Summary
- Creature Commandos marks the start of the reimagined DCU with a successful adult animation hit.
- King Shark returns to the DCU in Creature Commandos, with a potential bigger role in season 2.
- The Suicide Squad and Creature Commandos have overlapping elements, expanding the DCU in an interconnected way.
James Gunn’s Creature Commandos marks the start of the reimagined DCU, and although an adult animation might seem like an unusual place to start, it’s a certified hit that’s already being praised as a solid foundation for the rest of “Chapter One: Gods and Monsters”. Creature Commandos brought back Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller and Steve Agee’s John Economos from the DCEU, but they weren’t the only alumni making a return.
Creature Commandos isn’t Gunn’s first foray into DC Comics, with him notably directing 2021’s The Suicide Squad (itself a sequel to David Ayer’s Suicide Squad) and then heading up the John Cena-led Peacemaker. Creature Commandos’s cliffhanger ending has neatly set it up for the confirmed season 2, and with it, it looks like the Suicide Squad’s King Shark is making the leap from the DCEU to the DCU.
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Creature Commandos Brings King Shark Back to the DCU
January 9’s “A Very Funny Monster” saw the Bride (Indira Varma), Weasel (Sean Gunn), and Doctor Phosphorus (Alan Tudyk) locked back up in Belle Reve’s remodeled Non-Human Interment Division alongside some new blood. There were Easter eggs honoring Nightwing, Superman, and Green Arrow, while the episode teased an expanded Creature Commandos roster with Nosferata and Khalis. One of the big talking points was the surprise return of King Shark.
Introduced to the DCEU for The Suicide Squad, Sylvester Stallone famously voiced Nanue/King Shark and was once said to be reprising his role further down the line. Instead, Gunn has confirmed Diedrich Bader is the new voice of King Shark. This isn’t Bader’s first time voicing a DC character, with him remembered for lending his vocals to Bruce Wayne/Batman in multiple projects as far back as 2008’s Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Although King Shark only appeared fleetingly in the DCU, he’s expected to have a bigger role in Creature Commandos season 2.
The Suicide Squad brought back Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn to lead a new version of Task Force X. After a bloodbath that opened the movie, King Shark served alongside Harley, Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Peacemaker (John Cena), Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), and Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior). There was already a major connection between The Suicide Squad and Creature Commandos, with Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) referencing what went down in Corto Maltese and the death of his son, Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman). Despite Creature Commandos being the official start of DCU canon, The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker are making things more complicated.
When fans last saw the Suicide Squad, King Shark was alongside the surviving members of the team being flown back to the USA. Bloodsport had successfully blackmailed Amanda Waller into giving them their freedom, so it’s unclear what brought King Shark back to Belle Reve. As for why he’s now a potential recruit for the Creature Commandos, it comes after Waller’s own daughter (Danielle Brooks) revealed the existence of Task Force X, and she was banned from using the team again. Creature Commandos explained that while Waller isn’t allowed to use human recruits for Task Force X, the titular ‘creatures’ don’t count. This is how Nanue now finds himself on the overhauled Task Force M. It’s no secret that The Suicide Squad was a commercial flop, and with no signs of a sequel, it’s good news that the fan-favorite King Shark is being brought over to the DCU.
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Everybody Loves King Shark
Following a cameo in 1994’s Superboy (vol. 4) #0, King Shark made his first full appearance in Superboy (vol. 4) #9. He’s been known as an enemy of Aquaman, the Flash, Batman, and Superboy, frequently showing his strength as a member of the Suicide Squad. Although there were questions about his origin story, King Shark was firmly established as the son of the “The King of All Sharks”, aka the Shark God. The re-established The New 52 continuity reimagined King Shark as a hammerhead shark and saw him serve on the Suicide Squad after being tortured by Amanda Waller.
Even before Stallone was voicing King Shark in The Suicide Squad, the character was a firm favorite of DC Comics. Posting on X back in 2016, Suicide Squad’s David Ayer said he’d considered King Shark for the movie but ultimately settled on casting Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc:
“One of the characters I was thinking about for the squad line-up was King Shark, but we realised it would take a lot of work – a lot of CG work. We actually ended up going with Killer Croc who turned out to be the right guy for the job.”
There were theories that King Shark would arrive in a sequel, but Ayer ultimately left the project to work on Gotham City Sirens (that was itself canceled). With Killer Croc dropped when Gunn took over for The Suicide Squad, the director made King Shark an integral part of the team.
King Shark is no stranger to television and film, having a substantial role in the CW’s The Flash. Voiced by David Hayter and played by Dan Payne, this version of King Shark was a marine biologist who was transformed into an anthropomorphic great white shark by a particle accelerator. With some impressive CGI, it only led to complaints about Ayer’s excuse for not using King Shark the same year that he debuted in The Flash. Elsewhere, a very different version of the character was voiced by John DiMaggio in the animated Batman: Assault on Arkham. More recently, Ron Funches voiced a more comedic King Shark in Harley Quinn.
Alongside his star status from The Suicide Squad, King Shark has also gained prominence thanks to being one of the four main characters in Rocksteady Studios’ Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Even though the game had many flaws, Kill the Justice League was praised for turning King Shark into a tank. In terms of King Shark’s increased popularity, he hits that sweet spot between being a terrifying villain and a misunderstood antihero. While it’s a shame that the star power of Stallone isn’t back to carry him through into the DCU, fans are sure to be pleased that another beloved part of the divisive DCEU is getting another chance to shine.
There’s no word on when Creature Commandos is coming back for season 2 or what threat the team will be facing, but with Grillo reprising his role as Flag in Superman, there’s a chance that other cast members could also appear in one of the DCU’s many live-action projects. Even if Creature Commandos’ return is a long way off, adding King Shark and the rest of the team to something like Peacemaker season 2 is a possibility. The Suicide Squad didn’t give much backstory to King Shark but like Creature Commandos gave each member of the team a suitably tragic origin, expect to find out more about what makes this goofy doofus tick. Get ready for a much bigger Creature Commandos, and with King Shark poised to flex his muscles, it’s a welcome return.
