"Squirrel Girl, Squirrel Girl,
Is gonna beat up the Marvel Universe."
Well, no, her clone is, but what a title and cover to hook us all!
After reading Ryan North's and Erica Henderson's first volume of the character, and Shannon and Dean Hale's YA novel version of her origins, the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, aka Doreen Green, is a favourite superhero of mine. You can't get any funnier, cuter and more self-aware than her. No fanservice and objectification from a female comic book hero! Like an all-ages Deadpool, Squirrel Girl is always a hoot. And the most powerful Marvel character. Seriously.
'The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe' shows what happens when a lack of morality - and a stronger, more loving connection to squirrels than people - can do to someone so strong and smart. After fighting anthropomorphic animals and accidentally being thrown into a duplication chamber in Stark Industries, Squirrel Girl gets a new friend and crime-fighting partner in the form of her exact double. Or so she thinks at first. Allene, whom the clone is named after Doreen's middle name, while never seeing herself as an evil counterpart, cares so much about her fellow squirrels and values her own squirrel part more than her human part, that she will do whatever it takes to overthrow humans and have furry rodents take over as the dominant species on earth. Angry, feeling unjust, she sees it as the greater good; economically sound, for the survival of all species on the planet. How Allene will make sure she will never be stopped by all the existing Marvel heroes and villains, she has it all planned out. She is a tech wizard possessing degrees (or Doreen is - they share the same memories and abilities, if not temper and ethics), and is highly practical with whatever resources she takes for herself.
Doreen and her friends must stop Allene. But is she as unbeatable as the real Squirrel Girl, who as it turns out is awesome and adorable even when she is planning world domination?
The graphic novel title, cover and premise is an homage to 'The Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe'. Obviously it's a friendlier, lighter version of that classic. But it's no less kickass! Allene sends her opponents to the Negative Zone instead of killing them. With all her knowledge of the Marvel Universe and its characters (thanks to Deadpool's super villain trading cards), she can briefly and easily one-up them by using their weaknesses to her advantage.
Spider-Man laments his own infamous 'Clone Saga' and why he didn't warn other superheroes about the dangers of cloning. Iron Man is berated for causing the impending end of the world with his untested projects for the dozenth time (so that makes Reed Richards... what, exactly?). Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. are pretty useless in the long run and make themselves easy targets. Deadpool is beaten in two panels underestimating the violence in a children's comic. Funny callbacks, meta humour and other little details like this are everywhere in 'The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe'.
The downsides include the texts at the bottom of nearly every page of the graphic novel. While some are really funny, they're distracting, and fun superhero comics are an action-packed, visual medium, or at least that's how they work best. Doreen's beloved squirrel sidekick, Tippy-Toe, barely does anything except towards the end when she makes the standard sacrifice to save her human friend and the world. Same goes for Doreen's other friends who never do much - who are Koi Boi and Chipmunk Hunk anyway? What do they contribute? Friendship? Comic relief in a book all about comedic relief? Nancy Whitehead is the only one with an impacting personality and presence.
Plus, at 120 pages, the reader doesn't see Allene go up against every single Marvel Earth's Mightiest hero and villain, with the in-book excuse that there isn't enough space to show them all. Captain Marvel only shows up sparingly near the end of the final battle; Hellcat, Ghost Rider and any X-Man are in blink-and-you miss-it bit parts; and Kamala Khan's Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk, despite being on the cover, do not appear at all in the comic itself. Come on, they're on top of the pile Squirrel Girl is triumphantly standing on! Even Gwenpool and Howard the Duck are in the story for one panel! The Hulk vs the overpowered Squirrel Girl/Allene fight is very good, though. It takes up more than two panels and ends in a clever, hilarious twist.
Hey, the bright side is that all 'Squirrel Girl vs' Marvel fanfiction and fanart is technically canon now... yey?
But who can resist the juicy cherry on top in this Marvel event:
Spoiler:
Squirrel Girl becomes Squirrel Thor!
Spoiler End.
My favourite line: "You think you can just decide not to hate someone?" "I think--I think you can try. I think that's the most revolutionary thing you can do actually."
I rank 'The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World' as my favourite story about this character, and 'The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe' my least favourite. However it's still very good and I adore it. It's what comic books should be - fun and hopeful.
May the unbeatable Doreen Green have more exciting adventures to come. She certainly won't give up any attention without kicking butts and eating nuts!
Final Score: 4/5
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