I don't mind Varus being 2/3rds gay, but it could have been done much, MUCH better
I think the idea of 3 souls (2 lovers and a Darkin) fighting and tugging for control in a single body of welded flesh is interesting. I think it's a neat idea not often explored especially given most of the time it's just one body, and two souls (Rhaast and Kayn).
I do think Varus could have been handled much better.
1. Tokenism.
This is, personally, my biggest issue with Varus being 2/3rds gay. For me, it felt really forced. Like it was shoehorned in for the sake of being shoehorned it. This is especially damning given that Varus' old lore (him being a father with a family and a dark pool of magics at Pallas) seems completely workable to adjust it for Darkin. It reminded me a lot of Legend of Korra and it's ultimate reveal. It's just out of the blue.
I think, if Riot wanted to do a LGBT character, or any other kind of character, justice then they shouldn't retcon a character to fit their narrative. I mean, hell, imagine if Ahri was retconned and suddenly she was a Black/Afro-Hyena Vixen, then the outrage would be MASSIVE. It's kind of a similar thing. Riot, if you REALLY wanted a LGBT character, it should have been built from the ground up and not by retconning an existing character.
2. Characterization of Valmar and Kai
I honestly don't get the two. They're in love, yeah, but they're not characters. Valmar dragged body. He rages. He loves Kai. Kai dies, and wants Valmar to not rage. One of them has a mom? They kill things? They do hunter things, have accomplishments? Like, the scene where the kids talked to Valmar and Kai about their achievements felt like such a laundry listed infodump and it was obvious too. I think, worst of all, is that Kai and Valmar are really bland characters. They don't really... stand out. They don't have distinct personalities until AFTER they merge into Varus and even then it's just generic one angry vengeful and other guy is like "STAY CALM".
Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of 3 souls in one body, but I felt that 2/3rds of the body, the mortal and very relatable parts of the body, is very poorly developed. Hell, Varus' bio focuses more on some random backstory about how the bow got there in the first place instead of the relationship, aspirations, dreams, strengths, and weaknesses of Kai and Valmar. Basically all I know about them is that they're in love and now theyre stuck in Varus. There's also like, a DnD level infodump of their accomplishments but that doesn't build personality or show interesting character.
P.S., I thought the Act 2 Music Video really highlighted how bland they were because in terms of character design, one is blonde and the other has black hair. That's it. They don't stand out.
3. Worldbuilding - Stop the 'Name it and Drop it'
The fucking comic has the same problems with a lot of the bios where there's a name it and drop it thing going on. This is especially evident when the kids literally rattle off a laundry list of shit Kai and Valmar did. I think showing a few more scenes of just simple daily life in Valmar and Kai, maybe showing them meet, grow, and WHY they're in love and using that as the engine to showcase the world would be much stronger. As it is right now, nothing really makes League stand out from any other IP aside from having some of the best artists money can buy. The world, Ionia itself, feels bland in the comic. I think having the two mortal characters, interacting with the world, to showcase the unique magic, political, and ethnic happening of Ionia could improve the idea of Ionia and what that region represents.
Ionia just seems like another generic Asian-inspired fantasy world.
tl:dr - Varus being 2 dudes and a darkin in a flesh cup is neat. Could have been done better.
