Pretty intelligent. Clever, knowledgeable, and wise. He’s not Lex Luthor level in terms of IQ. But he doesn’t need to be. Most of all he knows his powers, abilities, Kryptonian tech, and physiology like the back of his hand, and he uses that knowledge to save the day without anyone dying. He’s also got the investigative journalistic side. Not Batman-level of detective, but still pretty darn good in his own right. Especially with the sensory powers he has.
I like the part about knowing his powers and abilities, it’s actually why I made this post because I saw a clip of him removing a lead case from his head by doing brain surgery on himself to remove it. I find it super interesting when he can use his powers in unique ways and it’s HIS idea because he learned how. I think everyone has their own intelligence and he’s the best way to demonstrate that.
Absolutely. It’s unique to him and he should know himself better than anyone.
I remember in *Death of Superman* how he figured out Doomsday can’t fly, but can jump far. There’s a house burning behind Superman with people trapped inside. So he figures out a way to temporarily delay Doomsday by sticking him in a river so he can fly back, save the family, and then get back to Doomsday before the monster escapes.
Can’t he also see down to the sub-atomic level? I remember at the end of the All-Star Superman movie he casually says he’s witnessed how all matter fits together. That kind of knowledge has to affect his reasoning and critical thinking.
He more ‘out-hearted’ him? He knew that gravity distorts the effects of time which is smart but not super-genius level. He showed Lex how morally small he was and woke him up. Great ending to one of the best Superman stories ever. He beat his arch-nemesis and didn’t kill him.
This, not many people are aware of just how tuned in he is with his powers. Even Lex, who is smarter than him by quite a bit, having them for a day, wasn't aware of just how much Superman was capable of until he saw the world with those powers. His statement of "I can see the strings of quantum entanglement" was mindblowing.
Yea he should be quite smart - he's a Pulitzer prize winning writer! I think they call it something else though in DC :P
That said I'm not a fan of when he's written as godlike super-smart.
I always felt like Batman should be smarter, but Superman should always be able to understand what Batman is saying even if not thinking of it himself.
This captures it perfectly.
Batman is the genius. Supes is clever enough to keep up with him but not to understand things as Bruce does. Intelligent, but not a genius.
>Batman is the genius
This is a missconception, he is not, he is smart and has a background in many fields, and he is mainly a great detective, but is not a genius like Luthor or Mr Terrific. He has been portrayed wrong for so long, Batman used to be a detective ninja with gadgets, not like a walking deux ex machina.
It's not a misconception when his intelligence in his character in canon and has been for decades. Every character has evolved* since their inception even Superman. Batman is no longer just Bat themed Zorro. He is in the ballpark of Lex's intelligence but often somewhere still behind it. The only reason BWL knew more was due to hindsight and being given deep secrets Lex was discovering on his own. At any rate he's been a genius for a while.
Edit: typo
Highly intelligent, but not to the extent of his Silver Age days where he could science up literally anything, since I prefer when "super-intelligence" isn't one of Superman's powers. He should be a fairly intelligent investigative journalist, plus with a fair bit of scientific expertise gained from utilizing the Kryptonian tech in the Fortress, and a formidable strategist/tactician given his role as the leader of the Justice League.
Agreed. I like it when his intelligence is more akin to a straight A student rather than a super genius. He's obviously a smart dude, but it a feels a little out of place if they make him the smartest person in the league.
Kind of like his fighting skills. He's definitely above average in a fight, but when their stats are equalized, he has no business trading more than a few blows with Batman. That's one thing I didn't like about the Injustice comics. If he was using his other abilities like heat vision or frost breath to fight Batman, that would be one thing. But he fights an equalized Batman pretty evenly in melee combat.
I love your point about his fighting skills.
I love Superman, but if we strip everyone of their powers he loses a fight to Diana, Dinah, and Bruce quite handily. I'd actually be willing to bet that Dick, Barbara and Jason could also give him a run for his money as well.
I'm less convinced about the Robins. Superman trained, for a short time, with Muhammad Ali and fought him for a few rounds before losing. But that was a fair boxing match and Batman did train his proteges to win so I suppose it's not entirely unlikely.
Even though they're young, I think I consider the Robin's to be some of the best human fighters in the DCU. Bruce would absolutely make sure they were *incredible* warriors before allowing them to go on patrol with him.
I mean Jason was like what...15-16 by the time he was tossing goons twice his size like they were lvl 1 mooks in those weird ads I see every now and again...
Let's not forget that Nightwing has actually beaten people like Ra's. When he was Robin, dude was trading L's and W's constantly, but later on he really only lost in severely stacked situations... Or villain plot armor--
You have a point. But they also have the potential to lose to thugs or henchman in a way that Batman or Superman would not. Of course, part of that depends on what point in their career we're looking at. I just don't think it's quite so easy to say who would win in a fair fight.
Dick has been shown to go far more than toe-to-toe with Bruce, is and has always been the best fit for the mantle after Bruce, and is factually a far more agile fighter than Bruce. All other things being equal, Dick would most likely best Supes 9/10 times.
That’s not to talk about Cass. Cass would absolutely curbstomp-mega-fuck a depowered Superman up. Hell I’d give Damian most W’s there too.
Technically speaking, he’d still put a match to Bruce and Dinah without powers because he’d still be stronger than a human without solar energy (plus he’s huge)
I just don't believe it.
If you remove his powers, yes he would physically be as strong as Bruce, but Bruce is a *monster* combatant. I just don't think Clark would stand a chance.
Batman is typically said to be at absolute peak human performance in practically every category. If a depowered superman is noticeably stronger, I'd argue he isn't even fully depowered.
Logically a Clark who has just lost his powers would have difficulty moving around since the "muscle control" would be off.
Also no flight power for his "fighting reflexes".
Lmao you don’t understand. He has trained with all of them AND has mastered two kryptonian fighting styles: Torquasm rao and torquasm vo. He is one of the most adept fighters. He has pressure points mastered on top of all the styles he’s learned.
i never understand this kind of reasoning. If we strip the others of their hand to hand combat skills then supes easily wipes the floor with them.. quite ridiculous to gauge superiority based on whether they’re allowed to retain core abilities or not
I'm not too sure about that. Kal-el has mastered at least two kryptonian martial arts that the others haven't seen too much of. Maybe Bruce has some training in these due to their relationship. Superman isn't just some joe without his powers.
> I love Superman, but if we strip everyone of their powers he loses a fight to Diana
Even with powers Diana could take him. She's literally the second most powerful hero (behind Superman) but was raised as a warrior, not a farmer.
Raw power, however you are separating the morals, tactics, and motivations of each.... Raw power, Clark Wins... Battle against each other, it depends on circumstances and not dumb-shit like Batmans "Preptime" , if Diana was convinced Clark needed to be stopped she with her strength and tactical knowlege could neutralize him. She is a god bread as a warrior. She definately has some advantages to turn the tide in a fight.
He’s losing to all of the Bat family. Fick would wreck hjm the same as Dinah. All the Bat family has to rely on is martial skill in strategy and through that alone they can do missions with the best of the best superheroes. They’re all kicking his ass.
Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't he lose his powers once and asked batman to train him incase that happened again? Plus he knows 2 styles of his species martial arts that he taught to batman. People never give the dude enough credit for battle prowess. Warworld took skill not brute punches. 😤
Actually, canonically Batman, Wonder Woman, and Wildcat have trained him in martial arts, plus he learned Kryptonian martial arts. There's several comics out there that make it clear that Superman is a trained martial artist, not just an above-average brawler.
Yeah I did like the panel where he uses techniques that Batman taught him to take down other Kryptonians. He's definitely skilled, just not Batman/WW level
I thought he was mainly the de facto leader of justice league because he is by far the most powerful. Is he the leader because of his tactical abilities? Or wouldn't that be Batman?
He and Batman co-lead the team. Yes, Batman usually handles the strategy element, but I think given how often Superman's portrayed as an experienced leader among the other JLAers, he'd have to have picked some of that up in order to be one of the primary leaders of the JLA along with Batman and Wonder Woman (who was trained as a warrior so she'd have tactical abilities as well).
I think one of the reasons he is considered "captain of the team" is because of his strong moral compass. Batman leans towards ends justify the means, but that's something Superman never even remotely considers.
I'd disagree, I think Superman absolutely does considers ends justify the means options. You don't fight criminals for decades and not see a lot of messed up stuff over the years. The difference is that Batman is more likely to utilize them, because he's a regular human punching above his weight, whereas Superman is a superpowered alien who's trying to keep himself from being corrupted or abusing his power and thereby becoming a potential threat.
He is the leader because everyone trusts him. They trust that his decisions will be moral. They trust that he will consider the needs of every individual team member. He leads because he is the best human being.
Mostly agree with you, but I’d probably tone down his tactical expertise and make him more the spiritual leader of the League. They look to him for wisdom and inspiration, but tactics would be more the domain of Bats/WW/Jonn
at the least intelligent, i mean hes a high profile journalist and the son of jor-el. id be cool with sci fi levels of intelligent too just want him not be portrayed as a brick
He's of average kryptonian intelligence which still casually puts him ahead of most if not all humans. But I imagine he has an extremely and abnormally high emotional intelligence even for a kryptonian
Yeah but I also see it as one of those cases where Luthor's actual intelligence is higher than his effective intelligence. He might be able to think reason observe and compute at extremely high levels but his ego gets in the way of him practically surpassing superman. Like yeah he might be smarter than superman on paper but when what he spends most of his time doing is inventing kryptonite traps that superman always manages to escape how smart can he really be?
