The
High Evolutionary is a
fictional character that appears in
comic books published by
Marvel Comics. The character first appears in
The Mighty Thor vol. 1
#134 (November 1966), and was created by
Stan
Lee and
Jack Kirby.
Fictional character biography
Herbert Edgar Wyndham was
born in Manchester
, England. While a student at Oxford
in the 1930s, he took an interest in the work of
heretical biologist Nathaniel Essex,
and began experimenting with genetic manipulation, building a
machine (that he called the genetic accelerator) with which he
attempted to "evolve" the rats in his
mother's London basement. While attending a genetics
conference in Geneva, Wyndham was approached by a mysterious man
(in truth, the outcast
Inhuman geneticist
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."
Although expelled from the university for his single-mindedness, he
finally succeeded in evolving his pet
Dalmatian, Dempsey, into a humanoid life
form with the intelligence of a
chimpanzee. Dempsey, unfortunately, was shot by
poachers, and Wyndham realized that such creatures as he would
create would have no place in the human world. In partnership with
scientist Jonathan Drew (father of
Jessica Drew), Wyndham moved his
experiments to the seclusion of
Wundagore
Mountain in the small Balkan nation of
Transia. Discovery of
uranium
on the land (inherited by Drew's wife) provided vast funding, and
they bought more land from local baron Gregor Russoff.
Assembling a "citadel of science" designed by German scientist
Horace Grayson (father of the future
Marvel
Boy) and built by
Moloid slaves
supplied by Phaeder, the pair continued their experiment until
Drew's daughter fell ill from uranium poisoning, and was placed
into suspended animation to save her life. Subsequently, Drew's
wife was attacked and killed by a
werewolf (Russoff himself, victim of a
family curse), and Drew left Wundagore; Wyndham, on the other hand,
developed a suit of protective silver armor for himself and
continued his work. Now joined in his work by research assistant
Miles Warren (future supervillain the
Jackal), Wyndham was able to make
more and more radical breakthroughs, including the
genetic acceleration of some local animals
into the half-human, half-animal beings that he dubbed his
"
New Men".
When Jonathan Drew returned to Wundagore, possessed by the
ghost of the 6th century
magician Magnus, he warned that the citadel had
been constructed upon the place where the malevolent
Elder God Chthon had been banished. He began to
train the New Men in the ways of combat and chivalry of his time,
until they eventually came to refer to themselves as the "Knights
of Wundagore," and to Wyndham as the "Lord High Evolutionary". In
1958, Magnus' fears came to pass when Baron Russoff attempted to
use the ancient magical tome known as the
Darkhold to cure himself of his
lycanthropy, inadvertently freeing Chthon from
imprisonment. The Knights held him off and Magnus was able to
re-bind the demon; 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 with 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 Gypsies 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.
Counter-Earth
In the modern era, the High Evolutionary encountered the
Asgardian thunder god,
Thor. Alongside Thor, the Evolutionary
battled the
Man Beast (one of the New Men)
and his evil New Men.
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. He recruited the
Hulk to battle a revolt of his New Men on
Wundagore II. He evolved himself into a godlike being, and devolved
the surviving New Men.
The 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. By this time the High Evolutionary had adopted
Adam Warlock and bestowed him with the
Soul Gem, dispatching him to redeem
Counter-Earth. The Evolutionary aided Adam Warlock against Man
Beast and his agents.
Eventually, one of
Galactus'
Heralds discovered this Counter-Earth.
Galactus declared that Counter-Earth was ideally suited for his
sustenance (just as the real Earth). The Evolutionary faced
Galactus in battle and lost, while the
Fantastic Four and
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, Popup, leading to a fatal condition. Out of
compassion, the Evolutionary saved Galactus by evolving him into
living energy that was eventually re-collected by Galactus's world
ship.
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." When the Evolutionary
discovered the disappearance of Counter-Earth, alongside the
Thing,
Alicia Masters,
Starhawk, Moondragon, and Her, the
Evolutionary pursued the Beyonders to rescue his world. When the
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.
