Up Your Nerd Cred

What happens when nerd culture collides with the happiest place on Earth? This week on Up Your Nerd Cred , AM Diaz takes the lead mic while CiCi reacts as the conversation dives into one of the most debated topics in modern fandom: Disneyland . Joined by special guest Tiffi Starchild , the crew explores the culture surrounding Disney parks, the rise of “Disney Adults,” and why places like Disneyla...

The Little Mermaid: A Gay Danish Allegory (Tentacles Optional) | Up Your Nerd Cred Did you know the original version of The Little Mermaid is significantly darker than the Disney classic most of us grew up with? Before Ariel was collecting gadgets and gizmos aplenty, Hans Christian Andersen was writing a story about identity, belonging, and the cost of trying to fit into a world that might never a...

It’s the end of Black History Month and we’re highlighting Black superheroes who don’t rely on lightning powers or “Black” in their codename. From Green Lanterns to War Machine, from Monet St. Croix to Queen Nubia, we’re breaking down the evolution of representation in Marvel and DC — and how modern storytelling is finally letting these characters breathe. Plus: BAFTA controversy, Starfleet Academ...

What does it cost to always be the strong one? This week, we’re digging into grief, trauma, and emotional resilience across Marvel’s Black heroes — from Luke Cage’s incarceration and invulnerability, to Storm’s claustrophobia and PTSD, to Shuri’s rage on the ancestral plane, to Riri Williams building armor around her grief, and Sam Wilson proving that sometimes the most powerful move isn’t a punch...

Were you the Black Power Ranger… or the Pink one? In this solo episode of Up Your Nerd Cred, CiCi dives into what it meant to grow up as the token Black girl in 90s TV friend groups — and the quiet, uncomfortable pressure to “identify correctly.” From Saved by the Bell and Clueless to Daria, Power Rangers, and that infamous “Pretty White Kids with Problems” sketch, we’re talking about: The scarcit...

We’re back with Part 2 of our deep dive into the Disney Prince pipeline — and this time, things get competitive. CiCi, AM Diaz, and the Solving for X crew finish the conversation by putting these princes to the test: hotness, usefulness, and whether they were wildly out of their league. From Prince Naveen and Flynn Rider to Hercules, Aladdin, and the Beast, we rank, debate, disagree loudly, and ab...

This week, we’re stepping outside the Marvel and DC multiverses (just for a minute) to talk about the Disney Princes — and how they evolved from voiceless, last-minute plot devices into fully realized characters with agency, flaws, and emotional growth. Joined by the Solving for X crew, we break down the different eras of Disney princes, what makes a “good” prince versus a functional one, and whet...

Did you grow up thinking cartoons were just something you watched before going outside—only to realize later they were also 22-minute toy ads wrapped in surprisingly strong moral messaging? This week on Up Your Nerd Cred, CiCi and AM Diaz dive into the cartoon blocks that shaped Gen X and Millennial nerd culture, from the Hanna-Barbera–dominated Saturdays of the 70s and early 80s to the crowded, c...

Did you ever wonder why you still remember cereal mascots, toy commercials, and Saturday morning cartoons with unsettling clarity? In this episode of Up Your Nerd Cred , we break down how entire generations—especially Gen X and Millennials—were deliberately marketed to as children, and how those strategies didn’t just sell toys. They shaped nostalgia, spending habits, and fandom itself. We introdu...

Welcome back to Up Your Nerd Cred, and welcome to Season 2. This week, we’re talking about toys-not just the ones we played with, but the ones that quietly taught us who we were allowed to be. From Saturday morning cartoons doubling as toy ads, to dolls and action figures that gave some of us freedom and others a box, this episode is about imagination, identity, and why nostalgia hits harder than...

If timelines keep breaking, and universes keep rebooting, eventually someone has to live with the consequences. In the thrilling conclusion of our Flash trilogy, CiCi and AM tackle the fallout of Flashpoint , the collapse of the New 52 , and the long road back to legacy through DC Rebirth . This is the episode where Wally West’s disappearance actually matters, where memory becomes a superpower, an...

The Flash isn’t just one guy in red spandex—it’s a whole family , and DC continuity has been putting them through a cosmic blender since the Silver Age. In this episode, we break down how Crisis on Infinite Earths reshaped DC’s multiverse, why Wally West had to grow from “Kid Flash” into the Flash, and how the Speed Force became the backbone of modern Flash mythology. Then we get into the most cha...

Did you know there are FIVE different Flashes? Because CiCi sure didn’t — and AM absolutely did. 😭 In Part 1 of this expert-level two-parter , we start at the very beginning with Jay Garrick , the Golden Age Flash who got super-speed via the most 1940s origin imaginable (hard water vapors???), and then jump to Barry Allen , the Silver Age Flash who helped revive superhero comics… and also helped...

