Squirrel Girl
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Squirrel Girl is a fictional superhero in the Marvel Universe. Her real name is Doreen Green, and she is originally from the Los Angeles, California area. She first appeared in the Winter 1991 Marvel Super-Heroes Special (2nd series, #8), in a story drawn by Steve Ditko and written by Will Murray. Her ability to control squirrels is surprisingly powerful, and has allowed her to defeat major supervillains. She is currently a member of the Great Lakes Avengers.
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[edit] History
The original story (entitled "The Coming of Squirrel Girl!") began with her ambushing Iron Man in a forest. She hoped to impress the veteran hero, wishing him to take her under his wing as his sidekick. The 14 year old mutant introduced herself and her pet squirrel (named Monkey Joe), and displayed her various abilities (all of which were Squirrel themed). Unimpressed, Iron Man politely declined, when suddenly the duo was attacked by Doctor Doom in a large aircraft. Doom captured and subdued Iron Man, and began to fly out over the ocean where he planned to dispose of Iron Man's body once he killed him. Underestimating her, Doom left Squirrel Girl to her own devices. She devised a plan, and used her ability to communicate with squirrels through an open door as the ship passed over the forest. Hundreds of squirrels answered her call and flooded Doom's ship, chewing through the wires, and swamping the evil dictator with their furry bodies. Doom exclaimed "Confound these wretched rodents! For every one I fling away, a dozen more vex me!" Iron Man was freed, they emerged victorious, and the two heroes went their separate ways.
Squirrel Girl's first appearance was almost assured to be her last, given the silliness of the character's concept, especially in the grittier and more grown up comic market trend of the early 1990s. She existed primarily as a matter of trivia, or an example of an extremely bad character, for the next decade. She was referenced only once in the comics for over a decade, in issue 7 of the Deadpool series, where 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 parody 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 first starring series, the first roster changes were made, and the Squirrel Girl character was revived. Having relocated to New York City for some reason, she was fighting crime in Central Park, and encountered the GLA, who were on a membership drive, after saving them from muggers. In addition to appearing in the story (starting with the second issue), she also introduced each issue, usually providing a disclaimer or opinion piece about the contents of the series. Her side-kick squirrel, Monkey Joe, was also added to the team, and was used as a commentator on the series, appearing in a circle alongside the story to make comedic and smart-alec remarks. Alongside her new teammates, Squirrel Girl witnessed the death of Grasshopper, and became very frightened but was determined not to give up.
This miniseries satirized comic book deaths, and it had been 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, apparently by Dr. Doom, who had come seeking revenge. In actuality, his killer was a rejected member of the GLA named Leather Boy in a variation of Dr. Doom's costume.
In a fit of rage after the death of her friend, Squirrel Girl was able to help stop Maelstrom from destroying the world after assembling a squirrel army. Squirrel Girl found a new squirrel companion here, the only one of her "squirrel army" who had survived Maelstrom's wrath, whom she named Tippy-Toe.
In the GLX-Mas Special (Dec. 2005), Squirrel Girl and Tippy-Toe managed to defeat M.O.D.O.K., Terrax and Thanos all by themselves. Uatu, the Earth's Watcher, was 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 M.O.D.O.K. was defeated, Dum-Dum Dugan offered her a position at S.H.I.E.L.D., explaining that they had been watching her for some time, impressed by her effectiveness in defeating powerful supervillains. Squirrel Girl declined the offer, saying she was happy being with the GLX (the team changed their name to the Great Lakes X-Men at the end of their miniseries). Squirrel Girl was one of the 198 who retained their powers after M-Day.
She was a huge fan of the New Warriors, especially Speedball, on whom she had a crush. It is unknown if the Stamford Tragedy from Civil War #1 has changed her opinion of the New Warriors or Speedball, though it was revealed in Cable and Deadpool #30 that all of the Great Lakes Champions (formerly Great Lakes Avengers and Great Lakes X-Men; the new name change came about in Thing #8 as the result of a poker game) had registered under the Superhuman Registration Act the morning it was announced.
In her most recent appearance, in Cable and Deadpool #30, Squirrel Girl came to the GLC's headquarters to find that Deadpool had defeated the rest of the team, and proceeded to defeat him with ease. (Ironically, given Deadpool's owning Squirrel Girl-print underwear, he had no idea who she was upon encountering her.) This also saw her come as close as she has yet come to developing a catchphrase, calling Deadpool, "You EVIL, EVIL MAN!", and, after defeating him, telling him to "Shut your EVIL, EVIL PIE HOLE!"
[edit] Victories
As an ongoing joke following her original defeat of Dr. Doom, Squirrel Girl has repeatedly been displayed achieving victory over various powerful villains for whom she would realistically be no match. Typically, these victories appear off panel, though some, like her battle with Deadpool are shown . Thus far, she has beaten:
- Dr. Doom (Marvel Super-Heroes v3 #8)
- Mandarin (GLX-Mas Special)
- Giganto (GLX-Mas Special)
- M.O.D.O.K. (GLX-Mas Special)
- Thanos (GLX-Mas Special)
- Terrax (GLX-Mas Special)
- Bug-Eyed Voice (I (Heart) Marvel: Masked Intentions)
- Bi-Beast (Thing v2 #8)
- Deadpool (Cable & Deadpool #30)
[edit] Powers and abilities
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; 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. (The deployment of these is presumably similar to Wolverine's claws.) Most importantly, she is capable of communicating with and understanding squirrels, who obey her commands. Although this power is similar to the DC Comics hero Aquaman's relationship with fish, Squirrel Girl does not communicate with squirrels telepathically. Rather, she has an understanding of their language, and the ability to communicate in it. Squirrels have also been depicted as understanding her when she speaks in English. Whether this power extends to species of ground squirrels and other rodents, or is limited to the traditional tree squirrel is presently unknown.
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. In I (Heart) Marvel: Masked Intentions #1, Squirrel Girl revealed that her lips taste like hazelnuts, and she also displayed an enhanced sense of smell.
Squirrel Girl carries a utility belt comprised of multiple pouches which 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.
[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
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In Squirrel Girl's first appearance, 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 Dr. 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 in issue #3, the narrator circle showed a deceased Monkey Joe. Re-appearing in the narrator circle in issue #4, he possessed a halo.
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."
When Doorman visited the after-life, he met Monkey Joe, who was playing cards with the rest of the fallen GLA members. He seemed very bitter about his demise, and was less forgiving than were the other deceased members.
[edit] Tippy-Toe
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At the end of GLA #4, Squirrel Girl found a new companion, a female squirrel whom she named Tippy Toe and provided with a pink bow. 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.) When Squirrel Girl went to fight Terrax she left Tippy Toe behind, 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.
[edit] Other
Squirrel Girl was 14 years old at the time of her first appearance, and announced that her birthday is sometime in July. It is unknown how much she has aged in her most recent appearance. However, a profile indicates she is still attending high school, and is thus still 18 or younger. It can be assumed, then, that her mother moved with her from Los Angeles to New York between her first and second appearances. The ramifications of her sudden move to Milwaukee to be with the GLA and her relationship with her mother has not yet been explored.
