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Arion (character)
DC Comics sword and sorcery character From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Arion, also referred to as Arion, Lord of Atlantis and Ahri'ahn, is a fictional sword and sorcery character published by American company DC Comics. He debuted in Warlord #55 (March 1982), created by Paul Kupperberg and Jan Duursema.[1] The character is commonly associated within Aquaman and Power Girl, his stories and history having retroactively been connected to the former's version of Atlantis.
An immortal wizard and demigod from ancient Atlantis, the character served as its ancient protector and monarch while simultaneously being the era's Sorcerer Supreme and among the Lords of Order.[2] Unlike conventional lords, Arion is one of the few (alongside Amethyst) to possess a natural human form.[3] The character's magical exploits, scientific discoveries, and heroism in the fictional mythology of Atlantis makes him a revered figure and the cultural progenitor of the Homo magi race and their descendants. Surviving into the modern day, he is the ancestor of several notable heroes and villains such as Zatanna, Aquaman, and Ocean Master. The character was also once retroactively a relative to Power Girl until it was reversed and has acted as both a hero and villain.[4][3]
Arion appears in Young Justice, voiced by David Kaye.
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Creation
In 1978, while working for Charlton Comics, Paul Kupperberg created a proposal for an ongoing series entitled Atlantis, the series was based on Plato's metaphorical concept of Atlantis, Kupperberg stated "I really tried to make my version of Atlantis as close to his idea as I could, although I changed plenty" when developing the plot of the series Kupperberg drew inspiration from Larry Niven's The Magic Goes Away stating "When I steal I steal from the best". the proposal laid dormant until editor Laurie Sutton was looking for a new backup feature for Warlord. when artist Jan Duursema got involved she suggested changing the hero's name of Tynan to Arion, Kupperburg commented on the name change "Tynan sucked! it was always intended to be a placeholder name"[5]
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Publication history
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Arion began as a back-up feature in the DC Comics book Warlord with issue #55,[6] in which ran until issue #62 when Arion gained his own series, Arion Lord of Atlantis, beginning with #1 (November 1982). The series lasted for 35 issues plus a special which wrapped up the original storyline, running from November 1982 to September 1985 with the special shipping in November 1985. Concurrently between April 1985 - March 1986, Arion was one of the many characters involved in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover title, with his history of Atlantis inserted into the main DC continuity. Arion also appeared in DC Comics Presents in a crossover with Superman.[7][8]
Years later in 1991, Kupperburg sent in a proposal for what would eventually be Arion the IMMORTAL, a sequel to his original series. Originally titled Arion: Darkworld and Arion, Lord of Order, due to elements similar to characters presented in Doctor Fate and Sandman titles, the draft was reworked as to make the characters involved in the book independent of the same Lords of Chaos and Order concept of magic different from the framework established in two DC Comic titles as to not interfere with their direction and depiction.[9] In 1992, Arion starred in a miniseries that established him in the modern era. He would also make appearances in several Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and Justice League crossovers.
Modern stories
During the early 2000s, despite the efforts to ensure the characters and concepts in the series were dissimilar to both titles, many references books and encyclopedias later connected Arion's character, supporting cast, and villains to the same Lords of Chaos and Order characters referenced in other titles.[10][11] Arion's character would play a role in the JSA title, where the character is involved in a conflict connected to the other characters involved in Lords of Order and Chaos and is killed off in the fiftieth issue of the series. Despite the character's death, a past version of the character hailing from the 1600s would appear in 2006 in the "Camelot Falls" storyline in the Superman title and is depicted as an antagonist to the story. Concurrently, a new incarnation of Arion appeared whose real name was William Knightly.
