DC Officially Confirms the Smartest Person on Earth (And It Isn’t Lex Luthor)

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Action Comics #1066!As much as he likes to brag, even Lex Luthor knows there’s someone smarter than him. When Brainiac’s legacy imperils the DC Universe, Superman’s greatest adversary looks inward and has an honest conversation with himself. Lex may be incredibly intelligent, but there’s one person he’ll readily admit to surpassing him.

In Action Comics #1066’s backup story “Lena and Lex” by Joshua Williamson and Laura Braga, Lex’s daughter Lena has been plugged into Brainiac’s system so that the villain can use her mind to process his system. Lex has plugged his mind into the system to rescue his daughter, and the two have a heart-to-heart.

Lena recalls much of her infancy and wonders why she can remember it so vividly. Lex tells Lena that her time spent in the future with Brainiac essentially turned her into a supercomputer. Lex even says that Lena lacks the limits of Brainiac’s 12th-level intelligence.

Lex Luthor Confirms His Daughter is the DC Universe’s Smartest Person

Lex had Lena years ago and it wasn’t long before he traded her to Brainiac in exchange for futuristic technology. Lena became Brainiac’s avatar and later returned to the present fully grown to assist Brainiac in taking over the world. However, Lena sided with her father in the end and wound up back in her infant form. Not wanting to make the same mistake twice, Lex gave his daughter up to his mother to live in a safe, but sequestered, part of the world. However, years after Lex parted with Lena, she returned after an assassination attempt on Lex’s life.

Lex Luthor is many things and while vain is certainly one of them, he generally knows when something is objectively true. As smart as he considers himself to be, Lex saw how Lena’s time with Brainiac changed his daughter and how her body could process information Lex could only dream of. Luthor even says that Lena is potentially smarter than Brainiac, likely the smartest person in the whole DC Universe. Granted, Lena’s young, but she’s shown a lot of potential and that potential just may have been the turning point in Lex Luthor’s life.

Lena Luthor’s Intelligence Changed Things For Lex

While Lex has been a monster for most of his life, having Lena around actually helped him grow. Not only did he recognize Lena’s potential to surpass him, but he also realized how important it was to make things better for her, something he admits was the reason behind his work with Superman. Lex isn’t a sentimental person, but he clearly values his daughter’s gifts and has actually tried to make the world better for her intelligence to prosper. Lex Luthor might not be the most intelligent person on Earth, but he’s smart enough to recognize his daughter’s greatness.

Action Comics #1066 is available now from DC Comics.