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
and later allowed the planet to be destroyed during the
Infinity Gauntlet conflict, although they
could easily have prevented it.
The Evolutionary War
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 and end his miserable life. 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. However, it was only a matter
of time before the suit's circuits reorganized and restored the
High Evolutionary to his previous state. His death and subsequent
re-birth 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.
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" (in the
crossover storyline
The Evolutionary
War). The Avengers stopped him, though the High Evolutionary
and
Hercules were exposed
to the Evolutionary's
Genesis Chamber and became "more
than a god," evolving out of existence.
The evolved essences of 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 Evolutionary returned to space with the
Knights of Wundagore. After his liberation, the Evolutionary
decided that rather than advancing humanity, he would create
all-new gods and immortals using the unique matter that composed
the Black Galaxy, including the New Immortals, and the
Analyzer. 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.
At one time,
Ego was
investigated by the High Evolutionary, who then observed as a
titanic, cloud-like entity, which he tentatively designated
"Super-Ego", absorbed Ego. The Evolutionary theorized that there
was more than one Ego (a notion supported by the apparently erratic
behavior of the believed-to-be unique living planet 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".
His mental instability progressed to the point that the
Evolutionary became infatuated with
Shanna, wife of
Ka-Zar. Infused with the power of the
Savage Land's terraformer (commissioned by the Beyonders), she had
become much like the Evolutionary herself: powerful, well-meaning,
and mentally unstable. The two quickly became obsessed with each
other, and nearly departed Earth to create a new world of their
own, but Ka-Zar convinced Shanna otherwise. The Evolutionary
repented, agreeing to return Shanna to her normal state once he
realized (despite his mania) that the relationship should not be
pursued.
Subsequent whereabouts
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 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
Evolutionary was able to restore himself to an un-evolved human
state and mental stability using Isotope G. Since this encounter,
the Evolutionary has been restored to full sanity and no longer
wishes to evolve all life on Earth to a more advanced state.
The High Evolutionary is now an occasional ally of
Thor and other superheroes. He recently
confronted his mentor Sinister alongside the
X-Men when Sinister took over his satellite-based
device (which temporarily stripped all
Mutants of the X-gene that grants
them their powers) and altered it to mutate large sections of the
populace.
He was seen in the
X-Men:
Endangered Species one-shot as one of the nine villains
Beast offers to sell his soul to in
order 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 Evolutionary. The Knights of Wundagore
confront and ultimately escort Beast inside, where the Evolutionary
appears to him as a hologram, giving Beast only cryptic and mostly
dismissive answers.
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.
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 Evolutionary's vessel. Once Ultron was revealed
to be the leader of the Phalanx militia, the 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
Adam 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.
Recently, the Evolutionary has begun working with
Magneto and
Blob to determine why so many mutants were
de-powered on M-Day. He developed a suit for the depowered Magneto
that replicates 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. After extensively
examining the Dreaming Celestial, the High Evolutionary subjected
Magneto to an extremely dangerous technological procedure in an
attempt restore his powers. It was a success.
Although not inhabiting Mt. Wundagore at the moment, the
Evolutionary still maintains a garrison there where Chthon has
recently re-emerged and slaughtered many of the remaining New
Men.
It was later revealed that the High Evolutionary had created a
supervillain called the
Hippo from a
zoo hippopotamus.
Powers and abilities
The High Evolutionary has evolved his intelligence to the upper
limit of human potential, and is considered the leading
geneticist in the
Marvel universe, as well as the, by far,
most brilliant being on Earth, specializing in
biology,
genetics,
chemistry,
medicine,
physics,
engineering,
human
psychology, and
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; such as the
ability to evolve and devolve life-forms; matter manipulation at a
subatomic level; matter creation; energy manipulation and
projection; cosmic awareness; precognition; telepathy; telekinesis;
extra-dimensional travel; and size alteration. 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 the
Beast that was actually able to
damage the
Darkhold.
