DC Officially Names the Smartest Villain, & There’s History to Prove It

Warning! Contains spoilers for The Penguin #8!

There are tons of DC Comics super geniuses, both on the heroic side and on the villain side. When a world has as many giant mech-suits and Machiavellian schemes as the DC Universe, it’s no surprise there are geniuses on both sides. Now, among all those geniuses, DC has declared the Riddler as the one villain who might just be the smartest man on Earth.

In The Penguin #8 by Tom King and Rafael De Latorre, the Penguin has returned to Gotham City and is seeking to retake his empire from his children. This goal has led him to recruit dozens of soldiers for his planned war — as well as interact with some old allies. During one such meeting with the Riddler, the Penguin outright states that not only is the Riddler smarter than him, but he might very well be smarter than everyone else, too.

The Penguin states that Edward Nygma could likely give Lex Luthor and Mr. Terrific a challenge. Both Mr. Terrific and the classic villain Lex Luthor are often considered two of the smartest men in the DC Universe by both heroes and villains alike, so tge Riddler being put in their league is no small compliment.

The Riddler Can Be Included Among DC’s Smartest Characters

Nygma Admits He Knows Batman’s Identity in Batman: Hush by Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair, and Richard Starkings

Batman is one of the smartest people in the DCU. After all, he invented the android Failsafe, which was capable of beating Superman, not to mention the Brother Eye satellite, which was capable of spying on the entire world. Batman has plenty of genius inventions under his belt. Michael Holt, also known as Mr. Terrific, has also invented some amazing things, such as the T-Spheres, and regularly travels through dimensions; Holt is often considered the smartest DC character. Lex Luthor’s brilliance as an inventor and scientist is also well known.

The Penguin genuinely believes that the Riddler could stand shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Batman, Mr. Terrific, and Lex Luthor — and he’s not wrong. The Riddler’s intelligence, however, has always been hampered by his insanity. Nygma’s struggle with OCD has prevented the Riddler from reaching his full potential as a rogue, but there’s been a few stories where his brilliance has still shone through. During the events of Batman: Dark Victory, for example, Batman actually enlists the Riddler to solve a puzzle that Bruce found too challenging.

The Riddler Has Always Been Batman’s Smartest Foe

Each Villain in Batman’s Rogues Gallery Offers a Unique Challenge

In the now-classic New 52-era story Batman: Zero Year by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Danny Miki, and FCO Plascencia, the Riddler succeeds in taking over the entirety of Gotham City, proving his chops as a massive threat to the Caped Crusader. Beyond Zero Year, the Riddler often casually accomplishes massive feats — like turning all of Gotham into a living crossword puzzle for Batman to solve.

Batman’s villains have always managed to challenge him in different ways: most of them physically, such as Killer Croc and Bane, and some of them intellectually, like Ra’s al Ghul and the Joker. But absolutely none of Batman’s villains has challenged him intellectually to the level of the Riddler. The Penguin has consistently recognized the Riddler as Batman’s smartest villain, and now, DC Comics is als officially recognizing the Riddler’s intelligence as one of the DCU’s smartest characters — full-stop.

The Penguin #8 is available now from DC Comics!