High Evolutionary

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High Evolutionary
The Mighty Thor #133 (October 1966)
Full appearance:
The Mighty Thor #134 (November 1966)[1]
Created by
In-story information
Full nameHerbert Edgar Wyndham
SpeciesHuman mutate/cyborg
Team affiliationsNew Men/Knights of Wundagore
Abilities

The High Evolutionary (Herbert Edgar Wyndham) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is depicted as a scientist who seeks to evolve different life forms such as the New Men. The High Evolutionary's goals have often put him at odds with different superheroes.

Originally introduced as an antagonist in the

Quicksilver, and Spider-Woman
.

Chukwudi Iwuji portrays the High Evolutionary in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023).[2][3] Additionally, Richard Newman, Jonathan Frakes, Corey Burton, and Nolan North have voiced the character in animation.

Creation

Co-creator Stan Lee stated the character was inspired by the H. G. Wells novel The Island of Doctor Moreau.[4]

Publication history

The High Evolutionary was first mentioned in The Mighty Thor #133 (Oct. 1966), first appears in The Mighty Thor #134 (Nov. 1966), and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.[5] His minions appeared before him (but only alluded to him), in issue #132.

Fictional character biography

Herbert Wyndham was born in

Phaeder) who handed to him papers containing blueprints for cracking the genetic code. With this information to bolster his experiments, Wyndham successfully developed a serum he dubbed "Isotope A".[6]

Phaeder
hands Wyndham the papers to break the genetic code.

Although expelled from the university for his single-mindedness, he finally succeeded in evolving his pet

Transia. The discovery of uranium on the land (inherited by Drew's wife) provided vast funding, and they bought more land from local baron Gregor Russoff.[7]

Assembling a "citadel of science" designed by German scientist Horace Grayson (father of the future

genetic acceleration of some local animals into the half-human, half-animal beings that he dubbed his "New Men".[10]

When Jonathan Drew returned to Wundagore where he was possessed by the ghost of the 6th-century

lycanthropy, inadvertently freeing Chthon from imprisonment. The Knights held him off and Magnus was able to re-bind Chthon. However, on this same night, a pregnant woman named Magda sought refuge at the citadel and gave birth to twin children there. Although she fled after childbirth, the moment of Chthon's defeat coincided with the birth of the children, and the baby girl was touched by the demon's magic. Wyndham attempted to find foster parents for the children, but when met with failure, they were placed in stasis for decades until suitable candidates were found. Raised by Roma Django and Marya Maximoff, the twins grew up to be the superheroes Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, the latter wielding chaos magic as a result of Chthon's influence.[12][13]

Counter-Earth
's moon.

In the modern era, the High Evolutionary encountered the Asgardian thunder god, Thor. Alongside Thor, the High Evolutionary battled the Man-Beast (one of the New Men) and his evil New Men.[14]

Wyndham eventually saw the world as a far too confining place, so he converted his scientific research citadel into a spaceship, exploring the stars with his New Men. He later settled his New Men on a planet, Wundagore II, while he stayed on one of the planet's moons and began work on a

detailed replica of Earth to be located on the opposite side of the Sun. There his New Men regressed to bestial behavior and revolted against him. He captured the Hulk, intending to evolve him by a million years. However, his experiment was interrupted by the New Men, who fatally wounded their former master. In desperation, he performed the experiment meant for the Hulk on himself, evolving into a godlike being. In this enlightened state, he was repulsed by his tampering with evolution and devolved the surviving New Men before willing his own existence to dissolve and become one with the cosmos.[15]

The High Evolutionary eventually returned to human form and finished his creation, Counter-Earth. Although Counter-Earth was supposed to be a temporary structure that would be evolved into a paradise, the Man-Beast corrupted the process, and Counter-Earth became an imperfect world.[16] By this time the High Evolutionary had adopted Adam Warlock and bestowed him with the Soul Gem, dispatching him to redeem Counter-Earth.[17] The High Evolutionary aided Warlock against Man-Beast and his agents.[18]

Eventually, one of

Gorr tried to prevent Galactus from devouring Counter-Earth; eventually the Impossible Man tricked the World Devourer to seek sustenance from the Impossible Man's world, Poppup, leading to a fatal condition. Out of compassion, the High Evolutionary saved Galactus by evolving him into living energy that was eventually re-collected by Galactus's world ship.[19]

