The Nerd Alert Girls are celebrating 5 years and 124 episodes (and counting) of podcasting! Bridgette, Caroline, and Genn discuss our superhero origin stories as Marvel fans, how the podcast first came to be, and our favorite podcast episodes. We've always been a character-driven podcast, and we're leaning into that more than ever with our anniversary episode! We share who we would invite to our Marvel dinner party and give yearbook awards to our favorite characters - from best all-around, to cutest couple, to best hair. 

Timestamps:

0:00 - Our origin stories as fans and as a podcast

25:58 - What are our top podcast episodes?

33:55 - Who are our Marvel dinner party guests?

51:13 - Which actors do we want to show up next in Marvel?

1:03:04 - Our Marvel Yearbook Awards

1:44:40 - Final comments and the future of the podcast

Visit us on our website: ⁠nerdalertgirls.tumblr.com⁠! Or you can contact us directly at ⁠[email protected]⁠.

Before Black Panther, there was Blade. For Black History Month, Caroline takes a look at the Blade film trilogy starring Wesley Snipes. While Blade was essential in paving the way for the MCU, the character hasn’t gotten the attention he deserves. Caroline unpacks the importance of Blade as a Black vampire hunter as she journeys through the complicated history of race in vampire fiction.

Deadpool is officially part of the MCU! Genn and Bridgette share their insight on the Deadpool and Wolverine trailer and laugh and speculate as we start the countdown to July. Our beloved Merc with the Mouth tangles with TVA (we Nerd Alert Girls EAGERLY await roasting the Loki series). He's also teaming up (or battling to the immortal, bloody death?) with Wolverine (yeah, we know...calm down). 

Howard Stark has played a supporting role in the stories of Iron Man, Captain America, and Agent Carter, but what is his story? Caroline and Bridgette argue that Howard is a more complex and ultimately tragic character than he’s initially made out to be - both by his son and by fandom.

Cynical and heroic, secretly kind and not-so-secretly in love with Steve, Howard struggles with self-esteem and communication issues all his life. We hypothesize about how Howard and Tony’s vastly different generations, class backgrounds, and emotional needs contribute to their fraught relationship. We also look at Howard’s other relationships throughout the MCU movies and television series. And Bridgette throws in a Pride & Prejudice reference for good measure.

We came, we saw, and we loved it. The Nerd Alert Girls finished watching Marvel’s Echo and have MUCH to discuss. This phenomenal show runs the gamut: healing from generational trauma, struggling with estranged family members, and coming into one’s own power. Listen as Bridgette, Genn, and Caroline applaud Alaqua Cox's performance as Maya Lopez, gripe about the Kingpin's roach-like ability to survive anything, and more.

Learn more about Echo:

“Echo Draws Huge Viewership With Streaming Debut on Disney+ and Hulu” on CBR: https://www.cbr.com/echo-premiere-hulu-disney-plus/

“Marvel's Echo: Choctaw Creation Myth & Real World Differences Explained” on Screenrant: https://screenrant.com/marvel-echo-choctaw-creation-myth-differences-explained/

Alaqua Cox’s interview with Variety: https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/echo-alaqua-cox-kingpin-1235865686/

Season 2 of What If…? flips our expectations of who’s a hero and who’s a villain in another inventive slate of episodes. We start our season recap with an overview of themes, including light vs. darkness, the power of friendship, and becoming more than a tool for another person’s ends. Then we do a deep dive analysis for every episode from Nebula Blade Runner, to 80s Avengers, to Marvel Die Hard, to Kahhori in Sky World, and more. We laugh, we cry, we rant! We conclude with a broader look at the series’ place in the MCU and address Sam Wilson’s absence from the series along with fandom hate toward Peggy Carter.

Brace yourselves, because this is the longest episode in the history of Nerd Alert Girls. In our defense, it’s our favorite Marvel series and it got dumped on us all at once over the holidays! We start our episode-by-episode breakdown at the 39:10 timestamp.

