Marvel Television’s Legion, which stemmed from the company’s collaboration with FX Productions, gained critical acclaim across all three seasons for its unique approach to the superhero genre. The masterfully surreal and brilliantly daring television show is, in fact, amongst the most intricate and intimate superhero stories to date. It featured a protagonist who was not only struggling with his newfound mutant abilities but also the cost his nigh limitless powers have had on his life.
Legion centers on David Haller, an Omega-level (means super powerful) mutant in the Marvel Comics Universe, as he tries to control his powers. If there’s something we’ve learned from the Bond films is that the narrative is only as good as its villain. In the case of David Haller, that villain is none other than the voices he keeps hearing — a very powerful parasitic mutant, Amahl Farouk, who invades David’s psyche.
In the series, we learned that Farouk fought Charles Xavier, the father of David Haller. He was defeated and banished to the Astral Plane. This story mirrors the one told in the comics, where Farouk was originally identified as a human mutant from Egypt. Xavier indeed fought Farouk and miraculously won, considering that Farouk was a more powerful mutant. This defeat killed Farouk’s physical body, forcing his mind into the Astral Plane and prompting Xavier to form the X-Men — to fight evil mutants that humanity was ill-prepared to handle.
Later, comic writers made some changes to Farouk’s character, and as it turns out, Farouk is nothing but a physical host for the Shadow King. The Shadow King is an ancient evil entity that has been around since the dawn of humanity. In the comics, he possesses one of Xavier’s younger students sometime after their confrontation in the Astral Plane. In Legion, Farouk — as he’s known in the series — attaches itself to David’s mind when he was just a baby, altering his memories so that David would believe he’s mentally ill instead of a powerful mutant.
Throughout David’s life, his presence frayed at David’s already tenuous mental stability and the way he perceived reality. However, we don’t see a less nightmarish Shadow King until Season 2 of the series. That is when he finally assumes his final appearance as Farouk, strongly resembling his comics counterpart, though lacking the fez and morbid obesity — which is associated with the other incarnation of the Shadow King, the Devil with the Yellow Eyes, seen during Season 1.
Regardless, what made Farouk terrifying as a villain is that the viewer couldn’t put their finger on exactly what/who he was. Despite his initial portrayal as a very powerful human mutant, it’s evident that his characterization “transcended” the usual individuals powered by the X-gene. In fact, in the comics, he lacks almost all the attributes that make a typical Marvel hero or villain. He’s intelligent but lacks any superhuman physical strength and fighting skills. However, he’s fast and immortal, with strong energy projection abilities.
To be entirely honest, Farouk, or The Shadow King, doesn’t need any of the usual attributes associated with superheroes or typical villains, for he is truly the stuff of nightmares. As previously stated, later writers of Marvel Comics made The Shadow King into a multiversal manifestation of the dark side of human consciousness, spawned by the very first nightmare, and as such, he is perpetual — existing for as long as there’s darkness in humans, and for as long as we dream nightmares.
He used to be a separate entity entirely from Farouk. But when Amahl’s mutant ability surfaced, which was to psychically control those around him by feeding on the greed and gluttony in their hearts, he merged and became one with the Shadow King, who had been transferring from host to host since the dawn of time. The Shadow King from the comics is an incredibly powerful true Omega-level telepath. He possesses the minds of strong-willed individuals like Black Panther with relative ease and has shown enough capability to mentally control other skilled telepaths, such as Psylocke or Marvel Girl.
Considering that he can possess other beings while on the astral plane, he can’t be killed with physical weaponry of any kind, and his power is so extensive that it can even repair the physical damage to the host. However, while taking a host gives him more power on the physical plane, it also makes him more vulnerable. Enough physical damage can eventually kill the host, which poses a threat to the Shadow King. If enough damage is inflicted, it can even disperse his astral essence. The same can be said for psychic attacks.
Charles Xavier defeated the Shadow King in the Astral Plane, effectively killing Farouk as the host and dispersing his astral form. It may take years for him to re-manifest his astral form again, which is but a blink of an eye for an entity that spans across the multiverse. With Legion over, he could manifest when the X-Men finally debut in the MCU. Because, for as long as he’s fueled by humanity’s darkest moments, and most suppressed desires, Amahl Farouk, also known as the Shadow King, is truly an entity beyond death.