Phase 5 of the MCU is about to begin and while Kang is the big bad of the Quantum Realm, High Evolutionary appears to be the man villain in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Neither of them are as well known as Thanos, but High Evolutionary is the less famous of the two, so here’s a rundown of his back story.
The first big point to be aware of is that the location for the villain in the film implies that there might be a few differences between the MCU incarnation and that of his comic book character. To explain the back story variances, we’ll start by covering the High Evolutionary’s comic-book origins and then follow it up with how this might fit into Guardians of the Galaxy 3.
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High Evolutionary back story in the comics
AdvertisementIn Marvel comics, the High Evolutionary comes from Manchester, England, and his original name was Herbert Edgar Wyndham. He was born in the early 1900s and went to Oxford University where he studied biology, focusing heavily on genetic manipulation.
It took a while for him to become the main villain we’re going to see in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but the process kind of started when he began to follow the work of Nathanial Essex. If the name rings a bell, it’s because Essex’s mutant name is Mister Sinister, so it’s easy to see the progression to big bad for the High Evolutionary.
AdvertisementHe eventually invented a process to speed up evolution, creating the New Men, and continued his experimentation at Wundagore Mountain in the fictional Balkan country of Transia. However, this would go on to inspire him to create a new Earth out in space, which he called Wundagore II.
He populated the planet with his highly evolved animals, but in the comics they returned to their more primitive attributes, while the High Evolutionary continued his research on a moon in orbit. The aggressive New Men go on to rise up against him and in his efforts to stop them he evolves himself to deity level.
AdvertisementAs you can see things are pretty complex in terms of the back story and if anything it gets even more complicated from this point forward. However, it doesn’t appear as though the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 main villain is at this point, so it doesn’t make much sense going into too much more detail.
In the comics, he does go on to adopt Adam Warlock, so it’s worth bearing that in mind for the film. In the comics, Warlock is created by scientists on earth in a bid to create a perfect human. He rebels, leaves earth and finds himself at Wundagore II where he joins High Evolutionary, who by this stage has returned to his human form.
The only other important reference to be aware of is that Wyndham isn’t necessarily an out and out bad guy throughout his appearances in Marvel comics. He’s sort of trying to advance humanity, and is often included in stories where he helps other characters like Thor.
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High Evolutionary as the main Villain in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
For the most part, it looks like the back story might be close enough to the progress of Herbert Edgar Wyndham to the High Evolutionary in the comics. With Peter Quill’s earth origins, it makes sense to have the main villain mirror this in his own back story.
If that isn’t enough, the people on the planet where the the Guardians land have mid 20th century clothes. The houses and cars are also earth-like, so this all tallies up with Wyndham creating either Wundagore II or Counter-Earth and populating them with his New Men (or New People).
AdvertisementThe real question, though, is whether or not High evolutionary will be an out-and-out main villain in Guardians of the Galaxy 3. The character is at various times a hero, baddie and anti-hero, so we might see similar complexity in the film.
There are references to his experiments having an impact on his mind in the comics, which contributes to his bouts of instability, so this could be a factor. Chukwudi Iwugi plays the High Evolutionary and there are definite references in the trailer and the end credits being in opposition to the Guardians of the Galaxy.
However, we know that it was Ayesha that set things in motion with Adam Warlock, who will be played by Elizabeth Debicki. It’s possible that she’s still pulling the strings in Volume 3 and the film will end with the High Evolutionary and Warlock defecting and helping to save the day.
Is the High Evolutionary Kang?
If you’ve just watched Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 and you’re wondering whether or not the High Evolutionary is Kang, our take is that it’s highly unlikely. The two are separate characters in Marvel comics and we’re expecting that to be the case again in the MCU.
The film has a slightly different back story to the comics for High Evolutionary, but that doesn’t mean that he’s changed completely. He may not be from Manchester any more, but he’s still fundamentally the same character.
Check out our film news section to keep tabs on the latest, or check out the Marvel movie news page to see more on Guardians of the Galaxy 3 at www.marvel.com/movies/guardians-of-the-galaxy-volume-3.
