Klarion the Witch Boy is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, having first appeared in The Demon #7 (March 1973) and was created by Jack Kirby.[1] The character is typically portrayed as a powerful but mischievous, immature extradimensional warlock who serves as both the archenemy of Etrigan the Demon and is a reoccurring adversary for various mystic characters and teams in the DC Universe.
| Klarion the Witch-Boy | |
|---|---|
 Klarion as depicted in Klarion #4 (March 2015). Art by Tradd Moore. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | The Demon #7 (March 1973) |
| Created by | Jack Kirby |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Klarion Bleak |
| Species | Croatoan |
| Place of origin | Witch-World (originally) Limbo Town (current) |
| Team affiliations | Lords of Chaos Injustice League Dark Suicide Squad Black Seven Soldiers of Victory |
| Partnerships | Teekl (familiar) |
| Notable aliases | Klarion the Witch Boy |
| Abilities |
|
The character has also been adapted in media, having made appearance in animated series such as The New Batman Adventures, Young Justice, and Justice League Action.
Fictional character biography
Kirby's Klarion
Klarion is a young practitioner of the dark arts from Witch World, an otherworldly dimension whose inhabitants practice dark magic. Being a child, he is constantly under the direction of adults who dictate the usage and study of his magic. Frustrated, Klarion travels to the main universe to freely practice magic alongside his cat familiar Teekl. He attracts the attention of the demon Etrigan, who attempts to send him back to his dimension several times and becomes his rival.[2]
David's Klarion
Klarion appears in the 2000 event Young Justice: Sins of Youth, in which he is involved in a plot by the Agenda to turn the public against the metahuman community, targeting juvenile super-heroes as the weakest link in the chain. He increases distrust and confusion at a rally for young heroes by casting a spell that swaps the ages of the teenage and adult heroes in attendance.
Peter David's version of Klarion also appears in July–June 2000's Young Justice #20- "Time Out" and #21 "Young, Just Us Too". In these issues, he expresses loneliness after turning various villains into children during the "Sins of Youth" storyline and wishes for a playmate of his own age before eventually befriending Ariella Kent, the Supergirl of the 853rd century.
Morrison's Klarion
In 2005, a new version of Klarion starred in his own mini-series as one of the seven main characters in Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers. Morrison described this character as a return to the original Kirby version with some updates, including the return of Klarion's original overall look, and a move away from the Peter David version.[3] The new version of Klarion is an inhabitant of Limbo Town, an underground community beneath New York City whose citizens are descended from Puritan witches and the Sheeda-King Mr. Melmoth. Klarion attempts to leave Limbo Town and stops Melmoth from pillaging Limbo Town.[4]
Countdown
In Countdown to Final Crisis, Klarion encounters Mary Marvel, who has recently been given Black Adam's powers and is struggling to control them. Klarion offers to help in return for a fraction of her power. This turns out to be a ruse, and Klarion attempts to absorb Mary's powers before being defeated.
In Brightest Day, Klarion is possessed by Alan Scott's Starheart power and driven insane. After wreaking havoc throughout an urban area, he is tracked down and defeated by Jade and Donna Troy.[5]
Superman/Batman Sorcerer Kings
Klarion plays a major role in the events of the Sorcerer Kings three-issue storyline in Superman/Batman. He appears on the final page of issue #82, and in issue #83 he leads the current-timeline Batman, Doctor Occult and Detective Chimp to the "witches' road" while his future self is a member of the Justice League on a magic-controlled Earth.[6]
Batgirl (vol. 3)
Klarion's last appearance before The New 52 was in Chalk (heart) Outline, a Valentine's Day themed story in Batgirl volume 3, #18. Klarion and Stephanie Brown as Batgirl must stop Teekl's rampage, which involves a trip to Limbotown.
The New 52
In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Klarion made his first appearance in Teen Titans: Futures End #1 in September 2014. He additionally starred in a six-issue series written by Ann Nocenti and drawn by Trevor McCarthy.
Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths
Klarion would later appear in a tie-in during the events of Dark Crisis, having since allied himself with Deathstroke's Dark Army and become a Lord of Chaos.
Powers and abilities
An extremely powerful and talented warlock, Klarion is considered one of the most dangerous magic users in creation despite his appearance and temperament.[1] He has a plethora of knowledge of various magic and spells, affording him nearly limitless abilities such as being able to transform himself, travel into other dimensions, energy projection, shapeshifting, telekinesis, etc.[7][8] Much of these powers are tied to his witch-cat familiar, Teekl, who possesses a psychic link with him, links him to the physical plane, and can transform into an anthropomorphic form.[9]
Other versions
- Klarieene, a heroic gender-swapped variant of Klarion from Earth-11, appears in The Multiversity.[volume & issue needed]
- An alternate universe variant of Klarion appears in Flashpoint. He is a member of the Secret Seven before seemingly killing himself, though it is suspected that Shade, the Changing Man killed him while under the M-Vest's control.[volume & issue needed]
- Klarion appears in Batman: Lil Gotham.[volume & issue needed]
In other media
Television
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- Klarion the Witch Boy and Teekl appear in The New Batman Adventures episode "The Demon Within", with the former voiced by Stephen Wolfe Smith.[10] Using Morgaine le Fey's magic branding iron, he takes control of Etrigan, but is eventually defeated and imprisoned in a crystal ball.
- Klarion the Witch Boy and Teekl appear in Young Justice, voiced by Thom Adcox-Hernandez and Dee Bradley Baker respectively.[10][11] This version is a Lord of Chaos and member of the Light who has a history with Vandal Savage and led the metahuman trafficking operation "Project Rutabaga".
- Klarion the Witch Boy and Teekl appear in Justice League Action, with the former voiced by Noel Fisher.[10]
Video games
- Klarion the Witch Boy appears in DC Universe Online, voiced by Pablo Thiel.[12]
- Klarion the Witch Boy appears in Young Justice: Legacy, voiced again by Thom Adcox-Hernandez.[10]
- Klarion the Witch Boy appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[13]
- Klarion the Witch Boy appears as a playable character in Lego DC Super-Villains,[14] voiced again by Thom Adcox-Hernandez.
Miscellaneous
- Klarion the Witch Boy appears in Cartoon Monsoon, voiced by Tara Strong.
- Klarion the Witch Boy appears in All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold #12.[15]
- Klarion the Witch Boy appears in the Injustice: Gods Among Us prequel comic.[16] Batman and John Constantine recruit him to help the Insurgency combat High Councilor Superman's Regime, during which he is killed by Sinestro while tracking Regime member Raven.
- Klarion the Witch Boy appears in Justice League Beyond.[17] He joins forces with several magic-users to assist the Justice League in fighting Brainiac.
References
External links
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