The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl

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The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl 1.jpeg
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
ScheduleMonthly
Format Ongoing series
Genre
Publication dateVol. 1: January–August 2015
Vol. 2: October 2015–November 2019
No. of issuesVol. 1: 8
Vol. 2: 50 [1]
Creative team
Created by Ryan North
Erica Henderson
Written by Ryan North
Artist(s) Erica Henderson
Derek Charm
Colorist(s) Rico Renzi

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics featuring Squirrel Girl. The solo series debuted in January 2015 and ran for 8 issues, and was relaunched in October 2015 as part of Marvel's All-New, All-Different Marvel branding and was published through to November 2019 with 50 issues, for a total of 58. Both series were written by Ryan North. Art was by Erica Henderson from the start of the publication until issue #31, with Derek Charm taking over as artist for subsequent issues. [2] Critics have praised its comedy as well as the empowering portrayal of its heroine.

Contents

Milana Vayntrub was cast as a version of Squirrel Girl based on her The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl depiction in the live-action unaired Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) pilot New Warriors , before vocally reprising the role in the Marvel Rising media franchise (2018–2019). A podcast sequel to the comic book series, Marvel's Squirrel Girl: The Unbeatable Radio Show, launched in April 2022. It is written by North and stars Vayntrub. [3]

Publication history

Marvel registered a trademark for Squirrel Girl in July 2014, leading to speculation that the character would appear in a future film or television series, such as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or Jessica Jones . [4] [5] In October, Entertainment Weekly revealed that Squirrel Girl would star in a solo series by writer Ryan North and artist Erica Henderson. [6] Entertainment Weekly called it a "quietly bold move for Marvel", publishing "a female-centric comic that's intended to appeal equally to canon-heads and newcomers". [6]

Starting in May 2015, the Secret Wars crossover storyline affected a number of Marvel comics and characters. Marvel announced in June 2015 that, after Secret Wars was complete, they would reboot their entire line as part of an All-New, All-Different Marvel rebranding. [7] Though The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl was not part of the Secret Wars storyline, the series was set to be rebooted with Squirrel Girl joining an Avengers team. [8] Marvel later named this team the Avengers Idea Mechanics. [9]

In April 2022, Marvel Entertainment and Sirius XM launched Marvel's Squirrel Girl: The Unbeatable Radio Show which is a six-episode podcast series that acts as a direct continuation of the comic series. It is written by North, directed by Giovanna Sardelli and stars Milana Vayntrub as Squirrel Girl; the series is produced by Radio Point. [3] [10] Additionally, North "wrote an all-new 'Squirrel Girl' vertical comic tie-in" which debuted on Marvel Unlimited. [3]

Plot

Volume 1

Doreen Green, known as Squirrel Girl, is a human superhero with the proportional strength and speed of a squirrel, as well as the ability to speak with squirrels, like her sidekick, Tippy-Toe. While originally introduced as a mutant, she was later retconned to be "medically and legally distinct from being a mutant." [11] She can also command an army of squirrels, which she typically uses to overwhelm her foes. As The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl begins, Squirrel Girl has left her home in the Avengers Mansion to major in computer science at Empire State University. While moving into her dormitory, she fights the villain Kraven the Hunter and convinces him to go after more dangerous prey. Later issues had Squirrel Girl facing Whiplash and Galactus. [12] A romantic interest named Tomas is introduced, who later turns out to also be a hero named "Chipmunk Hunk" and also has animal-based powers. [13] During a battle with Ratatoskr, Squirrel Girl teams up with Thor (Jane Foster), Odinson and Loki to defeat the Asgardian demon. [14]

