Is Peter smater than Otto?

[Minerboh]

They are equally smart but Otto is more cunning and that gave him the edge many times.

[blackspidey2099]

Byrne's Fantastic Four run.Reed,Banner,Morbius and Langkowski all agreed that Otto is the top scientist in Radiation field.You have the smartest man on earth and 3 of the best scientists in radiation all agreeing that Otto is the absolute best in his field.

This seems a bit sketchy or inconsistent IMO. It's been shown that Bruce Banner is the expert in the atomics field, and besides, both Bruce Banner and Reed Richards have much more impressive feats in that area. Besides, AFAIK this is the only time Otto has been compared to guys like Reed. Peter is regularly compared, often favorably.

Spider-Man equals Reed Richards' test scores

Reed Richards says Peter could do everything Reed did if he had the right resources

Hank Pym considers Peter to be his intellectual superior

Tony Stark wanted Spider-Man's help to design and build a "superweapon of mass destruction" - the Titanomechs

Spider-Man is invited to a council of the world's greatest minds to help stop an alien virus. He's the first one to figure out the key to temporarily stopping it, and then creates a cure with some help from Beast and Monica Rappaccini.

Peter is one of the 3 people Beast calls when he needs help with a scientific problem

Spider-Man says that he is super-smart and as smart as Tony Stark and Hank Pym

Spider-Man is made a part of Reed's elite team consisting only of Reed, Nathaniel Richards, himself, and villainous super-geniuses such as Dr. Doom and the Mad Thinker

Spider-Man is an important part of the Future Foundation's think-tank

Nick Fury says Spider-Man is one of SHIELD's biggest brains

Reed Richards thinks Spider-Man is good enough at science to temporarily replace him on the Fantastic Four

As a teen, Spider-Man solves an equation which Wizard would take hours to solve so quickly that Wizard thinks it is impossible

Spider-Man teaches Earth-1610 Tony Stark how to solve an "impossible" equation of interdimensional travel

Ulysses thinks Peter's tech is more futuristic than the Inhumans'

[Tony Stark]

Byrne's Fantastic Four run.Reed,Banner,Morbius and Langkowski all agreed that Otto is the top scientist in Radiation field.You have the smartest man on earth and 3 of the best scientists in radiation all agreeing that Otto is the absolute best in his field.

I don't see him being smarter than Banner. I got this from Marvel Entertainment itself and he would be before Bruce if he was. Also the list say's it's canon. Take that as you will.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLR4EnRNaDw

[Aura Blaize]

I consider them about the same. They apply their smarts differently though. Otto is much much more focused than Peter, but Peter is quicker on his feet. I'm reminded when Otto assumed that Peter was a doctor. It was more of a "Wait, what? How is he NOT a doctor??" kind of deal.

[boots]

how long is a piece of string again?

[Turlast]

I don't see him being smarter than Banner. I got this from Marvel Entertainment itself and he would be before Bruce if he was. Also the list say's it's canon. Take that as you will.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLR4EnRNaDw

To be fair, that list is only taking Super Heroes into consideration. I find it hard to believe Doom wouldn't be ahead of the majority of that list.

[Celgress]

how long is a piece of string again?

depends on the type of string and its purpose

[phantom1592]

Honestly, I find Peter's genius to be overrated. Every time Reed or Tony or Pym or anyone brags up Peter, it feels like Fan service. It doesn't feel deserved or earned. Beast is a master of cellular biology, Reed builds Space ships and uses Time Machines, Tony is... Tony.

Peter... invented a fascinating kind of glue that he couldn't actually market and made some tracking devices shaped like a spider... I mean, he's pretty smart in a general sense to exploit the weaknesses of people like sandman and electro with fancy webbing and stuff... but it just doesn't compare with things like creating AI, Time machines and Spaceships... It's not who Peter is. he's the 'everyman' that the average person can relate to... not just people like Stephen Hawking. Heck, Johnny Storm had to build his Spider-buggy for him.

