# When Did Nerds Become Popular?



## DemonDragonJ (Dec 21, 2018)

I am proudly and unapologetically a nerd (or geek, whichever term you prefer), I have no trouble identifying myself as such, and nearly all of my friends are nerds/geeks, as well. For the purposes of this thread, I shall define “nerd” as a person who is fond of comics, superheroes, video games, Japanese manga and animation, trading card games, roleplaying games, and similar subjects.

            One reason that I can identify myself as a nerd is because nerds are now considered to be “cool” in society and are accepted as part of mainstream culture. However, that was not always the case; back in the 1980’s, and even much of the 1990’s, nerds were very much not cool, and moves made during those decades will make that clear with how their nerdy or geeky characters were portrayed (i.e., as socially-awkward, unattractive, and generally undesirable).

            Therefore, I am wondering: when, exactly, did nerds become “cool” (and, to a lesser extent, _how_ did they become cool)?

            There is no exact date of when nerds started being perceived as “cool,” and it certainly was not an instantaneous occurrence that originated with a single event, but I personally believe (for the sake of convenience) that it was sometime in the year 2000, with the release of the first _X-Men_ film (as a side note, I cannot believe that it has been eighteen, nearly nineteen, years since that film was released; wow, I feel old, now!).

            Prior to that film, superhero films had largely been campy and corny, and one of the most campy and corny of these films was _Batman and Robin,_ released in 1997, the fourth and final film of the Burton/Schumacher film series. The poor reception that that film received ended that franchise and also nearly destroyed the entire idea of films adapted from comic books, due to the reputation that they now had. Needless to say, both comics and the people who liked them (i.e., nerds) were not especially popular at that time.

            However, the release of the first _X-Men_ film was a major game-changer; it was a very serious film with a well-written plot and characters who felt developed and real, maintaining a balance between making the concepts palatable to mainstream audiences while also appealing to longtime and hardcore fans of the source material. At that time, the film was a major risk, as there was no guarantee that it would succeed, but it did, and its impact is still felt, today. Now, superhero/comic book films are practically a dime a dozen, to the point that I feel that the market is oversaturated with them and there shall inevitably be “superhero” fatigue, but, when the first _X-Men_ film was announced, I can still recall the sheer unbridled joy that I felt from learning that one of my favorite franchises from my childhood would be made into a major motion picture.

            Being that I have chosen the year 2000 as the year when nerds started to become cool, I feel that anyone who was over ten years old that year (i.e., having been born no later than 1990) is entitled to say that “I was a nerd before they were cool,” whereas anyone who was less than ten years old in 2000 (i.e., born after 1990) is not allowed to say that, because they have never known a time when nerds were not cool. I actually even made myself a custom t-shirt that has contains that phrase, because I was born in 1987, well before the release of the first _X-Men_ movie.

            Not coincidentally, those same people also have never known a time when personal computers were not inexpensive of the internet was not a ubiquitous part of everyday life; I feel that the rise of the internet helped to facilitate the increase in popularity of nerds and geeks. I remember my childhood, when computers were too expensive for an average family to purchase more than one and the internet was still a niche technology with only minimal uses.

I also wish to make a honorable mention of the 1984 film _Revenge of the Nerds,_ which predates the first _X-Men_ film by sixteen years, but which I feel is still significant in the history of nerd culture, because it was one of the first films in which nerds were the main characters and the focal point of the story, rather than being minor or incidental characters. By today’s standards, the portrayals of nerds in that film are definitely outdated and stereotpyical, because they are still portrayed as being socially awkward and unattractive, but, toward the end of the film, one character says “I’m a nerd, and I’m pretty proud of that,” helping to set the stage for future nerds to be proud of their own nerdiness years later.

            What does everyone else have to say about this subject? When do you believe that nerds became “cool?”


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## Mider T (Dec 21, 2018)

A little over a decade ago.


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## DemonDragonJ (Dec 22, 2018)

Mider T said:


> A little over a decade ago.



In your mind, what was the catalyst that led to that social change?


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## Mider T (Dec 22, 2018)

DemonDragonJ said:


> In your mind, what was the catalyst that led to that social change?


Like you mentioned, big budget comic book movies was one, another would probably be the affordability of things like personal computers, cell phones, and video games.


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## Natty (Dec 22, 2018)

Also the exposure of technology at a younger age means in general that more people will be exposed to things like video games, critically acclaimed cult movies/shows, just nerd shit in general at a younger age. The people we'd consider as nerdy would usually start their hobbies as a kid and they'd take them along as they age.

