This is an I-Heart podcast.

Guaranteed Human.

Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of IHeart Radio.

Hi, my name is Robert Lamb, and this is The Monster Fact, a short-form series from Stuff to Blow Your Mind, focusing on mythical creatures,

ideas, and monsters in time.

Long-time listeners to Stuff to Blow Your Mind know that we have an enduring fascination with squirrels,

particularly the eastern gray squirrel, because these are the creatures I observe every day, and I

constantly find myself either just taking them for granted or just suddenly recognizing how weird

and fierce they are. They're such survivors. And the same can be said for Marvel's Squirrel Girl.

At first glance, you might think this particular superhero is just

here for a cute pose and a few laughs. And yeah, she's totally down for all of that. But since her

creation in the early 90s by Will Murray and Steve Ditko, Squirrel Girl has scored victories against

such iconic villains as Ultron, Galactus, Dr. Doom, and Thanos.

Okay, so what are her powers?

You might be wondering, if you're not familiar with the character already.

Well, first of all, it's important to note that Squirrel Girl is not technically a mutant,

but rather a typical Canadian girl who just gradually begin to exhibit an amazing ability to communicate

with squirrels and developed various squirrel-like physical abilities. As pointed out by Mark

Sumerick and Daniel Wallace in the excellent book Marvel Anatomy, she boasts large incisers and

rugged climbing claws, both attributes of the real-world furry grappling hooks that we call squirrels.

She also boasts a full, fluffy squirrel tail, which I assume offers a number of benefits enjoyed by her namesake,

balance, shade, communication, and locomotion assistance while leaping, falling, landing, or swimming.

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