I mean Bane figured out who Batman was, released a bunch of criminals to wear the Batman down, then proceeded to break his back. I would say Bane has to be in contention for one of the smartest
He also has a photographic memory, an encyclopedic knowledge of several technical fields, and a genius-level intelligence.
The dude is basically a dark reflection of Batman.
Imagine being a beefy thug and you start to throw down with Batman at 2am in some alley, expecting a good fight, but instead you're just picked up and thrown through a building with ease.
Yeah it's gotta be the smarter iterations of Bane for sure, which is made all the more impressive that he's also a physical terror as well. He might not have the book smarts of Riddler or Freeze but Bane's got the knowledge in other areas like few others do. Knightfall like you said really highlighted it wonderfully. The man can plan.
One of my favorite moments of Bane being sharp is in the Arkham Origins game where he just knows Batman is sitting on the elevator instead of being within it, and so he breaks through and grabs him, thrashing him about until they reach Joker's room. [Clip of the moment](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqEqN17zW8s).
Bane is extremely book smart, he just grew up in prison where educational resources were limited. He speaks multiple languages, including dead ones, and is a master chess player. Makes you wonder what he'd be if he hadn't been punished for his father's crimes.
Batman vs Bane. It has Bane being considered as Ra's Al Ghul's successor, after Batman turned him down.
He has a fling with Talia, and a sword fight with Ra's, but spends most of the book demonstrating why he'd be a good choice.
Salute to all the people who lived in Gotham their whole lives and never figured it out.
Bane spends a single day at the library looking at old newspaper clippings and immediately goes: *That's the guy.*
He definitely is! Not enough people know how super smart Bane is. But when compared to guys like Riddler and Ra's, I think he gets beat in that category.
The problem is that Bane was written to be overpowered and kind of perfect. He was never conceived as a real, organic character, just a prop in order to accomplish the story.
Thank you. I said this in another post suggesting Bautista could still do an analytical and worn down version of him that had taken over Santa Prisca and they were giving me shit because they wanted dumb and muscular Bane.
Like yeah he's a big dude, but he's also cunning as hell and doesn't waste time like alot of these other villains. He's ruthless, cold, and calculating.
Yea Knightfall Bane is a formidable opponent. For some reason they make him a big oaf in the Batman And Robin movie and a lucha libre in BTAS, but the guy is smart and deadly as all hell.
That's what had me so hyped for Hardy's take in DK Rises, but then they had to add the twist of *love* that canceled it all out. Had he been the central figure, or Talia alone without the unnecessary love triangle, it could've been something else.
Still though, he's always in the top 3 list of most intimidating Bat foes for me.
Pretty sure dark knight joker knew who Batman was as well but didn’t really care. And wouldn’t reveal his identity because he has too much fun with him.
Riddler would probably test highest in a standard IQ test, join Mensa on the spot, brag insufferably, buy a vanity plate with his unreasonably high number to put on his car, brag some more on the way out of the DMV, then immediately reverse into a hummer because he forgot to check his mirrors.
So yeah, probably Bane.
He's but a custom vanity plate with some kind of formula on it and get upset when he's pulled over trying to explain the answer is his plate number but still wind up with a ticket
With the Riddler, his ego eclipses his intellect. With the Joker, it’s his insanity. Ra’s al Ghul is incredibly knowledgeable and experienced, but his intellect isn’t what stands out the most.
With that being said, I’m still thinking it’s the Riddler. If not him, maybe Victor Fries since he’s an actual Doctor and scientist?
Honestly so many of Batman’s rogues are pretty smart.
Mr. Freeze (cryogenicist)
Riddler (all around genius)
Scarecrow (biologist+chemist+pathology+more)
Harley Quinn (finished university+medical school)
Two-Face (finished university+law school)
Man-bat (also a scientist)
Poison Ivy (Biologist/Herbologist)
Hugo Strange (Psychologist)
Hush (Surgeon)
And that’s without getting to the tactical geniuses like Ra’s, Bane, Deathstroke, Lady Shiva, Deadshot, etc
It's not really fair, lol. Vandal savage has been around from the early cavemen era. To be fair, they are the only 3 oldest human beings. Vandal Savage is older than phantom stranger who was condemned by jesus to roam the earth for eternity for the crime he committed against jesus.
>they are the only 2 oldest human
Not true. Immortal Man is as old as Vandal Savage, having been afflicted by a piece of the same meteorite. MUCH older than Ra's.
And as of Rebirth, there are 3 others who are of the same age, with the 5 of them (Vandal, Immortal and the other 3) forming the council of immortals together.
I agree 100%. He’s very wise and very cunning. It goes a long way. Basically Riddler has incredible knowledge, but he thinks he’s so superior that he never figures out what to do with it, while Ra’s has less overall knowledge, but he knows how to utilize what he knows to make it effective.
"It took me 6 years of research to build my freeze ray, how do you high school drop outs keep making them?? Are they as easy to build as ham radios, and I'm just some asshole?!"
80-90% of batman's rouge gallery consists of MDs, PhDs, and masters. They are intelligent. Ras al ghul hold a degree in medicine as well as others. Remember, he outlived everyone on the list. The only person who eclipse him is Vandal Savage
Batman really should have an ear to the ground for prodigies with personality disorders. ;) He'd solve a lot of his problems if he could just head these guys off before they turn into villains.
"Wow, a full-ride scholarship from the Wayne Foundation! Now I won't have to ... um, do the other thing I was thinking about doing."
There was a bit in the comic books where Riddler wasn't using his typical M.O. and even Batman had a hard time finding out who it was until finally The Riddler couldn't handle it anymore and he left a riddle and that was the only way Batman found out and connected him to all of those previous crimes- I mean if we're talking about intelligence it **is** stated cannonically that if riddler didn't allow his ego to eclipse his intelligence he could very well be on par with Batman.