Volume 2

Doreen and her dorm-mate Nancy move off campus into an apartment. During a lunch with her mom, Brain Drain attacks them, but it turns out there was a malfunction that they were able to fix and make him kind. They then dress him in human clothes and enroll him in Computer Science classes to allow him to upgrade his old WWII tech. [15] The next morning Doreen is teleported into the 1960s. Nobody remembers Doreen except for Nancy. She finds a secret message from the past, so Nancy begins exploring ways to go into the past. She then meets Doctor Doom (from 1991 who was just defeated by Squirrel Girl and Iron Man in Marvel Super-Heroes Winter Special). [16] Nancy tricks Doom to travel into the past and rescue Squirrel Girl. In the past, Doreen found several other ECU students also stuck in the past and creates a support group. Doom and Nancy meet them, but then Doom reveals he plans on killing Squirrel Girl and all the other super heroes before they gain any of their powers. Nancy iPhone, which still shows the future, verifies on Wikipedia that Doom controls the future. [16] The students track down Doom to Central Park and then teleports before them another student, Cory, and an elderly Doreen Green. [17] It turns out Cory received a teleportation device from a crazy aunt, and since his Computer Science classes graded on a curve he teleported all the smarter students into the past. Nancy then adjusts the teleporter to go back randomly over the last several weeks and teleports Doreen multiple times, creating a Time Loop with dozens of Squirrel Girls, that all overwhelm Doctor Doom, not unlike his initial encounter Marvel Super-Heroes Winter Special, but with dozens of Squirrel Girls instead of Squirrels. Doom surrenders and returns all the Squirrel Girls to the correct time lines, except for the elderly Squirrel Girl, who becomes Cody's crazy aunt. [18]

The next day Doreen notices somebody trying to catnap Nancy's cat, Mew. It was actually Howard the Duck investigating a missing cat case. Kraven then appears and abducts Howard. Doreen follows him to a billionaire madwoman named Shannon Sugarbaker, who is obsessed with cosplay. She has abducted human-like creatures, like Beast, Rocket Raccoon, the missing cat built into a cyborg, and a Squirrel that was fused with Wolverine's DNA and adamantium claws and was going to release them in a high stakes hunt. [19] Kraven and Doreen join them, but Sharon has a superpowered Cosplay outfit with Angel's wings, Iron Man's repulsors, Hulk fists, and Thor's hammer. Doreen and Howard sneak back into the mansion and Howard finds his own superpowered costume and rescues the other abductees. Howard is glad that he closed his case and Kraven learns humility after being hunted for the first time. He vows to only hunt hunters in the future. [20]

Reception

Issue #1 was published on January 7, 2015, to positive reviews. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl was praised for its comedy, and the character of Squirrel Girl was seen as empowering for being likable, smart, and having an average appearance unlike that of typical superheroes. [21] [22] The Guardian in particular applauded the cartoon-like artwork by Erica Henderson as unique in Marvel's publications. [23] IGN regarded the series as "one of the best new debuts of recent memory". [21] Reviews of issue #2 were positive, with PopMatters calling it a "breath of fresh air: funny, charming, quirky, strong, brave, unbeatable". [12] Comic Book Resources write that issue #1 of the reboot was "silly as ever" and "consistently fun". [24] [6] Entertainment Weekly has said that Squirrel Girl will soon be "defending Earth from threats most cosmic". [6] The series was nominated for an Eisner Award in both 2016 and 2017, winning in 2017 as the "Best Publication for Teens". [25]

Collected editions

The series has been collected into trade paperbacks:

TitleMaterial collectedPublication dateISBN
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 1: Squirrel PowerThe Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (vol. 1) #1–5, Marvel Super-Heroes #81 September 2015 9780785197027
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 2: Squirrel You Know It's TrueThe Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (vol. 1) #6–8 and material from GLX-Mas Special #1, The Thing (vol. 2) #8, Age of Heroes #38 December 2015 9781302483012
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 3: Squirrel, You Really Got Me NowThe Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (vol. 2) #1–6, Howard the Duck (vol. 6) #614 June 2016 9781302486334
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 4: I Kissed a Squirrel and I Liked itThe Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (vol. 2) #7–116 December 2016 9780785196273
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 5: Like I'm the Only Squirrel in the WorldThe Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (vol. 2) #12–164 April 2017 9781302903282
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 6: Who Run the World? SquirrelsThe Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (vol. 2) #17–2110 October 2017 9781302906641
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 7: I've Been Waiting For a Squirrel Like YouThe Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (vol. 2) #22-26 and material from A Year of Marvels: Unbeatable #113 March 2018 9781302906658
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 8: My Best Friend's SquirrelThe Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (vol. 2) #27-31 and material from Not Brand Echh #143 July 2018 9781302910761
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 9: Squirrels Fall Like DominoesThe Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (vol. 2) #32-3627 November 2018 9781302910778
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 10: Life is Too Short, SquirrelThe Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (vol. 2) #37-4119 March 2019 9781302914479
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 11: Call Your SquirrelfriendThe Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (vol. 2) #42-4624 September 2019 9781302914486
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 12: To All The Squirrels I've Loved BeforeThe Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (vol. 2) #47-5010 March 2020 9781302917241

