The Marvel Universe contains some of the most intelligent characters in all of pop culture. Thanks to the MCU everyone is aware of geniuses like Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and Shuri. And long time comic book fans are very familiar with Marvel's other biggest brains like Reed Richards and Hank McCoy. But often where there is good, evil also lurks - evil geniuses of the highest order no less!

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Marvel may not have invented the term evil genius but over the years they most certainly perfected the archetype. While the 616 houses many smart, evil minds, these particular evil geniuses have gone above and beyond in the field of intelligent villainy. Without further delay, here are the 10 most successful evil geniuses of the Marvel Universe, ranked.

In some ways, the Tinkerer may be the smartest person on this list. After all, he designs weaponry for criminals while rarely partaking in his own crimes.

Besides creating Mysterio's suit and working for the Kingpin among many other endeavors, the Tinkerer received both the funding and technology for his operations from the nation of Latveria. If Doctor Doom respects someone's intelligence, they're most definitely in good (villainous) company.

Another villain whose smarts Doctor Doom respects is the Mad Thinker, as Doom recruited him to be a part of his efforts to uncover the truth behind the Incursions duringTime Runs Out. Doom's eternal blood rival Reed Richards has also gone to the Mad Thinker for help in the past, clearing the Thinker of criminal charges in exchange for checking his calculations regarding the effects of not supporting the Superhero Registration Act from Civil War.

When two of the most intelligent people come to one guy for help, their personalgenius status is set for life.

The most diabolical geniuses are those that never die. Thanks to his own accomplishments, Arnim Zola has achieved a form of immortality, as he created a system of android bodies that he can transfer his consciousness in and out of as needed.

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In addition to being an expert biochemist and genetics expert, Zola once conquered a whole dimension and nearly took over the Earth with it, and also was consulted by the Beast following the Decimation that occurred during House of M.

A smart man before he ever took the Goblin formula, Norman Osborn would go on to gain a genius-level intellect along with the other powers of the Green Goblin - at the cost of his sanity. While it remains to be seen if the Goblin formula grants him true immortality, the healing factor he gained saved him after being impaled in the heart by his own glider.

Norman's scientific genius is matched, if not exceeded, by his cunning. DuringSecret Invasion, a convenient, well-timed shot against the Skrull queen made Osborn public hero number one and gained him the world's trust as well as saw him placed in charge of the S.H.I.E.L.D. replacement agency H.A.M.M.E.R.

Gamma rays have an array of effects in the Marvel universe. Sometimes they grant a person immense strength, like the Hulk, Abomination, and Doc Samson. Other times, they can give someone superhuman intelligence - which is how the Leader became one of the leading evil minds in all of Marvel.

Aside from having total recall of every event he has witnessed since his transformation and hyper-accurate calculation of possible outcomes and possibilities, the Leader once stole the Watcher's "Ultimate Machine" containing all the universe's knowledge. He even cheated the death code the Watcher planted in the machine via a "Revivo-Beam" he had on the ready in the event of his death.

It's a good thing Reed Richards is one of the good guys, right? If his mind ever turned evil there's no telling what damage he could do! Enter the Maker,the Reed Richards from the Ultimate Marvel universe.

Inthe Ultimate timeline, Reed's life goes in a downward spiral following his break up with his wife Sue and the disbanding of the Fantastic Four. So of course the next logical step for someone of Reed's intellect would be tobecome a threat to the entire Ultimate universe. He leaves Galactus in the Negative Zone to starve, makes his way to the 616 universe and tries to kill that world's Reed,all the while having the ability to split himself into multiple sentient beings that can operate independently of one another. That's one way to deal with a break up.

With a Ph.D. in nuclear science, Doctor Octopus's expertise in radiation led to Mr. Fantastic reaching out when his wife suffered complications during her second pregnancy because of the cosmic radiation that gave her her powers.

That alone cements him in the upper echelon of geniuses, but when factoring his numerous inventions and that he once "killed" Spider-Man by switching bodies with him, trapping the Wall-Crawler in his dying body, Doc Ockproveshimself to beone of the deadliest minds in all of comics.

How many people - genius or otherwise - can claim that they tricked the devil himself? Thanos did just that when he enlisted the help of Mephisto during the Infinity Crusade in exchange for a Cosmic Cube. Mephisto did his part and Thanos paid in full - with a broken Cosmic Cube, citing Mephisto never specified the cube needed to be functioning.

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While Thanos isn't recognized as much for his intelligence as others on this list, his strategic abilities are second to none. Seeing him gain each of the Infinity Gems during The Thanos Quest was a master class in manipulation.

Sinister is a scientific genius in numerous fields. Besides cloning, he's also an expert in biology, genetics, engineering, and physics. Upon meeting Apocalypse, Sinister recognized the evolution of the human race in him even before Apocalypse saw it in himself.

His creation of the Jean Grey clone Madelyne Pryor would result in the birth of Cable, but any good that might have done was offset when he ordered the Morlock Massacre because he saw his unauthorized gene signature in them. That, and ifMister Sinister had taken part in the Clone Saga, that story likely wouldn't have lasted for two convoluted years.

Without question, the most successful evil genius in all of Marvel is none other than Doctor Doom. For starters, Doom created a time machine, a feat no other Marvel genius can claim.

If that alone weren't enough, he's gained ultimate power on numerous occasions, usurping the Power Cosmic of the Silver Surfer, then later upgrading and conquering the Beyonder not just once, but twice. The second time, he used the Beyonder's power to collect all the fragments he could of the destroyed Multiverse, forming his own Battleworld and becoming God Emperor Doom in the process.

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As well as writing for CBR, Steve writes also writes comedy and comics, and also covers professional wrestling. Plus he co-hosts a podcast covering the first episodes of new TV shows. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram @stevewaldinger.

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Marvel Comics: The 10 Most Successful Evil Geniuses In The Universe, Ranked - CBR - Comic Book Resources