Up Your Nerd Cred

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...

Welcome to Up Your Nerd Cred! This week, CiCi dives solo into one of comics’ strangest truths: just how ancient some of your favorite heroes and villains really are. From Martian Manhunter’s centuries of grief-snacking on Oreos to Wonder Woman’s millennia of Amazonian wisdom, from Loki’s thousand-year commitment to the horned helmet bit to Apocalypse’s 5,000 years of survival-of-the-fittest cospla...

Welcome to Up Your Nerd Cred! This week, we're talking about Marvel’s most persistent mutant-hunting menace: the Sentinels. From their first stomping steps in X-Men #14 to their endless upgrades—Nimrod, Bastion, Prime Sentinels, and beyond—these machines have been a stand-in for fear of the other for six decades. We’ll dig into where they came from, why they keep getting reinvented, and how storyl...

Welcome to Up Your Nerd Cred! This week, we're raising a glass to Dr Harleen F. Quintzel. Harley Quinn may have started out as Joker’s henchwoman in Batman: The Animated Series, but she’s long since carved out her own place in DC canon. In this episode, CiCi takes a solo deep dive into Harley’s unusual entry into the universe, how Mad Love gave her a backstory, and why she’s one of the closest to...

This week on Up Your Nerd Cred , we’re taking a break from multiversal collapse and reality-warping chaos to look at something a little lighter… or is it? We’re diving into the wild world of MCU double casting —where actors get a second shot at superhero stardom. From Chris Evans’ journey from fireball himbo to America’s ass, to Michael B. Jordan’s redemption arc from Fan4stic to Killmonger with a...

Welcome to Up Your Nerd Cred! This week, we're wrapping up our two-part special about Wanda Maximoff and the mess that is her life. Sometimes you accidentally manifest children, sometimes it turns out that you're adopted, and sometimes you end up as all three aspects of the triple-headed goddess after you get a little bit killed. But at no time is there an option to be boring. [Side note, there's...

Welcome to Up Your Nerd Cred! This week, we’re diving deep into the chaos storm that is Wanda Maximoff’s origin story. Was she born on Wundagore Mountain (with a cow midwife, no less)? Is Magneto her dad? Wait, is he not? Wait do mutants run everything? Wait, where'd all the mutants go? Scarlet Witch has had more backstories than most characters have costumes... And Janet Van Dyne was her coworker...

Welcome to Up Your Nerd Cred! This week, we're talking about the evolution of comic books and how popular culture helped them expand their bounds. We're talking about the major ages of comics, from the Golden Age to the Modern Age, and how societal changes influenced storytelling. Also, put a little more respect on Archie Andrews' name! [Not that much... just a little] Also, of course we're going...

Welcome to Up Your Nerd Cred! This week, we're talking about how the villains who were created because of the impact of the Comics Code Authority were... kind of embarrassing. The CCA was created to ensure that the children who might read comics wouldn't be exposed to... unsavory ideas. Instead, they were introduced to Kite Man, the Eraser, and Killer Moth. Even getting characters like Morbius too...

Welcome to Up Your Nerd Cred! Happy 4th of July! Today, we're talking about The Star Spangled Man with a Plan, the former skinny kid from Brooklyn, the man who Assembles the Avengers, Steven Rogers, aka Captain America. The original Antifa, his first issue has him punching Hitler in the face... on the cover. Chris Evans has done an amazing job portraying him, and when Ant-Man said "As far as I'm c...

Welcome to Up Your Nerd Cred! This week, we're talking about multisexual characters in Marvel and DC. Kitty Pryde, Mystique, and Deadpool, repping Marvel, John Constantine, Harley Quinn, with Tim Drake and Jon Kent for DC. Let's be real, though, the CCA has definitely had an impact on how much queerness in general is allowed to be seen. We've progressed notably in allowed representation, but even...

Welcome to Up Your Nerd Cred! This week, we're talking about Tony Stark and Peter Parker. Specifically, focusing on Tony Stark's paternal role in Peter Parker's life (or honestly, lack thereof.) Turns out the cinematic universe adds things in instead of just leaving it out. Peter and Tony's relationship in the comics is quite different than the MCU; Civil War is a very different vibe when Peter Pa...

Welcome to Up Your Nerd Cred! This week, we're talking about the X-Triad, Scott, Jean, and Logan. Oh yeah, the only 3 in the Summers mansion with no specific doors between their rooms? It's definitely a thing. Side note: don't forget that comic canon Wolverine is *very* differently sized than Hugh Jackman is Follow us on Instagram: @upyournerdcredpod Follow AM across socials: @amdiazart Follow Cic...

Welcome to Get Your Nerd Cred Up! This week, we're talking about Robin, Robin, Robin, Robin, Robin, and... no, that one's not a Robin. Batman needs a Robin, and it turns out the original Boy Wonder can't be 15 forever. Plus, those winged booties weren't really giving. Join us as we talk about the ever expanding Bat-Family! Follow us on Instagram: @upyournerdcredpod Follow AM across socials: @amdia...

Dropping June 6, 2025 Welcome to Up Your Nerd Cred! We're here to talk about gods cosplaying as men, men cosplaying as gods, and how much the cinematic universes are leaving out. AM and Cici are here to bridge the gap between the Marvel and DC comic and cinematic universes, talk about pop culture, and nerd out together. Come hang!