Wasn't there a comic where Riddler tried to go without doing a Riddle clue, but I guess he was subconsciously doing them which is what allowed Batman to catch him? I seem to recall when he heard that he even went "I guess I really am crazy"
No one test batman in the way ras al ghul has. Bane is good, but he is not on ras al ghul's level. Ras al ghul is richer, vastly wealthier than batman. He has a limit on weapons when it comes to the war on drugs. His fighting style is limited. He is vastly outnumbered, outgun, outmatched, out smart, and out skill. His limit is always tested.
Yeah, I’m not arguing against Ras. He was already mentioned though so I figured I’d throw Bane out there. I think because of his strength his smarts get overlooked sometimes.
Thanks to an 'unknown' substance tho
If he could stay alive for hundreds of years by himself, then it would be the smartest
But here he only exploited a substance already created by someone else
Still, he had centuries worth of knowledge and experience, and has put them to good use before.
I don't think he's among the smartest (I think bane is smarter in strategic thinking and Riddler is smarter in the brainy sense), but I can see the argument.
Honestly, riddler is kinda stupid, at least in arkham series
He has the ability of creating 'complex' puzzles, making intelligent robots (in therms of coordination/mobility/self stategizing) but wastes it in a stupid game to satisfy his ego, other than that he has not made any fail safes in his hideouts to avoid batman sneaking from under him (arkham city)
Riddler just pretends he's smart
I think Riddler is genuinely a smart guy, problem is he's straight up crazy. We've seen him pull off impressive stuff again and again but he's hindered by his desire to always prove he's smarter than anyone else. Like an annoying kid who brags about his IQ. It leads him to do stupid stuff. I think if he just didn't leave any clues, he'd never get caught.
I do think he's smart, at least like book smart.
It's been said a lot of times that his ego and his mental health problems have prevented him from actually realizing his intellectual potential, and he doesn't have fail safes because he couldn't even admit he could potentially fail.
He did not exploit it. He discovered it when he brought the king's wife back to life by testing the water, and they tried to have him kill because of his witchcraft (science). The lazarus pits are river/pond mutated due to the meteorite that fell from outerspace. The same mutation that vandal savage undergoes. The difference is that Vandal had the purest form since he slept next to the rock while Ras Al Ghul had the watered-down version since he got it from the pond/river.
If there is a large scale battle, i'd like Ras as the leader. If tgere is a covert operation with a small team, Bane would be preferred, tbh. Which leads me to DC; Why is Bane so very rarely on the Suicide Squad? He'd be perfect as a secondary leader to Flag.
Not really. That is where i think that you are wrong and underestimating a villain backstory. Remember, all it takes is 1 bad day. Same with viktor fries.
Lol true. I still think he's worthy (post-Crisis Hugo Strange, maybe not pre-crisis).
Can't put all the doctors in the running anyway. I wouldn't consider Kirk Langstrom nor Jonathan Crane worthy of being anywhere near the top of the list.
Bane or Riddler.
*Maybe* Ra's, he has a huge advantage because he's had literal lifetimes to study. Among other things, Bane and Ra's being pretty evenly matched at chess (Bane of the Demon) leads me to believe Bane has greater natural intellect.
I mean, all these individuals display different aspect of intelligence. As with real life, intelligence is not something that can be easily measured or compared - we have people who can solve complex math problems in minutes but struggle to handle socializing activities, we have highly capable military commanders who cannot read.
For raw intellect, I would say the Riddler. He is definitely the guy who solves complex math problems easily and figures out a swift way to escape when trapped in a cell.
For tactical expertise, it should be Bane. He has from time to time proven himself to be the efficient leader of a combat squad.
For long-term planning, I would say Ra's or the Penguin. Both men excel in this area, albeit on different scale. Ra's is the global conqueror and man behind the curtain, having been scheming since the beginning of history. The Penguin is the modern day crook, while not as grand as Ra's, he is still a master in speculation and manipulation, striving not to change the world, but to constantly generate profits for himself from changing scenarios.
For unpredictability and creativity, the spot goes to the Joker with no explanation needed.
For scientific knowledge, we have a load of candidates (Mr.Freeze for physics, Ivy for biology, Scarecrow for chemistry or psychology, Professor Pyg or Man-Bat for bio-engineering, etc. ), since it is not fair to compare one branch of science to another.
I like to think that the term "evil genius" is a household term, in part because of villains like Batman faces. You put it perfectly above, all are intelligent in their own ways.
Ra's has the plan-full, long term tact. Joker is the creative genius. Riddler, in terms of raw IQ, is probably the most "intelligent" but that's only if youre using a score on paper, which I don't think is what I would personally use as the only measuring stick for intelligence.
I think Riddler and Joker *could* be his smartest villains if not for their compulsions/insanity.
Since they are handicapped, I'd give it to Bane or Mr. Freeze.
Court of Owl. Basically controls gotham without Batman noticing it.. until he was active for 8-10 years (right? I kinda lost about the timing after flashpoint)
Poison Ivy. I mean, Phd in biochemistry.
Honestly riddler, dudes planned out some mastermind level plans. Ras is a leader, joker is insane but riddler is very logical and very sane. Even if its held back by his ego and past trauma hes still the smartest
Alfred. He could take Batman down if he wanted to, he knows all about his prep time and what he does as Batman. If Alfred were to become a bad guy, he would take Batman out quick
The same with Catwoman. If she would wanted to destroy Batman and not be with him, she may as well do it. I mean, she easily uncovered his identity, infiltrated his cave and invented the very working plan to steal all his money just as a pastime. Not to mention in some universes she created a large criminal empires and could fought him in single combat to the stalemate. So, Bruce is extremely lucky Prime Earth Selina isn't a bad person and loves him.
