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23 geeky characters fans can't help but love
Fox

23 geeky characters fans can't help but love

There was once a time on earth when nerds, dorks, and geeks were the butt of the joke, like in most ‘80s and ‘90s teen movies. However, thanks to the rise of superhero content, tech giants, and a little CBS show that took the world by storm, nerdom has never been cooler. Now it’s chic to be square, which has led to these geeky characters being huge fan favorites across the board.

 
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Egon Spengler, 'Ghostbusters'

Egon Spengler, 'Ghostbusters'
Columbia Pictures

All of the Ghostbusters had their unique nerd centricities, but Egon wore his geek crown a little more than the others — just a smidge.

 
2 of 23

Daria Morgendorffer, 'Daria'

Daria Morgendorffer, 'Daria'
MTV Animation

Geeks tend not to fit in with the cool kids, and for Daria, that was okay. This ‘90s sarcasm icon will forever be revered for naturally going against the grain.

 
3 of 23

Andy Stitzer, 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin'

Andy Stitzer, 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin'
Universal Studios

Andy gave everyone 40 and above with the same status a lot of hope.

 
4 of 23

Abby Sciuto, 'NCIS'

Abby Sciuto, 'NCIS'
CBS/THINKFilm

The world loves a geek with an alternative twist.


 
5 of 23

Dr. Henry Walton, 'Indiana Jones'

Dr. Henry Walton, 'Indiana Jones'
Paramount Pictures

When People Magazine  breaks down the “Sexiest Men Ever…” and Harrison Ford in the ‘80s is No. 1, no one will be shocked.

 
6 of 23

Felicity Smoak, 'Arrow'

Felicity Smoak, 'Arrow'
The CW Television Network

Oliver Queen would just be a rich dude with a bow and arrow if it weren’t for Felicity Smoak running the entire operation with her tech skills.


 
7 of 23

Steve Urkel, 'Family Matters'

Steve Urkel, 'Family Matters'
ABC

This geek isn’t just a regular geek; he’s an iconic one.


 
8 of 23

Hermione Granger, 'Harry Potter'

Hermione Granger, 'Harry Potter'
Warner Bros.

Hermione Granger was out there having to deal with Harry Potter’s drama, a relationship with Ron, being muggle-born, and still managed to be Hogwart’s premier student. The boys could never.

 
9 of 23

Richard Hendricks, 'Silicon Valley'

Richard Hendricks, 'Silicon Valley'
HBO

Not everyone in Silicon Valley is a tech bro. Many are just overly anxious people like Richard Hendricks, who invented the new internet.


 
10 of 23

Lisa Simpson, 'The Simpsons'

Lisa Simpson, 'The Simpsons'
Fox Broadcasting Company

Lisa is one of the most integral characters ever to hit the small screen. An eight-year-old feminist who has stood her ground on many issues over the years, including animal rights.

 
11 of 23

Peter Parker, 'Spider-Man'

Peter Parker, 'Spider-Man'
Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures

Spidey is somewhat of a scientist himself.

 
12 of 23

Dana Scully, 'The X-Files'

Dana Scully, 'The X-Files'
Twentieth Century Fox

For all the cryptid nerds out there.

 
13 of 23

McLovin, 'Superbad'

McLovin, 'Superbad'
Sony Pictures/Columbia Pictures

McLovin lived the ultimate high school nerd fantasy alongside two police officers who should have never been hired.

 
14 of 23

Eliza Thornberry, 'The Wild Thornberrys'

Eliza Thornberry, 'The Wild Thornberrys'
Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon Movies

Geeks aren’t just those who are really into math and comics but also animal life. It would be weird if she could talk to animals, but she didn’t want to know a lot about them.

 
15 of 23

Sheldon Cooper, 'The Big Bang Theory'

Sheldon Cooper, 'The Big Bang Theory'
Warner Bros./CBS

The Big Bang Theory was geek-central, but arguably, Sheldon was the face of the show. So much so that he even got a spinoff that showcased just how nerdy he was as a kid, too, on Young Sheldon.

 
16 of 23

Velma Dinkley, 'Scooby-Doo'

Velma Dinkley, 'Scooby-Doo'
Warner Bros. Pictures

Mystery Inc. would be riding around aimlessly without Velma there to do the heavy lifting.

 
17 of 23

Randall Pearson, 'This Is Us'

Randall Pearson, 'This Is Us'
NBC

Randall was the bookworm of "The Big 3" on This Is Us, and while he became a senator - let’s not forget when the show started, he was a…weather trader. What?!

 
18 of 23

Topanga Lawrence, 'Boy Meets World'

Topanga Lawrence, 'Boy Meets World'
ABC

Topanga Lawrence went from the kooky girl in class to everyone’s first crush on Boy Meets World, but the one thing that remained the same about her character wasn’t just her love of Cory but her intellect.

 
19 of 23

Wayne Szalinski, 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'

Wayne Szalinski, 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'
Walt Disney Pictures

The man not only built a machine that shrunk his kids but also one that then made his baby a giant that terrorized Las Vegas and then went and shrunk himself and his wife.

 
20 of 23

Jessica Day, 'New Girl'

Jessica Day, 'New Girl'
Fox

Zooey Deschanel put the term “adorkable” on the map in the ‘00s when New Girl premiered.

 
21 of 23

The Geeks, 'Freaks and Geeks'

The Geeks, 'Freaks and Geeks'
NBC

The Freaks were considered the “cool” kids, but looking back, Neal, Bill, and Sam were actually the crowd most would’ve wanted to hang out with.

 
22 of 23

Belle, 'Beauty and the Beast'

Belle, 'Beauty and the Beast'
Walt Disney Pictures

An entire village sang a song about how weird Belle was all because she liked to read.

 
23 of 23

Lewis Skolnick, 'Revenge of the Nerds'

Lewis Skolnick, 'Revenge of the Nerds'
20th Century Fox

Long before he was Lizzie McGuire’s dad, Robert Carradine was repping as one of the boldest dorks ever to hit the big screen in Revenge of the Nerds.

Kendra Beltran is a pop culture obsessed writer who spent her youth tirelessly jotting down ‘Total Request Live’ data after school. She took that obsession and a useless college degree, and spun it into enough to pay her rent by writing for MTV Geek, Collider, Popverse, and more. Over the years her interest in pop culture has only grown, and today she finds herself baking while streaming ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ running (slowly) while listening to podcasts about the ‘90s, and hanging out with her dog while taking in emo playlists. Kendra also hosts a podcast dedicated to all the crushes people have had in life from Disney to real-life called Crushgasm.

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