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Squirrel Girl
Art by Paul Pelletier
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Marvel Super-Heroes Special vol. 2 #8 (Winter 1991)
Created by	Steve Ditko Will Murray
In-story information
Alter ego	Doreen Green
Species	Human Mutant
Team affiliations	Great Lakes Initiative
Partnerships	Tippy-Toe Monkey Joe
Notable aliases	Rodent; The Anti-Life, The Destroyer of All That Breathes
Abilities	Squirrel-like abilities Superhuman agility Prehensile tail Retractable claws Ability to communicate with squirrels

Squirrel Girl (Doreen Green) is a fictional superhero in the Marvel Universe. Her first appearance was in Marvel Super-Heroes vol. 2, #8 (Jan. 1992), in a story plotted and drawn by Steve Ditko and scripted by Will Murray. Her ability to control squirrels is surprisingly powerful, and has allowed her to defeat major supervillains. She later became a member of the Great Lakes Initiative.

Contents 1 Publication history 2 Fictional character biography 3 Victories 4 Powers, abilities, and equipment 5 In other media 5.1 Television 6 Squirrels 6.1 Monkey Joe 6.2 Tippy-Toe 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Publication history

Squirrel Girl was created by Steve Ditko and Will Murray, making her debut appearance in "The Coming of Squirrel Girl" in Marvel Super-Heroes vol. 2, #8 (Jan. 1992). She ambushes the superhero Iron Man, teams up with him, and, after Iron Man is captured, defeats the villainous Doctor Doom. The story introduces her squirrel sidekick, Monkey Joe.

Squirrel Girl next appeared in Marvel Year-In-Review '92, where she made a one-panel appearance in the self-satirizing book's Marvel 2099 section, where "Squirrel Girl: 2099" was listed as one of "the 2099 books we've pretty much ruled out" as actual future titles.

Following this, she did not appear again for over a decade, existing primarily as a matter of trivia or as an example of either a poorly conceived character or an act of deliberate satire by Ditko. She was referenced only once in comics during that time: In Deadpool #7, Deadpool's friend/maid/mother-figure/prisoner Blind Al mentions accidentally putting "bleach in with [Deadpool's] Squirrel Girl underoos."

In 2005, comic writer Dan Slott wrote a four-issue miniseries for the superhero team the Great Lakes Avengers. Created in 1989, this team was made up of enthusiastic heroes with bizarre and almost-but-not-quite useless abilities. They had appeared only a handful of times over their 16-year history, serving as comic relief. In commemoration of the team's series, roster changes were made and the Squirrel Girl character was revived and included on the team. The miniseries satirized comic book deaths, and it was announced that a team member would die in every issue. After Squirrel Girl made a fuss to ensure that Monkey Joe would be an official member of the team, he was killed in the third issue.

During 2006's Civil War company-wide story arc, Squirrel Girl and the rest of the team fought Deadpool in Cable & Deadpool #30. In 2007, she and the newly renamed "Great Lakes Initiative" again appeared alongside Deadpool in the Deadpool/GLI Summer Fun Spectacular one-shot.

[edit] Fictional character biography

Squirrel Girl is originally from the Los Angeles, California area. She is first seen ambushing Iron Man in a forest. She hopes to impress the veteran hero, wishing him to take her under his wing as his sidekick. The 14 year old mutant introduces herself and her pet squirrel Monkey Joe, and displays her various abilities (all of which are squirrel-themed).

Unimpressed, Iron Man politely declines, when suddenly the duo is attacked by Doctor Doom in a large aircraft. Doom captures and subdues Iron Man, and flies over the ocean where he plans to dispose of Iron Man's body once he kills him. Underestimating her, Doom leaves Squirrel Girl to her own devices. She devises a plan and uses her ability to communicate with squirrels through an open air vent as the ship passes over a forest. Hundreds of squirrels answer her call and flood Doom's ship, chewing through the wires and swamping the evil dictator with their furry bodies, causing Doom to exclaim: "Confound these wretched rodents! For every one I fling away, a dozen more vex me!" Iron Man is freed, the duo emerges victorious, and the two heroes then go their separate ways.

