Late last week, I finally discovered the first season of the X-Men related TV series Legion. The main character, David Haller is told he's a schizophrenic but he later discovers he's a mutant with a very high potential for psychic abilities. On the show, he's shown that he's only slightly more powerful than Jean Grey as he can do things she can't...unless she loses control and lets loose.
Haller and his friends face threats on two levels. From a government agency randomly known as Division 3 and a parasitic mutant known as The Shadow King (real name Amahl Farouk.) In my review of X-Men: Apocalypse, I noted the title villain shared elements of this character and actually said:
Oscar Isaac was very good as the title villain. To me, the story combined elements of the comic fight with him and also elements with the villain Shadow King, another powerful Arab mutant who will probably never be used on his own, as referenced in Storm's introduction and Xavier's climactic astral plane battle which was a great touch.
I guess I was wrong! Bryan Singer, Lauren Schuler-Donner and Simon Kinberg the big three producers of the movie are producers here. In the guise of David's friend Lenny, Faouk tells him that he had met David's father before...
Yes, Charles Xavier is indeed his father who, apparently, according to David's sister, put him into hiding like Dumbledore did Harry Potter. But who would play him if he was to appear? This leads to the debate on when the show takes place. Creator Noah Hawley gave the show a '60's feel with some anachronistic elements. Maybe this gives you another view on how my mind works, but I could place the show easily in 1979 with the only weird element being the MRI and other radiology machines but I personally buy someone with Melanie Bird's resources having "futuristic machines." Especially given he didn't seem to age much between '62 and '83, my money is on James MacAvoy...
The weirdest part of the show to me was the creation of original characters. Dr. Melanie Bird played by Jean Smart is the leader of the resistance against D3 and a mentor figure to this small band of mutants. The best comic book equivalents would be Emma Frost or Moira MacTaggert, neither probably can be used so I can see combining the two into a new character but what of the others? In 50 years of X-men comics, there isn't a body-switcher, a memory only telepath or a mutant who's really two people combined? Fascinating...
Haller and his friends face threats on two levels. From a government agency randomly known as Division 3 and a parasitic mutant known as The Shadow King (real name Amahl Farouk.) In my review of X-Men: Apocalypse, I noted the title villain shared elements of this character and actually said:
Oscar Isaac was very good as the title villain. To me, the story combined elements of the comic fight with him and also elements with the villain Shadow King, another powerful Arab mutant who will probably never be used on his own, as referenced in Storm's introduction and Xavier's climactic astral plane battle which was a great touch.
I guess I was wrong! Bryan Singer, Lauren Schuler-Donner and Simon Kinberg the big three producers of the movie are producers here. In the guise of David's friend Lenny, Faouk tells him that he had met David's father before...
Yes, Charles Xavier is indeed his father who, apparently, according to David's sister, put him into hiding like Dumbledore did Harry Potter. But who would play him if he was to appear? This leads to the debate on when the show takes place. Creator Noah Hawley gave the show a '60's feel with some anachronistic elements. Maybe this gives you another view on how my mind works, but I could place the show easily in 1979 with the only weird element being the MRI and other radiology machines but I personally buy someone with Melanie Bird's resources having "futuristic machines." Especially given he didn't seem to age much between '62 and '83, my money is on James MacAvoy...
The weirdest part of the show to me was the creation of original characters. Dr. Melanie Bird played by Jean Smart is the leader of the resistance against D3 and a mentor figure to this small band of mutants. The best comic book equivalents would be Emma Frost or Moira MacTaggert, neither probably can be used so I can see combining the two into a new character but what of the others? In 50 years of X-men comics, there isn't a body-switcher, a memory only telepath or a mutant who's really two people combined? Fascinating...
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