Creature Commandos
| Creature Commandos | |
|---|---|
Weird War Tales #93, the first appearance of the
Creature Commandos. 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) |
List
|
The Creature Commandos are a fictional DC Comics team of military superhumans originally set in World War II. The original team was introduced in Weird War Tales #93 (November 1980).
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.
Asked how the Creature Commandos came about, writer J. M. DeMatteis recalled,
I was doing War Tales[sic] for about six months before the DC implosion put me out of work for almost a year. And the last idea I had... I took a look at the title, Weird War, and I said, "Ya gotta have a lot of monsters." ... then after I was getting work there again was when they were trying to revivify the mystery books by putting series in them. So I went to Len [Wein, editor] with the Creature Commandos - the actual title may have been Len's; I think it was - and he said the same thing. "That's so silly that it will work. Let's do it." And we did it and it was silly and nothing came of it and the book died anyway.
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 beside the Creature Commandos include 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.
In 1942, Project M created the Creature Commandos. They were: Lt. Matthew Shrieve (a normal human), Warren Griffith (a werewolf), Sgt. Vincent Velcro (a vampire), Pvt. Elliot "Lucky" Taylor (Frankenstein's monster) and Dr. Myrna Rhodes (a gorgon).
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 heroine 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.
...
Wikipedia