With four episodes aired, WandaVision has certainly raised a lot of intriguing questions about the MCU, and the powers of Wanda Maximoff going forward. The most recent instalment, “We Interrupt This Program,” took a break from sitcom parody to reveal what’s going on in the outside world, a move that has fans pretty excited. And while there’ve already been a lot of theories about what everything means on the series, a new one suggests that WandaVision could be hiding another Marvel villain in plain view.
According to the latest round of speculation, the High Evolutionary may be part of the Disney Plus program, adding to the rumored forces behind some of the mysteries. The villain was introduced to Marvel Comics in the 1960s, and is otherwise known as Herbert Edgar Wyndham, a scientist working on animal-human hybrids. Indeed, in the comic book mythology, Wyndham was partly involved in the birth of Wanda and her twin Pietro’s upbringing.
In terms of WandaVision and the MCU’s continuity, the character of Herb (David Payton) is one of the residents of Westview, with the name hinting a connection to the High Evolutionary. Although we saw in the most recent episode that Herb might have a real-world alias, there’ve also been references to Bova Milk and Big Red gum, which ties into the character’s history and sometime-costume. Repeated shots of him carrying cutting devices could also be a nod towards the High Evolutionary’s gene-splicing experiments.
For now, though, there are many MCU figures that could be operating behind the scenes, including Mephisto, while Wanda herself may end up being the villain of the story. In the context, the ties between WandaVision and the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness might involve the introduction of Mephisto, ahead of him becoming the main antagonist for Stephen Strange. Given how each chapter of WandaVision has been throwing up new mysteries, though, we’d expect there to be a while before we get any clear answers as to what’s going on.