| 1 | Characters from the TV series ''{{Series/Legion|2017}}''. |
| 2 | |
| 3 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 4 | |
| 5 | !!Summerland |
| 6 | |
| 7 | [[folder:David Haller]] |
| 8 | !!David Haller |
| 9 | [[quoteright:300: https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/david_haller_68.png]] |
| 10 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/DanStevens |
| 11 | |
| 12 | A troubled man currently being treated for [[TheMentallyDisturbed schizophrenia]] at one of the many mental hospitals in his lifetime. When he meets the girl of his dreams, David learns he may not be schizophrenic at all -- but rather, a powerful [[ComicBook/XMen mutant]]. |
| 13 | ---- |
| 14 | * AbledInTheAdaptation: In the comics, he has both schizophrenia and autism. Here he's only confirmed to have schizophrenia and even that the show went back and forth on. |
| 15 | * AdaptationalAttractiveness: In the comics, he has had [[DependingOnTheArtist multiple different artists]] draw him, but he usually isn't particularly attractive. In the show, he's played by the gorgeous Creator/DanStevens, whose character is acknowledged to be cute and a PrettyBoy InUniverse. Moreover, the TV version is taller at 6'0" instead of 5'9". He also lacks his comic book counterpart's trademark BeehiveHairdo and bizarre body language. |
| 16 | * AdaptationalBackstoryChange: In the comics, David Haller was born in Israel as the illegitimate son of Charles Xavier and Gabrielle Haller. He was an only child who was raised by his single mother. In the show, David Xavier was born in America as the legitimate son of Charles Xavier and his wife Gabrielle. He was given up for adoption when he was still a baby and was taken in by the Haller family, where he grew up with two adoptive parents and an adoptive sister. |
| 17 | * AdaptationalHairstyleChange: His MessyHair is more normal and realistic than the towering AnimeHair he has in the source material. |
| 18 | * AdaptationalNationality: On the show, he's an American of English and Romani descent instead of being a British-Israeli of American and Jewish descent like in the comics. |
| 19 | * AdaptationalNiceGuy: [[spoiler:AmbiguouslyEvil and FaceHeelTurn aside]], David in the series is much more calm, rational and approachable than his comic counterpart. |
| 20 | * AdaptationDyeJob: He's black-haired in the comics, but his TV counterpart's hair is light brown. |
| 21 | * AdaptationNameChange: Because his biological parents are married on the show (which didn't happen in the source material), he was born as David Xavier, although he's adopted by the Haller family when he's still a baby, so he's known as David Haller throughout the series. However, after the AlternateTimeline takes hold in the series finale, the infant that's shown in the last scene will be known as David Xavier permanently because his parents won't give him up this time. |
| 22 | * AlternateSelf: In "Chapter 14", multiple possible versions of David are seen: |
| 23 | ** A mentally ill homeless man, who ends up sliced in two by Kerry with a katana after killing a gang who attacked him, then fighting off an armed response unit. |
| 24 | ** A lonely office drone, who hallucinates singing mice and sniffs glue to stave off the boredom. He eventually becomes a sore-covered addict. |
| 25 | ** A David who is half-lobotomized by pills to control his delusions, and cared for by Amy. After hallucinating the Devil with the Yellow Eyes, David freaks out and kills a squad of policemen in a panic, but not before one of them shoots him in the spine. He's last seen as an elderly man, almost catatonic and paralyzed below the waist, with Amy still faithfully caring for him. |
| 26 | ** An intern at a corporation who uses his powers to rise through the ranks (by reading competitors' thoughts) and eventually becomes the richest man on Earth. This David sees his powers as a gift from God, enjoys the torment he causes to his employees, and casually tortures Amy with his powers. The last shot of him shows that David is at the very least influenced by the Shadow King, if not fully possessed. |
| 27 | ** A David who dies after hanging himself. Amy brings a bouquet of flowers to his tombstone, and the epitaph reads, "Taken Too Soon." |
| 28 | ** A David who has a happy and simple life with a wife and two children. |
| 29 | * AstralProjection: In "Chapter 3", he projects himself and Syd to where Division 3 is holding his sister. |
| 30 | * BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:In "Chapter 20", he is shot and killed by Syd in two consecutive timelines, only to be revived when Switch goes back in time early enough to stop it from happening thrice.]] |
| 31 | * BadassInDistress: |
| 32 | ** He's captured by Division 3 in the first episode and the Summerland crew helps him escape. [[spoiler:Later on, he's also trapped in the astral plane or his own mind multiple times, relying on his allies to rescue him or at least show him a way out.]] |
| 33 | ** In TheStinger of the first season, [[spoiler:he's abducted by a mysterious floating orb and can only scream for help while Syd watches]]. |
| 34 | ** In "Chapter 19", [[spoiler:he's imprisoned again, courtesy of Division 3. He breaks himself out of it after they give him a SadisticChoice: letting himself get treated for his mental illness, or be terminated.]] |
| 35 | * BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: [[spoiler:After Amy's body was taken over by Lenny due to Farouk's machinations, David is furious and confronts Farouk with this. Farouk in return replies that he thought that this would make David happy. As Farouk inhabited David's mind for almost 30 years, he also knew that David sometimes wished for Amy to die.]] |
| 36 | * CheerfulChild: Before he began HearingVoices, his memories show that his boyhood was a happy one. |
| 37 | * CompositeCharacter: Starting out as an InNameOnly adaptation, he eventually became an accurate representation of his comics self merged with [[Characters/MarvelComicsXMan X-Man.]] |
| 38 | * CrazyIsCool: Over the course of the series, he's given the choice of embracing his powers or his (presumed) [[TheMentallyDisturbed insanity]]. [[spoiler:In the end, [[TakeAThirdOption he embraces both.]]]] |
| 39 | * {{Cult}}: He founds one in Season 3, which essentially works as some sort of surreal hippie commune in which members get high by taking David's psychic emanations as a FantasticDrug. |
| 40 | * DeadpanSnarker: His coping mechanism for being locked in a mental asylum. |
| 41 | * DespairEventHorizon: He reaches it in Season 2 after Syd attempts to kill him. |
| 42 | * DoubleStandardRapeSciFi: Averted in the Season 2 finale when David uses his powers to manipulate Syd into having sex with him. She later calls him out for this during his "trial." |
| 43 | * TheDreaded: Not so much David himself, but [[spoiler:what he becomes in the future in which he killed Farouk: Legion, the World Killer]]. |
| 44 | * DroppedABridgeOnHim: A unique example. [[spoiler:Despite being an extremely powerful mutant and the protagonist of the show, he is anti-climatically shot in the back by Syd in "Chapter 20" when Farouk helps Division 3 infiltrate David's new hideout. However, thanks to Switch, he is revived when she goes back in time and prevents it from happening permanently.]] |
| 45 | * EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:At the end of the series, he forms a truce with Farouk and gets the chance to re-start his life, albeit as a baby, with two loving biological parents to take care of him.]] |
| 46 | * EtTuBrute: [[spoiler:The final act that pushes David over the edge is Syd, the person he loves, trying to kill him. When David is captured by Division 3, and neither his girlfriend nor any of his friends take his side, even siding with a freed Farouk, David is done with them and escapes.]] |
| 47 | * EvenTheGuysWantHim: The Shadow King (who is otherwise depicted as being completely straight) in Lenny's form is very sexually aggressive towards him, and tells David that he's "Such a pretty boy" despite his normal form [[{{Squick}} claiming to see David as a son]]. The real Lenny is openly gay, but when questioned if she has feelings for him, she gives awkward non-answers and shows visible jealousy over his relationship with Syd. |
| 48 | * FakeMemories: He suffers from these. Some of the most important are the facts that: David believes he had a pet dog in his childhood named "King" (his sister later states they never had a dog); David thinks his female friend Lenny was the person who convinced him to use the vapor, as well as break into his psychiatrist's office (other characters claim they saw a man named "Benny," although their reliability has not been confirmed); David at one point told Dr. Kissinger about the Devil with the Yellow Eyes -- David later insists it was simply a delusion or that [[LaserGuidedAmnesia he can't remember]]. It's implied that TDWTYE is behind the false memories, and has been appearing to David in different forms since his childhood. [[spoiler:This turns out to be true.]] |
| 49 | * FantasticDrug: The psychic emanations he gives to members of his {{cult}}. There even are two color-coded variants, depending of David's current state of mind: the blue one has depressant properties, while the red one has stimulant properties. |
| 50 | * FromNobodyToNightmare: [[spoiler:From mental patient to Legion, the man who devastated the world.]] |
| 51 | * AGodAmI: The Shadow King tries to instill this in David. They both supposedly are gods who can shape reality however they want. [[spoiler:Over the course of Season 2, he succeeds. David does develop a god complex, and the MultiplePersonalities in his head urge him to embrace this.]] |
| 52 | * HearingVoices: Since he was around 10 or 11 years old, he heard voices. David received treatment for this, as he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, but he later learns that this is due to his telepathic powers. [[spoiler:And then it's revealed that it's both.]] |
| 53 | * IcyBlueEyes: When he's in an especially bad mood, his blue irises take on a ''very'' cold sheen, and it's usually a sign that he'll either lash out with his powers, or he's self-destructive (like when he had tried to hang himself). |
| 54 | * ImmuneToBullets: Once he gains control of his powers, it's impossible to hurt him with bullets unless you catch him by surprise (like Syd does in "Chapter 20"). |
| 55 | * InnocentBlueEyes: When he's in an especially good mood, his baby blues reflect his endearing boyishness, and they mainly appear when he's around Sydney or Amy. They're also prominent during his pre-schizophrenic youth. |
| 56 | * InTheBlood: He inherited a lot of traits from his biological father Charles Xavier: they're both incredibly powerful telepaths, they share a SweetTooth (which includes a mutual fondness for cherry pie, and in "Chapter 26", David serves his father knowledge in the form of a cake slice knowing that Charles would be tempted to eat it), they both enjoy stargazing, and they're both brown-haired {{Pretty Boy}}s who are of the exact same height (their actors, Creator/DanStevens and Creator/HarryLloyd, are 183 cm / 6'0"). Like David, Charles also fell in love with a troubled woman while they were institutionalized at a psychiatric facility. David lampshades this in "Chapter 22." |
| 57 | -->'''David''': Wow. This is how they met? My parents. In a mental hospital. I guess it just runs in the family. |
| 58 | * KubrickStare: He excels at this. |
| 59 | * LackOfEmpathy: He ruthlessly exploits Switch's TimeTravel ability (which is ''extremely'' taxing for her body) to the point where her teeth are falling out, her face is swollen, and by "Chapter 26", she's dying. He has zero regard for her well-being, and he continues to insist that she uses her power to help him even though she desperately needs to rest. Charles disapproves of David treating Switch like a tool instead of a person. |
| 60 | -->'''Charles''': Who is she?\ |
| 61 | '''David''': She's... no one. She's a means of getting here. Of reaching you.\ |
| 62 | '''Charles''': Everyone is someone, David. |
| 63 | * LoveMakesYouEvil: [[spoiler:After learning that he really ''is'' mentally ill, and having Syd and all of his friends side with the Shadow King against him at the end of Season 2, David severs ties with all of them and escapes with Lenny.]] |
| 64 | * MadnessMantra: [[spoiler:"I'm a good person. [[IJustWantToBeLoved I deserve love.]]"]] |
| 65 | ** [[spoiler:David's split personalities point out to him that this is just his delusion. When he is imprisoned by Division 3, he repeats this, until he grows sick of having to defend himself, with no one taking his side, and breaks out.]] |
| 66 | * {{Manchild}}: His schizophrenia is debilitating, so he's dysfunctional as an adult. He exhibits certain childlike behaviors, such as sleeping while his rocket ship lamp (which he had since he was a baby) is on, and its constellations-shaped lights seem to comfort him. In the scene where he's eagerly devouring waffles at his sister's house, Amy and Ben watch him warily as if they were parents who are concerned about how they should treat their emotionally volatile kid. In the series finale, Past Farouk ridicules David for his immaturity. |
| 67 | -->'''Past Farouk''': David. The victim. A boy pretending to be a man. Always blaming others. Boo-hoo. |
| 68 | * TheManTheyCouldntHang: It's implied that his suicide attempt is part of why he ends up in Clockworks. His psychiatrist mentions that although David was found with rope burns around his neck, no noose was found in David's apartment. |
| 69 | * TheMentallyDisturbed: He was diagnosed with [[{{Hallucinations}} schizophrenia]] as a child, and has been treated for it. He's only now beginning to learn that he was sane all along, and that all the weirdness that followed him is a result of his powers. [[spoiler:And then it turns out that he really ''was'' sick, but with a [[DemonicPossession mental parasite in the form of a "demon"]] rather than true mental illness. The Summerland crew's insistence that he isn't really sick only exacerbated his problems.]] Then Season 2 reveals [[spoiler:David actually ''is'' mentally sick in addition to being controlled by Farouk, and that not all of his illness was due to the Shadow King's direct influence.]] |
| 70 | * MessyHair: It serves as a visual shorthand for his unstable mental state. |
| 71 | * MindOverMatter: He displays a more crazed and destructive variant of telekinesis similar to Literature/{{Carrie}} or [[Manga/{{Akira}} Tetsuo]]. However, once he frees his mind from Farouk, he can use telekinesis more calmly and efficiently. |
| 72 | * MindRape: He's a powerful telepath, allowing him to invade the minds of other people and hurt them mentally. |
| 73 | ** In "Chapter 18", he [[spoiler:tortures Oliver, still believing that he is possessed by Farouk, to learn where Syd is]]. |
| 74 | ** In "Chapter 19", he [[spoiler:mentally [[LaserGuidedAmnesia blocks a part of Syd's memories]] after she tried to shoot him, and then in her confused state has mental sex with her. It's her calling him out on that, that makes him stop insisting for a moment that [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil he is good]]]]. |
| 75 | * MrFanservice: He exposes a lot of skin during his sex scenes with Syd on the astral plane, including brief shots of male back nudity. He's required to be totally naked when he's floating inside Cary's amplification chamber, so later when David teleports away to a Division 3 hallway, Syd finds him ''au naturel'' and dripping wet. |
| 76 | * NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:In Chapter 4, the Devil with Yellow Eyes shows David what looks like Syd in mortal danger, and tricks him into teleporting there to [[UnwantedRescue save her]].]] |
