Who’s smarter Lex Luthor or Tony Stark ?

General Discussion
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Basically my friend was saying that
Tony Stark is smarter than any DC character and I told him about Braniac 5 then he quickly rephrased it and said Tony Stark is smarter than any DC human character and I told him no Lex Luthor is smarter than him, now we are having an argument on who’s smarter out of Lex Luthor and Tony Stark. So please tell him that I’m correct Lex is way smarter than Tony and any Marvel Human (Reed is debatable).

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They are both brilliant characters. Both with mechanical skills. I would say that Tony Stark does far more tinkering with and creating mechanical inventions, but the overall genius of Lex Luther is greater. More far reaching in depth of knowledge about more than just mechanical things.

MACJR

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Also, Lex Luther is human. He hates metahumans and aliens with a passion, but is more than willing to use them for his own needs and purposes, if he can control them.

MACJR

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Now, if you are talking about Reed Richards, those two may be more comparable in their genius level.

MACJR

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To clarify, Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), and Lex Luther, have more comparable levels of Genius. Of the two, is probably Reed Richards who is smarter, and far more likable.

MACJR

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luthor.

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Don’t bring in the alcoholic it’s always Lex. He’s a diabolical mastermind and almost killed superman in all-star superman tony stark can’t even beat a grape

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(yeah im just not a marvel fan)

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I feel it is debatable which of the two, Lex Luther or Mr Fantastic, is smarter. They both have, in a very fictional way, super high IQs.

I am far more the DC fan, but I have some fondness for some Marvel characters too.

As for Tony Stark (Iron Man), I used to like his comic book character, but he was never one of my favorites, especially later on. The movies version, well, he is interesting, but I am not a big fan of him either. Is he smarter than Lex, I doubt it. Reed Richards though, I feel is very much a contender of being as smart, or smarter, than Lex Luther. It does depend on which version of Lex Luthor we are talking about too though. Some seem even smarter than others.

MACJR

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BATMAN

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Lex Luthor, easily. The real question is Lex Luthor or The Maker (Ultimate Universe Reed Richards)?

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Mister Luthor.

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I’m not much of a Marvel fan, but if Lex Luthor was really so smart he wouldn’t be constantly getting his butt handed to him by Superman and the Justice League. I think Tony’s got this.

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“Smarter” is a little vague. They’re both extraordinarily accomplished scientists, but I’m not sure by what measure one would evaluate their respective intelligence. If you challenge them to build an Iron Man suit, Tony Stark would win, if you challenge them to build a weapon to stop Superman, Lex Luthor would win, and if you challenge them to solve one of the Riddler’s puzzles, neither of them would measure up to Batman. I’d say that Luthor is exceptionally accomplished at a somewhat wider variety of things than Stark, so perhaps by that metric he’s the smarter of the two, but then, as HCQ pointed out, Luthor has a nasty habit of failing at a lot of the things he tries. On the other hand, so did Aristotle and Leonardo da Vinci, and we don’t hold it against them.

I’d be inclined to say Luthor if I had to pick one, but I’m not really confident in that answer.

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Bruce Wayne is probably the better Stark analogue, and Bruce is.

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I wold say Tony only because Lex gets in his own way a lot of the time it seems

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I think overall Lex is smarter but put them in a fight and Tony’s resourcefulness with problem solving and engineering give him an edge.

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Tony because he’s the good guy

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Now are we talking book smart or street smart? Both are very intelligent as book smart goes… and while both employ “experts” to design many of the things their businesses offer … each is also a scientist capable of creating very advanced technology. Now let’s talk street smart… some one else already mentioned this… Tony Stark took that scientific mind and created a suit that allows him to be a superhero. LEX? I yeah sure he has a mechanical suit as well but he just keeps getting his butt whipped by Superman and the Justice League over and over and over again… Has spent time behind bars because of that and yet he keeps doing it again and again. Street smart in my opinion has to go to Stark LOL

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Even the brightest among us can have their blind spots, weaknesses, and areas if flawed rationality. Even someone as brilliant as Lex Luthor, can think like an idiot when his emotions take over. Thus, flaws and imperfections tend to be included into his advanced weaponized technology, into his schemes, and into his actions. This defeats him every time. Rob Lex Luther of his emotions, and he probably could find a way to kill Superman, but you would also remove the reason for him to kill Superman.

It is his Emotions that are Lex Luther’s greatest enemy, and his greatest weakness.

I am really not up to date on the Marvel Universe characters, but for reasons stated above, from others and myself, I still think Reed Richard could take on Lex Luthore and win. And I also agree that Tony Stark probably could win against him as well.

Take away Lex’s hate though, and maybe things would be different.

MACJR