Up Your Nerd Cred

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!