The High Evolutionary is a
supervillain who first appeared in
Marvel Comics The Mighty Thor #134.
Young Herbert Edgar Wyndham was a
geneticist with a
god complex. Like most supervillains, his mania is his focus on a single goal: find the key to
evolution. In true comic book style, this
Doctor Frankenstein would come to create a new
race of creatures, and even a new planet for them. His goal of remaking all life in his
vision of perfection would lead him into trouble with
superheroes and
villains time and time again.
Thor, the
Hulk, the
Avengers and the
X-Men have all fought against the High Evolutionary, and he is the ultimate cause behind the
Jackal, a menace that nearly drive
Spider-Man insane with his hideous clones.
The High Evolutionary is a character that plays upon the fear of
genetic manipulation. From
cloning to
mutation to
splicing of genes, the monsters that result from his experiments are
all too possible. Much like the classic stories of
Dr. Frankenstein or
Dr. Moreau, the High Evolutionary meddles with nature in order to control it.
Anything you can do, I can do better...
The High Evolutionary is a
geneticist of the highest order. He has mastered the art of changing the structure of living things to his suit his
whims. Like most
supervillain geniuses, he has also mastered
engineering, which he uses to create his tools of mutation. His
fortresses,
laboratories and unique silver and purple head-to-toe
armor are all products of his mind. He also used the
secret of evolution on himself, giving him the power to create
Counter-Earth, an alternate earth on the opposite side of the
Sun. His armor allows him to withstand
incredible damage, provides complete
life support, and can even create a whole new body for Wyndham, should the need arise. It also allows him to communicate in any language, as well as
alerting him of threats to any of his creations, which he can protect with a variety of weapons,
energy blasts or by creating new life on demand. In addition to these
fantastic powers, Wyndham can project his mind from his body, levitate, mask his presence from the minds of those around him and read thoughts. These powers are all a result of his work, both
mechanical and
biological.
History of the High Evolutionary's quest for perfection
Herbert Edgar Wyndham was a student at
Oxford University in the 1930's who built a
machine capable of accelerating genetic
evolution. His experiments provoked fear and anger among his classmates, forcing Wyndham to leave the university to continue his research in
secret. Joined by his friend
Jonathan Drew, Wyndham found the site for his facility on
Wundagore Mountain in
Transia. After building a massive
citadel, the two partners discovered a huge
uranium deposit, which they mined to fund their research. In a matter of years, they built a center of
advanced scientific research. Wyndham began to use his discoveries on himself, increasing his intelligence, speeding the rate of his research and the degree of his madness.
Wyndham's partnership with Drew soon came to an end. Drew's daughter, after having lived on top of
uranium mine for so long, was dying from
radiation poisoning. Both men struggled to find a
treatment to save her. Wyndham developed a system that would
take years to save Jessica, during which she would be frozen cryogenically. Tragedy again struck when Drew's wife
Merriam was killed by a wolf-like beast. Drew became consumed by grief, and he left
Wundagore, leaving his daughter to Wyndham for treatment.
Jessica Drew would one day become
Spider-Woman, mutated in a similar way to
Spider-Man.
Frightened by the
death of Drew's wife, Wyndham created the
High Evolutionary Armor. He then used his vast knowledge of genetics to create a
new race of man. Inspired by the
werewolf like creature that killed Drew's wife, Wyndham's "
New Men" where animals with humanoid
posture and
intelligence. To protect his Wundagore mountain stronghold, Wyndham trained his New Men in the chivalrous arts of a
sixth century knights, founding the Order of the
Knights of Wundagore. It was at this time that Wyndham dubbed himself
Lord High Evolutionary.
For many years, the High Evolutionary worked on his creations in
peace and
obscurity. He slowly transformed his citadel into a massive
starship, which he used to take his
knights to a new planet (called
Wundagore II) that they could rule as their own. Wyndham knew that his New Men would never be free to roam the earth because of their
strange appearances and powers. Leaving his New Men on Wundagore II and releasing them from his service, the High Evolutionary began his greatest work.
After building a
moonlike satellite, Wyndham began creating a
detailed copy of Earth. Hiding the planet from the prying eyes of the world by placing it on the opposite side of the sun, the Evolutionary ruled
Counter-Earth as a
god. Soon after its completion,
Galactus tried to consume Counter-Earth, but he was driven away. Peaceful and satisfied, the High Evolutionary was startled to find his planet being
towed off into space by
aliens.
The Planet Movers of Pegasus, an extraterrestrial company of contractors, had been hired to acquire Counter-Earth for a race known as the
Beyonders (not
the Beyonder, another powerful being). His entire planet was placed in a
museum of curiosities, and the evolutionary perfection of the Beyonder race drove Wyndham
insane. Attempting
suicide, Wyndham discovered that his armor protected him from all bodily harm, even self-inflicted. Returning to Earth, he searched for a
being strong enough to kill him and end his
misery.
The
Incredible Hulk would serve as Wyndham's
executioner. After enraging the gamma-powered monster, the High Evolutionary let the Hulk beat him to
near death. The
High Evolutionary Armor, seeking to save its master,
devolved the Evolutionary into a mass of
one-celled organisms. After escaping the attentions of the Hulk, the armor restored Wyndham to his previous state.
Returning to
sanity, and seeing his work again unfulfilled, the High Evolutionary began amassing resources and building forces. The
evolution of all life on Earth into the perfection he created on Counter-Earth would again be his goal!
Around the world, the High Evolutionary
dabbled and experimented, reviving the once-dead
paradise of the
Savage Land in
Antarctica, which had been destroyed by
Terminus, experimenting on the
Subterraneans, and causing strange
mutations worldwide. The conflict that became known as the
Evolutionary War began! Naturally, this brought him and his forces into conflict with a number of
Earth's superhero teams.
The Avengers ultimately foiled the Evolutionary's plans when the god
Hercules triggered one of the "
genetic bombs" Wyndham was going to use to evolve the Earth. The device instead evolved Hercules and the Evolutionary's
physiology to a state
beyond godhood, which caused them to
fade from reality, to
parts unknown.
The
super-evolution of Hercules and the High Evolutionary had drawn the attention of the godlike
Celestials, beings who had meddled in the development of man in the
pre-history of Earth. They captured the pair and imprisoned them in the
Black Galaxy. The Avenger
Thor discovered the High Evolutionary's fortress on Wundagore mountain, within which he discovered what happened. Thor rescued the pair from their imprisonment. Fascinated by the Celestials, the High Evolutionary again turned Wundagore into a starship and returned to the Black Galaxy. After witnessing the
birth of a Celestial, his mind was overwhelmed and he fell into a state of
catatonia. Returning to Earth, Wyndham has remained in the shadows.
Imperfect life always gets in his way!
During the
Spider-Man Clone Saga, an important connection between
Professor Miles Warren, aka the
Jackal, and the High Evolutionary was revealed. Warren was an
assistant to the Evolutionary who was
banished for his unauthorized experiments with
cloning. Clones of Spider-Man and important members of his life that had plagued Spider-Man for years had been made possible by the knowledge Warren gained from the High Evolutionary. The High Evolutionary also admitted to planting information and misleading Spider-Man in order to hide his connection to the Jackal.