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And he asked him - What is thy name? And he replied - MY NAME IS LEGION, FOR WE ARE MANY!
~ Legion (using the biblical quote on which he is based to introduce himself)

Legion, The One Who is Many, is the primary villain of the video game Shadow Man (derived of the eponymous Valiant comic book) and its comic book retelling, based on the biblical demon of the same name. He is the extremely powerful ruler of Deadside (the Underworld) who recruited five serial-killers to invade Liveside (Earth).

Nature[]

Legion's nature is never explained, through Asmodeus reveals in cut content that they are both the highest-ranked Grigori Malakims (Archangels in Biblical Lore, but here Demon Lords hinted to be fallen angels). They have equally apocalyptic goals, and appear to be rivals.

Like his biblical model, Legion is a hive mind of many evil spirits, though much darker and mightier. As such, he refers to himself as both "we" as much as "I", and creepy voices blend with his own, creating a sinister echo. Legion makes more biblical references, he quotes it, ends his declarations with "amen to that", and uses the famous quote "For we are many" as his and his vassals' motto.

Appearance[]

Legion looks like a middle-aged man of aristocratic support, clad in classy yet unkempt clothing, like a neglected gentleman, and he carries a long sword as a cane.

His eyes look dead and his mouth is constantly bleeding, a nod to his demonic nature, with the latter being his attribute. (This aspect might be but the human vessel of the demon, but nothing is truly explained.)

In his true, demonic form, he resembles a giant, floating centipede with a lamprey-like mouth full of sharp fangs, surrounded by writhing, tormented figures (likely the evil spirits which are part of him), several long horns, a spiked tail, and a humanoid head atop between two clawed tentacles.

Personality[]

Legion (Shadow Man)

Legion as seen in the game

Like most Dark Lords, Legion is calm and collected yet cruel, sadistic and menacing. In a creepy contrast with his dignified manners, he often swears coarsely and trash-talks his foes, whom he is not above striking right in the middle of an (insult-loaded) conversation. He surrounds himself with the worst killers and lets them do whatever atrocity they like; and wants to extinguish life to make everyone his subjects and claim Earth for himself.

Legion is haughty, scornful and very conceited, boastful and self-aggrandizing. He acts imposing, demanding and falsely polite, showing courtesy but strictness to vassals, and mocking respect or condescending sarcasm to foes, when he does not insult and demean them.

He revels in tormenting his victims and toying with their feelings under the shape of people they know. He has a sick sense of humour and enjoys telling scary jokes.

Furthermore, he is highly intelligent, cunning, and manipulative. He sets complex plans to direct people where he wants them to without them knowing, luring foes to do his biddings while letting them think they work against him. He knows what buttons to push or which shape to assume for the best result, and shows enough charisma and persuasion to get evil people to serve him with but a few words.

Powers and Influence[]

Legion is so powerful that the Ancients, protectors of Liveside, could only banish him. Only Shadow Man or someone even mightier can break the Dark Souls' containers, which he does. Shadow Man himself only stands a chance when empowered by all the Dark Souls he covets.

Legion (forme démoniaque)

Legion's hideous true form.

Legion can be regarded as the Lord of the Deads, for he has ruled in Deadside for eons. He has enormous influence over it and rules every evil being there. He is implied to rule all of Deadside and to have turned the supposedly neutral Afterlife into the gloomy inferno seen in the game, with every departed soul sent there becoming a ghastly, pained Deadsider.

He takes and awfully mutates Deadsiders to create monsters, including his mightiest: hulking, hideous Trueforms able to shoot dark energy blasts and erupt fireballs from the ground. He controls the Dark Souls, using them to animate Trueforms and to turn his followers into undying and highly powerful half-demons. But even he cannot harness their full power alone.

Legion can travel to both sides of the Veil, appear out of nowhere, shape-shift, create or enter dreams and control souls, and so on. He seamlessly impersonates people he never met, hinting supernatural awareness. The guardians of Deadside being linked to Voodoo, he likely controls Voodoo magic. In the comics, he can sense all in and out Deadside, grant powers, raise hordes of undeads, and extract souls to place them in new bodies.

Backstory[]

Légion (Les Cartes)

Legion, as depicted in the Les Cartes prophecy.

Millennia before the story, Legion led his forces in rampages, intending to collect the demonic Dark Souls and use them to extinguish all life, but the Lwas (divine spirits of Voodoo religion) fought him during "the longest of battles" and managed to send him to the Place Beyond Worlds.

They knew full well that he would return someday, so they tried to destroy the Dark Souls that he covets. As they proved indestructible, they sealed them into Govi containers watched by the powerful, immortal Sisters of Blood.

From then on Legion kept watching both sides of the Veil, patiently waiting for the day he could make his return. Eventually, protectors of both worlds and bokors (Voodoo sorcerers) learnt of a prophecy foretelling Legion's return, for the old gods were speaking to them in their dreams, imparting them with knowledge about how to prevent the Apocalypse that the villain seeks to unleash... or so it seemed.