During the earliest phases of its construction, the High Evolutionary's Counter-Earth was aggressively targeted for "collection" by the Beyonders (not to be confused with the Beyonder). Agents of the Beyonders manipulated Adam Warlock into murdering the High Evolutionary to allow theft of Counter-Earth, but he was revived by Moondragon and Warlock's counterpart, Her.[20] When the High Evolutionary discovered the disappearance of Counter-Earth, alongside the Thing, Alicia Masters, Starhawk, Moondragon, and Her, the High Evolutionary pursued the Beyonders to rescue his world. When the High Evolutionary arrived at the Beyonders' planet museum, he himself reported that his mind snapped when he witnessed the scope of their powers and how effectively insignificant he was compared to these alien beings. It is this encounter that marks the beginning of the High Evolutionary's mental instability.[20]

Although the High Evolutionary claimed that the Beyonders considered Counter-Earth an "interesting but primitive work by a talented provincial", there has not been an explanation as to why they wished to interrupt the project even before the High Evolutionary had introduced life onto the new world. For unknown reasons, the Beyonders placed all life on Counter-Earth into stasis[volume & issue needed] and later allowed the planet to be destroyed during the Infinity Gauntlet conflict, although they could easily have prevented it.[21]

Avengers Annual #17.
Art by Sal Buscema
.

During the "

Evolutionary War" storyline, the High Evolutionary had become increasingly unstable and maniacal. His attempt to end his life was prevented by his suit. He returned to Earth, hoping to find something strong enough to overcome his armor. He goaded the Hulk into attacking him, and Hulk succeeded in smashing his armor; the malfunctioning armor then devolved the High Evolutionary into a mass of one-celled organisms.[22] However, the suit's circuits reorganized and restored the High Evolutionary to his previous state. His death and subsequent rebirth gave the High Evolutionary a new insight into the future of mankind. Rather than being a benevolent yet distant protector, as he had been with his New Men, he would take a direct hand in molding the future of humanity, so that they might one day be as powerful as the Beyonders he had witnessed.[23]

The High Evolutionary later came into conflict with a number of superheroes, notably the reserve Avengers and Adam Warlock, when he tried to forcibly mutate (or "evolve") the entire population of the Earth with his "Evolution Bomb". The Avengers stopped him, though the High Evolutionary and Hercules were exposed to the High Evolutionary's Genesis Chamber and became "more than a god", evolving out of existence.[24]

The evolved essences of the High Evolutionary and Hercules were harvested by the Celestials and imprisoned and manipulated for unknown purposes in the Black Galaxy. Eventually both were returned to human form, and the High Evolutionary returned to space with the Knights of Wundagore. After Thor shaved his beard, one of the New Men brought the shaving bowl containing Thor's blood and hair to Count Tager as part of the High Evolutionary's plot to create a new race of immortals.

Analyzer, Count Tagar, Juvan, Nobilus (who was created from Thor's DNA samples), and Zon. He and his creations were on-hand to witness the birth of a new Celestial, but viewing this event with all his hyper-evolved senses seemed to drive the High Evolutionary back to madness.[26]

At one point, Ego the Living Planet was investigated by the High Evolutionary, who observed Ego while a titanic, cloud-like entity - which he tentatively designated "Super-Ego" - absorbed Ego. The High Evolutionary theorized that there was more than one Ego (a notion supported by its apparently erratic behavior over the years, the various origin stories known about it, and by the fact that an Ego appeared after this one was destroyed by its "parent") and that they might all stem from the "Super-Ego".[volume & issue needed]

His mental instability progressed to the point that the High Evolutionary became infatuated with

Terminus.[27]

The High Evolutionary was revealed to have a student called the High Technician who was responsible for creating a team of uplifted dinosaurs called the Saur-Lords during his time in the Savage Land.[28]

In the Quicksilver series, it was revealed that the High Evolutionary's genetic code had become unstable, accounting for his periods of mania and aggression. The High Evolutionary became more powerful and maniacal than ever, but Quicksilver was still able to reason with him. With the support of New Men Delphis and Bova, and after nearly losing his life at the hands of the Man-Beast, the High Evolutionary was able to restore himself to an un-evolved human state and mental stability using Isotope G.[29]

The High Evolutionary is now an occasional ally of Thor and other superheroes. He confronted his mentor Mister Sinister alongside the X-Men when the villain took over his satellite-based device (which temporarily shut down the X-Gene of all Earth-based mutants, devolving them into normal humans) and altered it, in a test-of-evolution scheme by force-evolving the entire global human populace.[volume & issue needed]

