The distinguishing characteristics of Lucius Verus were his hedonism, his affability and his dimness. At no point in his life did he ever display anything more than a passing interest in the affairs of state or even in warfare. He was marginalized by the Emperor Antonius and when Marcus accepted him as Co-Emperor it is generally accepted that this was more a practical necessity as Marcus had notoriously poor luck in children (he had 10 with only one son surviving to adulthood). During his eight years in "power" before his untimely death, he occupied himself primarily with chariot races, feasting and ribaldry. When he was placed in charge of armies in the field against the Parthians, the contemporary chroniclers could only praise him for taking the time to show his face at the front and for delegating decision making to competent generals, hardly the stuff legends are built upon. He is only considered a second rate emperor rather than a bad emperor because of his charm and good nature, separating him from the murderous excesses of Caligula, Nero, Commodus, Caracalla and Heliogabalus.

Frank McLynn describes him thusly: "Lucius Verus was one of those popular, charismatic yet ultimately empty-headed and second-rate personalities either in power or close to power that we encounter throughout history; many of the contemporary descriptions make him seem an uncanny pre-echo of Henrey II's son, Henry the Young King, a charming hedonist, spendthrift and profligate...as a youth he was known for his affairs with young men...he liked to trawl the taverns and low dives of Rome in disguise...he had a peculiar habit of smashing the cups in taverns with coins...a fanatical supporter of the Greens...the cost of one of his feasts was estimated at six billion sesterces".

Information taken primarily from Frank McLynn's biography of Marcus Aurelius, "Marcus Aurelius: Warrior, Philosopher, Emperor".