The Primarch of the Dark Angels has returned to write a new chapter in his illustrious history of head-taking, but to really understand the legend who has stepped out from the mists of time and into the 41st Millennium, we need to take a look at his early years.
The boy who would become the Lion landed on the death world of Caliban – a world close to the Eye of Terror, and covered in forests stalked by great beasts of Chaos. The forest was certain death to all who ventured in alone, but the Lion survived for a decade before he was found by a band of Calibanite knights.
One of their number, Luther, spared this feral youth and brought him back to the headquarters of his Order, where the Lion quickly distinguished himself as a brilliant fighter and tactician.* His oratorical and military skills united the Orders of Caliban into a planet-spanning crusade that wiped out the mutated beasts for good – shortly before the Emperor arrived to collect his son for a greater crusade among the stars.
Ever a man of action, the Primarch won the loyalty of his Legion by duelling the captains of each company. His first campaign – the Rangdan Xenocides – won him a reputation as a frighteningly effective warlord, albeit too wrapped up in secrets for many of his brothers’ tastes.
Though many of the other Primarchs recognised his brilliance and saw in him the makings of a Warmaster, others bristled at his coldness. The infamous rivalry between the Dark Angels and the Space Wolves arose when Lion El’Jonson struck down a rebel commander whom Leman Russ had sworn to kill – not wanting the Fenrisians to muck up a plan he’d been concocting for days – and an all-out brawl broke out when the Wolf aired his grievances to the Lion.
The brothers wrestled for a day and a night until, realising the absurd circumstances of their dispute, Russ broke out in laughter. Not amused in the slightest, the Lion knocked him out cold before swiftly departing the planet.
When the Heresy broke out, Horus did all he could to keep the Dark Angels occupied on the far end of the galaxy. After an egg-on-face moment where the Lion traded some critical siege weapons to Perturabo** – oops – he got embroiled in a campaign against the Night Lords on his way to Terra.
The two Legions scrapped across the edge of the galaxy until the Dark Angels were forced by the Ruinstorm to relocate to Ultramar. Here he continued his hunt for Konrad Curze, and clashed constantly with Roboute Guilliman over policy decisions on Macragge.
Although he was ultimately too late to affect the Siege of Terra, the Lion departed quickly due to dire news from Caliban. Luther, who had been sent back to aid recruitment efforts, had apparently thrown in with Chaos and rent the Legion in two, turning traitor with a massive cohort of Dark Angels.
Lion El’Jonson reacted about as well as you’d expect, smashing into Caliban’s defences so furiously that the Chaos-tainted planet itself began to crack. The apex of the battle came as Luther and the Lion duelled in their old Order’s monastery, finally shattering Caliban until all that remained was an asteroid surrounded by a powerful void shield. Of the Primarch, there was no sign.
Now, ten thousand years later, the Knight of Caliban is ready to rise again and make Chaos wish they’d finished him off the first time. Your first chance to get hold of his phenomenal new miniature comes in a sumptuous boxed set including three Bladeguard Veterans – a perfect retinue for such a martial paragon – and two art prints from Arks of Omen: The Lion.
Of course, this being the Dark Angels, many questions remain. Arks of Omen: The Lion arrives soon with some answers, while the forthcoming novel The Lion: Son Of The Forest may have a few more. But will we ever get the full picture? Who knows…
* Read Descent of Angels by Mitchel Scanlon for more from Caliban’s early days.
** As seen in Fallen Angels by Mike Lee.