New 52 & Rebirth-onward
Eventually, a new version of the character was introduced in the Secret Six 2014 run by Gail Simone; while making a silhouetted appearance, the character's children, Uvian and his unnamed sons, formed a cult known as the Children of Arion and appeared in one of the main antagonists in the Gauntlet storyline in the series.[12] The character would eventually make a full appearance in the Blue Beetle series, acting as the main antagonist. The book connects Blue Beetle's mythos with other magical characters and concepts such as Arion and implies his scarab Khaji Da to be magical in nature.[13]
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Fictional character biography
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Origin
In Arion's original origin told to him by Calculha, Arion was a cosmic being born from energies coalesced into form. Because of his standing as a cosmic being, he is capable of affecting the balance between both order and chaos and because of that, is chosen as an unwitting agent. He is found by his aged mentor and Sorcerer Supreme, Calculha, and is tutored in the art of magic and spell-casting. Through their training, they form a familial bond.[2]
In his revised origin, elements from the former remain with some changes; Arion (referred to then as "Ahri'ahn") is the son of deities Calculha and Majistra, the former Sorcerer Supreme and the latter his equal with a connection to Egyptians as well as the younger twin brother of Garn Daanuth.[14] Due to the couple's differences in alignment from embodying light and darkness respectively, the pair separate and the two brothers are unaware of their connection until later in life. A prophesized hero, Calculha trained Ahri'ahn in white magic in preparation for his destiny. When near of age, he meets Majistra and Garn during a conclave with other wizards and the family later battles for supremacy when Majistra plots to empower herself with the Zodiac Crystals, artifacts of great magical power, to usher in an age of dark magic. While she manages to gain the upper hand with Calculha, Arion's intervention and sacrifice of usurping control of the crystals displaced her, mystically seared Garn's skin, granting him an albino-esque appearance, and also displaces Calculha when he tries to save his son from magically disintegrating. He sets his converted body into a star and his soul to the Darkworld dimension to be recalled at a later time although the family feud tiled the Earth's axis slightly, inadvertently causing an Ice Age.[15] Ahri'ahn's soul is later recalled thanks to blinded warrior Wyynde's 10,000 years later after guided by Calculha's spirit, christened "Arion", a corruption of his name. He is taken to Atlantis and is made Lord High Mage for the King of Atlantis, D'Tilluh. Eventually, he is re-taught magic he had forgotten by Calculha and becomes one of Atlantis's foremost protectors, aided by Wyynde, Atlantean lieutenant guardsman, and Lady Chian, Captain of D'Tilluh's royal guard and lover.[15]
Later additions to his origin expand on the time in which his soul existed in a state of intangibility in Darkworld as he was raised by sorceress Jheryl and befriended the Imp, Ghy. Also teaching him magic, she created the red gemstone he uses and serves as his motherly figure in place of Majistra. When called back to the land of the living by his father, the sudden departure from one realm to another blocked his memory of his time in the Darkworld. Owing to its unique regard to time, only twenty years passed in the realm while 100,000 years passed on Earth.[16]
Arion, Lord of Atlantis (1982–1985)
Throughout his life as Lord High Mage, Arion would have many adventures; he would encounter and be pitted against various gods of the Atlantean pantheon, ended the Ice Age at the cost of his own magical power, and sought ways to reclaim his former might. He would also encounter Garn and learn of their true connections as well as gain a new ally: Mara. Eventually, Arion defeated Garn by sealing him away in Darkworld. Arion would also reclaim his magical power when he was lured into Darkworld by his mother in a plot to gain more power through a connection to Darkworld like its respective denizens. With his soul re-worked by the deity known only as the Weaver, Arion gains his former might but is unable to stop the destruction of Atlantis when Chaon, one of the Atlantean dark gods, led an alien race (later revealed to be descendants of Atlanteans that ventured into space) against Atlantis and sunk it himself. With the empire fractured, the remaining Atlanteans venture to other corners of the globe to rebuild.[17]
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Arion would appear in the Crisis on Infinite Earth crossover as being among the heroes taken in by Harbinger and aids the heroes.