I have no issue with alternate universe Peters who qpplied themselves and kept working on their brains becoming the next Reed or Tony... but standard Peter? He never applied himself to that kind of 'learning'. When you compare the scientific feats of Otto with his robots and AI and cybernetics... to Peter's webbing and trackers... There's no comparison. Otto all the way.


All these modern stories that try to give more OOMP to his scientific Background... they don't feel legit. It feels a lot more handwaved than it should.

[Tony Stark]

To be fair, that list is only taking Super Heroes into consideration. I find it hard to believe Doom wouldn't be ahead of the majority of that list.

That's true. Doom would be on this list and pretty much be number 3. Tony would be knocked down to number 4.

[Tony Stark]

Honestly, I find Peter's genius to be overrated. Every time Reed or Tony or Pym or anyone brags up Peter, it feels like Fan service. It doesn't feel deserved or earned. Beast is a master of cellular biology, Reed builds Space ships and uses Time Machines, Tony is... Tony.

Peter... invented a fascinating kind of glue that he couldn't actually market and made some tracking devices shaped like a spider... I mean, he's pretty smart in a general sense to exploit the weaknesses of people like sandman and electro with fancy webbing and stuff... but it just doesn't compare with things like creating AI, Time machines and Spaceships... It's not who Peter is. he's the 'everyman' that the average person can relate to... not just people like Stephen Hawking. Heck, Johnny Storm had to build his Spider-buggy for him.

I have no issue with alternate universe Peters who qpplied themselves and kept working on their brains becoming the next Reed or Tony... but standard Peter? He never applied himself to that kind of 'learning'. When you compare the scientific feats of Otto with his robots and AI and cybernetics... to Peter's webbing and trackers... There's no comparison. Otto all the way.


All these modern stories that try to give more OOMP to his scientific Background... they don't feel legit. It feels a lot more handwaved than it should.

I agree with quite a few of your points. It takes away from Peter being the everyman. Just look at the list I showed.

[blackspidey2099]

Peter... invented a fascinating kind of glue that he couldn't actually market and made some tracking devices shaped like a spider... I mean, he's pretty smart in a general sense to exploit the weaknesses of people like sandman and electro with fancy webbing and stuff... but it just doesn't compare with things like creating AI, Time machines and Spaceships...

When you compare the scientific feats of Otto with his robots and AI and cybernetics... to Peter's webbing and trackers... There's no comparison. Otto all the way.

All these modern stories that try to give more OOMP to his scientific Background... they don't feel legit. It feels a lot more handwaved than it should.

Have you read a Spider-Man comic in your life? Because if you seriously think that the webs (which btw Reed couldn't figure out and wanted to analyze Peter's own formula) and spider-tracers (which btw have better cloaking than Stark's tech) are Peter's best inventions, I don't think you've been exposed to anything beynd the movies and shows. Even Insomniac Peter has better feats than that lmao...

For example, in literally his first issue, he created a device that could completely nullify one of the fundamental fields of nature. He outsmarted Doctor Octopus with 15 minutes of prep when he was 15. He solved an equation which the Wizard thought was unsolvable in a few seconds. He cured a flesh-eating disease in literal minutes. He made a portable genetic power dampener device. He created a device which can inverse the polarity of electric fields in literal seconds. He created a device which can transfer life-force between living creatures and thus transfer powers. He created a chemical which can block any brain impulses. Etc. And this was all before the 2000s.

Since then, he has done things like create cybernetically controlled nanotech for his armor, created an AI years ahead of Iron Man's, created a time machine in a story by Stan Lee himself, fixed Reed's FTL spaceship, helped Reed fix tech from quintillions of years into the future, discovered and harnessed an unlimited force of energy which Reed was scared of, etc.

If anything, the stories which don't give the proper oomph to his intelligence feel like bad writing by lazy writers who can't write a relatable super genius so they just ignore it. Peter is most definitely smarter than the likes of, say, Amadeus Cho and Beast.

