We’re taking off once again as James Gunn directs the Guardians of the Galaxy for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The long-awaited Threequel is set to round out this cosmic roster of villains, and thanks to San Diego Comic-Con we finally have confirmation that Peacemaker’s Chukwudi Iwuji will play the Marvel character known as High Evolutionary. (The actor even appeared in costume at SDCC 2022!)
Fans already knew Iwuji had a role in Vol. 3, with reports suggesting he would appear in the film as a “deeply complex” and “extremely powerful” addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Following in the footsteps of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Living Tribunal and Thor: Love and Thunder’s Eternity, this cosmic character from the MCU is a welcome addition. But who is actually the High Evolutionary?
Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3’s Chukwudi Iwuji appeared as a High Evolutionary and crashed in Hall H at Marvel Studios. #SDCC pic.twitter.com/sytaSo8wxi
— IGN (@IGN) July 24, 2022
Who is the High Evolutionary?
Back when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 began casting, many thought the Adam Warlock Vol. 2 credits meant that Will Poulter’s character was the film’s villain. But now it seems that the High Evolutionary, who started out as an obscure Thor foe, will rise as this film’s de facto villain.
Introduced in 1966’s The Mighty Thor #133 and #134, the High Evolutionary is also known as Herbert Edgar Wyndham. Wyndham, a scientist with a keen interest in evolution, is, you guessed it, his life’s work to artificially accelerate human evolution.
Gate No. 134
An X-Men connection
The comics tell us that the High Evolutionary was interested in the works of Nathaniel Essex – better known as X-Men villain Mister Sinister – but he went further.
Much like Essex, Wyndham wanted to perfect human genetics through experimentation, which means he accidentally created a race of talking animals called the New Men at his “Citadel of Science” in Wundagore. Getting back to the MCU, Mount Wundagore was a major point of interest in Multiverse of Madness, and where we last saw Wanda Maximoff before she may or may not have died (she’s absolutely not dead, come on). After being abandoned by his partner Doctor Jonathan Drew (father of Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman), Wyndham gave himself silver armor to protect him from werewolves (comics!). This gave the character his signature supervillain look (of which Iwuji presented a variation at SDCC). The High Evolutionary dubbed his experiments the Knights of Wundagore and used them to ensure the demonic god Chthon was trapped there (that’s a Wanda-Maximoff connection right there).
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The High Evolutionary and the Scarlet Witch
The character has a variety of connections to well-known characters in the MCU. Eventually, he emerged as the puppeteer behind Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, who gained their powers in the comics. The film franchise has noted that Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch gained their abilities through the Mind Stone and experiments of HYDRA, but this could still be linked back to the High Evolutionary.
That said, it seems likely that the High Evolutionary of Vol. 3 will make a connection to Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) and her people, the Sovereign, who we first see on the big screen in Vol. 2. His Evolutionary Abilities may be connected to Ayesha’s creation of Adam Warlock (not to mention any possible revenge plans she may have against the Wardens). Speaking of…
Pietro and Wanda Maximoff’s complicated origin story involves the High Evolutionary.
The Adam Warlock connection
Back in the comics, having had enough of our Earth, the High Evolutionary formed Counter-Earth with the New Men, then bestowed the Soul Stone on Adam Warlock. But since the Infinity Stones appear to have been destroyed in the main MCU canon, we’ll have to wait and see if Gunn adapted that aspect of Warlock’s origin story.
Eventually, the enormously powerful cosmic beings, the Beyonders, tricked Warlock into assassinating the High Evolutionary. Since Secret Wars was just announced as the current, er, endgame of phases 4, 5, and 6, this might be an important fact to remember as the Beyonders were an important part of this comic book history. Could the High Evolutionary persist through multiple stages before being purchased by Warlock in this surefire epic?
Of course, in typical style, death was temporary. In later issues, the High Evolutionary attempted to take over Earth and attract the attention of the Avengers. A super evolved Hercules was sent to stop him, which again may tie into the post-credits aesthetic of Zeus’ son in Thor: Love and Thunder. Hercules and the High Evolutionary eventually evolved out of existence and were imprisoned by the Celestials. More recently, he fought Ultron and Phalanx warriors who sought to seize Warlock for themselves. Though it appeared Warlock had perished, his consciousness lived on and the High Evolutionary knew he would survive to lead the “new” Guardians of the Galaxy. Given Gunn said this is “probably” the last we’ll see the current team, it all kind of makes sense as we look at a brand new cast for a potential fourth Guardians film.
The Cosmic and the Rocket (Raccoon)
The character also has ties to the cosmic side of Marvel, such as Galactus and the Silver Surfer, who are of course closely tied to the Fantastic Four. An FF movie seems far away, but if the High Evolutionary sticks around a little longer, we could see the comic story where he drains the Silver Surfer’s powers for himself.
Where you may have seen the High Evolutionary before, he had a small arc in X-Men: The Animated Series, was in Spider-Man: Unlimited, and then was voiced by Nolan North in Disney XD’s Guardians of the Galaxy series.
In this latter storyline, he captured Rocket Raccoon. And there’s still plenty of backstory to be explored with Rocket in the MCU, with SDCC’s first Guardians 3 footage showing we’ll be seeing a young version of the character. It seems pretty clear that the High Evolutionary must have played a role in Rocket’s origins (remember all those cybernetic implants in his body?).
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The High Evolutionary has also crossed paths with everyone from Spider-Man’s Dr. Miles Warren (the Jackal) to Hulk attempting to advance the latter by a million years in evolution. If anything, his skills as a lead geneticist should at least raise a few eyebrows given a recent X-Men reference in the MCU. The franchise loves the “mad scientist” cliché, and while this character’s comic origin isn’t necessarily tied to the Guardians of the Galaxy, Gunn will bring his own twist to the source material. Whether the High Evolutionary is a one-off villain remains to be seen, but either way, fans are ready to welcome Iwuji to the MCU.
What are your hopes for High Evolutionary and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3? Let’s discuss in the comments!