The Marvel Cinematic Universe is loosely based upon the Marvel comic verse that comic readers love and adore. When I say loosely, I say that for a reason. Marvel Cinematic Universe has streamlined the comic stories so they can be better presented on-screen with the current resources in mind. The second thing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that it is by no measure a complete universe. The film franchise that we have come to love and adore is actually just a part of the bigger universe. The reason for this is the fact that before Disney bought the MCU, Marvel had already sold the film rights to a plethora of its characters to other media giants. This led to a disjointed reality when Disney finally started cultivating the Marvel Cinematic Universe as an interlinked universe of heroes featuring team ups and epic final battles (Much like a series arc in a TV show).
Why am I telling you all of this? And is it even important? The answer is yes, these facts are very important if you wish to understand the latest statement from the directors of Infinity War. In a recent interview, the directorial pair was asked who is the smartest character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The brothers had this to say on the topic:-
“Shuri is the smartest person in the Marvel universe.”
“She is the sister of T’Challa [and] the princess of Wakanda,” Joe Russo said. “And she is the brains behind Wakanda’s incredibly advanced technology.”
Although this statement substantially establishes Shuri as one of the most advanced minds in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it still does not make her the most intelligent in the Marvel multiverse. Confused? Don’t be. I will explain everything in the subsequent paragraphs. So relax and maybe get some popcorn because this ride is about to get very very interesting in just a second.
Shuri is the sister to T’Challa aka the Black Panther aka the king of Wakanda. She is a teenager with a gifted mind and the brains behind all the tech in Wakanda. She has amazing technological prowess and the woman is capable of so much more than just harnessing the technology around her. There are scenes in the Infinity War that showcase this exceptional brain of Shuri and her intellect. There is a scene where Shuri out-geeks both Tony Stark and Bruce Banner in one fell sweep.
This is ground-breaking because up until this character was introduced in Black Panther, Stark and Banner were pretty much our go-to tech guys in the Avengers. Stark created Ultron for crying out loud and this woman outclasses even him.
Infinity War also showcased the fact that both Stark and Banner had much to learn from Shuri. As witnessed by the fact that Stark implemented the Nanotech used by T’Challa into his Iron Man suit when he created the bleeding edge armor he uses to battle the Mad Titan.
Moreover, all this evidence and the statement by the brothers does not mean that Shuri is the smartest in all of Marvel. It simply means that of all the characters introduced up until now, Shuri stands at the top in terms of pure intellectual firepower. But where does this put Shuri in terms of all Marvel character?.
If we considered all the characters from the Marvel comic multiverse, Shuri will be lost in the distance in terms of intellect. There is the leader of the first family of Marvel i.e. Reed Richards, there is Hank Pym (The original Hank Pym and not the watered down Marvel Cinematic Universe version ), there is Franklin Richards, there is Charles Xavier and there are a plethora of other characters who outclass this Wakandan mind but none of them exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as is.
This intellect of Shuri will be an indispensable asset come Avengers 4, we may see the character create something amazing for the Avengers to use against the Mad Titan. Infinity War was a surprise for her but the fandom (And now the directors) expect the character to pull something out of the hat now that it will be the Avengers taking the fight to Thanos. Avengers 4 comes out on may 4, 2018. Up until then keep looking at this space for everything Marvel.
