There aren't many post-apocalyptic sci-fi franchises out there that center around the concept of children fighting to the death, but credit needs to be given where it's due because The Hunger Games did an amazing job of taking the brutish concept and turning it into an inspiring young-adult story-arc.
The are many reasons why the story centered around Katniss Everdeen and her attempts to overthrow the dictatorial Capitol has quickly become a cultural icon, but one of the largest is the many characters that the franchise has given audiences to cheer for. That being said, some were definitely more suited for their tasks than others, so take a look at our list of the main characters of The Hunger Games ranked by intelligence.
Effie Trinket
Was there ever anybody who was going to contend with Effie for the last spot on our list? Don't get us wrong, Effie seemed to redeem herself throughout the course of the series, defecting to the resistance and fleeing the Capitol, but during most of her time on screen Effie was just another Capitol snob who looked down on Katniss, Peeta, and essentially anybody who didn't have bright-pink hair or a ballerina too-too on at all times. Katniss was forced to fight other children to the death and she still might've concluded that Effie was the biggest pain in her butt during the entire Games, often butting-heads with the District 12 escort who couldn't fathom why people fighting poverty and starvation didn't have proper etiquette or manners.
Peeta Mellark
Audiences should never forget that the only reason why Peeta Mellark made it out of this series alive, or even past his and Katniss' first Games, was because of a loaf of burned bread. If Peeta hadn't tossed Katniss a loaf of burnt, soggy, and muddy bread before any of the events of the story took place, her conscience wouldn't have kept her from seeing him as just another target for her bow and arrow.
Katniss and Peeta may have formed a genuine and caring relationship throughout the series, but if Peeta had been left to fend for himself he never would have made it past the District 1 and 2 tributes (he was wounded before Katniss saved him).
President Coin
President Coin certainly helped get the ball rolling when it came to the resistance in District 13, and a woman with the weight of an entire settlement of refugees and fighters on her back can't be classified as stupid, but she gets her low ranking on this list because of two main reasons - her constant head-butting with Katniss and the decision to send the bombs in that killed Prim. Coin made it clear that she barely cared about Katniss and only wanted her for what she could do for the rebellion. As for the death of Prim and the bombing of innocent people, that speaks for itself.
Primrose Everdeen
We're not crying, you're crying. Actually, anybody who experienced this was crying because author Suzanne Collins chose to give the audience one of the most tragic deaths in sci-fi history by killing Katniss Everdeen's adorable little sister, Prim, rendering the entire reason that Katniss volunteered for the Games in the first place completely pointless.
However, up until that horrific moment, Prim had quickly proven her worth by becoming a healer for the District 13 resistance and was well on her way to rising among their ranks when the final battle against the Capitol occurred and was blown up by a trap-bomb. For all we know, Prim could've been the smartest character in The Hunger Games universe, but sadly, we never will.
Gale Hawethorne
Gale might never have had to face the unfortunate circumstance of being selected as a tribute for the Games, but we're willing to bet that he would have been a more worthy asset to Katniss than Peeta was. Gale could hunt and often trekked into the forests with "Katnip" in order to provide food for his family and that requires a certain level of intelligence. Not only that, he had the foresight to get as many people out of District 12 as he could before the Capitol's Fire Ships dropped bombs on the place. He was an able soldier and may have made the horrific and consequential bomb that ended up killing Katniss' little sister, but he was just a man following orders in that respect.
Finnick Odair
What a hero. If Katniss Everdeen was "The Girl on Fire" then Finnick Odair was "The Man Who Walked on Water" because he could do virtually no wrong when it came to helping take down the system that forced him to kill innocent children.
Finnick was no softy and certainly knew what he was doing with his trusty trident, not to mention that he was in on the plan to save Katniss and get her safely back to District 13 all along. We're fairly certain that if Katniss hadn't taken down Snow, Finnick would've been a viable alternative.
Haymitch Abernathy
Audiences tend to give Haymitch a lot of flak due to his drunken and uncaring demeanor that he carried whole-heartedly throughout the first two movies of the series, but honestly, how much alcohol would you need to consume in order to forget the nightmarish-scenario of being selected for a "special" Games where you had to watch (or kill) double the amount of children as normal. Haymitch had demons and was perfectly entitled to those demons, especially since he was the one intelligent enough to win that special Games, but even better was the fact that Haymitch was able to bounce out of his drunken-stupor and do everything he could to help the District 13 resistance topple the Capitol and their tyrannical President. We're proud of you, Haymitch, even if you were an ass for a while.
Plutarch Heavensbee
Plutarch was the one who got everything going in terms of taking down President Snow and the Capitol. Katniss may have been "the spark" that the rebellion needed, but she stated many times that she was never trying to be a symbol of resistance and was simply trying to make it out of the Games alive and get back to her family.
However, Plutarch was the one who recognized the potential that came from Katniss' defiance in the first Games and rode it all the way to a successful take-down on Panem's government.
President Coriolanus Snow
It may be a sad fact, but the word diabolical can be synonymous with intelligent, and there was nobody in The Hunger Games universe more diabolical than President Snow. The man managed to stay president (was more of a dictator) of Panem for a minimum of 25 years as he was known to be the president when Haymitch won the second quarter-quell, meaning that he spent a quarter of a century plotting and destroying his enemies as they constantly tried to bring him down from the inside. He had an antidote concocted to a poison that he would routinely serve to anyone who opposed him and it finally took the random selection of a little girl named Prim and the selfless volunteer of her big sister to finally take down the hostile dictator.
Katniss Everdeen
It wasn't Katniss' book or learning skills that made her the most intelligent character of The Hunger Games universe - it was her instincts. Katniss was depicted from the very first scene of the franchise as a hunter, somebody who watched and listened to the land and tracks around her to gain the knowledge that she needed. Throughout the entire process of both the Games that Katniss was forced to fight her way through, including the preppy, entertainment aspect they made the tributes succumb to before the fighting, Katniss watched and adapted to her surroundings, no matter who she was dealing with. Whether it was her on-screen relationship with Peeta, or how she ultimately dealt with Coin and President Snow, Katniss was the girl who always knew what game she was playing.