Every Major DCEU Villain, Ranked by Intelligence

From what has been seen so far, these deadly foes are able to use their intellect to emotionally manipulate others, create devastating weapons, or simply try and rule the world. DC certainly has been able to make the most of these intellectual bad guys and both the Justice League and Task Force X have encountered their fair share over the years.

10 Maxwell Lord – Wonder Woman 1984

Desperate and bankrupt businessman Maxwell Lord was able to steal the Dreamstone from the Smithsonian Museum and use its power to grant any wish. However, his greed goes out of control and very nearly destroys the world in the process, only for Diana to save the day.

He clearly demonstrated his intellect as a researcher, being able to understand a majority of the Dreamstone’s power and what was required to put himself at the top. Using his charismatic and cheesy personality, he was able to gain the trust of others easily and manipulate them to gain more power for himself. He may have learned how to use the magic to change his own outcomes, but ultimately, his own greed and short-sightedness was his greatest weakness.

9 Steppenwolf – Zack Snyder’s Justice League

Steppenwolf’s debut might have disappointed some fans from the theatrical cut of Justice League, playing a generic and bland CGI villain. But in Zack Snyder’s cut, he was certainly fleshed out more, especially with his intellect.

During his mission to conquer Earth for his master, Darkseid, he was able to defeat the Amazons and Atlantians with his training as a warrior and adapt to different environments against them. He even demonstrates his ability to use and control the Mother Boxes, advanced artifacts that only very few have been able to use effectively across this cinematic universe.

8 Roman Sionis aka Black Mask – Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey

With Joker and Harley Quinn’s split, the Gotham criminal mastermind Black Mask forced the unprotected Harley to retrieve a precious diamond for him. Alongside his eccentric and dangerous right-hand man Victor Zsasz, he aimed to rule a criminal empire.

Despite his over-the-top persona and showmanship, Sionis emotionally manipulated his goons to get what he wanted without getting his own hands dirty and avoided gathering unwanted attention from the police. If he can charismatically force the likes of Black Canary and Harley Quinn to do his bidding, he surely had the potential to become an unrivaled lord of the criminal underworld.

7 Thinker – The Suicide Squad

While he may not have been the star villain that everyone went to initially see, he certainly earned his reputation as one of the cruelest and most intelligent foes that Task Force X have come across to date.

Loosely based on his comic book counterpart, Thinker was the lead scientist who experimented on the captured alien Starro and its effects on innocent imprisoned civilians. His obsession with the creature may have been his ultimate downfall, but there is no denying that he was able to do the impossible and control the classic DC villain. Thinker was even able to put fear into Starro itself, something that not has rarely been seen across multiple forms of media with this iconic giant foe.

6 Ocean Master – Aquaman

Tired of the humans polluting the ocean, Ocean Master is determined to stop at nothing to go to war with the land dwellers. And he almost succeeds at it, too.

His ability to manipulate the kingdoms to join forces shows off his ability to strategize and emotionally convince them to stop a common enemy. Using the pirate Black Manta, he successfully plans and stages dangerous scenarios in order to scare the kingdoms into joining him, using the technological knowledge of the classic Aquaman villain to his own advantage. And if that doesn’t work, he can always intimidate and emotionally control those that wouldn’t join the cause himself.

5 General Zod – Man of Steel

The first major villain of the DCEU, General Zod was certainly an opposing force to be reckoned with. His knowledge of Krypton and their advanced technology easily made him a terrorizing force, even for Superman.

After escaping the Phantom Zone, he takes control of a weapon that can terraform the Earth into a new Krypton for his people. But with Superman after him, he was able to use his military leadership and come up with strategies to slow him down before his work could be completed. And as he and his soldiers gained newfound powers from the Earth’s Sun, he become a force of nature and was able to emotionally break Superman before his demise. He may have lost the battle, but Zod’s actions would make a huge impact on Superman and his ideals as a hero.

4 Doctor Sivana – Shazam!

After being refused to become the next champion of the powerful wizard Shazam as a child, Sivana spent his entire adult life studying magic so he could return to the wizard’s realm. And after finding his way back, he gains newfound powers from the Seven Deadly Sins.

While Sivana may not have been bestowed upon magic like Billy Batson, he was able to show off his brilliant mind and both outsmart the ancient wizard and find an impossible way to grant himself newfound powers. His drive and determination led him to understand magic more than anyone of the human race has been able to demonstrate.  While it was short-lived, he did become one of the most powerful foes too. And with the post-credits scene of Shazam! showing a probable team up with Sivana and the sentient caterpillar Mr. Mind, it looks like he might return to do the impossible once again.

3 Enchantress – Suicide Squad

Joker may have always done the unexpected, but Enchantress did the impossible and outsmarted Amanda Waller, the woman responsible for Task Force X and one of the smartest people in DC’s library.

Magic has only been explored in a handful of the films that have made up this cinematic universe, but she quickly demonstrates her knowledge of the dark arts. Despite being hidden for thousands of years, Enchantress was able to quickly adapt to the modern world and used technologically advanced weapons against it as well as ruling an entire city full of her own monsters. But with her growing powers, she got too confident when facing Deadshot and Harley Quinn, undermining their chaotic and unpredictable manner. Perhaps if she didn’t try to manipulate them, she could have been sitting on her own throne.

2 Ares – Wonder Woman

Near the end of Wonder Woman, it was revealed that the seemingly friendly politician Sir Patrick Morgan was Ares, the Greek god of war. Furthermore, he was responsible for influencing mankind to go into war.

His ability to create ideas and thoughts for humans resulted in many battles across World War 1 and even inspired other villains such as Doctor Poison to develop her experimental gas weapons. Despite his physical strength and magical powers, it’s only his strategic thinking and a few carefully planted words that created death and destruction on a global scale. Very few villains have been able to wield such power and yet, know how little of it to use to tip the scales in his favor.

1 Lex Luthor – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Throughout Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Luthor plants a bomb during a court hearing with Superman, kidnaps Martha Kent, and sets up the confrontation between Batman and Superman. He even uses a Kryptonian spaceship to turn the deceased General Zod into the unstoppable monster Doomsday.

His calculative mind is truly a force of nature, being able to manipulate the world’s greatest detective and a powerful alien. And with no remorse for his actions, it makes him one of the most unexpected and dangerous takes on Luthor seen yet and will no doubt be a menacing threat to the Justice League in future DCEU films.