1. He Knows His Nerdy Stuff (But Not To A Fan Boy Level)
You don't necessarily need to be a comic book fan to make a good comic book movie. There are tonnes of directors and stars not only of the MCU films but of other superhero flicks who were completely ignorant as to the source material before they got the job, and in some cases it actually helps. They don't go in with pre-conceieved notions, aren't going to pander to the audience, and are perhaps less precious about changing things. Which means Drew Goddard is the perfect balance between the completely ignorant and the die hard fan. He is definitely not the sort who's completely disconnected from the world of geekery and genre fare, having mostly worked on those sorts of films and TV shows - he's been working on other Spider-Man projects recently. So he's obviously immersed in this stuff, and it's probably not much of a stretch to assume he's a fan. Either that or he's managed to back himself into a niche he'd much rather not be in. Regardless, he's clearly not somebody who's totally beholden to the tropes and expected narratives of this stuff, what with The Cabin In The Woods' whole bag being defying those expectations. In those ways, Drew Goddard's absolutely perfect for Spider-Man. He knows the material, he knows how to write these sorts of characters and stories, and you know he's not afraid of doing something new and interesting. But then there are some reservations, too...
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
