The High Evolutionary Returns in New Marvel Comic

It was the advanced scientific research of Dr. Herbert Wyndham — the geneticist who evolved and enhanced himself to become the High Evolutionary — that ultimately transformed Jessica Drew into the Spider-Woman. As it turns out, the High Evolutionary's work inspired the experiments that created another Spider-person: Bailey Briggs, a.k.a. Spider-Boy. After he was erased from the Web of Life and Destiny, no one remembered Spider-Man's long-lost sidekick — not even Spider-Boy's maker, Madame Monstrosity, who has been pursuing the forgotten "Subject Five."

The matriarch of the Stillwell family that birthed such supervillains as Scorpion and the Human Fly, the maniacal Madame Monstrosity operates out of her secret laboratory, The Farm, where she creates her "Humanimals" by splicing human DNA with animals. Madame M created Bailey's "brother," Boy-Spider, a monstrous Spider-Boy clone made of leftovers from Bailey's DNA, and then unleashed her latest mutate to wreak havoc and draw Bailey out of hiding.

A backup story in this week's Spider-Boy #5, "A Highly Evolved Opinion," revealed why Madame Monstrosity hates Subject Five. She spent years attempting to summon the High Evolutionary, the creator of the New Men and Counter-Earth, to assess her own human/animal hybrids. The High Evolutionary noted a gap in the Humanimals' formation — a missing Subject Five, whom no one seemed to remember — before touring Madame M's laboratory. High Evolutionary watched as Madame M demonstrated her process of splicing human and animal specimens together, and listened as she told him that she based her life's work around his teachings.

Madame Monstrosity summoned The High Evolutionary to tell him of a great discovery: "A multi-form, arachno-human hybrid that could evolve and devolve at will." He then lambasted Madame M and her Humanimals as beneath him. "I evolve creatures into higher lifeforms," High Evolutionary said. "What you do is slap together... curiosities. You make sideshow freaks. Quite frankly, Madame, you disgust me." Rejecting her life's work, High Evolutionary told Madame Monstrosity to never contact him again... leaving her to stew in her hate toward Subject Five. 

The High Evolutionary was thought lost after he was banished and stranded in another dimension. The Knights of Wundagore successfully summoned The High One back to Counter-Earth, but he rejected his "most disappointing experiments" and then departed, as Jessica Drew learned when she sought out The High Evolutionary back in Spider-Woman (Vol. 7) #6. He recently appeared in an issue of Amazing Spider-Man, where Sergei Kravinoff had The High Evolutionary create Kraven the Hunter clones before his death.

Spider-Boy next teams up with Jessica Drew in Spider-Woman (Vol. 8) #7, also out this week. Spider-Boy #5 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.