Keen-eyed DC fans have spotted dozens of hidden references and Easter eggs in the first two episodes of Creature Commandos. For instance, in a blink-and-you-might-miss-it moment, Eric Frankenstein (voiced by David Harbour) wears a T-shirt with a bunny drawing, the same one appearing in The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker Season 1. The T-shirt helps tie the three productions together, serving as another soft confirmation all of the DC movies and TV shows created by James Gunn belong to the same continuity. However, as Gunn himself confirms, there’s an in-universe reason for that bunny to appear in so many places. That’s because the T-shirt depicts Ultrabunny, the most famous cartoon in the DCU.
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In The Suicide Squad, Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman) is forced to change his clothes after being almost killed at the beach of Corto Maltese. For the rest of the movie, he wears a yellow T-shirt with Ultrabunny carrying a sign that says “obstáculos son oportunidades,” Spanish for “obstacles are opportunities.” Ultrabunny shows up again in Peacemaker. Twice. First, Evan Calcaterra (Lenny Jacobson) is wearing a T-shirt depicting the character when he’s debriefed by Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) after Peacemaker ties him and his wife when hiding from the police. There’s also an Ultrabunny action figure on the hood of Vigilante’s (Freddie Stroma) car.
Creature Commandos kept the trend going in Episode 2, which explores the terrifying origins of Eric and The Bride (voiced by Indira Varma). During the episode’s final fast-paced montage, we watch Eric chase The Bride over the decades, with multiple images of both characters in different moments of their lives. As it turns out, in the 1990s, Eric had a T-shirt similar to the one Rick Flag Jr. wore in Corto Maltese. That’s a nice piece of worldbuilding that confirms Gunn’s attention to detail. As Gunn says, Ultrabunny is a popular cartoon character in the DCU. So, it makes sense for him to pop up so much.
[Related: Creature Commandos: The Sons of Themyscira Are Quite Different in DC Comics]
Creature Commandos Defines the DCU Canon
While the presence of Ultrabunny could be viewed as a funny, low-stakes Easter egg, the first two episodes of Creature Commandos canonize the main events of Peacemaker Season 1 and The Suicide Squad. In just a few minutes, the show mentions the operation in Corto Maltese, Task Force X’s battle against Starro, the death of Rick Flag Jr., and Adebayo leaking Amanda Waller’s (Viola Davis) secrets to the press. In addition, the animated series gives us some crucial information on how the DCU’s timeline works by placing the Pokolistan mission two years after Operation Starfish.
Creature Commandos does more than clear fans’ doubts about what came before; it also sets some interesting things for the future. For instance, canonizing The Suicide Squad hints at 2025’s Superman’s plot. Plus, the new trailer has enough dead superheroes to confirm the animated series is laying the groundwork for other high-stake DCU storylines.
New episodes of Creature Commandos hit MAX every Thursday until January 9, 2025.