GOTG 3 Can Set Up The MCU's First Proper X-Men Villain

With the debut of the High Evolutionary in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Marvel Studios has the perfect opportunity to set up the first major villain for the MCU's X-Men. The first trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 introduces Chukwudi Iwuji as the High Evolutionary, a genetic scientist who seeks to enhance all living beings, and is revealed to be Rocket's creator in the MCU. Not much has been revealed about the MCU's version of the High Evolutionary yet, but his connection to one powerful character in Marvel Comics could represent one more step forward in the slow introduction of mutants to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Marvel's High Evolutionary backstory reveals the villain was originally a human named Herbert Edgar Wyndham, a student at Oxford University in the 1930s who became enamored with the work of genetic biologist Nathaniel Essex. While Wyndham's experiments focus on enhancing animal life, Essex centers his own genetic experiments on mutants, and he even turns himself into the supervillain Mister Sinister. Sinister is a formidable adversary to the X-Men, so teasing him in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as the inspiration behind the High Evolutionary would be a massive reveal, and drastically push forward the debut of the MCU's X-Men.

The High Evolutionary Has A Connection To Marvel’s Mutants

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 High Evolutionary Chukwudi Iwuji

After becoming obsessed with the work of Nathaniel Essex before he became Mister Sinister, Herbert Wyndham started engineering the genetic biology of rats in his mother's London basement. The Guardians of the Galaxy 3 villain created the genetic accelerator, and was eventually able to evolve his pet dog into a humanoid creature with the intelligence of a chimpanzee. Shortly after, he secluded himself inside a laboratory in Mount Wundagore to continue his experiments in peace.

Mount Wundagore is a location that has already been introduced in the MCU thanks to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The High Evolutionary may have a connection to Essex and mutants in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but could perhaps also be familiar with Scarlet Witch, especially if he had worked out of Mount Wundagore. A connection between the MCU's High Evolutionary and Scarlet Witch would feed into speculation that Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff is potentially a mutant, and might connect to her comic roots, since the High Evolutionary had a hand in enhancing Wanda's powers in Marvel mythology.

What Could Nathaniel Essex’s Debut Mean For Mutants In The MCU?

Major storylines involving X-Men and mutants in the MCU would be kick-started by any hint of Nathaniel Essex existing in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. A link would perhaps also set up Mister Sinister as the MCU's next big bad after Kang the Conqueror is vanquished and the Multiverse saga comes to an end. The mutant introduction into the MCU has been slow, with subtle hints dropped in Ms. Marvel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, before Namor named himself a mutant during Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The reveal of Mister Sinister living in the background of the MCU for decades would help flesh out the mutant mythos even further.

Mister Sinister was teased relentlessly in the Fox X-Men film series, but never got the pay off he deserved. Now that Marvel Studios can introduce Sinister into the established MCU franchise, the villain can finally make his presence felt on the big screen, and could have a major role to play in influencing how MCU mutants are perceived. Currently, heroes with extraordinary gifts are celebrated in the MCU, but if Nathaniel Essex was to make himself known, this public perception could shift dramatically, helping to lay the groundwork for mutant discrimination. In this way, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 could set up some of the most important aspects of mutant stories from Marvel Comics.

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