When I was a tyke, sometimes kids would have access to a Super Nintendo or Mega Drive, and maybe some comic books. Now kids are usually given an iPad and their parents (ie, my generation) sometimes has some sort of video game console. It's more accurate to point to a generation. It was gradual change that partially started at our generation, you can't pinpoint a date.

All and all, I never really cared. I had my niche of friends when I was young. I was usually never criticized for liking something considered as nerdy. Usually people bullied for that are bullied for a commonly linked reason, like autism/aspergers/lack of social etiquette/or just cause kids are dicks. It's kind of nice to have more people to talk about video games with though.


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## Sumu (Dec 22, 2018)

I like to think this guy played a part in popularizing nerds


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## Atlantic Storm (Dec 22, 2018)

'nerds', or at least hobbies that were previously associated with them, have become more popular as a result of gradual cultural homogenisation. things that were previously niche, such as japanese media or comics, have become more mainstream as a result of globalisation, high budget superhero action films, and so on. even things like computers, which (iirc) used to be seen as 'nerdy' in the 90's, are an example of this due to the internet and how important they've become in our everyday lives

that said, i'm strongly of the opinion that 'nerds' are only as popular as they allow themselves to be - it's something that you need to own and be confident with

/drunken rambling


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## Natty (Dec 22, 2018)

Atlantic Storm said:


> /drunken rambling



I thought that this went without saying when it comes to your posts.


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## Atlantic Storm (Dec 22, 2018)

Natty said:


> I thought that this went without saying when it comes to your posts.



i generally try not to post on the forum when i'm drunk, tbh

but this feels safe, since it's just residual morning drunkenness


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## Ashi (Dec 22, 2018)

Things like video games and Anime/Manga are getting more exposure and being seen as less niche and more mainstream 

As a result people who have these kinds of interests aren’t being as stigmatized 

Tho Ying is correct when he says that being “cool” has less to do with your interests and more to do with how you carry yourself overall


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## Natty (Dec 22, 2018)

Tensa is an exception to a nerd being popular though.


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## Mider T (Dec 22, 2018)

What do you think @StarlightAshley ?


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## Sequester (Dec 23, 2018)

Well the term originally was for people who would do things that were commonly considered lame. It just so happens that the things that were once considered lame became more popular; so people more often adopt the identity of a nerd as a badge of honor, and to seem like they are a part of this niche group....which isnt really the case most of the time. 

However, there are still groups of people who do things that are considered lame today.


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## Nep Nep (Dec 23, 2018)

I think kids still used to think I was lame for playing Pokemon in middle school.

The sheep changed direction in high school. So for me, 11 years ago, 07.


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## nobody (Dec 23, 2018)

I would assume early 2000s.


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## Ashi (Dec 23, 2018)

Natty said:


> Tensa is an exception to a nerd being popular though.


Jealous?


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## Natty (Dec 23, 2018)

Supreme King of The Alley - Lord Ashi said:


> Jealous?



Nah, I'm already a huge fuckin loser


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## Jim (Dec 23, 2018)

I thought we were going to talk about the food nerds


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## Island (Dec 23, 2018)

Nerds didn't become popular. Nerd activities became popular. There's plenty of unshowered neckbeards out there who'd be called nerds twenty years ago, and conversely, comic book fans who'd fit in well with stereotypical jock crowds despite having nerdy interests.

Reactions: Like 2


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## DemonDragonJ (Dec 23, 2018)

cobe42 said:


> I would assume early 2000s.



Yes, that has been my conclusion, also.


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## Lord Tentei (Dec 24, 2018)

Its not a matter of nerds becoming popular. It was the activities considered nerdy that transcend the social barriers of "clicks" or the perception of what is cool. Honestly.


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## StarlightAshley (Dec 24, 2018)

Mider T said:


> What do you think @StarlightAshley ?


I don't know the exact date when being a nerd became its own social group instead of just being the classification all the losers at school who don't fit into other social groups go into lol.

I've never heard of Nerds being the 'cool kids' though, I don't think their's any school where the nerds are the most popular group in school that looks down on the others. But being Nerdy is definitely not an insult like it used to be.

But...I do think the spiderman movie may have helped alittle. Having a stereotypical nerd portray a very iconic hero, probably affected the cultural opinion of them positively, and that scene where he like dodges that bullies punches in slow motion it was so cool!!


