When Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was first announced by ABC, the biggest news was that Clark Gregg would be bringing Phil Coulson to the small screen after his dramatic turn in The Avengers. He was a huge draw for fans of the superhero story, and he's one of the best things about the new series.
5. He's the glue: Agent Coulson is the one responsible for bringing our loveable band of misfits together on the same bus, or plane as it were. He sees something in each of them that we, as an audience, might not get yet, even Skye, who spent the first few episodes doubting the men in suits and lying to the team. And he's got a great history of being glue. If you remember, it was their respect and admiration for Coulson that finally brought the Avengers together as a team on the big screen.
4. He pulls the strings: One of the best things about his character is that S.H.I.E.L.D. brought him back in the game for a reason, and they seem committed to letting him run with it. After recouperating in "Tahiti" (come on, we all know he wasn't really on a mandated vacation), the higher ups see fit to give him his very own team, one that he gets to hand pick, and let him make all the calls on the cases his team encounters. He also seems to be able to defy orders without getting into too much trouble. He has been warned that he can only defy headquarters so many times before his team is taken from him though. Wouldn't we all love to see Coulson, and by extension, his team go rogue?
3. Mystery surrounds him: While we've seen a few other mysteries (like Skye's parentage) introduced that will likely run the course of this season, if not longer (fingers crossed), the questions regarding Coulson's death and resurrection draw us in. Series writers have promised answers, but not full answers, until the end of the season. Even as we have "mission of the week" episodes, Coulson will have to deal with how dying, whether it was for eight seconds or forty, has changed him. And because the experience changed him, he's going to keep digging, so we get little bits and pieces of his story every week.
2. He lives outside the box: Because of the recent changes to his life, Coulson isn't afraid to take a leap, or listen to the most outlandish of theories from his team. He flat out tells Skye as much in episode four. His willingness to consider all avenues of possibility, and defy protocol when necessary, is what makes his team trust him so much, and us love to see him lead them.
1. He's one of us: The thing that really resonates with Coulson is that for all of his training and his clout in the super secret goverment organization, he's just another fan of super heroes. We get our glimpse of that in The Avengers. He had such an admiration for the nobility of Captain America that he collected his trading cards and helped design his new uniform. Coulson believes that heroes exist, that good can triumph over evil, and that there is a solution to every problem. He believes that in a changing world, S.H.I.E.L.D. can keep the bad at bay.