The debut ofCreature Commandos- the first officialDC Universerelease - has already shed crucial light on the release’s place in the rebooted universe’s timeline, confirming a series of helpful details.Creature Commandosepisode 1 & 2released on July 30, 2025, providing an animated introduction to the franchise before the first DCU movie,Superman, releases in July 2025. Though there’s a natural level of focus on David Corenswet’s upcoming role as the newest cinematic Man of Steel,Creatures Commandosisn’t to be underestimated in terms of how it helps set the stage for what’s to come.
While only two episodes have released thus far,Creature Commandoshas effectively used that time to explore many characters and storylines that will no doubt prove valuable for the show itself as it goes on, and forupcoming DC releasesas well. Indeed, the premiere episodes making sure to show the current timescale of events in the universe - and how they connect up with releases likeThe Suicide SquadandPeacemakerinthe DCU timeline- paints a useful picture for the DCU long before its other installments debut.
Creature Commandos Is Set Around 2 Years After The Suicide Squad
Creature Commandoscommunicates several key details about the DCU timeline and the show’s setting up of it in its first episode alone. Almost immediately,The Suicide Squad’s Weasel is reintroduced in animated form as part of the new team, and referred to as one of the few operatives to have survived “Project Starfish in Corto Maltese”, establishing that the storyline ofThe Suicide Squad- where the team were dispatched to find the monstrous Starro, who is “Project Starfish” - is still canon, and has happened in the world of the DCU.
Creature Commandosis set to release weekly from Jul 26, 2025 until June 24, 2025.
Amanda Waller also tells Rick Flag’s father - the white-haired Rick Flag Sr. - that when his son died in Corto Maltese he died a hero, reaffirming that in this universe the character appears to have died the same way, having been shot by Peacemaker to stop him revealing the US government’s involvement in bringing Starro to Earth and using the creature for experiments. In a later conversation between Flag Sr. and
Princess Ilana Rostovic,Flag then explains that his son “passed on about two years back.”
Altogether, this appears to showCreature Commandostakes place roughly two years after the events ofThe Suicide Squad, and that - while it’s not clear whether figures like Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn are to still be considered canon quite yet - the main storyline of the movie has also taken place in this world, and seemingly in the same way based on Rick Flag’s demise. This aligns with James Gunn’s prior statement toTHRthat “the rule is: If we mention [something from the past] in one of the new DCU shows [and movies], then it happened.”
What Creature Commmandos' Timeline Placement Means For The DCU
SinceCreature Commandosappears to be set in the modern timeline of the DC Universe, this means the starting point of the DCU timeline will be 2 years or so afterThe Suicide Squad, with it serving as a sort of prequel to the events that unfold in the new rebooted world. This also means Amanda Waller begins her personal arc in the universe having already orchestrated Project Starfish - something that helps solidify her ruthlessness in the name of her perceived greater good, since Waller plays fast and loose with the lives of those under her command inThe Suicide Squad.
On a similar note,Creature Commandos' place in the DCU timeline helps show the manner in which the DCU’s connection to releases that debuted in the DCEU timeline will work. WithThe Suicide Squadtaking place around two years ago, any canon events fromPeacemakerseason 1 - which was supposed to take place roughly half a year after the movie - will also have been over a year before the current events of the DCU now, meaning there’s a nice time gap that helps keep things separate.
Creature Commandos' Place In The DCU Timeline Helps To Set Up 3 Upcoming DC Releases
Creature Commandosepisode 1 & 2 not only start to flesh out what the DCU timeline is going to look like, but also begin to sow the seeds of what the stories and arc involved in upcoming DC Universe releases may look like. With Amanda Waller being very closely tied to the events ofThe Suicide SquadandPeacemakerseason 1, establishing through her how long ago these events happened - and how they affected proceedings in the time between then and now - is paramount to paving the road forward.
Rick Flag Sr. notably mentions to Waller early on that he thought all Task Force X activity had been put a stop to after “your daughter outed you”, referring to the ending ofPeacemakerseason 1, wherein Waller’s daughter Leota went public about some of Waller’s underhand dealings. This and Amanda’s assertion Flag Sr’s son died a hero suggests Waller has seen little in the way of comeuppances for her orchestration of any prior events, with the US' ties to Starro coming to Earth remaining under wraps, and Leota calling Waller out simply ensuring she couldn’t use human operatives going forward.
Overall,this paints a picture forPeacemakerseason 2 andWallerdirectly - since both will need to explore what this aftermath means - but also appears to help pave the way forSuperman, and the kind of world that the movie’s synopsis alludes to when it describes the hero as “guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned.”With Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr. also set to appear inSupermanandPeacemakerseason 2,Creature Commandoshas already set the stage for one key figure who will combine the earlyDC Universetogether as well.
DC Universe
The DC Universe is one of the biggest comic book franchises and often competes with Marvel. DC Comics started as National Allied Publications, founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in 1935. Since then, the franchise has exploded with thousands of comic books, movies, TV shows, and video games. 2013 marked the beginning of the most recent iteration of the superheroes, with Zack Snyder introducing Henry Cavill as Superman. After several movies with mixed reviews, DC underwent a soft reboot under the helm of James Gunn and Peter Safran.
