"No, Chewie. I don't want you to rip her apart. Either I'm beginning to like her, or I'm going to kill her myself."
First, I have only three chapters left to edit. And I will not be posting anymore until they are done, so if I'm not around tomorrow that is why.
Second, this post is likely to be filled with fan girliness and an overload of geekiness. You've been warned.
Sometimes a character emerges from a story and becomes something no one ever saw coming. In some cases he starts out as just an annoying human being you hope will not be in the next story - and yet by the end of it all you wish you could invite him over for tea and a high speed chase through the streets of New York.
I think the perfect example of this is Agent Phil Coulson. When he first appears in Iron Man he has all the makings for being annoying, one of those characters you want to throw your shoe at. First off, he's from the government, (in a manner of speaking.) That screams annoying. Second, he's always bugging Tony and Pepper. "Tell me what happened over there!"
When he first came on I half thought he'd turn out to be a bad guy, or was just an overly nosy reporter who worked for some company with a ridiculously long name. It wasn't until Pepper escaped from Jediah Stone and ran into Coulson down stairs and forced him to walk with her, forced might be the wrong word, that I began to like him. And by the end, I thought he was pretty cool.
Coulson is one of those sidekick characters, but not the typical one. He's content to stay in the background. He comes off as unassuming. A short, little man who even when he gets mad keeps his cool. Such as in Iron Man 2 when he matter of factly threatens Tony. "I will tazor you and let you drool into the carpet while I watch Super Nanny." He appears to have no emotions whatsoever. He's the kind of man, as Maxwell Smart would put it, with the kind of face you forget.
But I cannot help but think that Coulson trained himself to be this way. That he worked hard to become unassuming so he could catch people off their guard all the time. But that is just a theory.
Over the course of the movies, we get the chance to know Coulson better, a lot better. And we realize he has caught us off guard too. After all, he wasn't the most remembered character out of the Iron Man movies. It wasn't until the later movies that we began to go, "Oh, its him again." So that by the time the Avengers came around we were expecting him, but probably just because we know what he was capable of then. Or some of it.
Coulson is a skilled agent. The kind of agent who will do whatever is asked of him without question. He knows how to put up with annoying people (Tony. I don't believe those two ever really got along.) He knows how to take on bad guys even when he's out numbered. (If you haven't seen it yet, find the clip called A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Thor's Hammer.)
"I couldn't decide if I wanted powered or chocolate."
Nothing ever seems to faze him, not even having his base fall down into a hole in the ground. He's the kind of man who never panics under pressure and always knows what to do. It was he who helped some of the men escape the base when it was falling in, putting more value in their lives then Fury's important - whatever was in those cases.
Because this makes me snicker every single time.
But, to be honest, I think the thing I like best about Coulson is that he's a major geek. The only time I can remember him showing any real emotion, other then the slight rolling of the eyes he throws Tony, is when he is standing next to Rodgers, talking about his card collection. You can see how hard he is trying to reign in his excitement at getting to stand next to his hero and tell him about how his cards are in nearly perfect condition. (And if they don't have a scene in the new SHEILD TV show with Coulson getting mad at Fury for ruining his cards I shall be crushed.)
It is a lot of fun to watch the movies though, and watch Coulson go from the annoying guy who hounds Tony and Pepper, to the geeky hero who unites the Avengers by "dying." And it is also fun to watch a "sidekick" who is never bothered by his role in the background. Who uses that role to his advantage, and who calmly kicks thieves in the head. (It is also fun to watch he and Tony together, and Tony's continued failed attempts to get some kind of reaction out of him. Actually, come to think of it, I need to watch the movies just for these two, because I think I missed a lot of their...friendship, if I dare call it that. Maybe some of it explains why Tony was so mad at Loki for killing Coulson.)
Also, I think Coulson should get points for coolness because of the fact he owns a red sports car named Lola.
Don't forget, these posts are being held as part of the release of my newest book, A Stretch of Loyalty. There will be a giveaway for one, free, signed copy. If you want to enter the giveaway just do your own character post and leave the link in one of my comment boxes. The winner will be drawn June 14th, the book's release date.
