There was a time when fans thought that Legion would be an X-Men television show in name only. It seems that time has passed. Tonight’s episode of Legion revealed that the series big bad, The Shadow King, has a long history with David Haller’s distinguished father.
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SPOILERS for Legion “Chapter 7” follow.
Tonight’s episode of Legion featured a conversation between David Haller and the rational portion of his own mind. Together, David and himself tried to work through exactly what this parasitic psychic mutant, confirmed earlier in the episode as classic X-Men villain Amahl Farouk the Shadow King, is and wants from David.
David begins drawing animated stick figures on a mental projection of chalkboard. He remembers that The Shadow King knew his biological father who gave David away to the family that raised him. David realizes that if his father knew the Shadow King then his father was most likely a mutant telepath like himself.
As the board illustrates, David assumes that his father must have battled the Shadow King on the Astral Plane and left the malicious mutant disembodied. David’s father may have believed the threat was gone, but at some point began to realize that the Shadow King may try to take his son and so he gave David over to the Haller family.
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What David’s father didn’t realize was that the Shadow King was already aware of David and followed him to his new home, where he made David appear ill and haunted the family like a poltergeist.
This history is very similar to the Marvel Comics history of the Shadow King and David’s Marvel Comics father Charles Xavier, a.k.a. Professor X. Combined with the glimpse of a wheelchair wheel with a prominent “X” on it earlier in the episode and the brief description of David’s father given by the Shadow King in the previous episode, Legion seems to be hinting strongly that Xavier is indeed David’s father.
In the comics, Xavier battled Amahl Farouk on the Astral Plane and defeated the Shadow King, but the Shadow King returned to try to take Xavier’s mind and harass him and his X-Men. Though Xavier didn’t give David up in the comics – he simply didn’t know he had a son – the Shadow King did later take over Legion’s mind in a story called “The Muir Island Saga.”
Some other important notes here is that there’s a web of relationships building here. Xavier brought David to the Haller’s personally, which suggests that David’s adopted parents may have known his biological parents. Also, the Summerland crew know who the Shadow King is. So if Xavier battled the Shadow King, and the Shadow King is known to Summerland, does Xavier know Melanie and Oliver Byrd and about Summerland?
There’s only one episode of Legion left this season, so hopefully, we’ll get some answers. Otherwise, at least we know the show has already been renewed for Season 2.
Legion airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on FX.
EPISODE RECAPS: Episode One | Episode Two | Episode Three |Episode Four | Episode Five | Episode Six
