Joker won against Luthor in a game of chess. If Joker can win, even Batman can.

Batman can read the Joker, reason to believe that Batman has an advantage over Luthor.

batman wins... Luthor is worthy but ultimately he would be undone by his arrogance.. batman too obsessive compulsive to leave any openings without it being a trap

Batman beat Ras at Chess, who had never lost for many centuries before. Batman

Batman once lost a chess game against Hawkgirl...

@azazel66: No, Just Luthor. Bat is in the top 10, but not top 5 or anywhee near Lex in terms of intelligence.

Lex loses only because of arrogance, he'll probably think it was beneath him to play Batman in chess. Also, Joker should not be able to beat Lex in a game of chess. Lex is one of the greatest minds in comics, not on Earth or even in the DCU. Lex Luthor is a twelth level intellect, he might even be brighter than Jor-El. Batman and Joker should be outmatched.

Aside from the incredible abilities to comprehend things that humans simply can't, I thought Batman was a brighter than Superman?

I'm not really asserting that with confidence, or at all... but I did think that was the way it worked. Someone correct me.

@DarKnightNoir: You're wrong. If you're asking if Batman were Kryptonian if he would be smarter than Superman the answer is yes. But Batman is human, his mind is no where near Superman's advanced Kryptonian brain. Luthor is smarter than Superman as well.

@azazel66: I dunno, I know Lex is one and no other human comes close, but there are so many brains in the DCU that it would be hard to rank them. Batman would fall in line from 8-10, but guys like Ray Palmer, John Henry Irons, T.O. Morrow and someonther villians would rank ahead of him.

Lex = Brainiac = Jor-El...

@DeathpooltheT1000: If Chess isn't about intelligence, what's the point of this?

@Superguy1591 I don't think we can be sure about who is smarter out of Batman and Superman because writers change Superman's level of intellect constantly but I think that Bruce is more consistently portrayed as being more intelligent than Superman. You also contradicted yourself by saying that Batman is not smarter because he is human and yet then you accept that Luthor is one of the smartest characters in the DCU. To answer the actual question, I'd say that Luthor would win because chess is not about intelligence, it is about understanding the board, it's pieces and anticipating what your opponent is going to do. Luthor plays a lot more than Bruce and it has been proven that practise plays a massive part in how good someone is at chess. There were two girls whose Dad, when they were born, decided to train them into Grandmasters and so he played with them for thousands of hours and eventually they became two of the best in the world.

@Alexander505 said:

Joker won against Luthor in a game of chess. If Joker can win, even Batman can.

Not necessarily true. Joker has also outsmarted Bruce a time or two in actual combat. (Not meaning physical here)

@Superguy1591: Sry dude no way Lex is twelth level intellect. Brainiac 5(Querl Dox) is known as the smartest person in the universe with twelth level intellect.

The population on Earth has a 6th level intelligence avarage, the intellect level for Lex Luthor is between 8-9 level.

Between a chess game i think Lex would win against Batman. But i now that also Alfred has won against Batman on occasions

@Squalleon I'm not saying Bruce doesn't play chess, just saying he doesn't play it as much Luthor. And Risk isn't chess:)

@ReachDestroyer: At no point in time has Batman ever been portrayed as being Superman's superior in terms of intelligence, if they do that it is only when writers need to find a way to have him beat Superman and they want to say brain vs. brauns like Supermn is only muscle. And Lex is no mere human, he's a once in a lifetime genius.

@Impala: Don't be so disrespectful. To say the AVERAGE human has a 6th level intellect and Lex Luthor has only a 9 is as disrespectful as it gets. Lex is as smart as it gets in the DCU.

Halfway through the game Luthor sees things going poorly and grabs his queen, attempting to drive it into Batman's skull.

Batman tazes him under the table, expecting treachery.

@Superguy1591: Fact is he is no way smarter than Brainiac 5 or the other Brainiacs not even smarter than the Coluans with 10th level intellect.

@Squalleon said:

@azazel66 said:

Batman should be ablle to read alfred with his training ant intellect though...maybe he wasnt concentrated or maybe alfredis too good and knows bruce.(Areent bruce and lex the two smartest men alive?)

