Dan Stevens' portrayal of David Haller in the FX series Legion has brought plenty of new fans to the character, but his comic book counterpart is no recent addition to the Marvel universe.

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David Haller has been around for over 30 years now, debuting in the pages of New Mutants #25 back in 1985, and most recently getting his own comic book miniseries earlier this year.In the FX show, David is a complex character. He wants to do right, and believes he’s the hero the world needs, but his mental illness makes his perception of the world unreliable. There’s a blurry line between what David does out of the goodness within him, and when he’s simply finding convenient excuses to act on his own selfish impulses.In a shocking twist in the Season 2 finale of Legion , David finally succumbs to those dark instincts, going full-on supervillain and achieving near god-like powers as a result.This is one of the show’s most interesting connections to its comic book roots to date, transforming the character from David, the misunderstood hero, into the terrifying nexus of powers that is Legion. In the Marvel Comics universe, Legion’s appearances have ranged from stints as a troubled anti-hero, to stretches where he is the outright villain of the story.Below, we take a look at some of Legion's key comic book storylines, which could give us a hint about the direction David's character will take in Legion Season 3 In the comics, David Haller was caught in the midst of a terrorist attack as a young child, which caused his mutant powers to emerge. He became Legion, absorbing the mind of one of the terrorists, who joined numerous other personalities within David, each controlling a different aspect of his abilities. The weight of these newfound powers put Legion into a coma, where he remained for many years unbeknownst to his father, Charles Xavier.Much like the FX series, the origin story of the comic book version of Legion is also heavily tied to Amahl Farouk, the Shadow King. Shortly after emerging from his coma, Legion was possessed by Farouk, who used his new host to spread chaos and death. Xavier and the X-Men eventually managed to stop him, but as a result, Legion fell into a coma once more.One could argue that Legion isn’t an outright villain here, as he’s acting under the influence of the Shadow King. Just like the character’s arc in the show however, Legion’s life after being possessed only gets more complicated.In arguably the most famous Legion storyline, Legion Quest, the character awakens from his coma hoping to mend the damage he has caused, and bring about his father’s dream of human-mutant peace. Unfortunately, his plan for doing so is a little less than reliable.Legion travels back in time 20 years, with the intention of killing Magneto, and therefore removing that obstacle from Charles Xavier’s future. As you might expect, this does not go so well.In this past timeline, Legion loses control of his powers, and not only reveals the existence of mutants to the world decades too early, but also inadvertently kills his own father.In the new timeline that emerges as a result, the supervillain Apocalypse arrives 10 years earlier than he did before. Without Professor Xavier to lead the X-Men, Apocalypse conquers the Earth, bringing about a huge Marvel Comics crossover event known as the “Age of Apocalypse.”The Age of Apocalypse eventually comes to an end when the mutant Bishop is sent back in time to stop Legion. Ultimately, Legion realizes what he has done (or will do?), and ends his own life by reaching back through time and causing his pregnant mother to have a miscarriage.While this wouldn’t be the last time Legion appeared (these are comic books after all), it was one of the character’s closest brushes with becoming a full-blown supervillain. His eventual arc back towards the light, and his realization that someone as powerful as him simply can’t exist, is also very interesting as we look towards the future of the FX series.Legion was eventually revealed to have survived the Age of Apocalypse storyline. Since then, he’s toed the line between villain and hero, but at his core he’s always been a character that wants to do the right thing, but often finds that his powers actually are an obstacle to being a true hero.The Age of X storyline takes place in a world where mutants have been hunted to near extinction, with the survivors taking shelter in a place called Fortress X. Under constant siege from their human enemies, they rely on mutants like Legion to protect them. In a huge twist however, it’s eventually revealed that this reality is a sham, created by one of Legion’s personalities in order to give him a universe in which he was the hero.It’s a tragic and disturbing concept, one that shines a lot of light on what it means to be someone as powerful as Legion, and the evils he is capable of inflicting even when his intentions are good. Due to his mental illness, Legion’s perception of himself and his actions often conflicts with the world around him, making the use of his immense powers dangerous and unreliable.Much like the character on the FX series, Legion’s powers don’t just make him superhuman. He isn’t just strong, or fast, or able to fly. He’s quite literally able to rewrite reality, bending it to his deepest and darkest desires.In one of his most recent appearances, the Avengers vs. X-Men event in 2012, Legion again finds himself in the role of supervillain, albeit unintentionally this time as well.In this storyline, Legion is aided by his father, Professor Xavier, in an attempt to control his powers. He tries to lock away many of his more violent personalities. However, when Xavier is killed by a Phoenix Force-possessed Cyclops, Legion loses all control, freeing the ones that he previously trapped, and creating a new one with the power to kill other personalities.These personalities take over Legion’s body and mind, leaving him unaware of what he is doing for stretches of time. He’ll “wake up” in places around the world, only to find out about the destruction he has caused.Legion is eventually able to take control again, and at the height of his strength, decides to turn those powers against himself, wiping himself from reality.Considering he has a new series, that “death” obviously didn’t stick, but it’s still a memorable and interesting arc for the character, one with a lot of interesting implications for Season 3 of the FX series.Over the course of the character’s history, a running motif has emerged time and time again. Whether he’s the relatable David Haller, the god-like Legion, or something in between, it simply does not appear possible for him to be painted with a broad brush. He’s not a villain, his intentions have never been truly evil. However, he’s not a hero either, and more often than not, he inflicts far more damage on the world than good.As we look towards the next season of the TV series, it wouldn’t be surprising if the show took a similar route. We’ve seen David as a hero. In Season 2, we saw him as a villain. In Season 3 and beyond, it’s possible we’ll ultimately find him somewhere in between, torn between his desire to be a good person, and the knowledge that the power he possesses will always ultimately corrupt him.