‘Creature Commandos’ Episode 6 Might Have Just Introduced an Iconic Batman Villain in the DCU

With each new episode of Creature Commandos, fans are seeing the birth of the DCU and the evolution of the franchise. The show is not only introducing new characters, but it is also gradually including references to some of DC’s most popular villains.

As Task Force M continues its mission throughout the series, each episode has been explaining the backstory of its members. But episode 6 seemingly introduces something more through the location of Gotham City, which might be a connection to one of the most infamous crime bosses in Batman’s rogues gallery.

A villainous connection in Creature Commandos

Creature Commandos by James Gunn is based on a black ops team created by Amanda Waller. The animated show has a wonderful voice cast, and among them, Alan Tudyk’s Doctor Phosphorus takes center stage in episode 6.

The episode explains how Alex Sartorius went from becoming a nuclear scientist to a metahuman radioactive who would eventually be part of Task Force M. There comes a moment in the episode when Doctor Phosphorus, after taking over the crime empire that once belonged to Rupert Thorne, celebrates his victory at ‘The Ice Lounge.’

Although this might look insignificant at first glance, fans would be immediately drawn to this spot as its name resembles one of Gotham’s most infamous venues, The Penguin’s notorious Iceberg Lounge.

The Iceberg Lounge has a great reference in Batman mythology. It was once Gotham Customs House but was converted into an iceberg-shaped nightclub by Oswald Cobblepot, aka The Penguin. Apart from legally functioning as a nightclub, it also helps the criminal organizations of Gotham.

Fans might recall the Iceberg Lounge as it was also featured in Matt Reeves’ The Batman as the headquarters of Carmine Falcone and had a hidden club below for the corrupt officials of Gotham. The movie also showed the importance of the venue in the criminal network of Gotham through Zoë Kravitz’s Selina Kyle working as a waitress there.

It might also be possible that ‘The Ice Lounge’ within the narrative of Creature Commandos foreshadows an early establishment of The Penguin in the DCU. This connection becomes even more interesting, especially considering how the animated series and the live-action movies will share one connected universe.

The Iceberg Lounge’s secrets and history

The Iceberg Lounge has a rich comic book history. According to Batman: Gates of Gotham #3, it was created by Theodore Cobblepot, who was The Penguin’s great-grandfather and ex-mayor of Gotham. Interestingly, Theodore was on good terms with Bruce Wayne’s great-grandfather, Alan Wayne.

The structure of this facility is about 12,800 sq. meters, including a pool with penguins and seals. The ground floor is Penguin’s dining and working area and is placed such that he can keep an eye on the entire facility. These kinds of details show how the location was prepared for dual use- a legal business and a criminal operation center.

Comic book fans are familiar with the fact that Bruce Wayne often took the alias of Matches Malone and went to The Iceberg Lounge to spy on all the happenings in Gotham. It turned out to be even better than Batman’s direct confrontations, as he was able to keep an eye on the operations of the criminals without being noticed.

The Iceberg Lounge was, for a short time, run by Black Mask, who forced Penguin to leave Gotham, and later by Jason Todd, who imprisoned Penguin in the basement. The establishment has even been destroyed multiple times.

The day-to-day running of Penguin’s nightclub is supervised by three women who are named after birds- Raven, Jay, and Lark. This particular aspect takes the bird theme that runs with the Penguin’s organized crime network.

Creature Commandos is now streaming on Max.