Greetings nerdy list aficionados and it’s time to chat villains and this time the cream
of the crop smart villains ones who thank goodness they have some kind of fatal flaw
or just got bored otherwise we’d all be in a lot of trouble.
We’re going to talk about competent people and that’s always fun.
I’m excited I love villains.
These are the Top 10 Smartest Super Villains.
Short sweet to the point I love it.
I’m Sasha and let’s get started.
Number 10 – The Leader – The Leader terrified me when I was a kid the design 8 year old
me couldn’t deal.
So the leader first appeared in Tales to Astonish #62 (December 1964) he was first established
as a villain for the Hulk.
He was meant to be an evil parallel and counterpoint to the hulk also mutated by gamma radiation
he instead developed heightened intelligence demonstrated in 60s finesse with his giant
head.
He turned green too.
He was Samuel Sterns just an ordinary man until he was covered in radioactive waste
when one of the containers he was moving exploded.
The reason he mutates as he does are because of his subconscious desires this was how gamma
radiation used to work it was a twist on something you wanted like in banner’s case to be less
meek.
So Stern wanted to be as smart as his brother which resulted in this heightened intelligence
but also the personality that accompanied it that need to prove oneself and be the smartest
person in the room at all times.
He would go on to create an army of humanoids to fight for him.
Would lead a spy ring and much much more over the years it is said that his intellect is
beyond human comprehension.
And that his potential intelligence is nearly unlimited he can master any subject and adapt
to any environment no matter how forward.
So yeah don’t let the cheesy appearance fool you I wouldn’t want to go up against
the leader.
Number 9 – The High Evolutionary he first appeared in Full appearance: The Mighty Thor#134
(November 1966) though he was mentioned the issue before he owes his exitence to mister
sinister though at the time he was still Nathaniel essex.
The high evolutionary was Herbert Edgar Wyndham who became interested in the work of Nathaniel
essex vis a vis evolution and he started experimenting with genetic manipulation but with everything
not just mutants.
He was approached by an inhuman who gave him the papers the blueprints to crack the genetic
code this would allow him to develop a serum called isotope a.
This would get into magic and more which would lead to him becoming the Lord High Evolutionary
and eventually just the high evolutionary and he would become an antagonist for Thor
at the start.
He would create new men who would be evil and he would become a source of new villains
and people wouldn’t always know it was him he would become more and more unstable and
have his own arc the evolutionary war.
He’s always a potential threat behind the scenes with a singular focus on accelerating
evolution unchained by morals unfettered by personal ties.
There are rumours he could join the mcu but we shall see.
Number 8 – Vandal Savage.
We need an immortal on this list Vandal savage first debuted Green Lantern #10 (December
1943) in the year 50,000 BC, Savage was a caveman until he was bathed in radiation from
a mysterious meteorite.
This would alter him and make him immortal and vastly intelligent.
Savage has played the long game for centuries amassing power and prestige yet also balancing
his ego which while there doesn’t require him to be in the spotlight which makes him
a truly dangerous adversary overtime he has evolved into a sophisticated man leaving his
cave man savagery behind except on occasion.
As DC has gone through it’s many shifts Vandal Savage has been tied into the very
nature of the multiverse itself so he’s definitely gone up in importance he’s not
overused either which is nice Part of his intelligence comes from experience and observation
which provide you with a different breed of intellect closer to cunning which at times
can be far more deadly than any form of academic learning.
Number 7 – Bane – One of the things that some have lost overtime when it comes to Bane
is that when he first appeared he was a dark mirror to Batman parents dead raised in a
prison honing his mind seeking an adversary that adversary was Batman by the time Bane
came to Gotham he knew everything about Bruce Wayne released his entire rogues gallery to
tire him out before coming to fight him in his own home.
Bane first appeared in Batman: Vengeance of Bane #1 (January 1993) he was created for
the knightfall storyline now famous which would see Batman’s back broken.
You know the famous panel crack right over the knee.
Bane is a genius and classy too ignore the luchadore mask or don’t it’s pretty great
he’s got brawn and brains he’s a deadly combination.
Admittedly in king’s batman book his intelligence has gotten kinda out of control.
Like ha ha I planned everything even down to how people would react emotionally and
mistakes they would make it’s a lot of a lot city of bane.
Still Bane himself id cool he’s going to factor into year of the villain and he’s
a great planner and very patient.
He deduced batman’s identity in one year he also speaks multiple languages which is
just a skill I always admire.
The venom doesn’t affect his mind which is impressive Batman turns into a fiend when
he was on it yes Batman was briefly addicted to venom he used it to give him a boost.
Number 6 – Braniac – He was first introduced in Action Comics #242 (July 1958) he first
appeared determined to shrink down cities specifically metropolis at first he ruled
a planet eventually he would evolve to be an important part of krypton’s history particularly
with shrinking down the city of kandor.
He has changed a lot through the various versions but one thing that never has is his intellect
that is a constant it is said to be twelfth-level intellect" this allows him heightened calculation
abilities and he has mastered pretty much all sciences.
