Legion: Who Is The Devil With Yellow Eyes?

This month, Marvel Television and FX Productions debuted Legion, the first X-Men live-action television series.

Creator Noah Hawley is using the show to tell a tale of psychological drama involving a powerful mutant with possible mental issues and the FX series currently sits at an impressive 93.33 rating on the ComicBook.com User Composite.

There is a lot to question and theorize about in Legion, but the one question that seems most common among fans is “Who is the devil with yellow eyes?”

This devil is a creature that exists somewhere in the mind of protagonist David Haller (Dan Stevens), lurking on the edges of his most stressful or traumatic moments.

So what is this being? There’s a good chance it is an original creation for the Legion television series, like most of the show’s supporting cast, but there at least three characters from the Marvel Universe that the devil with yellow eyes could be based on.

We’ll profile them here, and you can be the judge of which, if any, the devil really is. Be sure to click the slideshow tab to see our three theories.

Mojo

The character most fans immediately though of when they saw the devil with yellow eyes for the first time is Mojo. This is based largely on appearance, since Mojo is also an obesse, jaundiced being with a sinister face.

Mojo is a member of an alien race called the Spineless Ones that are only mobile through the use of advanced technology, Mojo himself moves about on mechanical spider legs. 

Created by Ann Nocenti and Art Adams, Mojo runs the Mojoverse, a dimension whose citizens addicted to Mojo’s entertainment programs, which largely consist of captured slaves being forced to battle each other to the death. Mojo is obsessed with getting good ratings, and is used to parody of television networks.

Mojo’s inclusion in Legion would suggest that David is part of one of his programs being broadcast to the Mojoverse, and that most of the drama he’s experienced through his life is somehow orchestrated by Mojo to boost ratings. One scene that backs this is up is from the pilot episode, where David is ejected form his body and then sees scenes from his life in a field of television screens.

Legion could then easily become a meta-narrative on modern television drama, which is something that seems very much up Noah Hawey’s alley.

Shadow King

The Shadow King is a character that has some history with Legion. The Shadow King is a powerful psychic entity who tries to conquer the minds and take control of the bodies of psychic mutants and humans, including Psylocke and Professor X.

Legion himself is an extremely powerful psychic, so he’s a natural target for the Shadow King. The X-Men story called “The Muir Island Saga” saw the Shadow King mind-controlling everyone working at the island’s mutant research facility, as well as Legion, who was being treated there.

This story could serve as inspiration for Legion. As noted in the first episode, David Haller may the most powerful mutant to yet emerge. Perhaps the Shadow King has been haunting him as he slowly tries to take over David’s mind.

Professor Y

Legion has always been a character struggling with multiple personalities vying for control of his mind.

In the X-Men: Legacy series that was launched following the death of Legion’s father, Professor X, in the Avengers vs. X-Men event a new, more volatile personality emerged.

This yellow-hued personality began murdering other personalities inside of Legion’s mind, and Legion was forced to confront it. Eventually, the malevolent personality began taking on a form that more closely resembled Professor X, hence the off-brand moniker “Professor Y,” and was revealed to be a manifestation of David’s pent up resentment towards Xavier.

It doesn’t seem like Legion is going to deal with Professor X, as he’s busy in the X-Men movies, but the devil with yellow eyes could somehow be connected to David’s father in the Legion universe. The show has already hinted at some tension in that relationship.