The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl vs. Dinosaur Ultron

When her vacation to the Savage Land with Nancy and Tippy Toe goes awry (also Kraven the Hunter is there — hi, Kraven), Doreen Green somehow finds herself facing down Ultron himself. Oh, and did we mention how HE’S A GIANT ROBO-DINOSAUR NOW? Presenting, THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #25 by Ryan North with art by Erica Henderson! Featuring dinosaurs, dinosaurs, a robot dinosaur, Antonio the Doombot, and the rest!

But will her “unbeatable” reputation remain intact? Will Kraven turn Tippy into a fez? AND WHAT OF ANTONIO THE DOOMBOT?! Writer Ryan North answers all this and more…

Marvel.com: How has everyone — Tippy Toe, Doreen, Nancy, Kraven — been feeling about the Savage Land?

Ryan North: Nancy went into this excited to see some dinosaurs, and she saw some right off the bat, so she’s satisfied. No matter what else goes wrong, Nancy Whitehead saw her some gosh-darned dinosaurs. That said, everything else has gone wrong: the alien machinery keeping the Savage Land alive is failing, the dinosaurs are at risk, and to make matters worse? A piece of Ultron landed here, rebuilt itself as a Tyrannosaurus rex, and is now intent on killing everyone. So it’s been a trip.

Marvel.com: How are the group dynamics between this motley crew? (Like, as in, NO KRAVEN, DON’T TURN TIPPY INTO A FEZ.)

Ryan North: Kraven and Squirrel Girl have a long history now! He appeared in our (first) #1, and he’s been back since then. I think they’ve really grown to like each other. Like, they’re different people, but every time they hang out Kraven comes out of it a better person, and Squirrel Girl really respects him. They’re a pretty unlikely friendship, and I think that’s what they like most about each other.

So Kraven wouldn’t turn Tippy into a fez, out of respect for Squirrel Girl. But, other than that, it IS a risk: this is a man who turned a lion’s hide into his vest. And it’s not just, like, the back of a lion.  He wears the lion’s FACE. Kraven don’t play.

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #25

Marvel.com: I guess a giant robot dinosaur trying to destroy her has put a little damper on things… but can the vacation to the Savage Land be salvaged?

Ryan North: I feel like a universal truth is this: whenever anyone visits a dinosaur theme park/ dinosaur nature reserve/ dinosaur continent preserved by ancient aliens/ WHATEVER, there is a tiny part of them that thinks, with just a tinge of excitement, “oh man, there’s a chance the dinosaurs will escape and go crazy, I wonder what that’ll look like.”

Ultron has definitely been behind that, so while Doreen is a little bit disappointed her trip hasn’t been the vacation she thought it might be, there is a much larger part of her that is excited because SHE GETS TO FIGHT FRIGGIN’ DINOSAURS.

I think it’s another universal truth that we’d all like to maybe fight a dinosaur sometime. I dunno. Maybe it’s just me.

Marvel.com: How is dinosaur Ultron different from other iterations of him that we have seen so far? Being a t-rex must be somewhat of a rush…

Ryan North: I’d like to think this is Ultron in his purest form. He is a robot man that hates organic life but who always makes himself look like a human. And yes, CLEARLY there’s some issues there that he needs to work out, but I think once he’s tasted being a dinosaur — tasted being a literal TYRANT LIZARD KING — he might show up in this form more often.  He doesn’t blend in as well… but then again, did he ever really? And now he has a tail, awesome teeth, and, frankly, adorable little arms!

Personality-wise, of course, he’s the same homicidal Ultron he’s ever been — only now he’s got the dinosaur body to back it up.

Marvel.com: What kind of dinosaur would you be, if you could robot yourself into one?

Ryan North: I’ve spent over 14 years writing Dinosaur Comics at qwantz.com, so my answer shouldn’t surprise anyone: yeah, I’d totally be a T-Rex, too. What’s not to like?  They’re awesome, they’re giant, they have teeth for days, and they look really good when viewed from the rear view mirror of a jeep. T-Rex all the way.

Failing that, Utahraptor or Dromiceiomimus are both excellent animals, too, and I’m not playing favorites.

Marvel.com: And please tell us that Antonio the Doombot is getting a spinoff… IF NOT, THEN AT LEAST TELL US MORE ABOUT HIM THE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW FUN FACTS ABOUT ANTONIO THE DOOMBOT, PLEASE.

Ryan North: Antonio the Doombot fun facts!  DID YOU KNOW: every Latverian must be able to build a Doombot from scratch in order to graduate high school? DID YOU ALSO KNOW: Antonio the Doombot is a Doombot built in the Savage Land whose sole purpose is to protect dinosaurs? He has all the will and desire of Doom, but bent solely towards protecting dinosaurs and their environment. Not gonna lie: he’s pretty great.

I can’t say if there will be a spinoff or not, but I know this: he will always live on in our memories.

Scamper on over to a comic store near you for THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #25 (by Ryan North with art by Erica Henderson) — out October 11!