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This article contains major spoilers for Creature Commandos season 1, episode 7, A Very Funny Monster

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! 

As of this writing, it's been one week since the tragic end of Creature Commandos season 1, the first project to fall under the banner of the new James Gunn and Peter Safran-led DCU. Now that some time has passed, your pals at Lore Corner wanted to have a little mission debrief to go over what the hell just happened, what it means for Creature Commandos season 2.

Let's begin by the going over the biggest, and most heart-breaking, moment in the finale.

Who dies in Creature Commandos season 1 finale?

The final episode of Creature Commandos season 1 finds the CC back in Pokolistan, where some of the team was attempting to assassinate Princess Ilana, who they believe will bring about World War 3. After sneaking through castle security, the Commandos find Princess Ilana taking her daily swim. Unfortunately, the perimeter of the pond is patrolled by the royal guard, meaning there's only way to get to the would-be despot: underwater.

Naturally, it's up to Nina Mazursky, the show's Creature from the Black Lagoon double, to go into the water and off the princess. She is given a knife by the Bride and dives in, about to take her first life. But due to Nina's natural aversion to violence and to an unwitting distraction by teammate Weasel, Ilana catchs on to the attempted assassination. In the ensuing struggle, the princess kills Nina with her own knife.

Dang. Does anyone else die?

Is Frankenstein dead in Creature Commandos?

The final episode of Creature Commandos season 1 also sees Eric Frankenstein's obsession with The Bride culminate in a confrontation, during which The Bride gets the better of her stalker (voiced by David Harbour) and shoots him several times in both the chest and head. 

But here's the thing about those Frankensteins - death has a habit of not sticking with them. In the post-credits scene of episode 7 (yes, the Creature Commandos finale has a post-credits scene), Eric is revealed to have survived his injuries and is recuperating in the care of an elderly Pokolistanian woman, similar to the one we met in the episode that explored his backstory.

Will Nina return in Creature Commandos season 2?

As of this writing, there's no reason to think that Nina Mazursky will return for season 2 of Creature Commandos (recently confirmed by James Gunn himself). Even though resurrection is certainly a possibility in the DCU (to say nothing of the comic books that inspired it), Nina's demise held an emotional weight that writers would risk undoing by reversing. Plus, Nina's death was a major turning point in the character arc of The Bride, who it seems the show is setting up as the main character of season 2. 

And since we're on that subject...

What will happen in Creature Commandos season 2?

The events of the American/Pokolistanian conflict wrapped up with some finality (if not cleanliness) at the end of Creature Commandos season 2. So, plot-wise, it's difficult to say what awaits the surviving Commandos for their next animated outing on Max. However, we can tell you where all the characters, save poor departed Nina, were left at the end of this, which is presumably where they'll begin in the second. Here are the current statuses of:

• Rick Flag Sr.: After a confrontation with a certain shapeshifter (more on him later), Flag is convalescing in a government hospital bed. We know he'll be out of there soon, however, as actor Frank Grillo will be portraying an up-and-about version of the character in the upcoming Peacemaker season 2.
• Amanda Waller: Attending Flag's bedside as she waits for her loyal agent to heal, Amanda Waller is still in charge of Task Force M by the end of season 1. She is also going to be in Peacemaker season 2, and come next year, will star in her own spinoff.
• The Bride: After a tumultuous and very personal season 1, The Bride has gone from reluctant recruit of the Commandos to its de facto leader. Still in the custody of the US government, it appears she'll be leading the team in the next mission, though Flag's recovery may change that.
• Doctor Phosphorus: Another survivor of the Pokolistanian assassination attempt, former Gotham City crime boss Phosphorus is still serving his time as a member of Task Force M, utilizing his radioactive skin (and even more dangerous sarcasm) to their enemies detriment.
• G.I. Robot: Wait, what? Yes, at the tail end of CCs1, we learned that G.I. Robot survived being exploded by the witch Circe in episode 3. He's not only back on the team fro season 2, but comes with some heavy-duty upgrades, courtesy of we-know-not-whom.
• Weasel: The Suicide Squad's favorite little freak is somehow still alive and kicking at the end of season 1, and like his fellow Commandos, still in custody of and serving under the US government. 
• Eric Frankenstein: As we mentioned earlier, Eric is alive and healing, and will likely continue stalking the woman he considers his into the next season. 

