Moon Girl may be Marvel’s smartest hero, but she rarely gets the respect she deserves. Happily, new adventures are emphasizing Lunella’s relevance.
In recent issues of Fantastic Four and Dark Ages, Marvel has finally started to give its smartest character, Moon Girl, the spotlight she deserves ahead of her upcoming Disney Channel series. First appearing in 2015’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #1, Moon Girl, real name Lunella Lafayette, is one of Marvel’s newest heroes, though her ferocious companion originated in Jack Kirby’s seventies series Devil Dinosaur.
Created by Amy Reeder, Natacha Bustos, and Brandon Montclare, Lunella is a nine-year-old Inhuman acknowledged by Marvel’s other geniuses as the smartest person on Earth. Her heroic adventures began when she crossed paths with Devil Dinosaur, a very powerful but not-so-smart red Tyrannosaurus-like dinosaur. With one providing the brawn and the other providing the brains, their misadventures eventually led the unlikely pair to become partners. The two also sometimes switch minds due to a rather inconvenient Inhuman power Lunella develops. Early in their adventures, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur came across Amadeus Cho, the former Hulk and also a genius. He gave Lunella a test which proved she is the smartest person on Earth, with the results later confirmed by Mister Fantastic, the hero who had previously generally been seen as holding this title.
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