10 Smartest Decisions In Superhero Movie History

2. Ozymandias Triggers His Plan Early - Watchmen

Alan Moore's legendary graphic novel Watchmen is a fiercely intelligent deconstruction of superhero tropes, right down to having the antagonist only start with the villainous monologuing once he's already set an immutable, irreversible plan in motion.

Though Zack Snyder's movie adaptation remains fiercely divisive among fans, the director absolutely nailed the stunning sequence where Adrian Veidt aka Ozymandias (Matthew Goode) reveals to Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) and Nite Owl II (Patrick Wilson) that his dastardly plot is to unite the United States and U.S.S.R. against a common enemy, Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), by framing him for a spate of energy reactor explosions worldwide.

Rorschach and Nite Owl plan to stop Veidt, but he promptly tells them, "I'm not a comic book villain. Do you seriously think I would explain my masterstroke to you if there were even the slightest possibility you could affect the outcome? I triggered it 35 minutes ago."

Consequently, Veidt's plan goes off without a hitch - the energy reactors explode killing millions, Manhattan is framed and forced to leave Earth forever, while humanity unites against him and world peace is achieved.

You can certainly question the morality of Veidt's actions, but the guy is known as the "World's Smartest Man" for a reason, as he proved with his perfectly executed endgame.