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## Island (Dec 24, 2018)

Grey Wolf said:


> Its not a matter of nerds becoming popular. It was the activities considered nerdy that transcend the social barriers of "clicks" or the perception of what is cool. Honestly.


That's called those activities becoming popular.


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## Lord Tentei (Dec 24, 2018)

Why do do you guys do this to us.

Why.



And, actually @Island I beg to differ on this. Even the popular kids always played video games. So, what really determines popularity? Some retarded social bounds? I just find it to be bullshit when did being nerdy become popular. It's all so cliche. And, maybe cause I was the nerd and jock in the 90's before it was cool to be one. I wasn't bound by social cliches.


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## Island (Dec 24, 2018)

Grey Wolf said:


> And, actually @Island I beg to differ on this. Even the popular kids always played video games. *So, what really determines popularity?* Some retarded social bounds? I just find it to be bullshit when did being nerdy become popular. It's all so cliche. And, maybe cause I was the nerd and jock in the 90's before it was cool to be one. I wasn't bound by social cliches.


The number of people doing something.


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## Sequester (Dec 24, 2018)

Island said:


> Nerds didn't become popular. Nerd activities became popular. There's plenty of unshowered neckbeards out there who'd be called nerds twenty years ago, and conversely, comic book fans who'd fit in well with stereotypical jock crowds despite having nerdy interests.



This is the best way to put it. The social dynamic hasn’t really changed all that much, it isn’t like genuine awkwardness became popular.


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## Jim (Dec 24, 2018)

I wonder how many people call themselves nerds simply because it's a trend


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## DemonDragonJ (Dec 24, 2018)

Jim said:


> I wonder how many people call themselves nerds simply because it's a trend



I am not one of those people; I am of a sufficient age that I can say that was a nerd before they were popular.


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## The Gr8 Destroyer (Dec 24, 2018)

Nerds became popular when nerds became billionaires


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## Aphrodite (Dec 24, 2018)

Island said:


> Nerds didn't become popular. Nerd activities became popular. There's plenty of unshowered neckbeards out there who'd be called nerds twenty years ago, and conversely, comic book fans who'd fit in well with stereotypical jock crowds despite having nerdy interests.



Pretty much this.


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## Jim (Dec 24, 2018)

Apparently, they were popular once they came out because of the movie! 


j/k


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## nobody (Dec 24, 2018)

What flavored nerd are you? 

Jk


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## Canute87 (Dec 24, 2018)

When the industries they are apart of started making serious  money.


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## the_notorious_Z.É. (Dec 24, 2018)

I would say people who spend hours on forums discussing obscure details about some obscure Japanese cartoons are still not considered cool, the "cool nerds™" are the ones who only watch/read/play/buy the more popular mainstream stuff and only have superficial knowledge of it because more than that is creepy.


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## Smoke (Dec 27, 2018)

Since 1984 when they had their revenge.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Kansas City Kipchaks Point Guard (Dec 29, 2018)

cobe42 said:


> I would assume early 2000s.


Where? Why?



DemonDragonJ said:


> Yes, that has been my conclusion, also.



Wasn't the awkward nerd a thing on tv and at the movies in the 2000's?



The Gr8 Destroyer said:


> Nerds became popular when nerds became billionaires



And you think megarich people are popular right now?



Canute87 said:


> When the industries they are apart of started making serious  money.


American movies and tv always made money, comic book sales are still in the toilet and videogames always made money.


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## Canute87 (Dec 29, 2018)

Kansas City Kipchaks Point Guard said:


> Where? Why?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Nope,  video game industry  blew up past Hollywood sometime after the playstation.


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## Kansas City Kipchaks Point Guard (Dec 29, 2018)

Canute87 said:


> Nope,  video game industry  blew up past Hollywood sometime after the playstation.


I( just said they were doing well embraced by a maisntream youth audience.


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## Canute87 (Dec 29, 2018)

Kansas City Kipchaks Point Guard said:


> I( just said they were doing well embraced by a maisntream youth audience.



Yeah i don't dispute that.  But it never became bigger than freaking hollywood until after the playstation.

Remember the play station got gaming to the mainstream.  Particularly playstation 2 with it's multi media functionality.


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## The Gr8 Destroyer (Dec 29, 2018)

Kansas City Kipchaks Point Guard said:


> And you think megarich people are popular right now?



The nerdy ones are so chillax Lamar no one will hold your limp wristed throwing style against you again.


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## Kansas City Kipchaks Point Guard (Dec 30, 2018)

The Gr8 Destroyer said:


> The nerdy ones are so chillax Lamar no one will hold your limp wristed throwing style against you again.


