Creature Commandos

The Creature Commandos & Project M

Created by J.M. DeMatteis, Pat Broderick and John Celardos

» FIRST APPEARANCE:
Creature Commandos: Weird War Tales #93 (Nov. 1980)
Dinosaur Island: Star-Spangled War Stories #90 (April 1960)

Thanks to John Wells

Project M (for Monster!) was an underground (literally) World War II government organization which specialized in experimental biotechnology. The Project's main scientist was Professor Mazursky, who was aided by Robert Crane (friend and eventual host of the original Robotman). It operated from a secret underground complex on Ferris Island in New York. (Young All-Stars #12)

Project M was behind the creation of the heroine Miss America (Joan Dale). Prof. Mazursky kidnapped her after his original subject perished. His experiments appeared to have left her incapacitated, so he returned her without her memories to the surface world. After that, she began a masked heroing career. (All-Star Squadron #31)

The Young All-Stars paid a visit to Project M after discovering that it had been infiltrated by Per Degaton and Deathbolt. The villains were seeking a new host for the brain of the Ultra-Humanite, and this was where Ultra took root in the body of a dinosaur recovered from the mysterious Dinosaur Island. The All-Stars managed to drive the villain from this host. (Young All-Stars #12-13)

Also during their visit to Project M, the All-Stars witnessed the unfinished G.I. Robot, a giant ape, and one of the earliest recorded androids. NOTE: It's suggested the giant ape is King Kong. The android was said to have been created according to the theories of Dr. Rossum, who was the title character of the 1920's science fiction stage play "Rossum's Universal Robots"; this was the first recorded usage of the word "robot."

Weird War Tales

In 1942, Project M created the Creature Commandos — humans turned to freaks:

1. Lt. Matthew Shrieve was their leader. Though fully human, he possessed a monstrous spirit and an inhuman appetite for destruction.
2. Warren Griffith, a simple farm boy who suffered from lycanthropy. Project M gave him the true ability to change into a werewolf.
3. Sgt. Vincent Velcro volunteered for the experiments to commute his 30-year sentence in the brig (he had crippled his superior officer). He can change into a bat and requires human blood to survive.
4. Pvt. Elliot "Lucky" Taylor barely survived stepping on a mine. He was stitched back together — against his will — à la Frankenstein and without vocal cords. A tragic figure, Taylor could not express his feelings for...
5. Dr. Myrna Rhodes (Dr. Medusa), who inhaled strange fumes and grew snakes for hair.

The first mission of the Creature Commandos was in France, where they destroyed Nazi androids duplicates of world leaders. (Weird War Tales #93) They often based themselves out of London, as in their next mission to France to free scientist Dr. Renee Frederique. (#97) They found she'd been captured and replaced by a Nazi agent. The Commandos ultimately found her in a death camp — but their mission was to kill her! Her knowledge of a chemical nerve gas was too risky in the Nazis' hands. For his part in such a senseless killing, Pvt. Taylor attempted suicide. After the doctors "repaired" him, he was left with only rudimentary vocal cords. (#108)

In another morally dubious mission, Shrieve impersonated Nazi Col. Emil Kruger and they sacrificed the lives of dozens of super-soldier children. (#102) They redeemed themselves and won Metals of Honor when they saved a group of blind French children from the Nazis. (#118) Shrieve ultimately decided that his personality clashed too much with the Commandos. But he was assigned to a desk job and no one else would volunteer to lead the Commandos. They were brought back together in saving a gathering of French civilians. (#117)

The Commandos' mission extended across the globe; in upstate New York, they squashed a band of Nazi sympathizers. (#105)

In 1943, the Commandos ventured to the mythical "Dinosaur Island" in the South Pacific. They were supposed to solve the disappearance of several Allied spotter planes. They discovered an Axis naval fleet and were able to turn the dinosaurs on the Japanese boats. Shrieve took pictures for his commanders as proof of the island's existence. But Taylor destroyed them; he reasoned that the war machine could only bring destruction to the dinosaurs. (#100) NOTE: Dinosaur Island first appeared in Star-Spangled War Stories #90 (Apr. 1960) and was also frequented by the Suicide Squad in the 1960s.

