High Evolutionary’s Real Face Revealed & Why Does He Wear a Mask?

We knew that High Evolutionary, played by Chukwudi Iwuji, would be assuming the role of the main villain in the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. What we didn’t expect, however, is that he would turn into one of the best villains to ever grace the MCU movies in general. High Evolutionary is everything that villain is supposed to be, eccentric, ruthless, and slightly unhinged with a snappy wardrobe and sense of fashion. However, one of his most distinctive features is the mask that he wore for most of the movie, and we decided to analyze it in a bit more detail. Let’s see why High Evolutionary wears a mask.

High Evolutionary wears a mask because Rocket Raccoon tore his face to shreds following High Evolutionary’s cruel execution of Batch 89. After High Evolutionary and his security guards killed Lylla, Teefs, and Floor, Rocket Raccoon attacked Evolutionary in a fit of rage and, using his claws, dealt irreparable damage to his face. After Gamora unmasked him, it was revealed that there is nothing but muscles and exposed flesh under it making for quite a grisly scene. 

Now that we’ve covered the reasons behind the mask, it’s time to explore High Evolutionary’s character in a bit more detail. If you’re interested in more, stay with us and keep reading! 

The reveal of High Evolutionary’s face was one of the most shocking moments in the whole movie 

Even before the last installment in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise was released, we knew that Rocket Raccoon’s past and High Evolutionary were closely connected. High Evolutionary experimented heavily on Rocket Raccoon, enhancing him via implants and operating on his brain, which made Rocket Raccoon extremely smart. 

In fact, Rocket Raccoon was the only animal that High Evolutionary ever experimented upon that showcased the ability to have original and creative thoughts that weren’t just pure memorization and repetition of the already known facts. This is what both enraged and fascinated High Evolutionary, and it was what almost killed Rocket Raccoon in the latest movie.

We know that High Evolutionary sent Adam Warlock to retrieve Rocket Raccoon, but he failed on his first try, and then High Evolutionary decided to lure Guardians of the Galaxy into a trap. He knew they would be making their way to his Counter-Earth, a realm created by High Evolutionary to reflect the perfect society. 

Unfortunately, he also decided to destroy Counter-Earth, which culminated in an epic battle on Evolutionary’s ship and ultimately ended with his demise at the hands of Guardians of the Galaxy, or at least it seemed like he died. 

Throughout the movie (not counting the flashbacks), High Evolutionary was wearing a mask, and it seemed like he also had some cybernetic implants in his skull. The mask appeared in the form of his regular face, unevenly stretched over his skull. 

One of the movie’s most shocking moments was just before High Evolutionary was about to die when Gamora ripped his mask off, only to reveal that there was nothing but muscles and exposed flesh underneath.  

At that moment, we learned that High Evolutionary did not use the mask to “perfect himself” but rather to hide something that Rocket Raccoon did to him years ago, so what happened? 

Why did High Evolutionary wear a mask? 

In one of the flashbacks, we could see that High Evolutionary was showing Rocket Raccoon his latest invention, a device capable of rapidly evolving a certain creature. This means that a certain unfortunate creature could be put inside the machine and be “evolved” millions of years in advance in a matter of moments. 

However, this technique had a problem, as all specimens turned out to be extremely aggressive and violent after being evolved. It took Rocket only a few seconds to solve the problem, and High Evolutionary hated him for it. 

Rocket wasn’t supposed to be smarter than his own creator. And yet he managed to solve something that was bothering Evolutionary for quite some time. 

Rocket’s solution worked, and it was soon revealed to Rocket that he wouldn’t be transferred to Counter-Earth, Evolutionary’s perfect society. Instead, he will be killed along with the rest of Batch 89, and his brain will be taken for analysis and further tests so that the Evolutionary can replicate what he did right regarding his brain.

Rocket was returned to his cage, which he shared with Floor, Teefs, and Lylla, and he planned an immediate escape. High Evolutionary anticipated that, and as soon as Rocket freed both himself and Lylla using a makeshift security card, Evolutionary confronted them and shot Lylla dead on sight. The security guards soon joined the ordeal and shot the rest of the animals that Rocket considered his friends. 

Before catching Rocket, High Evolutionary had to have his little “villain speech,” but Rocket was only getting angrier by the second until he exploded in a violent rage and attacked High Evolutionary, shredding his face to pieces with his claws. Rocket used the opportunity while High Evolutionary was rolling on the ground in pain to escape and never look back. 

And this is why High Evolutionary needs a mask. He wore a mask because he needed to recreate the face that Rocket Raccoon had destroyed. There was probably nothing left of his face when Rocket was done with him except for torn skin and scars, and we know how Evolutionary was obsessed with perfection. 

High Evolutionary’s real face is comic accurate 

In the comics, High Evolutionary wears a special advanced suit that provides him with a multitude of powers and keeps him functionally immortal. High Evolutionary also experimented on himself numerous times, at one point, evolving himself into a form of disembodied digital data.  

He wears a mask in the comics as well, and in one instance when he was unmasked, we could see that his face was monstrous and didn’t exactly resemble a normal human being despite Evolutionary being born as a human under the name of Herbert Wyndham. 

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