7 Smartest Villains in DC, Ranked

Superheroes are often some of the most powerful beings in existence. Many can bend steel in their hands, run faster than thought, or fabricate an entire arsenal with a flick of their wrist. Superheroes have only grown stronger over the decades, and, generally speaking, the audience wants their heroes to be stronger than their enemies. As entertaining as it is to watch these heroes battle villains who match their muscles, it’s always great to see our champions tested in new ways that they can’t just power through. This led to the rise of the superintelligent supervillain. After all, there are few things more exciting than watching a cunning villain pull off a dastardly plan right under the hero’s nose.

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Today, we’re going to be taking a look at seven of DC’s smartest and most evil villains, all of whom would make Einstein look like a middle schooler. These villains are truly in a class all their own, able to create every wonder they can imagine, yet choosing to use them for every kind of scheme under the sun. Now, it’s impossible to know who is smarter in everything, as intelligence is all but impossible to actually measure, and everyone has their own specialities, but generally speaking, this list should cover the smartest villains out there. Without further ado, let’s inspect some evil intelligence.

7) Doctor Sivana

Shazam’s oldest and most recurring villain, Doctor Sivana, has more than proved that his evil genius has what it takes to control the world. He is, like many of his compatriots on this list, shown himself to be an expert roboticist and has supplemented the normal science knowledge with an extreme understanding of magic and the occult. Back in the Golden Age, Sivana could do practically anything with magic, like discovering a formula that turned him intangible when he recited it. His many creations have almost taken over the world dozens of times, but nowadays, he rarely ever makes an impact, so I can’t put him higher on this list in good conscience. We have yet to see what a truly modern Sivana is capable of.

6) Professor Ivo

Professor Ivo is one of the greatest engineers and roboticists to ever live, with his main claim to fame being the unstoppable Amazo. This robot is one of the strongest threats that the Justice League has ever faced, as it is capable of perfectly mimicking their powers and constantly evolving to be greater than ever before. Amazo and its various incarnations have proven to be one of the most powerful androids ever created, arguably being the most powerful one out there. However, Ivo still takes second place in robotics behind another entry on this list.

5) Ozymandias

Ozymandias is the smartest man on his own Earth. His insane intellect lets him plan a hundred moves ahead, even down to the most minute detail. He saw the writing on the wall for the downfall of vigilantism, and even orchestrated uniting the entire Earth under one banner against aliens, albeit at the cost of several million lives. He even found a way to travel to Prime Earth inspire Doctor Manhattan to true heroism. When it comes to sheer planning and charisma, Ozymandias definitely has everyone here beat, but unlike the rest of them, he lacks the feats that really push them over the edge from genius to unquestionably the smartest man in existence.

4) T. O. Morrow

T. O. Morrow is the greatest roboticist in the entire world, being responsible for the creation of Red Tornado and Tomorrow Woman. His androids are so advanced that they are truly indistinguishable from people, to the point where he created an actual artificial soul for Tomorrow Woman. He literally quantified a soul and made one of his own. That’s utter insanity on every level. He’s also taken over the world by sending just the slightest bit of future technology to his past self, which he was able to understand better than anyone else. Morrow is a force to be reckoned with, considering he’s practically capable of creating new life all on his own.

3) The Batman Who Laughs

The regular Batman is said to be the second smartest man alive, and this Dark Multiversal counterpart to him lives up to that expectation in every way. He has all of the normal Batman’s intelligence and paranoia, amplified by the insanity of the Joker. He laid plans so complex and underhanded that they fooled Perpetua, Mother of the Multiverse. That’s not even including how he killed every hero in his universe on his own, taking his time to really savor the journey. The Batman Who Laughs planned for every contingency, up to and including making himself another Doctor Manhattan, and that more than earned him this spot.

2) Lex Luthor

Lex Luthor is undisputably the smartest human being alive. The only ones who can challenge him are Batman and Mister Terrific, and he has plenty of examples to point to him taking the top slot. His mental prowess allows him to regularly go toe-to-toe with the Man of Steel himself despite being just a human. There’s no greater showing of raw intellect than that, and that’s far from Lex’s greatest feat. He dissected how to kill Swamp Thing in under a minute, cloned Superman, and created his own Kryptonite from scratch. The only thing stopping Lex from changing the world is his unrelenting ego. If he let go of that, then nothing could stop him.

1) Brainiac

The smartest villain in all of DC is undeniably Brainiac and his various incarnations across time. From the original model to Brainiac 13 from the distant future, this menace is without a doubt the single smartest person to ever live. He’s the greatest catalogue of information in the universe, sans the actual Mobius Chair, given that he’s traveled the length of the cosmos collecting and studying entire cities. He is the sole twelfth-level intelligence in DC, while Lex Luthor only stands as a ninth-level on a good day. Brainiac is Superman’s smartest foe and the most intelligent character in DC, period.

Which super-smart supervillain is your favorite to see in action? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!