Squirrel Girl is next seen years later, having relocated to New York City for what is acknowledged as no clear reason. While fighting crime in Central Park, she encounters Flatman and Doorman, members of the Great Lakes Avengers on a membership drive. In addition to appearing in the G.L.A. miniseries starting with the second issue, Squirrel Girl introduces each issue, providing a disclaimer or opinion piece about the contents of the series. Her side-kick Monkey Joe is also added to the team (at Squirrel Girl's behest), and comments upon the series as well, appearing in a circle at certain moments to make comedic and smart-alec remarks.

After Squirrel Girl ensures that Monkey Joe is made an official member of the GLA, he is killed by an assailant dressed as Dr. Doom.^[1] His killer is a rejected member of the GLA named Leather Boy (actually a non-powered leather fetishist), who had been dressed in a variation of Dr. Doom's costume. Enraged by the death of her friend, Squirrel Girl assembles a squirrel army and helps stop Maelstrom from destroying the world. Squirrel Girl finds a new squirrel companion during this battle — the only one of her squirrel army who survives Maelstrom's wrath, whom she names Tippy-Toe.

Squirrel Girl and Tippy-Toe later defeat MODOK, Terrax, and Thanos all by themselves.^[2] Uatu, the Earth's Watcher, is on hand to confirm that the Thanos she defeated was the real thing, and not a clone or copy of any kind (an explanation that has sometimes been used to excuse some of Thanos' more embarrassing performances over the years). After MODOK is defeated, Dum Dum Dugan offers her a position at S.H.I.E.L.D., explaining that the organization had been watching her for some time, impressed by her effectiveness in defeating powerful supervillains. Squirrel Girl declines the offer, saying she is happy with the GLA.

Squirrel Girl and the rest of the newly-renamed Great Lakes Champions, who took the name after winning a poker game,^[3] register under the Superhero Registration Act the morning the law is enacted. However, mercenary-for-hire Deadpool, assuming the Champions are un-registered, attacks the team at their headquarters (Deadpool seeks to ingratiate himself with the government by capturing un-registered heroes).^[4] Deadpool is bested in combat by Squirrel Girl; his distraction at her appearance and name contribute to his inability to mount an adequate defense to her attacks.

Squirrel Girl and the again-renamed Great Lakes Initiative team up with Deadpool a few months later to take down AIM agents who have kidnapped a wayward Olympian God and fashioned an inebriation ray that makes every superhero on the planet (save for Deadpool and the GLI) drunk. After the battle, Deadpool decides to hang around the GLI's new government-funded headquarters for a while as a "reserve member."^[5]

Squirrel Girl is a huge fan of the New Warriors, especially Robbie "Speedball" Baldwin, on whom she has a crush. She learns of Speedball's transformation into the darker hero code-named Penance after Deadpool provides her with a copy of Civil War: Front Line #10. Squirrel Girl travels to Thunderbolts Mountain to convince Robbie to lighten up and stop being Penance.^[5] Frustrated by his current attitude and unwavering determination to remain as Penance, Squirrel Girl travels to Latveria to use one of Dr. Doom's time machines to travel to the past and prevent Speedball from ever becoming Penance. The machine instead transports her into the future, where she encounters an alternate version of Speedball (whom she unsuccessfully tries to get to travel back to the past with her), and Mr. Immortal, who tells her she has an important task to perform in the past — namely, kicking Deadpool out of the Great Lakes Initiative's headquarters.^[5]

[edit] Victories

Following her defeat of Dr. Doom, an ongoing joke depicts Squirrel Girl repeatedly attaining victory over various villains, some of whom are considerably more powerful than she is. Typically, these victories occur off-panel, though some, like her battle with Deadpool, are fully shown. Deadpool, having been bested by her twice, considers Squirrel Girl to be one of the major powers of the Marvel Universe, comparing her to Iron Man and Thor.^[6]