Kubik has mentioned the High Evolutionary as
being among "the ascended ones", figuring alongside cosmic entities
such as the
Stranger,
Galactus,
the
Celestials and
the Vishanti for
instance.
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 where the suit restored him fully
after the
Hulk had beaten him into
goo.
Personality
The Evolutionary's character has varied between that of a weary,
well-meaning creator to that of a "
mad
scientist" who is willing to do whatever he considers necessary
to further his goals of evolving a better, less-brutal world.
Although menacing and arrogant during his maniacal phases, the
Evolutionary's history also contains more than one example of his
desire to be responsible, creative, and kind. Most Marvel writers
have resisted portraying him as a standard-fare villain, thereby
adding levels of sympathy and complexity to the character. The High
Evolutionary has been manipulated and driven to insanity by both
the Beyonders and the
Celestials,
cosmic races that have interfered with human evolution in the past,
indicating that his work might perhaps be a threat to their own.
Even at his most unstable, the Evolutionary has always demonstrated
a paternal love toward even his most flawed creations: he
rehabilitated
Nobilus, has attempted to heal
Count Tagar and the God Pack, and has spared the Man-Beast his life
despite multiple attempts to murder him. At one point, he offered
to (and did) restore the
Savage Land
after it was destroyed by
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 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
Jessica Drew, Wanda and Pietro
Maximoff, and Pietro's daughter
Luna.
He gave Magda shelter from the elements without hesitation, risked
death to fight Galactus over Counter-Earth and literally begged
Ka-Zar not to poison the Earth's biosphere with Isotope E out of
compassion for the suffering it would cause. He is currently trying
to aid Magneto in reversing the effects of M-Day.
Though made personally wealthy by uranium deposits, the
Evolutionary has also provided for a generous financial trust for
the people of
Transia, ensuring economic
stability for the nation.
Bibliography
- Alpha Flight vol. 1 #113
(flashback)
- Annihilation
Conquest #1-6
- Avengers vol. 1 #186,
187, 234, 380-382
- Giant-Size Avengers vol.1 #1 (flashback)
- Evolutionary War 1987
annuals:
- Doctor Strange, Sorcerer
Supreme #47
- Excalibur vol. 1
#51, 113
- Fantastic Four #171-175, 176 (behind the scenes), 178,
179
- Fantastic Four Annual #23 (Days of Future
Present)
- Fantastic Four Unlimited #9
- Friendly
Neighborhood Spider-Man #24 (Spider-Man: One More Day)
- Gambit vol. 3 #½
(behind the scenes), 20
- Guardians of the
Galaxy #57-58
- Heroes For Hire vol. 1
#15-17
- Heroes For Hire/Quicksilver Annual ’98
- Incredible Hulk vol. 1
#149, 158, 179, 266
- Iron Man #111 (flashback)
- Ka-Zar vol. 4 #12-14
- Marvel Premiere #1,
2
- Marvel Spotlight vol.
1 #32
- Marvel Two-in-One
#30, 62-63, 74
- The Mighty Thor
vol. 1 #132-133 (behind the scenes), 134, 135, 317 (behind the
scenes flashback), 406-408, 417, 419, 420, 422-425, 448-450,
472-484, 486-489
- The Mighty Thor Annual #19
- The New Avengers
42
- Quicksilver #1,
7-12
- Rune vol. 2 #2
- Scarlet Spider Unlimited
#1
- The Spectacular Spider-Man vol. 1 #142, 143 (behind
the scenes)
- Spider-Man: Dead Man’s Hand #1
- Spider-Woman vol. 1, #1,
20 (flashback), vol. 3 #6 (flashback)
- Spider-Woman: Origin #2, 5
- Strange Tales vol. 1
#178
- Tales to Astonish
vol. 1 #94-96
- Thanos #2
- Uncanny Origins #2
- The Uncanny X-Men #379, 380, 488, 500, 507
- The Uncanny X-Men Annual ’99
- Warlock vol. 1 #1-3, 5, 8,
15
- Warlock and the Infinity
Watch #1, 3, 4
- Wolverine vol. 2
#149 (behind the scenes)
- Wolverine: First
Class #3, 4
- X-Factor vol. 3, #21,
24 (X-Men: Endangered
Species)
- X-Men #99, 200
Non-continuity
Reprints
- The Mighty Thor Annual #4 (The Mighty Thor
#132)
- Marvel Spectacular #4-6 (The Mighty Thor
#133-135)
- Giant-Size Spider-Woman #1 (Spider-Woman vol.