When the Creature Commandos' plane was attacked by a dinosaur, they crashed and met the first J.A.K.E., the G.I. Robot, which had been left in the ocean after attacking an enemy ship. Together, the heroes discovered an underwater civilization, a colony of ancient Atlantis. These Atlanteans were androids and possessed J.A.K.E. The robot ultimately overrode their control and sacrificed himself to destroy this old Pacific colony. (#111) They also encountered its successor, J.A.K.E. 2, in the "hospital" after the robot had been injured. Together, they saved a Scottish princess from the blitz. (#115) Note: The Commandos/G.I. Robot team-ups were full-issue stories.

Despite their service, their final fate was cruel; the Creature Commandos and J.A.K.E. 2 were spared from a government-directed death sentence and instead ordered to pilot a rocket aimed at Berlin. Instead, the rocket went radically off course and headed deep into outer space. (#124)

Post-Crisis

There is no coherent "continuity" among the handful of appearances of the Creature Commandos made in the post-Crisis era.

What appeared to be the heads of the Creature Commandos were displayed on the trophy wall of monster hunter, Nelson Strong. (Swamp Thing #145) But later, Velcro reappeared as a vampire specialist and consultant at S.T.A.R. Labs. (Team Titans #17-19)

The Creature Commandos were reimagined by Tim Truman and Scot Eaton in 2000's Creature Commandos mini-series. They expanded the mythos but this story does not fit within post-Crisis continuity (despite that it was not labeled "Elseworlds"). Truman described the events as taking place "a second in the future." He made various updates to the characters: Velcro was renamed "Velcoro" and Myrna as "Myrra" aka "Medusa." Other team members adopted code names like "Wolfpack" and "Patchwork."

These Commandos also resided at Project M, where they served as a special operations force. To keep pace with their aging physiology, "the Doctor" (Mazursky) performed various body modifications. This effectively extended his subjects' lives, but at the cost of their humanity.

The original members became the main field team, M-Team Alpha, joined by new operatives:

1. Their new leader was Capt. Lucius Hunter, who was said to be 74 years old, and a recipient of body modifications. Hunter was originally part of the well-known battalion, the Hellcats. (Our Fighting Forces #99) Presumably, Lt. Shrieve had died or retired (he had never been biologically altered).
2. Gunner MacKay was part of the wartime duo "Gunner and Sarge" and a band of soldiers called "the Losers." They had both died after being gunned down by enemy troops. (Losers Special #1) Gunner was retrieved by the Doctor at Project M and given a cybernetic arm that he could shape into complex firearms.
3. Secondary operatives included Aten, who was bandaged like a mummy and served as a communications specialist.
4. And the Bogman was amphibian-like but was injured when Gunner was awakened.

On an undercover investigation, Medusa spent five years learning that Earth's dimension was in danger of invasion from Terra Arcana. This other-dimensional alliance was headed by Lord Saturna and included other conquerors, including: Hyathis of Alstair, (who was killed by) the Queen Bee III, Tazzala of Korrl; Sayvar, reptile lord of Llarr; Kraad of Kranaal; Simon Magus of Blackstaff; Xotar the Weapons Master; Kromm of Mosteel; and the Troll King. (Creature Commandos #1)

To conquer Earth, Lord Saturna's alliance enlisted the help of one Mr. Murray, a representative of a powerful consortium on Earth. His group gave weapons and teleportation technology to the alliance in return for alien real estate. Tazzala and Magus soon betrayed Saturna and cut their own deal with Murray.