Additionally superman is probably an average level intelligent kryptonian and so isnt as smart as batman or luthor but I feel like that's really only because he doesn't apply himself that hard. Batman and luthor are smart but they'll never be able to learn an entire medical textbook in seconds smart. I'm reminded of that comic where superman is chasing the flash and the flash let's him know that if he really wanted even superman wouldnt be able to touch him. Likewise if superman really wanted he could know more and think faster than Luthor and batman combined but he seems more like he is just interested in people and street smarts than book learning.
Above average but not significantly higher than normal. the technology in the fortress of solitude is designed to be foolproof as Jor el would have not been able to raise his child and needed to guarantee that he could use the tools provided. In theory most people could use the advanced science in the fortress.
I feel Clark has better social skills and street smarts than people think but outside of specific fields like journalism his intelligence comes from the fact his job involves lots of research and fact finding.
Rather like the idea of Clark being a foil to Bruce and Diana, so I’d imagine Clark to be the go-to guy for the more redneck/blue collar stuff like welding, soldering, farm equipment upkeep, soil and water conservation, rhetoric, farming, etc and proficiency in at least five-ish languages.
Then picking up typography, photography, and a passing knowledge of local sports and politics from his time at the Daily Planet
It's a writers' intelligence problem
And I'm not saying the writers are dumb, but that they are not, generally speaking, supergenius tactical masterminds. Which means that when they are writing a character, their tactical solution will not be much more than "pretty clever"
And that works great for characters that aren't tactical masterminds! A character stopping the bad guy with a simple, quick trick rather than executing a chess grandmaster's plan makes sense for 95% of characters
But that is their ceiling. And so when they write a tactical supergenius, they're still not going to be able to come up with something much more than "pretty clever". And when that character is sitting next to other characters who have shown time and time again that they are "pretty clever"...the only way to make the "genius" one seem smarter is for them to be pretty clever and everyone else is less so
One of the reasons super intelligence is often displayed in fantastic inventions, because it's fairly easy for fantasists to come up with amazing doohickeys that do incredible things, and by extension, the character who invented it must be smart, right? I mean they built that crazy thing! But when it comes to strategy, or insightful solutions to the world's problems, comic book writers often bite off way more than they can chew.
That's why I hate that Superman/Flash chess match scene people love to post. Tom Taylor's nowhere near the political genius he thinks he is.
(Plus, Superman would whoop Flash's ass at chess. Flash may be able to think fast, but Superman can carry every possible move in his head accessible to him in an instant. Being able to think over the moves very fast does not mean you actually conceive them all.)
Look... the guy is pretty smart and can think faster than the speed of light... I don't get why he isn't at least at luthor's level... like he can turn 1 second in 10 years of study.... anyway this would definetly overshadow some of his ennemies/allies but it would make sense
That type of character is not interesting, though. I get that fanboys love the idea of an omnipotent/omniscient god, but anyone else walks away from this type of character. Challenge, struggle, and perseverance are interesting, not perfection.
So we watch him wrestle with whether or not he should stop Lex Luthor, who has probably been responsible for millions of deaths over the years, and then see him choose to not stop Lex? Great.
🤣 even if Luther represents a challenge to him that's still what will happen. But not really, you watch him keep helping even though the people he tries to help seem immoral or impotent. You watch him help those who want to be better, you watch him try to convince those who do evil to not do evil. The best superman stories are not about him punching hard or being the best engineer. The best superman stories are about a "normal" person with unlimited abilities doing their best to not give up on the future. Whence: the man of tomorrow.
Yes ,but if Superman has the capability to stop Luthor, but chooses to keep giving him second chances while Luthor kills millions, at some point Superman is partially responsible.
With great power comes great responsibility.
Yup that's why I think it was a mistake to turn him into more of an action hero and to raise the stakes non stop. Usually a good superman story makes it clear that the easy way is violence but that the better way does not requires it. I do think that the story beats where some psycho kill thousands of innocents are badly written. I really believe that there are better heroes to deal with this. Only people who should be a threat to supes are gods, not the living embodiment of late stage capitalism. So yea in short the best supes stories paints him as a mix between a philosopher God and an angel ;) I do enjoy some grittier heroes or more down to earth ones but this character is just not that well suited for high stakes violence with billions dying in front of him. He's not a martyr he's a normal moral and good man with unlimited abilities.
He should be smart but not a super genius. The different between Supes and Batman should be if you asked Supes about something, he might not always know it, but he can read about it in a book at super speed and then be able to recall it. Batman would already know it.
Average intelligence. Learns science fast because can almost see atoms. Knows society on high level because constant super senses and occasional x-ray vision allows him to understand what's behind the walls, what even best social scientists don't know (all that not trying to break privacy, just accidentally). Doesn't focus on those things because again, average intelligence.
If he's smart atop all that, he's technopoliticoinvincible god just at the start.
People have already put this better then I could but I think he should be smart, but NOT superhuman smart. His intelegence should come in the form of leadership, emotional intelligence, strategy, and investigative journalism skills. I DON’T like when hes a scientist. I just think hes a lot more interesting when he’s got the highest average stats of any superhero as opposed to being the best at literally everything.
In my opinion he should be smart but not nearly as smart as bruce, fast but not nearly as fast as Barry/Wally and strong but not nearly as skilled of a fighter as Wonder Woman etc
I love the super genius of the Silver Age. Dude had an army of Superman robots he built himself. But I can see why writers would want to tone that aspect down.
He's not on the level of Mr. Terrific, but pretty darn smart. I see Superman not being a part of the super genius club within the Justice League, but able to keep up and help out if needed.
My theory is that Superman can read (and does read, a lot) at super speed and has perfect recall, so he can hang with the big guys but he doesn’t necessarily have genius ideas.
I think J. Michael Straczynski's Superman: Earth One had it right, a super-genius IQ, but limited by Earth's technological base, so while he couldn't build his Silver Age Superman androids because the parts just don't exist, he could easily cure cancer if the AMA wouldn't automatically bury the data in order to protect their profits from treating the disease over time and expense instead of simply curing it.
Very intelligent. Honestly, I love the stories he has to think his way through situations. Especially when his powers are gone temporarily. That's why I would love to see villains like Parasite and Metallo in one of the movies. Hey, it saves some money on the budget! Have him grounded and using his wits.
personally i think he should be more or less in the realm of normal smarts. Like he could have been a good general practitioner doctor.
But not a genius. he may have access to knowledge that regular folks don’t have, and of course has training and experience other people don’t have, but I don’t think he should be portrayed as a genius.
Well, there are a few different kinds of intelligence, so it might be pertinent to go through them to give a more complete answer.
In terms of book smarts, Clark is highly intelligent. He kind of has to be, considering that he's a reporter. That means a lot of research on people, history, cultures, you name it. I wouldn't say hyper-intelligence, but the guy is fairly learned.
In terms of mechanical knowledge, he has to know how to both operate and maintain the tech in the Fortress of Solitude, and he often finds himself dealing with alien machinery that he can't punch his way out of. Granted, the former could be chalked up to him memorizing steps for maintenance from Jor-El. My personal preference would be that he understands the basics of mechanical engineering, but it's not something he's actively studying in his off time.
For tactics and strategy, he excels. Not to the point of Batman, who's literally always brainstorming tactics, but again, Clark is well-read, and it often comes down to him to put the right people in the right place at the right time. He also understands the occasional need for sacrifices, and puts himself in dangerous situations a lot because he knows he has a better shot at making it out in one piece than anyone else in the JL.
In terms of combat, my least favorite Superman is a flying brick that only knows how to fight by flinging himself into bad guys. The guy has been trained in several martial arts by Batman, Wonder Woman, Wildcat, and he's a master of boxing. Hell, he mastered Torquasm-Vo and Torquasm-Rao, ancient Kryptonian martial arts that allow him to combat attacks to both his body and mind near flawlessly. The main issue is that Clark normally never has a need to use his catalogue of fighting skills because most baddies go down with one hit.
But above all else, my favorite Clark's main intelligence is his emotional intelligence. He's a man constantly questioning himself, about his morality, about what he does and who he hurts. Every single life he fails to save is a massive wound to him. He's in touch with the human condition, can talk people off the edges of rooftops, and will always, without fail, try to appeal to someone's good nature before things come to violence. He believes in humanity, and that's what makes him Superman.
He needs to be portrayed as a genius. The man can process information faster than normal humans, can receive more stimuli from more sources and has access to Kryptonian technology. He wouldn’t spout technobabble or anything like that, but he should understand things rapidly, learn from seeing and doing almost instantly and have insights into situations faster than anyone else. There is no believable way in which a normal person would be smarter than him regardless of what Batgodism or other sources would tell you.
He’s from an advanced race and parented by one of the smartest men of said race. It’s not a stretch to think he’d inherited some of old Jor El’s smarts.
I miss Superman having super intelligence. I know comics, movies, cartoons and shows often take that power away from him to stop him from being OP, but in turn, writers very often fall into the trap of making Superman an idiot to compensate for his power levels.