| 77 | * ObliviouslyEvil: David doesn't realize that a lot of his actions are very questionable, until he gets called out for them at the end of Season 2. [[spoiler:He lies, he tortures, he kills (and enjoys it) and the final nail in the coffin is that when Syd turns against him, he manipulates her memories and [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil sleeps with her mentally]], to get her to love him. David insists that he is a good person, but his personalities claim it's just his delusion and when no one in Division 3 takes his side, [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere he has enough and leaves]]]]. |
| 78 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: In "Chapter 5", after [[spoiler:he escapes from the Astral Plane with Lenny's help]], he arrives at Summerland showing more confidence and cockiness, with some dangerous KubrickStare and able to stand up more to everything, and is even more upfront with being with Syd, [[spoiler:even creating a room in the Astral Plane where they can touch and sleep together for the first time]]. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by Melanie, which remarks that David looks, sounds and acts different, less "fragile". [[spoiler:These are all {{foreshadowing}} signs that David's mind is being co-piloted by Lenny/The Devil With Yellow Eyes.]] |
| 79 | * ParentalAbandonment: His biological parents gave him away for adoption. His adoptive father died before the series, but what happened to his adoptive mother is not known, as she is nowhere to be seen or even mentioned in the present. |
| 80 | * PhysicalGod: The head of Division 3 outright calls him one in "Chapter 3", when describing his power potential. |
| 81 | -->'''Melanie:''' You were right about David, you know. He's a world-breaker. And if you had killed him before he figured that out, then all your soldiers and guns and -- what was it? United World Front? -- all that would impress me. But now? Not so much. |
| 82 | * PrettyBoy: His physical attractiveness is imbued with a boyish quality which includes InnocentBlueEyes, which serves as a visual cue that he's an immature {{Manchild}}. Syd thinks he's cute, and Lenny describes him as "Such a pretty boy." When speaking to the rational side of his mind, David tells him, "I am pretty." Although David becomes a supervillain in the Season 2 finale, a residual cuteness in his visage in Season 3 reminds the audience that on an emotional level, he's a lost, little boy with severe abandonment issues who [[IJustWantToBeLoved just wants to be loved]] and DesperatelyCravesAffection, especially from his biological parents. |
| 83 | * ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: [[spoiler:In Season 2.]] |
| 84 | * RealityWarper: When he and Syd switch bodies in "Chapter 1", she loses control of his powers, seals herself and the other patients at Clockworks inside their rooms, and ''removes the doorways''. Not just the doors, but ''completely walling them in''. [[spoiler: Poor Lenny gets {{Telefrag}}ged in the process.]] |
| 85 | * RedBaron: In the future, David Haller will be known as Legion [[spoiler: the world killer]]. |
| 86 | * RoaringRampageOfRevenge: [[spoiler:After Farouk kills Amy.]] |
| 87 | * RogueProtagonist: |
| 88 | ** In "Chapter 5", [[spoiler:the Shadow King takes over and causes David to kill almost all of Division 3 in his quest to rescue Amy.]] |
| 89 | ** In "Chapter 19", [[spoiler:he abandons his friends and flees Division 3 with Lenny.]] |
| 90 | * RuleOfSymbolism: The character Harold in the children's book ''Literature/HaroldAndThePurpleCrayon'' that Gabrielle reads to David as an infant is emblematic of the type of person that David becomes when he's older. At its core, the story is about a boy who loses touch with reality because he's preoccupied with the imaginary world that he creates with his purple crayon. Harold is totally lost within his own mind, just like the mentally ill David is. |
| 91 | * {{Sadist}}: In "Chapter 18", [[spoiler:he realizes that he takes pleasure in imagining how he can kill Farouk. Farouk in the same episode also makes Syd believe that when David killed and tortured others, he visibly enjoyed it.]] |
| 92 | * ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler:When Division 3 locks David in for the danger he poses in the future (for crimes he hasn't committed yet) and tries forcing him to receive medication and therapy again, he refuses. When they threaten to kill him if he doesn't comply and even Syd loses her trust in him, he breaks out of the containment field and leaves, taking the imprisoned Lenny with him.]] |
| 93 | * SmartPeopleSpeakTheQueensEnglish: His rational mind speaks with a posh English accent, which confuses David because he's an American. His rational mind's reply is essentially, "Of course I'm British, I'm the brains of this operation." |
| 94 | -->'''David's Rational Mind''': I'm you, your rational mind.\ |
| 95 | '''David''': And you're British?\ |
| 96 | '''David's Rational Mind''': Like I said, I'm your rational mind. |
| 97 | * SplitPersonality: As Cary points out, though, David suffers from literal schizphrenia -- ''split mind''. The Shadow King was inside David for 30 years. David also created a "rational" mind that helps him sort things out when he is stuck in a mental prison the Shadow King put him in. [[spoiler:Then there are the other personalities he talks to...]] |
| 98 | * SweetTooth: He's often seen eating or craving sweets. He adores cherry pie (he claims that he basically lives on it and it's everything he needs), gorges on waffles in various scenes, munches on strawberry Twizzlers, wants to eat a chocolate cupcake for his birthday (but a Clockworks security guard forbids him from doing so), and expresses interest in ice cream. |
| 99 | * SuperpowerLottery: The series has barely scratched the surface of what he's capable of, but it's clear he hit the jackpot so hard it even got him BlessedWithSuck. {{Telekinesis}}, {{Telepathy}}, {{Teleportation}}, mental TimeTravel, he can even traverse {{Alternate Universe}}s with a thought. |
| 100 | * TalkingToThemself: [[spoiler:He has multiple personalities in his head that "advise" him, them being the titular Legion. While in Season 1 his "rational mind" helps him in a positive way, in Season 2 it's portrayed as very disturbing when he is confronted by Division 3 and they see him talking to these personalities of his.]] |
| 101 | * {{Telekinesis}}: On a potentially ''massive'' scale. A recurring memory is of him tearing apart an entire kitchen at once. He's also levitated himself and other objects, and hurled things across the room. |
| 102 | * {{Telepathy}}: At least some of the voices he hears aren't in his own mind, and he's in fact reading the minds of those around him. |
| 103 | * {{Teleportation}}: Best demonstrated in "Chapter 3", when he teleports himself, Melanie, and Ptonomy out of the chamber where they normally handle their memory work. He can also teleport things (and presumably people) away from himself, as he did with the MRI machine in "Chapter 2." Amy remembers David being able to suddenly appear in places he shouldn't have, such as turning up outside after she left him in the bath. |
| 104 | * TookALevelInBadass: Over the course of the first season, he learns how to control his powers. By the end, he's able to non-lethally take down a platoon of Division 3 troops [[PowersDoTheFighting with a swipe of his hand]], and manages to almost defeat the Shadow King on his own. |
| 105 | * TrademarkFavoriteFood: Waffles. |
| 106 | * UnreliableNarrator: His perception of reality can't be trusted because he's prone to delusions and hallucinations. |
| 107 | -->'''David''': I'm insane, you idiot. This is my delusion. It's not real. |
| 108 | * WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: His mutant abilities are so powerful they cause mental instability. David can't differentiate whether the voices he hears are just coming from his head or whether he really can hear other people. [[spoiler:It's both.]] |
| 109 | [[/folder]] |
| 110 | |
| 111 | [[folder:Syd Barrett]] |
| 112 | !!Sydney "Syd" Barrett |
| 113 | [[quoteright:300: https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/syd_barrett.png]] |
| 114 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/RachelKeller |
| 115 | |
| 116 | An independent young woman who crosses paths with David at the Clockworks Psychiatric Hospital. Despite forbidding anyone to touch her, she becomes David's girlfriend, but when she is to be released and David impulsively kisses her, they switch bodies and chaos ensues. She is found and taken in by the Summerlanders and together they free David from Division 3 and try to help him figure out his powers. |
| 117 | ---- |
| 118 | * AbusiveParents: |
| 119 | ** Syd mentions in relation to Ptonomy's memory sessions that her mother was "mean" to her. She brushes it off as irrelevant, but it seems to have influenced her more than she wants to admit. |
| 120 | ** Downplayed in her childhood flashbacks though. Syd's mother was never really mean, but she noticeably [[ParentalNeglect pulled away]] from Syd over time out of uncertainty and the growing realization that she would never be able to physically express her love for her daughter. It's also unknown how much she knew about Syd's [[HatesBeingTouched aversion to being touched]] being much more a mutant ability than a mere personality trait. |
| 121 | * ADayInTheLimelight: "Chapter 12" and "Chapter 25" focus heavily on Syd's character. |
| 122 | * AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Having grown up without a father and in general being a [[LonersAreFreaks loner]] made Syd a target for bullying. Until she got sick of it and retaliated, that is... |
| 123 | * AnArmAndALeg: [[spoiler:The future incarnation of Syd, who warns David that he needs to ''help'' Farouk get his body back, is missing her left arm at or just above the elbow.]] |
| 124 | * AntagonisticOffspring: Sydney seems very hostile towards her mother, probably due to her coldness during Syd's childhood. She tries to seduce one of her partners by switching bodies with her unconscious mother, seemingly unconcerned that this crosses boundaries both against the boyfriend and against her mother. She is also very antagonistic towards the maternal Melanie when it comes to David, although Melanie wisely refrains from responding in kind. |
| 125 | ** Averted in "Chapter 25", when Syd, freshly erased from both her body and her original personality, re-lives her life in the astral plane with Melanie and Oliver. |
| 126 | * BedTrick: Used her powers to pose as her mom in order to have sex with her mother's boyfriend. |
| 127 | * CanonForeigner: Not seemingly based on anybody in the comics. |
| 128 | ** However, her powers are similar to the ComicBook/UltimateMarvel universe's version of David, who was [[CompositeCharacter combined with]] a body-swapping villain from the mainstream continuity named Proteus. Proteus, however, destroyed the host mind and took over the body until it withered away, whereas Syd just switches place temporarily. Her angst about being unable to touch people also seems to be imported from X-Man Rogue, who absorbs people's powers and memories by touch. |
| 129 | ** Her powers seem based on the minor X-Force villain Devon Alomar a.k.a. Switch of the New Hellions. |
| 130 | * ColorCodedCharacters: Her outfits are usually orange and/or black. |
| 131 | * FrameUp: |
| 132 | ** "Chapter 12" reveals that Syd was bullied by girls and hit on by boys in school, until one day she discovered that she could switch bodies and consciousnesses, and tried it on the body of the boy she just kissed... cue Syd using this opportunity to beat the girls up. Then when a teacher comes and asks what happened, she blames the boy who apparently hit the girls for no reason. |
| 133 | ** In a way, her BedTrick was also this. Syd obviously didn't reveal her abilities and, considering his shocked reaction, her mother's boyfriend also never would have consented, [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale but Syd gets away with rape, while her mother's boyfriend is arrested for it.]] |
| 134 | * FreakyFridayFlip: This is what Syd's ability causes. Anyone (including animals) Syd touches will switch bodies with her temporarily. Syd accidentally switching bodies with David triggered the events at the start of the series, as Syd quickly lost control of David's powers, which alarmed Division 3 and the Summerland mutants. |
| 135 | * TheGadfly: During season 2, she develops a liking of taking over the body of a cat to practice her mutant power. Watch people's reactions when they try to talk to the cat who occupies Syd's body or, if they realize that she's the cat, try to talk to Syd, which makes it look weird when they talk to an actual cat. She also sounds more playful, carefree and arrogant while she's in a cat's body. |
| 136 | * TheGlovesComeOff: Syd literally takes off her gloves to turn the tables on the Eye. |
| 137 | * HatesBeingTouched: Due to the nature of her powers - she temporarily switches bodies with the people she touches and absorbs their powers (though this showed up as an intense aversion to human touch when she was born). Even when she's wearing gloves, she hates even so much as holding hands. |
| 138 | -->'''Syd:''' It's like ants crawling all over my skin. |
| 139 | * {{Hypocrite}}: Quick to call David out on his use of DoubleStandardRapeSciFi in the season two finale, but she too is [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale a rapist.]] Pulling a BedTrick on her mothers boyfriend when she was sixteen and is happy to let everyone who knows the story keep brushing it off to spite knowing what it's like to be on the other side. |
| 140 | * KnightInSourArmor: [[spoiler:This pretty succinctly describes her worldview on life and love, as revealed in Chapter 12; Syd went through many painful life experiences because of her power, but this only makes her more emotionally tougher and adaptable to whatever life (akin to a "war") threw at her next. She does believe in the concept of love as well, [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway but she doesn't believe that it saves humanity]]-- ''they'' save it through [[TheDeterminator pushing through life's trials and tribulations.]]]] |
| 141 | * LetsGetDangerous: Syd's only power seems more like a liability than a strength, which would usually make her TheLoad. However, that theory goes out the window after the Eye ambushes the Summerland crew. He displays a variety of PsychicPowers - appearing to them as David's psychiatrist, walking calmly through a hail of gunfire, and rendering Ptonomy unconscious with a touch. But as he attempts to capture Syd, she switches bodies with him, knocks him out, and then takes custody of her captured friends. If David had not been convinced to attack Syd in the Eye's body, she would have single-handedly saved the Summerlanders and captured the scariest member of Division 3. |
| 142 | * ManipulativeBastard: [[spoiler: Future Syd pretends to care about David, and that he's a hero helping to avoid a world-ending catastrophe. This is so David helps Farouk and will end up being killed, thereby stopping preventing Future David end the world.]] |
| 143 | * MsFanservice: |
| 144 | ** Actually averted in the real world, as she always wears modest clothing, which is a good way to avoid being touched. |
| 145 | ** Played straight in the astral plane where she wears very revealing white dresses. Justified because it's created in David's mind and he's her boyfriend; that also happens to be the only place they can have (psychic) sex. |
| 146 | * NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: She's named after Roger "Syd" Barrett of Music/PinkFloyd, whose music influenced the series. |