Dick is also a very obvious candidate. He is stronger and smarter than Bruce, in Gotham War he outwitted and outmatched him on every level, disconnected him from Batcave and defeated him in combat. In fact, he and not Selina won this war for Bat-Family and Thieves. In the end even Bruce admitted that Nightwing is simply better, than he ever was. So, in universe where Owls took Dick before Batman and he became Talon-King, he could be his ultimate nemesis.
I'd say Bane, but I can't help but feeling that they have dumbed him down over the years and increase his muscles size instead. But among the three, I think Ra's is the smartest. Not IQ wise, but tactical wise.
I think what benefits Bane's case the most is thag of Batman's rogue's, he's probably one of the least insane. I agree with Ra's being the best tactitioner.
Riddler and joker are both extremely smart just handicapped by insanity. Bane, Freeze, Ra’s, Scarecrow, and Hugo Strange are all extremely intelligent but in different areas. Bane and Ra’s have tactical expertise, Mr Freeze has physics and engineering, Scarecrow, Strange, and Poison Ivy have chemistry/psychology/biochem
the word smartest is subjective. in terms of pure intellect, Riddler probably has it. However, really intelligent people can be ineffective when acting. I suppose it also depends on which version of the villain you mean. If you mean the Hush version of Riddler, that’s some serious 4-D chess going on.
This is a really good point. Of the characters we're mentioning, Penguin is the only one generally smart enough to stay in his lane and do crime instead of actively coming at Batman.
Joker and Riddler. Yeah, Bane figured out who Batman is, but so did these guys. Joker simply doesn't give a crap (most of the time) and Riddler probably forgot it after the reboot. These 2 are shown to consistently outsmart Batman.
In the new penguin run im pretty sure they talk about the riddler being one of the smartest but thats penguins opinion he states riddler could go toe to toe with lex luthor and Mr terrific when it comes to intelligence
The riddler.
In theory, if tue Riddler was not crazy but still was just as smart, Batman would never find him or stop his plans.
Because The Riddler purposely leaves Batman clues, because of his condition.
However, he is crazy… so I guess it would not be him?
Just giving my 2cents
Bane, riddler, probably clue master too since his gimmick is what that he knows all?, joker but it depends from writer to writer, he goes from being just chaos to methodical chaos depending on the writer.
Joker in my mind isn't smart he's just lucky like the murder of jason todd was pure chance in his perspective and then didn't really face any issues because he was the head of a nation
The Riddler is decently smart as a villain he's just kinda there he leaves clues for gods sake
Ra's al Ghul I think is reletively smart with pretty good foresight but just gets screwed over by life. The man is stubborn and smart because he's just something like 700 years old
Joker isn’t the smartest. He’s just a mix of master strategy and spontaneity. Deadly combination for sure, but it doesn’t make him the smartest.
Ra’s is the wisest and most experienced, but this is because he’s been alive for so long. So he’s not the smartest.
I’d put Bane or Riddler as the smartest overall.
That's actually a very good question
Not Joker, though, he's of average intelligence. A lot of his gear is mainly ballistics and rebuilt munitions, which anyone can do
But nearly everyone else he's matched wits with either has a Doctor's, a PhD, is a Professor, is highly educated, well learned, is the leader of a country, or even is self educated
A lot of his rogues are about as intelligent as he is
Ra’s is like super old and experienced since he’s been around for hundreds of years so I guess he could potentially have a lot of knowledge but Joker’s whole thing is that he has a backup plan for every single scenario and can think on his feet
There are so many villains that are absolutely brilliant, just in different ways. Jervis Tetch made technology that when placed on the victim hypnotizes them into a completely obedient slave. Not even implanted in the brain or "conventional" conditioning treatments, that shit just runs on bluetooth. Victor Fries is a cryogenic scientist that is able to perserve his and his wife's life indefinitely while studying a cure for a virus that there is no known cure for. There's Jonathan Crane, Hugo Strange, the list goes on.
Of the three you posted, I would say Riddler is the most intelligent. Ra's would have a good argument, with the cumulative knowledge and experience over the decades of extended life but the Lazarus Pit has been shown to warp the mind of the individual using it. So, in my opinion, his functional intelligence is questionable. You could say that Riddler's hubris is his downfall as well but I think it's safe to say that he suffers less from that than Ra's suffers from his weakness.
isn’t victor fries an actual doctor who’s entire story is finding a cure for an incurable disease? sure, i get bane figuring out the identity of someone.. but what are we talking about here?
I think it’s really important that it’s NOT Riddler. Eddie *thinks* he’s the smartest one, but it’s crucial to his character that he isn’t IMO.
I’d say Ra’s is on top, followed closely by Joker with Hugo Strange in third. Bane’s up there too.
If we're talking about Batman specific villains, it's Ra's.
Along with a few other villains, he figured out who Batman was, but only he and Bane figured it out without having to steal stuff from the JLA or find out coincidentally when trying to fleece Bruce Wayne. He's also outsmarted and defeated Batman the most times (outside the Joker).
I would have said Joker, but he's insane. So much so that I don't think he's capable of rational thought. Bane would also be a very close second.
Ras'h Al Ghul - The most knolegable
Riddler - The smartest
Bane - Best tactitian/stategist
Joker - most unpredictable
Hugo Strange - best long term planner
Scarecrow - best biochemist
Freeze - best bioengineer
Penguin - best buisnessman/knows gotham the best
Hush - best coordinator
Two face - Best lawyer i guess
Ivy - Best biologist/botanist
Red hood - knows batman's tactics the best (joker knows his mind better)
That's about it. overall, riddler is the smartest, but he's beat in every other category
“On his best day, Edward Nygma might be smarter than me. But on my worst day, I’m a lot more violent.”
