There are countless characters in the Star Wars universe from the good to the bad to all those in between. Among these many characters are the ones who have the intelligence to survive in this dangerous galaxy as well as those who maybe are not the brightest bulbs in outer space.
While there are certain characters who are easy to see as intelligent (Yoda) or as dim-witted (Jar Jar Binks), there are some who might have fans fooled. These characters have more going on in their head than it seems while there are also others who have proven to be not as smart as they want people to think.
Smarter: Boba Fett
While Boba Fett became an instant fan-favorite thanks to his cool look, he was also one of the most disappointing characters for decades. Despite his badass armor, Fett ended up being taken out by a blind Han Solo in a slapstick way before he really did anything.
Such a defeat hurt Fett's reputation and made him look foolish, but he has been redeemed recently. Appearing in The Mandalorian, Fett proved he was not some goof who deserves to be the butt of jokes. In fact, he somehow managed to crawl his way out of the Sarlacc Pit and continue being a badass.
Not As Smart: Palpatine
Emperor Palpatine is an iconic villain in the Star Wars universe who is so evil he is able to make Darth Vader his henchman. In the prequel, he is shown to be a brilliant mastermind who not only corrupts Anakin Skywalker but organizes the downfall of the entire Jedi Order.
But it seems like Palpatine's intelligence faded with age. The original trilogy might show him still in the position of power, but he makes some pretty foolish mistakes. After baiting Luke into killing him, he then mocks him and his father to the point that Vader just decides to kill the old man, which he does pretty easily.
Smarter: DJ
DJ is one of the supporting characters in The Last Jedi and has yet to appear in any other Star Wars project. Due to his awkward way of talking and his laid-back attitude, one might assume he is not all that intelligent when, in fact, DJ is one of the most practically-minded people in the Star Wars universe.
While everyone else seems to view things as good versus evil, DJ is one of the few who understands all the grey areas in the galaxy. He wisely chooses not to pick sides, and when he is caught by the First Order, he decides to give up the Resistance in exchange for a payment. While it is certainly immoral, it's hard to say it's a dumb move.
Not As Smart: Admiral Holdo
Admiral Holdo is another character from The Last Jedi who only appears in that movie. However, she managed to make a big impact with her stunning move to fly her starship into the First Order fleet at lightspeed in an epic and brilliant tactical maneuver.
However, looking back, Holdo made a lot of mistakes leading up to her heroic moment that could have saved the Resistance a lot of trouble. Though she does not trust Poe, keeping her entire evacuation plan a secret was simply uncalled for and wasted precious time.
Smarter: Han Solo
Han Solo might just be the most popular of all the Star Wars characters, but there are probably few fans who would call him smart. Han's charm comes from his roguish attitude and his bravery, but he does have more intelligence than even he would admit.
Han is very good at thinking on his feet, coming up with a good scheme to get the heroes out of trouble. However, he is also great at strategizing and proves himself to be a very skilled leader in Return of the Jedi.
Not As Smart: Poe Dameron
Poe Dameron seemed poised to become the next Han Solo for the sequel trilogy. He certainly has the same heroic nature as Han, but he's lacking in some of that hidden intelligence that served Han so well.
Poe seems to think he knows better than everyone else, but his plans are often foolish and dangerous without doing much good. While he leads a successful attack on one of the First Order dreadnaughts, it gets his entire bomber squad killed so it's hard to say it was worth it in the end.
Smarter: Ewoks
The Ewoks are actually a species within the Star Wars universe, but as an entire species, they are generally regarded as being fairly unintelligent. They are small teddy bear-like bipeds living in the forest planet of Endor but seem to be quite primitive.
However, when the stormtroopers show up to take over their planet, the Ewoks show why they shouldn't be underestimated. With their unadvanced weapons, the Ewoks manage to overpower the stormtroopers quite easily.
Not As Smart: Darth Vader
It is clear that Darth Vader is one of the most iconic villains in cinema history. As soon as he steps into a scene, he has an intimidating presence. But as the original trilogy progresses, Vader is revealed to be less of the commanding badass that fans thought.
As soon as Palpatine enters the story, Vader becomes this mindless puppet that is so easily manipulated by his master. He doesn't even seem to notice that Palpatine is trying to replace him with a new apprentice.
Smarter: C-3PO
Though C-3PO appears in just about every Star Wars movie to date, he is seen as little more than comic relief. Though he speaks in a sophisticated manner, C-3PO is often bumbling around, getting himself into danger, and being ignored by everyone around him.
However, the fact that C-3PO can speak thousands of languages and calculate the odds of any situation in a manner of seconds suggests that maybe people should have listened to this droid more.
Not As Smart: Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi was always seen as this wise and powerful Jedi. Even when the prequels showed him as a young padawan, he was made to be this heroic figure who was always on top of whatever situation they encountered.
While Obi-Wan proves himself to be fairly smart on several occasions, he makes some incredibly dumb decisions as well. He failed to realize Anakin was turning to the Dark Side, he left Anakin alive instead of killing him and ending Palpatine's evil plans, and he hid Luke with his aunt and uncle on his father's home planet which seems like a pretty obvious place to hide.