| 147 | * OnlySaneMan: Possibly because of their mind-body switch, Syd is the only person other than David able to see the demonic figures that haunt him in his mindscape. She's so unnerved by the fact that she is the only one who can see what David fears that she starts to doubt her own sanity. It doesn't help that the World's Angriest Boy, knife in hand, appears to be stalking her in the real world. |
| 148 | * ParentalAbandonment: Syd grew up without her father, who is never mentioned. Her mother died of cancer before the series. |
| 149 | * PowerPerversionPotential: When she was 16 she swapped bodies with her passed out mother to have sex with her mother's boyfriend, since there had been a "flirtation" before. The switch lasted just long enough for them to get started, leading to her mother walking in on her partner apparently having sex with her daughter. Needless to say, the situation caused a major conflict, which is [[DoubleStandardRapeSciFi disturbingly]] the only thing Syd seems to find troubling about it. |
| 150 | * SilkHidingSteel: An inverse example -- she's strong on the outside, but soft on the inside. |
| 151 | * StrongFamilyResemblance: Adult Syd remarkably resembles her mother. |
| 152 | * SuperCuteSuperpowers: With Syd growing to accept her powers, she's begun practicing with them by swapping bodies with a cat. While in cat shape, she retains her sentience but takes on some of the cat's instincts, such as playing with dangling strings and enjoying being petted. It's as cute as it sounds. |
| 153 | * TookALevelInKindness: [[spoiler:After Syd re-lives her life in the astral plane with Melanie and Oliver, who foster her better nature, she becomes much less prickly and cynical. She even regains faith that David can be saved in the past, though she still doesn't forgive him for the worse actions he did to her.]] |
| 154 | [[/folder]] |
| 155 | |
| 156 | [[folder:Melanie Bird]] |
| 157 | !!Melanie Bird |
| 158 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/melanie_bird.png]] |
| 159 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JeanSmart |
| 160 | |
| 161 | David's therapist and a leader at Summerland, who's very compassionate and protective to those under her (unconventional) methods. |
| 162 | ---- |
| 163 | * AndStarring: Jean Smart gets the "and" billing in the end credits. |
| 164 | * AntiHero: Her cause is genuinely good and she is one of the main protagonists, but her more selfish goals and insistence that David is perfectly sane cause a lot of problems and paint her as a morally grayer figure. |
| 165 | * CanonForeigner: She has some traits in common with Moira [=MacTaggert=], who plays a significant role in David's story in the comics, and is also a bit like an older, more modest Emma Frost, but she's a totally new character. |
| 166 | * DemonicPossession: [[spoiler:Get possessed by the Shadow King before he regains his original body.]] |
| 167 | * LoveMakesYouDumb: She's so intent on getting Oliver back [[spoiler: (and, once he is back, getting him to [[LaserGuidedAmnesia remember who she is]])]] that she starts to endanger David and the team with her single-mindedness. |
| 168 | * TheLostLenore: She lost her husband Oliver to the astral plane years ago. Part of her motivation to help David is the possibility that his powerful telepathy might help her bring him back. |
| 169 | * PutOnABus: [[spoiler:With Oliver in Season 3.]] |
| 170 | * TheStoner: The stress of losing Oliver again after briefly getting him back causes her to spiral into one of these in Season 2. |
| 171 | * TakeMyHand: How she presents herself to David after he escapes the facility. [[spoiler: The Devil with Yellow Eyes punishes her for this by crippling her hand in David's dream space, though her real hand is unaffected.]] |
| 172 | * TeamMom: Melanie is very caring with her charges, gently pushing them towards confronting even uncomfortable truths, while constantly supporting them. She stays like that even with overt hostility from David or Sydney. |
| 173 | * TheoryTunnelVision: She is so set on her view that David's mental illness diagnosis is a misinterpretation of the effects of his powers that she for a long time completely overlooks the possibility that David has both powers ''and'' mental illness. |
| 174 | [[/folder]] |
| 175 | |
| 176 | [[folder:Ptonomy Wallace]] |
| 177 | !!Ptonomy Wallace |
| 178 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ptonomy_wallace.png]] |
| 179 | !!!'''Played By:''' Jeremie Harris |
| 180 | |
| 181 | A mutant with a photographic memory and the power to read other people's memories. He is a natural leader with a dry sense of humor. |
| 182 | ---- |
| 183 | * CanonForeigner: Albeit one with heavy influence from Prodigy AKA David Alleyne, an African American with ability to telepathically absorb other peoples' knowledge and a natural leadership streak. |
| 184 | * CharacterDeath: [[spoiler:Dies after Farouk's psychic parasite leaves his body. His mind gets preserved by Fukyama and his Vermillons however.]] |
| 185 | * DarkAndTroubledPast: [[spoiler: His mother dropped dead in front of him when he was playing in the kitchen, a memory which he constantly relives.]] |
| 186 | * HiddenDepths: He quotes Sun Tzu when planning a mission. "Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting." |
| 187 | ** His inner desire is to be totally amnesiac and carefree, suggesting that he partly views his photographic memory as a burden. |
| 188 | * IJustWantToBeNormal: Has shades of this. Ptonomy in general sees his mutant ability as more of a burden than a gift; the prime example being his ability to remember his mother's death with complete clarity. When he is [[spoiler: infected by the Catalyst, his personal maze is him in a hedge garden trimming the same rose over and over]] and retaining no memory of it. Cary and David even say as much when they [[spoiler: enter the maze; Ptonomy's core desire is to be able to forget and live fully in the present.]] When Ptonomy comes out of it, he laughs as he's delighted to hear he doesn't remember at all what happened. |
| 189 | * OutOfFocus: In Season 3. [[spoiler:The Mainframe is uploaded into a robot vessel that resembles him and so operates as Divison 3's computer; despite that, he does nothing of significance all season and doesn't even appear in the series finale.]] |
| 190 | * PhotographicMemory[=/=]NoInfantileAmnesia: His memory is so perfect that he remembers his time in his ''mother's womb''. |
| 191 | * PsychicPowers: He has some degree of telepathy because he's able to enter people's memories. |
| 192 | * SharpDressedMan: Always dresses very stylishly, even when going to war. |
| 193 | * SignatureHeadgear: Ptonomy wears a Ivy Cap complete with his dressed of style clothing, indicating that he has a higher form of education. |
| 194 | * {{Telepathy}}: He's a psychic whose specialty is accessing a person's memory; he styles himself as a "memory artist." |
| 195 | [[/folder]] |
| 196 | |
| 197 | [[folder:Kerry Loudermilk]] |
| 198 | !!Kerry Loudermilk |
| 199 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kerry_loudermilk.png]] |
| 200 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/AmberMidthunder |
| 201 | |
| 202 | An outspoken individual unafraid of the repercussions of her actions. She is constantly moving and doing, always looking to the next challenge. |
| 203 | ---- |
| 204 | * ActionGirl: Takes an active hand in rescuing David from Division 3, and helps fight off the {{mook}}s pursuing them. In fact episode 4 reveals she can't sit still, and gets outright anxious when she's ''not'' beating heads together. [[spoiler: The Shadow King uses her body to confront David for this reason, though he defeats and rescues her anyway.]] |
| 205 | * TheAgeless: Variant; Kerry doesn't age so long as she's inside Cary's body. Since she lets him handle all the "boring" stuff like eating and sleeping, she's significantly younger than he (Amber Midthunder is 22, while Bill Irwin is 66). |
| 206 | ** [[spoiler:Averted in the series finale. Merging with Cary to battle the time demons ages her to become at least as old as Cary, though she appears fine with it.]] |
| 207 | * BadassAdorable: She's a pretty deadly fighter, but seeing her adjust to normal customs (eating, going to the bathroom, etc.) is sweet. |
| 208 | * BadassNative: Kerry is Native American, always ready to fight, and casually mops the floor with Division mooks in episode 4 (at least until their reinforcements arrive). |
| 209 | * BadassNormal: Actually doesn't have any combat-oriented mutant powers - Kerry's mutation is that she can merge into her brother Cary's body. Merging like this ''can'' help her recover from near-fatal injuries, but it isn't a fast process and not immediately useful in a fight. Kerry does ''prefer'' hand to hand combat and is a very skilled fighter, but it isn't a super-power: she's just a very well trained martial artist. |
| 210 | * TheBigGuy: Although still a svelt, pretty young woman, Kerry is by ''far'' the best fighter of the Summerlanders and the one who engages in physical fights. |
| 211 | * BloodKnight: She's always itching for a fight, and gets real antsy when there's no action. She looks positively giddy in "Chapter 4" when a talky meeting with Dr. Poole turns out to be a trap. |
| 212 | * BrainsAndBrawn: Kerry is the Brawn of her pair with Cary, and even describes them in these words. |
| 213 | * DemonicPossession: [[spoiler: Briefly possessed by the Shadow King in "Chapter 8", though she's freed with little trouble by the end.]] |
| 214 | * GlassCannon: She can send grown men flying with her kicks, but she's still as vulnerable to humans as everybody else. And in the Astral Plane she might as well be a RedShirt. |
| 215 | * IJustWantToBeNormal: Downplayed, but Kerry tearfully laments to Syd her self-doubts about her own existence when she notes that Cary handles all of the mundane day-to-day activities of their shared life, and she wonders whether she's even real. |
| 216 | * LiteralMinded: She doesn't understand figures of speech. |
| 217 | * LiteralSplitPersonality: She's shared a body with Cary Loudermilk since they were children, shocking her parents when, instead of the Native American daughter they were expecting, her mother gave birth to a Caucasian boy. |
| 218 | * OneManArmy: Able to take down multiple members of Division 3 on her own. However, she's not as effective against other superhuman individuals. |
| 219 | * NobodyPoops: ''Literally''. Due to being able to merge with her brother Cary's body when she's inactive, Kerry has preferred to skip all the "boring" parts of life such as sleeping, eating, and even using a toilet. She refers to it in Season 1 as "whatever it is people do in the bathroom". In Season 2 she gets locked out of her ability to merge with her brother and has to spend extended time living like a regular person - and has to figure out how to use a toilet as Cary talks her through it from the other side of the door. |
| 220 | * PintSizedPowerhouse: Demonstrates this in the first episode, knocking out thugs with one or punches. |
| 221 | * {{Synchronization}}: Kerry and Cary have a degree of this. When Kerry is fighting the Division's mooks in episode 4, Cary mimics her fighting from his lab, and responds whenever she takes a hit. [[spoiler: And when Kerry is shot by The Eye while protecting David and Syd, Cary feels the pain.]] |
| 222 | * TwoferTokenMinority: Threefer - Native, female, and a savant. |
| 223 | * TwoSiblingsInOne: She shares a body with Cary. Notable because Cary is a nerdy white guy while Kerry is a Native American woman, and they were born to Native parents. So when Cary was born their father [[ChocolateBaby accused their mother]] of cheating on him. Kerry didn't even first appear until Cary was several years old. |
| 224 | * WhatTheHellHero: She is quite upset about Cary "leaving" her in the Astral Plane when the Eye was stalking her. She doesn't care that he was working on a way out with Oliver. |
| 225 | * WaifFu[=/=]CuteBruiser: Despite her tiny size, she's a competent fighter that uses a combination of GoodOldFisticuffs and more acrobatic and flexible movements as shown in chapter 4. |
| 226 | [[/folder]] |
| 227 | |
| 228 | [[folder:Cary Loudermilk]] |
| 229 | !!Cary Loudermilk |
| 230 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cary_loudermilk.png]] |
| 231 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/BillIrwin |
| 232 | |
| 233 | A brilliant geneticist. Although he seems shy, he is brave and funny. |
| 234 | ---- |
| 235 | * BrainsAndBrawn: He's the Brain of his pair with Kerry, and she uses these exact words to describe their existence. |
| 236 | * ChocolateBaby: His Native American parents split up when he was born. His father assumed infidelity with a white man rather than mutation. |
| 237 | * LiteralSplitPersonality: He's shared a body with Kerry Loudermilk since they were children, shocking his parents when, instead of the Native American daughter they were expecting, his mother gave birth to a Caucasian boy. |
| 238 | * NiceGuy: He's very amiable and well-meaning. |
| 239 | * {{Omniglot}}: He speaks German, Spanish and Japanese. |
| 240 | * ThirdPersonPerson: Cary seems to refer to himself in the third person to remind himself to do something later. Chapter 3 clarifies this a bit further: Cary's not talking to ''himself'', but to Kerry, who is his LiteralSplitPersonality (see above). |
| 241 | * TheSmartGuy: He handles much of Summerland's science and research. |
| 242 | * {{Synchronization}}: Kerry and Cary have a degree of this. When Kerry is fighting the Division's mooks in episode 4, Cary mimics her fighting from his lab, and responds whenever she takes a hit. [[spoiler: And when Kerry is shot by The Eye while protecting David and Syd, Cary feels the pain.]] |
| 243 | * TwoSiblingsInOne: He shares a body with Kerry. Notable because Cary is a nerdy white guy while Kerry is a Native American woman, and they were born to Native parents. So when Cary was born their father accused their mother of cheating on him. Kerry didn't even first appear until Cary was several years old. |
| 244 | * UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler:During the time demon attacks, Cary takes Jia-yi away from David's compound, intending to protect her from the time demons, but instead Division 3 chooses to seal her in a special case so that David can't find her, which leads him to believe that Division 3 kidnapped her, thus resulting in him going on a rampage to get her back.]] |
| 245 | * WaistcoatOfStyle: Part of his standard attire. |
| 246 | [[/folder]] |
| 247 | |
| 248 | [[folder:Rudy]] |
| 249 | !!Rudy |
| 250 | !!!'''Played By:''' Brad Mann |
| 251 | |
| 252 | A powerful telekinetic known for blasting objects and enemies hundreds of feet away with a thought. |
| 253 | ---- |
| 254 | * BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:He revives just in time to save Sydney and Kerry from being killed by the Shadow King.]] |
| 255 | * TheBigGuy: Thanks to his telekinetic powers, he acts as this alongside Kerry. |
| 256 | * ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler:He originally seems to have died, but manages to awaken at a crucial moment.]] |
| 257 | * DyingMomentOfAwesome: [[spoiler:After the Eye is killed, Rudy is released from Walter's paralysis in the Astral Plane - Rudy's immediate response is to tackle the Shadow King in the middle of murdering Sid and Kerry, ultimately giving David the opportunity to return everyone to the real world.]] |
| 258 | * MauveShirt: [[spoiler:The only non-member of the main cast to join the mission to rescue David, and the first one to be taken out of it, stabbed by the Eye and left disabled in the astral plane. He does manage a DyingMomentOfAwesome before succumbing to his wounds, however.]] |
| 259 | * NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler:He seems to have died from being stabbed by The Eye, only to revive in the astral plane and save Sydney and Kerry.]] |
