Lion El'Jonson, Primarch of the Dark Angels, was the First Legion's grim and brilliant master: the knight of Caliban who fought the Horus Heresy loyally, lost his homeworld to treachery, vanished for ten thousand years and has now returned to lead his sons again.
Lion El'Jonson at a glance
| Primarch of | the I Legion |
| Legion | I: Dark Angels |
| Homeworld | Caliban, a forest world (destroyed) |
| Flagship | The Invincible Reason |
| Wargear | The Lion Sword in the Heresy; the sword Fealty and the Emperor's Shield since his return |
| Allegiance | Loyalist |
| Status | Alive: returned in the current era of Warhammer 40,000 |
Who is Lion El'Jonson?
The Lion is the Primarch of secrets. He commands the Dark Angels, the First Legion, the oldest and most mysterious of all Space Marines. He is a strategist without equal, a deadly swordsman and a cold, private man who trusts very few. His story is full of loyalty and betrayal, and the Dark Angels have spent ten thousand years hiding what happened on their homeworld.
Caliban: the boy in the forest
The Lion's capsule landed in the deep forests of Caliban, a world haunted by monstrous creatures the locals called the Great Beasts. He survived alone in the woods like a wild animal until a band of knights found him. One of them, Luther, took the boy in, taught him to speak and to fight, and became his closest friend. The knights named him Lion El'Jonson, "the Lion, son of the forest".
The Order and the Great Beasts
The young Lion joined the Order, a brotherhood of knights who fought the Great Beasts. With Luther at his side, he reformed it, united the knightly orders of Caliban and led a crusade to wipe out every Great Beast on the planet. It was a war of extermination that made him a legend. When the work was done, the Lion became the Grand Master of the Order and the master of his world.
Found by the Emperor
Soon after the last Great Beast was killed, the Emperor arrived. He gave the Lion command of the First Legion, the Dark Angels, the first Space Marines ever created. The Legion took the Order's ways as its own: knightly ranks, secret inner circles and a deep sense of duty. Recruits from Caliban joined the Legion, and many older Calibanite knights, Luther among them, were made Space Marines despite their age.
Luther and the seeds of betrayal
Luther fought beside the Lion in the early Crusade, but over time tension grew between them. After an incident at Sarosh, the Lion sent Luther home to Caliban to command the recruiting world, far from the glory of the front. Luther saw it as exile. Feeling cast aside, and later twisted by Chaos, he would plant the seeds of the Dark Angels' great shame.
The Great Crusade
The Dark Angels fought in more campaigns than almost any Legion. They were trusted with the Imperium's hardest and most secret wars, and they kept terrible weapons in their armouries for when nothing else would do. The Lion's two great formations, the Deathwing of heavy Terminators and the Ravenwing of fast bikes and fliers, became the core of the Legion and still exist today.
The Horus Heresy: the Thramas Crusade
The Lion stayed loyal, but was far from Terra when the Heresy began. He fought a long, bitter war in the Thramas sector against Konrad Curze and the Night Lords. The two Primarchs hated each other. At one point the Lion broke Curze's back in single combat, but Curze escaped. The Lion's forces then joined Guilliman in Imperium Secundus, where he served as the realm's Lord Protector, until news came that Terra still stood. He led the Dark Angels towards Terra, but the Heresy ended before he could take part in the final siege.
The fall of Caliban
When the Lion finally came home, Luther and many of the Calibanite knights had turned against him. Caliban's guns opened fire on the Dark Angels' fleet. The Lion and Luther fought a long duel. The battle tore the planet apart and Caliban was destroyed. In the chaos, the Lion vanished. Luther's followers, the Fallen, were scattered across time and space by the warp.
The Unforgiven
The surviving Dark Angels rebuilt on a moving fortress called the Rock, a fragment of Caliban. They kept the betrayal a secret, and their highest inner circle swore to hunt down every one of the Fallen. That hunt has lasted ten thousand years. The Dark Angels and their successor Chapters, such as the Angels of Vengeance, Angels of Absolution and Angels of Redemption, are together known as the Unforgiven.
The Lion returns
After ten thousand years the Lion woke in a forest, unsure where or when he was. He had been kept in a long sleep, and his rescuers seemed linked to the mysterious Watchers in the Dark, small robed beings who serve the Dark Angels. Walking through strange forests between worlds, he found his way back to the Imperium in its darkest age, now armed with the sword Fealty and the Emperor's Shield. He has reunited with his sons, who must now face a Primarch who knows their oldest secret better than anyone.
What kind of man is the Lion?
The Lion is quiet, proud and fiercely controlled. He plans every battle in detail, shares his thinking with almost no one and expects orders to be followed without question. He is not cruel, but he is willing to do terrible things if the mission demands it. His long sleep and return have changed him: he has seen what the Imperium became without its Primarchs, and he now faces the question of what kind of father he wants to be to his sons.
The Lion and his brothers
The Lion respected Guilliman, but the two never fully trusted each other. He hated Curze and clashed with Leman Russ, with whom he once fought a famous duel during the Crusade. He was cold to most of his brothers, but always loyal to his father.
Lion El'Jonson FAQ
Is Lion El'Jonson alive?
Yes. He returned in the current era and now leads the Dark Angels again.
What happened to Caliban?
It was destroyed in the battle between the Lion and Luther at the end of the Heresy.
Who are the Fallen?
Dark Angels who sided with Luther against the Lion. The Chapter has hunted them for ten thousand years.
Was the Lion loyal in the Heresy?
Yes, though his secrecy and late arrival have made some doubt him.
Books to read
- Descent of Angels (Mitchel Scanlon)
- Fallen Angels (Mike Lee)
- Angels of Caliban (Gav Thorpe)
- Lion El'Jonson: Lord of the First (David Guymer)
- Lion: Son of the Forest (Mike Brooks)
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