Squirrel Girl's victories often result from her opponent's overconfidence (Doom, MODOK), weakness from an earlier fight (Deadpool), or creative use of her powers (Doom, Bi-Beast). For the most part, she defeats her opponents through the use of her wits. Her defeat of Bi-Beast was the result of "one of those super-hero team-ups" with The Thing. While visiting squirrel friends in Central Park, Squirrel Girl came across Thing fighting with Bi-Beast. She told the squirrels to retrieve the smelliest garbage they could find and place it around the combatants, resulting in everyone having to hold their noses. Bi-Beast had to use both hands to hold his noses, leaving himself defenseless, allowing Thing to knock him out.

Squirrel Girl's defeat of Thanos is an ambiguous one. Although Uatu was present at the battle and claimed that the Thanos that Squirrel Girl defeated was indeed genuine and not a clone or copy,^[2] Thanos has since revealed that he has perfected a means of creating clones of himself that could fool even "the most cosmic of beings." Adding to the ambiguity is the fact the reveal comes from the mind of a clone whose memory had been altered.^[7].

Thus far, Squirrel Girl has beaten:

• Doctor Doom^[8]
• Mandarin^[2]
• Giganto^[2]
• MODOK^[2]
• Thanos^[2]
• Terrax^[2]
• Bug-Eyed Voice^[9]
• Bi-Beast^[3]
• Deadpool^[4]
• Pluto^[5]

[edit] Powers, abilities, and equipment

Squirrel Girl is a mutant, and evinces a variety of mutations which align with the squirrel theme. During her first encounter with Iron Man, she provided a detailed demonstration of her powers and abilities: a furry, prehensile tail roughly 3-4 feet in length; sizable buck teeth, which are strong enough to chew through wood; and enhanced agility and strength, enabling her to jump between trees with ease. Her fingers have sharp claws on them, assisting her with climbing, and she possesses retractable "knuckle spikes" roughly 2-3 inches in length on each hand. Most importantly, she is capable of communicating with and understanding squirrels. Squirrel Girl does not communicate with squirrels telepathically. Rather, she has an understanding of their language, and the ability to speak it. Squirrels have also been depicted as understanding her when she speaks in English.

Later appearances have revealed additional abilities possessed by Squirrel Girl. Her eyes have been seen to glow red in low-light situations, indicating that she has some form of enhanced vision^{[original research?]}. Squirrel Girl reveals that her lips taste like hazelnuts, and she also displays an enhanced sense of smell.^[9]

Squirrel Girl carries a utility belt comprising multiple pouches that contain nuts to give as snacks to her squirrel friends. These are known, to much comedic effect, as her "nut sacks". It is unknown whether the markings around her eyes are the result of her mutation, or are cosmetically applied to enhance her squirrel-themed appearance (though they do not appear to smear when she's crying^[10]).

Squirrel Girl is also shown as carrying a full set of 'Iron Man Vs. Series battle cards' when showing Dum Dum Dugan how she knows him (she mentions Dugan has a 'defense stat of 8'; her own is 6, although the rating system is left unclear). After MODOK is pointed out to her, she consults the supervillain's own card to confirm his abilities. The printing on the two cards shown (Dugan's and MODOK's) is actually gibberish.^[2]

In GLX-Mas Special, she's shown flying a small gyrocopter she calls a 'Squirrel-A-Gig', and mentions it was a gift from GLI teammate Big Bertha. This reappears in Deadpool/GLI Summer Fun Spectacular. The first version was a standard gyrocopter, while the latter is shown as a more stylized superhero helicopter (including squirrel-styled bodywork). Squirrel Girl is shown as being able to fly the craft expertly, including through the anti-aircraft defenses surrounding Castle Doom, crediting her ability to her 'squirrel-agility'.

