For fans of superhero television shows, the recent news that a Legion second season has been green lit by FX came as no surprise. This show – while not getting massive ratings yet – is still breaking new ground in just what a comic book-based series can be. But one of the more interesting facets of Legion is the connection that it has to the main canon in X-Men comics. As reported by Fansided , it’s this vital connection that makes a Legion cameo by Patrick Stewart next year a possibility.
The main character of Legion – David Haller – is a young man in his 30s who was diagnosed early on in life as a schizophrenic because of the various “voices” he heard. As a result, he’s been in and out of multiple psychiatric institutions, and has now just entered yet another one. One of the fascinating aspects of the show for fans is that it’s hard to know just who in the series is real and who is a product of David’s imagination.
So sir patrick is in to be in legion wow awesome https://t.co/Ny35xZNpSB
— Patrick Painter Inc. (@Painter_Inc) March 24, 2017
However, regular viewers of the series know that this character is far more than just someone with a major mental problem. David is – like the X-Men themselves – a mutant with amazing and sometimes dangerous powers. In fact, he is said on the show to be one of the most powerful mutants in existence. Considering this includes heavyweights like Apocalypse and Professor X himself, this is saying a lot.
In the culminating finale that the most recent trailer looked at, David is described as a “world breaker.” This means he has the capacity – if he could control it – to cause unbelievable devastation on a global scale. In the World War Hulk comics, the green Goliath is himself also sometimes called World Breaker Hulk. Those who are familiar with the X-Men movies alone might recognize certain similarities between the power levels of this character and Patrick Stewart’s Professor X in the films.
But more serious comic book nerds know that in the comics themselves, Professor X, aka Charles Xavier, is, in fact, David’s father. In a complex and somewhat soap opera-ish chain of events, Charles becomes separated from his young son and only encounters him much later in life. This has unfortunate consequences for all concerned.
https://t.co/DBRGghm0om Sir Stewart will be the prof. X on #LegionFX I’m McAvoy fan but the average age with Dan is an inconvenience.
— ?Inari(Soy no binarie)?????????//??? (@CrimsonInari) March 24, 2017
In the meantime, a powerful entity known as the Shadow King has entered into David’s body and is, in part, responsible for his erratic behavior. This is where the possibility for a Patrick Stewart cameo – or even full episode role – in Legion could occur.
Professor X could be brought in on Legion to help David finally rid himself of the Shadow King – or to at least imprison him internally as Xavier has done for other characters in the comics – such as Jean Grey’s Phoenix persona. This might require a major sacrifice on someone’s part.
It would be interesting to see if the show writers would decide to “solve” David’s mental problem in this way. Since the result would probably be – relatively speaking – a much more normal life for the character, it’s not clear this would leave him interesting enough to maintain the edginess of the series. Without his seeming insanity, David could be just another mutant on a planet filled with them. After all, in the X-Men films, mutants are a dime a dozen.
Of course, whether the show could actually afford to bring in Patrick Stewart is another question entirely. Superstars don’t come cheap, and Stewart is riding high after his highly-acclaimed portrayal of Professor X in the latest Logan X-Men film. But Stewart – despite his supposed retirement as Professor X – has expressed an interest in appearing on Legion , so we’ll see if this pans out.
[Featured Image by FX]