Sorry to say it, but Kang might be done before Marvel had the chance to explore his infinite self.
Jonathan Majors is in quite a bit of legal trouble, and the house that Stark built isn’t always thrilled with controversy. But Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has given us a surprising alternative: The High Evolutionary. The villain was praised by audiences when he made his debut, and Kevin Feige and the MCU may decide to keep up the momentum going forward. Let’s dive into how the High Evolutionary could rule the MCU.
Who Is the High Evolutionary?
The character, introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, was shown to not only be the being who created Rocket Raccoon but has also developed a variety of other species on a multitude of planets. He is ancient and obsessed with creating the perfect species. He also aims to achieve these ends by any means necessary. Every species is beneath him, and he has no desire to interact with them in any way that would put them on equal footing.
In the film, he is shown to have a variety of powers, including enhanced mental and physical abilities. Other powers seem to include telekinesis, but this could be because of experimentation on himself. He is on a constant journey to make himself a more perfect being, sometimes to horrifying ends.
Why His Introduction Was So Exciting
Disney
Played by Chukwudi Iwuji, the High Evolutionary seems to have existed in James Gunn’s plan for quite a while. In fact, the character of Adam Warlock, a High Evolutionary creation, was essentially introduced in GOTG Vol. 2. For comic fans, the appearance of Adam’s cocoon was a sure sign that the High Evolutionary existed in the universe. The question was whether we would meet him and who would be the director that brought him to the screen.
The character has a rich backstory and was introduced in GOTG Vol. 3 as someone who has been operating behind the scenes so that he has managed to populate entire planets without most of the universe knowing. It is heavily implied that he might have had something to do with evolution on Earth. But we might learn about that later as the MCU moves forward.
The fact is that the MCU needs a big bad, and Chukwudi Iwuji, an established actor from Peacemaker and John Wick: Chapter 2, seemed to spring into the MCU fully formed and ready to do the work of someone like Thanos if called on to do so. And it might just be the cosmic boost the MCU needs.
The MCU Needs a Savior
Jonathan Majors’ Kang was not meant to be the next big bad. He was to be introduced in Loki and utilized at different points in the future. However, his performance was such an anomalous joy that audiences clamored for more. The Marvel people, ever-present with their finger on the pulse of pop culture, snatched him up and decided that not only would the multiverse be their next adventure, but that it would put Majors’ Kang front and center.
He was the new Thanos. The character would be given the opportunity to grow and be in the background for a few movies as the franchise once again spread its wings in its new phase and then hit hard with its big plan.
Things didn’t work out that way. Majors was charged with allegedly assaulting one woman, after which others have come forward with further allegations. Marvel’s heads were shell-shocked. They had changed plans and created new ones to accommodate this exciting new character. Now they were left high and dry.
The next phase of the MCU was always going to head into space. Marvel saw the success of putting their characters out in the universe and wanted to see where else they could go. The concept of the multiverse was created, and characters started messing with reality and causing real problems. The problem is that Marvel wants too many things. It wants to do things on Earth while also throwing other characters around the multiverse.
This would allow them to create alternates as they did in Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness as a fan service. Reed Richards? They aren’t making The Fantastic Four movie for at least another two years, so they gave us John Krasinski for now. Love the other Spider-Man movies? Why not pull Andrew Garfield and Tobey McGuire into this universe to help fight everyone? Films that worked but that existed just to the left of nostalgia and appealing to a few Reddit theory threads.
But now, with the success of GOTG Vol. 3, we have the High Evolutionary. And if Marvel plays its cards right, he could be integral to the earthbound heroes’ journey. Perhaps he helped create mutants (we’ll see them soon), or he had a hand in our evolutionary journey that allows some people to develop different powers. Then the question is whether humans can come to terms with the fact that there is a very real being who is essentially their god and whether they will reject the concept and fight back. It may create more of a reason for them to trust or distrust their heroes.
They may even be able to use the High Evolutionary in terms of creating a new Fantastic Four origin. Originally, they got their powers from a cosmic storm. But what if they were actually experimented on by the High Evolutionary, or even if he created the cosmic storm in an effort to see how he could evolve lesser species?
In the end, the High Evolutionary could be worked into all sorts of areas of the MCU while also being the one to destroy Kang. While Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse fixes the multiverse problems, the High Evolutionary could find a way of destroying Kang and ending that entire plot line in its tracks. He’s worth keeping an eye on.
The High Evolutionary can be seen in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