1 #1)
- Spider-Man Family #1
(Spider-Woman vol. 1 #20)
Other media
Television
- In the X-Men episode
"Savage Land, Savage Heart" Pt. 2, the High Evolutionary appeared
in a flashback fighting Garokk and traps his essence in the ground of the
Savage Land. In "Family Ties," the High
Evolutionary (voiced by James
Blendick) is shown to be the Master of Wundagore. When Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch came to Wundagore to find Lady
Bova, he was unsure it was them at first until he used his machine
to find out it was them. After Lady Bova reveals the truth about
their father being Magneto, the
High Evolutionary told them that he was at a nearby cemetery and
sends some of his warriors to accompany them. When Magneto is taken
down, the High Evolutionary's New Men restrain Quicksilver and
Scarlet Witch. When Wolverine attacked, knock-out gas filled the
area causing him, Magneto, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch to become
prisoners of the High Evolutionary. He seeks to create a superior
generation of his New Men by using mutant DNA,
mutating humans into beast-like beings, instead of experimenting on
animals. He sets up a trap to capture Magneto. After he reveals
that fact and mentions to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch that
Magneto is their father, he takes Wolverine and uses his genetic
machine to turn him into a werewolf-like monster. When Professor X
and Beast arrived in Wundagore, the High Evolutionary instructed
his New Men to bring him Beast. After a brief fight with the X-Men,
the High Evolutionary escapes with his New Men. The effects he
caused on the valley his fortress was in were reversed as was
Wolverine's transformation.
- The High Evolutionary appears as a principal villain in
Spider-Man Unlimited
voiced by Richard Newman. He had
created Beastials (half-humans, half-animals) on a planet called
Counter-Earth with The Knights of Wundagore (who were Sir Ram, Lord
Tiger, Lady Ursula, and Lady Vermin). In the second to last episode
of the series, it was revealed to the High Evolutionary that he is
the grandfather of Karen O'Malley and that he experimented on her
when she was young. The High Evolutionary was defeated during the
series finale in a fight against Spider-Man and The Rebellion.
References
- recounted in X-Factor Annual #3
- recounted in Punisher Annual #1
- recounted in Silver Surfer Annual #1
- recounted in Fantastic Four Annual #21
- recounted in Thor #135 & Amazing Spider-Man
Annual #22
- recounted in Avengers #186 & Web of Spider-Man
Annual #4
- Thor #134-135
- Tales to Astonish #94-96
- Marvel Premiere #1-2; Warlock #1
- Warlock #3, 5, 8
- Fantastic Four #172-175
- Punisher Annual #1; Silver Surfer Annual #1;
New Mutants Annual #4; Fantastic Four Annual #21;
Amazing Spider-Man Annual #22; X-Men Annual #3;
Web of Spider-Man Annual #4; West Coast Avengers
Annual #3; Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #8;
Avengers Annual #17
- Thor #406-408
- Thor #419-425
- Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man 24 #21
- Uncanny X-Men #500
- Uncanny X-Men #507
- Mighty Avengers #21
- Dark Reign: The Sinister Spider-Man #2
- Fantastic Four Annual #23
- Spider Woman #1
- Avengers #186
- Quicksilver #1
- Fantastic Four #175
- Ka-Zar (vol. 4) issue #14
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