10 Things You Need To Know About Squirrel Girl

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.