Post-Crisis
Owing to the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, Arion's universe now exists in the same DC Multiverse with a few changes; Arion's version of Atlantis took place in the distant past, roughly around 500,000 years before the main DCU timeline and is explained that despite Arion's belief, Atlantis as a whole wasn't destroyed.[18] He was also made part of Power Girl's backstory, being his great-granddaughter jettisoned into the future, her powers said to originate from Arion's experimentation in genetic manipulation[4] and an ancestor of Zatanna Zatara through her mother's side.[19] Eventually, Arion and characters from within his series would be connected to DC's homo magi and the Lords of Chaos and Order, the aforementioned sorcerer being among the Lords of Order. Affiliated characters, like his father and mother, would also be retconned into being deities themselves, making him an actual being of divine origin.[1] Later, an aged Arion is revealed to be immortal and to have lost his magic and is living in Greenwich Village along with several former Atlantean gods and goddesses, including Chaon, Deedra, Gemimn, and the Weaver. His companion, Mara, was trapped in canine form when the magic was lost.[20] Arion renews his old rivalry with his brother, Garn Daanuth, and works to stop the return of Atlantean magic by preventing Darkworld, revealed to be a sentient being, from slumbering.[21]
In the Time Masters mini-series, Rip Hunter and his allies travel back in time to Atlantis where Arion assists them while trying to convince Hunter to not use violence.
After Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!, Arion aided the Justice League of America against Scarabus.[22] He eventually turned up in the present day, where his body was taken over by Mordru and his spirit imprisoned in Gemworld. His spirit was finally released and allowed to go to the afterlife by Power Girl and Hawkgirl (along with a recently awakened Dove) to weaken Mordru. Before his soul departed, Arion revealed to Power Girl that she was not his granddaughter and thus not an Atlantean.
Arion seemingly reappeared in Infinite Crisis as one of the mystics gathered in Atlantis to keep the Spectre at bay, and later in the Day of Vengeance tie-in special as one of several magical beings summoned to rebuild the Rock of Eternity. It was later revealed that this Arion was an imposter named Bill Knightley who used Arion's reputation to bolster his own.[23]
In the "Camelot Falls" Superman storyline, a past and depowered version of Arion appears from 1659 after learning of a cataclysmic future centered around the presence of Superman. Using vestiges of magical power from artifacts collected over the millennia, he time travels to the modern era and reveals to Superman and his friends his vision, believing that alien interference has a hand in creating apocalyptic situations for humanity in the long-term, and tells him to quit. When he refuses despite escalating present situations supporting his point, he actively opposes Superman and nearly discredits him. He also kidnaps a "pretender" to his name, William Knightley, to understand his fate in the modern era. He battles Superman once more, who eventually prevails due to Phantom Stranger's protections but manages to slip back to his proper time by using Knightley as a decoy due to long-lasting disguise spells and Knightley possessing mystical powers.[1][24]
The New 52 onward
Although he did not make a full appearance, Arion would make a brief cameo and was mentioned in the 2014 Secret Six relaunch; it is revealed that millions of years ago, he was the wizard responsible for sealing away elder gods known as the "Dark Giants", who appear to be both based on and a reference to Cthulhu Mythos deities and are the central antagonists that threaten the world in the modern-day from being released due to Black Alice's condition of siphoning magic around the world, undoing the very seals that kept them in place. His children are also the antagonist as they work to help undo the seal, having formed a cult named the "Children of Arion". The four members remain nameless save seemingly the leader, Uvian.[12]
Following the company-wide rebranding in DC Rebirth, Arion is reintroduced in Blue Beetle. In this continuity, he shares similarities to his previous version such as being a former king of Atlantis and is stated to be a Lord of Order manifested in the physical form of an Atlantean demigod. He is also indirectly mentioned alongside his brother by the newer version of Calculha and Dark Majistra, this revised history making him an ancestor of Aquaman, Ocean Master, Atlan, and Atlanna.
