Bane ?

the Riddler ?

someone else ?

when I ask smart, I mean raw intelligence, deductive prowess, culture, knowledge and stuff like that

Dr. Prof. Hugo Strange !!!

"The most dangerous man in the world! Scientist, philosopher and a criminal genius ... little is known of him, yet this man is undoubtedly the greatest organizer of crime in the world." - Bruce Wayne

@drarcania: What he said.

Hugo Strange's IQ is canonically somewhere around 197, which puts him square in the super-genius category.

Of course, you can't logically deduce who is the smartest because different feats, but if we go by DC encyclopedia, Strange has everyone else beat. Now if only Batman writers actually wrote him to live up to that potential...

came here to write Joker, totally forgot about Dr. Strange lol

According to the Lego movie, it's Superman.

Joker he's nuts but he's a genius and Hugo strange

• Hugo Strange and The Riddler.
• Honorable Mentions: Bane and Hush.

In no particular order:

• ra's al ghul
• riddler
• hugo strange
• bane
• joker

@orangebat: @masterdetective:

Originaly i believe/think that Strange was made to be Batman main/arch enemy/villain... but that ''title'' very quickly Joker stole from him... Batman fans start more to like Joker than any other Batman villain.

Pretty much summed it up.

I'd say Riddler. Strange is smart, but Riddler is the reason Batman is so sharp.

Hugo Strange

Ras al ghul should be smartest

Ra's Al Ghul, he's been alive for so long, has seen and studied so many things. But then again he is "immortal" so if he didn't have that extended life then who knows how smart he would actually be. Riddler is definitely up there with Hugo Strange and Joker is his brilliant in his own way. Honestly it's hard to say, Batman's foes need to be smart, otherwise they wouldn't be much of a challenge to him.

Hugo Strange and the Riddler are the smartest ones.

It's all meaningless now, conceptually yeah it should be Nygma and Hugo but Joker, Ra's and Bane take the cake in quality.

I want facts

not just informed abilities

It is definitely the Joker. He somehow manages to stay one step ahead of Batman at all times; he can make complicated plans that look like random accidents (even when he leaves clues pointing right to them), fooling even Gotham's greatest detective, and he can mysteriously organize Batman's friends and foes to fight against him, and he will even sometimes team up WITH Batman and act like an ally, if Batman has something he wants or if saving Batman is more conducive to his plans than killing him. He knows Batman's secret identity, yet it doesn't faze him, and he certainly knows how to get the bat family on his side even after everything he's done to them! (in Batman and Robin must Die). Joker has also outsmarted the Riddler and has proven a foil for not only Batman but some of Batman's smartest allies and enemy rogues. Plus, this guy manages to win an insanity plea for every crime he commits! Come on, that has to take brains! How many of Batman's other foes could kill hundreds of people and make it look like an unfortunate accident of a madman's mind? I'm thinking zero.

Gotta go with the Joker. He is always way ahead of Batman. I was torn between him and Riddler, but Riddler is all smarts, and Joker is smarts, but incorporates them into huge evil scenarios. Batman and Joker have a closer relationship then any other duo in the DC universe.

I'd say Riddler is supposed to be in terms of pure smarts. He might not be as Machiavellian or unpredictable as Joker, but I don't think that's what we're talking about here.

The Riddler.

When it comes to brains, Riddler and Hugo Strange.

But, let's not forget that the Joker may be crazy, but he's a pretty smart foe, especially in Death of the Family.

Riddler based off of raw intellect, but Ra's al-Ghul has the most knowledge, by virtue of being so damn old.

Bane, Joker or Riddler. One of those. Bane broke the bat, Joker's kind of broken him mentally a thousand times and Riddler can outperform Batman, but his ego prevents him from doing so.

From animations bane does not seem so smart. i would say ras al ghul. joker has definitely done most damage but he is mostly driven by luck. riddler is good too. i havent seen anything with hugo strange in it? maybe suggest me something?

The Joker.

The Riddler

@kmb501: joker knows Batman's identity? When did this happen?

Bane, Ras, Joker, Riddler etc

@dragonrampage

It happens in Death of The Family or at least it's heavily implied.

Also, doesn't he find something out in Batman and Robin Must Die? If Joker didn't know Batman's identity, would it have made sense for him to realize that Dick Greyson and Damien needed extra help?

1. Penguin

2. Riddle

3. Strange

Not specifically a Batman villain, but the current Deathstroke writer says Slade is Batman's equal in terms of intelligence.

Riddler is the smartest one followed closely by Hugo Strange.

I still say it's Joker; he finds a way to come back by taking over the brain of one of Batman's old Robins (Batman Beyond), tricks Dick Greyson (as Batman) into teaming up with him (Batman and Robin Must Die), steals Mr. Mxylplx powers (Emperor Joker), becomes a foreign ambassador (Death in the Family), developed a toxin that kills people with laughter (The Man Who Laughs), snuck into the bat cave just to play a trick on the bat family (hinted in Death of the Family), literally gets away with murder (every time but in a memorable way in Batman Devil's Advocate), tricks Batman into helping him solve a crime that he committed (Brave and Bold issue 111), etc. All of that takes some serious brain power.

I'd say, IQ level Riddler, but he's too full of himself, knowledge + IQ, Hugo Strange, tactician wise & just in general, Ra's & Bane, Joker is also smart as people point out, but he's not a genius.

A person can have a lot of brain power and not really know how to use it. I think the villains who utilize their knowledge should be considered the smartest. Plus, no one mentioned Dr. Chronos (is that the same guy as Clock King)? It takes a lot of brains to learn time travel, right?

@kmb501: Isn't the clock king Green Arrows villain?

I'm not sure. Riddler was also a Green Arrow villain at one time, too, wasn't he? Clock King did appear in BTAS, and Dr. Chronos appeared in Justice League Unlimited, so maybe so.

Chronos is a completely different person than Clock King. Chronos is an enemy of the Atom and the Justice League. Clock King first appearance was against Robin and then he fought mostly Green Arrow. The Riddler made an appearance in one Green Arrow story as a villain but It doesn't mean he ever was a Green Arrow villain.

Not even really implied in my opinon. Joker states he does, Batman refuses to believe him, and then surprise, surprise, Endgame rolls around and Joker proves the statement to be true.

I wasn't sure. Okay, thank you for clearing that up.

I say the Joker is.

Either Hugo Strange, Riddler, Bane, and some would say Joker.

I think Hugo Strange is the smartest though.

Tough question. Id probably go with Joker. Hugo Strange we know to be quite intelligent but with Joker since we don't know anything about The Joker's history he or whoever he was may be just ad smart as Strange or even smarter.

Most Batman's villains are pretty intelligent. Even the Vinquiloquist and his dummy?

Nygma

I do think that DC would say Joker though