While Legion has been a phenomenal Marvel Comics series, there's been very little other than the presence of David Haller to connect it to the expanded X-Men universe from whence it came. That's about to change in a big way, as an alternate promo for the upcoming episode "Chapter 7" just revealed the name of a big villain from the X-Men comics. It appears as though Legion has officially confirmed the Shadow King is coming after David!
Every episode now we've been haunted by this creepy bloated man, and I'm ashamed to say I've never once thought that he was anything other than part of David's subconscious. But if you look at the classic images of the bespectacled and overweight man, it seems all too obvious that this figure is none other than Amahl Farouk, a.k.a. The Shadow King. But while that living form is how he's appeared the most in Legion, he actually gets a lot more menacing and spooky. Case in point:
Now here's where things get really interesting. Amahl Farouk was, at one point, a mutant working for agents of Adolf Hitler in the real world. His reign of using his telepathy powers for evil came to an end when he was confronted by none other than Charles Xavier, who met him by chance in Egypt. In terms of psychic power, the two are considered equals, and at their first major battle, Xavier was believed to have killed Farouk with a psionic bolt on the astral plane. Farouk survives as the Shadow King, but is restricted to the astral plane, as his physical body has been destroyed. Shadow King can return to the real world, but would first need a living vessel to cross over. That looks as though what's happening in Legion as we get a sneak peek at Shadow King in this alternate promo:
If Shadow King truly is as strong in the series as he's been historically in the comics, the whole team could be in some deep trouble. For fans, though, this is super exciting news. The emergence of Shadow King serves as a great segway to introducing Charles Xavier to once again battle his old foe! We've been pumped about the possibility of Patrick Stewart appearing on the series when he indicated his interest weeks ago, and it appears Noah Hawley and crew were well ahead of the game building him up for an appearance.
I feel silly saying this specific Shadow King connection has me pumped, since this show has had me geeked throughout its entire run! If you aren't watching, now is the time to catch up as the series was just picked up for Season 2, which looks like it's going to be intense. Legion airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on FX, if you're looking to join in the fun. If you already have, prepare for a crazy finale and find another show to dive into with our midseason premiere guide.
