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Luthor for sure.
He's brilliant. Horribly, horribly flawed, but brilliant. Also because of his flaws somewhat prone to being controlled by outside forces - we've seen it before a lot. Brainiac influence. Apokoliptian influence. Now Perpetua. It's funny because he's got such an ego and part of that ego is strong-willed belief in his willpower and control and stuff. But then you have a kind, humble guy like Superman ... who lots of beings ATTEMPT to control ... but can't. It's a really lovely message.
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I hate the Batman being mention in this convo because he does get used that way and it ends up taking away from other characters in stories. Batman shouldn't be in the top of the convo. Batman skills are tactical and leadership. If you want to call him a tactical genius that is fine. The way I like to explain there is the character Midnighter based on Batman who basically can see a scenario million of times in his mind because he has sort of computer built into his brain. Well Batman sort of does that without the computer. That is what makes Batman special and the great detective,He is good at playing out the scenarios,putting clues together and predicting outcomes. Batman doesn't need to be the smartest to always be useful.
Lex should be up there, He doesn't need to be the smartest because he can skip steps and cheat being a villian. So it is waste for him to be smartest .He should be in the convo and always top three but him having the definitive title is a waste. And let's talk about it from creative standpoint for a second. Superhero comics is about elite tiers you care about characters because they have compelling stories BUT them being amazing is the big part of that draw. Hulk wouldn't work as well at DC(see Damage) because Hulk niche is being the strongest but at DC that is functionally Superman niche and fans flat reject characters who challenge it. If you do a check of the best characters/iconic in comics they generally own a an elite niche. Mr Fantastic has a character design easily be can seen as lame (see Enologated man and Plastic man at times) but since Reed definitively has been the smartest character in Marvel at times. He got a important world role and stories and never is seen as lame.
So who should be the smartest? Either Mr Terrific, Atom or Ted Kord. Why? Because consistent portrayal as the smartest would be instant elevation for the character. And in DC that is necessary because big characters spotlights are so big they can overshadow others having an elite nichelike The Fastest Man Alive Flash, The World's Great Detective Batman, King of the Seas Aquaman, The Most powerful Hero Superman, the title "The smartest man in the world" gives a character a leg to stand up on in that group. Lex doesn't need it, Just look at Dr Doom at Marvel whether it is Tony Stark, Reed Richards, Black Panther, Hank Pym challenging for the title Dr Doom is always relevant in the list it is always understood that Doom is match for the best. So what would I like to see
1. Mr Terrific
2. Lex Luthor
3. Atom
4. T.O. Morrow
5. Ted Kord/ Cyborg
7. Professor Ivo
8. Batman
9. Toymaster
10.Will Magnus/Steel
Something like for the earth based characters would be good.Just my thoughts.
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The canon top 3 are Lex, Batman, and Mr. Terrific. If I got to add the other seven they’d be:
1. Lex Luthor
2. Batman
3. Mr. Terrific
4. John Henry Irons (Steel)
5. Cyborg
6. Ray Palmer (Atom)
7. Will Magnus
8. T. O. Morrow
9. Ryan Choi (Atom II)
10. Toyman (Hiro)
Smartest women would get their own list.
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If I were writing the comics, the most intelligent people on Earth would be people who remain invisible to the public. They wouldn't be known even to Batman or Superman. Characters like Professor Moriarty and Clifford DeVoe operated like that at first--their mistake (and thus proof that they weren't as intelligent as they believed) was that they came out of the shadows enough to be detected--if they had just kept a low profile, they would have escaped their fate. Of course, if there's an intelligence on the side of evil, there has to be an even greater intelligence on the side of good--and that person would also be unknown.
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Batman is on the list but no where near the top. He’s mastered a many number of skills and disciplines in order to become Batman, but I don’t consider him to be on the same level as Lex, or even Mr. Terrific. Here is another possible sleeper...
Cyborg, is the father box augmenting his brain? If so he should be smart enough to make this list.