In the M-Team's raid on Terra Arcana, Velcoro and Gunner were captured by Claw, the Unconquered. (#5) Soon Claw was convinced to ally with them, and his people joined the battle against Saturna. (#6-7) In the end, Tazzala killed Saturna and was herself killed. (#8)

Notes

Tim Truman said, "Illustrator Scott Eaton and I have created a clean slate that touches on the old series, but isn't explicitly tied to it." He said Patch's character was based on the DCU's Patchwork Man (Swamp Thing vol. 1 #2).

The villains in this story are Silver Age Justice League villains. Xotar's first appearance was The Brave and the Bold #29 (Apr./May 1960). Simon Magus, Saturna, the Troll King are from Justice League of America #2 (Dec. 1960/Jan.1961). Hyathis, Kromm and Sayvar from issue #3 (Feb./Mar. 1961). Tazzala is a version of Zazzala, who appeared in JLofA #23. (Nov. 1963). Kraad is from #25 (Feb. 1964).

Most of these villains had not been used since their invention. Claw, the Unconquered starred in his own 12-issue series in 1975.

Creatures Return!

In Action Comics #872 (Feb. 2009), the Creature Commandos and J.A.K.E. were discovered among the captives of Brainiac. Like scores of alien civilizations, they had been placed in stasis pods and then rediscovered by the Kandorians on Earth. When they were freed, Medusa made mention of having seen other alien worlds (a nod to their pre-Crisis fate).

The group immediately joined Superman and Supergirl's fight against Brainiac and Lex Luthor, then reported back to Project M. (Superman #692) This story occurred just before DC's line-wide reboot, the "New 52."

Their last appearance prior to the New 52 was when the Commandos attacked the Justice League International. These operatives were being mind-controlled by Maxwell Lord and when they came to their senses, they realized that their bodies had been altered. They remembered only that they had reported to a new Project Cadmus in Vietnam. (This team included an unnamed "mummy" character who would reappear in the New 52 as "Khalis.") (Justice League: Generation Lost #15–17)

DC New 52

Flashpoint (2011)

"Flashpoint" was an alternate reality event that set the stage for DC's line-wide reboot, the New 52. In one of the auxiliary series, Flashpoint: Frankenstein & the Creatures of the Unknown, Jeff Lemire brought the concept of the Creature Commandos together with Frankenstein. This version of Frankenstein was created by Grant Morrison and Doug Mahnke for the epic Seven Soldiers project in 2005–2006. He first appeared in Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein #1 (Jan. 2006).

In this reality, Lt. Shrieve woke Frankenstein from an icy tomb during World War II and Prof. Myron Mazursky transformed three people (Velcoro, Griffith and his own daughter, Nina) into classic monsters. Theirs was the troop that found and killed Adolf Hitler. (Flashpoint: Frankenstein & the Creatures of the Unknown #1)

They were forced into stasis after the war; this was unknown to Shrieve, who became obsessed with finding them. He even recreated his band, but his four new Commandos (Medusa, a Frankenstein-like monster, "Man-Bat" and "Dr. Phosphorus) were truly malicious monsters. (#2)

The New 52 (2011)

In the "New 52" era, the DC Universe was rebooted following "Flashpoint." A version of the Creature Commandos from Flashpoint became the supporting cast for Frankenstein; they were all agents of S.H.A.D.E. (the Super-Human Advanced Defense Executive):

1. Nina Mazursky: A brilliant scientist whose grief for her daughter led her to create Project M. She invented a method for transforming humans into superhuman monsters, then turned the process onto herself to become an amphibious hybrid creature; she could "breathe" only water. This character essentially a combination of the original Prof. Mazursky and the creature from the Black Lagoon.
2. Lady Frankenstein aka "The Bride" — Frankenstein's ex-wife who was also a S.H.A.D.E. agent. This four-armed character was inspired by the 1935 film, Bride of Frankenstein, and first appeared in Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein #3 (Apr. 2006).
3. Vincent Velcoro: A former pilot who became vampiric and grew wings from a serum derived from that of Kirk Langstrom (the "Man-Bat" of Gotham City). He does not exhibit a vampire's need for blood or vulnerability to sunlight.
4. Warren Griffith: A volunteer who was permanently transformed into a man-wolf with an infusion of "lupine blood."
5. Khalis: Their mysterious Egyptian "medic"/mummy. He was said to be thousands of years old — not a creation of Project M.

