Technically, who is more brilliant?

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Victor Von Doom or Reed Richards? Is the only thing stopping Von Doom from being the world's foremost authority in science and technolgy really just ego and arrogance? Or was it because Richards was right about the error he detected in Victor's experiment always been proof enough to prove the contrary?

[twilight]

I would say Reed.

Doom has however much time he wants to come up with his plans to destroy the FF but Reed only has a limited amount of time to stop Doom and has come out on top most of the times they've clashed.

[Erik Lehnsherr]

I would say Reed.

Doom has however much time he wants to come up with his plans to destroy the FF but Reed only has a limited amount of time to stop Doom and has come out on top most of the times they've clashed.

Yeah..I figured someone bring that up. But what about when he had the advantage thanks to sorcery the last time? He had them all beat. Dead to rights. In FF #499, Victor was the winner and had them uncomprised and at his mercy. But what saved them? Victor being a LITTLE too arrogant again and, of course, Dr. Strage making the save. Was there ANY WAY Reed could of found a spell to get out of that room on his own in that scernario?

[tjarvis]

Reed is just that much smarter than Doom. Both are mega-geniuses who dwarf all those around them, but Reed has the slight edge. You should check out FF:1234 since it kind of focuses on that theme.

[Harold of the Rocks]

I'd go with Reed as well. Nice point, twilight. I would also ask (I'm not the expert, I'll leave that to others with much 'deeper' references to refer to), but the fact that Doom is a monarch -- doesn't that mean that he has more resources available to him? I know Latveria is not the U.S., but can't he just mandate his country's resources to his disposal, while Reed (being a law abiding citizen) has to go through certain protocols to obtain a lot of his resources?

Also, a truly brilliant person should be aware of their own flaws so as to minimize them. Reed seems pretty humble for all of his accomplishments. Doom can't seem to set his ego aside, despite the fact that it often seems to contribute to his downfall.

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Reed is just that much smarter than Doom. Both are mega-geniuses who dwarf all those around them, but Reed has the slight edge. You should check out FF:1234 since it kind of focuses on that theme.

Yeah..I probably need to check that out. So, the humbler genius is better? I see.

[Harold of the Rocks]

the one who doesn't let his negative personality traits thwart his plans. The one who can see his weaknesses and overcome them. The one who is able to be honest to oneself and not let vanity, ego, or overconfidence contribute to their failings. Doom can't do these things as consistently as Reed. It is possible for a genius to be too humble, lack self-confidence, or not assert themselves enough -- to be sure. However, more often than not, Doom lacks humility, and is over-confident. The fact that he cannot see why he has repeatedly failed nor does anything to change those character flaws is a mark against his genius. So in this particular comparison, yes... humility benefits Reed, because his foe is so arrogant and lacks it altogether.

[Mark Spiridakis]

Victor Von Doom or Reed Richards?

Richards, because evil is dumb.

[Erik Lehnsherr]

the one who doesn't let his negative personality traits thwart his plans. The one who can see his weaknesses and overcome them. The one who is able to be honest to oneself and not let vanity, ego, or overconfidence contribute to their failings. Doom can't do these things as consistently as Reed. It is possible for a genius to be too humble, lack self-confidence, or not assert themselves enough -- to be sure. However, more often than not, Doom lacks humility, and is over-confident. The fact that he cannot see why he has repeatedly failed nor does anything to change those character flaws is a mark against his genius. So in this particular comparison, yes... humility benefits Reed, because his foe is so arrogant and lacks it altogether.

Well...I guess that sums it up.

[Tobias March]

Victor Von Doom or Reed Richards? Is the only thing stopping Von Doom from being the world's foremost authority in science and technolgy really just ego and arrogance? Or was it because Richards was right about the error he detected in Victor's experiment always been proof enough to prove the contrary?

It's an interesting question, as while Doom may be personally flawed, he's open-minded enough to embrace two wildly distinct world-views - sorcery and science.

However, where he falls down is that he perceives them both merely as means to an end, which would be power. Reed is sincerely stimulated purely by the ideas of science. If Doom wasn't so blinded by envy and lust he would be the more brilliant IMO just because he can bridge the gap intellectually.

[Tommy]

In FF annual 2 Reed pretty much proved he was smarter than Victor. However victor defiantly edges him out in diversity of knowledge. And Victor has pulled off things like permanently curing Ben that Reed has not.

[Headhunter]

Definitely Reed, it's harder to create than to destroy.

[CyberCoyote]

Gotta go with Reed too, although Doom's mystical side gives him the edge overall.

I think it was the old FF/X-Men mini where both Reed and Doom are working on a cure for..uhh..something, and Doom refuses to believe Reed is doing certain calculations in his head :)

Then again they seem to specialize in different fields, Doom's robots are definitely more interesting than Reed's :cool:

[Harold of the Rocks]

It's an interesting question, as while Doom may be personally flawed, he's open-minded enough to embrace two wildly distinct world-views - sorcery and science.

However, where he falls down is that he perceives them both merely as means to an end, which would be power. Reed is sincerely stimulated purely by the ideas of science. If Doom wasn't so blinded by envy and lust he would be the more brilliant IMO just because he can bridge the gap intellectually.

I agree that Doom's 'embracing' of sorcery does give him knowledge of things Reed does not have... he just can't figure out that he's his own worst enemy, not Reed. If he ever figures that out... look out!!