Comedian and actor Patton Oswalt is no stranger to ABC on Tuesday nights. Those who watch the freshman comedy The Goldbergs will hear his voice narrating the 80s-set sitcom. It looks like we'll be getting an extra helping of Oswalt on an upcoming Tuesday night as he's set to guest star as Agent Eric Koenig in an episode of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
Marvel announced the news today, stating that Oswalt's character first appeared in Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #27 and is part of Fury's original team of world War II soldiers in the comics. So how does he fit into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Marvel says Oswalt actually questioned whether or not his character was linked to the mysterious Clairvoyant that's been teased but not revealed on the ABC drama in recent episodes.
“When they first told me the character’s name, I’ll admit the first thing I did is I went on Wikipedia and looked up the M.O.D.O.K. character to see if Koenig was maybe his name before he became M.O.D.O.K., but it wasn’t,” laughs Oswalt. “They keep on talking about the Clairvoyant in the show and I’m like, ‘is that M.O.D.O.K.? Am I M.O.D.O.K.?”
So he might not be the Clairvoyant. But as Oswalt notes, this does reteam him with Joss Whedon. The comedian worked with Whedon when he appeared in Dollhouse in 2009. In the Fox drama, Oswalt played Joel Mynor, a dollhouse client and internet mogul. This SHIELD role also brings Oswalt into the Marvelverse, which seems like it was fated the moment he stepped up to the podium on Parks and Recreation and filibustered a monologue presenting an imaginative scenario that managed to merge Star Wars and various Marvel characters.
Oswalt's brush with the Marvelverse on Parks and Recreation was heightened by the presence of Chris Pratt in the series. The filibuster episode took place just months after Pratt was announced to play Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy. Maybe there will be a time-ribbon involved in Oswalt's episode, which will somehow allow to him being cast in Star Wars Episode VII. (Please, Universe.)
The great thing about Patton Oswalt being on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, besides the fact that he's funny and incredibly talented as an actor (watch Big Fan and Young Adult or really any of his credits), is that he's a genuine fan. Read Marvel's full article to hear Oswalt's opinions on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., including why he appreciates the show's focus on the "lower tier levels of the Marvel Universe" -- that includes an interesting reference to The Wire -- and how he thinks this show stacks up next to the comic book series of the 90s.
You can read more about how Oswalt's character fits into the comic series here. While we don't know yet when to expect him on SHIELD, we do know the series will return with new episodes starting April 1.