[edit] In other media

[edit] Television

Squirrel Girl made a brief appearance (in a modified costume) in the 2006 Fantastic Four cartoon series episode entitled "The Cure." In the episode, the Thing had been "cured" of his condition, and the team was holding auditions for potential replacements, including Flatman, Texas Twister, Captain Ultra, and eventual winner She-Hulk. Squirrel Girl's audition consisted of her sliding into the center of the audition area and shouting, "Ta-da!", with her squirrels both accompanying her and swarming the table at which the Fantastic Four were sitting. She was immediately rejected.^[11]

[edit] Squirrels

Squirrel Girl is always accompanied by one or more squirrels. Two of these, Monkey Joe and his successor Tippy-Toe, are her constant companions. At her insistence, they have both been accepted as full members of the Great Lakes Avengers.

In addition to Monkey Joe and Tippy-Toe, Squirrel Girl named several other squirrels in GLA #4. Slippy Pete, Mr. Freckle, and Nutso are presumed dead; they were sucked into the singularity created by Maelstrom.

[edit] Monkey Joe

Monkey Joe appeared in Squirrel Girl's original appearance in Marvel Super-Heroes Special vol. 2 #8, and all four issues of the GLA miniseries.

The trade paperback of the GLA miniseries, GLA: Misassembled, contains a dedication to the memory of Monkey Joe: "Monkey Joe 1992-2005. He loved nuts. He will be missed."

Alongside Squirrel Girl, Monkey Joe helped her to defeat Doctor Doom. Following this notable achievement, the duo disappeared for some time. In 2005, Squirrel Girl and Monkey Joe emerged from obscurity and joined the Great Lakes Avengers (GLA) during the miniseries written by Dan Slott. Shortly after they joined, Monkey Joe met his demise, apparently at the hands of Doctor Doom. However, it was revealed that Leather Boy, an ex-GLA member who had been rejected by the team due to his lack of powers, dispatched the squirrel while dressed in a variation of Doctor Doom's costume. Monkey Joe's death was part of the series' promise that a member of the GLA would die in each issue of the miniseries, in a parody of comic book deaths.

Monkey Joe was smarter than an average squirrel; he even proved adept in the use of computers. Monkey Joe served as the sardonic commentator on the GLA miniseries, appearing alongside the story titles holding signs with humorous, (often sarcastic), remarks on the events. After his death,^[1] the narrator circle showed a deceased Monkey Joe, complete with flies circling the corpse. Re-appearing in the narrator circle,^[12] he possessed a halo.

When Doorman visited the after-life, he met Monkey Joe, who was playing cards with the rest of the fallen GLA members.

[edit] Tippy-Toe

After the death of Monkey Joe, Squirrel Girl found a new companion, a female squirrel whom she named Tippy Toe and provided with a pink bow.^[12] Tippy-Toe replicates Monkey Joe's role as Squirrel Girl's sidekick almost exactly. Though apparently less intelligent than Monkey Joe, Tippy-Toe may in fact be smarter than she lets on. She proved her worth in short order.

A member of the squirrel army summoned by Squirrel Girl to join the fight against Maelstrom and Batroc's Brigade, Tippy-Toe was the only squirrel Doreen was able to save from Maelstrom's Cosmic Crunch device. Squirrel Girl also briefly considered the name Monkey Joe 2 for her.

Tippy-Toe accompanied and assisted Squirrel Girl in defeating MODOK and Thanos (she scratched MODOK's face, then entered his exo-chair and disabled it). Squirrel Girl left Tippy-Toe behind when she went to fight Terrax, and the squirrel was targeted by Deathurge, who sought vengeance for being stranded on Earth and trapped in squirrel form. However, Tippy-Toe managed to trick Deathurge and defeat him.

Tippy-Toe joined the Great Lakes Champions in siding with Iron Man's pro-Superhuman Registration group.

Tippy-Toe is able to understand her teammate's comments, complaining when Doorman discounts her as a viable teammate for a mission, and is able to wield a screwdriver,^[5] and operate a blender. Mr. Immortal complains about Tippy-Toe whipping up acorn smoothies that compromise the machine.^[2]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Article at Marvel Universe: the Official Marvel Wiki
• A Squirrel Girl Profile