In the Blue Beetle "Hard Choices" storyline, a villainous version of Arion appears. Thousands of years ago, Arion was believed to have been turned into an insane villain from exposure to the Blue Beetle scarab and gains a more demonic appearance from the usage of more malevolent magic. After being sealed away by Doctor Fate long ago, he uses his apprentice Mordecai Cull to lure Doctor Fate. Jaime Reyes, and the Blue Beetle scarab into undoing his sealing, stealing the scarab for himself to use its power to destroy the world. With the help of Doctor Fate and his allies, Jaime Reyes manages to defeat the sorcerer and his Atlantean demons created by his magic. Arion is then sealed in a crystal of absolution by Doctor Fate for 10,000 years.[13]
Arion appears in several flashbacks in the "Drowned Earth" crossover. Within the story, Atlantis and Themyscria are revealed to have been allies in the past during his reign and is a highly regarded hero in their legends, being one of the few males to be held in such regard. Arion is also Poseidon's protege, impressed with the younger sorcerer's intelligence and rulership and reveals the existence of the Life Force. Using his skills, Arion creates the artifact, Clarion, and communes with life outside Earth to share the Life Force with planets lacking it. Selfishly not wanting to share his power and envious of Arion's accomplishments, Poseidon lies and convinces Arion the alien gods he invited were conquerors. Believing Poseidon's duplicity and feeling guilty, Arion inverts his own invention and the Life Force to create the Death Force and an instrument capable of killing the alien gods by co-singing them into the Graveyard of the Gods afterlife but seemingly at the cost of his own life. In the aftermath, the alien gods (known as the Triumvirate of Sea Gods or Ocean Lords) bore a grudge against the pair and would attack Atlantis and Aquaman thousands of years later and Poseidon's actions and Arion's fate inadvertently led to Atlantis' well known isolationist policies. However, Queen Mera, the ruling monarch of Atlantis, would also fulfill Arion's intents by using the Clarion to broadcast her intentions of connecting her kingdom with interested, oceanic alien worlds.[25] Unlike the Hard Choices storyline, the Drowned Earth crossover suggested Arion was insane through the Tear of Extinction[25] instead of Khaji-Da.[13] The 2021 edition of the DC Comics Encyclopedia addresses the discrepancy, stating that he was indeed driven insane although instead of dying as the story suggested, he disappeared for a millennia and his fall from grace due to the Tear of Extinction was covered up by Atlantean authorities by claiming he perished. The entry also expresses the chronological events that happened afterward, including the flashback and present accounts of the character in the Hard Choices storyline as well as suggesting the Camelot Falls storyline also took place.[3]
In the 2018 Justice League backup issues of Justice League Dark, the famous sorcerer of Arthurian legends, Merlin, plots to conquer all of the magic under his control. His quest pits him against Justice League Dark, Aquaman, and Atlantis's Silent School. Wanting to control the extra-dimensional wellspring of Atlantean magic known as Darkworld without doing so personally, he uses his magical knowledge to resurrect Arion, who has a natural connection to Darkworld and puts him under mind control as one of his Sapphire Knights.[26]
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Characterization
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Ahri'ahn (simplied to Arion in the fictional Atlantean language) was originally depicted as the "Lord High Mage" during the times of ancient Atlantis, a senior government post held by sorcerers that makes him a designated expert in the mystic matters, protector, and prominent a leader only surpassed by the monarch and their aide.[27][17] Although the continuities and histories of the character changes various details regarding his background, he is also commonly portrayed as a revered, influential figure and eventual monarch of Atlantis,[17][25] comparable to King Arthur in status.[25] Additionally, he was remarked to be one of the most powerful sorcerers in the history of DC Universe due to his immortal lifetime and studies.[1] He is among the few characters (outside Doctor Fate and Zatanna) whom has been referred as Sorcerer Supreme.[28]
Due to the character's immortal lifetime, at times, he has adopted various identities and fabricated various backgrounds to hide his true nature: In the 1600s, Arion was known as Vicomte Jean-Simon Giscard D'Arion, claiming to be son of a deceased noble and was known for his aristocratic tendencies, charisma, and distinctive accent with unknown origins. During that period, Arion was depicted as being arrogant and pessimistic.[24] In the modern age, Arion is known as Aristotle Ronalds, an elderly American resident in Greenwich Village. Arion's mystic abilities had waned further enough to no longer maintain a youthful appearance until he regained his magical powers and resorted to scams to earn money.[20][21]
Heritage and lineage
While originally defined as a cosmic being,[2] he is later retroactively revealed as a bircaial demigod (or god) and twin brother of Garn Daanuth. While his father (Calculha) hails from an extradimensional realm, his mother (Majistra) originates from Earth with undefined connections to the Egyptian deities.[17] The character has been revealed to be a distant ancestor of Zatanna from Sindella's line,[29] and ancestor to the royal Atlantean line,[25] characters such as Aquaman, Ocean Master, Atlan, Atlanna, and Andrina Curry.
