bogman – An amphibian grunt resembling the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
• Gunner – A cyborg named Gunner MacKay, who died during World War II.
• Hunter – Seventy-four year old Captain Lucius Hunter formerly of Hunter's Hellcats.
• Medusa – Myrra Rhodes whose body has mutated since her first appearances.
• Patchwork – Elliot "Lucky" Taylor who's pretty much the same.
• Velcoro – Vincent Velcoro, who like Myrra has mutated even further due to his treatments.
• Wolfpack – Warren Griffith, who is even more feral and out of control in this incarnation.

Continuity

• The Creature Commandos mini-series is not billed as an "Elseworlds", but the author Tim Truman describes it as taking place "a second in the future". Various modifications were made to the team member's names and appearances. Truman renamed original team members Velcro and Myrna as "Velcoro" and "Myrra".^[3]
• Truman said he based Patch's character on the DCU's Patchwork Man from Swamp Thing v.1 #2.^[3]
• The villains in this series are old Justice League of America villains dating back from 1960 through 1963. Xotar's first appearance was Brave and the Bold #29. Simon Magus, Saturna, the Troll King are from JLA #2. Hyathis, Kromm and Sayvar are from issue Justice League of America #3. Tazzala is presumably some relation to Zazzala, who appeared in Justice League of America #23. Kraad is from Justice League of America #25.^[3]
• The usage of Claw the Unconquered in this series is rendered true to his pre-Crisis origins.^[3]
• Project M is shown as still active in current continuity, and at least once connected with Checkmate, and responsible for reversing the cyborg transformation of Maxwell Lord. With Orr as his chief and prominent member, Project M is directly responsible for creating Equus, enhancing the Wildebeest and exploiting Cyborg technology for military uses ^[7]
• The original Creature Commados appeared in Weird War Tales #93, 97, 100, 102, 105, 108-112, 114-119, 121, 124.

Other versions

Flashpoint

In the alternate timeline of the Flashpoint event, Lt. Matthew Shrieve was ambushed by Nazi soldiers, and then saved by Frankenstein. Later, Shrieve and Frankenstein were invited by Project M to join the Creatures Commandos. After the end of World War II, however, Project M was deemed obsolete by Robert Crane's government services. Over 65 years later, Frankenstein and the Creatures Commandos revive and escape from the lab facility where they were imprisoned. General Nathaniel Adam then contacted Shrieve's granddaughter, Miranda to hunt down the Creatures Commandos.^[8] The Creatures Commandos then travel to Gotham City, where Dr. Mazursky last lived and find his cabin, only to learn he has moved to Romainia. The group is then ambushed by Miranda, along with the G.I. Robot and a platoon of soldiers. Miranda's tells them that her grandfather attempted to assemble a second incarnation of the Creatures Commandos, consisting of Solomon Grundy, Man-Bat and Doctor Phosphorus, who turned on him and killed him. Miranda blames monsters for ruining her life. Velcoro saved Frankenstein from the G.I. Robot and Miranda shot Griffith with silver. The team is then saved by Bride, Frankenstein's wife, who is still alive.^[9] After Miranda was taken captive, Bride explains to the Creatures Commandos that she is working as an agent of S.H.A.D.E. She then reveals to Miranda that the second Creatures Commandos had been working for General Sam Lane, who is truly the one really responsible for the deaths of Miranda's family. Later, the Creatures Commandos travel to Romania, where they found a small village populated by monsters. The village is then attacked by a giant G.I. Robot. Frankenstein and Bride combat the G.I. Robot, while Miranda helped Nina attend for Griffith's wounds, and suggest to the nearby castle where Dr. Mazursky is alive, who is then reunited with his daughter. Mazursky explains that the village's inhabitants were peaceful, and that they were the basis for creating the Creature Commandos. When Project M was deemed obsolete, Dr. Mazursky escaped and returned to the village for eternal life. After Frankenstein and Bride destroyed the G.I. Robot, Velcoro died from the sunrise, Griffith is recovering to being human again and developing a relationship with Nina. Frankenstein, Bride and Miranda depart from the Creature Commandos and participate in the Atlantean/Amazon war.^[10]

In other media

Television

• The Creature Commandos made their animated debut in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Four Star Spectacular!" in the vignette "The War That Time Forgot." Lt. Matthew Shrieve is voiced by Marc Worden, Warren Griffith, Sgt. Vincent Velcro, and Pvt. Elliot "Lucky" Taylor voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, and Dr. Myrra Rhodes voiced by Cathy Cavadini. They rescue Batman from the Ultra-Humanite and his mind-controlled dinosaurs.

See also

• Nick Fury's Howling Commandos, a similar team from Marvel Comics
• The Perhapanauts, a team of monster hunters that includes Bigfoot and Chupacabra
• Proof, a government run team of monster hunters including Proof, a Sasquatch

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Jimenez, Phil (2008), "Creature Commandos", in Dougall, Alastair, The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, pp. 88, ISBN 0-7566-4119-5, OCLC 213309017 
2. ^ Manning, Matthew K.; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1980s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. "A battalion of horror icons created by the U.S. government to aid the American war effort made its debut in an off-beat story by writer J. M. DeMatteis and penciler Pat Broderick." 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Cosmic Teams Creature Commandos
4. ^ Justice League: Generation Lost #15 (December 2010)
5. ^ Justice League: Generation Lost #16 (December 2010)
6. ^ Justice League: Generation Lost #17 (January 2011)
7. ^ Cyborg #3-4, (2008)
8. ^ Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #1 (June 2011)
9. ^ Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #2 (July 2011)
10. ^ Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #3 (August 2011)

External links

• Creature Commandos (team) at the Comic Book DB
• Creature Commandos (series) at the Grand Comics Database
• Creature Commandos (series) at the Big Comic Book DataBase
• Creature Commandos a the DCU Guide
• Dinosaur Island at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
• Supermanartists.org DC History 7
• Dave's Long Box review of Weird War Tales #119

Interviews

• Fanzing Interview with Tim Truman