He was seen in the X-Men: Endangered Species one-shot as one of the nine villains Beast approaches to help him reverse the effects of M-Day. In the second chapter of the Endangered Species storyline, Beast attempts to reach Wundagore Mountain to locate the High Evolutionary. The Knights of Wundagore confront and ultimately escort Beast inside, where the High Evolutionary appears to him as a hologram, giving Beast only cryptic and mostly dismissive answers.[volume & issue needed]

Spider-Man spoke to him during One More Day on whether he could do anything to save the life of Aunt May. He could give no useful help.[30]

During the Annihilation: Conquest event, the High Evolutionary reappeared in Kree space, working on restructuring the Kree genome in a fortress inside a star. Adam Warlock brought Quasar and Moondragon to him after being overwhelmed by Phalanx warriors, who quickly invaded the High Evolutionary's vessel. Once Ultron was revealed to be the leader of the Phalanx militia, the High Evolutionary detonated the star, vaporizing his ship, Ultron, and the invading Phalanx warriors. He subsequently was captured by the Phalanx and forced to transfer the essence of Ultron into the body of Warlock, apparently killing him. However, the High Evolutionary was aware that Warlock's consciousness had survived and implied that Warlock would "lead the way" for the new Guardians of the Galaxy.[volume & issue needed]

The High Evolutionary later works with Magneto and Blob to determine why so many mutants were depowered on M-Day. He developed a suit for the depowered Magneto that replicated his original powers, and Magneto led an attack on San Francisco as a distraction so that the High Evolutionary could gain a currently unknown object from inside of the Dreaming Celestial.[31] After extensively examining the Dreaming Celestial, the High Evolutionary subjected Magneto to an extremely dangerous technological procedure in an attempt to restore his power and was a success.[32]

High Evolutionary had a part in turning an ordinary zoo hippopotamus into the Hippo.[33]

Although not inhabiting Mt. Wundagore at the time, the High Evolutionary still maintained a garrison there where Chthon re-emerged and slaughtered many of the remaining New Men.[34]

Doctor Doom and Mister Fantastic later had the Future Foundation members gather the other geniuses to attend a symposium on how to defeat the "Council of Reeds" (alternate versions of Mister Fantastic who were trapped in this universe by Valeria a while back, possessing Reed's intellect while lacking his conscience). High Evolutionary was one of those given the invitation from Thing and the evolved Moloids.[35]

He later drained the

Power Cosmic into himself, rendering the Surfer mortal and giving the High Evolutionary the ability to control and modify the star sphere of the civilization-destroying entity Galactus, allowing him to bestow life to dead worlds. The High Evolutionary created a herald for himself as well as a silver-coated biome of life on Earth, which needed only sunlight to survive, without the need to kill other animals. The Surfer and the Fantastic Four unite with the armed forces to kill all the High Evolutionary's creations on the grounds that they eradicate emotion and individuality from the humans who were transformed. They again exterminate the High Evolutionary's creations after he begins to terraform the Moon, on the rationale that it will affect tides and animal migrations. Galactus arrives, and the Fantastic Four cheer on Galactus to kill Wyndham, but as the High Evolutionary now serves an equal opposite "World Builder" function of creating rather than committing genocide on sentient civilizations, he allows the High Evolutionary to leave with his star sphere to continue creating new life throughout the universe.[36]

When the High Evolutionary learned that the god-like Celestials were coming to Earth to judge whether humanity should continue to exist or perish, he—with the help of the Evolutionaries—systematically began to slaughter his creations, fearing that their unnatural presence may cause the Celestials to deem the planet unworthy.[37]

The High Evolutionary has appeared in the 2015 Uncanny Avengers series. He has apparently created a new Counter-Earth, no longer inhabited by humans but instead by millions of New Men. The High Evolutionary routinely exterminates the entire population of New Men when they ultimately fail to meet his standards of perfection and then re-creates them. He was served in his plans by a human called the Master Scientist and Luminous (a female who was created from the genetic templates of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch while also having the same abilities as them). A human called the Low Evolutionary was one of a few humans living on Counter-Earth who opposed the High Evolutionary.