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Supporting casts
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Friends and allies
In the Arion Lord of Atlantis series, his chief friend and ally is Wyynde, a lieutenant royal guard who is a prince of the people Khe-Wannantu (who resembled depictions of Native Americans). He is also responsible for his resurrection. His love interest, Chian, is a noblewoman-turned-mercenary who serves as captain of the Atlantean royal guard and Wyynde's superior. Alongside Arion, the trio act as Atlantis' best warriors. They're later joined by Mara, an adventurer from city-state Thamuz with shapeshifting powers. She held an interest in Wyynde and later served as Queen of Atlantis following its apparent destruction and subsequent attempt to rebuild.[17] In between the years following the destruction of Atlantis and into modern era, Mara is the only surviving member beside Arion although she took shape of a dog when old Atlantean magic was drained, making her stuck in the form and losing memory of her human life.[20][21] Arion is also supported by Calculha, an extradimensional deity whom was the preceding Sorcerer Supreme, the most powerful being from the realm, and one of his son's teachers in the mystic arts. Following his death at Garn's hands, Arion calls upon his spirit with magical crystals and acts as an emergency power source following his depowering period although they're finite in number.[17]
For much of the first series, Arion serves long-lived D'Tilluh, a respected (non-powered) homo magi monarch whom he regards as a second father following his resurrection. Following being forcibly mind control by Garn, the experience damaged his psyche and confidence to the point of committing suicide. Arion eventually succeeds him. Wing, advisor to the monarch, also serves as one of Arion's stalwart allies.[17]
Villains and enemies
Arion's most reoccurring enemy is Garn Daanuth, a rival sorcerer, Lord of Chaos, and master of black magic later revealed to be his twin brother, a fact both were unaware for thousands of years. Repeatedly challenging Arion, he is responsible for the death of their father and instrumental in the D'Tilluh's eventual suicide. While the pair share similar features, Garn is instead depicted as being slightly more tone. While originally having darker skin akin to their mother (with features referencing Nubians), he is later mystically scarred by Arion, appearing similarly to those afflicted with albinism.[17] The pair's existence and constant strife fulfills a prophecy and recurring theme of siblings fighting in Atlantean mythology. Garn is often supported by S'Net, a humanoid jackal mercenary who served as his lieutenant and possess a bionic arm built by Garn's scientific expertise. Unlike Arion's typical opponents, he utilizes no magic but is cunning.[17]
Arion's chief enemy are counted among the Lords of Chaos; Dark Majistra, the pair's biological mother, serves as a powerful adversary responsible for training Garn, her favored son, in the dark arts. Holding little regard for Arion or her husband Calculha, her agenda often aligns with mystical dominance of dark magic and vengeance on Arion for his role into her forced exile into Darkworld, unable to return to the normal world. Chaon is the most significant among the Atlantean's sect of Chaos Lords, considered the god of evil, madness, and chaos with origins form Darkworld like Calculha and siblings, Gemimn (Lord of Order and Chaon's cosmic opposite) and Tynan (Balancer). He is originally responsible for the sinking of Atlantis.[17]
In his portrayal as an antagonist, Doctor Fate and Blue Beetle served as a significant enemies; the former's patron and occasional dominant personality, Nabu, is responsible for sealing away an insane Arion and battled both the Kent Nelson and Khalid Nassour incarnations,[13] the latter done under the mind control of another.[30] With the latter, he comes into conflict with Jaime Reyes and Ted Kord for control of Khaji-Da and is allied with adversary Mordecai Cull, his apprentice and underling.[13]
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Powers and abilities
