The First Appearance Of Batman In James Gunn’s DCU Is In Serious Trouble

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A new movie is creating uncertainty around one of the initial projects in James Gunn’s DC Universe—and the very first official appearance of Batman within it. While Robert Pattinson’s Batman appeared in The Batman, that film isn’t connected to the main DCU storyline. This means Bruce Wayne hasn’t actually appeared in the DCU yet in live-action.

Batman made a quick appearance in the new DC Universe thanks to the animated series Creature Commandos. He showed up as a shadowy figure during a flashback about Dr. Phosphorus near the end of the first season. Because Creature Commandos was one of the first projects in the DCU and has already influenced upcoming movies, it suggests the series plays a significant role in the new universe.

Notably, Creature Commandos introduced Rick Flagg Sr. (played by Frank Grillo), a character who will be significant in the upcoming Superman film in 2025. The series also directly connected to the events of The Suicide Squad, which is now officially part of the DC Universe’s ongoing story. Because of all this, Creature Commandos initially appeared to be a key starting point for James Gunn’s new DC Universe.

Things might be changing for the DC Universe. The new trailer for Clayface, the upcoming DCU movie, makes it unclear how important Creature Commandos will be to the overall story. Clayface is planned as a scary, R-rated film focusing on the Batman villain of the same name—an actor who transforms into a shapeshifting supervillain. Though the Clayface trailer looks promising, the movie seems very different in tone and style from Creature Commandos.

The Clayface Movie Contradicts Creature Commandos’ Story

The movie Clayface is clearly aimed at mature audiences, as shown by its R-rating and its marketing as a horror film. The trailer reinforces this, revealing a very dark and serious story. It portrays Clayface as a deeply sympathetic character who experiences a devastating injury and struggles with a horrifying condition—his face visibly melting. The film appears to be a chilling exploration of losing oneself and the consequences of being seen as a monster.

The recent darker portrayal of Clayface doesn’t quite align with how he’s shown in Creature Commandos. In that series, Clayface is a rough, crude, and violent mercenary who enjoys simple pleasures like video games and beer. While disguised as Professor MacPherson, he engages in inappropriate behavior towards a student, and his character is generally played for ironic laughs, which fits the overall comedic style of Creature Commandos.

There’s a disconnect with the Clayface character. The version in Clayface is portrayed as a tragic and serious figure caught in a horror story, while in Creature Commandos, he’s a comedic and somewhat sleazy villain in an action series. This is a problem for the DC Universe, which aims to present a single, consistent story with the same characters appearing across different shows and movies. Clayface’s differing portrayals seem to break that consistency.

James Gunn and the team behind the DC Universe (DCU) have officially stated that Clayface will be a key part of the DCU, existing in the same world as both Superman and Creature Commandos. Unlike some other projects, Clayface isn’t a separate story or from an alternate universe – it’s firmly part of the main DCU timeline. This makes the future of Creature Commandos, and how it fits in, a bit unclear.

Clayface Raises So Many Unanswered Questions About Creature Commandos

The big differences in how Clayface is portrayed in Clayface and Creature Commandos leave a lot of unanswered questions. Clayface tells the story of his origins, so will he transform from a sympathetic, frightening character into the crude and funny version we see in Creature Commandos? That would be a huge shift in personality, even with the passage of time, and it could weaken the serious messages in Clayface.

One slightly less surprising idea is that multiple characters in the DC Universe might share the same villain name and abilities. This has happened before with Clayface – DC Comics has featured several people with those powers, most famously Basil Karlo and Matt Hagen. While the upcoming Clayface series will focus on Matt Hagen, the Creature Commandos show didn’t confirm if their Clayface is also Matt Hagen, leaving that a mystery. Having two different actors portray the same villain in projects happening at the same time would likely be confusing for viewers.

There’s a chance DC Universe is planning to make Creature Commandos non-canon. This would mean the show is just a standalone adventure, not a crucial part of the larger DC Universe story. If this happens, Batman’s debut in the DCU, Rick Flagg Sr.’s origin story, and any connections to the Suicide Squad established in Creature Commandos would no longer be considered official parts of the DCU timeline.

It’s still unclear how James Gunn and the new DC Universe will address the different versions of Clayface, but it’s created a tricky situation for the Creature Commandos series. The DCU will likely either change who Clayface is in Creature Commandos or rewrite the character’s history entirely. Right now, there’s no easy way to reconcile these conflicting portrayals of Clayface and Creature Commandos.

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2026-04-23 02:40