| 260 | * TheWorfEffect: As shown in the first episode, he's a very physically powerful mutant, [[spoiler:which is presumably why the Eye chose to put him out of commission first.]] |
| 261 | [[/folder]] |
| 262 | |
| 263 | [[folder:Oliver Anthony Bird]] |
| 264 | !!Oliver Anthony Bird |
| 265 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oliver_bird.png]] |
| 266 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JemaineClement |
| 267 | |
| 268 | Dr. Melanie Bird's husband, whose physical body lies in a freezer underneath Summerland. His mind is seemingly trapped in the Astral Plane. |
| 269 | ---- |
| 270 | * AmnesiacLover: As well as forgetting vocabulary and concepts such as measurements of time, Oliver completely forgets Melanie, and the fact that he is even married. [[spoiler: He remembers her moments before he is possessed by the Shadow King.]] |
| 271 | * BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler: After everyone is trapped in the Shadow King's asylum on the Astral Plane, Oliver starts appearing to the Summerland crew to take them out of the mental prison.]] |
| 272 | * BigGood: Melanie tells us that he founded Summerland (with Cary), meaning he was interested in understanding the FantasticScience of mutants. While his first appearance doesn't seem to match his wife's rosy description of him, Oliver is the first person who is aware of TDWYE within David's mind without being told about it or seeing it firsthand. [[spoiler: As of the first season finale, however, he is now a puppet of the BigBad.]] |
| 273 | * CloudCuckooLander: As if his name weren't enough to tip you off, Bird appears to be almost perfectly happy "living" in the Astral plane, although a bit lonely. It hasn't exactly done wonders for his ''own'' sanity, either, and he's become a bit eccentric, to put it mildly, as a result. |
| 274 | * CreepyOldFashionedDivingSuit: Oliver's physical body is stored inside one of these while his mind is on the Astral Plane. |
| 275 | * ADayInTheLimelight: Gets plenty of focus in "Chapter 13", alongside Lenny. |
| 276 | * DemonicPossession: [[spoiler: Possessed by the Shadow King in the Season 1 finale. It uses him to escape Summerland.]] |
| 277 | * TheHermit: He has been living in the Astral Plane for about 20 years, having become trapped when he spent too much time there. |
| 278 | * GoMadFromTheIsolation: While he's not outright ''mad'', Oliver has definitely become a bit eccentric from his time in the Astral Plane. |
| 279 | * IgnoredExpert: Oliver tells David it might be good for him to figure some things out in the Astral Plane, where the Shadow King can't reach him, but David is too worried about his sister to stay. It doesn't help that Oliver is [[GoMadFromTheIsolation a bit eccentric]], was a bit of an AbsentMindedProfessor To begin with, and David is not totally aware of the threat that hunts him. |
| 280 | * MrExposition: He first appears [[BreakingTheFourthWall addressing the audience]]. When David shows up in the Astral plane, Bird quickly deduces that the "monster" which stalks David is [[NotSoImaginaryFriend real]], making him forget things, and a [[DemonicPossession parasite]]. |
| 281 | * PsychicPowers: Oliver is a powerful psychic with years of experience, capable of travelling to and manipulating the Astral Plane at will, as well as construct a psychic shield in the real world. [[spoiler: This is presumably why the Shadow King chooses him as its next host.]] |
| 282 | * PutOnABus: [[spoiler:With Melanie in Season 3.]] |
| 283 | ** TheBusCameBack: [[spoiler: Together with Melanie in the third to last episode of Season 3. Also counts as ADayInTheLimelight.]] |
| 284 | * RetiredBadass: [[spoiler: While he's decided to live a quiet, rural life in the Astral Plane with his wife, he can still put on his snazzy white suit and bust out some sick beats. Given how duels in the Astral Planes works this makes him the equivalent of an OldMaster.]] |
| 285 | * UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler: He was just trying to help, but being in the wrong place at the wrong time allowed the Shadow King to escape from Kerry's body into his, giving it an avenue to freedom.]] |
| 286 | [[/folder]] |
| 287 | |
| 288 | !!Division 3 |
| 289 | |
| 290 | [[folder:As a whole]] |
| 291 | |
| 292 | A government agency tasked with monitoring mutant activity and capturing (or eliminating) those deemed a threat. |
| 293 | ---- |
| 294 | * ChildSoldiers: They also employ them in Season 2. |
| 295 | * {{Expy}}: Of similar organizations in the X-Men comic books, most notably Weapon X. |
| 296 | * EvilWearsBlack: Their {{mooks}} wear all-black attire. |
| 297 | * FacelessMooks: They wear face-concealing black-masks and goggles. |
| 298 | * GovernmentConspiracy: They are a secret division of the United States Government. |
| 299 | * WellIntentionedExtremist: Their goal is to ensure the survival of regular humans in the face of the rise of mutants. So well-intentioned that, in fact, [[spoiler:the protagonists end up cooperating with them.]] |
| 300 | [[/folder]] |
| 301 | |
| 302 | [[folder:Admiral Fukyama]] |
| 303 | !!Admiral Fukyama |
| 304 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/legion_fukyama2.jpg]] |
| 305 | [[caption-width-right:350:The Admiral and the Vermillions]] |
| 306 | !!!'''Played By:''' Marc Oka |
| 307 | |
| 308 | The leader of Division 3. He's actually a mutant that was recruited into the organization in his youth. |
| 309 | ---- |
| 310 | * BigBrotherIsWatchingYou: The basket over his head is actually a device connected to the cameras throughout Division 3, allowing him to spy on everyone there. |
| 311 | * CanonForeigner: Has no comic book counterpart. |
| 312 | * CultureEqualsCostume: Wears traditional Japanese clothes. |
| 313 | * CyberneticsEatYourSoul: He seems fairly ruthless and unfeeling, though not sadistic, and describes himself as a "machine that bleeds". |
| 314 | * {{Cyborg}}: He tells David the he had a machine inserted into his brain and seems to be remote controlling the Vermillion. |
| 315 | * DramaticUnmask: [[spoiler:Clark, under the influence of the Delusions, forces him to remove his basket at gunpoint.]] |
| 316 | * TheFaceless: He wears a basket over his head. |
| 317 | * FacialHorror: Ptonomy thinks the reason he wears a basket over his head is [[spoiler:because it looks like a grownup version of the monstrous baby chicks that begin to appear in Season 2. This was a Delusion; he actually looks like an innocent old man with facial scars.]] |
| 318 | * VoiceOfTheLegion: Sometimes seems to speak through the Vermillion, a group of AmbiguousRobots who tend to speak [[SpeakInUnison all at once]] in the same tone. |
| 319 | [[/folder]] |
| 320 | |
| 321 | [[folder:The Vermillion]] |
| 322 | !!Vermillion |
| 323 | |
| 324 | A group of androids in service of Division 3. |
| 325 | ---- |
| 326 | * AmbiguousGender: They are anatomically androgynous, with somewhat female-shaped figures but mustaches on their faces. |
| 327 | * ComputerVoice: They speak in a pleasantly electronic monotone. |
| 328 | * GirlsWithMoustaches: They are a group of identical women wearing skintight catsuits, pageboy haircuts and mustaches for no explicable reason. |
| 329 | * WeHaveReserves: Seems there's an endless supply of them. |
| 330 | [[/folder]] |
| 331 | |
| 332 | [[folder:The Eye]] |
| 333 | !!Walter / The Eye |
| 334 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/MackenzieGray |
| 335 | |
| 336 | An agent of Division 3, assigned first to the interrogation of David, and later his sister. His actual name is Walter. |
| 337 | ---- |
| 338 | * SeventiesHair: Sports a very curly afro. |
| 339 | * ComboPlatterPowers: The Eye can see astral projections, disguise himself as others, and bullets can pass through him. |
| 340 | * CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler:On the receiving end from the Shadow King, who wads him up like a piece of paper. [[NightmareFuel It is]] ''[[{{Squick}} not]]'' [[NauseaFuel pretty]]. And to make it worse, he's made to suffer it twice -- first in the astral plane, and then in the real world as soon as that's over.]] |
| 341 | * DiscOneFinalBoss: [[spoiler:He survives the Division 3 massacre, but is killed by the Shadow King in the penultimate episode of the first season.]] |
| 342 | * TheDragon: To Brubaker, the head of Division 3. [[spoiler: After David wipes out Division 3, Walter becomes this to the Shadow King in a way. The Shadow King even mentions that Walter and it agree on some things.]] |
| 343 | * TheDreaded: Melanie and Ptonomy are visibly disturbed when David reveals he's involved with the Division's attempt to find him. |
| 344 | * HunterOfHisOwnKind: He has mutant abilities of his own but hunts down other mutants on behalf of Division 3. |
| 345 | * EyeScream: [[spoiler:One of his eyes pops out of its socket as the Shadow King crushes him to death.]] |
| 346 | * EvilFormerFriend: He was acquainted with Cary, Melanie and Oliver when Summerland was first created. |
| 347 | * ImplacableMan: Ptonomy ''shoots'' him from close range in episode 4, and can only stare at his gun in disbelief when The Eye keeps coming. He's only stopped when [[spoiler: Syd uses her powers to swap bodies and knock him out while he's trapped in ''hers''. Syd is then briefly knocked out when David causes the Division van to crash, not realizing she is now in The Eye's body]]. |
| 348 | * ISeeThemToo: The Eye is able to see David and Syd when they're using the Astral Plane to spy on the Division's interrogation of Amy. |
| 349 | * NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: He's called The Eye, and may be the most terrifying character outside of the Devil and the Angriest Boy. Even if you're on the Astral Plane ''[[OhCrap he can still see you]]''. |
| 350 | * PsychicPowers: Appears to have this to some extent. Not only could he see David and Syd while being projected, he was also able to knock Ptonomy out with a touch, and successfully masquerade as [[spoiler:Dr. Poole]] and [[spoiler:Rudy]]. |
| 351 | * {{Sadist}}: He takes great pleasure in inflicting pain, due to being bullied in his childhood for developing slower than the rest. |
| 352 | * YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler:Somewhat. While the Shadow King keeps him around in the astral plane, the Eye really doesn't do much other than menace Kerry and Sydney before it decides to kill him anyway.]] |
| 353 | * YourMindMakesItReal: [[spoiler: The Shadow King kills him by crumpling him up into a ball in the Astral Plane, which causes him to crumple up into a ball in the real world shortly after.]] |
| 354 | [[/folder]] |
| 355 | |
| 356 | [[folder:Clark]] |
| 357 | !!Clark |
| 358 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/HamishLinklater |
| 359 | |
| 360 | An interrogator with Division 3. |
| 361 | ---- |
| 362 | * AgentPeacock: He is impeccably dressed and coiffed, and openly gay. That said, he's respected enough by Division 3 that even after barely surviving his previous encounter with David, he's is given a compliment of soldiers to try and bring David in again. |
| 363 | * AmusingInjuries: Averted ''hard''. You know how superhero stories often show enemy mooks being casually blasted away by explosions - but skip the gruesome repercussions? The series shows the realistic aftermath of Clark being caught in an explosion when the other mutants rescue David: he's left hospitalized for months with third degree burns over 40% of his body, in agony and weak as a kitten, while his loved ones grieve over him. Moreover he doesn't just have a comic-book style recovery, but is left badly disfigured and partially crippled. He's not amused when he encounters David again. |
| 364 | * AndStarring: Hamish Linklater gets the "with" billing in the end credits of Season 2 before graduating to the "and" billing in Season 3. |
| 365 | * ChekhovsGunman: Returns at the very end of "Chapter 7" to throw a wrench into the heroes' impending happy ending, as well as [[spoiler:inadvertently give Farouk a chance to escape Summerland.]] |
| 366 | * TheDeterminator: Clark suffers through weeks of agony after his first encounter with David, but when the Division tries to reassign him to desk duty, he stands his ground and insists on returning to the field. |
| 367 | * HandicappedBadass: Even after receiving third-degree burns over 40% of his body and forced to walk with a cane, he still is determined to catch David. [[spoiler: He also tries to stop the Shadow King when Farouk tries to leave in Kerry's body by hitting her on the head with his cane.]] |
| 368 | * ItsPersonal: After David's powers leave him severely burned, Clark vows to drag him back to Division 3. |
| 369 | * JerkassHasAPoint: He makes some good points about humans having every right to fear mutants, especially ones as powerful as David, with Melanie and others' comments about the human race becoming extinct seeming very much like threats. |
| 370 | * KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:As of the series finale, his original timeline self is permanently dead, though another version of him will exist in the alternate timeline David created.]] |
| 371 | * KnowWhenToFoldEm: [[spoiler: After realizing that he's not going to take David by force and that the Division is ill-equipped to deal with the Shadow King, he decides to hold out an olive branch.]] |
| 372 | * {{Post Injury Desk Job}}: [[{{DefiedTrope}} Defied]]. As soon as he recovers from his encounter with David he gets assigned to a desk job by Division 3, but refuses to take it, swearing to hunt down and capture the man who almost killed him. |
| 373 | * StraightGay: No hint of his sexuality is given until he is revealed to be married to another man with an adopted son in the last episode of Season 1. |
| 374 | * TwoFaced: After being burned, he has severe scarring down the right side of his face. |
| 375 | [[/folder]] |
| 376 | |
| 377 | [[folder:Brubaker]] |
| 378 | !!Brubaker |
| 379 | !!!'''Played By:''' David Selby |
| 380 | |
| 381 | A member of Division 3 and superior to Clark and the Eye. |
| 382 | ---- |
| 383 | * DiscOneFinalBoss: He's set up initially as the BigBad and main antagonist, only for [[spoiler:the Shadow King to slaughter him and most of his men in Chapter 5.]] |
| 384 | * MythologyGag: His name seems to be a reference to Ed Brubaker, who was writer of ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen''. |
| 385 | * NonActionBigBad: Of the three members of Division 3 shown in Season 1, he has the most authority, but doesn't take action himself, preferring to act through the Eye and Clark. |
| 386 | [[/folder]] |
| 387 | |
| 388 | !!Humans |
| 389 | |
| 390 | [[folder:Lenny Busker]] |
| 391 | !!Lenore "Lenny" Busker |
| 392 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lenny_busker.png]] |
| 393 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/AubreyPlaza |
| 394 | |
| 395 | A friend of David's, who, despite a life of drugs and alcohol abuse, knows that any day now, her life is gonna turn around, which gives Lenny the likable energy of the impossible optimist, despite her rough demeanor. |
| 396 | ---- |
| 397 | * AccidentalMurder: A victim of this when Syd is stuck in David's body, being overwhelmed by David's mutation. |
| 398 | * ADayInTheLimelight: Gets a lot of focus in "Chapter 13", alongside Oliver. |
| 399 | * AmbiguousGenderIdentity: Lenny is played by a woman, but the character is androgynous. Lenny was originally written as a man, but after Noah Hawley gave the role to Aubrey Plaza, she convinced him that Lenny should be gender-neutral, being inspired by Creator/DavidBowie. |
| 400 | --> '''Aubrey Plaza:''' [Noah Hawley] really responded to that, so that was kind of where that unisex, androgynous kind of thing came from. I was interested in making Lenny a man and a woman at the same time, and not being tied down to anything gender-wise. |
