Creature Commandos is off to quite a monstrous start, with the first two episodes now streaming on Max. The series is just the appetizer as for whats in store for James Gunn’s DCU.
Of course, with it being James Gunn, expect those deep cuts and those fun little Easter Eggs that you’ll be picking out for years to come (I don’t think people have even found them all in Guardians Of The Galaxy).
Creature Commandos introduces us to a whole roster of DC characters, a menagerie of characters primarily pulled from the darkest corners of the DC universe, with only a handful of originals made for the series.
Probably the biggest original character in the series would be Princess Ilana Rostovic (voiced by Maria Bakalova), the heir to the throne of Pokolistan who Task Force M are sent to protect. Most fans would brush it off and not think too hard into her character as she is seemingly just made for the series, but some more eagle-eyed DC fans may raise an eyebrow to some details of the character, and her surroundings that may just hint to her true origins.
WHO IS AMETHYST, PRINCESS OF THE GEMWORLD?
First introduced all the way back in The Legion of Superheroes #298, released in April of 1983. Writers Dan Mishkin, Gary Cohn, and artist Enrnie Colón brought Amethyst, Princess of the Gemworld to the DC Universe.
Amethyst was born into the Amethyst royal family of the mythical dimension of Gemworld, to the Lord and Lady Amethyst. As an infant the girl never met her parents, having been killed by her future archnemesis, Dark Opal, whose staged a coup and overthrown their house. Amethyst was saved by a witch named Citrina, who opened a rift in time and space to take her to Earth and hide her with a human family, Herb and Marion Winston. Amethyst lived a normal life as a human child, now named Amy Winston. That is until her 13th birthday, when a lizard found itself in her home and replaced one of her birthday gifts with an amethyst necklace.
On the night of her 13th birthday, Amy is abducted by an ogre from Gemworld, taking her to Fortress Opal. When Amy arrives into the Gemworld she finds herself aged-up and in the body of a young woman, roughly around 20-years-old as time flows differently in the Gemworld.
Amethyst is saved by a servant of House Amethyst named Granch, who saves her from the Ogre and Sardonyx, a minion of Dark Opal. She reunites with Citrina and learns that she is a long-lost princess and would stage a rebellion to free Gemworld from Dark Opal, killing him in the end and becoming a lord of order.
WHAT’S SO SIMILAR?
So far in Creature Commandos, there is no definitive proof that Ilana Rostovic may actually be Amethyst of the Gemworld besides a few clues and design choices.
Obviously what we know of Ilana so far is that she is very much not a 13-year-old girl, instead said to be around the age of her voice actress, Maria Bakalova, who is currently 28 years old.
Ilana is also already a princess on Earth, specifically in the nation of Pokolistan, however she is an original character created for the show, with Pokolistan in the comics having no record of an Ilana Rostovic. Much of the fiction eastern European nation is reimagined for the series, a common attribute of Gunn’s projects.
Ilana’s design feels heavily inspired by Amethyst as well. Sporting bright blonde hair, purple gowns, and what we can only assume is an Amethyst necklace around her neck, similar to the one that Amethyst wears around hers.
Perhaps the biggest clue is in the credits of the episodes. The kingdom of Pokolistan is guarded by an elite team of knights in high tech armor, but it is their credited name that is interesting as they are listed as “Amethyst Knights” in the closing credits of each episode.
THE VERDICT (?)
It feels unlikely that Ilana and Pokolistan have any real relation to Amethyst and Gemworld. More so it could be argued that all of this is really just a coincidence, and with that you could really just put this theory to bed and move on. The issue is that you remember who wrote this series and how big of a nerd the guy is.
It feels slightly intentional that these elements were included, any other color scheme or precious gemstone could’ve been chosen for these characters and this fictional country. Gunn did not do that forever and instead chooses to toy with us it seems. Part of this feels like him saying that Amethyst and Gemworld are characters that they just never plan on touching, that he adapted these elements to Ilana and Pokolistan merely as a way to pay homage or even just put a fun twist on.
The first four episodes of James Gunn’s Creature Commandos are streaming now on Max, with new episodes releasing weekly on Thursdays.
Check out our recap of Episode 3 and the trailer below!