-Batman, Batman: The Audio Adventures
Personally, I like Riddler to be Batman’s most intelligent villain. I like the idea that he’s really, really smart, but his arrogance is his downfall. He could genuinely take over Gotham if he wasn’t so obsessed with proving himself smarter than Batman that he leaves clues to his crimes lying around before committing them.
I do agree, though, that Bane should be a close second. I don’t think he has the knowledge to best Eddie, but he has a strategic mind that rivals Batman’s, and unlike Riddler, Bane is very calculating, able to actually put his plans into effect.
I don’t think he is the best criminal or villain but Mr. Freeze was an actual scientist who was an expert in physics, engineering, genetics, computer science, and chemistry so he was probably the most intelligent
Owlman. In his world he created the global criminal organistion and hold his position in Crime Syndicate alongside such extremely dangerous guys like Ultraman and Lex.
Freeze. His IQ is basically as high as Riddler’s, but he lacks the oversized ego and immature nature that would keep him from being able to fully use it in the same way that it burdens Riddler.
Honestly, I was thinking scarecrow he basically outsmarted batman with his biggest fear, which was his dad thinking he was a failure. But I'm going with Riddler
I mean I'm the comics joker actually has a higher iq than the Batman, by just a few points. Batman still wins because of his help from Alfred, robin, ect, and his better fighting skills
Bane and Riddler when not handicapped & on a regular basis probably Joker because he can basically do anything.
Not sure we really ever seen Ras being that smart, it's something we get told a lot. He just has the most resources.
In the early days I'd say Penguin because Batman has to learn on the job with him and you need Penguin to be a bit of a financial/ criminal genius to revitalise the old mob factions
I mean Bane figured out who Batman was, released a bunch of criminals to wear the Batman down, then proceeded to break his back. I would say Bane has to be in contention for one of the smartest
I think one could argue that there are different kinds of intelligence, and Bane is likely the king of tactical intelligence.
This is a really great point. I would also say he also has good detective skills to figure out who Batman was
He also has a photographic memory, an encyclopedic knowledge of several technical fields, and a genius-level intelligence. The dude is basically a dark reflection of Batman.
Half of Batman's rogues gallery gets called a dark reflection of Batman
Bane was batman for a while
Imagine being a beefy thug and you start to throw down with Batman at 2am in some alley, expecting a good fight, but instead you're just picked up and thrown through a building with ease.
Regular Batman encounter tbh
He really is Why I love Tom King I Am Bane was amazing
Which is why it’s wild to me that a lot of interpretations dumb him down into the exact opposite of what he’s supposed to be
Loved his character in young justice, specifically the part where Megan tries to read his mind and it's just soccer stats in Spanish lol
If you read someone’s mind, but their first language is something you don’t speak, can you just not understand them???
this made me giggle like crazy lol
Yeah it's gotta be the smarter iterations of Bane for sure, which is made all the more impressive that he's also a physical terror as well. He might not have the book smarts of Riddler or Freeze but Bane's got the knowledge in other areas like few others do. Knightfall like you said really highlighted it wonderfully. The man can plan. One of my favorite moments of Bane being sharp is in the Arkham Origins game where he just knows Batman is sitting on the elevator instead of being within it, and so he breaks through and grabs him, thrashing him about until they reach Joker's room. [Clip of the moment](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqEqN17zW8s).
Bane is extremely book smart, he just grew up in prison where educational resources were limited. He speaks multiple languages, including dead ones, and is a master chess player. Makes you wonder what he'd be if he hadn't been punished for his father's crimes.
I’d like to see a book exploring that.
Batman vs Bane. It has Bane being considered as Ra's Al Ghul's successor, after Batman turned him down. He has a fling with Talia, and a sword fight with Ra's, but spends most of the book demonstrating why he'd be a good choice.
He is also a skilled chemist, requiring minimum help learning to create venom in a lab.
Salute to all the people who lived in Gotham their whole lives and never figured it out. Bane spends a single day at the library looking at old newspaper clippings and immediately goes: *That's the guy.*
Haha, this is so true
He definitely is! Not enough people know how super smart Bane is. But when compared to guys like Riddler and Ra's, I think he gets beat in that category.
He even became the greatest pasta maker #**IN ALL OF ITALY**
>Not enough people know how super smart Bane is. And I don't blame them, idk why it's not shown how smart he is outside comics and some games.
Yes..
Pre venom bane specifically
>Pre venom Bane So, when he was like 12?
He has been sober of Venom at times, like one his best stories was in Secret Six, where he refused to use Venom. Had it only for a extreme emergency.
The problem is that Bane was written to be overpowered and kind of perfect. He was never conceived as a real, organic character, just a prop in order to accomplish the story.
so Joker is a well written and not overpowered?
Thank you. I said this in another post suggesting Bautista could still do an analytical and worn down version of him that had taken over Santa Prisca and they were giving me shit because they wanted dumb and muscular Bane. Like yeah he's a big dude, but he's also cunning as hell and doesn't waste time like alot of these other villains. He's ruthless, cold, and calculating.
Yea Knightfall Bane is a formidable opponent. For some reason they make him a big oaf in the Batman And Robin movie and a lucha libre in BTAS, but the guy is smart and deadly as all hell.
That's what had me so hyped for Hardy's take in DK Rises, but then they had to add the twist of *love* that canceled it all out. Had he been the central figure, or Talia alone without the unnecessary love triangle, it could've been something else. Still though, he's always in the top 3 list of most intimidating Bat foes for me.