What actually happens when superheroes, gods, villains, and reality-warpers run headfirst into real-world law ? Today we’re diving into the wonderfully messy chaos of superhero legal theory and asking the question absolutely no insurance adjuster is prepared for: Is Thor falling on your car… an Act of God? (And if Wonder Woman does it in her civilian form, does that make it better or worse?) In th...

This episode breaks down why Zan and Jayna — the Wonder Twins — are some of DC’s most underrated heavy hitters. Despite debuting in Super Friends (1977), their powers were far stronger than the show ever portrayed. We explore how Hanna-Barbera limitations, comedic framing, and shifting comic eras prevented them from ever securing their place in the modern DC pantheon. In this episode, we cover: Th...

Welcome back! This week CiCi dives into the tale of two Doctors Strange- Marvel’s Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme (sometimes), and DC’s Hugo Strange, Batman’s underappreciated OG mad scientist villain. We’re talking nature vs nurture, Golden Age chaos, Comics Code Authority shenanigans, and why one Strange sits atop a cinematic empire… while the other keeps getting yeeted off cliffs. Instagram:...

This week’s episode of Up Your Nerd Cred continues our Marvels duology with a focused deep dive into Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan. We cover: • Why Monica Rambeau keeps getting renamed and how her trajectory has been shaped by racism, sexism, and editorial decisions. • The differences between Monica’s comics history and her MCU portrayal in WandaVision and The Marvels. • Kamala Khan’s evolution f...

Carol Danvers may be the Captain Marvel you know from the MCU — but she’s far from the only one to claim that name. This week, CiCi and AM Diaz explore the women who redefined what “Marvel” means: Carol Danvers , the Air Force pilot turned cosmic powerhouse, and Monica Rambeau , the light-speed leader who once captained the Avengers before most of the guys even made the roster. From feminist icons...

This week, CiCi celebrates Gotham’s favorite cat burglar-turned-antihero. From her 1940 debut to Frank Miller’s Year One reinvention, Selina Kyle has clawed her way from “femme fatale” to fully realized character, proving she’s more than just Batman’s on-again, off-again love interest. We talk Comics Code censorship, Gotham City Sirens , her complicated relationship with Bruce Wayne, the One Year...

Welcome to Up Your Nerd Cred! This week, we’re taking our seats (and our sequins) at the Hellfire Gala — Marvel’s answer to the Met Gala, where mutants, diplomats, and icons walk the same psychic red carpet. CC (@ciracdavis) and AM (AMDiaz_Art) are joined by special guests Jordan Blaza Olsen ( @thegirlwithagreatsmile ) and Colby Melvin ( @colbymelvin | @coscolby ) for a deep dive into the origins...

When is a mask not a mask? When it’s an alter. This week, CiCi and AM dive into the complicated, chaotic world of Moon Knight — mercenary, avatar of Khonshu, and one of the few major Marvel characters officially diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). We unpack how Marc Spector, Steven Grant, and Jake Lockley came to be; how the show’s portrayal of DID compares to the comics; and how...

Thor’s hammer has a history that spans myth and Marvel. From Loki’s bet with the dwarves and Thor’s cross-dressing rescue mission in Norse legend, to Mjolnir’s Marvel Comics debut, worthiness enchantments, and all the surprising people who’ve lifted it — we’re digging in. In this solo episode, CiCi explores: The mythic origins of Mjolnir in Norse sagas Thor’s many tests of worthiness in Marvel Com...

Beast used to be the witty, Shakespeare-quoting professor, the one who could hold his own in a fight and in the lab. So… how did Hank McCoy become one of the most reviled figures in mutant history? In this expert-level deep dive, CiCi and AM trace the slow burn of Beast’s fall: From noble scientist working on a cure for the Legacy Virus… To morally gray compromises and questionable alliances… To h...

When you think of the X-Men’s Beast, do you picture the witty scientist quoting Shakespeare from his cell in X-Men: The Animated Series ? Or the fuzzy blue Avenger cracking jokes with Wonder Man? This week, CiCi takes you through Hank McCoy’s journey from his Silver Age debut to his role as the team’s gentle giant and resident biochemist. This episode is Part One of a two-parter — we’re focusing o...

Welcome back to Up Your Nerd Cred ! This week, CiCi and AM dive into one of the most chaotic family trees in comics: Mystique’s. From abandoned children to adopted daughters, from retconned baby daddies to Destiny’s prophecies, Raven Darkhölme has a parenting record that’s… well, let’s just say complicated. We’ll talk about: Mystique and Destiny’s relationship, and why Claremont’s original Nightcr...