[phantom1592]

Have you read a Spider-Man comic in your life? Because if you seriously think that the webs (which btw Reed couldn't figure out and wanted to analyze Peter's own formula) and spider-tracers (which btw have better cloaking than Stark's tech) are Peter's best inventions, I don't think you've been exposed to anything beynd the movies and shows. Even Insomniac Peter has better feats than that lmao...

For example, in literally his first issue, he created a device that could completely nullify one of the fundamental fields of nature. He outsmarted Doctor Octopus with 15 minutes of prep when he was 15. He solved an equation which the Wizard thought was unsolvable in a few seconds. He cured a flesh-eating disease in literal minutes. He made a portable genetic power dampener device. He created a device which can inverse the polarity of electric fields in literal seconds. He created a device which can transfer life-force between living creatures and thus transfer powers. He created a chemical which can block any brain impulses. Etc. And this was all before the 2000s.

Since then, he has done things like create cybernetically controlled nanotech for his armor, created an AI years ahead of Iron Man's, created a time machine in a story by Stan Lee himself, fixed Reed's FTL spaceship, helped Reed fix tech from quintillions of years into the future, discovered and harnessed an unlimited force of energy which Reed was scared of, etc.

If anything, the stories which don't give the proper oomph to his intelligence feel like bad writing by lazy writers who can't write a relatable super genius so they just ignore it. Peter is most definitely smarter than the likes of, say, Amadeus Cho and Beast.

Sure I have. My favorites were from the 70's to the 90's. Back when he was intelligent with a serious science background... but it was his actual spider-powers that got the top billing. He was 'enough scientist' to beat the enemy, but he wasn't smarter then they were, and once he beat them he didn't follow up on the science anymore. He could figure out how to counter the radiation or the cybernetics or the clones... but he wasn't CREATING radiation weapons or clone warriors or anything. He'd look over the bad guy's notes and then trust his spider-sense to help him disarm the bomb or pull the right lever... and MAYBE just give himself six arms in the process. He was good enough to counter the bad guys, but when he tried to do things himself... Parker luck meant he'd screw something up.

Since the 2000's they've pushed him more into the cyber armor hi-tech platform that has been a really poor fit.


Spider-man has had such a special spot in the Marvel universe... that I really hate when he steps on the toes of people like Reed or Tony or any of the rest and they have to stand in awe at how great he is. Peter should be able to follow along when Tony or Reed are describing the science... and maybe give them an idea of what the effect should be, but he should be nowhere near the category of leading them through the scientific mumbo jumbo on how to DO it. If Reed is impressed with Peter's brain... it's because he's spending so much time trying to explain things to Ben and Johnny and FINALLY there's someone who at least understands SOME of this...

In a marvel universe ranking... I'd certainly put Parker in the top 100 smartest people on earth... but he'd never break the top 10. Still, out of all the people on earth... Top 100 is pretty amazing

[blackspidey2099]

Sure I have. My favorites were from the 70's to the 90's. Back when he was intelligent with a serious science background... but it was his actual spider-powers that got the top billing. He was 'enough scientist' to beat the enemy, but he wasn't smarter then they were, and once he beat them he didn't follow up on the science anymore. He could figure out how to counter the radiation or the cybernetics or the clones... but he wasn't CREATING radiation weapons or clone warriors or anything. He'd look over the bad guy's notes and then trust his spider-sense to help him disarm the bomb or pull the right lever... and MAYBE just give himself six arms in the process. He was good enough to counter the bad guys, but when he tried to do things himself... Parker luck meant he'd screw something up.

Honestly, the 90's were like the absolute worst IMO haha. Anyways, sorry, but your opinion of Peter's intelligence is just straight up wrong. Many of those feats I mentioned in my earlier post (did you see them?) were from the 60s/70s (which were awesome Spidey decades IMO), though you're right that they did nerf his intelligence down in the 80s for whatever reason. All they've done in the 2000's is bring him back to his intelligence level from the 60's and 70's - a much needed update to the character.

