It’s a common theme that people with showy powers and abilities get the attention, while those who are more cerebral are “also-rans” or teammates. I mean, who respects, say, Cypher (who I still feel would have been a serious badass if he had lived and joined SHIELD) I’d love to have his power. Give me your favorite examples of people who are so intelligent that they’re scary. And when does that line get crossed between “Gosh, he’s smart” and “Add him to the government watchlist”?
Brainiac Five, any version. Though he was my favorite Legionnaire, he’d make me extremely nervous–mainly because, at least pre-Crisis, he was just emotionally unstable enough that you could see him going either way when it came to being a hero or a villain.
Cassius
The classic example is Batman. ‘If he’s prepared’, and all that rot.
Sky High!
The science teacher with the huge brain watches a superstrong student screw up a project and says ‘And he’ll be the one on the cereal box’ or some such.
Hannibal Lecter
Yeah, I loved that part!
Gwen: I’m a technopath. I can control technology with my mind.
Will Stronghold: Wow. All I can do is… punch stuff.
Mr. Medulla: [passing them] Yet he’ll be the one on cereal boxes. Show me the justice in that.
That’s what made me think of this, but I forgot it. Good example.
The protectors from Larry Niven’s known space books, especially Jack Brennan and Tunesmith. I certainly wouldn’t want to have an educated protector decide I or anything I cared about were a threat to his bloodline.
Lord Vetinari.
In a city full of Wizards, Heroes, Thieves & Assassins, he’s the scariest guy in Anhk-Morpork. And he is in charge.
Batman, Lex Luthor, and my personal favorite from comics: Tao (from Alan Moore’s WildCATs and Ed Brubaker’s Sleeper). The ultimate silver-tongued devil, he’s a master manipulator who covers every contingency plan, plays everyone against each other, worms his way into people’s heads and bends them to his will. And he almost got away with everything…
Simon Lynch (Mercury Rising)?
Professor Moriarty.
Belisarius in the Belisarius books by Eric Flint and David Drake. This is a guy in a battle of wits and strategy with a superhuman future intelligence - and he’s winning.
Khadaji from the Matador series by Steve Perry. Oh, he’s really, really good physically too, but he’s also diabolically clever ( fortunately, he’s the good guy ). He outmaneuvers a nasty empire, and just about everything the bad guys do, turns out to not only have been predicted, but part of his plans all along.
Syndrome, from The Incredibles.
Spoiler for Watchmen:
Ozymandias
So smart that no-one realised how dangerous he was till it was too late.