All them Zuckenberg memes...


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## Trueno (Jan 7, 2019)

I'm going to say it started to kick off 2008-2012. That's when YouTube and the Avengers movies really kicked off. Let's not also forget that this was the prime era of Facebook, Angry Video Game Nerd, Nostalgia Critic and being able to go on forums like this.

Avengers really turned superhero movies into a summer blockbuster regular ( even though most of the early Marvel movies were just above average).

I don't know about the rest of you guys but I was for sure annoying all of my friends with Nostalgia Critic and AVGN references. I even wrote an Old Vs New type paper on The Bubonic Plague vs AIDs.

In addition, Nakey Jakey even covered the topic of the old flash games. Every kid back from 07 to now has been playing flash games to get away from lame Mavis Beacon games or to avoid actually paying attention in computer class (unless you were smart enough to just scroll through Google images to troll everyone).

Reactions: Like 1


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## Kansas City Kipchaks Point Guard (Jan 12, 2019)

yuLeopard said:


> I'm going to say it started to kick off 2008-2012. That's when YouTube and the Avengers movies really kicked off. Let's not also forget that this was the prime era of Facebook, Angry Video Game Nerd, Nostalgia Critic and being able to go on forums like this.
> 
> Avengers really turned superhero movies into a summer blockbuster regular ( even though most of the early Marvel movies were just above average).
> 
> ...


And now nerds are seprated into woke and  unwoke with basically the majority of nerddom whatever the fuck that is hated on by MSM.


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## Trueno (Jan 12, 2019)

Kansas City Kipchaks Point Guard said:


> And now nerds are seprated into woke and  unwoke with basically the majority of nerddom whatever the fuck that is hated on by MSM.



Honestly, in my opinion it's just people trying to profit off of or try to turn being a nerd into some weird club.

While I do respect and agree with a lot of redpill youtubers, some of them can really come off as guys that wanted to be "the guy" and are trying to be the "guy" and profit off of insecure guys and gals at the same time. I supported ComicsGate and GamerGate, but some of the redpill guys and gals outside of those groups are just selling yeah crap. MGTOW is ok... But incels is just self-defeating and unhealthy

Same goes for the SJWs who want to force their agenda into every medium. It's really annoying to see Bennett the Sage apologise for how anime is sometimes, Linkara used to be my favorite guy but he's gotten really... SJW and the same goes for this recent season of Young Justice, Halo got turned into an Arabic Muslim gal, Orion is tan, and black lightning is just there... Nerdy media itself is suffering because of SJW thinking.

Then you just have people trying to pretend to be nerdy to get "points" or recognition from people.

TLDR; Nerd culture has been infiltrated by some people trying to make a buck or relive some glory days, some people looking to push an agenda, and some people looking to just be admired. Those are my two cents.


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## Kansas City Kipchaks Point Guard (Jan 12, 2019)

yuLeopard said:


> recent season of Young Justice.



Fuck me, was looking forward to this.


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## Island (Jan 12, 2019)

yuLeopard said:


> Honestly, in my opinion it's just people trying to profit off of or try to turn being a nerd into some weird club.
> 
> While I do respect and agree with a lot of redpill youtubers, some of them can really come off as guys that wanted to be "the guy" and are trying to be the "guy" and profit off of insecure guys and gals at the same time. I supported ComicsGate and GamerGate, but some of the redpill guys and gals outside of those groups are just selling yeah crap. MGTOW is ok... But incels is just self-defeating and unhealthy
> 
> ...


Oh no, a fictional character is tan. Nerdness is ruined forever.


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## Trueno (Jan 13, 2019)

Island said:


> Oh no, a fictional character is tan. Nerdness is ruined forever.


Orion has a very specific look in the comics. He's not human. He's supposed to be this angsty brooding redheaded guy with some monster-like bushy eyebrows. 

When a character has a "set look" then yes. Oliver Queen will always be a young blondle with a van dyke goatee, John Stewart will always be a black dude with a flat top (the bald look just didn't work), and I'm still pissed Superman isn't wearing his trunks it looks really bad without the trunks it helps accentuate the "strongman physique".

Miles Morales Spidersuit in Into the Spiderverse is an upgrade tho. It's a nice new aesthetic. But turning one of my favorite halflings into a tan fellow? No, sir , I will not dig that.


