Smartest Female Comic Characters

When it comes to the smartest female comic characters, there is definitely more than meets the eye. When you look past their tight costumes, perfect hair, and curves, you will uncover a list of women who are skilled in both the mind and the body. Poison Ivy’s study of botanical biochemistry, Sue Storm’s four doctorates in biochemical sciences and She-Hulk’s degree in law are just a few of the credentials that the smartest female comic characters have achieved. Not to be overshadowed by their male counterparts, these women are the lady bosses of the comic book industry.

Poison Ivy

Having a green thumb is hard enough, but Pamela Isley, better known as Poison Ivy succeeded and then some as one of the smartest female comic characters. Though Pamela never did finish her degree in botanical biochemistry, she was a budding student before her professor injected her with toxins. She then turned into the superpowered Poison Ivy that we all know. Obsessed with plants, botany, and the environment, the DC character uses her knowledge of botany to become the supervillainess that she is. She extracts the toxins from plants and uses mind-controlling pheromones to complete her criminal acts. Her red hair and classic green outfit depict the red and green of the poisonous flowering plant.

Emma Frost

Though beautiful and often scantily clad, Emma Frost is one of the smartest female comic characters. Following emancipation from her family at a young age, Emma Frost went through a rough period of homelessness before meeting and falling in love with Troy. From here, she gains power within a small mob group and she becomes the White Queen of the Hellfire Club. With her cunning style and her business expertise, she rises to the top of the Club and becomes a foe then a superhero to the X-Men members. In various Frost incarnations, she has multiple degrees, including a Bachelor of Science in Education that is joined by a minor in Business Administration. As if that’s not enough, she is knowledgeable in biochemistry, genetics, and electronics.

Doctor Light

Based on her own description of herself, Kimiyo Hoshi is a scientist first and a superhero second. Before becoming Doctor Light, Hoshi was a doctor and prominent astronomer, as well as the world’s most recognized authority on light technology. Her love of light is portrayed through her portrayal of one of the smartest female comic characters. She was granted control of all light sources and she can also absorb light as energy. Sounds pretty simple until it’s a cloudy day.

Lois Lane

Don’t let the fact that she can’t recognize Superman when he’s in plain clothes and glasses fool you. As a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, one of the most esteemed awards for achievements in newspaper, magazine and online journalism, literature, and musical composition, Lois Lane is one of the smartest female comic characters. She has a long spanning career in both print and television at the Daily Planet in Metropolis, recognized in her industry as one of best reporters. She got her start as a writer when she attended Raleigh College for journalism and worked at the student newspaper as a reporter and then co-editor, before moving onto the Daily Planet and quickly becoming a recognized reporter and journalist.

Harley Quinn

Did you know that it takes eight years of schooling for achieve the degree of a board certified psychiatrist? And if any of you are as unenthusiastic about college, you know that eight years might as well be an eternity! And poor Dr. Harleen Francis Quinzel, M.D. put in all those years of schooling and then landed a job at Arkham Asylum before meeting the Joker and it all went downhill from there. As one of the smartest female comic characters, Harley Quinn isn’t putting that degree to much use anymore, as she has joined the Suicide Squad and is always incubating the next crime alongside Deadshot, The Joker and the rest of the gang.

She-Hulk

Slip and fall? she’s the one to call. As a highly skilled lawyer, Jennifer Walters, or She-Hulk is a Marvel character who is always busy punching holes in buildings or a prosecutor’s argument. It is estimated that about 60 percent of participants pass the Bar Exam every year, and that leaves a whole lot of room for error. She-Hulk has represented various superheroes on many occasions in court when they need to defend their wrongdoings. Lawyer turned She-Hulk, she acquired a milder version of her cousin, the Hulk’s, traits after receiving a blood transfusion when she was injured. Obtaining the same green tone, she has kept her personality, intelligence, and emotional control.

Kitty Pryde

We all know the tech industry is dominated by men. Whether it’s women’s disinterest in the field of the close knit group of men that make it difficult to enter, we know it takes a really smart and divisive female to become a part of the tech industry, from coders to hackers. Katherine Anne Pryde is one of the most notorious hackers in the Marvel Universe and one of the smartest female comic characters, as a result. Her powers are so diverse that if she can’t hack the computer manually through codes and such, she can just straight up destroy it by using her phasing power. Phasing means she has the ability to pass through solid objects by allowing her atomic particles to pass through the spaces between the object.

Barbara Gordon

Barbara Gordon’s career as Batgirl came to an end when she was shot right through the spine by the cynical Joker, but that didn’t stop her. She takes on the role as one of the smartest female comic characters, Oracle. Uninhibited by her paralysis, Oracle offers her services as a hacker to many of the DC Universe superheroes. She can take and give out information from military personnel, satellites, and private government files. One of her most satisfied clients is Batman, who often consults her for help. She is able to provide digital research, technological information and facts for the use of her clients in fighting crime.

Sue Storm

Depending on which version of Sue Storm you’re looking at, you will get a different depiction of the Marvel character and her intelligence. Since we’re screaming “Girl Power” we’re gonna go ahead and look at the Sue Storm from the Ultimate Fantastic Four, where she is portrayed as one of the smartest female comic characters. In this incarnation, she is a brilliant and budding biochemistry student. As the daughter of scientist, Franklin Storm, Sue inherited her father’s genius and exhibited her intelligence at a young age. Even as a child, she was a budding prodigy, as she studied and worked at the Baxter Building, a government research lab. She followed her father’s footsteps into the field of physics and later went on to earn four doctorates in biochemical sciences! You go girl!