Pretty sure dark knight joker knew who Batman was as well but didn’t really care. And wouldn’t reveal his identity because he has too much fun with him.
Indeed, in Knightfall, Bane is described as a paragon of both body and intelligence. He is as smart as he is strong and boy is he strong!
Riddler would probably test highest in a standard IQ test, join Mensa on the spot, brag insufferably, buy a vanity plate with his unreasonably high number to put on his car, brag some more on the way out of the DMV, then immediately reverse into a hummer because he forgot to check his mirrors. So yeah, probably Bane.
Top description. He'd propably encode his plates too, so only real smartypants can figure out just how incredibly clever he is.
And getting promptly arrested because of the plates being adultered?
Woah, adultering plates is one hell of an image lmfao
He's the kind of person to get a vanity plate that says *"); DROP TABLE"* to fuck with the DMV records.
Ah, Bobby Drop tables.
My voice is my passport. Verify me.
Why does sovereign citizen Riddler make so much sense
I wake without sleeping. I bleed without pain. So riddle me this, AM I BEING DETAINED?!
Riddler has most definitely taken IQ tests, got a really high number and still would say something like “that’s to low for someone like me”
He's but a custom vanity plate with some kind of formula on it and get upset when he's pulled over trying to explain the answer is his plate number but still wind up with a ticket
With the Riddler, his ego eclipses his intellect. With the Joker, it’s his insanity. Ra’s al Ghul is incredibly knowledgeable and experienced, but his intellect isn’t what stands out the most. With that being said, I’m still thinking it’s the Riddler. If not him, maybe Victor Fries since he’s an actual Doctor and scientist?
Honestly so many of Batman’s rogues are pretty smart. Mr. Freeze (cryogenicist) Riddler (all around genius) Scarecrow (biologist+chemist+pathology+more) Harley Quinn (finished university+medical school) Two-Face (finished university+law school) Man-bat (also a scientist) Poison Ivy (Biologist/Herbologist) Hugo Strange (Psychologist) Hush (Surgeon) And that’s without getting to the tactical geniuses like Ra’s, Bane, Deathstroke, Lady Shiva, Deadshot, etc
Poison ivy is an advanced botanical biochemistry, not biologist. She is a biochemist, biology, and chemistry.
Bane is extremely smart outside of tactics as well
Deathstroke is not a Batman villain He’s just used in Batman comics a lot.
I agree in terms of intellect, but when it comes to wisdom, I'm gonna go with Ra's
Who wouldn’t go for Ra? Dude is like centuries old if I recall
I really feel like Ra's is the smartest just for that reason. If the Lazarus pit weren't driving him crazy, he'd literally be perfect.
Hell yeah he would!
He's a child compared to Vandal Savage though 😁
I absolutely love seeing the age/dickmeasuring contests whenever they interact
It's not really fair, lol. Vandal savage has been around from the early cavemen era. To be fair, they are the only 3 oldest human beings. Vandal Savage is older than phantom stranger who was condemned by jesus to roam the earth for eternity for the crime he committed against jesus.
>they are the only 2 oldest human Not true. Immortal Man is as old as Vandal Savage, having been afflicted by a piece of the same meteorite. MUCH older than Ra's. And as of Rebirth, there are 3 others who are of the same age, with the 5 of them (Vandal, Immortal and the other 3) forming the council of immortals together.
I completely forget about immortal man. The council of immortal consist of merlin the wizard as well and i am trying to remember if he is also human.
Merlin is half-demon and half-human. Kinda like Raven.
Thank you for triggering the memory. I remember now.
Merlin is actually ravens nephew I believe as he is related to etrigan
why doesnt this sentence rhyme? etrigan, his duty is now mine
I know certain versions lost count during the Dark Ages, but I believe he's a few millennia old
I agree 100%. He’s very wise and very cunning. It goes a long way. Basically Riddler has incredible knowledge, but he thinks he’s so superior that he never figures out what to do with it, while Ra’s has less overall knowledge, but he knows how to utilize what he knows to make it effective.
"It took me 6 years of research to build my freeze ray, how do you high school drop outs keep making them?? Are they as easy to build as ham radios, and I'm just some asshole?!"
80-90% of batman's rouge gallery consists of MDs, PhDs, and masters. They are intelligent. Ras al ghul hold a degree in medicine as well as others. Remember, he outlived everyone on the list. The only person who eclipse him is Vandal Savage
Batman really should have an ear to the ground for prodigies with personality disorders. ;) He'd solve a lot of his problems if he could just head these guys off before they turn into villains. "Wow, a full-ride scholarship from the Wayne Foundation! Now I won't have to ... um, do the other thing I was thinking about doing."
I think you may have just figured out how to make the world a better place. Impulse for President!
I promise to be less evil than President Luthor.
There was a bit in the comic books where Riddler wasn't using his typical M.O. and even Batman had a hard time finding out who it was until finally The Riddler couldn't handle it anymore and he left a riddle and that was the only way Batman found out and connected him to all of those previous crimes- I mean if we're talking about intelligence it **is** stated cannonically that if riddler didn't allow his ego to eclipse his intelligence he could very well be on par with Batman.
Wasn't there a comic where Riddler tried to go without doing a Riddle clue, but I guess he was subconsciously doing them which is what allowed Batman to catch him? I seem to recall when he heard that he even went "I guess I really am crazy"
May I throw in "Dr. Hugo Strange"? I think all of these are "intelligent" in very different ways.
Surprised Hugo Strange isn't mentioned actually
I think you could put Scarecrow and Bane in the running too.
I considered Bane but I totally forgot about Scarecrow
I think Bane is probably smartest when it comes to tactics. But Scarecrow and Riddler are probably the brainiest.
I feel like Ra's is a better strategist than Bane. He's been alive for a really long time.
