The High Evolutionary
“The High Evolutionary intends to build a god fit for the twenty-first century. And you will be his raw materials”.
The High Evolutionary is a scary piece of work. He’s a scientist who through experimenting with evolution, subjected himself to his own tests and gained incredible intellect and power. This man is a force to be reckoned with, highly capable in a vast variety of areas and a constant threat to many of the Avengers. Constantly looking for new information, expanding his intellect and knowledge of evolution, Herbert Wyndham, as he was originally known, is certifiably insane. He even created a replica of Earth, although much evolved and improved, orbiting on the other side of the sun.
The reason why he would be a great addition to the MCU is because he would make one hell of an Avengers villain post Thanos. At one point in the comics the High Evolutionary sought to evolve the entirety of Earth and it’s inhabitants, killing those that opposed the process and rather grimly sterilized those with genes he sore unfit. Of course the Avengers would eventually step in to stop the ‘Worldbuilder’ from fully exacting his plan. What’s awesome about this storyline is how crazy it gets, at one point the Avengers send Hercules (bear with me) to battle the mad geneticist in a crazy scuffle that sees the two of them evolve past their own physical forms. This might be a bit too much for a screen adaptation but you can see why this man’s threat is a far cry from Ultron cannon fodder. All this leads to the Celestials getting involved and that — if you know their history — is never a bad thing, unless of course you’re the one they are after.
The High Evolutionary also has apart to play in the infamous Infinity Gems, being the one to give Adam Warlock — whose cocoon we saw in ‘Guardians’ — the Soul Gem. So perhaps we might get to see one of the world’s most frightening geneticists sometime around Avengers: Infinity War, although the amount of characters that are already going to be crammed into that two parter might force someone like him out. Maybe a casual reference setting up a post Phase 3 appearance would be a better option, paving the way for the Lord High Evolutionary to evolve us and all of our most beloved heroes.
The High Evolutionary isn’t entirely evil however, his goals of galactic evolution come with mostly good intentions, wanting to rid the world of its brutality, creating a more peaceful future for everyone that resides within it. Though as history has often taught us, many of the most evil acts were started because of good intentions. This man is most defiantly a menacing figure in the Marvel world, insanely arrogant but not the devil, he is often depicted with a great deal of complexity to his personality, eliciting a certain sympathy from the audience. This is what makes him an intriguing villain, someone willing to do whatever it takes to rid the world of all its horrors, even if that means sacrificing a life here and there to achieve that objective. The High Evolutionary means to save the world but he wants to do it his own and entirely uncompromising way.
Originally published June 8, 2015. Updated April 15, 2018.