| 401 | * AmbiguouslyBi: Only expresses interest in women until "Chapter 17", when [[spoiler:Amy suggests that Lenny possesses feelings for David. She doesn't deny it. However in Season 3, Lenny shows no attraction to David whatsoever and is in a relationship with a woman, leaving it up to interpretation.]] |
| 402 | * AmbiguousSituation: |
| 403 | ** [[spoiler:Whether Lenny was ever actually real, or was always just a projection of the Shadow King, or even a figment of David's imagination that Farouk took advantage of, is left unclear. Amy never knew her, but instead mentioned David was friends with a man named ''Benny'', who we see inserted in several events from David's memories that Lenny had been a part of. However the other Clockworks patients in the first episode — Syd included — ''were'' aware of her. That Farouk continues using her form after latching onto Oliver just muddles the truth even further.]] |
| 404 | ** The season two opener doesn't clarify any better, however we ''do'' see [[spoiler:Lenny and Oliver both trapped together in Oliver's mind by Farouk, which supports her having been real at one point.]] The following episode finally confirms that [[spoiler:Lenny ''was'' a real patient at Clockworks, with David meeting her there for the first time, and that Farouk is keeping her consciousness trapped in the astral plane to do his bidding.]] |
| 405 | * AndIMustScream: [[spoiler: Lenny was real and did die. The Shadow King then captured and trapped her mind in David's head to use as one of his disguises with her continuing to be trapped; first in David's mind, and then with Oliver in his.]] |
| 406 | * AttentionDeficitOohShiny: A side effect of being a junkie, she has an extremely short attention span, with David and [[spoiler:Clark]] becoming visibly exasperated trying to keep her focused on the topic at hand. |
| 407 | * BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Farouk uses a device Oliver stole from Division 3 to transform Amy's body into a new one for Lenny, before turning her loose.]] |
| 408 | * BigScrewedUpFamily: [[spoiler:In "Chapter 13", we learn that her grandmother allowed her to drink vodka at age ''nine'', her father was a porn addict and her mother neglected her after being unable to have many children like she wanted.]] It's little wonder Lenny turned out the way that she did. |
| 409 | * CreepyBlueEyes: Aubrey Plaza's large brown eyes are a very distinguishing feature, so when Lenny acquires [[spoiler:blue eyes]] in Season 2, they look strangely wrong. [[spoiler:They serve to indicate that her body is not her own, but rather ''Amy's''.]] |
| 410 | * CruelAndUnusualDeath: By way of TeleFrag. Made even worse in Season 2 when she reveals that she was ''completely aware of what was happening''. |
| 411 | * DarkAndTroubledPast: Her awful childhood aside, she also resorted to prostitution to feed her drug addiction. |
| 412 | * DeadStarWalking: An interesting [[SubvertedTrope subversion]]. She dies in the first episode, but continues to appear afterwards in flashbacks or as [[spoiler:a disguise of the Shadow King]] before [[spoiler:being resurrected in Season 2, albeit in Amy's body.]] |
| 413 | * DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Tired of David's manipulation of her, and in grief over the deaths of her girlfriend and newborn child, she stabs herself in the throat with a knife and dies moments later.]] |
| 414 | ** Before that, [[spoiler:when it is revealed the Shadow King has kept Lenny's psyche alive and trapped as part of him, we see she is ready to try to kill herself at the drop of a hat, all foiled by Farouk]]. |
| 415 | * EyeColourChange: Lenny's eyes are brown during her first life, but blue when she comes BackFromTheDead, a fact that even throws Ptonomy, a mutant with perfect recall. [[spoiler:It turns out that this is because she's in the body of David's murdered sister Amy, which has been reshaped to look like the old Lenny.]] |
| 416 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: In the second episode, David has a memory of he and Lenny getting stoned and her suddenly turning into [[spoiler:the Devil with the Yellow Eyes.]] It's the first hint that [[spoiler:Lenny isn't who she appears to be.]] |
| 417 | * GenderFlip: Prior to Plaza's casting, Lenny was a man in the original pilot script. [[spoiler: In "Chapter 4", David's ex and previous doctor tell Syd and Ptonomy that there ''was'' no Lenny, but rather a man named ''Benny''. We see him for a brief moment in "Chapter 5", when Shadow King-as-Lenny smugly flashes all his/her "identities" - King, the dog, the World's Angriest Boy, Benny, and Lenny - to Amy.]] |
| 418 | * GenderBlenderName: Lenny is generally a male name. She reveals in "Chapter 13" that her name is actually Lenore, after her grandmother. |
| 419 | * GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler:Lenny dies this way in "Chapter 24", cracking one last joke to David before expiring.]] |
| 420 | * TheHedonist: Her lifestyle pre-Clockworks. [[spoiler:After escaping Division 3 in "Chapter 16", she intends on going back to it, referring to a boozy, drug-fueled sexual encounter as "a kid's birthday party compared to the Caligula shit I've got planned."]] |
| 421 | * HotLibrarian: [[spoiler:Or rather, psychiatrist. After the Shadow King forces her into trapping everyone in an alternate reality at Clockworks, she assumes this form, complete with glasses, black boots and turtleneck sweater.]] |
| 422 | * KillAndReplace: [[spoiler:It's not like she wanted this to happen, but Farouk used a part of Lenny's skin and used it to shape the body of Amy, David's sister, after Lenny and put Lenny's consciousness in the body.]] |
| 423 | * KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:As of the series finale, Lenny-in-Amy's body is permanently dead, though another version of her will or already does exist in the new timeline David created.]] |
| 424 | * LateArrivalSpoiler: [[spoiler:By Season 2 her association with the Shadow King is common knowledge.]] |
| 425 | * MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: [[spoiler:It's never made explicitly clear in Season 1 whether the Lenny that David knew at Clockworks was a real person, or an avatar of the Shadow King all along. "Chapter 10" confirms that Lenny ''was'' a real patient at Clockworks and that her physical body is dead, but her mind is being held captive in the astral plane by the Shadow King.]] |
| 426 | * MessyHair: Like David, it serves as shorthand for her unstable mental state. |
| 427 | * MsFanservice: Not while she's at Clockworks, [[spoiler: but when the Shadow King uses her form, she's frequently wearing skimpy outfits, and is fully nude when she's resurrected.]] However, given the circumstances of these instances, there's definitely an element of FanDisservice as well. She also has a fairly explicit [[GirlOnGirlIsHot lesbian sex scene]] in "Chapter 17". |
| 428 | * NotSoSmallRole: She dies in the first episode; however, since Aubrey Plaza was listed as part of the main cast it clearly meant her story was not yet over. [[spoiler:The fourth episode takes her character in a darker direction as it strongly implies the "Lenny" appearing to David after her death to be a manifestation of the BigBad. Confirmed in the fifth episode.]] |
| 429 | * NumberTwo: [[spoiler:She becomes this as part of David's cult in Season 3.]] |
| 430 | * OnlyFriend: To David before he met [[LoveAtFirstSight Syd]]. [[spoiler:Even when her true allegiance is in question, they have a genuine camaraderie. Their relationship begins to sour in Season 3, when Lenny starts to become fed up with David's constant manipulation of her.]] |
| 431 | * PluckyComicRelief: A lot of her lines are hilarious and she provides many moments of levity when [[spoiler:not under the Shadow King's influence.]] |
| 432 | * PsychoPsychologist: [[spoiler:Gives off this vibe when the Shadow King forces her to play psychiatrist in "Chapter 6",]] especially when talking to David, Syd, and Melanie. |
| 433 | * RedHerringShirt: She is David's comic relief friend who dies in the first episode. Her style of clothing also has a reddish choice about it. [[spoiler:Then the BigBad uses her as one of his many identities to manipulate David.]] |
| 434 | * SacrificialLamb: Killed by Syd in the first episode, when she and David accidentally switch bodies. |
| 435 | * SelectiveObliviousness: “Why are the hot ones always crazy?” Lenny says this of Syd. Lenny is both hot and very very crazy. |
| 436 | * SheCleansUpNicely: At Clockworks she's rather disheveled with wild unkempt hair, and wears her rather baggy hospital clothes and gown. [[spoiler:However, when the Shadow King takes her form]] she's very well-groomed and looks like Aubrey Plaza. |
| 437 | * TheStoner: A lifelong junkie whose downward spiral began at age nine when her grandmother allowed her to drink vodka. |
| 438 | * SweetTooth: She frequently snacks on strawberry Twizzlers, and later requests that Sydney mail her a new candy bar that has nougat, chocolate and a crispy wafer. A bit of {{Foreshadowing}} for comic book readers that [[spoiler:she will become the Shadow King, as he was known for indulging in unhealthy food. In Season 2, when David visits the "new" Lenny, he smuggles in some Twizzlers for her.]] |
| 439 | * TeleFrag: How she dies in the pilot episode, getting phased into a concrete wall after Syd-in-David's body loses control of David's powers. |
| 440 | * ToxicFriendInfluence: |
| 441 | ** During their initial friendship before the hospital, she usually seems the instigator of their drug runs, thus indirectly causing [[spoiler:David's devastating telekinetic storm in his kitchen]]. She also persuades him to [[spoiler:break into Dr. Poole's office]]. |
| 442 | ** Later, when she becomes a figure inside his mind, she cruelly delights in tormenting him about the possible horrors Division 3 could inflict on Amy and Sydney. [[spoiler:Turns out this Lenny is really the Shadow King, who has been doing this to David all his life.]] |
| 443 | * TrademarkFavoriteFood: Twizzlers. |
| 444 | * VillainousCrush: [[spoiler:{{Subverted|Trope}}, throughout Season 1 she was very inappropriate around David, though with TheReveal that it was Amahl Farouk impersonating her, this becomes [[HarsherInHindsight much more disturbing.]]]] |
| 445 | * WalkingSpoiler: It's rather telling that her death in the first episode is the least spoiler-y thing about her. |
| 446 | * YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Cruelly inverted, as [[spoiler:after the Shadow King no longer needs to use her as his avatar, he refuses to just let her die and leaves her consciousness trapped in his mind.]] |
| 447 | [[/folder]] |
| 448 | |
| 449 | [[folder:Amy Haller]] |
| 450 | !!Amy Haller |
| 451 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/amy_haller.png]] |
| 452 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/KatieAselton |
| 453 | |
| 454 | David's sister. |
| 455 | ---- |
| 456 | * BackForTheDead: [[spoiler:She didn't make an appearance in Season 2 until its fifth episode (besides her actress voicing one of Fukyama's Vermillions), in which she shortly appears only to be killed by Farouk and making Lenny take over her body.]] |
| 457 | * BigSisterInstinct: Seems to be protective of her younger brother. When David accidentally destroys a lamp she takes all of the gardening tools from downstairs just to make sure he doesn't risk harming himself. She also worries when he disappears and goes looking for him at the Clockwork facility. In "Chapter 14" [[spoiler:we see several different timelines showing the paths David could have taken in life and the one constant is that Amy is caring for her brother in all of them.]] |
| 458 | * CanonForeigner: While David's counterpart in the comics does have paternal half-siblings as in Xandra and Charles, he doesn't have any full siblings. |
| 459 | * TheConscience: [[spoiler:Seems to serve as one to Lenny, after Lenny took over Amy's body.]] |
| 460 | * CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler: Amy dies in Chapter 13, after Oliver/Farouk uses [[KillAndReplace her body to shape her after Lenny and put Lenny's consciousness in.]]]] |
| 461 | * DamselInDistress: Gets kidnapped by Division 3 to serve as bait for David. |
| 462 | * ADeathInTheLimelight: Inverted. [[spoiler:She dies in the previous episode, but "Chapter 14" is one for her, showcasing timelines where she lived and was helping David with his problem.]] |
| 463 | * LivingEmotionalCrutch: Amy was always the one constant in David's life. In multiple possible timelines, she is always the one on David's side. [[spoiler:Her death devastates him and is the final push that makes him want to murder Farouk. He gradually gets mentally worse after her death.]] |
| 464 | * OutOfFocus: [[spoiler: After serving as the DamselInDistress early on and motivating David's confrontation with Division 3, she mostly disappears from the narrative and has no real role in the last few episodes.]] As of Season 2, she is no longer a part of the main cast. However, [[spoiler:she ends up returning to the fold in a big way in the second half of the season, when she becomes a vessel for the newly-resurrected Lenny.]] |
| 465 | * PsychicDreamsForEveryone: Just before [[spoiler: her murder]] she tells her husband about a dream where she was part of Vermillion, although she doesn't use that name. This despite never having been inside Division 3. |
| 466 | [[/folder]] |
| 467 | |
| 468 | [[folder:Dr. Kissinger]] |
| 469 | !!Dr. Dennis Kissinger |
| 470 | !!!'''Played By:''' David Ferry |
| 471 | |
| 472 | A psychiatrist at Clockworks Psychiatric Hospital who treats David, Lenny and Sydney. |
| 473 | ---- |
| 474 | * BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: The torture suffered at the hands of Division 3 leaves him seriously disturbed. |
| 475 | * UnPerson: Division 3 erases all records of him after they kidnap him in his attempt to track down David. |
| 476 | [[/folder]] |
| 477 | |
| 478 | [[folder:Dr. Poole]] |
| 479 | !!Dr. Henry Poole |
| 480 | !!!'''Played By:''' Scott Lawrence |
| 481 | |
| 482 | A psychiatrist that treated David before he was admitted into Clockworks. |
| 483 | ---- |
| 484 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: It is unknown what happened to him after being attacked by David; when Syd, Ptonomy and Kerry go looking for him [[spoiler: they only find The Eye glamoured to look like him]]. |
| 485 | [[/folder]] |
| 486 | |
| 487 | [[folder:Gabrielle Xavier]] |
| 488 | !!Gabrielle Xavier |
| 489 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gabrielle_xavier.jpg]] |
| 490 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/StephanieCorneliussen |
| 491 | |
| 492 | A Romani Holocaust survivor who is married to Charles Xavier and is the biological mother of David Haller. |
| 493 | ---- |
| 494 | * AdaptationalNationality: The comic book character is an Israeli Jew, but her TV iteration is Romani with no fixed abode. |
| 495 | * AdaptationDyeJob: In the comics, she's raven-haired with brown eyes, whereas on the show, she's brown-haired with green eyes. |
| 496 | * AdaptationNameChange: Her maiden name is never mentioned onscreen, but it's unlikely to be Haller because she's Romani in the show instead of Jewish like in the comics, and David's surname Haller has been changed to be from his adoptive family. After Gabrielle marries Charles Xavier, her name becomes Gabrielle Xavier (and Switch addresses her as such in the series finale). |
