Zoë Chao teases tears and surprises for “Creature Commandos” finale

The season finale of Creature Commandos is almost here, and if you’ll excuse our boldness – none of us are ready. Not us here at DC.com and not any of you out there reading this. Max’s animated series has proven to be an unexpected, yet thoroughly entertaining, introduction to the new DC Universe, and we’re not ready for it to end. Since the show’s debut early last month, we’ve killed plenty of Nazis, cried our collective eyes out, and thoroughly fallen in love with Task Force M. Society calls them monsters, Amanda Waller calls them assets, but we see these characters for the misunderstood . heroes they really are.

Gratuitously violent heroes, of course. But heroes nonetheless.

In this week’s finale, it’s Nina Mazursky’s turn to step into the spotlight. Who is this surprisingly polite aquatic woman and where did she come from? To help prepare us for Nina’s tragic origins, we caught up with her voice actress Zoë Chao. She gave us the scoop on Nina, her fiery friendship with the bride, and what it’s like to work with James Gunn, while also giving a hint of the season’s final moments. (We said you’re not ready.)

Before Creature Commandoswhat was your history with the dc universe? Were you a fan?

I come to the DC world as an absolute noob. I’m new to this whole thing and I’m new to adult animation. It has been an exciting ride and I feel very honored to be a part of this enhanced world.

Creature Commandos is the first part of this new DC Universe. That means fans will meet you, meet Nina before they meet Batman, and before they meet Superman. You have the honor of being their introduction. How does it feel?

Oh my god! No one has contextualized it like that for me! I’m scared now! You have scared me. I’m sweating. It’s really cool. A lot of people don’t know about Nina Mazursky and so it feels kind of right that she will be new to a lot of people and that I’m new to the DC world. Lots of new things together.

What did James Gunn tell you about Nina when you got the role?

I didn’t know much. I went to the audition and I think I was the only one that James didn’t know. So I auditioned for the part, got it, and received seven exquisite scripts. I skimmed them, read them so quickly and then read them again, which rarely happens because they were just that good. The world is so specific and rich and chaotic and messy and really funny and also really sad and all the information is in there.

I showed up to record and James is so much fun to work with, just really trusting. Of course he wanted to give notes, because no one knows the world better than he does. He wrote every script and is such a scholar. We were just really in good hands. I wasn’t afraid. Normally I’m scared of everything, but I was in such capable hands that I knew he wouldn’t lead me astray.

What was Gunn like as a voice director and what was the funniest tone he gave you?

My immediate observation of James is how much energy he has. I think when you get into a booth, you kind of have to say, “Okay, there’s nothing in front of me.” You have the animation, but there are no props or anything like that, so you really have to rely on your imagination. And you have to generate a lot of vocal energy, which usually just means a lot of physical energy. I was so grateful that he brought just as much, if not more, energy into the session.

He was on his toes and excited and really grateful that we were there to do it. I shot a lot of my stuff with Indira Varma, who plays the Bride. She was in London, I was in New York and James, I think, was in LA. But all three of us were so charged and amplified that it felt like we were all together.

I tried to do some mouthwatering Nina voice, which got really messed up. It was also difficult to make baby Nina. It’s hard to make a baby. A funny note is just that he said, “Okay, you got beat. We’re going to believe you.”

This sort of thing happened all the time.

Throughout the series, we have seen Nina’s interesting relationship with the Bride. It’s a friendship, despite how much the bride protests. How does Nina see the bride and why is she so attracted to her? How do you perceive it all?

There is a lot of masculine energy in it Creature Commandos group. I think by default Nina and the bride are the only two women in the group. I think Nina is a real girl’s girl, but I also think she recognizes in Bride someone who has gone through a lot of fire and trauma, and I think they fundamentally understand each other because they’ve both been very through.

And yes, it is a friendship! But I think Nina really likes The Bride. I mean the bride is so salty and so hot and I just think all those things that Nina is not. I think opposites attract and I think Nina really cares about the Bride.

I think with The Bride everyone expects something from her. Her creator did, Frankenstein did, and Amanda Waller does. Everyone sees her as something, whereas Nina has no expectations of her and just sees her as herself.

Go, Joshua! Say it! That’s a really nice observation! I haven’t thought about it that way. She meets her just where the Bride is.

Right, because many of them Creature Commandos list, they are not seen. No one ever sees them as they are. That’s what I love about the show. It gives them time to shine.

And they have finally found their tribe.

How does Nina see herself and her place among the team?

She is such a resilient creature and it has been so hard for her to find her place. Being an aquatic being, she is half human and half fish, and she was truly rejected by the human world as a freak. I kind of feel like this is the first time she gets to relax in a way, even though the stakes are very high.

I think when she’s with the team, she doesn’t feel like a freak anymore because they’re all freaks. In a way, this is a moment where her superpower as a kind, empathetic soul actually gets to shine. I just feel like she’s becoming more and more herself in the series.

Without giving too much away, can you give fans a little tease of what to expect from the season finale?

Tears and big surprises.

The season finale of Creature Commandos will be available to stream Thursday, exclusively on Max.