Klarion the Witch Boy

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caption=Promotional art for "Seven Soldiers: Klarion the Witch Boy" #1
Art by Frazer Irving.
comic_color=background:#8080ff
character_name=Klarion the Witch-Boy
real_name=Klarion Bleak
publisher=DC Comics
debut="The Demon" (Vol. 1) #7
(March, 1973)
creators=Jack Kirby
alliance_color=background:#c0c0ff
alliances=Seven Soldiers of Victory
aliases=
relatives=Mordecai Bleak (father, deceased), Charity Bleak (mother), Beulah Bleak (sister)
powers=Sorcery, transformation into Horigal|

Klarion the Witch Boy is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe character first seen in the pages of "The Demon" in 1973.

Fictional character history

Kirby's Klarion

Klarion is a young practitioner of the dark arts originally hailing from Witch-World, an otherworldly dimension where everyone is at least somewhat knowledgeable about black magic. The problem was, being a child, he was constantly under the direction of adults who dictated what he could and could not do with his powers, as well as what kind of sorcery he could study. Using his power to open a gateway into the normal universe, Klarion and his cat familiar, Teekl, embarked on a journey to learn all there was to know about witchcraft, as well as cause some chaos along the way.

It had not been long before he attracted the attention of the demon Etrigan, who attempted to send him back to his own dimension several times. A rivalry sparked between the two, and their battles often came down to a competition of spellcraft. In addition to Etrigan, Klarion also crossed paths with Wonder Woman (whose then-friend and roommate Etta Candy was literally sent to Hell by them), the Flash, Batman, and Superboy's "Ravers".

Not only could Klarion use his magic to wreak havoc, but his cat, Teekl, could assume a were-form under his direction. This granted her increased agility and strength, as well as augmenting her already ferocious personality.

Klarion played a significant part in the 2000 "Event" "Young Justice: Sins of Youth", in which he became 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 increased distrust and confusion at a rally for young heroes, by casting a spell that turned the teenage heroes present into adults and the adult heroes observing the rally into teenagers. In this story, under scribe Peter David, he began referring to himself as "Klarion... Bum... Bum... Bum... The Witch Boy" (dramatic beats for emphasis), an affectation (under other writers) he has since ceased.

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 of Victory". The new version of Klarion has no connection to the previous version, and is an inhabitant of an underground community known as Limbo Town, inhabited by the Puritan witch descendants of the lost population of Roanoke. Limbo Town is actually located beneath New York City's subway system. Being a rebellious sort, Klarion clashes with the controlling and pious Submissionary Judah, the religious leader and defender of the town. Klarion attempts to leave, but in doing so attracts the attention of a terrifying entity known as the Horigal.

The Horigal is severely crippled by a passing subway train (being driven by underground pirates from another "Seven Soldiers" project, "The Manhattan Guardian"), and Klarion manages to escape. In the tunnels below New York, he encounters a Witch-Man of Limbo Town called Ebeneezer Badde. Badde tries to defuse Klarion's enthusiasm for the outside world and later betrays the Witch-Boy, almost selling him into slavery. His conscience prompts him to help Klarion at the last minute but the unforgiving Witch-Boy allows Badde to be killed. Although it is not directly referenced in the story, there is speculation that Badde may in fact be Klarion's own missing father, Mordecai.

Eventually, Klarion makes it to the world above ("Blue Rafters"). There he is ensnared by the mysterious Mr. Melmoth (the Sheeda-King who spawned the Limbo Town people centuries ago). Melmoth encourages him to join a band of young super-delinquents. These children, along with Klarion, use their powers to steal an enormous digging machine from a New York museum of superheroes which, unbeknownst to Klarion, Melmoth plans to use to pillage Limbo Town.

When Teekl sees Melmoth pushing a member of the gang through a portal to 'the red place', Klarion tells the rest of the group of his evil, then abandons them.

Despite wanting to continue his adventures on the Earth's surface, Klarion returns to Limbo Town. There, the townsfolk try to burn him at the stake for blasphemy, but the arrival of Melmoth and his thugs convince the townsfolk. Klarion raises the alarm, then meets the dying Submissionary Judah, who passes on the title of Submissionary to Klarion now that all of the other Submissionaries are dead. With this comes the ability to become the Horigal (actually a gestalt form of the Submissionaries and their familiars), and Klarion promptly kills the thugs and cripples Melmoth, who vows to return after the Harrowing.

Afterwards, Klarion refuses his mother's offer to replace Submissionary Judah as leader of Limbo Town, saying "I would like to be" many "things before I die, Mother." But, today, to stop the Sheeda, " [he] will be a soldier".

In "Seven Soldiers" #1, Klarion betrayed the fight against the Sheeda when he acquired the complete version of Croatoan, a powerful machine created by the New Gods for the New God-Neanderthal hybrid Aurakles, in the form of a pair of dice (in Sheeda tongue it is called a "Fatherbox"). He then took control of Frankenstein and had him take him to Sheeda-Side where he now has incredible power.

Klarion also appeared in "Infinite Crisis" #6 along with many other members of DC's mystic community, an appearance which, according to Grant Morrison, takes place after Seven Soldiers.

Most recently, Klarion has appeared in January–February 2007's "Robin" #158–159. In this story, he encountered Robin while pursuing another inhabitant of Limbo Town to Gotham City. It appears that the previous version of Klarion and Teekl has been completely wiped from the DCU, as Robin has no memory of anyone by that name upon first meeting Klarion. Further more, Klarion dubs Robin a friend and hero at the end of the story.

There is some minor confusion as to Klarion's relation to the original creation that appeared in The Demon, due to a comment made by Grant Morrison in one of the trade paperback collections of Seven Soldiers. Morrison claims that Klarion's appearance in Seven Soldiers is a prelude to his appearance in The Demon, citing the time-traveling fortress that he takes control of in Seven Soldiers #1 as being his means of traveling back in time to make his "first" appearance before Etrigan.

Countdown

During the Countdown series, Klarion encounters Mary Marvel, who has recently been given Black Adam's powers, and is finding them hard to control. Klarion offers to help, in return for a fraction of Mary's power. This turns out to be a ruse, and Klarion attempts to absorb all of Mary's powers, but he is soundly defeated by her.

Teekl's gender

Teekl's gender appears to have changed between Kirby's and Morrison's versions. Kirby's version (and appearance in animation) was female, while Morrison's is characterized as male.

In other media

In "The New Batman Adventures", Klarion appears in the episode "The Demon Within". In it, he is outbid by Bruce Wayne in an auction for an ancient branding iron which supposedly had mystic properties by Morgaine le Fey. He planned to use this as a way to finally get the upper hand on Etrigan, who also made an appearance. However, he is able to steal the branding iron and use it to take control of Etrigan, leading him on a random spree of havoc and violence. Soon, Etrigan imprisons Klarion in a snowglobe. He was voiced by the late British actor Stephen Wolfe Smith in his final performance.

He is later referenced in the "Batman Beyond" episode "Revenant", when an elderly Bruce Wayne talks about how he believes in the supernatural due to encounters with everything from zombies to "witch-boys".

Klarion also made an appearance as a villain for Zatanna in Cartoon Monsoon.