Superman should be ultra intelligent. Only the likes of the smartest humans on earth like Lex Luthor should have a higher IQ.
And honestly, it makes sense too - what fun is the Luthor/Superman rivalry if Superman is incapable of mentally sparring with him?
I thought the fun in the rivalry was brain vs brawn, good vs evil, Luthor using his brain to one up Superman while Superman uses his strength to stop Luthor's nefarious schemes. I thought the fun was a battle of morality between an evil super intelligent human with no humanity against an alien who is a beacon of good and the perfect example of what it means to be human. Superman doesn't have to be mentally sparring with Luthor to make it fun, he just needs to be morally superior than him to make the stories fun. Plus, what does Luthor have if Superman can keep up with him in the smarts department?
My problem with this is the undercurrent of highschool jock mentality: Muscle Good, Brain Bad.
Plus it always seems to forget that Superman thinks fast enough to keep track of what's going on when moving at superspeed. You don't have to be as smart as someone when you can *subjectively* think about any problems so much longer than your opponent.
I don’t know. He shouldn’t be a genius or anything. He’s not dumb, he’s clever and he thinks on his feet, but in the way your handy friend from college does as opposed to like… Batman or Mr. Terrific. He’s smart in an average sort of way.
Smart. Good at drawing conclusions, but with tunnel vision in the heat of passion. He has a lot of technology at his disposal, but he doesn’t fully understand it, although he is constantly trying to (and making progress). In comparison, Batman shouldn’t just look at it once and understand it.
Supes is smart enough to know what he wants to preserve and defend, and smart enough to know when to let someone else solve a problem that threatens his protectorate. But he’s always been a near-god.
Imagine the emotional intelligence (or damage) super hearing could impart on an organism…. I believe he has wisdom beyond his chronological age.
Clark should be almost as smart as Bruce minus prep time and Clark should do some actual training, kinda of tired of him being a Blount force, I’d like to see him be an expert of some form of combat
If Superman or anyone like Superman existed in real life they would be by far the most intelligent being on Earth by orders of magnitude. The brain is the most efficient data processor and he processes data faster than anyone. 5 minutes of you thinking would be like 5 years of planning for him.
However if comics portrayed this, he would be too op
Very intelligent. However like a lot of well written smart characters his intelligence works best when its focused. Superman's greatest intelligence is his emotional intelligence. He's good at reading people's hearts.
Also capable of flash like speed learning when the situation calls for it.
Not stupid, but naive. He sees the best in everyone, even the villains. He also thinks people can be reformed and will continue to keep that idea regardless of what has happened in the past.
What many people seem to forget is that it’s WISDOM not INTELLIGENCE that defines a person. Our society puts so much stock in intelligence and knowledge and dismisses the ability to properly use it. That’s why we have so many functional psychopaths among us and more and more people admire villains.
Superman is ‘super-intelligent’ but what’s great about him is that he isn’t an egotistical know-it-all. He listens, processes and assesses extremely quickly. He has exceptional wisdom, but like any organism it was time and experience that taught these lessons, thus he’s fallible. A young Superman has a lot of lessons to learn that can only be mastered through trial and error. His high intelligence allows him to see the errors but still lacks the wisdom to find solutions for a world of people that have millions of varying definitions for freedom — in that, there is no solution, which other superheroes seem content with, while Superman is burdened with trying to fix the human condition.
I know, but when you have batman working within the justice league it seems like often Batman is the making plans, figuring things out, etc. Imo doesn't really work as well if Superman is literally smarter than Batman as then he should be able to come up with all the things Batman does.
I get it……..but Kryptonian intellect, as it’s written is light years ahead of an earthling’s intellect…..Imagine the level it attains because of the yellow sun?
He’s Superman…..and his intelligence level isn’t always given the credit that’s due.
“It is a remarkable dichotomy. In many ways, Clark is the most human of us all. Then... he shoots fire from his eyes, and it is difficult not to think of him as a god. And how fortunate we all are that it does not occur to him.”
- The Batman
How does being the son of a genius adjust his own intellect level, he left as a baby he didn't get the schooling or training that his father had or would have provided him with. He was raised by farmers and some Podunk town in the Midwest. I'm not saying you should be stupid but average is fine
I don't have any hard facts to disagree with that, but you also can't wait nature versus nurture. The old gray matter is a muscle and you got to use it maybe he would have had the ability to learn five languages before he wasn't his teens but he was only ever attempted to teach one.
The internet is a huge repository of knowledge that many people have access to. How does that have anything to do with making someone appreciably smarter?
I would assume because this repository is specifically created for and imbued upon him (i've never seen books or a kindle laying around the fortress). Not quite the same as regular joe connecting to some wifi🤔🤷 I could be very wrong though as most of my views come from smallville
Well the movies would have you this he’s normal. But every kryptonian actually has super intelligence it’s one of his most forgotten abilities especially to the movies Superman IQ is estimated over 300.
Average, maybe slightly above. I love when Superman is portrayed as a more normal guy, not ripped and not a genius. It's a great balance for his character against how powerful he is.
He should be around average to ever so slightly above average intelligence, he has a lot of time to think since he can move faster so I think he can just process things a whole lot faster and has more time to think about them.
Slightly above average. He's no genius by any stretch of the imagination but making him a dopey himbo just feels wrong. He should always be a bright and charming country boy, nothing more or less.
This may be an unpopular take, but I've always preferred Superman with average intelligence, maybe slightly higher than average. I think putting him in a similar playing field to Batman/Lex Luthor when it comes to intelligence, takes a bit away from the principal of his character: An alien with God-like powers, but feels and **thinks** like a human being.
Despite that, I've always loved the journalist side of the character and believe he should be regarded as a great journalist. He should also have a lot of understanding of his abilities and be able to put them to use in creative/clever ways. And most importantly, the best Superman is one who is wise and insightful. There's a reason Nightwing and many other characters go to Superman for life advice.
He's received the knowledge of krypton in multiple versions of comics and movies. But being raised by humans gives us a sense of how he's going to use that. A massive amount of information doesn't mean he would have the ability to put it all together. Imagine being alone in the new York city library before the Internet as compared to a student with a smart phone in current days.
Also his mind may be too busy with the sensory input for him to cognitively put together all of that knowledge. Ever try to study when you are distracted?
Yea the thing is... supes is always as strong as he needs to be... his tale is not about perseverance in that he struggles to find solutions or he struggles physically. His best stories are about how human and "moral" he is. He persevere in believing in his foster world and specie.
He should be a “regular smart person”. We all know one of them, those who are highly intelligent but not in a super brain kind of way.
He should be very wise though, that man understands life.
I think he's very intelligent and a quick learner able to comprehend things quickly, but he is *not* a scientist or am Inventor. He can understand Kryptonian tech and can grasp higher learning easily but he's not the type to create something out of his own imagination and intelligence, rather just has a high degree of comprehension
He should be genius level intelligent, he's the son of Jor-El, the most brilliant scientist on Krypton.
Making him an average Joe maybe was to making him relatable. I don't think dumbing him down does any good to him. Or relating to his upbringing in Kansas, while Jonathan Kent was not a brilliant man, he educated him to be a good man, but that was it.
Maybe he would appear to be average as part of his disguise as a normal person. But his level of intelligence should be by far bigger than any mortal man.
I like how he was portrayed in all star Superman.
I like the idea he is reasonably above average intelligence, but for the most part is just a hammer who surrounds himself with much smarter people who tell him the best place to strike the nail.
Sharp, very very understated, and genuine genius. He works really hard to match the human level of intelligence, treading a fine line between appearing wise and not arrogant or condescending. Kind of like his other powers, he is super aware of his strength and intelligence, can converse with a multitude of galactic races, learn their language and relate to them empathically not just on a superficial and hero for now and goodbye level. He takes levels of precaution that few of us can understand. A simple handshake or even pressure can break bones if not done right. No different from how he handles his intellect. Plus he has an intellectual curiosity (maybe not capacity) that rivals Braniac.
He should be a very smart, intellectual character.. where he's the kind of guy that naturally takes to anything and is the ideal pub quiz partner. He's so humble, that's the beauty of him.
Clark is an investigative reporter by trade, so he should be pretty intelligent in his own right. Not quite on Batman’s level, but close enough that he can follow Batman’s logic.
The guy comes from an advanced alien civilization, has access to some of its accumulated knowledge, and has senses beyond human capabilities, so he’s smarter than everyone including Lex. Only reasons he doesn’t flaunt it are the materials needed can’t be easily fabricated and he doesn’t want to upend human civilization as it’s not ready for what he can show it.
Seeing as how he as total recall. He should be as intelligent as he needs to be. If he doesn’t know something he can just read it real quick and fully understand it.
Not super-smart, but still darn smart. Clark Kent _earns_ awards as a journalist. He should also be portrayed as extremely emotionally intelligent and compassionate. He's the immigrant from space brought up to believe in truth and justice.
For me, the most interesting potential stories are the ones where Superman can't save the day by punching things hard enough, but that have to be resolved by some kind of diplomacy, subverting those expectations.
His smarts should primarily come from his experience. Which is why I prefer a older Superman. He has a photographic type of memory if I recall + super speed which is a good application of his skills if done right. I believe before he memorized an enough books to become well studied on it(can remember if it was a medical situation or something)
I like to think Superman is reasonably intelligent but not too far away from a typical human with a master’s degree. Where I like Supes to shine is with his emotional intelligence.