Headlines are shouting that “The Marvels” was a box office bomb - but what’s going on under the surface? Are the latest Marvel movies and shows as bad as some YouTubers would have us believe? How are the casual Marvel fans looking at the time commitment of a TV show? The Nerd Alert Girls discuss how the pandemic, franchise fatigue, and over-saturation has changed the Marvel landscape since Avengers: Endgame dropped in 2019. We also talk more broadly about the future of Disney and film at large.

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Everyone deserves healthy relationships. If you need help, you can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline 24/7 at ⁠www.thehotline.org⁠ or 1.800.799.SAFE (7233). You are not alone!

In the midst of the devastating war in Gaza, we at Nerd Alert Girls hope you can take the time to check in with your Jewish and Palestinian friends and stand against both antisemitism and Islamaphobia.

Bridgette, Jenn, and Caroline put on their thinking caps for season 2 of Marvel’s What If…? We hypothesize about who the big bad is this time (Hela and Odin evil duo, anyone?) and discuss Captain Carter’s role as a multiversal protagonist. We also talk about the MCU’s introduction of the Native American character Kahhori.

We have a few ideas (some more lighthearted than others) for a season of What If…? What would yours be?

Learn more about the new character Kahhori: www.themarysue.com/marvel-is-introducing-a-new-original-native-character-to-what-if/

Learn more about the Kanienʼkehá:ka (Mohawk) people at www.native-land.ca/maps/territories/mohawk/.

In the midst of the devastating war in Gaza, we at Nerd Alert Girls hope you can take the time to check in with your Jewish and Palestinian friends and stand against both antisemitism and Islamaphobia.

LA Times - “Newsletter: Antisemitism and anti-Arab hate explode into view during the Israel-Hamas war”: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.latimes.com/opinion/newsletter/2023-11-04/opinion-newsletter-antisemitism-college-anti-arab-opinion⁠⁠⁠

Jewish Voice for Peace: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/

The Echo trailer has dropped and the Nerd Alert Girls have thoughts and feelings about this! Listen as Bridgette and Genn are joined by the Sorceress Supreme Caroline in theorizing what the premiere of Echo will mean for the MCU and what could possibly happen with BAMF Maya Lopez and the terrifying, unkillable Wilson Fisk. 

If you want to read more about Maya Lopez as Echo in the comics, check out Rebecca Roanhorse's "Phoenix Song: Echo": https://www.marvel.com/comics/collection/93364/phoenix_song_echo_trade_paperback

In the midst of the devastating war in Gaza, we at Nerd Alert Girls hope you can take the time to check in with your Jewish and Palestinian friends and stand against both antisemitism and Islamaphobia.

LA Times - “Newsletter: Antisemitism and anti-Arab hate explode into view during the Israel-Hamas war”: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.latimes.com/opinion/newsletter/2023-11-04/opinion-newsletter-antisemitism-college-anti-arab-opinion⁠⁠⁠

Jewish Voice for Peace: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/

While the Nerd Alert Girls were less than impressed with season one of Loki, season two managed to turn things around in thrilling (and devastating) ways! Is a Loki always destined to lose? What is the true meaning of “glorious purpose”? What makes a person’s love selfish or selfless? As we review season two, we grapple with these questions, make many Marvel and other movie references, and gush a totally normal amount about O.B. and Mobius.

Read the behind-the-scenes content for Loki on Marvel’s blog:

https://www.marvel.com/articles/tv-shows/loki-and-mobius-goodbye-episode-6

https://www.marvel.com/articles/tv-shows/loki-opening-episode-6-tom-hiddleston

Everyone deserves healthy relationships. If you need help, you can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline 24/7 at www.thehotline.org or 1.800.799.SAFE (7233). You are not alone!

In the midst of the devastating war in Gaza, we at Nerd Alert Girls hope you can take the time to check in with your Jewish and Palestinian friends and stand against both antisemitism and Islamaphobia.

LA Times - “Newsletter: Antisemitism and anti-Arab hate explode into view during the Israel-Hamas war”: ⁠⁠https://www.latimes.com/opinion/newsletter/2023-11-04/opinion-newsletter-antisemitism-college-anti-arab-opinion⁠⁠

Jewish Voice for Peace: ⁠⁠https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/