- "Da Naboo tink dey so smarty. Dey tink their brains so big."
- ―Boss Nass
The Leader, Samuel Sterns - Super Smarty!
Enhanced intellect, or increased intellect, represents an individual's intelligence quotient, which is usually perpetuated through unnatural processes. This differs from someone who is simply naturally intelligent, and generally relates to those whose intellect has increased due to scientific experimentation, genetic mutation or some other form of external stimuli.
In science fiction, one of the most well-known examples of enhanced intellect is Flowers for Algernon, which was a short story written by Daniel Keyes in 1958 and was first published in the April, 1959 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. The story was adapted into a television movie in 2000 starring Matthew Modine which chronicles the life of a simple-minded janitor named Charlie Gordon, who undergoes experimental brain surgery to increase his IQ. Ultimately however, his intellect regresses back to that of a small child.
Dr. Cranium from the All-New Super Friends Hour.
The Marvel Comics character Samuel Sterns was a custodian at a factory who was exposed to harmful levels of gamma radiation via a canister of toxic waste. The exposure not only turned his skin green, but increased his intellect to super-genius levels. Another physical mutation was an enlarged cranium. Dubbing himself the Leader, he became one of the most notorious adversaries of another gammas-radiated green-skinned mutation - the Hulk.
"Hey, my brain is super-big too!"
The 1984 short story "The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson" by author Stephen King features the titular protagonist Becka Paulson, who benefits from the effects of increased intellect. The story was adapted into a season three episode of the 1995 iteration of The Outer Limits, also titled "The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson", where the character was played by actress Catherine O'Hara. In the story, Becka Paulson suffers an accidental gunshot wound to the head while watching a soap opera. She becomes increasingly more intelligent even though her actions are guided by the voice of a man on the TV screen (8x10 Man), who encourages her to kill her husband.
In the pilot episode of the All-New Super Friends Hour cartoon series, a scientist named Doctor Cranium creates a "brain machine" that increases his intellect and also gives him other abilities such as telekinesis. [1]
Characters[]
| Character | Source |
|---|---|
| Clifford DeVoe | DC Universe |
| Doctor Cranium | Super Friends |
| Gnarrk | DC Universe |
| Grant Wilson | DC Universe |
| Samuel Sterns | Marvel Universe |
| Slade Wilson | DC Universe |
Notes[]
- Enhanced intelligence; Increased intellect and Increased intelligence all redirect to this page.
See also[]
Appearances[]
Comics[]
- Flash 105 - Katmos uses a mind control gun on a civilian, but it enhances his intellect.