User blog:BeastMan14/Legion Finale Battle: David Haller vs Doctor Strange



To celebrate the finale of the second season of Legion, I bring you an earth-shaking, reality-warping clash between two of the most powerful beings on Earth. One is a product of evolution and delusion, while the other a man of medicine and magic. That's right: it's David Haller, son of Professor Xavier and the most powerful mutant in existence, versus Dr. Strange, Sorcerer Supreme of Earth! It's gonna be a clash of pure power versus acquired skill, of science vs magic, and of fake American accents, but only can answer the question of:

WHO...IS...DEADLIEST???

David Haller


"I was sick, but I'm not sick anymore!"

- David Haller

The son of Charles Xavier, David never got to know his father, who gave him away to the Haller family to protect him from his enemies. Despite this, a greatly weakened Amahl Farouk, who had nearly died after a fight with Xavier, found the young David and latched onto his consciousness like a parasite. Farouk, better known as the Shadow King, began to alter David's perception of his memories and the world around him, giving him schizophrenia-like symptoms and leading him into a lifetime of drug use and criminal behavior. David struggled for years, despite support from his girlfriend Philly and his sister Amy, becoming increasingly unstable when Farouk began to appear to him as the Demon with Yellow Eyes, a bloated, nightmarish creature only he could see. Hoping to put an end to the voices in his head and the constant hallucinations, David attempted to kill himself, but survived through unknown circumstances.

Admitted to Clockworks Mental Hospital for his own safety, David befriended Lenny Busker, a woman who had seemingly been his friend before he was admitted. In reality, Farouk had altered David's memory to make him perceive Lenny and his old friend Benny as the same person. After several years in Clockworks, David met and fell in love with Syd Barrett, a woman with a fear of being touched. The two began a relationship that lasted until Syd would be released from the hospital, and an impulsive David kissed her goodbye, causing Syd's mutant power to activate and the two to switch bodies. Syd, in David's body, lost control of her powers and rearranged the layout of the assignment, accidentally killing Lenny when she and a wall occupied the same space. David, in Syd's body, was released in her place, just in time for Syd's powers to wear off, switching their positions.

Shortly after his escape from Clockworks, David was captured by Division 3, a government organization created to counter the rising mutant threat, but was rescued by Syd and her allies at Summerland, a refuge where mutants can learn to control their powers. At Summerland, David learned to control his immense powers while working to understand his fractured, often contradicting, memories, under the tutelage of Melanie Bird, whose husband Oliver had founded Summerland before lapsing into a telepathic coma. David would eventually travel to the astral plane and find Oliver, who had been trapped for decades in a small, stylish ice cube room. Despite Oliver's urging to stay with him and learn about his power, David was lured back into the real world by Farouk, who had taken the form of Lenny to manipulate him, who warned him of Syd's capture by Division 3.

In the real world, David continued his relationship with Syd, using Oliver's teaching to build an astrally projected room where he and Syd could be physically intimate. Things took a complex turn when Amy was captured by Division 3, and David was convinced by Farouk to launch a one-man assault on their base to rescue his sister. The strain of the powers enabled Farouk to take control of David's body, and he used his powers to mercilessly slaughter everyone in the base save Amy, who he brought to David's childhood home. Hoping to break a struggling David's will, Farouk scared Amy into revealing that David is adopted. When the Summerland team arrived, followed by Division 3 agent Walter, Farouk isolated and attacked them one by one, eventually bringing them all to the same room, where Walter attempted to shoot David and Syd threw herself in the way of the bullets. Realizing Syd is in danger, David regained control of himself long enough to freeze time and trap everyone in an alternate version of Clockworks.

In the alternate Clockworks, the Summerland team takes on the role of the various inmates, with everyone powerless and tormented by "Lenny", their psychiatrist, Amy, a nurse, and Walter, a threatening patient. When David began to realize this was a dream, Lenny dropped the doctor facade and trapped him in a small corner of his consciousness while Oliver rescued most of the group. Trapped in his own mind, David created a rational, British version of himself who helped David work out his backstory, escape from the area he was trapped in, then trap Farouk and regain control of his own body. Unfreezing time, David used his powers to catch the bullets, saving himself and Syd.