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## DemonDragonJ (Jan 15, 2019)

Did anyone here know that Dr. Seuss is the one who coined the word "nerd" in his book _If I Ran the Zoo?_ The word originally was a type of unusual creature that Gerald McGrew would catch for his zoo, but, later, people would use it as an insult for others who were weird or out of the ordinary, a usage that remained for several decades, until recently, when people who had been called nerds started using the term as a badge of pride, leading into the current era.


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## Trueno (Jan 15, 2019)

Kansas City Kipchaks Point Guard said:


> Fuck me, was looking forward to this.


Yeah it's kind of lukewarm. The best part for me is the Harpers. I just feel like sometimes it tries to be edgy and sometimes it just quips way too much. Like the tone shift is off. But your mileage may vary. I just watched it online


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## Mider T (Jan 15, 2019)

DemonDragonJ said:


> Did anyone here know that Dr. Seuss is the one who coined the word "nerd" in his book _If I Ran the Zoo?_ The word originally was a type of unusual creature that Gerald McGrew would catch for his zoo, but, later, people would use it as an insult for others who were weird or out of the ordinary, a usage that remained for several decades, until recently, when people who had been called nerds started using the term as a badge of pride, leading into the current era.


Shut it nerd.


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## Lord Stark (Jan 15, 2019)

The tech sector growing to be a large and rapidly growing wealthy industry whose salaries rival or even surpass wall street probs had a lot to do with it.  All of a sudden finance bros weren't the only ones banking six-figure salaries right out of undergrad.


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## DemonDragonJ (Feb 26, 2019)

Mider T said:


> Shut it nerd.



I am very glad that it was the word "nerd' and not "nerkle" that became popular; can you imagine how different culture would be today if one of the other creatures from that book had become the one whose name was used as an insult for those who were different?



yuLeopard said:


> When a character has a "set look" then yes. Oliver Queen will always be a young blondle with a van dyke goatee, John Stewart will always be a black dude with a flat top (the bald look just didn't work), and *I'm still pissed Superman isn't wearing his trunks it looks really bad without the trunks it helps accentuate the "strongman physique".*



Since he wears red boots, why not have the entire lower half of his costume be red, or at least red boxer shorts, rather than red briefs?


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## Azure Ihrat (Feb 26, 2019)

never


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## Trueno (Feb 26, 2019)

DemonDragonJ said:


> I am very glad that it was the word "nerd' and not "nerkle" that became popular; can you imagine how different culture would be today if one of the other creatures from that book had become the one whose name was used as an insult for those who were different?
> 
> Since he wears red boots, why not have the entire lower half of his costume be red, or at least red boxer shorts, rather than red briefs?



Because Superman's costume is really just a strongman's attire with an S symbol on it. It makes his upper body more ''pronounced". As a history nerd I would never sacrifice his trunks for modern insecurities (not saying you are just Dan DiDio and Jim Lee). Also, he's an alien, it still would still make sense regardless. It's also good color balance.

Superman was also a great nerdy character.


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## Mider T (Feb 26, 2019)

yuLeopard said:


> Because Superman's costume is really just a strongman's attire with an S symbol on it. It makes his upper body more ''pronounced". As a history nerd I would never sacrifice his trunks for modern insecurities (not saying you are just Dan DiDio and Jim Lee). Also, he's an alien, it still would still make sense regardless. It's also good color balance.
> 
> Superman was also a great nerdy character.


It's not an S.  It's a Kryptonian symbol for Hope that looks similar to an English S.


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## Voyeur (Feb 28, 2019)

In my opinion, it would have to have been at the start of this decade.  You had TV shows like the Big Bang Theory out in the mainstream and  a alot of people would try to relate to it. You also had alot of Marvel movies come out at this time, and you saw alot of Comic Conventions start being talked about openly.  You had video games like CoD and League of Legends cater to the casual gamers and alot of Free to play games started to pop up.
Now in the most recent years, you have Matt Mercer being the posterboy of DND 5.0(coughsuckscough) with his show Critical Role, so now you have people more interested in that.


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## Trueno (Feb 28, 2019)

Mider T said:


> It's not an S.  It's a Kryptonian symbol for Hope that looks similar to an English S.



Well, I guess it's gonna be up to Batman to deport him if he doesn't learn to speak American


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## Kitsune (Mar 5, 2019)

Pretty sure nerdy interests became socially acceptable or even desired with the rise of technology to the point where it started to provide widespread entertainment. Where was the fun in being a nerd in the 1950s? I’m sure whatever nerds liked back then was fun for them, but not really interesting to others.


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