The Nerdy Dozen: Shopping Tips for the Marvels on your list

Sadly the holiday season is upon us and that means gatherings, shopping and gift giving for a variety of friends, co-workers and family. If you are lucky, you have some nerds on your list so you can buy some fun stuff and not just suffer in stores you don’t like all season. With that in mind, here is a helpful list of some fun items featuring or inspired by Marvel Comics characters for the Avenger on your list in escalating price order.

12) Everybody loves candy!

Well not everybody, for some people it can even be a health concern, but I’m sure you have someone on your list that likes it. Everyone also has people on their list they want or need to get something for but cheaply. Something like character based Pez dispensers are cheap and even somewhat thoughtful if you pick an appropriate character. It says “hey I like you enough to know you love Iron Man but not enough to spend more than $5”, and there is nothing wrong with saying that.

11) Everyone loves toys!

There are many different levels of toy lovers or toy collectors. Let’s just talk basic for now, and say that everyone likes toys and everyone sees how much better they seem to get the older you get. A thoughtful or cool gift can always be a small toy for someone’s desk at home or work, their keyring or where ever the “action” in action figure takes them. Hasbro’s line of small Marvel Universe figures are an awesome way to give the geek on your list a tiny hero or villain to hang-out with. You can find these things at any Wal-mart, Target, toy store or even hunt them on E-bay. There have been hundreds of these released by now, plus they aren’t just limited to the comic versions either, you can buy them styled like many of the Marvel movie universe characters too.

10) Everybody drinks something!

Not everyone drinks coffee but everyone seems to have coffee mugs. Or perhaps a beer mug, shot glass or for the healthier types a fancy water bottle is more their speed. Which ever beverage direction you choose to travel, the point is you can be geeky about it. Your choices here might be limited to major characters with a gift like this, but if you have a lover of beverages on your list that loves a Marvel movie you can probably find them something.

9) If they be worthy! 

Why not buy them Thor’s hammer? Well at least the toy version, I don’t think Odin is selling the real deal at the Asgardian flea-market. You can buy a Nerf version for softly smiting foes or a plastic one that makes “battle noises”. There are Mjölnir bottle openers, key rings, paper weights and even one filled with candy! I have one of the Nerf-ish versions and have won many glorious battles with it.

8) Some of us love toys more than others…

If you have someone really into toys on your list, Marvel really has a lot to offer in their Marvel Legends and Marvel Select lines. These are going to be a bit (or a lot) more expensive than the smaller toys we recommended earlier, but they are bigger “fancier” figures. And again for fans of the movies more than the comics you’ll have the option of buying them “movie Thor” instead of “comic Thor” if you need to make that sort of distinction.

7) Support their favorite comic shop! 

Gift certificates are not bad gifts, because even gift certificates can be thoughtful. Giving someone a gift card to their favorite restaurant or in this case their favorite comic shop means you want to treat them to something you know they’d really enjoy. Plus it can be really difficult to buy a comic fan a book or trade that they don’t have, so giving them the funds to do that themselves is a good present.

6) The Avengers! Available now on Blu-Ray & DVD!

If you have someone on your list that loved this movie and does not own it, and your price range for them is $20-30, just go ahead and buy this. Seriously it was great, every geek should own it and maybe they’ll even watch it with you.

5) Everybody needs clothes right? 

You can skip this one if you are shopping for a Spider-man fan living at a nudist colony. However for most people clothes are something we need to have, so they might as well fit our personality right? Buying comic related clothing used to be a lot harder, but the hardest part now is remembering what size the people on your list wear. But remember to try to fit the clothing item to the person not only in size but if the nerd level of the clothing matches their personal level of in public geek level.

4) Help them join the Avengers!

Do you know one of those “active” gamer types with a Wii or X-Box Kinect? Have they ever wondered how tired Chris Evans got of pretending to throw a shield for movie fight scenes? If so they are in luck because thanks to the motion gaming craze they can help save the world in the new Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth video game! Sadly if they are a PS3 owner and or lazy like myself you’ll be left out of this adventure, but perhaps there is an alternative…

3) Deadpool…the video game?!?

Marvel’s very own merc with a mouth gets his own video game this year and it’s kind of a big deal. To the best of my knowledge this will be the first Marvel character not named Spider-man to get his own solo game that is not a movie tie-in. With the character’s propensity towards over the top comedy and violence he is a good choice or his own game. And who knows? If it sells and reviews well, it could lead to a slew of new Marvel games. So if you’ve got a comic loving gamer on your list in the $60 price range, hopefully this will be a game worth giving.

2) For the Sam Jackson or David Hasselhoff fan on your list…

Besides being a BMF, Samuel L Jackson has been in more Marvel films than anyone not named Stan Lee. So what better gift to give your favorite fan of those mighty Marvel movies than a Nick Fury related replica? You could go the cheap and funny route by just giving them an eye-patch or you could cough up $150 or so and give them his gun!

1) Who doesn’t want to be Tony Stark?

Well I don’t actually have a recommendation for a gift that will turn someone into Tony Stark but you can buy someone his helmet. Thanks to Sideshow Collectibles you can buy this life sized Iron Man bust display that look like a movie prop and even lights up. Obviously the price really jumps up for something this swanky but if you’ve got $800 or more available to spend on your favorite shell-head fan these are really freaking cool.

So there you have it, a holiday and Marvel themed edition of the Dollar Bin’s Nerdy Dozen. Remember that during this celebrated season it is a time of sharing so please share this article or anything on our site with others. Also try to remember that it is better to give than to receive, so if possible when you’re out buying toys for your favorite geeks, remember to donate to organizations like Toys for Tots!