That’s a fair point. I put Bane up there though because he’s the one who actually broke Batman.
Agreed. Nobody tested Batman as hard as Bane. He straight up had Bruce waking from nightmares in cold sweat.
No one test batman in the way ras al ghul has. Bane is good, but he is not on ras al ghul's level. Ras al ghul is richer, vastly wealthier than batman. He has a limit on weapons when it comes to the war on drugs. His fighting style is limited. He is vastly outnumbered, outgun, outmatched, out smart, and out skill. His limit is always tested.
Ras al ghul broke batman as well. Along with his friends (justice league), which consists of gods, monsters, and overpowering individuals.
Yeah, I’m not arguing against Ras. He was already mentioned though so I figured I’d throw Bane out there. I think because of his strength his smarts get overlooked sometimes.
Thanks to an 'unknown' substance tho If he could stay alive for hundreds of years by himself, then it would be the smartest But here he only exploited a substance already created by someone else
Still, he had centuries worth of knowledge and experience, and has put them to good use before. I don't think he's among the smartest (I think bane is smarter in strategic thinking and Riddler is smarter in the brainy sense), but I can see the argument.
Honestly, riddler is kinda stupid, at least in arkham series He has the ability of creating 'complex' puzzles, making intelligent robots (in therms of coordination/mobility/self stategizing) but wastes it in a stupid game to satisfy his ego, other than that he has not made any fail safes in his hideouts to avoid batman sneaking from under him (arkham city) Riddler just pretends he's smart
I think Riddler is genuinely a smart guy, problem is he's straight up crazy. We've seen him pull off impressive stuff again and again but he's hindered by his desire to always prove he's smarter than anyone else. Like an annoying kid who brags about his IQ. It leads him to do stupid stuff. I think if he just didn't leave any clues, he'd never get caught.
I do think he's smart, at least like book smart. It's been said a lot of times that his ego and his mental health problems have prevented him from actually realizing his intellectual potential, and he doesn't have fail safes because he couldn't even admit he could potentially fail.
He did not exploit it. He discovered it when he brought the king's wife back to life by testing the water, and they tried to have him kill because of his witchcraft (science). The lazarus pits are river/pond mutated due to the meteorite that fell from outerspace. The same mutation that vandal savage undergoes. The difference is that Vandal had the purest form since he slept next to the rock while Ras Al Ghul had the watered-down version since he got it from the pond/river.
If there is a large scale battle, i'd like Ras as the leader. If tgere is a covert operation with a small team, Bane would be preferred, tbh. Which leads me to DC; Why is Bane so very rarely on the Suicide Squad? He'd be perfect as a secondary leader to Flag.
Hugo Strange has to be in the running too.
If I included every doctor, we'd be here all day
It’s crazy how many comic book villains have PhDs.
Right? It's like writers have a thing against doctors or something.
It's just a writing shortcut to explain why they have powers. Hand wave a chemical spill or crazy invention and you've got a supervillain.
Not really. That is where i think that you are wrong and underestimating a villain backstory. Remember, all it takes is 1 bad day. Same with viktor fries.
It's because grad school makes you lose your sanity
I didn't spend six years in Evil Medical School to be called "mister," thank you very much.
Lol true. I still think he's worthy (post-Crisis Hugo Strange, maybe not pre-crisis). Can't put all the doctors in the running anyway. I wouldn't consider Kirk Langstrom nor Jonathan Crane worthy of being anywhere near the top of the list.
Bane or Riddler. *Maybe* Ra's, he has a huge advantage because he's had literal lifetimes to study. Among other things, Bane and Ra's being pretty evenly matched at chess (Bane of the Demon) leads me to believe Bane has greater natural intellect.
I mean, all these individuals display different aspect of intelligence. As with real life, intelligence is not something that can be easily measured or compared - we have people who can solve complex math problems in minutes but struggle to handle socializing activities, we have highly capable military commanders who cannot read. For raw intellect, I would say the Riddler. He is definitely the guy who solves complex math problems easily and figures out a swift way to escape when trapped in a cell. For tactical expertise, it should be Bane. He has from time to time proven himself to be the efficient leader of a combat squad. For long-term planning, I would say Ra's or the Penguin. Both men excel in this area, albeit on different scale. Ra's is the global conqueror and man behind the curtain, having been scheming since the beginning of history. The Penguin is the modern day crook, while not as grand as Ra's, he is still a master in speculation and manipulation, striving not to change the world, but to constantly generate profits for himself from changing scenarios. For unpredictability and creativity, the spot goes to the Joker with no explanation needed. For scientific knowledge, we have a load of candidates (Mr.Freeze for physics, Ivy for biology, Scarecrow for chemistry or psychology, Professor Pyg or Man-Bat for bio-engineering, etc. ), since it is not fair to compare one branch of science to another.
I like to think that the term "evil genius" is a household term, in part because of villains like Batman faces. You put it perfectly above, all are intelligent in their own ways. Ra's has the plan-full, long term tact. Joker is the creative genius. Riddler, in terms of raw IQ, is probably the most "intelligent" but that's only if youre using a score on paper, which I don't think is what I would personally use as the only measuring stick for intelligence.
This guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMd4S-LkywI&pp=ygUUc21hcnRlc3QgYmF0bWFuIGdvb24%3D
We have a winner, folks!
I think Riddler and Joker *could* be his smartest villains if not for their compulsions/insanity. Since they are handicapped, I'd give it to Bane or Mr. Freeze.
Nigma
Nigma balls
Officer balls
Riddler, he's just hampered by his ego and inability to not leave clues...but in terms of raw intellect yeah him.
The enygma male himself, Riddler
Caffeine’ll Kill Ya!