| 497 | * BrokenBird: Because she's a Romani Holocaust survivor who had witnessed her entire family being slaughtered by Nazis and she was also a prisoner in a concentration camp, she is ''extremely'' pessimistic. Although she's not suicidal, her conversation with Syd in "Chapter 26" strongly hints that she feels that she's merely existing (rather than truly living) because of a basic survival instinct, but otherwise she's not keen about life. Gabrielle loves her husband Charles and their infant son David, and Charles has provided them with a lovely mansion in a safe, idyllic suburb, yet her new comfortable environment cannot erase the horrors that she has endured, nor heal the psychological wounds that they've inflicted. |
| 498 | -->'''Gabrielle''': It bothers you because you think you matter. That people matter.\ |
| 499 | '''Syd''': What's the point of living if not?\ |
| 500 | '''Gabrielle''': Have you ever seen a mass grave? All people, with names, with families... now just a pile. What's the meaning of that?\ |
| 501 | '''Syd''': But you're here. You have a child.\ |
| 502 | '''Gabrielle''': All animals fight to live. Whether they want to or not. |
| 503 | ** In "Chapter 27", Gabrielle once again brings up her bleak outlook. |
| 504 | --->'''Gabrielle''': What is happening?\ |
| 505 | '''Syd''': The world's ending.\ |
| 506 | '''Gabrielle''': My world ended a long time ago. |
| 507 | * ColorCodedCharacters: Her wardrobe consists mostly of green clothing and accessories (e.g. high heels). |
| 508 | * CommonalityConnection: When she socializes with Charles for the first time, they bond over their love for cherry pie and their struggles with their mental health issues. |
| 509 | -->'''Gabrielle''': I'm not well, you know.\ |
| 510 | '''Charles''': Neither am I. |
| 511 | * DumbStruck: She is so traumatized from her experience during World War II that she becomes catatonic and has to be institutionalized at a psychiatric hospital. |
| 512 | * HighClassGloves: After she becomes Charles' fiancée, she wears [[https://static-media.fxnetworks.com/img/FX_Networks/182/719/LEGION_NO_303.jpg pretty green gloves]] as she's leaving the hospital and when she's slow-dancing in their new home to add flair to her splendid attire. As the future wife of an affluent Englishman, the gloves reflect her new social status. |
| 513 | * InTheBlood: In "Chapter 26", she discloses to Syd that insanity runs in her family, and Syd concludes that Gabrielle's son David got his madness from his mother. |
| 514 | -->'''Gabrielle''': My grandmother had the sickness. She was, uh... ''vrăjitoare''. [[note]]Romanian for "witch."[[/note]] Spells, moods, she spoke in tongues. I remember her eyes. Miserable and giddy, like a happy death. My mother was 16 when the sickness hit her. In the witching hour, she woke up laughing. Didn't stop for 14 days.\ |
| 515 | '''Syd''': You're talking about mental illness.\ |
| 516 | '''Gabrielle''': Such a clinical name for something so raw. Like an animal with its heart on the outside.\ |
| 517 | '''Syd''': It's so odd, I never thought of that. It's hereditary, what's wrong with [David]. Why he's like this. |
| 518 | * SoleSurvivor: She's the sole surviving member of her family; all of her relatives were exterminated by the Nazis. |
| 519 | * SweetTooth: She has a voracious appetite for cherry pie and eats it so quickly that she would take the half-eaten slice that Charles (who's fond of it, too, but he's a slower eater) has without asking. When he tries to grab another bite, she's unwilling to share. |
| 520 | [[/folder]] |
| 521 | |
| 522 | !!Mutants |
| 523 | |
| 524 | [[folder:Amahl Farouk]] |
| 525 | !!The Shadow King |
| 526 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/farouk_navid_negahban.jpg]] |
| 527 | [[caption-width-right:300:The Shadow King]] |
| 528 | [[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Click here to see him as The Devil with Yellow Eyes]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/amahl_farouk.png[[/labelnote]]]] |
| 529 | [[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Click here to see him as The World's Angriest Boy in the World]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/angriest_boy_in_the_world.png[[/labelnote]]]] |
| 530 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/NavidNegahban, Quinton Bosclair (The Devil with Yellow Eyes), Creator/AubreyPlaza (Lenny form), Creator/KirbyMorrow (Benny form), Devyn Dalton ("Angry Boy" form) |
| 531 | |
| 532 | A mysterious figure that seems to haunt David, appearing as something resembling The Blob but much more horrifying. He is later revealed to be the show's version of Amahl Farouk, a.k.a. the Shadow King. |
| 533 | ---- |
| 534 | * AdaptationalAttractiveness: In the comics, Farouk looks like [[http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix3/shadowkingfarouk12.jpg this.]] In ''Legion'', he's a suave, handsome, multi-lingual man. It's definitely an upgrade. |
| 535 | ** The Devil with the Yellow Eyes is a much more faithful to the comics look. |
| 536 | * AdaptationalBadass: While the comics version is an extremely powerful telepath, he does not have the telekinesis and outright RealityWarping powers rivaling David's that this version has. |
| 537 | * AdaptationalNationality: The original Amahl Farouk is Egyptian, whereas the live-action character is Moroccan. |
| 538 | * AdaptationalNiceGuy: He is not nice by ''any'' stretch of the imagination, but at least this Shadow King [[spoiler:turns out to be capable of ''something'' resembling a HeelFaceTurn]], which is more that can be said of the comics version. |
| 539 | * AdaptationPersonalityChange: This version of Farouk is a lot more [[WickedCultured sophisticated]] and [[BeingEvilSucks complex]] and than the CardCarryingVillain he was in the comics. |
| 540 | * AdaptationalUgliness: Inversely, his mental projections are much less straightforwardly intimidating than the fanged, strapping, shadow monster he usually uses in the comics, ranging from the corpulent Devil with Yellow Eyes to the hilariously grotesque World's Angriest Boy in the World. |
| 541 | * ArchEnemy: For [[spoiler:David's birth father, Charles Xavier]] in the past, and David in the present. |
| 542 | * BadassBoast: To David, after David tried to challenge him mentally. |
| 543 | --> '''David:''' I don't trust you. \ |
| 544 | '''Farouk:''' I don't need you to trust me. But you ''will'' respect me. I'm not some cockroach that you can step on with a boot. Je suis le soleil. La lune. [[labelnote:Translation]]I am the sun. The moon.[[/labelnote]] |
| 545 | * TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler:In ''all three'' seasons!]] |
| 546 | ** [[spoiler:Season 1: He holds David's mind hostage in the astral plane until he gets the chance to escape Summerland in Oliver's body.]] |
| 547 | ** [[spoiler:Season 2: [[HopeSpot Mere hours before his trial]], he manages to turn everyone against David, forcing Haller to go on the run.]] |
| 548 | ** [[spoiler:Season 3: Farouk convinces his past self to abandon his vendetta against David and Charles and forms a truce with them to grant David a normal childhood while he escapes with no repercussions for his actions.]] |
| 549 | * BeingEvilSucks: [[spoiler:In the GrandFinale, the modern-day Amahl confesses to Charles that corrupting David and ruining his life has not really made him any happier. He's also grown disgusted with his past self's cruel behavior, embarassed at watching his past self use his vast powers to play king in a poor country. He thus proposes a deal with Charles, wherein he agrees to reform his past self's petty ways (and thus prevent the possession of David) in exchange for Charles and David leaving him in peace.]] |
| 550 | * BigBad: The primary antagonist of the first two seasons, though he [[spoiler:ends up a DiscOneFinalBoss in the Season 2 finale, with David easing into the role of VillainProtagonist for the latter half of the episode.]] |
| 551 | * BigBadFriend: Syd and Ptonomy learn from Philly that David hung out with a man named "Benny" back when he was a junkie. He also might have had a friend called Lenny at Clockworks. [[spoiler:Both "Benny" and the Lenny we see most of the first season are revealed to be forms of the Shadow King, although the Lenny that David knew at Clockworks was a real person.]] |
| 552 | * BodySurf: [[spoiler:Shadow King escapes David's mind in the Season 1 finale, first by using Syd's power to move from David to Syd to Kerry, then by his essence flooding into Oliver after David purges Kerry.]] |
| 553 | * CanonCharacterAllAlong: [[spoiler:He's referred to as the "Devil with the Yellow Eyes" throughout much of the first season, but in the penultimate episode he's revealed to be Amahl Farouk, the Shadow King.]] |
| 554 | * TheChosenOne: In a horrific, hysterical sense of irony, it turns out Farouk ''himself'' is the only one who can save the world... [[spoiler:from David]]. [[spoiler:Future-Syd manipulated everyone, including Farouk and David, to ensure an outcome where his necessity would not be lost on Division 3, made all the easier when factoring in David's MoralEventHorizon and Farouk undoing his mind wipe on Syd.]] When Farouk learns of this, he is positively ''giddy'' that despite all the horrible things he's done and have been said of him he ''just might'' be TheHero of the story. How he proceeds from there... well, he ''is'' [[DevilInPlainSight the Shadow King]], so who knows. |
| 555 | * ColorMotif: Yellow. [[spoiler:When Lenny appears to David in his boyhood room in the fourth episode, the room is colored yellow, signifying Lenny's association with the Devil with Yellow Eyes.]] Red is also used to let the audience know when he's about to make an appearance, such as when [[spoiler:he appears at Clockworks or in David and Syd's hideout in the astral plane.]] |
| 556 | * CreepyLongFingers: As the Devil with Yellow Eyes, his arms and fingers are ''massively'' long and thin, almost skeletal, which, combined with his grotesquely obese body, looks even more surreal and unsettling. Even his fingernails are disgustingly long. |
| 557 | * DecompositeCharacter: [[DownplayedTrope Sort of]]. In the comics, the Shadow King is a grotesque, overweight, mustached Moroccan man with CreepyLongFingers who tends to wear nice suits. In the show, the Shadow King takes the form of (among other things) either a grotesque, overweight man with CreepyLongFingers (the Devil with Yellow Eyes) ''or'' a mustached Moroccan man who tends to wear nice suits (his true form). |
| 558 | * DepravedBisexual: Farouk hits on David while in Lenny's form, and comments that wrestling with him is [[HoYay 'homoerotic']]. But we see him surrounded by giggling girls in a flashback, and Lenny says he raped her repeatedly, suggesting that he goes both ways. As for the 'depraved' part... well, consider the rest of this page. |
| 559 | * DevilInPlainSight: It only appears to David (and maybe Syd), but it also makes David forget about it. David's memories seem to indicate that David sees it like the audience does on a few occasions, only for the Shadow King to wipe David's mind again and hide those incidents from Ptonomy. [[spoiler:He later stops caring who sees him and readily makes his presence known whenever possible.]] |
| 560 | * DirtyOldMan: Practically everything he did in Lenny's body was in some way inappropriate, ranging from simply wearing {{Fanservice}}y outfits to practically molesting David. |
| 561 | * TheDogWasTheMastermind: Quite literally, since [[spoiler:David's childhood dog "King" is one of the forms he takes]]. |
| 562 | ** In the Halloween flashback, it's the dog that leads David to encounter the World's Angriest Boy. |
| 563 | * TheDreaded: [[spoiler:The driving force behind Season 2 is that the heroes cannot let him reunite with his original body or they're all screwed. When he finally does so in "Chapter 18", the Vermillion calculate they have ''0%'' chance of victory and promptly flee the scene.]] |
| 564 | * EnemyMine: [[spoiler:He seems to be cooperate with Division 3 to capture David, seeing as he is not restrained at all at the end of Chapter 19.]] |
| 565 | * EvenEvilHasStandards: |
| 566 | ** [[spoiler:Even the ''Shadow King himself'' is apparently disgusted to learn that David raped Syd and then wiped her memories of it.]] Though given that he is ''Amahl Farouk'', he quickly takes advantage of the situation to turn his own bad spot around. |
| 567 | *** Also extremely hypocritical, considering he has committed MindRape on David for over ''thirty years'' and murdered his sister in a truly brutal manner. Perhaps he was disappointed that David sees himself as a good person when they have more in common. |
| 568 | * EvilCannotComprehendGood: Does not seem to understand why humans even bother with such things like love, friendship and reproduction. The only thing that he desires is greater control and power. |
| 569 | -->'''[[spoiler:Shadow King-as-Lenny:]]''' Do you know what love is? A chemical. Electrons in your brain sending signals. Are you familiar with Ophiocordyceps unilateralis? It's a fungus that infects ants. It's amazing, really. The spores take over their central nervous systems and force them to climb to a high point, and then the fungus begins to grow up, bursting from the tops of their heads like a branch. And it kills them, of course. All so it can spray new spores over the jungle, infecting more ants. When people say love, that's what I think of. |
| 570 | * EvilSoundsDeep: When he speaks in his "The Devil with the Yellow Eyes" form, his voice is preternaturally deep. |
| 571 | * FatBastard: As the Devil with Yellow Eyes. |
| 572 | * FauxAffablyEvil: Speaks in a very relaxed and civil manner that does well to conceal the giggling maniac he is underneath. |
| 573 | * FemmeFatalons: As the Devil with Yellow Eyes. He's never seen using them to attack, but his fingernails are ''disgustingly'' long. |
| 574 | * AFormYouAreComfortableWith: [[spoiler:The Shadow King's most common form is Lenny, a real friend of David's at Clockworks, and initially appears to David as her to lower his guard.]] He also [[spoiler:appeared to David during his early childhood in the form of a dog]]. |
| 575 | * GenderBender: [[spoiler:He most commonly appears to David as Lenny, who is a female.]] |
| 576 | * AGodAmI: He's very powerful and he knows it. He also sees similar power in David and calls the two of them "gods", those who shape reality at their will. |
| 577 | * HappyDance: Does one in "Chapter 6", to celebrate his dominance of [[spoiler:David's mind]]. |
| 578 | * TheHedonist: His main goal in life seems to be simply enjoying it to the fullest. Which would be fine, if his way of enjoying it wasn't what you would expect from a [[TheSociopath sociopathic]] {{Sadist}} with [[AGodAmI a God complex]]. |
| 579 | * HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:...Sort of. He doesn't really turn ''good'' (something that, as one can see in the rest of his tropes, would be next to impossible), but, having come to love David in his own way, he decides to change the past by letting him have a normal, happy life with his biological parents.]] |
| 580 | * HypnoticEyes: How he hides his existence from everyone, except David and Syd in the brief moments before he makes them forget they ever saw him. |
| 581 | * IHaveManyNames: [[spoiler:King, The World's Angriest Boy, The Devil with the Yellow Eyes, Amahl Farouk, The Shadow King]] -- they're all one in the same. |
| 582 | * KarmaHoudini: |
| 583 | ** [[spoiler:By the end of Season 2, he is considered by Division 3 as TheChosenOne to save the world from Legion, despite him being the one mainly responsible for turning David into such a mentally unstable threat to begin with.]] |
| 584 | ** Even worse, [[spoiler: at the end of Season 3, after Charles stops David from killing Farouk's past version, due to coming to an agreement with his present-day version, he is essentially allowed to continue as if nothing happened, despite the horrible [[AndIMustScream treatment of his subjects]]. He even jokes to David that they might [[WeCanRuleTogether rule the world together]] in the future.]] |
