I don't think it's fair to say that things nerds like going mainstream somehow makes nerds no longer the underdog. It's totally possible for nerds themselves to be disliked, but stuff they like to be widely enjoyed (the obvious analogy would be someone arguing that racism is over because hip-hop is so widely enjoyed).
I also wouldn't say that nerd stuff only went mainstream in the last decade, it's not like the first 3 Star Wars movies were obscure arthouse pictures. I think the reason Marvel took off is just innovations in storytelling: movie producers finally figured out a way to adapt the gloriously arcane and convoluted lore of superhero comics in a way that could appeal to mainstream audiences in addition to nerds (much how George Lucas figured out how to get mainstream audiences to love the space operas nerds had been enjoying for decades before 1977).
Personally, I wear Star Wars shirts from time to time. What it says about me is that I like Star Wars. I don't like Star Wars to be brave, I like it because it's good (except for the sequel trilogy, obviously, which is terrible). I actually did notice a while ago that even though I liked the Star Wars movies a lot I rarely wore Star Wars shirts or listed them among my favorite movies. I realized this was probably because I didn't feel like it said anything about me that I liked Star Wars since so many other people did. I then realized that was dumb, if I liked something I should celebrate that I like it regardless of how many other people do. So I bought some Star Wars shirts.
I don't think it's fair to say that things nerds like going mainstream somehow makes nerds no longer the underdog. It's totally possible for nerds themselves to be disliked, but stuff they like to be widely enjoyed (the obvious analogy would be someone arguing that racism is over because hip-hop is so widely enjoyed).
I also wouldn't say that nerd stuff only went mainstream in the last decade, it's not like the first 3 Star Wars movies were obscure arthouse pictures. I think the reason Marvel took off is just innovations in storytelling: movie producers finally figured out a way to adapt the gloriously arcane and convoluted lore of superhero comics in a way that could appeal to mainstream audiences in addition to nerds (much how George Lucas figured out how to get mainstream audiences to love the space operas nerds had been enjoying for decades before 1977).
Personally, I wear Star Wars shirts from time to time. What it says about me is that I like Star Wars. I don't like Star Wars to be brave, I like it because it's good (except for the sequel trilogy, obviously, which is terrible). I actually did notice a while ago that even though I liked the Star Wars movies a lot I rarely wore Star Wars shirts or listed them among my favorite movies. I realized this was probably because I didn't feel like it said anything about me that I liked Star Wars since so many other people did. I then realized that was dumb, if I liked something I should celebrate that I like it regardless of how many other people do. So I bought some Star Wars shirts.