Doctor Voodoo unleashed upon him the thousands of souls of those he had exterminated and was forced to flee through a portal with Luminous.[40]

During the

Earth-1610.[41]

Hulk were revived where they were to help Eternity fight the First Firmament.[42]

Continuing his work on Counter-Earth, the High Evolutionary used his technology to accelerate Counter-Earth so that he can have it combine with Earth. To help in that, the High Evolutionary sent a meteor to Earth that altered Earth's vibration frequencies where their synching will merge the two planets.[43] This plot attracted the attention of the Avengers and the Champions where Falcon and Viv are unexpectedly teleported to Counter-Earth and brought to the High Evolutionary. He decides to evolve them where he starts by turning Viv into a human. The Avengers and the Champions went to Counter-Earth and fought the New Men and then caused a malfunction with the High Evolutionary's teleporter where he seemingly perished.[44] It was discovered during this time that the High Evolutionary had created a clone of himself called the Higher Evolutionary where he had more compassion than his creator and had been hooked up to the Orbit-Engine where his removal will destroy Counter-Earth.[45] The High Evolutionary was actually turned into sentient digital data and trapped in an unknown dimension. As he evolved the life on the planet that he landed on, he had a run-in with Viv who was also sent there as a side-effect of deactivating the Orbit-Engine and states that it would require a digital connection for him to return. Upon discovering that Vision is building Viv 2.0 to replace Viv, the High Evolutionary states that it would be their connection back to their reality. Viv used the connection to go back to her reality while the High Evolutionary was left in the unknown dimension.[46]

The High Evolutionary was returned to his dimension by a machine used by the Knights of Wundagore. He left Counter-Earth upon becoming disappointed with the outcome of his experiment.[47]

At some point as part of the prelude to the "

Last Son of Kraven killed the other clones and proved himself to Kraven the Hunter.[48]

In

Madame Monstrosity, who also experiments with creating Humanimals.[49] After Madame Monstrosity transforms herself into a chimera to battle Spider-Boy and is defeated, the High Evolutionary captures her and takes her to be studied.[50]

Characterization

Powers and abilities

The High Evolutionary has evolved his intelligence to the upper limit of human potential, and is the only human whose intelligence and knowledge has been listed as equal to certain cosmic entities.

Marvel universe, and is vastly knowledgeable in biology, chemistry, medicine, physics, engineering, human psychology, computer science
, and cybernetics.

Due to experimentation on his own genome, his highly enhanced brain and cybernetic exoskeleton, the High Evolutionary has demonstrated god-like powers; including the ability to evolve and devolve life-forms, superhuman strength and durability, manipulating matter at a subatomic level, energy manipulation and projection, cosmic awareness, precognition, telepathy, telekinesis, extra-dimensional travel, and size alteration. On one occasion, he managed to hold his own against Galactus for a prolonged time before being defeated.[52]

Of note, the High Evolutionary has forged weapons for his New Men that show some anti-mystical properties, as demonstrated by a lance wielded by

Darkhold.[volume & issue needed
]

Equipment

His exoskeleton provides him with an uncanny degree of protection from attacks, and also provides life support (filtering/recycling his air and providing sustenance when needed). If he is badly damaged, the suit can heal his wounds and can completely restore him to life using records of his genome and brain activity patterns, as in one instance the suit restored him fully after he had attempted to commit suicide by destroying his own body.[22]

Personality

The High Evolutionary's character has varied between that of a weary, well-meaning creator to that of a "

Terminus
, even though it had been created by the very race that had confiscated and then destroyed his own beloved creation, Counter-Earth.

The High Evolutionary played a key role in saving the Earth from Chthon, and rescued Galactus from death despite his attempts to consume Counter-Earth. He has served as a benevolent father figure to several characters, including Adam Warlock, Quicksilver, Spider-Woman, Wolverine, and Thor, often charging them with tasks that lead to their personal growth as individuals and heroes. Along these lines, he has taken a pointed interest in developing a sense of nobility and decency in his creations, most notably the New Men.

At times the High Evolutionary has feigned indifference to the fate of others when his own safety is at stake, only to reveal a considerably more benign agenda later (see the Annihilation: Conquest series). More frequently, he has shown a sympathetic and protective concern for the defenseless: on several occasions he has gone to considerable lengths to protect young children, including the critically ill

Suzi Endo, who would briefly become his herald.[56]

Though made personally wealthy by uranium deposits, the High Evolutionary has also provided for a generous financial trust for the people of

Transia
, ensuring economic stability for the nation.

In other media

Television

The High Evolutionary as he appears in Spider-Man Unlimited.

Film

Chukwudi Iwuji in costume as the High Evolutionary at Comic Con 2022.

The High Evolutionary appears in

Knowhere.[59]

Video games

The High Evolutionary appears in

Marvel: Avengers Alliance
. This version created "Iso-Saurs" while experimenting on dinosaurs with Iso-8 crystals.

Miscellaneous

The High Evolutionary appears in the novel Avengers: Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Dan Abnett.[citation needed]

References

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  3. ^ a b Gerblick, Jordan (November 8, 2021). "Guardians of the Galaxy 3 casts Chukwudi Iwuji in mystery role as filming begins". Total Film. GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
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