Unbelievable Squirrel Girl: Leave it to Loki

When Nancy and Tippy-Toe get human—and squirrel—napped respectively by a planet of alien squirrels about to get eaten by Galactus—long story—Doreen hops on the case! Or, uh, she would be on the case if she knew what the heck was going on.

See, she’s still stuck back on Earth and barely knows what became of her friends when the frickin’ Dread Dormammu shows up and he’s all “I’m gonna destroy you!” and Squirrel Girl’s all, “Oh, haven’t you heard?” Because the name of the comic? UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #28.

On January 10, writer Ryan North and artist Erica Henderson present “The Forbidden Pla-Nut Part 2”! To defeat this legendary villain Doreen will seek the help of the new Sorcerer Supreme…Loki? Wait, what does Cat Thor have to say about this…

Ryan North stopped by to fill us in on Cat Thor, but also some other things not Cat Thor-related as well.

Marvel.com: Tell us all about what’s been happening in the “Forbidden Pla-Nut” arc so far!

Ryan North: Just as a warning up front; we tend to pack a lot into our issues. So far Nancy and Tippy have been kidnapped, Squirrel Girl has been trying to find them, she’s fallen in with Loki—who is Sorcerer Supreme now—he tried to help by opening a dimensional portal, but on the other side was the Dread Dormammu who is taking advantage of Earth’s weakness—because come on, Loki as Sorcerer Surpreme instead of Doctor Strange represents a clear opportunity for everyone who wants to destroy the Earth). Whew.

When we left them they were totally getting beaten up by him. And that doesn’t even cover all the things that happened in that first issue!

Marvel.com: How and why did Nancy and Tippy get kidnapped?

Ryan North: The planet that kidnapped [them] is a squirrel world, filled with sentient, technology-using squirrels. They were visited by The Silver Surfer, who told them Galactus was going to eat their world—but that if they gave him some money he’d send them somewhere else.

They didn’t have the money, but they did have teleporters—and they did see Tippy-Toe—and Doreen—defeat Galactus way back in our first issue #4. So naturally they figure Tippy is the only one in the universe that can help them!

Marvel.com: Wait, but hasn’t Galactus hung up his planet-eating bib?

Ryan North: Well, here’s the thing: if that “Silver Surfer asking for bribes” bit in my last answer made you say “that doesn’t sound like the Silver Surfer or Galactus”: you’re right! This isn’t the real Silver Surfer, but some grifters who have realized that for the price of some silver body paint, they can rip off worlds by threatening a visit from Galactus.

So on top of everything we’ve got space grifters too! Of course, seeing as people are using his good name, it makes sense that the real Silver Surfer would want to put an end to that…

Marvel.com: What’s the deal with these alien squirrels? Are they friend squirrel or foe squirrel?

Ryan North: Like all squirrels, they are friendly! You may think there are some Earth squirrels that are not friendly; perhaps they have eaten the siding on your house to break into your attic. I am here to say that among squirrels, that is considered a very high compliment.

Ubeatable Squirrel Girl #28 cover by Erica Henderson

Marvel.com: Could you refresh us again on how in Odin’s green midgard Loki became Sorcerer Supreme?

Ryan North: I believe that story is told in the DOCTOR STRANGE series! We’re just taking advantage of that because come on, that’s amazing. Loki is so pooched.

Marvel.com: Is he going to fight the big bad as Cat Thor? Because the world is ready.

Ryan North: I will say that while Cat Thor doesn’t show up, there is a new form of Loki head that is, dare I say…even better? I’m big into Loki shape-shifting his head. He doesn’t do it often in other comics but when he shows up around Doreen, for some reason, it keeps happening. Anyway, there’s really relevant plot reasons for why it happens! We don’t cotton to random head shape-shifting here.

Marvel.com: Has the fame and fabulousness of the new title changed Loki since we last encountered him in issue #8?

Ryan North: He’s big into his new title—Loki is, it’s fair to say, a guy who craves validation—so he’s excited to show off for Squirrel Girl. And when has an insecure egoist showing off ever backfired?

Marvel.com: Uh oh, that doesn’t exactly sound like a ringing endorsement…will he be able to handle the Dread Dormammu?

Ryan North: Well, [Dormammu is] a cosmic-level threat, and Doctor Strange’s most dangerous enemy, and Loki’s facing him right off the bat! Normally I’d say Loki is totally doomed, but come on: he’s got Squirrel Girl on his side.

Marvel.com: What would the super villain trading cards be for the baddies who appear in this issue?

Ryan North: There’s Dormammu, but we showed his card in the last issue. There’s the Silver Grifters, and their card would be something to see, because they’re such jerks. And finally, Squirrel Girl fights a new villain that shows up at the end that I don’t want to spoil!

Explore the Forbidden Pla-Nut once more with Ryan North and Erica Henderson’s UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #28—blasting off on January 10!