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[pel1300]

Nothing in the movies suggests that she is anywhere near as smart as Tony despite having access to far more advanced technology and a big team of scientists helping her while Tony mainly works alone or with Banner. The technology she has access to is decades beyond anything in New York - yet Tony invents a nano tech suit far more advanced than Shuri's Black Panther suit.

Now I'm not saying Shuri won't become the smartest in the future as she gains more experience, but as of the time of Infinity War and Endgame, sorry but the movies SHOW, not tell us that Tony is the smartest - building his first suit in a cave with limited resources, creating the most advanced nano tech suit despite not having access to Wakandan tech - and creating time travel.

To top it off - Cap flat out calls Tony Earth's best defender. And at this time the world knows about Wakanda. So Cap believes Tony with his smarts and technology is Earth's best defense, not Black Panther using Shuri's tech.

I think Marvel just says things like this to see how fans react - and if reaction is very positive then in future films they run with it.

Now as for most powerful -

Captain Marvel is ridiculously OP and is basically Superman without kryponite.

It should be Doctor Strange or Thor. I'd go with Strange except he was defeated by Ebony Maw - however that begs the question - is Maw more powerful than MCU Thanos (if Thanos has no stones)?

 

[DKehoe]

Smartest, strongest etc. are always going to be inconsistent in those films. It’s always just going to be whoever they need it to be in any particular situation.

 

[buizel]

Smartest, strongest etc. are always going to be inconsistent in those films. It’s always just going to be whoever they need it to be in any particular situation.

And we're done here

Decades of nerds whining about who's stronger Batman or Superman B-but prep time blah blah.

It doesn't fucking matter. It's whatever the writers want them to be at that time.

 

[Pagusas]

She could be the smartest but isn’t the best at applying her ability. Tony and Banner created Vision, a huge achievement past anything she’s ever done, but the moment she sees Vision she can already call out ways it could have been done better. So yes, it’s likely just lip service, but even then it could still fit in the canon without breaking things. I’ve met many people on life way more intelligent than I am who have achieved far less than I, all because they had no idea how to focus and apply their intelligence.

 

[Doom85]

Are we really basing on who's smarter by what Steve "it seems to run on some form of electricity" Rogers has to say? Yeah, I know Steve learned more after that but I HIGHLY doubt he ever become a very reliable source on such a debate. Really, Tony and Shuri have probably a very comparable IQ, and let's not forget Tony didn't exactly invent the time machine on his own, he had help due to Pym's technology. And I know some people got butthurt that Shuri figured out something Banner didn't, but the dude had literally been back as Banner a few days tops after spending years as full Hulk, makes sense he might still be re-adjusting to being back in Banner form and thus not working at maximum capacity.

There, I feel I was as impartial as I could be given that Shuri is my biggest MCU crush. Even if she isn't the smartest, she can talk science shit to me anytime.....

Also, fans are the ones assuming Carol has the OP problem. All I know is that in Endgame Carol is actually allowed to fight him and lose while Dr. Strange is "conveniently" distracted throughout the whole battle. Yeah, I have no reason to doubt Strange would own the shit out of Thanos without the Infinity Stones considering we saw what Wanda was able to do to him, plus Strange put up a damn good fight against Thanos when he had 4 of them. Mark my words, future Avengers villains will have to be given abilities to deal with Strange, NOT Carol. Carol's only a major threat to those who rely purely on physical or basic ranged attacks (and that's assuming they're not as powerful as her) but Strange can deal with such a threat far more quickly and thus villains will need to have unique abilities that can counter his vast array of abilities.

 

[Tesseract]

tony stank is an overrated script kiddie with unlimited pockets

the real genius is strange, you cannot fake your way to surgical wizardry

oh hi ben carson

 

[CSmath22]

Daily reminder - Tony and Banner did not build Vision. That was Ultron. I understand, some people are morons who can't remember what happened in the previous movie, but that "hurr durr im smarter than you white guys" scene was pure cringe. Just like the black slave trader being named Queen of the Asguardians,, just because she (and apparently half of Asgard) is black.

 

[King of Foxes]

Yes but she is black so shut the fuck up racists.

 

[Richard Packer]

Mr. Fantastic and Dr. Doom are coming.

 

[Alx]

"Who's smarter" is even more pointless discussion as "who's the strongest/most powerful", since evaluating a character's intelligence is directly dependent on the plot.
Also there are different kinds of intelligence, Tony Stark always gave the impression of being "tech smart". He's good with inventing machines and power sources, but not that great with theoretical physics or biology (that's why he asked for Banner's help when dealing with a "true" artificial intelligence). Mastering time travel seemed actually out of character for him. And I guess that when things become too theoretical, Pym outsmarts him (Pym even made fun of Stark's armor, after all). But give him a wrench and a hammer and he'll build a cyclotron in his basement (while having to follow his father's lead to find a new element).
As for Shuri, I honestly don't remember any intellectual feat of hers, except for using Wakanda advanced technology. But if the writer says she's smarter, then she is, whatever that means.

 

[buizel]

Bitch who invented time travel

 

[Doom85]

Bitch who invented time travel

Dr. Strange would like to have a word with you.....

 

[Rentahamster]

Dr. Strange could insta decapitate anyone with his portals but he doesn't for some reason.

 

[Xaero Gravity]

She doesn't have shit on Kevin McCallister with enough prep time.

 

[godhandiscen]

She could be the smartest but isn’t the best at applying her ability. Tony and Banner created Vision, a huge achievement past anything she’s ever done, but the moment she sees Vision she can already call out ways it could have been done better. So yes, it’s likely just lip service, but even then it could still fit in the canon without breaking things. I’ve met many people on life way more intelligent than I am who have achieved far less than I, all because they had no idea how to focus and apply their intelligence.

I don't really care for such a minuscule detail, but if there is a way to rationalize the inconsistency, this is it.


OP: It shouldn't bother you this much that the Marvel universe is inconsistent.

 

[DeafTourette]

Black Panther's suit came before Tony's (which she created... BP starts a week after CW)
She created soundless sneakers


Most of the CURRENT tech in Wakanda came from her... But she was snapped with BP so she's been gone for 5 years. She may be behind now but she is still young and can catch up.

Makes me wonder if she'll have a role in Wanda-Vision since Vision's neural net may still be in Shuri's computer.