Little did they know that it was in fact Legion himself who made the false prophecy; posing as an ancient Voodoo deity and guiding them in a way they thought could thwart his plans, but in fact served his interests.

Role in the Game[]

Game Setting[]

In the ancient times, they were several Voodoo warriors known as the Shadow Men, wielders of the powerful Mask of Shadows and able to walk between the two sides of the Veil, who were tasked to maintain the balance between the two sides and to protect them from any threat. Now, with the ancients' teaching almost forgotten and slavery, segregation and rationalism having reduced the influence of Voodoo next to nothing, there is just one Shadow Man at a time, but he gathers all the power granted to the various Shadow Men of the past.

In 1999, the current Shadow Man and the game's hero is Michael Leroi, a failed literature student and hitman from Louisiana, who unknowingly took a huge amount of money belonging to drug-dealers and had his parents and his child brother Luke murdered in retaliation, plaguing him with guilt and grief.

Michael works for the powerful bokor Mamma Nettie, who is having prophetic dreams about Legion's imminent return, following the Les Cartes (the Cards in French) Tarot-like prophecy. She sends Michael to Deadside, to gather the - no longer protected - Dark Souls and stop Legion and the Five, his undead serial-killers, before they can unleash the Apocalypse.

Game Introduction[]

"Suspends ton geste Jack !"

"Stay your hand Jack! And listen to what I have to say."

The game's introduction takes place in November 1888, in the sewers of London, where Jack the Ripper is writing his journal. The serial-killer confesses that he sought immortality from his victims' souls, but not to avail. As he is about to commit suicide, Legion appears.

Legion offers Jack immortality if he accepts to serve him and follow him into Deadside to build a immense Asylum, where they would gather the Dark Souls and use them to fuel a Dark Engine. (Jack is depicted in the game as an architect.)

With the Dark Souls' power, Legion could use his Dark Engine to break through the Veil and vastly empower his armies, intending to invade Liveside and take over the world. Since Legion's goal is to bring about the Apocalypse, it might be assumed that he wants to expand Deadside over Liveside where he would extinguish all life, turning it into a dead, demonic world that he could rule for eternity.

During the following decades, Legion and Jack recruited four other serial-killers, Milton Pike, Marco Cruz, Avery Marx and Doctor Victor Batrachian, who helped prepare their forces and seek every Dark Soul, while keeping an eye on those who know the truth. In 1999, Legion and the Five enacted their plan at last.

Storyline[]

A few years before the start of the game, Legion sends his men back to Liveside to restart a killing spree and raise his influence. Three of them got incarcerated on purpose, so that they could take control of the jail and the other convicts. Meanwhile, Legion influenced Mamma Nettie's "prophetic" dreams to convince her that Apocalypse was drawing near, so that she would order Shadow Man to enter the fray.

Shadow Man investigates as Michael Leroi in Liveside and as the Shadow Man in Deadside. Whenever he dies, he is sent back to the gates of Deadside. He must collect powerful Voodoo Weapons for various uses, items called Cadeaux (French for gifts) that can increase his life-bar and finally the 120 Dark Souls (a nod to Super Mario 64). By using his late brother's Teddy Bear, Shadow Man can teleport to any location he visited in either side of the Veil.

The game is non-linear, and Shadow Man decides where he has to go, granted that some conditions are required to visit key locations. He must explore several towns in Liveside where the Five, also referred to as the Heralds of the Apocalypse, are operating and four locations in Deadside: The Temple of Fire, the Temple of Life, the Temple of Blood and the Temple of Prophecy.

Michael Leroi is powerless against the Five, so he must assemble the ceremonial dagger known as the Eclipser, to bring shadows over the world and become Shadow Man in Liveside. That way, he can collect the Dark Souls hidden there and destroy the Five to get their Dark Souls. His trusty Shadow Gun is the only weapon that can fully take them down, and as their life-bar dwindles, they turn to demonic versions of themselves similar to Trueforms.

After killing The Five and gathering all the Dark Souls, Shadow Man must return to Deadside and use Jack the Ripper's journal to enter the Cathedral of Pain, the inner sanctum of Legion's Asylum, in which he must destroy the engines. Then, he hears the voice of his late brother Luke pleading him for help. Shadow Man follows the voice and reunites with his brother in a gloomy throne room, giving him back his Teddy Bear.

The Final Battle[]

Really Michael, you must learn to let the dead rest in peace.
~ Legion (teasing Shadow Man about his late brother).

It soon becomes clear that "Luke" is in fact Legion, who shape-shifted as Shadow Man's brother in order to lure him where he wanted him and take the Teddy Bear, to prevent him from teleporting away. He reveals his plan, prophecy included, having guided him into his throne room to get rid of him and claim the Dark Souls. Still, the Souls grant Shadow Man enough power to fight on par with his enemy.

