By franchise
Smartest characters, show by show
The same five-part test applied to every character in a franchise, so the cast can be compared like for like.
Reviewed September 2026By the LifeScore Editorial TeamEditorial policy
Death Note
L, Light, Near and Mello
A story built as a duel of minds, so its cast is the easiest to compare like for like.
4 characters ranked
Naruto
Shikamaru, Itachi and Naruto
A power-scaling series in which the clever characters still have to face gods, which makes intelligence hard to isolate.
3 characters ranked
Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul
Walter White, Gus Fring and Saul Goodman
Three different kinds of intelligence, chemical, organisational and verbal, in one criminal universe.
3 characters ranked
Marvel
Tony Stark, Reed Richards and Bruce Banner
A universe of self-declared geniuses, where the title is handed out far more freely than the evidence supports.
3 characters ranked