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Greetings Popversians, and welcome to Lore Corner! Each week, video producer Ashley V. Robinson and staff writer Grant DeArmitt are going to take you deep into the preexisting lore behind some of pop culture's most exciting adaptations, such as the action-packed monsterfest (and first entry to the DCU) Creature Commandos. Enjoy!

January 9th marked the end of the very first very exciting season of Creature Commandos, the show that not introduced us to some of the most lovable monsters in recent TV history, but that officially kicked off the DC cinematic universe, which is led by James Gunn and Peter Safran. There were plenty of memorable moments from this season, but perhaps the most memorable came in episode 6, Priyatel Skelet, where viewers got to meet a certain Dark Knight vigilante.

Now you may be wondering; is the Caped Crusader that we met in that episode really the Batman of Warner Bros.' new connected movie series? What does his inclusion in Creature Commandos mean for the future of DC films? We here at Lore Corner are wondering the same things, and we're going to take the time to answer each question (plus a few more). Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about Batman in the Creature Commandos.

Is Batman in Creature Commandos?

First things first, yes, that really was Bruce Wayne AKA Batman that appeared (but didn't do much else)  onscreen in episode 6 of Creature Commandos. Appropriately, it was the episode that revolved around Gotham City villain Dr Phosphorus, portrayed by frequent voice actor Alan Tudyk. The Dark Knight' appearance came from a flashback, however, we don't know how long ago the memory was compared to the ”present” events of Creature Commandos.

Is Creature Commandos canon to the DCU?

Yes, Creature Commandos is indeed canon to the new DCU, which means that the Batman we saw in episode 6 was the first canon appearance of the character in this particular cinematic universe. However, we need to take this appearance with a giant bat-shaped grain of salt.

As Forbes recently reported, the shadowy, indistinct appearance of the character was very much on purpose. Originally, says James Gunn, there was a lot more specificity about the character's look and even possibly actions in the show, however, Gunn nixed much of it, due to not wanting to commit to any character particulars ahead of the first live action appearance of The Dark Knight in the DCU.

We are going to get into more of what that means from a cinematic standpoint, but first, let's take a break to ask the question:

Have the Creature Commandos and Batman met before?

The Creature Commandos first appeared in DC Comics in 1980, giving Batman about 44 years to share an adventure with them in the comic book medium. As you might have guessed, they did indeed cross over many times, too many to list here. Although, we kind of feel like you were asking about whether or not the CC and the B ever met on before this on TV?

The answer to that is also yes.

In 2011, the animated series Batman: The Brave and the Bold aired the 12th episode of its 3rd season, which was titled Four-Star Spectacular. It was a series of four vignettes in which the Dark Knight crossed over with other obscure DC characters, one group of which being the Creature Commandos. however, it was not the same team that we've been watching for about 2 months now on Max. 

This team of Creature Commandos was a little bit closer to the comic book source material. It included such members as Wolfpack (AKA Warren Griffith, the team’s werewolf), Dr. Medusa (AKA Myrra Rhodes, the team’s gorgon), Patchwork (AKA Pvt. Elliot "Lucky" Taylor, the team’s Frankenstein, and Sgt. Vincent Velcro (the team’s vampire).

This appearance of the Creature Commandos was absolutely not to be considered canon to the DCU, a notion made confusing by the fact that the first DCU Batman movie will also be called the Brave and the Bold. But hey, that's superheroes for you.

And just like that, we are back on the subject of the DCU.

Is Robert Pattinson Batman in the DCU?

As of this writing, there has been no one cast as Batman in the DCU. if you're saying to yourself, 'But wait a minute, isn't Robert Pattinson Batman?,' you'd be correct, with a huge stipulation. Pattinson plays Bruce Wayne in the Matt Reeves-directed Batman saga, which is canonically outside the DCU.

However, the idea of Pattinson's portrayal of the character carrying into the DCU proper recently became a subject of some discussion. Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast on January 7, Gunn said “I’ve contemplated it, yeah,” and that that decision will depend on “whether it makes sense.” Yet the very next day, Brave and the Bold director Andy Muschietti added to the discussion, saying that "it's quite obvious that Matt Reeves' Batman is not part of this new universe," leading sources like MovieWeb to make the assumption that Pattinson will not be the DCU’s Batman.

We will have to wait until we have more news on Batman the Brave and the Bold (the movie) before confirming either way. 

What is the release date for Batman: The Brave and the Bold?

And there's the rub. As of this writing, we really don't have much information regarding the DCU's first Batman movie, especially not its release date. Director Muschietti recently confirmed that there's another movie on his to-do list before the film, and the recent delay of Matt Reeves The Batman II makes it unlikely that we will see the DCU's Batman live-action film before 2027. Here's hoping he cameos in Creature Commandos season 2, perhaps in better lighting this time.

But knowing him, that's unlikely.

Creature Commandos season 1 is streaming in full on Max.

Enjoy our guides to how to watch the recent DCEU, the Arrowverse, and James Gunn's upcoming DCU.