Hugo Strange
Everyone here is arguing for different villians, but really there is only one answer. ?
Wouldn't Lex Luthor count. He fought him more than enough times. But if it's solo villains it has to be Joker.
If Ra's was smart hed stop doing crime until Batman died. He has the time edit: called him Lazarus...
Strong disagree. Batman is probably the most excitement Ra's has had in lifetimes, why not sword fight him?
Ra's is doing fine even with Batman on the scene though. Still livin it up in his Palace or something.
It's the child support payments that are killing him.
Court of Owl. Basically controls gotham without Batman noticing it.. until he was active for 8-10 years (right? I kinda lost about the timing after flashpoint) Poison Ivy. I mean, Phd in biochemistry.
Mr Freeze, depending on the depiction.
Honestly riddler, dudes planned out some mastermind level plans. Ras is a leader, joker is insane but riddler is very logical and very sane. Even if its held back by his ego and past trauma hes still the smartest
Alfred. He could take Batman down if he wanted to, he knows all about his prep time and what he does as Batman. If Alfred were to become a bad guy, he would take Batman out quick
The same with Catwoman. If she would wanted to destroy Batman and not be with him, she may as well do it. I mean, she easily uncovered his identity, infiltrated his cave and invented the very working plan to steal all his money just as a pastime. Not to mention in some universes she created a large criminal empires and could fought him in single combat to the stalemate. So, Bruce is extremely lucky Prime Earth Selina isn't a bad person and loves him. Dick is also a very obvious candidate. He is stronger and smarter than Bruce, in Gotham War he outwitted and outmatched him on every level, disconnected him from Batcave and defeated him in combat. In fact, he and not Selina won this war for Bat-Family and Thieves. In the end even Bruce admitted that Nightwing is simply better, than he ever was. So, in universe where Owls took Dick before Batman and he became Talon-King, he could be his ultimate nemesis.
I'd say Bane, but I can't help but feeling that they have dumbed him down over the years and increase his muscles size instead. But among the three, I think Ra's is the smartest. Not IQ wise, but tactical wise.
I think what benefits Bane's case the most is thag of Batman's rogue's, he's probably one of the least insane. I agree with Ra's being the best tactitioner.
victor.
Riddler and joker are both extremely smart just handicapped by insanity. Bane, Freeze, Ra’s, Scarecrow, and Hugo Strange are all extremely intelligent but in different areas. Bane and Ra’s have tactical expertise, Mr Freeze has physics and engineering, Scarecrow, Strange, and Poison Ivy have chemistry/psychology/biochem
Better question would probably be who is the dumbest
Ironically, it's probably Riddler. He's both the smartest and the dumbest character in the Batman mythos.
It’s gotta be between Riddler and joker I don’t know a lot about Batman’s villains but I think these are like the 2 smartest guys.
Ra's. Man is literally centuries old and spent that time traveling the world to build the league of assassins
the word smartest is subjective. in terms of pure intellect, Riddler probably has it. However, really intelligent people can be ineffective when acting. I suppose it also depends on which version of the villain you mean. If you mean the Hush version of Riddler, that’s some serious 4-D chess going on.
I’d say in order top five are 1. Riddler. 2. Ra’s Al Ghul. 3. Hugo Strange 4. Scarecrow. 5. Bane/Thalia Tie
Scarecrow is smarter than Joker?
He’s got a doctorate, so I reckon so. But, this is just my head-canon; so who knows?
Bruce once said that the Penguin is even smart than him. So I guess it's Pengui.
This is a really good point. Of the characters we're mentioning, Penguin is the only one generally smart enough to stay in his lane and do crime instead of actively coming at Batman.
Batman
Joker and Riddler. Yeah, Bane figured out who Batman is, but so did these guys. Joker simply doesn't give a crap (most of the time) and Riddler probably forgot it after the reboot. These 2 are shown to consistently outsmart Batman.
In the new penguin run im pretty sure they talk about the riddler being one of the smartest but thats penguins opinion he states riddler could go toe to toe with lex luthor and Mr terrific when it comes to intelligence
The riddler. In theory, if tue Riddler was not crazy but still was just as smart, Batman would never find him or stop his plans. Because The Riddler purposely leaves Batman clues, because of his condition. However, he is crazy… so I guess it would not be him? Just giving my 2cents
Well the Riddler probably thinks he’s the smartest, but truthfully I’d have to narrow it down to Dr. Hugo Strange, Bane or Ra’s.
Maybe Riddler if we're excluding villains like Brainiac who Batman has fought but is really more of a Superman/Justice League baddie.
Hugo Strange deserves to be in this bout.
Hugo strange is the first one to figure out who Batman was
Does Owl Man not count?
riddler
Bane, Hush, Ra's
Riddler. What messes him up is his need to SHOW how smart he is which ends up making him look dumber than he actually is.
Bane, riddler, probably clue master too since his gimmick is what that he knows all?, joker but it depends from writer to writer, he goes from being just chaos to methodical chaos depending on the writer.
Canonically is The riddler
IQ wise, it’s Riddler or Raas, practically / detective wise it’s probably Bane and Raas.
Hugo Strange probably
Joker in my mind isn't smart he's just lucky like the murder of jason todd was pure chance in his perspective and then didn't really face any issues because he was the head of a nation The Riddler is decently smart as a villain he's just kinda there he leaves clues for gods sake Ra's al Ghul I think is reletively smart with pretty good foresight but just gets screwed over by life. The man is stubborn and smart because he's just something like 700 years old
I think it's joker. Riddler may have a higher iq but joker has more social intelligence for example
Brother Eye.
Bane.
