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 Later motherhood arc, and why being able to walk away from a billionaire with your ethics intact is the ultimate flex.
In this episode:
The Comics Code tried (and failed) to declaw Catwoman
How Year One turned Selina from thief to protector
Bruce & Selina: love, masks, and that almost-wedding
Why Helena Kyle > Damian Wayne in the “best Bat-kid” debate
Calendar shout-outs for War Machine, the X-Men Schism, Howard the Duck, and The Punisher
🎃 Quick note: no new episode next week—we’re off for the High Holy Gays (Halloween weekend).
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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 of the Hellfire Club, the rise of Emma Frost and Jean Grey as queens of mutant diplomacy, and how fashion, identity, and representation shape Krakoa’s most glamorous night of the year.
We explore:
The real-world inspiration behind the original Hellfire Club
Why mutant politics look like a chessboard
The first Hellfire Gala’s Met-level fashion — and which real celebs canonically showed up
The fan-voted X-Men lineup and what it says about in-universe representation
Emma Frost vs. Jean Grey: the White and Black Queens redefining power
Queer creativity and cosplay community through House of Carnation
Plus, Jordan shares insight from her work with the Transgender Strategy Center, and Colby talks about building safe, joyful spaces for queer creatives online and IRL.
📍 Guests & Links
Jordan Blaza Olsen – @thegirlwithagreatsmile
Colby Melvin – @colbymelvin | @coscolby
House of Carnation – houseofcarnation.com
Transgender Strategy Center – transgenderstrategy.org
About the Show
Up Your Nerd Cred is hosted by CiCi (CC) and AM Diaz, where we celebrate heroes, villains, and the multiversal messes between. From Marvel deep lore to DC anniversaries, we’re here to help you catch up, geek out, and—of course—up your nerd cred.
Follow us on Instagram @UpYourNerdCredPod
Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and more.
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 Marvel’s writers have tried (and sometimes failed) to balance heroism with mental health realism. From Werewolf by Night to the West Coast Avengers, from Khonshu’s divine meddling to the Moonlight Knight of Sailor Moon R (yes, really), we’re peeling back every layer of this complex hero.
Along the way, CiCi and AM discuss the evolution of mental health in comics, how trauma shapes the Marvel and DC universes, and why Moon Knight’s journey is more than just another brooding vigilante story.
(Respectful, verified sources for listener education)
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 Comics
Beta Ray Bill, Captain America, Jane Foster, and other wielders
Why Original Sin’s “Gorr was right” reset mattered
How Jane Foster’s run as Thor in the comics made Love and Thunder surprisingly accurate
Follow @UpYourNerdCredPod on Instagram, and don’t forget — you can listen to Up Your Nerd Cred on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and other major platforms.
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 his full “Heart of Darkness” descent during the Krakoan era.
Is this a tragedy of hubris? A story of hidden darkness always waiting to surface? Or just the most painful example of what happens when intellect loses its humanity?
This week, we’re asking whether Beast can ever be redeemed—or if this is who he’s been all along.
Available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and all major platforms.
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 on the “nice Beast” era before AM comes in next week to explain how and why things took a darker turn. From oversized hands and feet in X-Men #1, to the serum that gave him his iconic fur, to teaching at Xavier’s and wrestling with the Legacy Virus, this is your crash course in Beast before everything changed.
Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.
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 Nightcrawler plan got shut down
Rogue’s adoption and whether Mystique gave her stability or more chaos
Graydon Creed’s self-hating political crusade against mutants
The ever-expanding (and sometimes retconned) list of Mystique’s kids, including Charles Xavier II and Raze
Why Mystique might not be the worst mom in comics… but she’s definitely on the shortlist
Plus: AM’s thoughts on Wednesday Season 2, CiCi’s window repair saga, and why queer-coded villains are finally getting their dues.
🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.
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Hashtags: #Mystique, #XMen, #MarvelComics, #Destiny, #Nightcrawler, #Rogue, #Marvel, #DCComics, #ComicPodcast, #UpYourNerdCred
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 cosplay — the multiverses are crowded with characters who could probably qualify for senior discounts ten times over.We’ll cover:
13 Marvel and DC characters with canon ages over 120 yearsThe comic issues and stories that explicitly reveal their birthdates or lifespansWhy immortality sometimes means being bad at skincare, parenting, or just picking a better outfit
Whether you’re here for deep lore, weird trivia, or just to hear CiCi dunk on Mystique’s parenting skills, you’ll leave this episode knowing a little more — and upping your nerd cred.
🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your pods.
📺 Watch on YouTube @UpYourNerdCredPod.
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Email us: upyournerdcredpod@gmail.com
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 storylines like Days of Future Past, Genosha, and Krakoa turned them from clunky robots into full-blown existential threats. Plus, AM Diaz is back in the studio after his Wanda-imposed sabbatical, so CiCi doesn’t have to argue with herself about mutant metaphors anymore.✨ Follow us on Instagram @UpYourNerdCredPod for clips, updates, and bonus nerd content.🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms.
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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 ever take Batman down.
We’ll talk about how Harley’s alignment is fully locked to chaotic neutral... from refusing to fight a pregnant Black Canary, being a devoted hyena mom and the how much better her life is once she finally broke away from Joker for good.
Plus, how Birds of Prey and The Suicide Squad reframed her through the female gaze, giving Harley more character depth than the hot-pants era ever allowed.Harley Quinn’s story isn’t just about mayhem — it’s also about survival, reinvention, and learning to direct chaos on her own terms.
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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 point, we’re talking about all the actors who blew their Marvel shot—only to come back hotter, cooler, and way more plot-relevant.
We cover:
The Fantastic Four pipeline: Chris Evans, Michael B. Jordan, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Gemma Chan’s cosmic glow-up
Mahershala Ali’s long-delayed Blade
Alfre Woodard’s two powerful Marvel women
Enver Gjokaj's journey from Cop #12 to Peggy Carter’s love interest
…and a few MCU voice-cameo deep cuts
We also look ahead to Battleworld, ask whether variants count as double casting, and take a moment to ask Kevin Feige: can we please fix the Blade situation?
🎧 Up Your Nerd Cred is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.
📲 Follow us on Instagram: @upyournerdcredpod
💬 Leave a comment, like, review—or send us a nerdy question you'd like featured in a future episode!
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 a brief spoiler-y discussion of Fantastic Four around the 10 minute mark]
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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!
We’re breaking down every retcon, every heartbreak, every weird editorial decision—and asking: is she a good witch, a bad witch, or just Marvel’s most powerful emotional time bomb?
Also: could we possibly work on the relationship status with therapy? Are her kids magic, reincarnated, or did she have a really awkward conversation with Kaplans and Shepards? And girl, I get missing Vision, but Wonder Man?
And that's just the backstory info dump, part 2 is where the real chaos starts...
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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 to talk about Uncanny Experience, Senior Year is around the corner!
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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 took time to be allowed [because vampires were too scary]. And *don't* get us started about the refusal to acknowledge sexuality existing! Or do. <3
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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 concerned, that's America's ass!", I didn't stand up and cheer because it's impolite to do that opening weekend in a crowded theater, but I digress. He's been around for nearly 85 years and is one of the most well-known Marvel characters of all time.
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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 characters explicitly stated by their creators to be intended to be queer tend to be in heterosexual relationships. Just remember, the first Pride was a riot! Be Gay, Do Crime!*
*Neither the pod nor the hosts technically endorse crime, and remind you that civil disobedience often leads to jail time, even if you're morally correct
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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 Parker unmasks as an adult. Plus, it lead to the One More Day arc... Le sigh
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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
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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!
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