Legion's first form is ridiculously easy to beat (though faster and more resilient in the remaster). Shadow Man must keep out of reach from his sword strikes, stabs and powerful purple energy blasts, while shooting at him relentlessly. Legion can parry bullets and is vulnerable when he stops after striking, but is no big deal whatsoever.

Combat final

Shadow Man battling Legion's second form

Taken down, Legion assumes his true form and becomes seriously challenging (even harder and considerably more resilient in the remaster). The throne room is reduced to skybridges surrounding chasms. Legion dives in one and emerges to attack, and Shadow Man must fire at his "face" as much as possible, before getting away when Legion dives or flies away. The best option is to use the Gatling-like Violator and concentrated gunshots.

Legion swipes his tail, and fires waves of purple energy balls from many sides, endlessly homing on Shadow Man from behind (it is better to block them with the shield Enseigne), slower but mightier homing spheres causing shockwaves, and a powerful purple energy blast. His attacks are damaging. Shadow Man can dive in the chasm to the lower level for ammunitions, but Legion tracks him down and attacks relentlessly, so it is better to climb up fast.

If Shadow Man falls, it triggers a bad ending in which Legion gets the Dark Souls and the world is doomed. Upon winning, Shadow Man forces every Dark Soul into a weakened Legion, who cannot bear it and gets destroyed once and for all, alongside his Cathedral of Pain and his Dark Engine.

Comic Book[]

First Entries[]

The Shadow Man game was adapted and expanded in six Acclaim Comics. The first entries set up the story and fleshes out Shadow Man, his missions, his past and his friends, including an original character named Astrid Lockyer.

Legion is first seen in the Liveside counterpart of his Asylum, after sensing Astrid's first skirmish with Deadside. He identifies her as a twin, something very powerful in Voodoo, and orders his servants to target her, but he is hidden in shadows and only identified by his catchphrase and blood from his mouth.

He reappears at the end of the second entry Lwa and Order. Shadow Man just defeated the mad artist Max Dubois, who was drawing warped symbols of the Lwas all over, binding them on Liveside in a twisted state. He crippled Dubois who was syphoning power from the Lwa of Death Baron Samedi, but Legion recruits him in the hospital, shape-shifted as a medic.

Asylum Seeker/Soul Survivor[]

the game unfolds in the third and fourth entries. Legion is first seen visiting Jack the Ripper under his human-like form, but when in Deadside, his demon form is different than in the game, looking like an upgraded Trueform.

Jaunty, the Keeper of Deadside, shows Shadow Man the Asylum, explaining it had appeared overnight (likely concealed until then by Legion). They recognize Legion’s foul aura but initially dismiss his return as improbable. As Shadow Man cannot enter the Asylum upfront due to the many abnormally powerful Trueforms guarding it, they try to find an entrance from Liveside.

While the game has Shadow Man learn of Legion in the prophecy, in the comics he already knows him from his predecessor's knowledge he inherited, including the ones who faced Legion. The two being "eternal foes bound to clash forever."

Like in the game, Legion recruited many serial-killers. One of them, the comic-book exclusive John Douglas Barber was jailed in Pascoe Prison to be executed. Barber's last request is to speak to Astrid, whom he almost killed but who got him caught. She only agrees because she wants to learn where he hid his victim's corpses, to give closure to their grieving families.

Alas, it was a trap. With the enhanced strength Legion granted him, Barber easily escapes, releasing prisoners in a riot that kills everyone and cutting power to keep the US army out. Shadow Man sneaks in to investigate, fending off empowered inmates and hordes of undead victims. But Barber kills himself with the electric chair to become one of the Five and Shadow Man only finds Astrid's mangled corpse.

Mama Nettie telepathically warns him that Legion is behind all this and that the portal Barber opened leads right into the Asylum, but he does not listen and jumps in, right into Legion's trap where the Five await him.

Demon Legion (Comic books)

Legion's demonic form in the comics.

As Shadow Man destroys the Five, and Max Dubois turned to a Trueform, it is revealed that Astrid is alive, though Legion's captive. As Astrid's twin sister Stella died stillborn with her soul resting within Astrid's, Legion faked Astrid's death with Stella's corpse and had her brought to him.

With one twin dead in Liveside and the other alive in Deadside, he uses this perfect symmetry to open gateways anywhere he wants in Liveside, with which he can expand Deadside over Liveside and take over both.

Shadow Man is caught and brought to Legion by Jack the Ripper, here the mightiest of the Five. Legion notes that it feels strange for eternal foes to have nothing to say upon meeting face to face at last, before beating him to near death. He orders his vassals to feed him to the Dark Engine. But Stella's pure soul, untainted by life or death, revitalizes Shadow Man, who throws Jack into the Dark Engine and separates the twins' conjoined souls.

Freed at last, Stella's soul sacrifices herself to destroy Legion and his Asylum once and for all, asking her sister and Shadow Man to never forget her.

External links[]

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