Bruce is not the second smartest person on earth!

TOYMAN,BLUE BETTLE,MR,TERRIFIC Are smarter! Bruce is just a very,very good strategist!

@ReachDestroyer said:

To answer the actual question, I'd say that Luthor would win because chess is not about intelligence, it is about understanding the board, it's pieces and anticipating what your opponent is going to do. Luthor plays a lot more than Bruce and it has been proven that practise plays a massive part in how good someone is at chess.

He has been playing strategy games since before his parents die especially risk with Tommas Elliot

Mr. Terrific is the third smartest mind, who are the first two? And Blue Beetle is dead so he doesn't count. And Toyman isn't in continuity anymore...the list is getting thinner...And I always hate it when people try to measure knowledge by who can invent the most high tech gizmo. The brain is way more complicated and no offense but Batman has shown much more brain power than Mr. Terrific, even though Mr. Terrific invented his T spheres (which ultimately serve more as a deuz-ex-machina than any of Batman's gadgets)

With one day of prep, Batman can can beat anyone at chess.

@SmashBrawler: Batman has solved way more crimes than any of those guys. So my question to you then is posed, if they are so smart, why is it that Batman is the better crime fighter?

And if they haven't appeared or been mentioned then they aren't in continuity, Flashpoint is a hard reboot. Its an easy way to avoid headaches. And now demonstrate to me how any of those names are smarter than Batman. Because they invented how to shrink themselves? An invention, does not mean how smart they are. Nor does brain capacity cause yes any Kryptonian or Coluan has the better brain power, yet somehow they both get outsmarted. And level of technology accessible also doesn't make someone smarter or else everyone from the 31st century is smarter than the 21st...

My argument on smarts is being able to apply whatever knowledge you have. Batman has demonstrates this in almost every single story he is in, yet I just read the Mister Terrific trade from DCnU, and sure he is tech smart but he is dense with everything around him. Oh and he is litterally a walking deux-ex-machina. An example is he invents something that can absorb and release seismic energy, and someone tries to control his mind (ish) and gets the invention to release seismic energy. And in 5 minutes flat he manages to invent a way to stop it. Now if he really was so smart, why didn't he create that safeguard before? And if it takes him just 5 minutes to invent something like that, why in the world is DCnU have any problems at all, since Mister Terrific could invent it.

Batman's power of "prep" is basically his brain power. He is able to think of multiple situations and be ready for all of them. That is a much more sophisticated brain than simply a reactionary one. So sure his technical knowledge my not be as good as Mister Terrific, but he is smarter in every other way.

And one of Batman's strengths as mentioned before by someone else is strategy, so yes Batman would win again Lex or I would say anyone else in DC who isn't a psychic (that has the ability to forsee all outcomes)

@batshrine said:

@SmashBrawler: Batman has solved way more crimes than any of those guys. So my question to you then is posed, if they are so smart, why is it that Batman is the better crime fighter?

And if they haven't appeared or been mentioned then they aren't in continuity, Flashpoint is a hard reboot. Its an easy way to avoid headaches. And now demonstrate to me how any of those names are smarter than Batman. Because they invented how to shrink themselves? An invention, does not mean how smart they are. Nor does brain capacity cause yes any Kryptonian or Coluan has the better brain power, yet somehow they both get outsmarted. And level of technology accessible also doesn't make someone smarter or else everyone from the 31st century is smarter than the 21st...

My argument on smarts is being able to apply whatever knowledge you have. Batman has demonstrates this in almost every single story he is in, yet I just read the Mister Terrific trade from DCnU, and sure he is tech smart but he is dense with everything around him. Oh and he is litterally a walking deux-ex-machina. An example is he invents something that can absorb and release seismic energy, and someone tries to control his mind (ish) and gets the invention to release seismic energy. And in 5 minutes flat he manages to invent a way to stop it. Now if he really was so smart, why didn't he create that safeguard before? And if it takes him just 5 minutes to invent something like that, why in the world is DCnU have any problems at all, since Mister Terrific could invent it.

Batman's power of "prep" is basically his brain power. He is able to think of multiple situations and be ready for all of them. That is a much more sophisticated brain than simply a reactionary one. So sure his technical knowledge my not be as good as Mister Terrific, but he is smarter in every other way.

