The Creature Commandos are a fictional DC Comics team of military superhumans first deployed in World War II. The original team was introduced in Weird War Tales #93 (November 1980) created by Robert Kanigher and Jim Craig. DC Comics is one of the largest American companies in comic book and related media publishing. ... In comic books, first appearance refers to the date or issue of a characters first appearance. ... Weird War Tales was a comic book title published by DC Comics which ran from September 1971 to June 1983, numbering 124 issues. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Robert Kanigher (June 18, 1915 - May 6, 2002) was a prolific comic book writer whose career spanned five decades. ... Joe Kubert is a legendary comic book artist who went on to found the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. ... DC Comics is one of the largest American companies in comic book and related media publishing. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... Weird War Tales was a comic book title published by DC Comics which ran from September 1971 to June 1983, numbering 124 issues. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Robert Kanigher (June 18, 1915 - May 6, 2002) was a prolific comic book writer whose career spanned five decades. ... After his win in the final game of the 1980 Olympics, Craig searches the stands for his father. ...

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 Scott Eaton. This article is about the year 2000. ... Timothy Truman (born February 9, 1956 in Gauley Bridge, West Virginia is an American writer, artist and musician best known for his stories and Western Movie-style comic book art. ...

History

Project M

Project M was a secret government organization which operated during World War II and specialized 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. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... Miss America is the name of two Golden Age patriotically-themed comic book superheroines. ... Robotman is an American syndicated comic strip, created, written and illustrated by cartoonist Jim Meddick in 1986. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ...

In 1942, Project M created the Creature Commandos. They were: Lt. Matthew Shrieve (normal), Warren Griffith (werewolf), Sgt. Vincent Velcoro (vampire), Pvt. Elliot "Lucky" Taylor (frankentstein'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 masked heroing career 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. Image File history File links Aweirdwar. ... Image File history File links Aweirdwar. ... Freedom Fighters is the name of a minor DC Comics comic book superhero team made up of characters acquired from the defunct company, Quality Comics, and the short-lived comic book series of the same name featuring those characters. ... The All-Star Squadron was an American comic book (1981–1987) created by Roy Thomas and published by DC Comics about the adventures of a large team of superheroes which comprised of most of the feature characters owned by the company that appeared in the Golden Age of Comic... In DC Comics comic books, Deathbolt was an supervillain created by the Ultra-Humanite to fight the All-Star Squadron. ... The Ultra-Humanite is a fictional supervillain appearing in stories published by DC Comics. ...

During the same visit, the All-Stars witnessed the unfinished body of the creature that would later be known as G.I. Robot.[1]

Word 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 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. National Socialism redirects here. ...

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. Dinosaur Island is a mysterious island located in the South Pacific in the DC Comics universe. ... For the fictional superstate in George Orwells novel, see Oceania (Nineteen Eighty-Four). ... Orders Saurischia    Sauropodomorpha    Theropoda Ornithischia Dinosaurs are giant reptiles that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for most of their 165-million year existence. ...

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. G.I. Robot is the name of a series of fictional robots in comic books published by DC Comics. ... Atlantis (Greek: , Island of Atlas) is the name of an island first mentioned and described by the classical Greek philosopher Plato. ... View of the Pacific Ocean from Oregon. ...

At the end of the war, the remaining Creature Commandos and J.A.K.E. 2 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.[2] Berlin is the capital city and a state of Germany. ...

Creature Commandos #1
Art by Scott Eaton

Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (400x607, 129 KB) Summary Copyright DC Comics, art by Scott Eaton, Creature Commandos #1 Licensing This image is of the cover of a single issue of a comic book, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (400x607, 129 KB) Summary Copyright DC Comics, art by Scott Eaton, Creature Commandos #1 Licensing This image is of the cover of a single issue of a comic book, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the...

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 rejuvination therapies. Other new members are: Aten a mummy like communications specialist, The Bogman an amphibian grunt remsembling the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and recently revived cyborg Gunner MacKay, who along with his partner "Sarge" had died during World War II. Both Lucius Hunter and Gunner macKay were feature characters in Our Fighting Forces. Subclasses and Orders Order Temnospondyli- extinct Subclass Lepospondyli- extinct Subclass Lissamphibia   Anura   Caudata   Gymnophiona Amphibians (class Amphibia) are a taxon of animals that include all tetrapods (four-legged vertebrates) that do not have amniotic eggs. ... Creature from the Black Lagoon is a 1954 black-and-white science fiction film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, and Whit Bissell. ... Our Fighting Forces is a DC Comics war-anthology comic book series that ran for 118 issues from 1954-1981. ...

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). Queen Bee is the name of four different DC Comics supervillainesses. ...

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] Claw the Unconquered is a sword and sorcery /fantasy comic book character created by writer David Michelinie and artist Ernie Chan (originally credited as Ernie Chua) in DC Comics Claw The Unconquered #1 (May-June 1975). ...

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 itelf 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 resembled one of the Medusae.
• 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, he resembles the Frankenstein monster and has damaged vocal cords.
• Sgt. Vincent Velcoro - Vincent volunteered for the project in order to commute a 30-year sentence in the brig. Like a Vampire he can now change into a bat and requires human blood to survive.

Clinical lycanthropy is a psychiatric syndrome that involves a delusional belief that the affected person is, or has, transformed into an animal. ... A German woodcut from 1722 A werewolf (also lycanthrope or wolfman) in folklore and mythology is a person who shapeshifts into a wolf, either purposely, by using magic, or after being placed under a curse. ... A relatively modern image of Medusa painted by Arnold Böcklin In Greek mythology, Medusa (Greek: Μέδουσα (Médousa)), was a monstrous female character whose gaze could turn people to stone. ... Boris Karloff as Frankensteins Monster in Frankenstein (1931) Frankensteins monster (sometimes Frankensteins creature or the Frankenstein monster) is a creature first appearing in Mary Shelleys novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. ... Philip Burne-Jones, The Vampire, 1897 Vampires or vampyres are mythological or folkloric creatures, typically held to be the re-animated corpses of human beings and said to subsist on human and/or animal blood (hematophagy). ...

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.

A mummy is a corpse whose skin and dried flesh have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold or dryness, or airlessness. ... Creature from the Black Lagoon is a 1954 black-and-white science fiction film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, and Whit Bissell. ...

Trivia

• 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".[4]
• Truman said he based Patch's character on the DCU's Patchwork Man from Swamp Thing v.1 #2.[5]
• The villains in this series are old JLA 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 from issue #3. Tazzala is presumably some relation to Zazzala, who appeared in JLA #23. Kraad is from JLA #25.[6]
• The usage of Claw the Unconquered in this series is rendered true to his pre-Crisis origins.[7]

Elseworlds logo. ... Timothy Truman (born February 9, 1956 in Gauley Bridge, West Virginia is an American writer, artist and musician best known for his stories and Western Movie-style comic book art. ... The Justice League is a DC Comics superhero team. ... The Brave and the Bold was a DC Comics superhero comic book which was published from August 1955 to July 1983. ... Claw the Unconquered is a sword and sorcery /fantasy comic book character created by writer David Michelinie and artist Ernie Chan (originally credited as Ernie Chua) in DC Comics Claw The Unconquered #1 (May-June 1975). ...

Resources

• Cosmic Teams Creature Commandos
• Small DCU Guide entry
• Toonopedia - War that time forgot
• Supermanartists.org DC History 7
• Dave's Long Box review of Weird War Tales #119
• Fanzing Interview with Tim Truman