Who are the DCU's greatest nerds?

[Bored at 3:00AM]

The term "nerd" was interchangeable with "loser" in the past. These days? Not so much. However, when Ollie calls Batman a nerd, he's certainly not complimenting him, rather pointing out that Bruce's socially inept, gadget-obsessed emotionally stunted manchild shtick isn't nearly as cool as he thinks it is. Hell, most of what Batman does is a pubescent boy's idea of what a "cool guy" would be. As crazy as it sounds, Batman has been one of DC's biggest nerds all along. We just didn't see it until know, but now that Bendis has pointed it out, I can't unsee it.

Is Batman what people thought a nerd was in the 1980s? Hell, no. But people back then thought that feathered mullets, shoulder pads and lots of cocaine was the height of cool, so maybe we shouldn't be giving their opinions too much credit

[The Darknight Detective]

Therein lies the difference: decades ago, "nerd" was a mark of shame. Who would claim it as an aspiration back then?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Nobody when I was a kid back in the '70s. It meant you were uncool and who wants to be thought of as that?

[Buried Alien]

Nobody when I was a kid back in the '70s. It meant you were uncool and who wants to be thought of as that?

The turn of the century/millennium is when the tide turned. What was going on in pop culture definitely helped, but so too did the real world success of such notorious nerds as Gates and Jobs. It was hard to mock individuals whose efforts essentially built the backbone of the 21st Century economy and society.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[The Darknight Detective]

The turn of the century/millennium is when the tide turned. What was going on in pop culture definitely helped, but so too did the real world success of such notorious nerds as Gates and Jobs. It was hard to mock individuals whose efforts essentially built the backbone of the 21st Century economy and society.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

It should be noted that being a nerd didn't necessarily mean you were smart back then. The top nerds on TV were the not-so-intelligent Potsie Weber and Ralph Malph on Happy Days. In fact, the first time I heard the word "nerd" was on that show.

[Buried Alien]

It should be noted that being a nerd didn't necessarily mean you were smart back then. The top nerds on TV were the not-so-intelligent Potsie Weber and Ralph Malph on Happy Days. In fact, the first time I heard the word "nerd" was on that show.

When I first arrived at CBR in 1996, one thing that struck me immediately was that nobody seemed embarrassed or ashamed to self-identify as a "nerd." THAT was something new at the time.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[The Darknight Detective]

When I first arrived at CBR in 1996, one thing that struck me immediately was that nobody seemed embarrassed or ashamed to self-identify as a "nerd." THAT was something new at the time.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Which reminds me: my teenage niece revels in referring to herself as a geek - she even has a shirt proudly proclaiming herself as such. Nobody from my generation would have felt the same way, believe you me.

[Buried Alien]

Which reminds me: my teenage niece revels in referring to herself as a geek - she even has a shirt proudly proclaiming herself as such. Nobody from my generation would have felt the same way, believe you me.

Yeah...lo these past two decades, "Geek Pride" has risen in parallel to "LGBQT Pride."

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)