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Due to his heritage and study over the centuries, he is considered a powerful magic user.[31] The character is referenced as an archmage and sorcerer, a classification that makes him an enchanted magical being or higher-dimensional entity as well as a magic user who uses enchanted objects as safeguards against the costs of magic.[32] Arion primarily utilizes white magic and a distinctive form of magic known as "Atlantean magic", originating from a connection to the extradimensional realm known as Darkworld and differs from other magical practices such as those used by Doctor Fate.[17][9] At the height of his power, Arion's abilities were considered nearly limitless and possesses a wide array of powers, including the capacity to alter his size, cast illusions, and even unleash devastating natural disasters. When depowered or severely limited, Arion can only utilize magic from tapping into sources of magic from anything, including unconventional ones (ex. fires and earthquakes) and can project illusions from existing water vapor or dust.[27] When transformed into a demon, he possess magical powers of darker origin, particularly capable of transforming others into insectoid-like Atlantean demons. His mystical presence also proved apt in unlocking the metagene within others.[13]
Alongside his extraordinary magical abilities, Arion possesses heightened senses that acts as a danger sense, psychic abilities, and the gift of prophecy, enabling him to perceive disturbances in both the present and the future.[24][1] Despite favoring magical solutions, Arion is also a skilled skilled hand-to-hand combatant, swordsman and is a scam artist, particularly a dealer of the three-card monte.[27][31][33] Holding a genius-level intellect, he is a technological and scientific expert responsible for the advanced technology Atlantis possess in the modern era.[25]
Artifacts, technology, and resources
Among his arsenal of mystic artifacts includes the Mantle of the Savior, the robes he often wears weaved by his father with mystical threads. Most notably, the Mystic Gem of Ahri'ahn is the magic crystal often on his chest, powering his magic by converting solar energy into magical energy and can also draw power from Darkworld.[17] Arion also uses Calculha's magic crystals, shattered pieces of a magical crystal ball containing a portion of his divine father's power. These crystals serve as a finite source of magic due to a limited supply, requiring him to use them only in emergencies.[17] At some point, Arion also used the Staff of Arion, a conduit of Atlantean magic he can summon at will.[34][35] The staff is also owned by Traci 13.[34]
Arion also possess a vast amount of resources; Arion's base of operations is the Citadel of Sorcery, an inheritance from his father. This large structure, decorated with Atlantean and Egyptian-like designs, acts as a sanctum and possesses a large collection of knowledge and artifacts, some which predate Arion, and is a source of magical power which can awaken other's abilities.[17] Among Arion's most renown technological creation is the Tear of Extinction, a fusion of magic and technology that takes the form of a liquid substance infused with the "Death Force" a cosmic force capable of killing even the divine and sends them to a form of the afterlife known as the Graveyard of the Gods but usage of it can drive the user insane.[36]
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Other versions
- William "Bill" Knightley is a sorcerous hero from Arkon, Ohio inspired by the heroic Arion, taking his name to help begin his superhero career. He was first present in Day of Vengeance event, being one of the many heroes to help fight off an insane Spectre. Later, he encounters the genuine Arion when he travelled from the 1600s. Unimpressed and considered him a fraudulent imitator, he captures him with intent to punish despite his pleas to advise the older wizard in the new era. After battling Superman in a bid to make him give up his "alien interference" to stave potential, catastrophic dark futures and is defeat, he used Bill in a long-lasting disguise spell to take his place.[24]
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In other media
Television
- Arion appears in Young Justice, voiced by David Kaye.[37] This version was the grandson of Vandal Savage, the first king of Atlantis, an agent of the Lords of Order, and ancestor of the Atlanteans and Homo Magi whose magic was derived from his crown. After learning Vandal's intention to sink Atlantis and further the Atlantean and Homo Magi, Arion died opposing him while Klarion the Witch Boy fulfilled Vandal's plot. In the present, Vandal attempts to obtain Arion's crown by creating a clone of him inhabited by Ocean Master's mind, who is eventually killed by the Lords of Order.[38][39]
Video games
- Arion appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[40]
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References
External links
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