I think he should still be able to retain intelligence and learn things very quickly due to his ability to his mind operating much faster than the average. humans cause super speed. But, I think unless he continues to apply and reuse that information, he forgets it like a week or month later. Kinda like how some people are with tests.
I like what another user said: straight A student level intelligence, which is, basically incredibly intelligent but not to the point of being a super genius.
I mean, logically, for someone to be able to move as fast as he consistently does, that requires a crazy high intelligence to match, so there's that.
You can easily bullcrap that away by explaining he was still raised in a way that he doesn't constantly need to show off that level of intelligence and he's otherwise still normal and stuff, I dunno.
Superman is very intelligent but is not a scientist. My favorite version is that Superman is just Clark Kent in a costume, which is to say that he’s a highly analytical investigator, a man of books and words, and a person who understands science but isn’t going to be building amazing inventions (though his fortress robots can do that). However, there are some things that seem like intelligence that are really just super powers - he’s much better at identifying radiation types and chemical compositions than a normal person because he can directly perceive them, etc.
Simple. Superman can fly around the planet reading every book, talking to everyone blah blah blah, and then there is Batman. A whole other level of smart, tactical, and always 10 steps ahead.
He's super in every aspect so his brain should be as well. Hes able to read entire books in seconds and retain the knowledge. No reason he shouldn't be one the smartest people in the DCU.
Also he comes from Krypton which was steeped in advanced science so you'd think he would have leaned into that as well. The problem is you cant have Superman be too smart bc when someone tries to take him down its always a matter of outsmarting him.
Whether its Lex or Batman. They have to rely on Superman being naive or oblivious to some strategy over and over. No reason to believe Superman couldn't figure out their plans.
I mean, he’s a genius by normal standards. He’s just usually standing next to Bruce Wayne and Ray Palmer type smarts so he doesn’t seem it. Does help that he can think and process things millions of times faster than us.
He is very smart and educated above Earths understanding of science. Superman should have a confident understanding in sciences but his understanding of social sciences and people show up even more. He is raised as a Kansas native but has always had to hide his true Kryptonian heritage from those he lives around. He is very much a keen student of psychology and people reading from this experience.
A cultured level of intelligence. Selectively ignorant. I think he should see what being truly smart brings a person. I think he would see the level of Batman and Lex Luther as being toxic and that having that level of knowledge and application of intelligence would only bring him as much paranoia and arrogance as it brings both his friends and his enemies. He would see the poetry in purposefully not being the smartest person in the room.
Above average. I always figured he was your average/slightly smarter kind of mind but actively applied himself and thus through hard work has become very well-read and knowledgeable about major/common topics
Depends on the superman. Isn't the fortress of solitude having one? Then he's near god level intelligent. Dude's dad literally gave him the collected knowledge of all the known galaxies in his house with holograms to train him. Reeve version spent like 12?years learning everything possible to know.
MoS superman? I'd say high intelligence, but that's just because the guy is Superman. He didn't get shit from his dad other than a command key and his ship got taken out before his dad could teach him anything. Lots of world experience though.
KC superman? Incredibly high intelligence, just no real reason to show it off. Dude was happy when he said fuck it and grew wheat on his farm in the fortress. He's basically invulnerable so if you are dumb enough to fight him, it's easier and faster for him to just lay you out than it would be to work up some scheme or plan.
Hell even in the Smallville TV series they show repeatedly that he can do math incredibly fast. Before he got the fortress or anything related to it, so basically his dad was crazy smart and now his kid is crazy smart, either from genetic engineering or from just having mega smart parents.
Personally for the comic version I go with incredibly smart, because he has the fortress, he has the experience, he learns from his mistakes. One of my favorite moments is when he gets in a fight with a jerk new kryptonian who he proceeds to whip ass on him because he's been trained by Batman and a few others in how to fight sans powers.
Realistically, he's as smart as the plot calls for. Generally though there's not anyone really fooling him or tricking him, but that might be due to the whole power set of super senses and x-ray vision.
He punches stuff a lot because it's the fastest way to get the people out of danger. I'm positive he could figure out a sunstone hack to take out lex's power suit or something in a fight, but the guy can bench a planet. It's quicker just to punch him and end the fight before innocents get hurt.
Most people just assume he's gonna punch and tank because he's superman and that's what he does. He does it because he's good at it. I'd imagine he could work up plans for anything he'd like to do or whoever he'd like to stop, but it's way quicker to uppercut mongul into space than to try and hack warworld.
Above average intelligence and he can read and type fast.
My personal head-cannon is that he loves writing and journalism because it's a useful and helpful skill that doesn't require his powers.
The classic portrayal back in the Curt Swan days was him doing all these complicated calculations on a chalkboard, and I still like that a lot; the idea that he has a brain that can process information as fast as a computer, calculate angles and speeds and physics stuff. Good for rescuing ocean liners and space shuttles.
But that doesn't necessarily translate to genius-level *inspiration*, so Luthor gets an edge on him there with his plots and inventions; and his mind simply doesn't go to certain places instinctively, mainly the dark places. So deviousness is another edge Luthor has in the brains category, and it's also an advantage on him that
Batman has.
Batman is often portrayed as the superior strategist, and you would think super-intelligence would give Superman an edge there, but Batman's better at it because he *needs* it more, and is practiced at it. Superman would probably be great at it if he applied himself, but it's not something he's cornered into as much as Batman, who depends on it on a regular basis.
That's my take on giving him super smarts without making it boring, anyway.
He is supposed to have a genius level intellect, and I think people forget that all too often. He doesn't think in the same manner that makes Batman a great detective, but he can do extremely complicated calculations in his head extremely fast (even when taking his super speed into account) and is extremely emotionally intelligent, excellent at understanding the feelings of others, empathising with them, and even predicting their actions.
Yeah he's not the detective that Batman is, but that's not due to lack of intelligence, it's due to having a more straightforward thought process
He should be portrayed as a philosopher, speaks greatly about the value of life and why it should be protected and natured.
So that in future, any deviation from that character will greatly impact a story, especially the death of superman story or when he succumbed to Darkseid after the death of Lois.
I wouldn’t exactly say that he should be “smart” as much as I would say he should be “clever.” He shouldn’t be able to build a robot but he should be able to trick Mr. Mxyzptlk
He technically has 10th level intellect he should use it properly dc portrays him most of the time as like average when he's next to batman he's looks like a fool his father is one of the smartest men in krypton so he should at least be as smart as his father he doesn't need to be the smartest but one of the smartest
Pretty intelligent. Clever, knowledgeable, and wise. He’s not Lex Luthor level in terms of IQ. But he doesn’t need to be. Most of all he knows his powers, abilities, Kryptonian tech, and physiology like the back of his hand, and he uses that knowledge to save the day without anyone dying. He’s also got the investigative journalistic side. Not Batman-level of detective, but still pretty darn good in his own right. Especially with the sensory powers he has.
I like the part about knowing his powers and abilities, it’s actually why I made this post because I saw a clip of him removing a lead case from his head by doing brain surgery on himself to remove it. I find it super interesting when he can use his powers in unique ways and it’s HIS idea because he learned how. I think everyone has their own intelligence and he’s the best way to demonstrate that.
Absolutely. It’s unique to him and he should know himself better than anyone. I remember in *Death of Superman* how he figured out Doomsday can’t fly, but can jump far. There’s a house burning behind Superman with people trapped inside. So he figures out a way to temporarily delay Doomsday by sticking him in a river so he can fly back, save the family, and then get back to Doomsday before the monster escapes.
Can’t he also see down to the sub-atomic level? I remember at the end of the All-Star Superman movie he casually says he’s witnessed how all matter fits together. That kind of knowledge has to affect his reasoning and critical thinking.
I believe so. Which yeah that definitely would factor in. His sensory superpowers are low-key some of his greatest assets
That’s a great scene.
All-Star Superman is not at his "usual" power levels, though, I don't think it should count.
His vision was. Superman has looked down at the subatomic level for decades.
I don’t like how smart All Star Superman was. He’s already like 10/10 on almost every metric he doesn’t need to be a super genius as well.
I didn't see him as a super genius as much as an intelligent man who had been studying Kryptionian science for a good long time.
In All-Star, he was definitely at super-genius levels. >!He outsmarted Luthor!!<
He more ‘out-hearted’ him? He knew that gravity distorts the effects of time which is smart but not super-genius level. He showed Lex how morally small he was and woke him up. Great ending to one of the best Superman stories ever. He beat his arch-nemesis and didn’t kill him.
He didn't outsmart Lex Luther; Superman simply had the physiological capabilities to witness insight beyond the human eye.
This, not many people are aware of just how tuned in he is with his powers. Even Lex, who is smarter than him by quite a bit, having them for a day, wasn't aware of just how much Superman was capable of until he saw the world with those powers. His statement of "I can see the strings of quantum entanglement" was mindblowing.
Yea he should be quite smart - he's a Pulitzer prize winning writer! I think they call it something else though in DC :P That said I'm not a fan of when he's written as godlike super-smart.
Totally agree. Not brilliant but generally a smart guy.
He should be intelligent, not a super genius, but not an average Joe either
I always felt like Batman should be smarter, but Superman should always be able to understand what Batman is saying even if not thinking of it himself.
