Intelligence

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How have comics writers portrayed very high intelligence in comics, beyond having characters able to invent really complicated things? When have they been successful?

(The original wording of this qn: "Is the Watcher clever?" But don't confine yourselves just to s/h stuff!)

― Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 8 March 2005 00:20 (twenty years ago)

Obviously big forehead (with brainy wrinkles) and/or greying temples seem common indicators.

― Pete (Pete), Tuesday, 8 March 2005 15:31 (twenty years ago)

Pre-adult: big glasses, sweaters & other types of clothing 10 years too old for the wearer, mussed hair, awkward posture, gawky or bulbous, meek, socially inept, often w/ soot marks no face from experiment blowing up in one's face.
.

Post-adult: the aforementioned temples, glasses glasses glasses, pipe and/or other implement denoting contemplative oral fixation, aloof demeanor, labcoat, surrounded by geegaws & doodads at all times, often w/ soot marks no face from experiment blowing up in one's face.

These are "book smarts", BTW. There's also the savvy spy "street smarts" to contend w/.

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 8 March 2005 15:43 (twenty years ago)

In case you mistook social ineptitude as a sign of "street smarts".

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 8 March 2005 15:44 (twenty years ago)

Anti-social behavior, aka inability to relate to non-supergeniuses, aka "I need to time alone...to THINK! YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAAAAND!" etc.

xpost

― deathlike technical blasting death metal with a soul of suicidal rationalis (Jor, Tuesday, 8 March 2005 15:44 (twenty years ago)

Baldness or progressing baldness.

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 8 March 2005 15:59 (twenty years ago)

Hector Hammond!

Yeah, you never really see examples of extreme "emotional intelligence" or even likeability. You'd think that empaths would have legions of friends, you know?

I like Waid's version of Brainiac 5--able to calculate probabilities of upcoming events and what will influence them (and totally frustrated at Dream Girl's ability to simply know what's going to happen by plucking it out of thin air).

― Douglas (Douglas), Tuesday, 8 March 2005 17:16 (twenty years ago)

http://www.supermanartists.comics.org/superwhoswho/computo-adv340.JPG

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 8 March 2005 18:04 (twenty years ago)

COMPUTO

― deathlike technical blasting death metal with a soul of suicidal rationalis (Jor, Tuesday, 8 March 2005 18:22 (twenty years ago)

Describe and classify the aforementioned.

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 8 March 2005 18:23 (twenty years ago)

Leader v. MODOK v. Brainiac (metal skull version) v. Computo ROYAL RUMBLE!

(Undercard = Lex Luthor v. Obidiah Stane (sic) in a 1-16 matchup for the ages.)

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 8 March 2005 18:27 (twenty years ago)

Don't forget Sivana!
ihttp://www.moviepoopshoot.com/comics101/images/apr2/sivana.jpg

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 8 March 2005 18:31 (twenty years ago)

He's hopping in the ring midway.

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 8 March 2005 18:32 (twenty years ago)

And then there's Metron...and Darkseid for that matter, with his unending quest for the Anti-Life Equation. Darkseid loves the math.

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 8 March 2005 18:36 (twenty years ago)

There has occasionally been good Batman writing in this vein, where his brains are a huge factor in the JLA for instance.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Tuesday, 8 March 2005 20:02 (twenty years ago)

That's the dichotomy in comics, though, isn't it?
Intelligence negates emotion, ergo detached, analytical Batman; sexually frustrated Brainiac 5; evil Braniac 1, etc.

― Huk-L, Tuesday, 8 March 2005 20:04 (twenty years ago)

Oracle is super brainy but also emotional, probably on account of how she is a chick

― Mark C (Markco), Tuesday, 8 March 2005 21:54 (twenty years ago)

http://img43.exs.cx/img43/6844/madthinker9xz.jpg

http://img43.exs.cx/img43/4281/kony1tq.jpg

― brian badbreath (badwords), Tuesday, 8 March 2005 23:19 (twenty years ago)

No wonder Awesome Andy left his nerf ass in the dust!

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 8 March 2005 23:42 (twenty years ago)

If I were writing Marvel comics, I would so put in a scene with the Mad Thinker, now a broken-down bum, drunk in an alley somewhere constantly muttering "Chaos theory! Fucking chaos theory! Why didn't I realise...?"

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Wednesday, 9 March 2005 20:31 (twenty years ago)

Have you been reading She-Hulk, Martin?

― Huk-L, Wednesday, 9 March 2005 20:36 (twenty years ago)

why has no one mentioned Ozymandias?

incidentally, does anyone else think he bats for the other team?

― DV (dirtyvicar), Thursday, 10 March 2005 00:27 (twenty years ago)

He's just cultured and neat!

― David R. (popshots75`), Thursday, 10 March 2005 01:54 (twenty years ago)

Oh, come on, he wears purple, he's not fooling anyone.

― Huk-L, Thursday, 10 March 2005 14:46 (twenty years ago)

Con-tro-ver-see!

― BARMS, Thursday, 10 March 2005 15:43 (twenty years ago)

Stan Lee Presents: Just Imagine...Ozaymandias Sings Sign O The Times

― BARMS, Thursday, 10 March 2005 15:44 (twenty years ago)

Ozy could pull off assless pants.

― David R. (popshots75`), Thursday, 10 March 2005 15:58 (twenty years ago)

Personally, I always thought Dr Manhattan was the wrong colour. When he duplicates himself in that scene, I wanted him to start singing 'Jack U Off'.

― BARMS, Thursday, 10 March 2005 16:12 (twenty years ago)

I've not read She-Hulk, no. I've been saying that about the Mad Thinker for several years now.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Friday, 11 March 2005 20:52 (twenty years ago)

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