The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #3

By Ryan North, Erica Henderson, and Rico Renzi

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is everything an all-ages superhero comic book should be and more. The hero is insanely likable, her real-world problems are familiar to just about any reader, and the battles with Marvel villains are always entertaining. Issue #3 continues a fantastic start of this comic, which is definitely a must read in the current Marvel lineup.

This issue picks up with Doreen Green still donning the Iron-Squirrel armor. We’ve learned that Galactus is coming and Squirrel Girl is the only one who can stop him from destroying Earth. While heading off space to take on Galactus, Squirrel Girl runs into a familiar Iron Man foe in Whiplash. This confrontation leads to one of the best sequences in this issue, which is an improvised American Sign Language communication from Squirrel Girl to Whiplash that she needs to go beat up Galactus, and doesn’t have time for his Iron Man issues. The whole Whiplash scene is a perfect microcosm of the absurd, yet entirely loveable Squirrel Girl world. The art is so well done to perfectly express Squirrel Girl’s emotions while also telling the story.

North also adds a common superhero dilemma to this issue as Squirrel Girl is confronted with two simultaneous problems that need to be resolved immediately. Squirrel Girl breaks down the dilemma in a perfectly executed scene with her squirrel friend Tippy-Toe. The whole scene is a fun nod to every instance when a superhero has to figure out how to save the world and their loved ones, as completing only one of the tasks makes either irrelevant.

Henderson and Renzi combine to make the visuals fit the Squirrel Girl world perfectly. The characters and the world are slightly rounded which creates a softer feel for the comic in general. There are some issues with the story telling, especially once Squirrel Girl returns to Avengers’ Tower, because it is not quite clear what she borrows from Tony Stark in addition to his Iron Man suit. Some of this issue may have been edited for length after the bank robber scene, but it does not detract from the issue as a whole.

There is a reason so many writers have wanted to do Squirrel Girl stories since her inception in the early 90’s. She is so goofy yet likable, and the possibilities are endless for combining Marvel supervillains with her stories. With Matt Fraction leaving Hawkeye, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl may be the best continuing series from Marvel right now.