As of today, it’s been four year since President Obama took office, and I think that’s as good as time as any to look back on our president’s nerdier moments in his first term.

  • 1. Posing as Superman next to Superman

Originally posted on his senate website just before he decided to run for election, Obama showed his nerd off Metropolis-style. For me, though, the charm in this picture lies solely in the fact that Obama likes doing nerd photo shoots just as much as I do. Admit it. There are really only three poses can be done here: The Superman Flying pose, The Superman Hand on Hip pose, or The Point at and Look Super Excited That You’re Standing Next To a Giant Superman pose.

  • 2. Vulcan Salute with Nichelle Nichols

Did she play a vulcan in Star Trek? No. But I find that I don’t care because… well.. I’m a huge Star Trek nerd. Also, Leonard Nimoy has said that the President has given him the salute before, though photographic evidence has not been forthcoming.

According to Nichols’ twitter, Obama professed to being a “Trekker”, and having a crush on her when he was a kid. The former surprises me far more than the latter, because, come on, even I still have a crush on Nichelle Nichols. But the fact that Obama knows the difference between a “Trekkie” and a “Trekker” definitely puts this in top nerdiest moments for our president in his first term.

  • 3. President Obama Appears in Spiderman

Was this a lame ploy to get capitalize on the Obama buzz by Marvel? Probably. But still, this is a pretty big deal. No other sitting president in the history of Marvel has had as much “frame-“time as President Obama does in this special edition of Spider-Man.

It goes further than that, though. Not only does President Obama appear The Amazing Spider-Man, Issue #535, his appearances in other comics are prolific. He has the most comic books to his name than any recent president, which includes appearances in Thunderbolts and Youngbloods. His predecessor, George Bush, only appeared in two: Ultimates and Ultimate X-Men.

  • 4. President Obama Jedis his way across the White House lawn.
President Obama defeats Darth Olympic Fencer.

While promoting the bid for the Chicago 2016 Olympics, President Obama picked up a “toy” light saber after a fencing demonstration. The picture naturally became a viral hit, and inspired dozens of pictures of President Obama featuring him with a light saber. The fan favorite, of course, being the one where he rides a lion while wielding the Jedi weapon.

  • 5. President Obama Jokes about Being from Krypton.

According to John Hodgman, who lauded the President for championing the nerds at the  Correspondents’ Dinner, just knowing the correct pronunciation of Superman’s dad’s name is a huge feat in the name of nerddom. I can say that I didn’t know what it was, so President Obama out-nerded me, and I write articles for a science fiction website. Good job, sir. So, I’m going to assume it was one of his writers who came up with that line in order to save some dignity here.

Also, props to the President for using a comic book reference to lampoon not only the people who unduly lionize him, but also the people who doubt his nationality all in one go.

6. President Obama Plays Spiderman in the Oval Office

It seems that uneasy truce between Obama and Spiderman in issue #535 was not to last, and Spiderman saw fit to take him out in reality.

It’s either that, or our President, the most powerful man in the world, was playing villain for his staff worker’s son, which is just adorkable in so many ways.

7. Obama the First Meme President?

Whether this is a compliment or not really depends on opinion. Still, President Obama is the first president to achieve meme status, and still continues to until this day.

Regardless of your stance, this last Sunday, January 20, 2013, President Obama was sworn in for another 4 years. If you have any other nerd moments to top his, or other Presidents before him, feel free to tell us in the comment section below!