| 585 | * KnightOfCerebus: Things turn dead serious whenever he shows up. |
| 586 | * LaughablyEvil: Whether giddily slaughtering his way through Division 3 soldiers while [[spoiler:possessing David]], or literally dancing his way through others' memories in his [[spoiler:Lenny form]], the [[spoiler:Shadow King]] is obviously getting a kick out of his evil acts, and it's hard to not enjoy how childish he is about it all. |
| 587 | * MakeWayForTheNewVillains: [[spoiler:The show initially sets up Brubaker and Division 3 as the main antagonists, with the Devil with the Yellow Eyes as a bigger fish lurking in the background. But in Chapter 5, the Devil takes control of David's body and immediately curbstomps Brubaker and his goons off-screen, reducing them — save the Eye — to the status of DiscOneFinalBoss. Until Chapter 7, when the Eye is also done away with, and the Devil/Shadow King's bearing on the plot is further elaborated upon, revealing him to be the cause of David's pain since childhood.]] |
| 588 | * ManOfWealthAndTaste: Farouk manifests as a man of Middle Eastern ancestry with a French accent who speaks multiple languages, wears stylish old suits from the '60s, perpetually wears sunglasses and daintily sips on coffee or cocktails. |
| 589 | * ManipulativeBastard: [[spoiler:Disguised as Lenny]], he tricks David into attacking Syd while she occupies the Eye's body. This gets the both of them out of the Astral Plane, sows even more self-doubt in David, and allows the Eye to escape. |
| 590 | * MeaningfulName: David's childhood dog is named King [[spoiler:and is revealed as one of the forms taken by the Shadow King.]] |
| 591 | * NamesToRunAwayFromVeryFast: [[spoiler:''The Shadow King''.]] |
| 592 | * NiceJobFixingItVillain: [[spoiler:When it gets rid of the Eye, the Shadow King unwittingly releases Rudy from the paralysis which Walter put him under. This allows Rudy to distract the SK, and lets David reassume control of his mind.]] |
| 593 | * NightmareFace: While posing as the World's Angriest Boy and as the Devil with the Yellow Eyes. |
| 594 | * ObviouslyEvil: As The Devil with the Yellow Eyes. |
| 595 | * {{Omniglot}}: The first time David sees his true form, Farouk taunts him in several different languages, including French, German and Farsi. He directly explains that his love of languages, and etymological history of specific words and terms, is due to his powers' focus on the mind: language is how our minds apply meaning to the world around us, and in turn language shapes our minds and concepts. FX even put out a behind-the-scenes featurette explaining his use of foreign languages in some depth. Partially, it's just to give a sense of how old and intelligent he is - given that his consciousness has been alive for centuries. Moreover, the scripts even worked out which languages he uses to match certain moods: |
| 596 | ** English - straightforward conversation. |
| 597 | ** Farsi (Persian) - when he gets philosophical, talking about power, immortality, etc. |
| 598 | ** French - when he's feeling playful or making a mischievous remark. |
| 599 | ** German - when he's angry, or when he's eager for direct action (i.e. exclaiming, "Finally, we dance!" in German when he engages David in psychic combat for the first time). |
| 600 | * RealAfterAll: [[spoiler:Up until fully revealed, it was honestly a question whether or not the Shadow King existed in any form. Eventually, it's confirmed that he is a very real mutant with powerful psychic abilities.]] |
| 601 | * {{Sadist}}: Has been feeding off of David's pain since childhood and relishes every opportunity to make him suffer. |
| 602 | * SharpDressedMan: The first time he is willing to show David how he really looks like, he appears in a very nice suit. |
| 603 | * SlasherSmile: His default expression. [[spoiler:He gives an extremely unsettling one in Chapter 7 when he is about to kill Syd and Kerry.]] |
| 604 | * TheSociopath: Yeah. Case in point, [[spoiler:he seems to genuinely believe that turning the body of David's sister into a host body for someone else is ''doing him a favour''. His reasoning? She was a puny human who committed the ''sin'' of believing that David was someone who needed professional help, instead of a superior being who should be revered. David ''must'' have hated her for it, and if it turns out he really hasn't? Well, in that case, loving someone like that was a weakness on his part that needed to be eradicated.]] |
| 605 | * SparedByTheAdaptation: In the physical sense; in the comics his original body has long since died after being killed by his battle with Xavier. [[spoiler:In the show his body is apparently still alive or at least still inhabitable and he is actively searching for it because once he returns to it, his power will increase considerably.]] |
| 606 | ** Ends up being a two-fer in the end; [[spoiler: He leaves altogether after reforming his past self to leave David alone, effectively weakened but alive. Contrast the comics where his last appearance ended with him apparently being put down for good by Psylocke in Charles' stead.]] |
| 607 | * SupernaturalGoldEyes: He's not called "The Devil with Yellow Eyes" for nothing. |
| 608 | * TokenEvilTeammate: [[spoiler:He joins Division 3 in hunting David, who has gone rogue, at the end of Season 2.]] |
| 609 | * UnPerson: As the Summerland crew explores David's mindscape, they encounter unusual blocked and erased memories. To the audience, it quickly becomes apparent that TDWYE has been using his memory-control to conceal his existence from David (and others) for unknown reasons. |
| 610 | * VillainExitStageLeft: [[spoiler:The Summerlanders manage to exorcise him from David, but he still possesses Oliver and leaves for parts unknown at the end of Season 1.]] |
| 611 | * VoluntaryShapeshifter: [[spoiler:He has been appearing as many forms to David since birth.]] |
| 612 | * WickedCultured: In Season 2, Farouk is portrayed as deeply intelligent, displaying a great depth of knowledge on a variety of subjects. |
| 613 | * WouldHurtAChild: |
| 614 | ** Played straight with David, whom he mentally tortured and almost [[DrivenToSuicide drove to suicide]] for nearly 30 years. |
| 615 | ** Subverted in Chapter 10, when [[spoiler:"Oliver" breaks into Division 3 and he kills every guard standing in his way with a flick of his finger. When three children appear to oppose him, he instead spares them and tells them to run away.]] |
| 616 | * YellowEyesOfSneakiness: Farouk sometimes invokes this by appearing as a grotesque monster with gold irises, leading to his getting the nickname "Devil with the Yellow Eyes." |
| 617 | [[/folder]] |
| 618 | |
| 619 | [[folder:Switch]] |
| 620 | !!Jiayi / "Switch" |
| 621 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/legion_switch.jpg]] |
| 622 | !!!'''Played By:''' Lauren Tsai |
| 623 | |
| 624 | A {{time travel}}ler who joins David's cult. |
| 625 | ---- |
| 626 | * AmbiguouslyHuman: [[spoiler:The GrandFinale reveals that she and her father are something ''way'' beyond human.]] |
| 627 | * AndStarring: Lauren Tsai receives the "with" billing in the end credits of Season 3. |
| 628 | * AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler:In the series finale.]] |
| 629 | * AudienceSurrogate: Her introduction to the series also serves as an introduction to the new status quo of the series after season two. |
| 630 | * [[BigFancyHouse Big Fancy Apartment]]: Lives in one, which apparently contains hundreds of robots. |
| 631 | * BodyHorror: She loses a tooth after travelling too far back to save David. |
| 632 | * CunningLinguist: Is at least trilingual, speaking English in David's group, Japanese with her father, and Chinese on the Astral Plane. |
| 633 | * TheFashionista: Dresses in a bright, peppy "2 days from now" style. |
| 634 | * LonelyRichKid: Her father only speaks with her via TV set. [[spoiler:Although that's because he is a four-dimensional being living in the timestream, not because of him being neglectful.]] |
| 635 | * OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Due to her isolation, no one addresses her as anything until Squirrel names her Switch. |
| 636 | * TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Gives an awesome one to Farouk on the astral plane. |
| 637 | * ResetButton: She's a living example of this trope via her time travel ability. [[spoiler:It ends up saving David's life multiple times when Division 3 comes knocking.]] |
| 638 | * TimeTravel: Her mutant ability. |
| 639 | * TokenGoodTeammate: Of David's cult. While none of them are bad people, ''per se'', Switch is the only one who doesn't worship the ground David walks on. |
| 640 | [[/folder]] |
| 641 | |
| 642 | [[folder:Charles Xavier]] |
| 643 | !![[Characters/MarvelComicsProfessorX Charles Xavier]] |
| 644 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/legion_harry_lloyd_02.jpg]] |
| 645 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/HarryLloyd (young) |
| 646 | |
| 647 | A powerful psychic-mutant and David's biological father who three decades ago gave him up for adoption after realizing that the Shadow King intended to come after his newborn son. |
| 648 | ---- |
| 649 | * AbledInTheAdaptation: The TV character (who's a paraplegic in the comics) lacks any disability and is always seen walking. |
| 650 | * AdaptationalAttractiveness: This series maintains the ProgressivelyPrettier direction that Charles Xavier, who's bald and plain-looking in the comics, has undergone since the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries''. The TV iteration has hair and is blessed with Creator/HarryLloyd's PrettyBoy features. |
| 651 | * AdaptationalNationality: British instead of American, as shown by his WWII uniform, not to mention actor Harry Lloyd's accent |
| 652 | * AdaptationalNiceGuy: Carrying on a tradition that started with the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'', Charles is a sympathetic NiceGuy who lacks the unpleasant GoodIsNotNice and ManipulativeBastard traits of the original comic character. |
| 653 | * AdaptationDyeJob: In the comics, he's blue-eyed and was blond before he went bald, but his TV counterpart has green irises and dark brown hair. The latter is a deliberate nod to the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'', where the younger Professor X is a brunet as well. |
| 654 | * AlternateSelf: |
| 655 | ** Because this series is set in its own [[AlternateUniverse universe]] which is distinct from the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'', the Charles Xavier portrayed by Creator/HarryLloyd has a different life from the Creator/PatrickStewart-Creator/JamesMcAvoy [[Characters/XMenFilmSeriesProfessorCharlesXavier version]]. He's a full-blooded Englishman instead of being half-British, half-American, he was a young adult instead of a child during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and fought as a British army officer, plus he got married and had a son instead of remaining a bachelor and childless. The most glaring deviation is that he never establishes the X-Men. |
| 656 | ** Once the AlternateTimeline kicks in near the end of "Chapter 27", Charles is committed to being a FamilyMan and take care of David. This is a big change from the previous timeline where he gave up his son for adoption. It's also hinted that he'll be the founder of the X-Men in this new future. |
| 657 | --->'''Gabrielle''': I can't do this without you. [David] needs us both.\ |
| 658 | '''Charles''': No more travel. No more bloodshed. You know, I've always wanted to become a teacher. |
| 659 | * BadassBookworm: He is a scientist and a UsefulNotes/WorldWarII veteran who beats Farouk in a psychic battle by ''literally'' severing the latter's mind-body connection. |
| 660 | * BewareTheNiceOnes: He is sweet and gullible, so he's easily LuredIntoATrap set up by Farouk. However, the latter makes the mistake of underestimating the former's telepathic skills when they get embroiled in a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind because Charles vanquishes Farouk by ripping out his foe's consciousness from his body. |
| 661 | * BrainyBrunet: Just like in the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'', Creator/HarryLloyd's Charles Xavier is a brown-haired scientist. |
| 662 | * CommonalityConnection: When he socializes with Gabrielle for the first time, they bond over their love for cherry pie and their struggles with their mental health issues. |
| 663 | -->'''Gabrielle''': I'm not well, you know.\ |
| 664 | '''Charles''': Neither am I. |
| 665 | * DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou: He gave David up to keep the Shadow King from latching onto him as revenge. |
| 666 | * TheFaceless: In Season 1, the only indication of his identity is thanks to a memory of Amy's which shows a brief shot of a wheelchair wheel with an 'X' in its design. |
| 667 | * GentlemanAndAScholar: He's an upper-class English gentleman with impeccable manners who's always [[SharpDressedMan well-dressed]], and he's a scientist who also dabbles in the arts. Although his academic field of study isn't specified onscreen, the fact that he can invent and construct the Cerebro machine on his own indicates that he has an engineering background. |
| 668 | * TheGhost: There was absolutely ''nothing'' besides hopes from the fans that he even existed in the ''Legion'' universe, the first hint being in "Chapter 6" when we get a glimpse of a familiar wheelchair wheel with an 'X' in its design. His first full appearance on the show didn't even come until "Chapter 22". |
| 669 | * GreaterScopeParagon: He was the one to defeat the Shadow King three decades ago, to the point where the latter is still in a weakened state even after feeding off of David's abilities for 30 years. In the series finale, it's hinted that Professor X will open that SuperheroSchool he's so famous for... |
| 670 | -->'''Charles''': You know, I've always wanted to become a teacher. |
| 671 | * IdleRich: He is sufficiently wealthy that he doesn't need a job, so he has the luxury to pursue his own personal interests. He spends his time building Cerebro in the hope that he can telepathically locate other mutants around the world. When he discovers one living in Morocco, he travels there at a moment's notice and stays there for an extended period of time because there are no constraints on his schedule, plus money isn't an issue. |
| 672 | * IJustWantToHaveFriends: He's so desperate to befriend other mutants that when he finds one in Morocco with [[PsychicRadar Cerebro]] (which he designed and assembled with his own hands in order to search for mutants globally), he travels halfway across the world just to meet a fellow telepath. He even ignores how [[QuakingWithFear afraid]] he was when he first sensed Farouk's mind, which should've been a warning to Charles that Farouk is extremely dangerous. Creator/HarryLloyd [[https://www.marvel.com/articles/tv-shows/legion-cements-charles-xavier-and-gabrielles-tragic-love-story-and-davids-doomed-fate clarifies]] on the loneliness that his character feels: |
| 673 | -->'''Lloyd''': He always imagined himself as a freak. This guy has this telepathic ability. And it's raw and I use it for good as much as possible, but I keep a lid on it and it's local. To then find someone else who has exactly the same thing to feel that you're part of a breed. There is some horror or something dark connected to it. But he goes out looking for a friend or a brother. He actually, only then, is honest about quite how alone he's been his whole life. Even now married and with a child. And as soon as he finds a connection on that level, which I think he resigned himself to never having, he has to explore it. |
| 674 | * LivingEmotionalCrutch: He is this to his wife Gabrielle, who is emotionally fragile, and she's only stable when he's present. When he goes on a trip to Morocco on his own, she's left at home with their newborn son. Her mental health starts to deteriorate, and she eventually relapses into a catatonic state. |
