The day I moved into my freshman dorm, my dad took one look at my giant Marvel Universe poster, another at my brand-new roommate and told me, “Maybe you should wait a while before you put that up.” He made it appear as if I had this burdening secret that I should hide from my roommate and be ashamed of, when in fact he himself is the one who introduced me to comic books as a kid.
A week later Spiderman and the rest of the gang were staring down upon our new room. The secret was out: I am a nerd. Luckily for me, however, the nerd is on the rise. Like the phoenix rising from the ashes or, in this case, Agent Phil Coulson from the grave, this fall, my nerdom dreams are coming to life. ABC will be premiering the new show “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D.,” directed by Joss Whedon.
Whedon directed “The Avengers” in 2012, which crushed its opening weekend at the box office, earning an estimated $200.3 million, and is the third highest grossing film of all time. With seasons 1-7 of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” sitting on my shelf at home, I think it’s safe to say that I’ve been a fan of Whedon’s work for quite some time.
Despite my unabashed love for Buffy, Whedon has not always had good luck in bringing comic books to life on the small screen. In 2009, he directed the show “Dollhouse,” based off the “Dollhouse Epitaphs” comic books. The show couldn’t gain the fan base that “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel” once had and was cancelled later that year.
The rise of the comic book nerd has been long in coming. It began in 2000 with the release of “X-Men.” A new breed of cool Hollywood actors were beginning to surface and take on the roles made great by Christopher Reeves and Adam West. Suddenly, special effects became bigger; CGI allowed audiences to see Spiderman swing through the streets of New York City and the claws of Wolverine to look more razor-sharp than ever. Comic-Con became the “it” place to be if you wanted to see big stars and get a first look at the new movies.
After the lull in 2007 with movies such as “Spiderman 3” and “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” it was time to bring in the big guns. For those of you who have been hiding under a rock for the last five years, I’m referring to the one, the only, Mr. Robert Downey Jr. “Iron Man” was the catalyst that allowed all the following Marvel movies to weave in and out of one another’s story lines and made the franchise what it is today.
Instead of the once-a-year Marvel movie that fans had come to expect, it became once every few months with “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Thor” and “Iron Man 2.” It all eventually built up to the one movie that would bring them all together: “The Avengers.” The T-shirts, action figures and whole body armored suits are now being sold in almost every Target, Wal-Mart, Macy’s and comic book store in America. What was once a closeted, geeky thing is now being proudly worn down the streets for all to see.
Being a “comic nerd” has become cool. So come fall, when I’m sitting on my bed in front of my TV and watching “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” with my Marvel Universe poster still waving a friendly hello to all who see it, I can take comfort in one thing: everyone around the country will be watching it and geeking out too.