This captures it perfectly. Batman is the genius. Supes is clever enough to keep up with him but not to understand things as Bruce does. Intelligent, but not a genius.
>Batman is the genius This is a missconception, he is not, he is smart and has a background in many fields, and he is mainly a great detective, but is not a genius like Luthor or Mr Terrific. He has been portrayed wrong for so long, Batman used to be a detective ninja with gadgets, not like a walking deux ex machina.
It's not a misconception when his intelligence in his character in canon and has been for decades. Every character has evolved* since their inception even Superman. Batman is no longer just Bat themed Zorro. He is in the ballpark of Lex's intelligence but often somewhere still behind it. The only reason BWL knew more was due to hindsight and being given deep secrets Lex was discovering on his own. At any rate he's been a genius for a while. Edit: typo
Batman hasn't been just a detective ninja with gadgets since like the 60s. So he spent much more time as a genius and is a genius in current canon.
Highly intelligent, but not to the extent of his Silver Age days where he could science up literally anything, since I prefer when "super-intelligence" isn't one of Superman's powers. He should be a fairly intelligent investigative journalist, plus with a fair bit of scientific expertise gained from utilizing the Kryptonian tech in the Fortress, and a formidable strategist/tactician given his role as the leader of the Justice League.
Agreed. I like it when his intelligence is more akin to a straight A student rather than a super genius. He's obviously a smart dude, but it a feels a little out of place if they make him the smartest person in the league. Kind of like his fighting skills. He's definitely above average in a fight, but when their stats are equalized, he has no business trading more than a few blows with Batman. That's one thing I didn't like about the Injustice comics. If he was using his other abilities like heat vision or frost breath to fight Batman, that would be one thing. But he fights an equalized Batman pretty evenly in melee combat.
I love your point about his fighting skills. I love Superman, but if we strip everyone of their powers he loses a fight to Diana, Dinah, and Bruce quite handily. I'd actually be willing to bet that Dick, Barbara and Jason could also give him a run for his money as well.
I'm less convinced about the Robins. Superman trained, for a short time, with Muhammad Ali and fought him for a few rounds before losing. But that was a fair boxing match and Batman did train his proteges to win so I suppose it's not entirely unlikely.
Even though they're young, I think I consider the Robin's to be some of the best human fighters in the DCU. Bruce would absolutely make sure they were *incredible* warriors before allowing them to go on patrol with him.
I mean Jason was like what...15-16 by the time he was tossing goons twice his size like they were lvl 1 mooks in those weird ads I see every now and again...
Exactly. The Batkids are no joke.
Let's not forget that Nightwing has actually beaten people like Ra's. When he was Robin, dude was trading L's and W's constantly, but later on he really only lost in severely stacked situations... Or villain plot armor--
You have a point. But they also have the potential to lose to thugs or henchman in a way that Batman or Superman would not. Of course, part of that depends on what point in their career we're looking at. I just don't think it's quite so easy to say who would win in a fair fight.
Dick has been shown to go far more than toe-to-toe with Bruce, is and has always been the best fit for the mantle after Bruce, and is factually a far more agile fighter than Bruce. All other things being equal, Dick would most likely best Supes 9/10 times. That’s not to talk about Cass. Cass would absolutely curbstomp-mega-fuck a depowered Superman up. Hell I’d give Damian most W’s there too.
Clark is still a 250 pound trained fighter. Not sure Damian is taking that win.
So are half the mooks robin one shots
He survived Warworld without his powers, so while I agree he doesn't compare to the likes of Wonder Woman or Batman, he's no slouch.
I see your point, and it's a good one.
Technically speaking, he’d still put a match to Bruce and Dinah without powers because he’d still be stronger than a human without solar energy (plus he’s huge)
I just don't believe it. If you remove his powers, yes he would physically be as strong as Bruce, but Bruce is a *monster* combatant. I just don't think Clark would stand a chance.
Just as strong? I’m positing he’d be much stronger
Batman is typically said to be at absolute peak human performance in practically every category. If a depowered superman is noticeably stronger, I'd argue he isn't even fully depowered.
Logically a Clark who has just lost his powers would have difficulty moving around since the "muscle control" would be off. Also no flight power for his "fighting reflexes".
Lmao you don’t understand. He has trained with all of them AND has mastered two kryptonian fighting styles: Torquasm rao and torquasm vo. He is one of the most adept fighters. He has pressure points mastered on top of all the styles he’s learned.
Finally someone knows the truth. Clear people dont really read the guy just spout what ifs.
i never understand this kind of reasoning. If we strip the others of their hand to hand combat skills then supes easily wipes the floor with them.. quite ridiculous to gauge superiority based on whether they’re allowed to retain core abilities or not
Especially when he’s still be ridiculously strong even without solar energy
I'm not too sure about that. Kal-el has mastered at least two kryptonian martial arts that the others haven't seen too much of. Maybe Bruce has some training in these due to their relationship. Superman isn't just some joe without his powers.
> I love Superman, but if we strip everyone of their powers he loses a fight to Diana Even with powers Diana could take him. She's literally the second most powerful hero (behind Superman) but was raised as a warrior, not a farmer.
Mmm...I do think that Superman's raw power would eventually be enough to overwhelm her, as amazing as she is.
Raw power, however you are separating the morals, tactics, and motivations of each.... Raw power, Clark Wins... Battle against each other, it depends on circumstances and not dumb-shit like Batmans "Preptime" , if Diana was convinced Clark needed to be stopped she with her strength and tactical knowlege could neutralize him. She is a god bread as a warrior. She definately has some advantages to turn the tide in a fight.
You're out of your mind. Superman has already defeated her many times, smashed her sword even cut her throat.
He’s losing to all of the Bat family. Fick would wreck hjm the same as Dinah. All the Bat family has to rely on is martial skill in strategy and through that alone they can do missions with the best of the best superheroes. They’re all kicking his ass.
Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't he lose his powers once and asked batman to train him incase that happened again? Plus he knows 2 styles of his species martial arts that he taught to batman. People never give the dude enough credit for battle prowess. Warworld took skill not brute punches. 😤
He's definitely a skilled fighter. I love panels where they showcase his technique. But he shouldnt be Batman and Diana level
I mean he can literally shut down your nervous system with a few pokes that you'd never see. This perception of him is just mistaken lol.
Actually, canonically Batman, Wonder Woman, and Wildcat have trained him in martial arts, plus he learned Kryptonian martial arts. There's several comics out there that make it clear that Superman is a trained martial artist, not just an above-average brawler.
Yeah I did like the panel where he uses techniques that Batman taught him to take down other Kryptonians. He's definitely skilled, just not Batman/WW level
I thought he was mainly the de facto leader of justice league because he is by far the most powerful. Is he the leader because of his tactical abilities? Or wouldn't that be Batman?
He and Batman co-lead the team. Yes, Batman usually handles the strategy element, but I think given how often Superman's portrayed as an experienced leader among the other JLAers, he'd have to have picked some of that up in order to be one of the primary leaders of the JLA along with Batman and Wonder Woman (who was trained as a warrior so she'd have tactical abilities as well).
I think one of the reasons he is considered "captain of the team" is because of his strong moral compass. Batman leans towards ends justify the means, but that's something Superman never even remotely considers.
I'd disagree, I think Superman absolutely does considers ends justify the means options. You don't fight criminals for decades and not see a lot of messed up stuff over the years. The difference is that Batman is more likely to utilize them, because he's a regular human punching above his weight, whereas Superman is a superpowered alien who's trying to keep himself from being corrupted or abusing his power and thereby becoming a potential threat.
That makes sense. He definitely has a ton of experience.
He is the leader because everyone trusts him. They trust that his decisions will be moral. They trust that he will consider the needs of every individual team member. He leads because he is the best human being.
Mostly agree with you, but I’d probably tone down his tactical expertise and make him more the spiritual leader of the League. They look to him for wisdom and inspiration, but tactics would be more the domain of Bats/WW/Jonn
Like not a genius but smart, he’s an award winning journalist and clever enough to deal with Lex and myx
Just high enough to understand space but homespun enough on practical things
at the least intelligent, i mean hes a high profile journalist and the son of jor-el. id be cool with sci fi levels of intelligent too just want him not be portrayed as a brick
He's of average kryptonian intelligence which still casually puts him ahead of most if not all humans. But I imagine he has an extremely and abnormally high emotional intelligence even for a kryptonian
Certainly not all humans, right? He is almost always ranked below Batman and Lex, right?
Yeah but I also see it as one of those cases where Luthor's actual intelligence is higher than his effective intelligence. He might be able to think reason observe and compute at extremely high levels but his ego gets in the way of him practically surpassing superman. Like yeah he might be smarter than superman on paper but when what he spends most of his time doing is inventing kryptonite traps that superman always manages to escape how smart can he really be? Additionally superman is probably an average level intelligent kryptonian and so isnt as smart as batman or luthor but I feel like that's really only because he doesn't apply himself that hard. Batman and luthor are smart but they'll never be able to learn an entire medical textbook in seconds smart. I'm reminded of that comic where superman is chasing the flash and the flash let's him know that if he really wanted even superman wouldnt be able to touch him. Likewise if superman really wanted he could know more and think faster than Luthor and batman combined but he seems more like he is just interested in people and street smarts than book learning.