Quote is from Star Wars, Han's first thoughts on his future wife.
Allons-y!
Second, this post is likely to be filled with fan girliness and an overload of geekiness. You've been warned.
Sometimes a character emerges from a story and becomes something no one ever saw coming. In some cases he starts out as just an annoying human being you hope will not be in the next story - and yet by the end of it all you wish you could invite him over for tea and a high speed chase through the streets of New York.
I think the perfect example of this is Agent Phil Coulson. When he first appears in Iron Man he has all the makings for being annoying, one of those characters you want to throw your shoe at. First off, he's from the government, (in a manner of speaking.) That screams annoying. Second, he's always bugging Tony and Pepper. "Tell me what happened over there!"
When he first came on I half thought he'd turn out to be a bad guy, or was just an overly nosy reporter who worked for some company with a ridiculously long name. It wasn't until Pepper escaped from Jediah Stone and ran into Coulson down stairs and forced him to walk with her, forced might be the wrong word, that I began to like him. And by the end, I thought he was pretty cool.
Coulson is one of those sidekick characters, but not the typical one. He's content to stay in the background. He comes off as unassuming. A short, little man who even when he gets mad keeps his cool. Such as in Iron Man 2 when he matter of factly threatens Tony. "I will tazor you and let you drool into the carpet while I watch Super Nanny." He appears to have no emotions whatsoever. He's the kind of man, as Maxwell Smart would put it, with the kind of face you forget.
But I cannot help but think that Coulson trained himself to be this way. That he worked hard to become unassuming so he could catch people off their guard all the time. But that is just a theory.
Over the course of the movies, we get the chance to know Coulson better, a lot better. And we realize he has caught us off guard too. After all, he wasn't the most remembered character out of the Iron Man movies. It wasn't until the later movies that we began to go, "Oh, its him again." So that by the time the Avengers came around we were expecting him, but probably just because we know what he was capable of then. Or some of it.
Coulson is a skilled agent. The kind of agent who will do whatever is asked of him without question. He knows how to put up with annoying people (Tony. I don't believe those two ever really got along.) He knows how to take on bad guys even when he's out numbered. (If you haven't seen it yet, find the clip called A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Thor's Hammer.)
"I couldn't decide if I wanted powered or chocolate."
Nothing ever seems to faze him, not even having his base fall down into a hole in the ground. He's the kind of man who never panics under pressure and always knows what to do. It was he who helped some of the men escape the base when it was falling in, putting more value in their lives then Fury's important - whatever was in those cases.
Because this makes me snicker every single time.But, to be honest, I think the thing I like best about Coulson is that he's a major geek. The only time I can remember him showing any real emotion, other then the slight rolling of the eyes he throws Tony, is when he is standing next to Rodgers, talking about his card collection. You can see how hard he is trying to reign in his excitement at getting to stand next to his hero and tell him about how his cards are in nearly perfect condition. (And if they don't have a scene in the new SHEILD TV show with Coulson getting mad at Fury for ruining his cards I shall be crushed.)
It is a lot of fun to watch the movies though, and watch Coulson go from the annoying guy who hounds Tony and Pepper, to the geeky hero who unites the Avengers by "dying." And it is also fun to watch a "sidekick" who is never bothered by his role in the background. Who uses that role to his advantage, and who calmly kicks thieves in the head. (It is also fun to watch he and Tony together, and Tony's continued failed attempts to get some kind of reaction out of him. Actually, come to think of it, I need to watch the movies just for these two, because I think I missed a lot of their...friendship, if I dare call it that. Maybe some of it explains why Tony was so mad at Loki for killing Coulson.)
Also, I think Coulson should get points for coolness because of the fact he owns a red sports car named Lola.
Don't forget, these posts are being held as part of the release of my newest book, A Stretch of Loyalty. There will be a giveaway for one, free, signed copy. If you want to enter the giveaway just do your own character post and leave the link in one of my comment boxes. The winner will be drawn June 14th, the book's release date.
Quote is from Star Wars, Han's first thoughts on his future wife.
Allons-y!
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