Top 10 Smartest Marvel Superheroes

You’d have to be pretty smart to be the founder of the X-Men and keep all those outrageous egos and personalities in check — and it really doesn’t hurt to be able to read and control minds either! But, just because Professor X can control someone’s mind doesn’t exactly make him smart. Lucky, for the Kind Professor, he’s also a scientific genius with multiple doctorate degrees, including Biophysics, Psychology, and Anthropology, but his main area of study is Genetics where’s he’s world-renowned in the field. To top it all off, he’s also quite the inventor as well, having created Cerebro to help locate mutants across the globe.

Having been awarded the title of Mastermind Excello, it’s a pretty safe bet to assume that Amadeus Cho has read a book or two… or about a million! He’s a natural genius who showed tremendous intelligence from a very young age, and is able to analyze unheard of mental calculations in no time flat. He also knows a thing or two about science as well, as he was able to remove the Hulk and inject it into himself. So, let’s get this straight: he’s a super genius and has the powers of the Hulk? That almost seems unfair! But, he’s one of the Eight Smartest People in the World, so having an advantage over his enemies must come naturally to Cho.

Sure, a bite from a radioactive spider doesn’t necessarily make you any smarter, but luckily Peter Parker was pretty bright to begin with. Intellectually, Peter is very gifted – some may say a genius – with mastery in applied science, chemistry, physics, mathematics, engineering, mechanics and biology. “What doesn’t this guy know?!” you might be saying. Well, he’s not exactly great with the ladies and he’s a little nervous at times, but he more than makes up for his weaknesses with his skills as an inventor and for the creative manner in which he disposes of bad guys that are infinitely more powerful than he is. He’s a bit of an “every man” and that’s why we love him so much!

It can’t be easy for Bruce Banner knowing that the Hulk lurks below the surface of his body, waiting to rip forth in anger and rage. And there’s no way Bruce is not aware of the damage that the Hulk does to his social relationships seeing as the guy has more degrees than a thermometer – biology, engineering, chemistry, medicine, psychology and nuclear physics. He’s said to be one of the smartest people on Earth as well, and is an inventor on par with the likes of Tony Stark and Hank Pym. Bruce is a complex character with a deep history and rich psychological profile, and the fact that he’s so damn smart – but so damn deadly – makes him a truly tragic character.

When it comes to smarts, Tony’s no slouch. He graduated from M.I.T. at the ripe age of 17 with advanced degrees in physics and engineering –which is usually the time the rest of us regular folk are playing video games and just trying to survive high school! And if being a super-genius, child prodigy wasn’t enough, Tony completed a lot more fancy book learning on his way to adulthood, mastering computer science, chemistry and math while becoming an expert in multiple types of engineering. Then there’s the fact that he’s a wicked inventor, having designed and crafted the Iron Man power armor from which his superhero persona draws its name. To top it all off, he’s handsome too! Man, some guys have it all…

While you may know him better as Beast, Hank McCoy doesn’t allow his impressive physical strength to overshadow his even greater intellectual capabilities. Sure, he can still get pissed and whip some ass when called for, but he’d much prefer to opt for some strategic wizardry to topple bad guys. Like the other entries on this list, Hank has his fair share of science degrees – being an elite Biochemist with doctorates in Biophysics and Genetics – but he’s also a man of the Arts as well, speaking many, many languages, and possessing mastery in such subjects as literature, history, music and sociology. In short, he’s a Jack-of-all-Trades with more knowledge than most, and a gentle, cool demeanor. Just don’t make him angry…

It’s official: the name Hank is code for “Smartest Name in the Marvel Universe.” This time it’s Hank Pym’s turn to dazzle and impress us with a laundry list of doctorates and degrees: PhDs in Biochemistry and nanotechnology, and a mastery of quantum physics, robotics, A.I. and entomology. If all those fields sound like mumbo-jumbo to you, just know that he’s really, really good at building robots. Heck, he even built Ultron for Pete’s sake! Also, he discovered the now-famed “Pym Particles” that allows mass to be added or subtracts from other places, thus making people bigger or smaller. If you couldn’t guess already, he’s kind of a big deal in the world of Marvel Brainiacs.

#3: T’Challa

Also in:

Top 10 Superheroes Outside Marvel and DC

Sure, T’Challa is smart, but there’s one thing that makes him stick out on this list: he’s actual royalty, being the king and ruler of Wakanda. So, we know his political skills are top-notch as well. He’s an inventor and scientist, with a PhD in Physics from the one and only Oxford University; and, if that wasn’t enough to convince you that he’s a genius, well just consider the fact that he also contains the knowledge from all the previous Black Panthers as well, meaning he possesses generations upon generations of wisdom. Oh, and did we mention he also created his own science known as Shadow Physics, combining science and mysticism? This guy’s “Smarts” with a capital “S!”

There’s one thing that makes Lunella (aka Moon Girl) really stand out on this list: she’s hasn’t even had her tenth birthday yet, clearly making her the youngest genius in the Marvel Universe. And, Marvel’s been hinting that she is, in fact, THE SMARTEST person in their comics. Wow… We’re lucky if we could pour our own cereal at that age… Anyway, though she’s too young to hold lots of degrees, Lunella puts her smarts to good use, creating a variety of trinkets and gadgets to use in combat – which is really something for a freaking NINE-YEAR-OLD! Also, seeing as she’s a member of the InHumans, she’s able to switch consciousnesses with Devil Dinosaur and cause some major damage on the physical front too.

Reed Richards is Mister Fantastic in more ways than one, but undoubtedly his knowledge of Alien Biology puts him over the top in terms of smarts. This guy ran out of things to learn on Earth, so he started studying OTHER life forms to learn their make-up as well. In the paltry realm of Earth sciences, Richards has mastered pretty much every kind of engineering, mathematics and physics you can think of and has made notable contributions to space travel and robotics (to name only a few). His wife – Susan Storm Richards – is no slouch either, rendering herself invisible at will! It’s no wonder their daughter Valeria is so smart. She’s got some good genes to work with!