And one of Batman's strengths as mentioned before by someone else is strategy, so yes Batman would win again Lex or I would say anyone else in DC who isn't a psychic (that has the ability to forsee all outcomes)

this guy knows what he's talking about

A very difficult choice.

Referring to solid information from DC wiki both Batman and Lex have genius level intellects.

I think it can go either way.

@Impala said:

@Superguy1591: Sry dude no way Lex is twelth level intellect. Brainiac 5(Querl Dox) is known as the smartest person in the universe with twelth level intellect.

The population on Earth has a 6th level intelligence avarage, the intellect level for Lex Luthor is between 8-9 level.

Between a chess game i think Lex would win against Batman. But i now that also Alfred has won against Batman on occasions

justice league unlimited Destroyer last episode lex has a twelfth level intellect passes source wall.

@primordal: If its said in one place it doesnt mean its true

Source not really reliable

@SmashBrawler: She didn't exist till she showed up...It's a very effective strategy to dealing with the reboot.

And let's ask Einstein and a cop to switch spots and see who is successful in the other persons fields. They will both fail, so does that mean they are both morons? I am just saying intelligence is much more complex then who can invent what. And explain to me then why hasn't a single one of those geniuses solved the problem with hunger? If they can invent portals, time travel, and all these crazy things, you'd think they'd find a way to feed the rest of the earth.

And you are right we have derailed from the topic, and at least we agree on the reason why Batman would win in chess lol

@DeathpooltheT1000: I think the situation is far more complex than that. Lex is also genius, popular, wealthy and strives to mentain a clean public image. He and superman are always looking for ways to derail each other. I dont think superman can't take lex out of the picture through any other means other than wait for him to slip up, and that may take long because he doesn't really leave any tracks or evidence. Lex is a politician his face is clean but his hands are dirty.

@DeathpooltheT1000: Seriously, read a Superman book. You sound like an idiot after that.

@Naamah_Obyzouth: Again, Luthor has been noted as the smartest man in the DCU. He will not overthink anything, he's not the type. He's smart enough to know what pieces to sacrifice for what he considers the greater good. Batman will only win, as Superman so often does, because Lex is a butt. He'll get cocky and let Batman get the upperhand.

@Impala: But Brainiac considers Lex the only man on Earth worthy of his time. Lex is comprable to Brainiac when it comes to intelligence IMHO and Brainiac is a 12th level intellect.

@batshrine: If we're talking about the new 52, Batman ranks behind Cyborg and MANY, MANY others. Batman is not Batgod in the new 52, I'm not sure if he would even rank in the top 10.

@azazel66: He is, but if writers flaunt it Batman's presence in the Justice League would be unrequired. If Superman is shown to be as smart as he is, if Wonder Woman is shown as strategic as she is, if Hal is shown to have as much will as he has...Batman in the Justice League would be redundat. So they dumb everyone down so Batman can shine.

@Gambit1024: This makes sense, but Lex is no pushover when it comes to strategy.

@batshrine: Batman is not top 10 in the new 52, plus, John Henry Irons exists in the new 52. Irons > Bruce Wayne. Cyborg > Bruce Wayne. Many others outrank Bruce Wayne, not to mention, Mr. Terrific was the 3rd smartest man in the world in the pre-52 universe as well. It's not something new.

@DeathpooltheT1000: -_-...Clark Kent is an investigative journalist, he figures people's plans ahead of time all the time...BUT, Lex is already smarter than both Batman and Superman rolled into one. The only reason why he loses is because he's a tool who doesn't think anyone can outsmart him and he often underestimates his opponets.

@Superguy1591 said:

@DeathpooltheT1000: -_-...Clark Kent is an investigative journalist, he figures people's plans ahead of time all the time...BUT, Lex is already smarter than both Batman and Superman rolled into one. The only reason why he loses is because he's a tool who doesn't think anyone can outsmart him and he often underestimates his opponets.

This.

@Superguy1591: Ha awesome post!

And I will say this, I don't think Batman is a genius. I do think he is one of the smartest things in the DC Universe. There is a difference