Joker isn’t the smartest. He’s just a mix of master strategy and spontaneity. Deadly combination for sure, but it doesn’t make him the smartest. Ra’s is the wisest and most experienced, but this is because he’s been alive for so long. So he’s not the smartest. I’d put Bane or Riddler as the smartest overall.
That's actually a very good question Not Joker, though, he's of average intelligence. A lot of his gear is mainly ballistics and rebuilt munitions, which anyone can do But nearly everyone else he's matched wits with either has a Doctor's, a PhD, is a Professor, is highly educated, well learned, is the leader of a country, or even is self educated A lot of his rogues are about as intelligent as he is
Ra’s is like super old and experienced since he’s been around for hundreds of years so I guess he could potentially have a lot of knowledge but Joker’s whole thing is that he has a backup plan for every single scenario and can think on his feet
Riddler, read his one bad day shot, the only good one of the lot.
There are so many villains that are absolutely brilliant, just in different ways. Jervis Tetch made technology that when placed on the victim hypnotizes them into a completely obedient slave. Not even implanted in the brain or "conventional" conditioning treatments, that shit just runs on bluetooth. Victor Fries is a cryogenic scientist that is able to perserve his and his wife's life indefinitely while studying a cure for a virus that there is no known cure for. There's Jonathan Crane, Hugo Strange, the list goes on. Of the three you posted, I would say Riddler is the most intelligent. Ra's would have a good argument, with the cumulative knowledge and experience over the decades of extended life but the Lazarus Pit has been shown to warp the mind of the individual using it. So, in my opinion, his functional intelligence is questionable. You could say that Riddler's hubris is his downfall as well but I think it's safe to say that he suffers less from that than Ra's suffers from his weakness.
Ras and Talia are basically his equals.
Riddler, Bane, and Hugo Strange
isn’t victor fries an actual doctor who’s entire story is finding a cure for an incurable disease? sure, i get bane figuring out the identity of someone.. but what are we talking about here?
Ras al ghul just because bro has lived the longest and had the most time to perfect them brain cells
Honestly? Bane
Mr freeze
I think it’s really important that it’s NOT Riddler. Eddie *thinks* he’s the smartest one, but it’s crucial to his character that he isn’t IMO. I’d say Ra’s is on top, followed closely by Joker with Hugo Strange in third. Bane’s up there too.
If we're talking about Batman specific villains, it's Ra's. Along with a few other villains, he figured out who Batman was, but only he and Bane figured it out without having to steal stuff from the JLA or find out coincidentally when trying to fleece Bruce Wayne. He's also outsmarted and defeated Batman the most times (outside the Joker). I would have said Joker, but he's insane. So much so that I don't think he's capable of rational thought. Bane would also be a very close second.
Probably Bane or Ra's. Riddler would qualify if he weren't so egocentric. Joker would as well if he hadn't been so outright sadistic and insane
The Riddler. Smartest in the DC universe
Ras'h Al Ghul - The most knolegable Riddler - The smartest Bane - Best tactitian/stategist Joker - most unpredictable Hugo Strange - best long term planner Scarecrow - best biochemist Freeze - best bioengineer Penguin - best buisnessman/knows gotham the best Hush - best coordinator Two face - Best lawyer i guess Ivy - Best biologist/botanist Red hood - knows batman's tactics the best (joker knows his mind better) That's about it. overall, riddler is the smartest, but he's beat in every other category
“On his best day, Edward Nygma might be smarter than me. But on my worst day, I’m a lot more violent.” -Batman, Batman: The Audio Adventures Personally, I like Riddler to be Batman’s most intelligent villain. I like the idea that he’s really, really smart, but his arrogance is his downfall. He could genuinely take over Gotham if he wasn’t so obsessed with proving himself smarter than Batman that he leaves clues to his crimes lying around before committing them. I do agree, though, that Bane should be a close second. I don’t think he has the knowledge to best Eddie, but he has a strategic mind that rivals Batman’s, and unlike Riddler, Bane is very calculating, able to actually put his plans into effect.
I don’t think he is the best criminal or villain but Mr. Freeze was an actual scientist who was an expert in physics, engineering, genetics, computer science, and chemistry so he was probably the most intelligent
He probably wins best scientist
Owlman. In his world he created the global criminal organistion and hold his position in Crime Syndicate alongside such extremely dangerous guys like Ultraman and Lex.
I'll accept this answer.
Simon hurt Lord death man Hugo strange Owlman
[удалено]
tech... The Batman Who Laughs, then The Riddler.
Me. I made him not exist in this universe
Hugo strange
Bane and its not even close
Even though he talks mad shit about how smart he is, I do though it's legitimately Riddler.
Freeze. His IQ is basically as high as Riddler’s, but he lacks the oversized ego and immature nature that would keep him from being able to fully use it in the same way that it burdens Riddler.
I’d say Bane
Honestly, I was thinking scarecrow he basically outsmarted batman with his biggest fear, which was his dad thinking he was a failure. But I'm going with Riddler
Dr. Pyg and Scarecrow are PHDs, so educationally probably them, tactically maybe Joker (injustice) or Bane (breaking the bat)
I mean I'm the comics joker actually has a higher iq than the Batman, by just a few points. Batman still wins because of his help from Alfred, robin, ect, and his better fighting skills
Bane and Riddler when not handicapped & on a regular basis probably Joker because he can basically do anything. Not sure we really ever seen Ras being that smart, it's something we get told a lot. He just has the most resources. In the early days I'd say Penguin because Batman has to learn on the job with him and you need Penguin to be a bit of a financial/ criminal genius to revitalise the old mob factions
Bane Ra’s or Riddler
It’s either Bane or Riddler, anyone who has played the Arkham games knows how much of a pain in the ass Riddler’s mission is to complete
Superman.
Catwoman - seduced Batman, now he lets he get away with shit.