There are video game nerds, comic book nerds, and even sports nerds, but a true nerd isn’t just some guy obsessed with muscle-y men hitting each other. As Milhouse explained in an episode of the Simpsons, “nerds are smart.” Now, a biologist at Stanford is blending these two worlds together by using science to explain how famous superheroes might actually work in real life.
The first two subjects of his science-splaining are Captain America—the scrawny guy that becomes a living embodiment of America’s fondness for tight pants and shields—and The Hulk—the scientist that gets transformed into a green rage monster. For those who aren’t nerds of any sort, the comic book explanation for how Captain America got his super strength is a mysterious “super soldier serum,” with the movie version throwing in some kind of glowing chamber as well. The Hulk became the Hulk by being exposed to gamma rays, a real thing that doesn’t turn people into monsters.