Frankenstein was horrified by this troupe; he could not fathom why anyone would choose a fate similar to his own ... destined only for misery. But the Commandos admired Frankenstein; they were inspired to follow in his footsteps. Their first mission together was to a living planet of monsters, where S.H.A.D.E. command unleashed two War Wheels and an army of G.I. Robots. (Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1–4) Note: The War Wheel dates back to the days of Quality comics, first appearing in Blackhawk #56 (Sept. 1952).

Four others who survived Project M's original experiments (including an "invisible man") returned for revenge against their "mother," Nina. They were shown no mercy; all of them were killed. (#6–7)

In 1959, Father Time had helped engineer the birth of a son for Frankenstein and his wife. This offspring turned out to be mad, and Frank shot him. The parents presumed the "spawn of Frankenstein" was dead and the trauma led to their separation. Fifty years later, they learned that Father Time had kept their child alive. When they confronted it, the monster begged for death—and Lady Frankenstein obliged him. She then quit S.H.A.D.E. (#8)

During their missions, the Commandos met another freakish covert agent, the self-described poet called Crowly. (#10) And Frank used a technology called D.R. H.I.D.E to disguise himself. (#11)

On a mission to confront the ancient beast known as Leviathan, Frankenstein experienced flashbacks from his former lives. He learned that his creator, Victor Frankenstein, had made him from the body parts of criminals and murderers. He and Nina were mortally injured and Khalis used some of the unique resources of that place to heal them. As a result, Nina no longer required water to breathe. (#12) Nina and Frankenstein had grown romantically close to one another but no real progress was ever made toward a formal relationship.

In Other Media

In 2023, the new creative directors ofg DC Studios, James Gunn and Peter Safran, announced the program's first wave: "Gods and Monsters." One of the first projects would be the Creature Commandos animated series (for streaming on Max). It debuts in late 2024 and the cast of the show including:

• Amanda Waller (Viola Davis): Head of Task Forces X and M
• Col. Rick Flag (Frank Grillo): The former commander of the Suicide Squad
• The Weasel: Another favorite character of Gunn's that had appeared in his live-action The Suicide Squad (2021)
• Dr. Phosphorus (Alan Tudyk): A glowing, toxic man. Originally an adversary of the Batman, first appearing in in Detective Comics #469 (May 1977).
• Frankenstein (David Harbour)
• The Bride (Indira Varma)
• G.I. Robot (Sean Gunn)
• Nina Mazursky (Zoë Chao)

List of Members

Frankenstein in the DCU

» SEE ALSO: The current iteration of Frankenstein is covered in Seven Soldiers of Victory

A book called The Frankenstein Catalog helped compile this list of DC's Frankenstein stories.

Appearances that could be considered 'canon' for the pre-Crisis DC universe:

• House of Mystery #220 (Dec. 1973); Hunter has actual Frankenstein Monster.
• Ghosts #40 (July 1975); Mary Shelley story.
• House of Mystery #255–256 (Nov./Dec. 1977–Jan./Feb. 1978); forces Cain to relate stories.
• House of Mystery #270 (July 1979); a sculptor who makes monster models gets killed by the real and offended Frankenstein Monster and becames a model himself.
• Superman #344 (Feb. 1980); appears with Dracula.
• Secrets of Haunted House #34–35 (Mar.–Apr. 1981); Lady Frankenstein appears.
• Ghosts #106 (Nov. 1981); appears with Dracula.
• Weird Mystery Tales #8 (Nov. 1973); a director displeased with a phony monster gets led to a house where the real Frankenstein Monster kills him.
• Young All-Stars #16–19 (Sept.–Dec. 1988); World War II-era appearance

In post-Crisis times, Grant Morrison and Doug Mahnke created a "super-hero" version of Frankenstein who first appeared in Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein #1 (Jan. 2006).

