Tony Stark has made his mark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by being the smartest character in the franchise, a fact that he has repeatedly proven and reminded everyone in each movie he’s appeared in. However, in Black Panther, fans were officially introduced to Shuri, T’Challa’s younger sister.
Shortly after her introduction, she was confirmed to be the smartest character in the MCU, even more so than Tony. While she hasn’t been in the franchise as long as him, she does have a long list of achievements that rivals his. Even though fans have been given a definitive answer, there are plenty of reasons why each of them is deserving of that title.
Shuri
Overseas All Wakandan Tech
Even though she is only 16 at the time of Black Panther, Shuri is the lead scientist of the Wakandan design group and is responsible for all of the country’s technological advancements. This includes weaponry like Bucky’s Vibranium arm and her sonic canon gauntlets as well as vehicles like the Vibranium train beneath her lab used to move the metal.
She also made upgrades to the Kimoyo beads that almost all the Wakandans wear and gifted T’Challa a pair of sneakers that mask the sound of his movements. Overall, she has upgraded the nation’s technology by leaps and bounds compared to the rest of the world and continues to run its systems on a day-to-day basis.
The Black Panther Suit
While the Black Panther suit gets passed down from each warrior, Shuri was the designer responsible for upgrading T’Challa’s version after T’Chaka’s death, as seen in the first Black Panther film.
That version was the first suit in the MCU to feature Nanotechnology beating Tony’s Mark 50, which debuted in Avengers: Infinity War, by about 2 years, allowing it to be discretely hidden in a necklace and be mentally controlled by the wearer. Another major upgrade Shuri made to the suit was the ability to let it charge up with kinetic energy and use it for redistribution, an ability that proved useful in all of his future battles where he was up against entire armies.
Heals Agent Ross
In addition to being a brilliant inventor, Shuri also happens to be a skilled surgeon. After Agent Ross jumps in front of a bullet meant for Nakia, T’Challa brings him back to Wakanda for his sister to heal him. To no surprise, in just a matter of hours, she was able to successfully remove the bullet and completely heal an injury that would have left him paralyzed elsewhere.
Although Tony gave Rhodey a pair of advanced leg braces after his injury, considering he still needs those to walk, it’s safe to say that Shuri is far more skilled in this area, having healed people to such a degree that it is as if they were never injured at all.
Fixed Bucky’s Mind
Bucky Barnes has experienced a lot of trauma in the MCU due to him being captured and brainwashed by HYDRA for decades after his presumed death so it was a relief when Steve brought him to Wakanda at the end of Captain America: Civil War so that he could be helped.
Thanks to Shuri, by the end of Black Panther, he was shown to be completely free of his HYDRA programming and was living a peaceful life in the village, a little over a week from when he first arrived.
Almost Fixed Vision
After Vision was attacked by the Black Order, his internal systems stop working and he struggles to use his powers. Since Tony was off-world, the Avengers decided to bring him to Wakanda. In just a few seconds, Shuri was able to diagnose the issue and came up with a plan to detach the Mind Stone from him so it could be destroyed, something Bruce admits neither he nor Tony thought of.
Unfortunately, while Shuri was able to start the procedure, she never got to finish the process since she was attacked by Corvus Glave while doing it. Nevertheless many have theorized that Shuri may have completed more of her scan than Infinity War let on.
Reinvented The Entire Country
Shuri is not only the head of all Wakandan technological pursuits, she is also responsible for totally reinventing her country, upgrading its functionality to run almost entirely on vibranium, achieving one of the cleanest, well-run, and most advanced nations in the history of the world.
Though certain other Wakandans look down on Shuri for ignoring some of the nation’s traditions, it is difficult to deny the positive effect she had on her country. She brought Wakanda far past any other country in the modern world, keeping the nation strong on her watch.
Still Young
Because Shuri has already accomplished so much, it can be easy to forget how young she truly is. Only in her early twenties at the time of Wakanda Forever, the young genius has incredibly potential as she continues to prove herself one of the smartest minds in the world.
There is no telling where Shuri’s story may take her next, with many theorizing that she could even become the next Black Panther. Wherever she ends up in the MCU’s future, fans can be certain that she will continuously prove her incredible intelligence every step of the way.
Tony
Graduated Early
Much like Shuri, Tony was an exceptionally bright child and was able to accomplish a lot at a young age. In Iron Man, it’s revealed that he built his first circuit board, assembled his first engine, and hacked his way into the pentagon all before finishing high school.
Luckily his parents saw his potential and he started attending college at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at just the age of 15. Two years later, he graduated Summa Cum Laude at age 17 with a Master’s degree in Physics and Electrical Engineering.
The Iron Man Armor
Tony’s most notable feat is the creation of the Iron Man armor which he built in a cave using components from the Jericho rocket after being captured by the Ten Rings. However, instead of building the rocket, he used the pieces to make himself a suit of armor which he could use to escape. The original armor was bulletproof, was armed with two flamethrowers in the sleeves, and was capable of one short burst of flight which was how he managed to get away from his captors before being found.
Over time, the armor has evolved, even becoming so thin that it can keep kept on him at all times. While he has made over 50 versions of the suit, including ones for his friends like the Iron Spider, Rescue, and War Machine, the original will always be the best display of his intelligence.
Discovered a New Element
In Iron Man 2, it’s revealed that during the six months he had been Iron Man, Tony’s blood was being poisoned by the palladium core in his arc reactor. Using his father Howard’s research on the Tesseract which he received from SHIELD, Tony was able to create a new element that fixed the issue and had a higher output of energy.
Using the new element, he was able to craft a completely new arc reactor to replace the one that was slowly killing him. While a lot of the work was already done for him by Howard, without Tony’s intellect and the resources at his disposal, it may have gone unfinished.
Created Vision
While his original plan to create a peacekeeping AI backfired when Ultron attacked the Avengers and went rogue, Tony later got a chance to redeem himself after the team was able to get possession of the Vibrainium body that the robot was planning on uploading himself into.
He and Bruce Banner, along with a little help from Thor, were able to successfully put J.A.R.V.I.S. into the android’s body and complete the process started by Ultron earlier in the movie, creating one of the strongest Avengers in the process.
Unlocked Time Travel
In Avengers: Endgame, while he initially declined the team’s request to help them with their time travel mission, Tony still thought about it and ran simulations to test various theories about how it could be achieved. After seeing a photo of Peter Parker, Tony got the idea to run a time configuration in the shape of a Möbius strip which turned out to be the key.
This discovery allowed the Avengers to carry out the time heist which was essential to getting the stones and bringing back half of humanity.
Incredibly Resourceful
There is something to be said about Tony Stark’s resourcefulness. No matter what the situation, no matter how desperate things may seem, Tony always seems to have backup plans to dig him out of any proverbial ditch in which he may find himself.
Even while trapped in a cave, Tony was able to fashion his very own suit of armor that allowed him to escape. Tony’s resourcefulness puts him above all other characters in the MCU, as his sheer unwillingness to give up pushes his mind to create new solutions constantly.
Outsmarted Thanos
Tony Stark’s archnemesis throughout his time in the MCU was undoubtedly Thanos. Though he could have never defeated the Mad Titan in an all-out brawl, Tony instead found a way to outsmart the villain, defeating him using his brain rather than his own physical strength.
Knowing that Thanos was obsessed with gathering the Infinity Stones, Tony lured the Titan into sloppily attempting to steal them from the vulnerable Infinity Gauntlet. This proved to be a trick, of course, as Tony stole the Stones from under Thanos’s nose, using them to kill the Mad Titan once and for all.
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