Returning to Summerland, the group was surprised to see Oliver, who had returned to his body but without most of his memories, and began working to remove Farouk once and for all. Their plans were interrupted by Clark, the sole survivor of his wing of Division 3, and his reinforcements, but David effortlessly defeated them and convinced Clark to work with Summerland to combat the Shadow King. Before the procedure to remove him from David's head starts, Farouk managed to contact Syd, explaining that he'll kill David if he is removed. True to his word, Farouk takes control of David during the procedure and tries to strangle him, but Syd kisses him, transferring Farouk into her body before putting it into the body of Kerry Loudermilk, the team's combat expert. David confronts the possessed Kerry, and a brief clash knocks Farouk out of her body and into Oliver, who had just regained his memories of Melanie, who escapes in the chaos.

David is initially angry at Syd for helping Farouk, but forgives her, just in time for a mysterious orb to capture him and fly away as he screams for help. Inside the orb, David is surprised to see a scarred, one-armed Syd, who explains that she is from the future and that the David of her timeline killed Farouk before he could regain his original body, leading to a worse threat rising up and threatening the world. Syd urges David to work with Farouk, then drops him off in a nightclub frequented by Farouk (now in Oliver's body) months later.

Doctor Strange


"This--this doesn't make any sense. All of this mysticism and crap! I mean, you're asking me to open my mind to the possible? What possibilities?! You want me to believe in the impossible. A-about fairy tales, about chakras and energy, the power of belief?"

- Dr. Strange

A gifted but immensely arrogant surgeon, Stephen Strange's life was changed forever when he was badly injured in a car accident, leaving him to unable to perform surgery or even the most basic functions. Desperate to fix this, Strange squandered his entire fortune on experimental treatments and drove everyone who cared for him away, leading to him traveling to the city of Kamar-Taj on a chance tip from a man who healed his broken spine. In Kamar-Taj, Strange was saved from muggers by Karl Mordo, a student of the Ancient One, who brought him before her. Strange was initially skeptical, until the Ancient One sent Strange hurtling through the Astral Plane and the Multiverse. Strange begged to be taught by her, and his persistence impressed her enough to agree.

Strange would prove to be a gifted student, learning many advanced techniques at a rate much faster than previous students, and his thirst for knowledge led to him reading forbidden texts and discovering the Eye of Agamatto, a powerful relic capable of controlling time itself. Strange was stopped from experimenting further by Mordo and librarian Wong, who explained that the purpose of the sorcerers was to protect the world from evil forces through the Sanctum Sanctorums scattered around the world. Despite his reluctance, Strange was pulled into the war with former student Kaecilius when he and his disciples attacked the London Sanctum, and the ensuing explosion traveled through a portal into the Kamar-Taj temple and sent Strange flying into the New York Sanctum.

Before he could explore the Sanctum, Strange was forced to defend it from Kaecilius and his zealots, who stormed it and killed Daniel Drumm, the Sanctum's defender. Using the Cloak of Levitation, quick-thinking, and a variety of other tricks, Strange was able to defeat the disciples and capture Kaecilius, who explained that he is working for Dormammu to pull the world into the Dark Dimension in return for immortality, and that the Ancient One herself is immortal because of her usage of the Dimension's power. When Strange was ambushed by one of his followers, Kaecilius escaped, and the Ancient One and Mordo arrived to congratulate Strange on his victory. Angry at the Ancient One for lying to them, Strange confronted her, surprising Mordo with the knowledge.

Before they could argue further, Kaecilius launched a second attack on the Sanctum, leading to a citywide battle that ended with him stabbing the Ancient One and dropping her hundreds of feet. Despite Strange's best efforts, alongside those of his former coworkers at the hospital, the Ancient One died, but not before her Astral form urged him to put the needs of everyone over his own. Inspired, Strange followed Mordo to the Hong Kong Sanctum, which Kaecilius had destroyed, giving Dormammu the chance he needs to launch an invasion of Earth. Using the Eye of Agamatto, Strange reversed this, resurrecting the Sanctum's defenders and going to confront Dormmamu personally.

In the Dark Dimension, Strange trapped Dormammu in a timeloop of Dormmamu killing him endlessly until the godlike being begged for it to stop. Strange agreed, but only if he ended his invasion and brought Kaecilius and his followers with him. Dormammu agreed, and Strange returned to Hong Kong just as Kaecilius and his followers were sucked into the portal. Mordo, bitter about both the Ancient One and Strange's abuse of magic, quit, and Strange reluctantly took on the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme, with Wong acting as a partner. Strange's brief time as the sorcerer would prove chaotic, bringing him into contact with the Asgardian brothers Thor and Loki, who were looking for their father Odin, and putting him on the frontlines of Thanos's invasion of Earth to secure the Time Stone, which gave the Eye of Agamatto it's power.

David Haller
"You know, my doctor used to say that the word "monster" is not a noun, that to be a monster, you've first got to do something monstrous."

