Does Superman HAVE TO have super intelligence?

[Superlad93]

It's that big secret debate that Superman fans will have at least once or twice after a while. But I'm now coming to you all to genuinely if having a "super intellect" is completely necessary for the Superman character. Does the character not work as well when he's not constantly building improbable tech or some other Reed Richards like deal? Or do you think he doesn't really need it? Why do you think what you think?

[Last Son of Krypton]

I'd like him to develop his intelligence over time. Clark starts as a "dumb farmboy" but, the more he comes into contact with the kryptonian technology or have encounters with alien races/cultures, the more emerge his attitude to science and the ability to build robots and other bizarre things.
A "potential super-intelligence" rather than a power he has from one day to another.

[Agniwolf]

It's that big secret debate that Superman fans will have at least once or twice after a while. But I'm now coming to you all to genuinely if having a "super intellect" is completely necessary for the Superman character. Does the character not work as well when he's not constantly building improbable tech or some other Reed Richards like deal? Or do you think he doesn't really need it? Why do you think what you think?

depends

which inteligence are we refering to?

logical? language? physical? natural? social? spatial? or musical?

each inteligence has its own ups and downs, someone who is stupid in language can be the new einstein in the logical department and so on

[Nite-Wing]

He shouldn't be in the conversation when we are talking about the smartest people in the DCU
Other than that Kryptonians natural intelligence and powers should make him able to think very fast

[Superlad93]

depends

which inteligence are we refering to?

logical? language? physical? natural? social? spatial? or musical?

each inteligence has its own ups and downs, someone who is stupid in language can be the new einstein in the logical department and so on

The most common idea when "super intelligence" is brought up is that people want him to be a super renaissance man. So to answer your question apparently it's all of the above.

[Sacred Knight]

I'm very flexible with the intelligence level. In fact, I think it should be categorically established that he is NOT on par with Jor-El. He's got good genes, but he's not his father in the intelligence department. He's more like his mother. That's what I'd do at least.

I think this is especially cool with the Brainiac dynamic. I love the idea that Jor-El actually rivaled and defeated Brainiac in the intelligence department, and he holds that against his son. Then his son goes and routinely beats him with his wits and guile.

[Dispenser Of Truth]

The simple answer is no, it isn't necessary, because the vast majority of portrayals of him over the years don't have it, or at least don't show it. But it's one of those things that makes more sense the more you think about it.

It's pretty much the same as super-breath to me. Super-breath isn't something that seems immediately intuitive, but it honestly makes more sense than heat vision or flight: if all his muscles are so incredibly powerful, he should be able to exhale with an incredible amount of force just like he can do everything else with an incredible amount of force. Just the same, he's from a civilization of godlike super-geniuses and had at least one parent who was a genius even by those standards, then grew up in an environment that hyper-energized every other aspect of his being - the idea of him not being super-intelligent is far stranger and more unlikely than him being so.

One solid suggestion I've heard to explain over the years why he wouldn't manifest obvious super-brains is because they were instead devoted solely to controlling his powers. His body radically morphed at a very young age, and the brain that originally would have been godlike instead naturally developed along different lines to control his radically altered physical form, allowing the precise muscular control and growth of new neutral pathways related to entirely new capabilities like heat vision he'd need to function. It makes sense and emphasizes that the yellow sun is an alien environment he wasn't actually supposed to ever live in, though then when you bring in other Kryptonians you have to show them as either being dangerously out of control of their own bodies, or going through the existential horror of suddenly shedding about 150 IQ points in the process of readjustment to the yellow sun.

[Agniwolf]

The most common idea when "super intelligence" is brought up is that people want him to be a super renaissance man. So to answer your question apparently it's all of the above.

thing is, if he gets everything, the writers will certailly give him some serious PIS, and he will end up with none =/

i would dare say he is most talented in the spatial, natural and musical inteligences, physical is a little hard cause he is powerful and he knows it, so he rarelly exploits his own atletic capabilities, this one is exceled by ww, batman, black canary, huntress, green archer, the robins and nightwing cause they do explore their own limits to the pinacle

i though he as great at languages too, that is until the universal translator thing, lost all credibility, for me, there

social is a doble edge, he want to set the right thing, but keeps most people at arms length, and truth is proof of that, he is not very good at this one

logical is the controversial one, one time they make him "dance macarena over the bones of alan turing" and the other he needs "pocoyo teaching how to tie your shoes lasso", if that is so i would be content if he got an iq of 200, but lately i ask myself he got at least the 100 basic to learn maths properly

[Superlad93]

My personal opinion on this idea: I have some real issues with it being a "must have". The word "genius" is used in a much too limited context in western culture. In order to be a "genius" for the most part you must show perfect virtuosity in an area or areas (most of the times the sciences are held up as the greatest). In comics it's even worse. Building a robot or a smart sounding device or calculating something has become the de facto test of "genius" in comics.

I'm starting to seriously think that Superman doesn't have to ascribe to the mark of "genius" as set by a 1950s guy in a lab coat who thinks everything will be nuclear powered by the 1980s. So I think Batman, Lex, Ray Palmer, and John Henry can be a good deal smarter than Superman in the conventional genius ways that their characters MUST fall under, because Superman isn't beholden to the same obligations they and guys like Reed Richards are.