The series has been collected into three mid-size graphic novels:

TitleMaterial collectedPublication dateISBN
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Powers of a SquirrelThe Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (vol. 1) #1–8January 7, 2020 9781302920456
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Big Squirrels Don't CryThe Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (vol. 2) #1–11, Howard the Duck (vol. 6) #6June 25, 2020 9781302921163
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrels Just Want To Have FunThe Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (vol. 2) #12–22September 7, 2021 9781302929909

The series has been collected into Hardcover:

TitleMaterial collectedPublication dateISBN
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 1The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (vol. 1) #1–8, Marvel Super-Heroes #8, and material from GLX-Mas Special #1, The Thing (vol. 2) #8, Age of Heroes #315 November 2016 9781302902247
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 2The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (vol. 2) #1–11, Howard the Duck (vol. 6) #616 May 2017 9781302903732
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 3The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (vol. 2) #12–2120 March 2018 9781302908447
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 4The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (vol. 2) #22–31, and material from A Year Of Marvels: Unbeatable #1,Not Brand Echh #145 February 2019 9781302915445
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl OmnibusThe Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (vol. 1) #1-8, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (vol. 2) #1-50, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe, Howard the Duck (vol. 6) #6, and material from A Year of Marvels: Unbeatable #1, Not Brand Echh #147 February 2023 978-1302950613

Graphic novel

Squirrel Girl has also been featured in a graphic novel written by The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl's creative team released as an independent story.

TitlePagesPublication dateISBN
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe120 pagesOctober 2016 9781302903039

Novels

Squirrel Girl has also been featured in two middle grade novels.

TitleAuthorPublication dateISBN
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World Shannon Hale & Dean HaleFebruary 7, 2017 9781484781548
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: 2 Fuzzy, 2 FuriousShannon Hale & Dean HaleMarch 6, 2018 978-1368011266

In other media

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References

  1. ↑ "The Fuzzy Finale! 'The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl' #50 is Coming This November".
  2. ↑ sdsichero. "Next Artist For 'The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl' Series Announced" . Retrieved 2018-09-11.
  3. 1 2 3 Maas, Jennifer (April 18, 2022). "Marvel Launches 'Squirrel Girl' Scripted Podcast From Writer Ryan North (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  4. ↑ Barsanti, Sam (31 July 2014). "Marvel might be doing something with Squirrel Girl, proving that no superhero is too small". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  5. ↑ Johnston, Rich (30 July 2014). "Marvel Trademarks Squirrel Girl – Cartoon, TV Or Film Appearance On The Way?". Bleeding Cool . Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Franich, Darren (6 October 2014). "Student becomes superhero: See images from Marvel's 'Unbeatable Squirrel Girl'". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  7. ↑ Dickey, Josh (3 June 2015). "Marvel Comics' reboot will bring all-new characters, No. 1s across the board". Mashable . Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  8. ↑ Polo, Susana (1 July 2015). "Marvel Comics Officially Reveals 45 Titles That Will Start After Secret Wars". Polygon . Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  9. ↑ Sandoval, Gerardo (18 September 2015). "Welcome to Avengers Idea Mechanics With New Avengers". Marvel Comics . Retrieved 23 December 2015.
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  11. ↑ North, Ryan (2015). Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 2 #1.
  12. 1 2 Reece, Gregory L. (10 February 2015). "I'm Nuts for Squirrel Girl: "The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #2"". PopMatters . Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  13. ↑ The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol #5
  14. ↑ The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 1 #8
  15. ↑ The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 2 #1
  16. 1 2 The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 2 #3
  17. ↑ The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 2 #4
  18. ↑ The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 2 #5
  19. ↑ The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol 2 #6
  20. ↑ Howard the Duck Vol 6 Issue 6
  21. 1 2 Lake, Jeff (7 January 2015). "The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1 Review: This Squirrel is Nuts". IGN . Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  22. ↑ Diaz, Eric (8 January 2015). "Review: Marvel Comics' The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1". Nerdist . Retrieved 3 February 2015.
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  30. ↑ Polito, Thomas (September 15, 2019). "Exclusive: Marvel's 'New Warriors is Dead; Superhero Show Fails to Find a New Home". The GWW. Archived from the original on September 16, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
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