Part 3-Phil Coulson

Captain America. Hawkeye. Hulk. Iron Man. Iron Fist. Nick Fury. Daredevil. Wolverine. Phil Coulson

These characters all mean something to me. I need them in my life. They are either examples to me on how I should live my life, influences on me with the way I live my life or people I can relate to that make me fee like I'm not alone. Here, we're going to go into part 3-SHIELD agent Phil Coulson.

Phil Coulson is probably the Avenger I feel closest to, in a weird and cheesy sort of way. Now I've often been singled out because of my lack of social skills and my intense interests/obsessions. I've also always liked the Avengers comics-and to a lesser extent, the X Men comics-because the heroes are always the misfits.So when I picked up and read S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 (Mark Waid, Carlos Pacheo, Mariano Taibo and Dono Almara), I couldn't help but notice that S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson exhibits the classic signs of Asperger Syndrome. 

S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 basically sets up that Coulson shows a rather restrictive and intense interest in one subject, which is the most striking feature of Asperger Syndrome. Agent Coulson's "special interest" is superheroes and it's led him into the job he has.

However, his 'special interest' seems to interfere with his social interaction and his work, which is another classic sign of AS. 

Noticing this however, made me excited. Excited that there's a hero out there that's like me, but implements his 'special interest' into saving the world. 
It also made me realize that superheroes don't have to have adamantium claws, a healing factor or a vibranium shield in order to be effective at what they do. 

Take that Captain America, Deadpool and Wolverine! 

And also happy because me and people like me need a superhero to call their own. This is especially important with around 1 in 68 people in the US and 1 in 100 people in the UK having a form of autism. I'm aware that Coulson doesn't officially have AS or another form of autism outright, but just the fact that he is (most definitely) displaying the signs is enough for now.

Even in the movies, Coulson exhibits the signs of AS with his weird man-crush on Captain America. 

"It's an honor to meet you officially. I sort of met you-I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping."

Not that there's anything wrong with that, Chris Evans is a good looking guy (though personally, I prefer Bucky). And let's not forget about the blood soaked Captain America trading cards. 

Vintage trading cards. Took Coulson years to collect. Only seconds for Fury to bloody up.

That's right. They were vintage. And Captain America just refused to sign them, even after Coulson had died. Well, I use that word loosely... "Died". 
Another thing Coulson seems pretty obsessive about is Lola. Yes, his car. That however, can be attributed to him "being a man". But if you ever find yourself around him, just remember... Don't touch Lola. 
The fact that Coulson's a more accurate representation of AS in the media and he hasn't even got AS makes it better. He shows the signs while being able to have meaningful relationships without the robotic features that AS characters usually do (looking at you, Sheldon Cooper) and he isn't asexual either (still looking at you, Sheldon) since he was involved with that cellist. And while Coulson doesn't have any tics or compulsions (alien carvings aside), neither do I. Well, I have Tourettes, but before that manifested, I had no tics. Not everyone with an ASD has them. And I'm not saying Coulson has AS or implying it, I'm just saying he displays signs. 

I loved the Avengers movie because of Coulson. He's also the reason I loved the Thor movie. The more I see of him, the more I realize how like him I actually am. I don't have vintage Captain America trading cards, but I do have vintage baseball cards. I don't keep a database of superheroes, I keep one of Disney Characters (Coulson falls into it now). I don't draw out weird alien writing, but... Oh wait, I do. 

My lecturers call it the "Teeline Alphabet", but I'm sure it's Martian hieroglyphs. 

And if you think he was awkward around Captain America, I was worse around Elsa-I actually burst into tears when I met a woman playing the part of Elsa in Disney World. But when I met Tiana, I actually blurted out "you're my favorite princess"... To an actor playing a character. She's not even my favorite princess-Merida is. I told her I had nothing for my birthday when I had candy. Lots of candy. And let's not go into Wolverine... 

Apparently I don't know what country I'm from anymore

Coulson is me. I am Coulson. He's probably the only character I can relate to on a strangely personal level. As someone with AS, explaining my feelings always left me frustrated, now I can have people watch certain parts of the Iron Man movies, Thor, The Avengers or Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and show them how I feel, as opposed to getting frustrated and destroying things. I believe this is why I'm a lot less destructive and more calm now. Coulson changed my life. Well, not really, but he sure did help a lot with it. 

Thank you, Clark Gregg, wherever you are and whatever you're doing (probably Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. stuff), for taking the Coulson role and showing me that it's possible for people like me to be superheroes too. A big thank you to Marvel too for developing the character further.