Non-canonical and humorous appearances:

• Action Comics #531 (May 1982); the Daily Planet building appears to he haunted by ghosts and Frankenstein's monster.
• The Adventures of Bob Hope #95–109 (1965–1968); one of the faculty of Benedict Arnold High School was a Frankenstein Monster
• DC 100-Page Super Spectacular #4 (1971); gag.
• The Demon #11–12 (Aug.–Sept. 1973); featured a tortured man/monster, the creation of Baron von Evilstein, who wanted to perform a similar experiment on Jason Blood.
• Detective Comics #135 (May 1948); Frankenstein without the Monster (Earth-2).
• House of Mystery #36 (Mar. 1955); Joe Frankenstein. #286 (Nov. 1980); gag.
• House of Secrets #63 (Nov./Dec. 1963; mention of Baron von Frankenstein. #124 (Oct. 1974); Edmund Frankenstein (actually a robot; "father" got burned).
• Phantom Stranger #23 –#30 (1973–1974); "Spawn of Frankenstein" back-up series.
• Plop #4 Mar-Apr 1974; gag.
• Swing With Scooter #24 (Jan. 1970); Earth-12 tale.
• Secrets of Haunted House #15 (Aug 1979), #18 (Nov. 1979); gags.
• Swamp Thing #2 (Jan. 1973) and in House of Secrets #140. The Patchwork Man was an homage to Frankenstein. By Len Wein/Bernie Wrightson.
• Superman #202 (Dec. 1967/Jan. 1968); alleges that Bizarro inspired Mary Shelley.
• Superman #276 (June 1974); the Monster League of Evil (Earth-T).
• Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #142-143 featured a monster group including a Frankenstein monster, who lived on a micro-planet called Transilvane.
• Tomahawk #103 (Mar./Apr. 1966); possible inspiration for Frankenstein.
• Unexpected #189 (Jan./Feb. 1979) and #191 (May/June 1979); Doctor Henry Frankenstein brings a graverobber back as a monster, but later decides to replace the head. Unexpected #199 (June 1980); gag.
• Weird War Tales #96 (Feb. 1981); gag.
• The Witching Hour #45 (Aug. 1974); gag.

Notes

Apparently W.M. Kaluta drew a "Spawn of Frankenstein" story, but for some reason it was either rejected or unused, so about 10 years later he redrew some material and it saw print in Marvel's Epic Illustrated magazine as "The Wanderer" or something like that.

The G.I. Robots

Created by Bob Kanigher, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito

» FIRST APPEARANCE:
Original: Star-Spangled War Stories #101 (Feb./Mar. 1962)
J.A.K.E.: Weird War Tales #101 (July 1981)
J.A.K.E. II: Weird War Tales #115 (Sept. 1982)

The G.I. Robot was a mechanical man who was built in the laboratories of Project "M" in the spring of 1942. (Young All-Stars #12, 28) The first model was dubbed "Joe, the G.I. Robot Buddy," a mechanical soldier who could "do practially everything except talk." He and his handler, Mac, were ordered on an experimental mission on which they found themselves on the so-called Dinosaur Island. (Star-Spangled War Stories #101) On their second outing, they encountered a second robot, a giant made by the Japanese. (#102–103) A second generation robot was called "Mac." It too was sent to Dinosaur Island, where it was destroyed in battle. (#125)

The next model was code named the Jungle Automatic Killer, Experimental, or J.A.K.E. Like before, Marine Sgt. Coker was assigned to test this prototype under actual combat conditions. Coker came to think of J.A.K.E. as a friend after it repeatedly saved his life. (Weird War Tales #101, 108) J.A.K.E. was eventually blown up saving an American fleet from destruction. (#111)

J.A.K.E. II, proved the most durable of the G.I. Robots, carrying out at several recorded missions. (#113, 115-118, 120, 122) It was sent to the Pacific and worked with Coker and other Marines. There were even the robot dog, "Cap," and a robot cat.