Post crisis he stated and I quote claims that his brain can process and sort the knowledge
of over four hundred ninety octodecillion beings he is also a technopath.
He can possess people and absorb their knowledge in the modern eras he is often driven by a
quest for knowledge to consume it.
He is friends with Lex and considers him an equal in intellect which is high praise.
This is amongst organics being which braniac isn’t realty he also spawns many generation
characters including one who would have a relationship with supergirl.
Number 5 – Lex Luthor – he first debuted in Action Comics #23 (April 1940) so he’s
been around since the golden age but he’s changed a lot early lex was much more of a
mad scientist you know donning that green suit and the like he also had hair ginger
hair.
Then later it was said that Clark made it fall off in a science project gone wrong where
they were partnered up.
It was in the 80s that the business man lex would begin to become more prominent and it
would take a bit for the two elements to fuse into who Lex has become today.
However from thr start he is said to be the smartest man in the dc universe a man who
wastes his time stealing cakes yes that’s non canonical and yes it’s still funny.
He has an eidetic memory and has invented many machines and has some of the best plans
going.
His tragedy is he could really better the world if he wasn’t so obsessed with superman
the dc year of the villain ongoing at the time of this recording is pretty much instigated
by Lex or Apex Lex as he is currently called I cannot wait for that name to fade into obscurity.
I can’t say Apex Lex without chuckling.
Lex fully knows Clark is superman don’t at me.
He’s humouring him just like everyone at the planet.
Number 4 - Solomon Seltzer The Professor – We’re talking about Wanted by Mark Milar one of
his indie comics produced by Top Cow Productions.
The Professor is said to have level 9 intelligence I love how you can just assign a number to
intelligence and people just go with it.
Ooooh level 9 like level 9 of what tell me.
He had dominion over a fifth of the earth and was committing crimes to fund his research
he is actually responsible for provoking protagonist Wesley Gibbons into discovering his powers
in the best way by just making him shoot the wings off of flies.
This was adapted into a film james macavoy was in it.
I just felt like putting someone from outside the big two.
And maybe we can inch more and more towards those indie lists that’s my master plan
I got the boys to happen on this channel I live in hope.
Don’t let your dreams be dreams.
Number 3 – Norman Osborn aka the green goblin.
He first debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964) and is one of the most prominent
Marvel villains going.
An iconic spider-man baddie who has grown to be a problem for the entire marvel universe.
When he first debuted he wasn’t norman Osborn that came later.
So Osborn was already smart a master industrialist but when he was exposed to the chemical solution
that would transform him into the green goblin he would also increase his intellect.
When in a more sane frame of mind Osborn is chilling approaching plans from a business
like perspective he created the dark avengers.
The thing is Osborn is often insane but he can still do some master planning they’re
just more unhinged the death of gwen the first time not the retcon where he was sleeping
with her put that in a box then burn that box then scatter the ashes over someplace
you hate.
Osborn is seen moving behind the scenes brokering deals creating teams menacing spdier-man and
sometimes falling off the deep end, but then he’ll do things like accidentally erase
himself from existence in the what if where he had the infinity gauntlet.
Is he too high maybe but he gained some iconic points also for the fact that how cunning
he been shown to be has steadily increased.
Number 2 – Doctor Doom – Good ol doom introduced in The Fantastic Four #5 (July
1962) he is one of the primary antagonists for the fantastc four but like norman he has
moved far beyond that.
Doctor Doom has set about mastering all he can he is both a scientist and a sorcerer
none of that oh I don’t believe in magic nonsense especially not in the marvel universe
where it clearly exists, he’s up there with Stephen strange in terms of sorcery.
He is also a mild technopath he has proven himself to be able to certain things other
characters reed can’t.
He can replicate the powers of others has conquered the world was a god emporer.but
he is extremely arrogant and this is often his undoing.
He needs you to know he’s Doom and respect him accordingly.
It can prove to be a fatal flaw his intellect can also lead to him being bored he needs
a challenge.
Sidenote he’s actually a good ruler and his people actually like him so he’s got
that going for him he’s a benign despot.
Number 1 – The Maker – Did you guess he would make pun fully intended my number one
spot.
This is an evil version of Reed Richard’s initially from the ultimate verse where like
most characters he was already a jerk.
So he first appeared as the Maker in Ultimate Fallout #4 (August 2011; as Maker)he was trapped
in the negative zone and his intellect vastly increased there to the point where he became
deformed his head stretching and expanding.
Unlike Reed the maker has no ties nothing to keep him from exercising his intellect
in that cold clinical curious way that quite often leaves people by the wayside.
Reed is constantly fighting against this or he was until he became nice guy Reed.
The Maker was a dark mirror for him.
And well an evil Reed we’ve seen that happen in alternate realities.
Or What ifs.
So smart so evil.
So those were the ten smartest evil super villains who’s your favourite smart villain
do we need a part 2 probably.
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I’ll see you all again soon bye bye.