As the world gears up for hope with the Superman teaser, James Gunn’s Creature Commandos proves why it’s necessary with its latest episode.

The opening of James Gunn’s Superman teaser trailer shows a battered and bloodied Kal-El fallen in a snowy terrain and calling out to his trustful companion Krypto the Superdog for help. Opening the first glimpse of his DCU by showing Superman in such a vulnerable position is a ballsy move indeed, but Gunn has never shied away from experimenting.

The DCU kickstarted earlier this year with the animated series Creature Commandos, which Gunn has written in its entirety. It brings back several fan-favorite but under-depicted DC characters to the forefront and takes a dark turn with each episode. The latest episode with Weasel is one of the saddest storylines on TV and even Gunn agreed to the same.

James Gunn on writing that incredibly sad backstory for Weasel in Creature Commandos

James Gunn | Credits: Inside of You podcast

While the teaser trailer of Superman does promise some ‘Gunn-anigans’, the DCU officially kickstarted with the Max series Creature Commandos, which is right up James Gunn’s alley. The animated series features a ragtag team of misfits being hired by Amanda Waller to go on a mission, only this time the agents are not human.

Among other agents like the Bride and GI Robot, the character Weasel, who was first seen in The Suicide Squad, has quickly become a fan-favorite and the latest episode deals with his backstory that led him to being imprisoned in Belle Reve. The episode sees an innocent Weasel befriending a group of kids and inadvertently being framed for their deaths.

Gunn mentioned in an interview that from the beginning of Weasel’s introduction in The Suicide Squad, he knew the character was not responsible for the children’s deaths. Despite being the man behind Rocket’s tragic past in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3, Gunn said to Variety that Weasel’s episode was the saddest thing he had ever written,

I get really sad talking about it. I remember finishing [writing] it. I was in Colorado with my wife, and I remember I said, ‘I think I just wrote the saddest thing that I’ve ever written in my entire life.’

The episode deals with many dark themes such as how humans perceive Weasel and the misunderstandings that led to his unwarranted arrest.

James Gunn says Weasel is the noblest in Creature Commandos

A still from Creature Commandos | Credits: Max

James Gunn’s filmography usually centers around a ragtag team of misfits who are tasked with saving the day despite their differences. Be it the Guardians of the Galaxy films, The Suicide Squad, or Peacemaker, all of these works have this in common. Hence, it was surprising to see him tackle one of the most popular superheroes in Superman.

Gunn’s Creature Commandos, however, has the touch of the filmmaker in its very design. The team is reminiscent of most of his other works, with a character like Weasel especially having a tragic backstory like Rocket in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3. The filmmaker mentioned that Weasel was the noblest creature in the show,

At the end of the day, [Weasel], in a lot of ways, is the most noble character in the show. This is a pretty innocent creature who is treated like something else because he looks different than other people. You’ll see everything with his backstory come into play in the later episodes.

While fans have yet to see what exactly the character’s origins are, Gunn assured fans that he was on the ‘good’ side.

Creature Commandos is available to stream on Max.