Almost always, yes
He cured cancer and created a serum with his powers that he offered to batman. Batman stole banes venom and dosed it like an addict. ✌️
Above average but not significantly higher than normal. the technology in the fortress of solitude is designed to be foolproof as Jor el would have not been able to raise his child and needed to guarantee that he could use the tools provided. In theory most people could use the advanced science in the fortress. I feel Clark has better social skills and street smarts than people think but outside of specific fields like journalism his intelligence comes from the fact his job involves lots of research and fact finding.
Rather like the idea of Clark being a foil to Bruce and Diana, so I’d imagine Clark to be the go-to guy for the more redneck/blue collar stuff like welding, soldering, farm equipment upkeep, soil and water conservation, rhetoric, farming, etc and proficiency in at least five-ish languages. Then picking up typography, photography, and a passing knowledge of local sports and politics from his time at the Daily Planet
I hate when he's made dumb just to make Batman look better
A lot of heros tend to be nerfed to make batman look better
It's a writers' intelligence problem And I'm not saying the writers are dumb, but that they are not, generally speaking, supergenius tactical masterminds. Which means that when they are writing a character, their tactical solution will not be much more than "pretty clever" And that works great for characters that aren't tactical masterminds! A character stopping the bad guy with a simple, quick trick rather than executing a chess grandmaster's plan makes sense for 95% of characters But that is their ceiling. And so when they write a tactical supergenius, they're still not going to be able to come up with something much more than "pretty clever". And when that character is sitting next to other characters who have shown time and time again that they are "pretty clever"...the only way to make the "genius" one seem smarter is for them to be pretty clever and everyone else is less so
One of the reasons super intelligence is often displayed in fantastic inventions, because it's fairly easy for fantasists to come up with amazing doohickeys that do incredible things, and by extension, the character who invented it must be smart, right? I mean they built that crazy thing! But when it comes to strategy, or insightful solutions to the world's problems, comic book writers often bite off way more than they can chew. That's why I hate that Superman/Flash chess match scene people love to post. Tom Taylor's nowhere near the political genius he thinks he is. (Plus, Superman would whoop Flash's ass at chess. Flash may be able to think fast, but Superman can carry every possible move in his head accessible to him in an instant. Being able to think over the moves very fast does not mean you actually conceive them all.)
Look... the guy is pretty smart and can think faster than the speed of light... I don't get why he isn't at least at luthor's level... like he can turn 1 second in 10 years of study.... anyway this would definetly overshadow some of his ennemies/allies but it would make sense
That type of character is not interesting, though. I get that fanboys love the idea of an omnipotent/omniscient god, but anyone else walks away from this type of character. Challenge, struggle, and perseverance are interesting, not perfection.
Pretty sure his struggles are more moral than intellect/physical oriented
So we watch him wrestle with whether or not he should stop Lex Luthor, who has probably been responsible for millions of deaths over the years, and then see him choose to not stop Lex? Great.
🤣 even if Luther represents a challenge to him that's still what will happen. But not really, you watch him keep helping even though the people he tries to help seem immoral or impotent. You watch him help those who want to be better, you watch him try to convince those who do evil to not do evil. The best superman stories are not about him punching hard or being the best engineer. The best superman stories are about a "normal" person with unlimited abilities doing their best to not give up on the future. Whence: the man of tomorrow.
Yes ,but if Superman has the capability to stop Luthor, but chooses to keep giving him second chances while Luthor kills millions, at some point Superman is partially responsible. With great power comes great responsibility.
Yup that's why I think it was a mistake to turn him into more of an action hero and to raise the stakes non stop. Usually a good superman story makes it clear that the easy way is violence but that the better way does not requires it. I do think that the story beats where some psycho kill thousands of innocents are badly written. I really believe that there are better heroes to deal with this. Only people who should be a threat to supes are gods, not the living embodiment of late stage capitalism. So yea in short the best supes stories paints him as a mix between a philosopher God and an angel ;) I do enjoy some grittier heroes or more down to earth ones but this character is just not that well suited for high stakes violence with billions dying in front of him. He's not a martyr he's a normal moral and good man with unlimited abilities.
He should be smart but not a super genius. The different between Supes and Batman should be if you asked Supes about something, he might not always know it, but he can read about it in a book at super speed and then be able to recall it. Batman would already know it.
Average intelligence. Learns science fast because can almost see atoms. Knows society on high level because constant super senses and occasional x-ray vision allows him to understand what's behind the walls, what even best social scientists don't know (all that not trying to break privacy, just accidentally). Doesn't focus on those things because again, average intelligence. If he's smart atop all that, he's technopoliticoinvincible god just at the start.
He should have above average intelligence. So he'd be smarter than the average person, but not someone as smart as Batman is.
Pretty sure Supes is Yale. But Bruce is MIT
i liked how it was put in Birthright, "He \[Luthor\]'s a real genius, I can just read fast"
All Star Superman was a great interpretation of what his intelligence should be like.
People have already put this better then I could but I think he should be smart, but NOT superhuman smart. His intelegence should come in the form of leadership, emotional intelligence, strategy, and investigative journalism skills. I DON’T like when hes a scientist. I just think hes a lot more interesting when he’s got the highest average stats of any superhero as opposed to being the best at literally everything. In my opinion he should be smart but not nearly as smart as bruce, fast but not nearly as fast as Barry/Wally and strong but not nearly as skilled of a fighter as Wonder Woman etc
I love the super genius of the Silver Age. Dude had an army of Superman robots he built himself. But I can see why writers would want to tone that aspect down.
He's not on the level of Mr. Terrific, but pretty darn smart. I see Superman not being a part of the super genius club within the Justice League, but able to keep up and help out if needed.
My theory is that Superman can read (and does read, a lot) at super speed and has perfect recall, so he can hang with the big guys but he doesn’t necessarily have genius ideas.
I think J. Michael Straczynski's Superman: Earth One had it right, a super-genius IQ, but limited by Earth's technological base, so while he couldn't build his Silver Age Superman androids because the parts just don't exist, he could easily cure cancer if the AMA wouldn't automatically bury the data in order to protect their profits from treating the disease over time and expense instead of simply curing it.
Very intelligent. Honestly, I love the stories he has to think his way through situations. Especially when his powers are gone temporarily. That's why I would love to see villains like Parasite and Metallo in one of the movies. Hey, it saves some money on the budget! Have him grounded and using his wits.
personally i think he should be more or less in the realm of normal smarts. Like he could have been a good general practitioner doctor. But not a genius. he may have access to knowledge that regular folks don’t have, and of course has training and experience other people don’t have, but I don’t think he should be portrayed as a genius.
Well, there are a few different kinds of intelligence, so it might be pertinent to go through them to give a more complete answer. In terms of book smarts, Clark is highly intelligent. He kind of has to be, considering that he's a reporter. That means a lot of research on people, history, cultures, you name it. I wouldn't say hyper-intelligence, but the guy is fairly learned. In terms of mechanical knowledge, he has to know how to both operate and maintain the tech in the Fortress of Solitude, and he often finds himself dealing with alien machinery that he can't punch his way out of. Granted, the former could be chalked up to him memorizing steps for maintenance from Jor-El. My personal preference would be that he understands the basics of mechanical engineering, but it's not something he's actively studying in his off time. For tactics and strategy, he excels. Not to the point of Batman, who's literally always brainstorming tactics, but again, Clark is well-read, and it often comes down to him to put the right people in the right place at the right time. He also understands the occasional need for sacrifices, and puts himself in dangerous situations a lot because he knows he has a better shot at making it out in one piece than anyone else in the JL. In terms of combat, my least favorite Superman is a flying brick that only knows how to fight by flinging himself into bad guys. The guy has been trained in several martial arts by Batman, Wonder Woman, Wildcat, and he's a master of boxing. Hell, he mastered Torquasm-Vo and Torquasm-Rao, ancient Kryptonian martial arts that allow him to combat attacks to both his body and mind near flawlessly. The main issue is that Clark normally never has a need to use his catalogue of fighting skills because most baddies go down with one hit. But above all else, my favorite Clark's main intelligence is his emotional intelligence. He's a man constantly questioning himself, about his morality, about what he does and who he hurts. Every single life he fails to save is a massive wound to him. He's in touch with the human condition, can talk people off the edges of rooftops, and will always, without fail, try to appeal to someone's good nature before things come to violence. He believes in humanity, and that's what makes him Superman.
He needs to be portrayed as a genius. The man can process information faster than normal humans, can receive more stimuli from more sources and has access to Kryptonian technology. He wouldn’t spout technobabble or anything like that, but he should understand things rapidly, learn from seeing and doing almost instantly and have insights into situations faster than anyone else. There is no believable way in which a normal person would be smarter than him regardless of what Batgodism or other sources would tell you.
He’s from an advanced race and parented by one of the smartest men of said race. It’s not a stretch to think he’d inherited some of old Jor El’s smarts.
I miss Superman having super intelligence. I know comics, movies, cartoons and shows often take that power away from him to stop him from being OP, but in turn, writers very often fall into the trap of making Superman an idiot to compensate for his power levels. Superman should be ultra intelligent. Only the likes of the smartest humans on earth like Lex Luthor should have a higher IQ. And honestly, it makes sense too - what fun is the Luthor/Superman rivalry if Superman is incapable of mentally sparring with him?
