Of all the strange heroes populating the Marvel universe, Great Lakes Avengers member and literal squirrel Monkey Joe has to be one of the strangest. He’s not a mutant, nor is he radioactive and he certainly isn’t magic in any capacity. Monkey Joe is just a regular acorn-loving squirrel once partnered with one of Marvel’s most unconventional crimefighters, Doreen Green aka Squirrel Girl.
The Great Lakes Avengers are probably one of the most well-known team of “loser” superheroes, compiled of fairly unremarkable heroes with less-than-amazing powers. After appearing in West Coast Avengers #46 by John Byrne, the collective found themselves bouncing from title to title, often trading one copyright infringing team name for another. But the Great Lakes Avengers got their own series in 2005 with G.L.a. and with it, two very peculiar additions to their team.
The four-issue miniseries G.L.a. was the first true-blue comic to feature the Great Lakes Avengers, though much like how the team existed to lampoon superheroes in a tongue-in-cheek way, the storyline “Misassembled” was meant to satirize death in comic books. Written by Dan Slott with art by Rick Magyar and Paul Pelletier, Slott hyped up his own series by advertising a superhero death every issue (likely a reference to the ubiquitous deaths of heroes at the time). The series even gets a meta-aware introduction by Squirrel Girl and Monkey Joe, who lament how dark comics were at the time compared to their optimistic beginnings. Doreen’s introduction would be a foreboding message for what was to come.
The duo joins the team officially in G.L.a. #2, with Squirrel Girl eager to apply. She also ensures that Monkey Joe becomes a full-fleged member of the Great Lakes Avengers. With the team needing to bolster their numbers, the misfit heroes agree to her request. Unfortunately, as a team member, this qualifies Monkey Joe to meet Slott’s requirements for killing a hero every issue and the squirrelly sidekick meets his end at the hands of Leather Boy, a bitter, rejected member of the Great Lakes Avengers. Squirrel Girl weeps for her little friend. Not only was he her partner for the miniseries, but Monkey Joe had also been by Doreen’s side since her first outing as Squirrel Girl and even helped her with her infamous takedown of Doctor Doom. Though she did eventually move on, Doreen eulogized Monkey Joe as a “good squirrel” and “her best friend”.
Monkey Joe was eventually replaced by a squirrel named Tippy-Toe, but his role as Squirrel Girl’s partner can’t be understated. Doreen has a special relationship with squirrels and sees the intelligence and loyalty they display. She believed in Monkey Joe enough to make him a full-fledged hero, and there are so few animals with no enhancements, magic or otherwise, you can say that for. Sure, a squirrel may have just been a team member of the laughingstock of the Marvel universe, but he died an Avenger all the same.
