What Squirrel Girl Can Teach You About the Superpowers of Squirrels

A genie has granted you a single wish — you can take on the superpowers of any animal you desire. What would you choose? Perhaps you considered a lion, or bear, or eagle. It’s unlikely a squirrel was at the top of your list. However, these nimble ninjas of the rodent family are mightier than meets the eye. And, as any victim of a burglarized bird feeder can attest, they are clever creatures with unparalleled persistence when it comes to getting what they want.

Squirrel Girl’s alter ego, Doreen Green, acquired the proportional powers of a squirrel when she was 10 years old. For reasons that aren’t completely understood, she experienced a genetic alteration that gave her several squirrel-like features including a bushy semi-prehensile tail, enlarged front teeth, and small claws on the ends of her fingers that assist with gripping and climbing. Her superpowers include enhanced strength, speed, agility, and reflexes. She also speaks fluent Squirrelese, which allows her to communicate with squirrels and enlist their help when battling bad guys.

While Squirrel Girl doesn’t get the same recognition as Spiderman and other heroes with animal-oriented powers, she has defeated many of Marvel’s toughest villains. Keep reading to find out how the powers of a squirrel gave rise to the most unbeatable superhero in the universe. 

Climbing the Walls

Spiderman isn’t the only superhero who can scale walls. Thanks to Squirrel Girl’s claws, she is a dexterous climber. She shows off her climbing skills in the very first issue of Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, when she climbs a burning building to rescue the helpless citizens trapped inside.

When climbing trees, arboreal squirrels’ sharp curved claws embed in the bark of the tree like tiny grappling hooks. Secured by these anchor points, they can maneuver and shift their body weight while ensuring their feet remain steady. This keeps their bodies closer to the tree and prevents them from falling – much like an ice pick helps rock climbers ascend cliffs and other sheer surfaces.

Squirrels are one of the very few mammals that can run down trees headfirst. Even more remarkably, they can run down just as fast as they run up. That’s because the ankle joints on their rear limbs are hypermobile, meaning they are stretchier than normal. With this extra flexibility, they can turn their ankles 180 degrees and make their feet point backward. This allows their claws to face in the appropriate direction for supporting their weight while running down the tree.

By rotating their ankles, they also flatten out their rear feet, creating more surface area to grip the tree. Their ankle rotation and sharp claws allow them to hang upside down and stretch out to grasp neighboring tree branches or sample snacks from nearby bird feeders.

Making a Run for It

She may not be able to keep up with Quicksilver, but Squirrel Girl can give some other superheroes a run for their money. In issue 22, Squirrel Girl vacations in the Savage Land, where she runs with a herd of Gallimimus, a large chicken-like dinosaur. She easily matches the dinosaurs’ strides even though they have an estimated speed of up to 50 mph. If that doesn’t sound impressive, consider that 100-meter world record holder, Usain Bolt, can run about 28 mph for a few seconds at best.

Since squirrels aren’t apt to run on tracks, documenting their exact speed is tricky, and running speeds vary by species. Scientists have clocked Belding’s ground squirrels at over 12 mph, and red squirrels have been recorded at up to 14 mph. Some other tree squirrels may run as fast as 16 or 20 mph.

When squirrels run, their tails are usually positioned straight out behind them, which reduces wind resistance. To further improve aerodynamics, the tails of many tree squirrels have longer hairs toward the center and shorter hairs toward each end. They also use their tails as a counterbalance to help with steering and maneuvering sharps turns — an important skill for superheroes looking to dodge their enemies.

Getting a Jump Start 

Like Superman, Squirrel Girl can leap tall buildings in a single bound. According to Marvel, she can perform standing high jumps of at least 30 feet, and she likely can jump much higher with a running start. Squirrel Girl often uses her leaping abilities to swiftly shuttle people out of harm’s way. For instance, when she is battling the army of Enigmos in issue 14, she sweeps up her friends and bounds to the safety of nearby rooftops.

Squirrels are incredible jumpers relative to their small size and lightweight bodies. With a running start, some species can jump more than 10 times their body length. Eastern grey squirrels – the most common species in the United States – can jump about four feet vertically and approximately nine feet horizontally.

Squirrels’ legendary leaping abilities are due to their powerful hind legs, which are bigger and stronger than their front limbs. Their large leg muscles act like elastic bands, storing spring-like energy for quick release when leaping between branches. To minimize the force of impact, most squirrels land on all four feet at the same time. Arboreal squirrels also have long bushy tails, which assist with balance during jumping.

Although they are agile animals, squirrels do fall, sometimes from great heights. In the event of a mistimed leap, their bushy tails can act as a sort of parachute, with their fur spreading out to keep them upright and possibly slowing their descent.

Flying High

Although flying isn’t one of Squirrel Girl’s original superpowers, she did have a chance to soar through the skies in issue 17, thanks to a jet pack and flying squirrel suit gifted to her by a mysterious benefactor. Unfortunately, the benefactor isn’t as benevolent as she first appears.

There are roughly 50 species of flying squirrels, three of which live in North America. While these squirrels can’t actually fly, they can glide for impressive distances between trees. Flying squirrels have a membranous structure, called a patagium, that extends between their limbs and functions like a parachute or hang glider. They also have a cartilage spur on each wrist that can be extended almost like an extra finger, further expanding their patagia.

By manipulating their limbs, flying squirrels can modify the shape of their patagia during flight, allowing them to make sharp turns of nearly 180 degrees. Their tails are broader and flatter than other arboreal squirrels and can be used as a rudder to maintain balance or change direction. They can also be flicked up in the air to act as brakes when landing.

Southern flying squirrels in the eastern U.S. are small (less than nine inches in length), but they can soar a distance of up to 200 feet. Other species have been known to glide as far as 500 feet. Like most flying superheroes, these agile aviators land on their back feet first, before dropping to all fours. Their heavily padded rear feet cushion their landings.

Still not convinced that Squirrel Girl is unbeatable? What makes her even more remarkable is that when she’s not saving the world from Galactus, she’s a full-time computer science student at the fictional Empire State University. Balancing crime fighting with study sessions is a lot of responsibility for a twenty-something, but as Squirrel Girl would say, “Eat Nuts and Kick Butts!”

If you would like to read more about Squirrel Girl and her alter ego Doreen Green, the stand-alone graphic novel The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe is a good place to start.

To read more about amazing animal abilities, check out this article.