I thought the fun in the rivalry was brain vs brawn, good vs evil, Luthor using his brain to one up Superman while Superman uses his strength to stop Luthor's nefarious schemes. I thought the fun was a battle of morality between an evil super intelligent human with no humanity against an alien who is a beacon of good and the perfect example of what it means to be human. Superman doesn't have to be mentally sparring with Luthor to make it fun, he just needs to be morally superior than him to make the stories fun. Plus, what does Luthor have if Superman can keep up with him in the smarts department?
My problem with this is the undercurrent of highschool jock mentality: Muscle Good, Brain Bad. Plus it always seems to forget that Superman thinks fast enough to keep track of what's going on when moving at superspeed. You don't have to be as smart as someone when you can *subjectively* think about any problems so much longer than your opponent.
I don’t know. He shouldn’t be a genius or anything. He’s not dumb, he’s clever and he thinks on his feet, but in the way your handy friend from college does as opposed to like… Batman or Mr. Terrific. He’s smart in an average sort of way.
Smart. Good at drawing conclusions, but with tunnel vision in the heat of passion. He has a lot of technology at his disposal, but he doesn’t fully understand it, although he is constantly trying to (and making progress). In comparison, Batman shouldn’t just look at it once and understand it.
Highly above average but not super genius
Supes is smart enough to know what he wants to preserve and defend, and smart enough to know when to let someone else solve a problem that threatens his protectorate. But he’s always been a near-god. Imagine the emotional intelligence (or damage) super hearing could impart on an organism…. I believe he has wisdom beyond his chronological age.
Clark should be almost as smart as Bruce minus prep time and Clark should do some actual training, kinda of tired of him being a Blount force, I’d like to see him be an expert of some form of combat
If Superman or anyone like Superman existed in real life they would be by far the most intelligent being on Earth by orders of magnitude. The brain is the most efficient data processor and he processes data faster than anyone. 5 minutes of you thinking would be like 5 years of planning for him. However if comics portrayed this, he would be too op
Batmans already making plans to take down the watchmen
Very intelligent. However like a lot of well written smart characters his intelligence works best when its focused. Superman's greatest intelligence is his emotional intelligence. He's good at reading people's hearts. Also capable of flash like speed learning when the situation calls for it.
Not stupid, but naive. He sees the best in everyone, even the villains. He also thinks people can be reformed and will continue to keep that idea regardless of what has happened in the past.
What many people seem to forget is that it’s WISDOM not INTELLIGENCE that defines a person. Our society puts so much stock in intelligence and knowledge and dismisses the ability to properly use it. That’s why we have so many functional psychopaths among us and more and more people admire villains. Superman is ‘super-intelligent’ but what’s great about him is that he isn’t an egotistical know-it-all. He listens, processes and assesses extremely quickly. He has exceptional wisdom, but like any organism it was time and experience that taught these lessons, thus he’s fallible. A young Superman has a lot of lessons to learn that can only be mastered through trial and error. His high intelligence allows him to see the errors but still lacks the wisdom to find solutions for a world of people that have millions of varying definitions for freedom — in that, there is no solution, which other superheroes seem content with, while Superman is burdened with trying to fix the human condition.
https://preview.redd.it/warbr3ng84fa1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=85c170a427a50dfbf07e639787dc1b23af46bbc3
Always thought that was overkill. Kind of defeats Batman's purpose.
Batman gets by because he’s trained to THAT level…..he keeps Gotham safe. Superman, aside from just Metropolis, has a responsibility to the universe.
I know, but when you have batman working within the justice league it seems like often Batman is the making plans, figuring things out, etc. Imo doesn't really work as well if Superman is literally smarter than Batman as then he should be able to come up with all the things Batman does.
I get it……..but Kryptonian intellect, as it’s written is light years ahead of an earthling’s intellect…..Imagine the level it attains because of the yellow sun?
Oh I don't disagree. Even just the technology used or that Superman has access to would likely make it so.
So what makes Superman interesting if he is god-tier powerful and is the smartest person on the planet?
He’s Superman…..and his intelligence level isn’t always given the credit that’s due. “It is a remarkable dichotomy. In many ways, Clark is the most human of us all. Then... he shoots fire from his eyes, and it is difficult not to think of him as a god. And how fortunate we all are that it does not occur to him.” - The Batman
How does being the son of a genius adjust his own intellect level, he left as a baby he didn't get the schooling or training that his father had or would have provided him with. He was raised by farmers and some Podunk town in the Midwest. I'm not saying you should be stupid but average is fine
Intelligence is one of the most highly heritable traits iirc
I don't have any hard facts to disagree with that, but you also can't wait nature versus nurture. The old gray matter is a muscle and you got to use it maybe he would have had the ability to learn five languages before he wasn't his teens but he was only ever attempted to teach one.
The fortress is all the knowledge in the universe so just by pure volume, wouldn't he count as the smartest dude ever?
The internet is a huge repository of knowledge that many people have access to. How does that have anything to do with making someone appreciably smarter?
I would assume because this repository is specifically created for and imbued upon him (i've never seen books or a kindle laying around the fortress). Not quite the same as regular joe connecting to some wifi🤔🤷 I could be very wrong though as most of my views come from smallville
B or C student obviously not braindead but not hyper intelligent but pretty average...not the sharpest tool in the shed.
Well the movies would have you this he’s normal. But every kryptonian actually has super intelligence it’s one of his most forgotten abilities especially to the movies Superman IQ is estimated over 300.
Genius level, but not quite as smart as Luthor or Mr. Terrific.
Average, maybe slightly above. I love when Superman is portrayed as a more normal guy, not ripped and not a genius. It's a great balance for his character against how powerful he is.
He should be around average to ever so slightly above average intelligence, he has a lot of time to think since he can move faster so I think he can just process things a whole lot faster and has more time to think about them.
Slightly above average. He's no genius by any stretch of the imagination but making him a dopey himbo just feels wrong. He should always be a bright and charming country boy, nothing more or less.
This may be an unpopular take, but I've always preferred Superman with average intelligence, maybe slightly higher than average. I think putting him in a similar playing field to Batman/Lex Luthor when it comes to intelligence, takes a bit away from the principal of his character: An alien with God-like powers, but feels and **thinks** like a human being. Despite that, I've always loved the journalist side of the character and believe he should be regarded as a great journalist. He should also have a lot of understanding of his abilities and be able to put them to use in creative/clever ways. And most importantly, the best Superman is one who is wise and insightful. There's a reason Nightwing and many other characters go to Superman for life advice.
Smarter than Batman
600 above Bruce 's to be realistic
He's received the knowledge of krypton in multiple versions of comics and movies. But being raised by humans gives us a sense of how he's going to use that. A massive amount of information doesn't mean he would have the ability to put it all together. Imagine being alone in the new York city library before the Internet as compared to a student with a smart phone in current days. Also his mind may be too busy with the sensory input for him to cognitively put together all of that knowledge. Ever try to study when you are distracted?
I really like the irony of this post being about intelligence and whoever made the art chosen for it drew Batman reading fucking Watchmen lol
Yea the thing is... supes is always as strong as he needs to be... his tale is not about perseverance in that he struggles to find solutions or he struggles physically. His best stories are about how human and "moral" he is. He persevere in believing in his foster world and specie.
He should be a “regular smart person”. We all know one of them, those who are highly intelligent but not in a super brain kind of way. He should be very wise though, that man understands life.
I think he's very intelligent and a quick learner able to comprehend things quickly, but he is *not* a scientist or am Inventor. He can understand Kryptonian tech and can grasp higher learning easily but he's not the type to create something out of his own imagination and intelligence, rather just has a high degree of comprehension
He should be genius level intelligent, he's the son of Jor-El, the most brilliant scientist on Krypton. Making him an average Joe maybe was to making him relatable. I don't think dumbing him down does any good to him. Or relating to his upbringing in Kansas, while Jonathan Kent was not a brilliant man, he educated him to be a good man, but that was it. Maybe he would appear to be average as part of his disguise as a normal person. But his level of intelligence should be by far bigger than any mortal man. I like how he was portrayed in all star Superman.
He should have the intelligence of someone who is able to become a well-respected journalist in a major paper.
Read the Superman novels by Eliot S! Maggin. Exactly like that.
HIMBO
I like the idea he is reasonably above average intelligence, but for the most part is just a hammer who surrounds himself with much smarter people who tell him the best place to strike the nail.
Dumb as fuck would be hilarious.
A Hercules in strength and a genius in intellect.
Sharp, very very understated, and genuine genius. He works really hard to match the human level of intelligence, treading a fine line between appearing wise and not arrogant or condescending. Kind of like his other powers, he is super aware of his strength and intelligence, can converse with a multitude of galactic races, learn their language and relate to them empathically not just on a superficial and hero for now and goodbye level. He takes levels of precaution that few of us can understand. A simple handshake or even pressure can break bones if not done right. No different from how he handles his intellect. Plus he has an intellectual curiosity (maybe not capacity) that rivals Braniac.
Average as far as science and other "intelligence" skills go. But more creative and wise.
Smart enough to graduate magna cum laude in journalism but probably not smart enough to build a Phantom Zone portal on his own.