But hold on. At the end of the finale episode, when The Bride appeared to take on more of a leadership role in the squad and we got to see the surviving members reunited, we caught a glimpse of another familiar face from a James Gunn DC project. The thing is, it wasn't Creature Commandos that we knew him from.

Will King Shark be in Creature Commandos season 2?

Your eyes didn't deceive you, that was indeed The Suicide Squad's King Shark in the closing scene of Creature Commandos season 1. Apparently, the law that the US passed stopping Amanda Waller from using human villains to do the government's dirty work didn't apply to the Squad's Jaws lookalike, so we presume that Waller moved him over to Task Force M. And if his appearance therein doesn't confirm his involvement for the next season, I won't know what to think.

Plus, the team kinda needs a new fish person. 

It's not too soon, it's just true!

That pretty much covers all the monsters from season 1, right? Oh wait, there actually is one more character whose future is worth discussing, though technically this person was at no point a part of the team. In fact, he was very much making the team's job harder.

Will Clayface be in Creature Commandos season 2?

Voiced (albeit seldomly) by Alan Tudyk, who also took on the roles of Dr. Phosphorus and Dr. Will Magnus, Batman villain Clayface made his DCU debut in Creature Commandos, looking very much like his Batman: The Animated Series counterpart. In episode 5 of season 1, cayface is revealed to have played a part in a larger conspiracy, and was found out by the unlikely duo of Rick Flag and Eric Frankenstein. In the battle that followed, Flag was beaten within inches of his life (which is why he's in a hospital bed at the show's end), but Eric manages to explode the villain using some exposed wiring.

Later, when the scene of the struggle is discovered by Amanda Waller and A.R.G.U.S. agent John Economos, Clayface's exploded remains are still scattered about the building. When the agents interact with the pieces, they do not show any signs of life. But does that mean Clayface is dead?

It's certainly possible, although Clayface's strange molecular structure makes his definition of "dead" a little trickier to nail down. We've seen Clayface use parts of himself as projectiles before, parts which do not reattach or show signs of life afterward. Theoretically, if even a little bit of Clayface's "core" self escaped the electrocution, he could very well still be alive.

And whether he's alive or not, we know that we'll be seeing his adjustable face in the DCU shortly, as a Clayface feature film has been officially announced as part of the upcoming DCU film schedule. The movie is penned by horror legend Mike Flanagan and is set for release on September 11, 2026, making it the third DCU film after Superman and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.

But hey, we're getting off track here. What we should be talking about is the future of Creature Commandos, and the next logical question in that discussion is:

What is the Creature Commandos season 2 release date?

We won't bullshit you here - we have absolutely no idea. When he confirmed a second season of the animated series, Creature Commandos chief James Gunn did not say word one about when we can expect to see it. The best we can do is take a guess (again, this is just a guess) based on the time between the first announcement of Creature Commandos season 1 and its actual premiere date on Max. 

That time amounted to roughly 22 months between Creature Commandos' reveal and its first episode. Using that timeframe, we can guess (GUESS) that we'll be watching Creature Commandos season 2 some time around October of 2026.

Did we mention that that's just a guess?

What comes after Creature Commandos season 1 in the DCU?

Whenever Creature Commandos season 2 ends up airing, there are going to be a lot more DCU projects that have come before it. In particular, there's the first DCU movie, Superman in July of 2025, and then there's Peacemaker season 2, a Max original like Creature Commandos, that will air in August this year. For more of what's coming down the pike for the DCU's first chapter, Gods and Monsters, check out Popverse's guide to every upcoming DC movie and TV show. 

And as you wait, rewatch all of Creature Commandos season 1, streaming now in full on Max.

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