- David Haller


 * Reality Warping: Much like his father's control over the mind, David has an immense control over the regular world, and it's been repeatedly shown he can do pretty much anything he can set his mind to. Like most reality warpers, David is more powerful in theory than he is in execution, and his most impressive feats were often accomplished under outside circumstances. In a moment of extreme grief, David was able to create and live out several different timelines in which his sister never brought him to Clockworks in a matter of seconds, ultimately concluding that this was the best timeline he could have.
 * Energy Shield: During his battle with Kerry, David was able to create a working energu shield that protected him with enough force to send Kerry flying backwards and knock the Shadow King out of her body.
 * Matter Manipulation: David has regularly shown the ability to manipulate and create matter for his own purposes. Notably, Syd (in his body) once rearranged the layout of Clockworks, changing the locations of doors and walls, and fusing Lenny into a wall. Offensively, David was capable of disintegrating people into nothing but smoke and ash with a wave of his hand, and has disarmed foes by changing their weapons, like turning a gun into a mop.
 * Sound Nullification: While under Farouk's control, David was able to create a field of silence around his family home, completely muting everyone who stepped into the field and any devices they had with them.
 * Teleportation: Since childhood, David has had the ability to randomly change locations without warning, as his sister once found him outside after putting him in the tub. As an adult, he learned to better control this power, enabling him to corner the Shadow King during his escape from Summerland.
 * Time Manipulation: David was capable of freezing time entirely, and if put into an isolation chamber, reach into the future to speak with Syd.
 * Telekinesis: David can move and manipulate things with his mind, often with gestures of his hand. This power came to him in a fit of rage, when he accidentally caused all the objects in his kitchen to fly into the air after a fight with his girlfriend. He also used it more subtly, as he stabbed Division 3 agent Clark in the face with a pen by simply looking at it, and was eventually so skilled at using it that he was able to levitate several Division 3 soldiers in the air and slam them together and keep them suspended as he talked with Clark.
 * Levitation: Through concentration and meditation, David can float and fly through the air.
 * Telepathy: David has inherited his father's immensely powerful telepathy, to the point where he often thought he was insane because he heard the thoughts of dozens of people at once. After training at Summerland, he was able to focus and concentrate this power so he no longer heard the voices. Using telepathy, David can travel inside of other people's minds and memories, and can even plant thoughts and ideas inside of people's heads. During his plan to stop Farouk, David created and implanted the specific phases of the plan inside his friends minds, letting them know what to do and when to do it.
 * Astral Manipulation/Projection: David has the power to transport his mind and the minds of other people outside of their physical form and around the physical world or the astral plane. He used this power to transport Syd and himself into the base of Division 3 without being seen, alongside creating the White Room, a safe room where they could be intimate and alone together, and an entirely alternate version of Clockworks powerful enough to trap several people in a seemingly realistic simulation. He later used this power to torture Oliver Bird, a powerful and experienced physic, by strapping his consciousness to a chair and torturing it with a power drill, reducing the real life Oliver to a broken, muttering wreck that is bleeding from his eyes, and fight Amahl Farouk to a standstill in a duel.
 * Skilled Tactician: David is a surprisingly adept thinker, capable of hatching an in-depth, complex plan to capture the Shadow King that involved several different people playing different roles hours apart that only seemingly fell apart because of the outside interference of people working for Farouk.

Dr. Strange
"Pain is an old friend."

