Arion, also referred to as Arion, Lord of Atlantis, Arion the Immortal, is a sword and sorcery superhero and antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He debuted in Warlord #55 (March 1982), created by Paul Kupperberg and Jan Duursema. 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, Ahri'ahn served as its ancient protector, the era's Sorcerer Supreme, and a ranked member among the Lords of Order. Unlike conventional DC Lords, Arion is one of the few (alongside Amethyst) to possess a natural human form. 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 this change was later also reversed, and has acted as both a hero and villain.
Arion appears in Young Justice, voiced by David Kaye.
Creation In 1978, while working for Charlton Comics, Paul Kupperberg created a proposal for an ongoing series entitled Atlantis, 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." This proposal laid dormant until editor Laurie Sutton was looking for a new backup feature for Warlord. Once artist Jan Duursema got involved she suggested changing the hero's name of Tynan to Arion, with Paul Kupperburg commenting that "Tynan sucked! it was always intended to be a placeholder name"
Publication history
Arion began as a back-up feature in the DC Comics book Warlord with issue #55, 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.DC Comics Presents #75 (November 1984)
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 Lords of Chaos and Order and the concept of Arion's magic different from the framework established in these other two DC Comic titles, as to not interfere with their direction and depiction. In 1992, Arion starred in a miniseries that established him in the modern era and 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. 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. 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.
Fictional character biography 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.
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.DC Comics Encyclopedia (2024) 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. 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.
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.Arion #33, 1985
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.
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 was not destroyed. 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 manipulationSecret Origins #11 (February 1987) and an ancestor of Zatanna Zatara through her mother's side. 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. 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.Arion the Immortal #1–2, 1992 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.Arion the Immortal #3–6, 1992
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.Justice League America #93–94 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.Superman #663