Recently, the long-awaited trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was finally revealed at the San Diego Comic Con 2022. While there are many details about the movie yet to be discovered, the trailer did confirm the long-running theory that Namor would be the film's big villain.
Although fans are not sure what to expect from the Submariner, it is common knowledge that Namor is of extreme intelligence and will certainly be hard to defeat and get the upper hand over. It wouldn't at all be surprising either if he does succeed since the MCU has seen plenty of villains in the past outsmart everyone's favorite heroes.
Obadiah Stane
Initially a good friend and mentor to Tony Stark, Obadiah Stane was a big supporter of Tony and his technology in the first Iron Man film; however, his attitude towards him soon changed when Tony decided that he wanted to cease creating weapons.
A shocking betrayal often stems from the villainous traitor using deceit to fool the hero into not seeing it coming, and that is exactly what Obadiah managed to do. With his shady dealings kept under the table until he revealed it to Tony, and by stealing the Arc Reactor from Tony unexpectedly, Stane has set a perfect precedent on how to outsmart a rival for future MCU villains.
Aldrich Killian
For a man with the word 'genius' in his self-title, Tony Stark sure gets betrayed and outsmarted a lot. In the controversial Iron Man 3, Aldrich Killian operates under false terrorist name 'The Mandarin' to accomplish his nefarious deeds. Unknown to both Aldrich and Tony, the moniker is already in use by an innocent man, although it still works out in Aldrich's favor (temporarily at least).
Though Killian is able to outsmart Stark, it was poorly executed and seemed like a lazy and convenient plot device to give the villain an upper-hand (which is why fans consider it one of the worst twist endings in cinema ever). Many more villains in the MCU use false identities in a more convincing way, as this example makes Stark seem more foolish than he lets anyone believe.
Ultron
Originally created by Bruce Banner and Tony Stark, Ultron was initially created to become a peace-keeping protocol to aid the Avengers in keeping humanity safe. Unfortunately, Ultron becomes self-aware and becomes convinced that humanity is the true problem to itself. By making himself become self-aware and using both his sentries and the Maximoffs to carry out his mission, Ultron successfully had the entire Avengers outsmarted.
The combined factors of Ultron resisting his creator's will on his own without them realizing until it is too late and manipulating the Maximoffs shows just how deceitful Ultron was, having outsmart so many people at once. It was also the haunting performance of James Spader that really sell the ways Ultron carried out his masterful plan under the noses of the Avengers up to a point in the film.
Green Goblin
Whether it is in the original Sam Raimi Spider-Man movie or in the final installment of the MCU trilogy, No Way Home, the Green Goblin is a manipulative force that always seems to get an edge on Peter Parker. In one of the most chilling scenes in the MCU, Spider-Man's toughest enemy manages to hide the fact that the Goblin was in control of Norman the whole time. Even when Peter finds out, it is too late, and chaos ensues that changes Peter forever.
This moment alone sets course for the rest of the film, challenging Peter to think if maybe he should be less trusting of others and become more aggressive. Furthermore, even though Peter seemingly has the Goblin apprehended, the foe uses a charismatic speech to sway the other enemies of Spidey in the room, outsmarting Peter in back-to-back blows.
Agatha Harkness
It stunned fans all over the globe when Agatha Harkness revealed that she was pulling the strings in the WandaVision series. The woman that both Wanda and the audience believed was just a fun, nosy side character in Agnes was a powerful witch named Agatha Harkness, seeking Wanda's power for herself.
Without a doubt, Agatha's villainous reveal as the big bad of WandaVision is one of phase four's biggest twists. In a world where Wanda was convinced she had everything under her control, it was really Agatha all along. This fact really boosts Agatha's purpose for coming to Westview: to take Wanda's powers for her own.
Alexander Pierce
A man who appeared as a well-meaning member of the World Security Council, Alexander Pierce was a secret menace to Nick Fury and ally to Hydra. In the background, the old friend of Nick used his high status and technological prowess to help the villainous organization infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D.
Pierce's covert and sinister methods of assisting Hydra, including sewing bombs in the name tags of other council members, kept his true motives under Nick Fury's nose for the longest time. The longer he kept these plans under wraps, the bigger impact he had on the audience.
Helmut Zemo
What better way for a villain to avoid the heroes and get a victory than to convince them to fight each other? That is exactly what Zemo did, and it nearly worked. Zemo used his mind and Bucky Barnes to pit the Avengers against each other and nearly succeeded in getting them to destroy each other from within.
Had Zemo succeded, it would probably have been the greatest example of any supervillain outsmarting a hero. By using an object of one Avengers' affection and each other's hatred, Zemo was so close to getting the greatest superhero team around to implode.
Mysterio
While some heroes manage to outsmart their enemies once and never again, Mysterio manages to outsmart Peter Parker twice. The first of two events is Quentin Beck being a villain the whole time, posing as a hero in order to bring down Tony Stark's legacy, and the second event being Mysterio filming his own death, revealing to the whole world Spider-Man's true identity before implicating Peter for his death.
Mysterio's two moments of outsmarting Peter are incredibly instrumental for both the MCU and its Spider-Man trilogy. Without him revealing Peter's identity to the world, No Way Home would not have happened, which provides the first cracks in the Multiverse.
Loki
Constantly interlocked in a complicated love-hate relationship with his brother Thor, Loki proves in each and every one of his numerous MCU appearance that he is one of the smartest superhero movie villains ever. Be it faking his own death, getting into the minds of his enemies, and using his charm to get what he wants, Loki has truly outsmarted many heroes many times.
Not only does this make Loki a more powerful and menacing villain, but it makes Loki an even more complex and interesting character in all the MCU. Even though the character's future may be uncertain, it will be interesting to see who Loki outdoes in wits next.
Thanos
The Mad Titan has been the entire antagonist of the MCU in the first three phases ever since his cameo in the first Avengers movie. Thanos has shown many examples of outsmarting the heroes, be it getting Loki and other villains to do his dirty work for him in collecting the Infinity Stones for him, or rewinding time with the Time Stone in Infinity War to get the Mind Stone from Vision.
One of the best ways for a villain to outsmart a hero is to either orchestrate from the shadows, or to get others to do your work for you, leaving no trace of your involvement. Thanos accomplishes both, making fans patiently wait for him to strike after his cameo teased early in the MCU franchise, unbeknownst to Earth's Mightiest Heroes the whole time, who were always chasing after the wrong villains for the wrong reasons.