Intelligence comes in many forms, a fact that holds true in reality and in countless fictional universes. In the many realms of Once Upon a Time, there were characters who were mastermind manipulators, along with those who were particularly perceptive, wise, and those who could adapt to any situation.

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Some characters like Rumplestiltskin and Zelena reveled in their cunning ability to manipulate, while other characters like Henry and Belle possessed more quiet wisdom and perceptiveness. Each character in Once Upon A Time had their own strengths and their own brand of intelligence that allowed them to stand out and conquer impossible challenges.

Prince Charming

Josh Dallas as Prince Charming in Once Upon A Time

As a true Gryffindor, Prince Charming had the courage to rush headfirst into any situation in order to do what was right and save the day. While this made him a noble and admirable character in many ways, he could also be short-sighted and fail to see the bigger picture.

Nefarious characters recognized this and took advantage of him. This happened on several occasions, including in season 5 when Charming was unable to see King Arthur as a villain as Charming was in awe of the Knights of the Round Table and Arthur's chivalrous, brave vision of Camelot.

Hook

Captain Hook in Once Upon A Time

While Hook lacked the book smarts or manipulative smarts that many other characters on this list had, he was a man of experience. His many travels through a variety of realms gave him the skills he needed to survive, adapt, and find the kinds of rare items that no one else could find.

Hook was a character who became smarter over time as he learned how to become a consummate survivor and learned how to become a better man. He was never a mastermind villain or a brilliant hero, but he knew how to use his strengths to his advantage and he gradually became a wiser person.

Neal

Neal Cassady in Once Upon a Time, with earnest expression

Neal was smart enough to figure out how to survive on his own in Neverland and in the Land Without Magic. He learned how to adapt to new environments and create a life for himself with little or no support from others.

He was unable to see through Tamara's lies, though. He didn't realize their "chance encounter" meeting was staged and he got engaged to her, all while trusting her and explaining away any red flags. Neal also let himself be outsmarted by Zelena by following the trap she laid to resurrect Rumplestiltskin, a mistake that ultimately cost Neal his life.

Zelena

Rebecca Mader as Zelena in Once Upon A Time

Zelena was a cunning character who could manipulate practically anyone to get what she wanted. She could manipulate from behind-the-scenes as in the case of Rumplestiltskin's resurrection, manipulate in disguise like when she pretended to be Maid Marian, or manipulate in a straightforward manner like when she controlled Rumplestiltskin through the Dark One dagger.

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Despite Zelena's cunning nature, her overeagerness to get what she wanted sometimes prevented her from seeing the truth or made things worse for herself, though. This was most apparent in season 5 when her eagerness to be loved made her blind to the fact that Hades was manipulating her.

Snow White

 Snow looking at Prince Charming from Once Upon A Time

Snow White was one of the show's most emotionally intelligent characters. She forged many strong connections and relationships with others, which helped her and her loved ones in many situations.

Snow knew exactly how to help Regina, Emma, Henry, and many others get in touch with their emotions and take control of a situation when they felt powerless.

Emma Swan

Jennifer Morrison in Once Upon a Time

In the first season, Emma said she had a "superpower" where she could always tell when a person was lying. This skill allowed her to read people and understand their deeper values and motivations, all of which asserted her as one of the show's most intelligent characters.

As the seasons progressed, though, Emma seemed to lose this "superpower" for the sake of the plot. Despite being less perceptive, Emma continued to find unlikely solutions to seemingly impossible problems. She used her resourceful intelligence to fend for herself growing up and continued to use this resourcefulness throughout the series.

Belle

Emilie de Ravin as Belle and Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin in Once Upon A Time

Out of all the show's characters, Belle had the most book smarts. Being so well-read gave her extensive knowledge that she could apply to almost any situation. Belle's intelligence wasn't just limited to book smarts, though.

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She was perceptive and could see through people's facades, which proved particularly valuable with Rumplestiltskin as she was able to understand and reach him in a way no one else ever could. This made it frustrating when the show contradicted her perceptive intelligence by making her unable to see through some of Rumplestiltskin's lies for the sake of contrived drama.

Henry

Henry holding blue wand

As a young kid, Henry figured out how to get from Storybrooke to Boston so he could find his biological mother and convince her to break the first Dark Curse. This immediately proved that Henry was an intelligent and resourceful character.

He made observations and connections that no else was making, which helped him see the truth in Storybrooke when no one else could. As he grew older, Henry also grew wiser and proved to be intelligent and worthy enough to be the next Author.

Regina

Regina Mills picking apples in Once Upon A Time.

Regina proved to be intelligent as both a villain and a hero. As a villain, she learned how to take what people loved most and use this love to make them suffer. For 28 years she used this tactic against the cursed citizens of Storybrooke. She even used it successfully against Rumplestiltskin and made him believe Belle was dead for many years.

As a hero, Regina learned to be wise. Her gradual and hard-earned redemption is so satisfying because she learned the value of doing the right thing and she committed to doing what was right, even when it was much easier to do what was wrong.

Rumplestiltskin

An image of Rumplestiltskin waving in Once Upon A Time

Rumplestiltskin successfully outsmarted and manipulated practically every character on this list in order to achieve his ends. Regina cast the first Dark Curse while Snow White and Prince Charming's true love ensured that it could be broken, all of which Rumplestiltskin planned and enacted with flawless execution.

Time and time again, he convinced others to act against their own self-interests. No matter how dire the situation, Rumplestiltskin always found an unorthodox and effective solution. In the end, he even outsmarted the Wish Realm version of himself in order to save everyone and finally be free to reunite with Belle in the afterlife.

NEXT: Once Upon A Time: 5 Times We Felt Bad For Rumplestiltskin (& 5 Times We Hated Him)