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[QUOTE=stargazer01;4557466]All Star Superman really seems a lot smarter than Batman at his best.[/QUOTE]
Luthor, too. What I love about this series is that Supes is so damn smart and powerful and at peace with who he is and his place in the world that he doesn't feel the need to prove anything to anybody. There's absolutely no ego about him at all and to be able to make a character like that an interesting protagonist is absolutely [I]amazing[/I].
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The smartest person is Lobo.
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[QUOTE=Vordan;4558627]The canon top 3 are Lex, Batman, and Mr. Terrific. If I got to add the other seven they’d be:
1. Lex Luthor
2. Batman
3. Mr. Terrific
4. John Henry Irons (Steel)
5. Cyborg
6. Ray Palmer (Atom)
7. Will Magnus
8. T. O. Morrow
9. Ryan Choi (Atom II)
10. Toyman (Hiro)
Smartest women would get their own list.[/QUOTE]
and Brainiac? He has existed for so long for a reason. Also, why not include women? I think we should. It's about a person in the DCU.
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[QUOTE=stargazer01;4559159]and Brainiac? He has existed for so long for a reason. Also, why not include women? I think we should. It's about a person in the DCU.[/QUOTE]
I was just doing top 10 on Earth. It’s too hard for me personally to rank non humans. Are the Guardians of the Universe the smartest due to being the oldest despite their many screwups for example? Brainiac is definitely top 3 smartest guys in the universe though.
Women I want to rate separately but that’s just my own thing. Funny enough most of the smartest women of the DCU are probably villains except Veritas who is still the smartest woman in canon I think.
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The de facto smartest human is Bats. You can mention anybody else, but Bruce is going to outsmart him or her at least 9 out of 10 times. Yes, this is because writers write him that way, but since he's fictional (like every other DC character, BTW), they can do whatever they want with his abilities. :)
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[QUOTE=Vordan;4558627]
Smartest women would get their own list.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Vordan;4559243]
Women I want to rate separately but that’s just my own thing. Funny enough most of the smartest women of the DCU are probably villains except Veritas who is still the smartest woman in canon I think.[/QUOTE]
Who are the smartest women?
Barbara Gordon
Poison Ivy
Kimiyo Hoshi
Kitty Faulkner
Am I missing anyone?
[QUOTE=The Darknight Detective;4559502]The de facto smartest human is Bats. You can mention anybody else, but Bruce is going to outsmart him or her at least 9 out of 10 times. Yes, this is because writers write him that way, but since he's fictional (like every other DC character, BTW), they can do whatever they want with his abilities. :)[/QUOTE]
Heck, Superman outsmarts Luthor on a consistent basis and Lex probably has a higher IQ then Bruce.
It doesn't matter if you're the smartest person ever, you're still human and fallible (and thus, capable of being defeated).
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[QUOTE=Frontier;4559513]Heck, Superman outsmarts Luthor on a consistent basis and Lex probably has a higher IQ then Bruce.
It doesn't matter if you're the smartest person ever, you're still human and fallible (and thus, capable of being defeated).[/QUOTE]
Okay, but the smartest guy should win the majority of the time. Lex's percentage is closer to the bottom than the top. :)
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Hubris is what betrays Lex. In terms of raw intelligence I'd have him over Bruce.
But again, there are so many types of intelligence.
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[QUOTE=The Darknight Detective;4559534]Okay, but the smartest guy should win the majority of the time. Lex's percentage is closer to the bottom than the top. :)[/QUOTE]
Agreed. If he were really as smart as he claims, he never would've announced how much he hates Supes in the first place. He just would've kept off his radar and killed him when he least expected it.
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[QUOTE=The Darknight Detective;4559534]Okay, but the smartest guy should win the majority of the time. Lex's percentage is closer to the bottom than the top. :)[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=phonogram12;4559541]Agreed. If he were really as smart as he claims, he never would've announced how much he hates Supes in the first place. He just would've kept off his radar and killed him when he least expected it.[/QUOTE]
It's his ego and obsessiveness.
He's absolutely brilliant but he still has personal foibles and issues that get in the way.
Just like Riddler is probably smarter then most anyone but he can't help himself by leaving clues that end up getting him caught.