The 2015 Marvel Comics series The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Ryan North, Erica Henderson, Derek Charm, Rico Renzi, Clayton Cowles, Travis Lanham, and many more creators (especially when it comes to the art for the recurring Deadpool-branded Super Villain Trading Cards) is getting a follow-up in the form of a scripted podcast: Marvel’s Squirrel Girl: The Unbeatable Radio Show! In addition to kicking butts and eating nuts, Doreen Green is bringing along some very, very special guests, including the “leading lady of the first Howard the Duck biopic,” Lea Thompson!
As reported by Comics Beat, Marvel’s Squirrel Girl: The Unbeatable Radio Show! is a sequel to the comic series written by North and illustrated by the rest of the incredibly talented creators on the Marvel Comics series and starring the supporting cast members introduced in The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. In-show stars for the podcast include Milana Vayntrub as Squirrel Girl, Crystal Lucas-Perry as Nancy Whitehead, Leo Sheng as Koi Boi (a trans superhero being voiced by a queer trans actor), Davied Morales as Chipmunk Hunk, Peter Hermann as Brain Drain, Erica Schroeder as Tippy T. Squirrel, and Tina Benko as Rachel Oskar.
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In addition to the main cast, each show features “calls from listeners.” These range from classmates who want the answers to their homework assignments to legitimate celebrities (who are, for some reason listening to this Empire State University radio broadcast – but in their defense, Squirrel Girl has defeated both Thanos and Galactus). These celebrity guests include John Hodgman, who calls in during the first episode, “The Fate of My Universe,” available to listen to now on SiriusXM and other podcast platforms. And in the second episode, which you can listen to right now if you’re a subscriber to Marvel Podcasts Unlimited, “Spider-Sense Didn’t Even Tingle,” the actor mentioned above, director, and Howard the Duck star Thompson calls in to reveal she’s a real superhero! She also reveals that she knows ballet, which is perfect for anyone who is a superhero-in-training (just ask Black Widow).
Marvel’s Squirrel Girl and Howard the Duck Connection
Erica Henderson/Marvel
It makes sense for Lea Thompson to appear as an in-universe character on the podcast. Not only is the world of Marvel meant to be the “world outside your window,” but also, Thompson has previously appeared as a character in the panels of Marvel Comics. In the run of Howard the Duck by Chip Zdarsky and Joe Quinones which ran at the same time as part of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Thompson appeared as a fourth-wall-breaking version of herself. On top of that, that run of Howard the Duck even crossed over with The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl.
Thompson has been busy lately, having not only directed two episodes of the second season of Star Trek: Picard, but having also made an on-screen appearance in the fifth episode in a cameo role as “Dr. Diane Verner,” who appears in a scene alongside Adam Soong (Brent Spiner). Plus, that’s not the only Star Trek connection for the second episode of The Unbeatable Radio Show! Another caller over the course of the second episode is none other than Spider-Man himself. However, Spidey is voiced in this incarnation by Paul Scheer, who plays Chief Engineer Andy Billups on Star Trek: Lower Decks.
