The Frankenstein trope did the creature dirty. Both Dr. and creation were basically geniuses. The creature in particular taught itself how to speak and iirc read/write all by discretely observing some peasants, and how to cook by just experimenting with raw ingredients + fire. If the Dr. that made it actually nurtured and trained the thing, the pair would have been unstoppable. But, that’s the whole spiel of the story - he got cold feet, treated his creation like shit, and that came back to bite him in the ass again and again.

If you can tolerate the oldish English, the Mary Shelley’s original story still holds its own - definitely recommended, if for no other reason than to appreciate how Frankenstein in media since then has missed the mark fucking hard.