J.A.K.E. II also worked with the Creature Commandos. They were all spared from a government-directed suicide mission to man a rocket aimed at Berlin. Instead, the rocket went radically off course and headed deep into outer space. (#124)

The head of a G.I. Robot appeared in the trophy room of Nelson Strong (Swamp Thing #145) while the entire body of another was on display in 30th century Earth's Time and History Museum. (Legionnaires #68)

Another version of J.A.K.E. appeared during an adventure where heroes from across time became stranded on Dinosaur Island. (The War That Time Forgot)

Hunter's Hellcats

Created by Howard Liss and Jack Abel

» FIRST APPEARANCE: Our Fighting Forces #106 (Mar./Apr. 1967)

Lt. Ben Hunter was assigned the task of heading up a squad of ex-cons that was soon dubbed Hunter's Hellcats who operated in both Europe and Japan. (Our Fighting Forces #106-123) The Hellcats included Alley Cat (#118), Brains (#106), Brute (#106-122), Buzzard (#118), Cracker (#107), Hard Head (#106), Heller (#121-123), Juggler (#109-111, 113-119, 121-122), Light Fingers (#106-107), Little Joe (deceased, #120), Long Shot (#107), Snake Oil (#106-122), Whisper (#118) and Zig Zag (#107).

This feature in Our Fighting Forces was replaced by a new concept, a collection of defeated soldiers who called themselves "the Losers."

The fate of the individual Hellcats is unknown but Hunter survived and attained the rank of Colonel. His twin sons, Phil and Nick, subsequently served in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. (#99-106)

At the age of 74, Hunter received body modifications that extended his life and he became the leader of the Creature Commandos. (Creature Commandos #1)

The Losers

Created by Bob Kanigher and Russ Heath

» FIRST APPEARANCE:

• Gunner and Sarge: All-American Men of War #67 (Mar. 1959)
• Johnny Cloud: All-American Men of War #82 (Nov./Dec. 1960)
• The Haunted Tank: G.I. Combat #87 (Apr./May 1961)
• Captain Storm: Capt. Storm #1 (May/June 1964)
• As the Losers: G.I. Combat #138 (Oct./Nov. 1969)

"The Losers" was a long-running feature that took over from "Hunter's Hellcats" in Our Fighting Forces #123 (Jan./Feb. 1970). Prior to this, Gunner MacKay and Sarge Clay were part of a Marine unit assigned to a Japanese-held island (All-American Men of War #67-68, Our Fighting Forces #45–94), occasionally joined by a dog named Pooch. (#49)

They ultimately joined an assembly of soldiers, survivors who dubbed themselves "the Losers." These troops included the operators of the "Haunted Tank," Arch Asher, Rick Rawlins and Slim Stryker. These three had joined up with Captain Storm (who had just lost all the men under his command) and Johnny Cloud. (G.I. Combat #138) The Losers were officially sanctioned by the Allies in London and battled together for years. (Our Fighting Forcs #123–181)

They encountered heroes from the 21st century—Black Canary and Green Arro —during a mission on Dinosaur Island. (Birds of Prey #44-46) A vision of the Losers' collective demise in the spring of 1944 was shown during time fluctuations (Crisis On Infinite Earths #3), but Gunner & Sarge survived until the spring of 1945. In their final fight, the duo died within minutes of one another after they were gunned down by enemy troops. (Losers Special #1)

Very soon afterwards, Gunner was retrieved and revived by the Doctor at Project M. He underwent cybernetic body modifications and reluctantly joined the Creature Commandos. (Creature Commandos #1)

This pair of soldiers was immortalized in Jonathan Lord's 1949 film, Gunner and Sarge. (Silverblade #5)