I personally think Superman is a very curious and thoughtful person. I think he's a particularly creative person do to his knack for writing and seeing a story. I think that bleeds pretty profusely into his job as a hero, and that's where a lot of his wins come from. But I don't think he HAS TO sit in his own personal lab building things.

Him not being a genius doesn't equal him being dumb. That's ignoring like 95% of the world.

[JBatmanFan05]

It's that big secret debate that Superman fans will have at least once or twice after a while. But I'm now coming to you all to genuinely if having a "super intellect" is completely necessary for the Superman character. Does the character not work as well when he's not constantly building improbable tech or some other Reed Richards like deal? Or do you think he doesn't really need it? Why do you think what you think?

Yes, I think it's core enough. Not that it has to be harped on all the time. But, yes, he should have his super intelligence.

[Superlad93]

One solid suggestion I've heard to explain over the years why he wouldn't manifest obvious super-brains is because they were instead devoted solely to controlling his powers. His body radically morphed at a very young age, and the brain that originally would have been godlike instead naturally developed along different lines to control his radically altered physical form, allowing the precise muscular control and growth of new neutral pathways related to entirely new capabilities like heat vision he'd need to function. It makes sense and emphasizes that the yellow sun is an alien environment he wasn't actually supposed to ever live in, though then when you bring in other Kryptonians you have to show them as either being dangerously out of control of their own bodies, or going through the existential horror of suddenly shedding about 150 IQ points in the process of readjustment to the yellow sun.

Not a bad thought in the slightest. I had a similar idea a few months back but far less fantastical.

The notion is that a Kryptionian is like a very impressionable seed or stem cell (not a perfect comparison but stay with me). Their environment largely dictates what they put their amazing potential towards. For the vast majority, that environment has been the largely logic and science based planet they come from. So you come out with largely the same "tree" of Kryptonian (some larger than others etc). But suppose that seed grew in new ground? Suppose the nourishment that seed was getting was from a planet that was still, collectively speaking, "finding itself"? I'd imagine the seed's potential would be used quite differently, no? Some of that potential might even be a little lost because of atrophy.

In a weird way it makes pretty good sense to me that Clark Kent finds himself so well in writing and story. The fluidity of the written word is a little parallel to the planet that's still "under construction" that he's found himself on.

In case some people don't know me around here, I'm very much into the idea of a Morrison-like Super thinker. But with that said, I'm also so very much into the idea of a new way of looking at things.

[manduck37]

I always thought it made more sense that Superman has a super-intellect, considering his family and the advanced society of Krypton. I know he didn't grow up on Krypton, but it's still part of his heritage in a lot of ways. Sure, it can be hard to write stories about Supes if you factor in his vast array of powers and add in super-intelligence. Though I would add his intelligence into his powers, rather than treating intelligence like a separate power. What I mean by that is have Superman conducting his experiments and exploring the universe but have his studies seem strange to everyone else. They can't understand why he's bothering with something or what his experiments are meant to uncover. Superman can perceive the universe in ways no one else really can. He can see the building blocks of the universe and how everything is connected. So his studies explore more abstract ideas about the universe rather than other things science is trying to tackle. Thus his super-intellect and his super senses are all tied together to help him gain a greater understanding of the universe around him. That's what he could pursue over other more seemingly practical applications of science. There are plenty of scientists already working on those things. He's trying to understand the things that only he can see or experience.

[Dispenser Of Truth]

That idea of his brain developing radically differently in the alien environment could pretty well explain why he always seems to be able to come up with wildly out-of-left-field solutions to his problems as well as write well, the creative aspect of his brain being the primary part of his intellect that 'survived' and therefore received a much greater deal of development. That definitely fits for certain circumstances. But on the whole, I definitely far prefer him to just generally be a hyper-mind.

[Dispenser Of Truth]

I always thought it made more sense that Superman has a super-intellect, considering his family and the advanced society of Krypton. I know he didn't grow up on Krypton, but it's still part of his heritage in a lot of ways. Sure, it can be hard to write stories about Supes if you factor in his vast array of powers and add in super-intelligence. Though I would add his intelligence into his powers, rather than treating intelligence like a separate power. What I mean by that is have Superman conducting his experiments and exploring the universe but have his studies seem strange to everyone else. They can't understand why he's bothering with something or what his experiments are meant to uncover. Superman can perceive the universe in ways no one else really can. He can see the building blocks of the universe and how everything is connected. So his studies explore more abstract ideas about the universe rather than other things science is trying to tackle. Thus his super-intellect and his super senses are all tied together to help him gain a greater understanding of the universe around him. That's what he could pursue over other more seemingly practical applications of science. There are plenty of scientists already working on those things. He's trying to understand the things that only he can see or experience.

I REALLY like that. It's a huge justification for "why doesn't he just fix/cure everything" - just like how he works for justice with his physical abilities in a very specific way that no one else can, he applies his intellect in the same way, to solve issues on levels others don't even always grasp the meaning of.

[Buried Alien]

Aside from the Silver Age, Superman has spent most of his existence reasonably above average in intelligence, but not genius level. That's a comfortable level for Superman, I believe.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Alive!)