10 Things You Need To Know About Squirrel Girl

Arriving hot on the heels of the announcement that Marvel are working on a new TV series based around the Runaways comics, a new report is stating that the New Warriors are coming to the small screen – and the star of the show will be fan-favourite hero Squirrel Girl. If this is indeed true, the news make a lot of sense. After the character’s growing popularity since her creation in 1992, particularly in the past few years, it was only a matter of time before Squirrel Girl (AKA Doreen Green) got her shot in the limelight. But just who is Squirrel Girl? Allow us to climb up the tree of knowledge as we run through 10 facts you need to know about Marvel’s nuttiest superhero. 10) Created As A Counterpoint To Grim Superhero Comics If you're unfamiliar with Squirrel Girl and are wondering why she's so goofy, then you should know that that's exactly the point of the character. She was deliberately created to be far removed from the overly grim superhero comics of the 1990s. "When I introduced her to the Marvel Universe, we got a lot of ridicule,” explained her creator Will Murray in an interview with Co.Create. “It was an age of gruelling, gritty mutants, and I wanted to do a story that went back to the early Silver Age of Marvel Comics, where they did a lot of tongue-in-cheek stories that were lighter in the heart than what was going on.” 9) Co-Created By Comics Legend Steve Ditko Despite her humble beginnings, Squirrel Girl was basically destined for widespread popularity. She was co-created by the father of Spider-Man, after all. Back in the 1960s, celebrated comic book artist Steve Ditko helped create numerous famous heroes for both DC and Marvel. For DC (and their subsidiary Charlton Comics), his characters included The Question, The Creeper and Blue Beetle. For Marvel, he came up with the initial idea for Doctor Strange (soon to make his cinematic debut as played by Benedict Cumberbatch) and designed the iconic look of the aforementioned wallcrawler. Much later in his career, Ditko returned to Marvel and illustrated Will Murray’s back-up strip that introduced Squirrel Girl. 8) She Defeated Doctor Doom In Her Debut Appearance Doreen Green’s first appearance came in Marvel Super-Heroes Vol. 2 #8 (otherwise known at The Marvel Super-Heroes Winter Special) in January 1992, in a story titled "The Coming of… Squirrel Girl." Not only did the tale see her team up with Iron Man, but she also managed to defeat Doctor Doom straight off the bat. After buddying up with Tony Stark, Squirrel Girl is required to save the shellhead when Doom kidnaps him. Thankfully, she finds an ingenious way to take down the master villain who usually causes the Fantastic Four so much trouble… she sends a load of squirrels to attack him. While it was a great way to introduce a new player to the Marvel universe, it isn't exactly the highlight of Doom's criminal career, that's for sure. 7) She Also Beat Thanos, Wolverine, Deadpool And More Since defeating Doom in her debut, it's become a running joke that Squirrel Girl can defeat characters far more formidable than herself – ranging from fellow heroes to the most fearsome foes in the cosmos. Sometimes, we get to see Squirrel Girl take on these giants. For instance, New Avengers Vol.2 #15 detailed how she defeated Wolverine in hand-to-hand no-claws combat. In Cable and Deadpool #30, she attacks Deadpool and beats him to a pulp (though, to be fair, she did have the element of surprise). She also stopped Galactus from eating Earth – albeit by befriending him and convincing him not to. More often than not, though, Squirrel Girl’s conquests happen off screen. For instance, we've heard that she has bested the likes of Baron Mordo, Ego the Living Planet and, most impressively, Thanos the Mad Titan. 6) She Can Do More Than Just Talk To Squirrels But just how has Squirrel Girl defeated all these big bads when her primary power is the pretty innocuous ability to communicate with tree-dwelling rodents? Well, it’s because that's not the limit of her power – she’s actually got a very impressive skillset. Naturally, Doreen has various squirrel-related abilities – like highly durable buck teeth, sharp claws for climbing and, er, retractable knuckle spikes. She also has the proportional strength of a squirrel, superhuman agility and enhanced vision which leaves her eyes glowing red when utilized. Oh, and she also has a tail. Plus, she doesn’t just talk to squirrels on a telepathic level but can actually understand their language, making her more of a Dr. Dolittle type. 5) She Has A Fourth-Wall Breaking Squirrel For A Pet What would a Squirrel Girl be without her own talking squirrel for a pet? Doreen’s original diminutive best bud was called Monkey Joe, and also debuted in her first story. Highly intelligent for a squirrel, Monkey Joe was adept at using computers and would frequently break the fourth wall to make sarcastic comments to the readers, in a manner similar to Deadpool. Sadly, the noble nut-lover was murdered by Leather Boy in 2005’s Great Lake Avengers miniseries. After Joe’s death, Squirrel Girl gained a second squirrel companion in the female pink bow-wearing Tippy-Toe. We wait with bated breath to see how - if at all - Marvel will adapt Doreen's squirrel buddies to the screen in the New Warriors TV show. 4) She's The Nanny Of Jessica Jones And Luke Cage’s Daughter We don’t yet know exactly where Squirrel Girl’s new show will end up. Could it be on ABC, like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., or perhaps even Netflix, like Daredevil? Though the latter option would be strange on the surface – Marvel’s series on the streaming service are generally dark and gritty – Doreen Green does have a connection with two of the Netflix heroes. In the comics, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage get married and have a daughter, Danielle. When you’re a couple of high-flying superheroes who are frequently needed, however, you need a good nanny on stand-by. This important task fell on Squirrel Girl’s shoulders for a time. Not that Jessica and Luke have a kid in the MCU, but perhaps Doreen could first appear as an acquaintance of theirs before appearing in her own series? 3) She's Been A Member Of The Great Lake Avengers As you may have grasped by now, Squirrel Girl is not one of the glum loner type of heroes and is a big team player. She's been part of a few superhero leagues over the years but is probably most well known as a member of the Great Lakes Avengers. First appearing in West Coast Avengers Vol.2 #46, the Great Lakes Avengers are usually portrayed as a bunch of do-gooder yet naive superpowered folk. Squirrel Girl joined their number in the previously mentioned Great Lakes Avengers: Misassembled mini-series. Despite the title, they aren’t actually affiliated with The Avengers. In fact, Hawkeye made them change their name on one occasion – he didn’t want the Avengers label being attached to such a team of inexperienced heroes. 2) She's Not Usually Part Of The New Warriors On the other hand, Squirrel Girl has not actually been a member of the New Warriors in the comic books. As the junior equivalent to The Avengers, New Warriors are typically more of a higher-grade bunch than Squirrel Girl - no offence. Despite that, this is the team she will apparently be part of in the TV show. This suggests that the series may meld together the various groups of teen heroes existing in the Marvel universe, in particular the Great Lakes Avengers and the New Warriors. It might also take inspiration from the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon series, in which Doreen was on the New Warriors roster. In this incarnation, Spidey himself founded the team, while other members included Agent Venom, Cloak and Dagger and reformed villain Rhino. 1) Stranger Things’ Shannon Purser Wants To Play Her You may recall that Anna Kendrick recently put her name forward for the role of Squirrel Girl if a movie was ever made. Given that the character will appear in a TV show instead, it looks like Kendrick won’t get to play the character, after all. Don’t worry, though, another actress has also expressed interest in the character – Stranger Things star Shannon Purser. "I think Squirrel Girl is just adorable but at the same time is totally boss and completely awesome. I think people need a character like that," Purser said. "Squirrel Girl is a little bit younger [from and like a real person, trying to figure out her life and then also having to save the world. I love that." Given that Purser is an upcoming TV actress, it really doesn’t seem too far-fetched for her to land the role. Looks like we'll have to wait and see...