For decades, Marvel’s comics have been built on the idea of it being OK to be different. The Fantastic Four are just a weird family whose members all love each other despite their amazing powers. Spider-Man might be an awkward nerd, but his bravery is proof that anyone can be a hero. The X-Men are such a solid metaphor that they can represent almost anything. Even Galactus, the world-devouring purple space-guy, can be a role model for people who sometimes get so hungry that they eat entire planets. For its movies, though, Marvel has played it relatively safe. Captain America used to be a dweeb, but now he’s King Jock. Iron Man might be an alcoholic, but he’s also rich and smart and charming and gets whatever he wants. Thor is literally a god. These aren’t relatable people with believable issues, these are full-on big-time superheroes.


This trend seems to be changing, though. As reported by Bleeding Cool, Marvel is getting ready to do something with Squirrel Girl, its pre-eminent “yes, this is a real character” character. The publisher apparently filed for a “Squirrel Girl” trademark recently, which indicates that it’s probably going to do something with her at some point in the future. It probably doesn’t mean that Squirrel Girl will be getting her own movie after Doctor Strange and Ant-Man, but it does mean she might pop up on Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. or one of Marvel’s Netflix shows.

For those who are inexplicably unfamiliar with Squirrel Girl, she’s a woman named Doreen Green who, obviously, has squirrel-related powers. That might sound silly, but remember that we’re in acceptance-mode here, so what may seem stupid to you could actually be empowering for some teen girl who was also born with squirrel-related powers and is desperate for a superhero that she can relate to. Also, her bio on Marvel’s official site says she once defeated Doctor Doom by overwhelming him with an army of squirrels. That pompous jerk Iron Man couldn’t do that.