| 675 | -->'''Gabrielle''': ''(to Charles)'' This world makes no sense when you're not in it. |
| 676 | * LivingLieDetector: He reminds David that telepaths can always tell if someone is stating a falsehood. |
| 677 | -->'''David''': And what are we supposed to do, take him at his word?\ |
| 678 | '''Charles''': We're telepaths, we never have to take anyone at their word. |
| 679 | * MartialPacifist: He's trained in combat because he was an officer in the British army during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, but he's first and foremost a man of peace, so if possible, he'll seek a diplomatic solution. For him, violence should only be used as a last resort. |
| 680 | * MindControl: He employs his PsychicPowers to "convince" everyone at the psychiatric hospital that he and Gabrielle are cured of their mental disorders, so naturally the couple's departure from the facility is hassle-free. |
| 681 | * MindOverManners: He explains to Gabrielle that he doesn't dig too deeply when he reads other people's minds because he wishes to respect their privacy. However, he does skim their surface thoughts without permission. |
| 682 | -->'''Charles''': I can hear thoughts. Memories. But it occurred to me that there should be rules. People deserve their privacy. So I don't pry when I'm in there. |
| 683 | * NiceGuy: He's kind-hearted, polite and soft-spoken. It's his compassion which coaxes Gabrielle out of her catatonic state, and it's his tenderness which leads her to fall in love with him. |
| 684 | * PastExperienceNightmare: He seems to be calm and collected on the surface (which befits his high-class English background), but as a UsefulNotes/WorldWarII veteran, he's haunted in his sleep by a traumatic memory where he almost died at the hands of a Nazi soldier. |
| 685 | * PlatonicDeclarationOfLove: In the series finale, he reassures his son David that he does love him even though David in this timeline was given up for adoption. Now that an AlternateTimeline is being created, Charles vows that he'll raise David and be the father that he should've been. |
| 686 | -->'''Charles''': David. I wasn't there for you. You needed me, your mother, and we gave you away. I can't imagine doing it, but I ''adore'' you, David, and that will ''never'' change. I could only have done it to ''protect'' you.\ |
| 687 | '''David''': I was a baby.\ |
| 688 | '''Charles''': I'll never know what that's like, the pain of it, to be abandoned. But I am here now, and I want to make it right. So, please, my darling boy, let me be your father. |
| 689 | * PreciousPhoto: He keeps a photograph of his wife and son in his suit jacket. |
| 690 | * PrettyBoy: He has elegant facial features, gentle green eyes, a gracefully long neck and a slim build. His good looks, along with his empathy and kindness, accentuate his image as a romantic figure when he courts Gabrielle, his LoveInterest who later becomes his wife. Because they do get married on the show (unlike in the comics), the showrunners wanted to avoid the UglyGuyHotWife trope by presenting Charles as one half of a very beautiful couple. [[note]]Creator/HarryLloyd has [[https://ew.com/tv/2019/02/07/legion-harry-lloyd-professor-xavier/ disclosed]] that Creator/NoahHawley told him to not shave his head for the role even though Professor X is bald in the source material. Lloyd [[https://collider.com/harry-lloyd-legion-season-3-interview-charles-xavier/ got the part without having to audition,]] so the producers had purposely cast a gorgeous actor to play Xavier.[[/note]] For viewers who don't read comic books, Charles' prettiness helps them to identify the character as David's biological father when he first appears in Season 3, and it further reinforces the LikeFatherLikeSon connection. |
| 691 | * ProgressivelyPrettier: Although this show takes place in an AlternateUniverse which is separate from the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'', the showrunners nonetheless continue the trend that began with ''Film/XMenFirstClass'' of prettying up the young Charles Xavier in comparison to the original comic book depiction, who's bald and average-looking at best. The TV character has a head full of hair and is a PrettyBoy. |
| 692 | * PstandardPsychicPstance: He doesn't need to perform this gesture when he activates his telepathy (as shown in the scenes at the mental hospital), but it helps him to concentrate when he has to probe another mind more deeply than just scanning their surface thoughts. Creator/HarryLloyd [[https://collider.com/harry-lloyd-legion-season-3-interview-charles-xavier/ confirms this.]] |
| 693 | -->'''Lloyd''': There's been a little bit of rubbing at the temples, which I feel he just does when he's turning it up to like 11. If I close my eyes, it's at level two, but if I touch my temples, it's an 11. That's when he's really focused. |
| 694 | * PsychicRadar: He constructs Cerebro in his basement, which vastly enhances his telepathic range so that he can detect any mutant on the planet. |
| 695 | * RuleOfSexy: After Creator/HarryLloyd was [[https://collider.com/harry-lloyd-legion-season-3-interview-charles-xavier/ given the part]] of Charles Xavier without having to go through the audition process, the actor was informed by Creator/NoahHawley that he would get to [[https://ew.com/tv/2019/02/07/legion-harry-lloyd-professor-xavier/ keep his hair]] instead of aiming for the iconic bald look of the comic book character. Just like with Creator/JamesMcAvoy in the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'' (who was also instructed to [[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/x-men-star-james-mcavoy-705595/ not shave his head]]), the bigwigs at the network wanted the younger Professor X to be [[PrettyBoy attractive]], and Lloyd's casting was obviously inspired by how [=McAvoy=]'s role was originally depicted. |
| 696 | * RuleOfSymbolism: The character Harold in the children's book ''Literature/HaroldAndThePurpleCrayon'' that Gabrielle reads to her infant son symbolizes Charles, whose actor is Creator/HarryLloyd (Harry is the diminutive of Harold). Gabrielle's narration "Harold was over his head" is heard when Charles puts on the Cerebro helmet for the first time, and it foreshadows that Charles is in over his head when he finds Farouk. In the book, Harold "made a very small forest, with just one tree in it," and Charles creates the exact same thing in the astral plane when Farouk introduces him to it. |
| 697 | * SeeingThroughAnothersEyes: In "Chapter 26", David tells Charles to use his telepathy in order to determine his identity. While probing a memory in the stranger's mind, Charles then sees himself and his wife Gabrielle standing over David's crib from David's perspective, who was a baby at the time. Charles immediately realizes that the man before him is his son. |
| 698 | * SharpDressedMan: He's Mr. Fancy-Pants because he follows the fashion trends of upper-class Englishmen in the 1950s, so he's often dressed in chic suits from the era that highlight his elegant frame, and he appears quite dashing in them. To elevate his aura of refinement, he has a different-coloured trilby (a hat that was popular among rich British men) for every suit that he owns. He dons a black trilby when he exits the mental hospital, a grey one when he travels to Morocco, and a beige one when he reconciles with Gabrielle. |
| 699 | * SinglePowerSuperheroes: He has {{Telepathy}} and nothing more, unlike the SuperpowerLottery winners Farouk and David. However, in the astral plane, Charles is stronger than either them because he triumphs over the Shadow King in a psychic duel, and David is unable to stop Charles from "pulling" him into a BlankWhiteVoid, away from Past Farouk (whom David was on the verge of murdering) despite activating his power (as demonstrated by David's glowing fingers). Even though Charles is a novice to the astral plane, neither Farouk nor David can gain the upper-hand on him in a MentalWorld irrespective of their ComboPlatterPowers, which is a testament to how supremely talented Charles is as a telepath. |
| 700 | * SkilledButNaive: He's much younger and inexperienced compared to Farouk, and the former is even a newbie to the astral plane when the latter introduces him to it. Charles is a WideEyedIdealist who's far too trusting, so Farouk is able to manipulate him at first. Yet Charles is such a gifted telepath that when they brawl in a psychic battlefield, Charles trounces Farouk quite handily, tearing the Shadow King's consciousness away from his body. |
| 701 | * SmartPeopleSpeakTheQueensEnglish: He has an upper-class English accent; Farouk recognizes him as a scientist, and there's a scene where Charles is building Cerebro from scratch in his basement. |
| 702 | * SophisticatedAsHell: When Gabrielle asks her husband, "Are you gonna kiss me?", Charles (an upper-crust Englishman) enthusiastically answers, "Abso-bloody-lutely." "Bloody" is a British expletive, and it's the only time in the entire series where Charles -- who's otherwise a courteous gentleman -- swears, so it fits the "Slang delivered innocuously in a formal speech, especially from someone upper-class" example. |
| 703 | * SuperpowerfulGenetics: In "Chapter 22", he expresses his concern that his telepathic ability might be passed down to his infant son David, knowing full well how isolating and dangerous it can be. |
| 704 | -->'''Charles''': What if I pass it on to him? And he ends up like me? |
| 705 | * SweetTooth: He loves cherry pie, and after Gabrielle (who's a faster eater than he is) "steals" what remains of his portion, he playfully fights her for the last piece. While he's conversing with David within the latter's own mind, David feeds Charles a slice of a three-layered red velvet cake that contains knowledge, and Charles enjoys its taste before he's overwhelmed by the information. |
| 706 | * {{Telepathy}}: He's an immensely powerful psychic who is capable of separating the Shadow King's consciousness from its human body during their BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind. |
| 707 | * UnreliableNarrator: In "Chapter 26", he's in a state of bewilderment once he arrives at Farouk's Moroccan palace, being uncertain if he can believe his eyes. For instance, the chauffeur (who was behind Charles and standing next to the car) seems to magically appear from behind a curtain at the front entrance, yet Charles never saw the chauffeur run past him to enter the palace while Charles was walking from the car to the doorway. These odd moments continue throughout the episode and enhance his sense of disorientation (e.g. Charles is eating dinner across the table from Farouk in the dining room, and then suddenly Charles is seated next to Habiba at the palace's theater while still chewing his food). As Creator/HarryLloyd elaborates in [[https://collider.com/harry-lloyd-legion-season-3-interview-charles-xavier/ this interview:]] |
| 708 | -->'''Lloyd''': Charles, suddenly, is now in the realm of someone else with seemingly even greater powers than he. He's constantly waking up in a different place, and he feels like he's in a dream. You realize, watching Creator/DanStevens' performance, from the first two seasons, there are so many times when he seems to be reacting to something that's not there, and it's very staccato and confused, and it's almost like he's in a dream. I found this Charles, who was quite composed in [Season 3] Episode 3, suddenly becoming more like his son, in terms of how he's reacting to baffling situations. |
| 709 | * UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: He inadvertently sets in motion a chain of events which would gradually lead to his son David's descent into supervillainy. Charles travels to Morocco to meet Farouk, who turns out to be a malevolent entity, so they engage in a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind. Charles defeats Farouk by pushing the latter's consciousness out of his body, but Charles fails to kill his opponent. A formless Farouk then finds his way into baby David's mind, latching on to it like a parasite. Charles is unaware that Farouk had already infected David's psyche, and fearful of what a vengeful Farouk might do to his infant son, Charles gives David up for adoption, believing that Farouk will not be able to find him (and thus keep David safe). Farouk then poisons David's mind for decades, and the latter becomes increasingly unstable as he gets older, with little to no control over his vast array of mutant powers. To make a long story short, insanity and winning the SuperpowerLottery are a terribly destructive combination, and David will bring about the end of the world. All of this could've been avoided if Charles had simply remained at home, caring for his wife and son. |
| 710 | * WaistcoatOfStyle: When he travels to Morocco, he sports a grey waistcoat that matches with his suit. Being a high-class British gentleman in the 1950s, he wants to [[SharpDressedMan look his best]] even though his sojourn is an informal one, and the Moroccan heat would make wearing an extra layer of clothing uncomfortable. Once Charles is at Farouk's palace, he pats the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, so he's overdressed for the weather. |
| 711 | * WeakButSkilled: In comparison to both [[SuperpowerLottery Farouk and David]], which speaks volumes about how insanely powerful both Farouk and David are if ''Charles Xavier'' is the weak one in the equation. He might not have their wide range of powers or their sheer psychic might, but he's a ''much'' more polished telepath and rather [[CurbStompBattle handily]] deals with both of them by being just that much better at using what he has in much more creative ways. |
| 712 | * WideEyedIdealist: |
| 713 | ** "Chapter 22" affirms that he's idealistic compared to the more cynical Gabrielle. |
| 714 | --->'''Charles''': We can change.\ |
| 715 | '''Gabrielle''': People don't change.\ |
| 716 | '''Charles''': I don't believe that.\ |
| 717 | '''Gabrielle''': That's sweet. |
| 718 | ** In "Chapter 26", he admits to David that wanting to see the best in people made him vulnerable to Farouk's deception. |
| 719 | --->'''Charles''': You're right, it's my fault. I've been naïve. [...] See, I came here for friendship. Because I've been to war, David. I've seen what people do. But this Farouk, he... He's a monster. |
| 720 | [[/folder]] |
| 721 | |
| 722 | !!Other |
| 723 | |
| 724 | [[folder:Jerome]] |
| 725 | !!Jerome / The Wolf |
| 726 | !!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JasonMantzoukas |
| 727 | |
| 728 | Melanie and Oliver's quirky neighbour in the Astral Plane. |
| 729 | ---- |
| 730 | * AnthropomorphicPersonification: Of the Astral Plane's dark side. |
| 731 | * BewareTheSillyOnes: He is a Creator/JasonMantzoukas-played character who loves howling like a wolf and talking to little girls about things like chlamydia, so yes, he is silly as hell. Doesn't make him any less dangerous. |
| 732 | * TheCorrupter: He aims to destroy Astral!Syd's innocence, and successfully convinces another girl into abandoning her loving adoptive family to become a drug addict. |
| 733 | * FairytaleMotifs: He models himself after the wolves of the Literature/LittleRedRidingHood and Literature/TheThreeLittlePigs stories, which is appropriate because he essentially plays the same symbolic role in Astral!Syd's story. |
| 734 | * NightmareFetishist: He absolutely loves dark and unpleasant topics. The more gruesome the better. |
| 735 | * TomTheDarkLord: For some unfathomable reason, the AnthropomorphicPersonification of the Astral Plane's dark side is called Jerome of all things. |
| 736 | [[/folder]] |
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