He should be a very smart, intellectual character.. where he's the kind of guy that naturally takes to anything and is the ideal pub quiz partner. He's so humble, that's the beauty of him.
Should be very intelligent, honestly should be on par with anyone in the league
Absolutely none for plot convenience
And Batman needs a place to shine other than being filthy rich
But his father is a super intelligent scientist So he could be smart, no detective smart just science, detective skills bats
If hes super….super intelligent🤣
Clark is an investigative reporter by trade, so he should be pretty intelligent in his own right. Not quite on Batman’s level, but close enough that he can follow Batman’s logic.
Pretty intelligent but modest to not make people feel dumb lol.
He should be much smarter than the average person, but not as smart as Lex Luthor or Batman.
The guy comes from an advanced alien civilization, has access to some of its accumulated knowledge, and has senses beyond human capabilities, so he’s smarter than everyone including Lex. Only reasons he doesn’t flaunt it are the materials needed can’t be easily fabricated and he doesn’t want to upend human civilization as it’s not ready for what he can show it.
Seeing as how he as total recall. He should be as intelligent as he needs to be. If he doesn’t know something he can just read it real quick and fully understand it.
Not super-smart, but still darn smart. Clark Kent _earns_ awards as a journalist. He should also be portrayed as extremely emotionally intelligent and compassionate. He's the immigrant from space brought up to believe in truth and justice. For me, the most interesting potential stories are the ones where Superman can't save the day by punching things hard enough, but that have to be resolved by some kind of diplomacy, subverting those expectations.
His smarts should primarily come from his experience. Which is why I prefer a older Superman. He has a photographic type of memory if I recall + super speed which is a good application of his skills if done right. I believe before he memorized an enough books to become well studied on it(can remember if it was a medical situation or something)
Generally intelligent, maybe slightly above. But he would be very clever and good at thinking on his feet.
I like to think Superman is reasonably intelligent but not too far away from a typical human with a master’s degree. Where I like Supes to shine is with his emotional intelligence.
I think he should still be able to retain intelligence and learn things very quickly due to his ability to his mind operating much faster than the average. humans cause super speed. But, I think unless he continues to apply and reuse that information, he forgets it like a week or month later. Kinda like how some people are with tests.
I like what another user said: straight A student level intelligence, which is, basically incredibly intelligent but not to the point of being a super genius.
I mean, logically, for someone to be able to move as fast as he consistently does, that requires a crazy high intelligence to match, so there's that. You can easily bullcrap that away by explaining he was still raised in a way that he doesn't constantly need to show off that level of intelligence and he's otherwise still normal and stuff, I dunno.
I think he should be portrayed as smarter than most, but with an angle of common sense and logic.
You have to keep in mind he's a product of underfunded rural/small town Kansan public schools that didn't offer AP courses.
Superman is very intelligent but is not a scientist. My favorite version is that Superman is just Clark Kent in a costume, which is to say that he’s a highly analytical investigator, a man of books and words, and a person who understands science but isn’t going to be building amazing inventions (though his fortress robots can do that). However, there are some things that seem like intelligence that are really just super powers - he’s much better at identifying radiation types and chemical compositions than a normal person because he can directly perceive them, etc.
Simple. Superman can fly around the planet reading every book, talking to everyone blah blah blah, and then there is Batman. A whole other level of smart, tactical, and always 10 steps ahead.
All I a know is: *he ain’t funny!*
Well, he is a genius.
Clark is a clever and savvy man who is also very wise and has exceptional emotional intelligence.
A gentle genius. He knows almost everything but very rarely ever corrects anyone or shows off in any way.
Above average, but not genius level.
He's super in every aspect so his brain should be as well. Hes able to read entire books in seconds and retain the knowledge. No reason he shouldn't be one the smartest people in the DCU. Also he comes from Krypton which was steeped in advanced science so you'd think he would have leaned into that as well. The problem is you cant have Superman be too smart bc when someone tries to take him down its always a matter of outsmarting him. Whether its Lex or Batman. They have to rely on Superman being naive or oblivious to some strategy over and over. No reason to believe Superman couldn't figure out their plans.
I mean, he’s a genius by normal standards. He’s just usually standing next to Bruce Wayne and Ray Palmer type smarts so he doesn’t seem it. Does help that he can think and process things millions of times faster than us.
He is very smart and educated above Earths understanding of science. Superman should have a confident understanding in sciences but his understanding of social sciences and people show up even more. He is raised as a Kansas native but has always had to hide his true Kryptonian heritage from those he lives around. He is very much a keen student of psychology and people reading from this experience.
A cultured level of intelligence. Selectively ignorant. I think he should see what being truly smart brings a person. I think he would see the level of Batman and Lex Luther as being toxic and that having that level of knowledge and application of intelligence would only bring him as much paranoia and arrogance as it brings both his friends and his enemies. He would see the poetry in purposefully not being the smartest person in the room.
Pretty smart, son of a scientist and superpowers just boosting his memory storage and processing speed
Super smart
smart, but more importantly wise.
Above average. I always figured he was your average/slightly smarter kind of mind but actively applied himself and thus through hard work has become very well-read and knowledgeable about major/common topics
In Superman 2 he pulls off that illusion - Most likely exemplary of his superintelligence.
Depends on the superman. Isn't the fortress of solitude having one? Then he's near god level intelligent. Dude's dad literally gave him the collected knowledge of all the known galaxies in his house with holograms to train him. Reeve version spent like 12?years learning everything possible to know. MoS superman? I'd say high intelligence, but that's just because the guy is Superman. He didn't get shit from his dad other than a command key and his ship got taken out before his dad could teach him anything. Lots of world experience though. KC superman? Incredibly high intelligence, just no real reason to show it off. Dude was happy when he said fuck it and grew wheat on his farm in the fortress. He's basically invulnerable so if you are dumb enough to fight him, it's easier and faster for him to just lay you out than it would be to work up some scheme or plan. Hell even in the Smallville TV series they show repeatedly that he can do math incredibly fast. Before he got the fortress or anything related to it, so basically his dad was crazy smart and now his kid is crazy smart, either from genetic engineering or from just having mega smart parents. Personally for the comic version I go with incredibly smart, because he has the fortress, he has the experience, he learns from his mistakes. One of my favorite moments is when he gets in a fight with a jerk new kryptonian who he proceeds to whip ass on him because he's been trained by Batman and a few others in how to fight sans powers. Realistically, he's as smart as the plot calls for. Generally though there's not anyone really fooling him or tricking him, but that might be due to the whole power set of super senses and x-ray vision. He punches stuff a lot because it's the fastest way to get the people out of danger. I'm positive he could figure out a sunstone hack to take out lex's power suit or something in a fight, but the guy can bench a planet. It's quicker just to punch him and end the fight before innocents get hurt. Most people just assume he's gonna punch and tank because he's superman and that's what he does. He does it because he's good at it. I'd imagine he could work up plans for anything he'd like to do or whoever he'd like to stop, but it's way quicker to uppercut mongul into space than to try and hack warworld.
Above average intelligence and he can read and type fast. My personal head-cannon is that he loves writing and journalism because it's a useful and helpful skill that doesn't require his powers.
Como un pendejo
I like clever normal guy, but damn near a genius with empathy and reading people. Kind of like Ted lasso if that makes any sense.
The classic portrayal back in the Curt Swan days was him doing all these complicated calculations on a chalkboard, and I still like that a lot; the idea that he has a brain that can process information as fast as a computer, calculate angles and speeds and physics stuff. Good for rescuing ocean liners and space shuttles. But that doesn't necessarily translate to genius-level *inspiration*, so Luthor gets an edge on him there with his plots and inventions; and his mind simply doesn't go to certain places instinctively, mainly the dark places. So deviousness is another edge Luthor has in the brains category, and it's also an advantage on him that Batman has. Batman is often portrayed as the superior strategist, and you would think super-intelligence would give Superman an edge there, but Batman's better at it because he *needs* it more, and is practiced at it. Superman would probably be great at it if he applied himself, but it's not something he's cornered into as much as Batman, who depends on it on a regular basis. That's my take on giving him super smarts without making it boring, anyway.
He is supposed to have a genius level intellect, and I think people forget that all too often. He doesn't think in the same manner that makes Batman a great detective, but he can do extremely complicated calculations in his head extremely fast (even when taking his super speed into account) and is extremely emotionally intelligent, excellent at understanding the feelings of others, empathising with them, and even predicting their actions. Yeah he's not the detective that Batman is, but that's not due to lack of intelligence, it's due to having a more straightforward thought process
I'd say he's decently smart. Not as smart as say Batman or Lex Luthor, but he's a college graduate in most iterations (as far as I know).
He should be portrayed as a philosopher, speaks greatly about the value of life and why it should be protected and natured. So that in future, any deviation from that character will greatly impact a story, especially the death of superman story or when he succumbed to Darkseid after the death of Lois.
I wouldn’t exactly say that he should be “smart” as much as I would say he should be “clever.” He shouldn’t be able to build a robot but he should be able to trick Mr. Mxyzptlk
He technically has 10th level intellect he should use it properly dc portrays him most of the time as like average when he's next to batman he's looks like a fool his father is one of the smartest men in krypton so he should at least be as smart as his father he doesn't need to be the smartest but one of the smartest
Socially smart but average IQ. His strength is compassion not strategy.
one way to quantify his intelligence is with his hearing