Fans are fast losing faith in the MCU, but it wasn’t so long ago that the branching cinematic giant reigned supreme.
The first Avengers flick dropped just over a decade ago, after all, igniting a furor around the franchise and its future. And boy was that future bright — for a few more years, at least. The downfall seemingly started after Endgame, which — to be fair — could have to do with the near-impossible task of topping that cinematic moment.
There’s also the loss of several OG Avengers, including the man who started it all: Tony Stark. Tony was the backbone of the team, in more than one way, and his loss may be a major culprit behind the slow decline of the MCU. Tony pretty much had it all — as the man himself once stated, he was a “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” during his time on Earth-616. He may have even been the smartest member on the team, but he’s got some serious competition where that title is concerned.
Is Tony Stark smarter than Bruce Banner?
The two smartest members of the Avengers — thus far, at least — are easily Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. Tony, for his part, headed off to MIT when he was still a teen, and over the next decade or so collected a full five degrees, in total. At MIT, he earned two degrees in physics and engineering, and later on he collected three more, doctorates this time, and likely in similar subjects.
Then there’s Tony’s hands-on knowledge. He’s a truly brilliant engineer — just look to those iconic Iron Man suits for proof — and his mind is unmatched when under pressure. There’s no one else on the team who can process as well when the moment is dire, and that capability has saved the team on more than one occasion.
But does all of that make him smarter than Bruce Banner, the man who openly stated just how much time he’s spent in school over the years? In Thor: Ragnarok, Bruce cheekily informs Thor that he has a whopping SEVEN PhDs. That’s a lot of degrees.
According to a range of internet sleuths, those PhD seem to encompass a massive range of knowledge, including three separate physics degrees — in nuclear physics, particle physics, and health physics — along with biomedical engineering, biochemistry, and computer science — and that doesn’t even cover all of them. Bruce is gifted across a range of professions, and he proves just how capable he is across a slew of MCU releases. He’s even seemingly working as a medical professional when he’s first recruited in Avengers — my man is a whole team, wrapped up in one.
There are heaps of arguments to support either side. Tony’s invented an insane amount of mind-boggling gadgets, weapons, and devices; he’s used many of them to save the world a few dozen times, and he’s brained his way out of a few dozen tight spots in the process. But Bruce? He’s not nearly so public about his smarts. He’s in the background, supporting — and sometimes partnering — with Tony on those high-profile projects (coughUltroncough), and quietly, humbly saving the world (and those civilizations Tony loves to ignore) with no thanks required.
If you ask me, Bruce is easily the smarter of the two, but I think its more down to opinion than anything else. These men are easily equally smart, just in entirely different ways. And besides, neither of them are the right answer if you’re looking to discover the actual smartest man in Marvel. That title goes to someone else.
The real answer
Now for the real deal — you want to the know who the actual smartest Avenger is? Yes, I know he’s not an Avenger in MCU canon just yet, but don’t you dare sleep on my boy Reed Richards. Richards is easily the smartest of the bunch, and he doesn’t need an on-screen bicker-fest with Tony to prove that.
Richards technically made his MCU debut already, so he deserves consideration here. He won’t be returning as John Krasinski when he makes his official entrance into the media franchise, but the leader of the Fantastic Four is, hands down, the smartest man in the Marvel universe. He’s got some fierce competition — not just from Tony and Bruce, but from the likes of Victor von Doom, Hank Pym, and even Peter Parker — but there’s no beating the Smartest Man on Earth.
Richards beats out both Tony and Bruce in number of degrees — having collected a full 18 doctorates before he turned 30, overachiever that he is — and possesses knowledge across a huge number of fields, from Tony and Bruce’s physics and engineering to chemistry, human and alien biology, and many, many more. The man well-earned his very silly “Big Brain” nickname, and toying with the idea of anyone else beating him out in the intelligence department is simply laughable. There’s no competition here.