Since the 2000's they've pushed him more into the cyber armor hi-tech platform that has been a really poor fit.

I'm not sure what "cyber armor hi-tech" means, but either way I disagree. It's a pretty natural evolution for a character who was as smart as Hank Pym (arguably the third smartest person in Marvel) when he was 15. If anything, him not doing anything with that intelligence boils down to either bad or lazy writing. Pick your poison.

Spider-man has had such a special spot in the Marvel universe... that I really hate when he steps on the toes of people like Reed or Tony or any of the rest and they have to stand in awe at how great he is. Peter should be able to follow along when Tony or Reed are describing the science... and maybe give them an idea of what the effect should be, but he should be nowhere near the category of leading them through the scientific mumbo jumbo on how to DO it.

Once again, straight up wrong since he HAS done that sort of stuff plenty of times in the past. You also state a bunch of "shoulds" but don't give any reasoning as why those should" be the case. Seems like more of your opinion which you want to pass off as fact, when it is easily disprovable.

If Reed is impressed with Peter's brain... it's because he's spending so much time trying to explain things to Ben and Johnny and FINALLY there's someone who at least understands SOME of this...

No, it's because he is genuinely on the same intellect level as Reed, which is why he literally scored the same IQ as Reed did.

In a marvel universe ranking... I'd certainly put Parker in the top 100 smartest people on earth... but he'd never break the top 10. Still, out of all the people on earth... Top 100 is pretty amazing

Considering he is clearly more intelligent than the likes of Blue Marvel, Beast, or Amadeus Cho at the very least, he's at least top 10. Where he should be. He's basically on the level of being intelligent enough to do anything he puts his mind to, while not being a walking deus ex machina like Reed and Doom (and Pym, to some extent) are.

[Aura Blaize]

Here's the thing about Peter. He's been CONSISTENTLY portrayed as an absolute genius that should be on the same page as Tony and Reed. The only reason he isn't has always been because he's Spider-Man. He places his considerable intellect on being Spider-Man than, say, helping the world. Horizon and PI showed that when he DOES apply himself, even a little bit, the results are rather spectacular.

[phantom1592]

Once again, straight up wrong since he HAS done that sort of stuff plenty of times in the past. You also state a bunch of "shoulds" but don't give any reasoning as why those should" be the case. Seems like more of your opinion which you want to pass off as fact, when it is easily disprovable.

Of course.

Everything is 'easily disprovable' when the same character has existed for 60 years and been written by 30 or so writers for multiple generations, often at the same time. It's all about what writers and what visions you feel are 'right' and which ones you think as little more than fan fiction... and there have been wonderful examples of that in every decade of Spider-man. So yeah, it's all opinion as much mine and yours as it is Slotts or MacFarlene's. You can find examples where people says he's the smartest smartie ever... and I can find examples of when he did something super dumb. It's all about what you feel was written 'well' and what wasn't. Opinions all around.


In my opinion, the Peter was a nerdy science kid when he was young... but unlike Reed and Pym and the rest of those withdrawn obsessive scientist types... Peter never pursued that direction. He partied, he had friends, he dated, got married, got a job, supported his family. Reed and Pym and even Tony despite his 'playboy' attitude... would lock themselves away for weeks or months every time there was a new breakthrough. Peter would not. He was distracted and lived a full life. He went to college, but skipped half his classes to fight crime.


Any writer who then comes in and says that yeah, His spandex is now a nanite super weave with an AI interface... because he was smart as a kid, misses a big part of the Spider-man experience. Pete has always had to chose between responsibility and personal satisfaction and he usually ends up suffering for it. He has a lot of untapped potential, but at his core, he shouldn't excel at so much broadly defined 'science, y'know... all of science' just because.