- Dr. Strange


 * Master Sorcerer: Despite his relative inexperience and setbacks due to crippling injuries, Strange has shown incredible potential as a sorcerer, mastering new techniques at a much quicker rate than the average learner and even wield a variety of relics meant for more experienced spellcasters. Despite having only been Sorcerer Supreme for around a year and a half, Strange has been shown capable of defeating some of the most dangerous magic users in the universe, such as Kaecilius and the trickster god Loki. During the battle of Titan, Strange proved capable of holding his own with the Mad Titan Thanos much more effectively than Iron Man, Spider-Man, or the Guardians of the Galaxy.
 * Eldritch Magic Manipulation: Strange is able to shape and manipulate eldritch magic, enabling him to form tangible constructs such as weapons, shields, or platforms for allies to run across, and often cast spells by writing formations with eldritch energy. Strange
 * Transmutation: Another usage of this magic was transmutation, which enabled him to change the physical presence of objects instantly, such as when he turned a cup of tea into a large mug of beer or a singularity fired by Thanos into a swarm of blue butterflies.
 * Conjuration: Strange could outright create and displace objects out of thin air, such as when he secretly removed the Time Stone from the Eye of Agamatto with no one noticing.
 * Atmospheric Spell: Strange created a wave of golden light that sent the smoke and debris created by Ebony Maw's ship into the sky, clearing the area so he could see more clearly.
 * Protection Spell: Strange cast a protection spell upon the Eye of Agamotto, making it so that anyone who attempted to take the Eye off of him was burnt, making it impossible to remove even if he was killed.
 * Duplication Spell: During the battle of Titan, Strange created dozens of versions of himself to try and distract Thanos, though a quick blast of energy quickly destroyed all but the original.
 * Binding Spell: A favored weapon of Strange's was an orange eldritch whip he could use to attack and restrain enemies, and he was capable of creating a red, metallic version of the whip to restrain Thanos during the Battle of Titan. Though he eventually broke free, it prevented him from using the Gauntlet for some time.
 * Flight: Thanks to the Cloak of Levitation, Strange can levitate, hover, or fly. The cloak can also work independently of him, as it protected a knocked out Strange from Ebony Maw and helped him trap Kaecilius during their first fight.
 * Dimensional Warping: A crucial ability of Strange's is the ability to access the Mirror Dimension, a world very similar to our own, which enables him to use more powerful magic without drawing attention to himself. He can also tap into the dimension to protect himself from attacks and trap enemies inside of it, though powerful enough foes can break free.
 * Teleportation: Using a Sling Ring, Strange is able to open portals of varying size to different locations throughout the multiverse. He could create small portals, like the ones he created to steal from Wong's library, to large ones that could trap Loki in another dimension where he was endlessly falling (for thirty minutes!). He's also capable of a more short-distance teleportation throughout the Sanctum Santorum, which flowed seamlessly from place to place and left Thor very disoriented.
 * Astral Projection: Strange is capable of separating his astral form from his body, where he could float through solid surfaces and make himself visible to others when he wanted. The connection between body and soul could also be used offensively, as Strange learned that a shock to his body from the defibrillator sent out a burst of energy through his astral form.
 * Time Manipulation: Using the Time Stone, Strange could control the flow of time on a massive scale, be it forwards or backwards, alongside freezing time and creating loops. By Infinity War, Strange was capable of using the Eye to foresee the future, playing out 14 million scenarios in his head in a manner of seconds, though he needs meditation and focus to properly practice this. Despite the immense power at his disposal, Strange doesn't yet trust his skills with the stone and has resolved to only use it when the situation absolutely calls for it.
 * Genius-Level Intellect: Strange is a brilliant thinker, having gotten his Ph.D and MD at the same time and quickly mastered many higher-level studies in the mystic arts. He's also an excellent tactician, having relied largely on his wits to defeat Dormammu and Kaecilius, and later used his advanced knowledge to manipulate the Battle of Titan into the only outcome where the Avengers will eventually prevail against Thanos.
 * Skilled Fighter: Though the damage to his hands make it quite difficult for direct combat, Strange is surprisingly adept in up-close combat, as he was able to fight Kaecilius to a near-standstill during their final confrontation, and was able to briefly fight Thanos up-close with the aid of Drax.

Explanations

 * While David has been trained in how to better understand his powers, it's still limited to a mere few weeks of teaching from Melanie and Oliver, and he lacks real combat training in comparison to Strange, who was taught a much more prepared and specific training regimen to hone both his body and his mind.
 * While Strange hasn't been Sorcerer Supreme for a very long time, he's still faced his fair share of dangerous foes, from evil sorcerers to nigh-omnipotent demon lords to even the occasional Asgardian. Beyond the Shadow King and a few run-ins with Division 3, David has had very little opportunity to fight strong foes, giving him a decided weakness in this category.
 * Strange is absurdly talented and a crafty foe in terms of planning and improvisation, but much of his spells and skills were pre-learned from ancient texts and his training at Kamar-Taj. David, by comparison, is a reality-warper, meaning the only limit is what he can and can't think of, and he's repeatedly pulled off incredible feats by tinkering with his powers and pushing himself to his limit.
 * As a doctor, Strange is violently opposed to taking a life, and merely killing a man in self-defense left him guilt-ridden and unwilling to contemplate killing Kaecilius. Like every noble hero, he believes in protecting and preserving human life. David, on the other hand, lacks the same level of morality, and while he's not necessarily a fan of killing someone, it's clear he's much more willing to do so if he's angered or desperate. Unlike Strange, David is also willing to resort to torture if it means stopping the Shadow King.
 * Both of these men have a variety of abilities that enable them to seamlessly traverse the battlefield and attack from different angles if need be.