Legion: Chapter 1

It has been a long, hard road to get the Marvel Universe on the small screen. Various plots have been bandied about but none have come to fruition until now. “Legion” is an ambitious (albeit, clunky pilot) story following Professor Charles Xavier’s unknown son, David Haller (Dan Stevens). Diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic after trying to hang himself, Haller is a long-term resident of a psychiatric hospital with some interesting characters.

David’s unharnessed and uncontrolled powers include a form of telekinesis. Unable to formulate what exactly is wrong with the worlds he toggles between, David tries to take therapy and his meds seriously. Along with his hospital BFF Lenny Busker (Aubrey Plaza), his life is thrown willy nilly when another patient drops into his life. Sydney Barrett (Rachel Keller) does not like to be touched and is surprisingly practical for someone in a mental hospital. Her relationship with David is quick but also hilarious: Syd hates touch, so they “hold hands” by holding the same rolled up shirt. Things are great until Sydney is discharged and David kisses her goodbye. Flash of lightning, sparks fly and BOOM! David is transformed into Syd.

The story gets convoluted from that point. David’s powers are heightened as Sydney apparently and he ends up encasing all of the hospital’s patients in the walls. A shadow organization takes him into custody under the pretext of finding out what happened to Sydney. What they really are ascertaining is what type of mutant David is and if he is the most powerful one out there. Escaping from their custody, Sydney (or an illusion of Sydney) assists with getting him to the safety of her boss Melanie (Jean Smart). The action promises to only get weirder from this point.