The CREATURE COMMANDOS finale reveals a big clue about Batman’s timeline in the DCU

The ending of Commando of creatures provided a subtle but important hint about Batman’s timeline James GunnDCU.

While the animated series concluded with its supernatural chaos, there was a throwaway line from Doctor Phosphorus in the finale, where he reveals in the finale that it’s been 15 years since his transformation.

This seemingly unimportant statement may hold the key to understanding how long Batman has been operating in Gotham City within the DCU.

In the penultimate episode, Phosphorus shares his tragic origin story, which began with Gotham mobster Rupert Thorn.

After being transformed into a monstrous being, Phosphorus killed Thorn and his associates in a vengeful rampage, briefly taking control of Thorn’s criminal empire before Batman captured him and sent him to Belle Reve.

If Phosphorus’ reign of terror only lasted a short time, perhaps months or a couple of years, it’s reasonable to assume that Batman captured him within that time frame.

With Phosphorus stating that it’s been 15 years since his transformation, this implies that Batman has been active in Gotham for at least that long.

This places the DCU’s Batman in the later stages of his crime-fighting career, probably in his forties. This makes sense that the character is an established mentor figure for Damian Wayne, the young Robin who will debut in the next film The brave and the bold.

Now, DC Studios was rumored to be looking to cast a middle-aged man to play the DCU’s Batman. But then Gunn responded to that rumor by calling it “Bullshit.”

Pistol previously addressed Batman’s age in the DCU says: “Superman was younger than in his forties and Batman COULD have been a couple of years older than Superman.” Since Superman actor David Corenswet was 30 when he made the film, that would put Batman at around 30 years old.

But if this is true and it’s true that Batman had been operating in Gotham for at least 15 years, that means Bruce Wayne was an accomplished vigilante crime fighter when he was a teenager. I’m not sure if it works.

But, if the DCU’s Batman is older, it offers more storytelling opportunities, particularly for The brave and the boldcentered on Bruce Wayne’s relationship with his son.

It’s also worth noting that a line from an animated show like Commando of creatures could easily be retconned if it conflicted with future DCU plans.