Who's This? Darkseid's son.
The facts: The disappointing son Darkseid had after giving Orion away in a trade with New Genesis, Kalibak the Cruel premiered in New Gods #1 (March 1971), by Jack Kirby, obviously. He has since appeared over a hundred times in Fourth World-related fare. His almost 50 additional appearances in the New52 have him largely going up against Batman and Robin, for some reason (perhaps an attempt to make him more than a Fourth World thug).How you could have heard of him: If the New Gods left a mark on the non comics-reading public, it's through animated series like the Super Powers season of Super-Friends, the DCAU (specifically in Superman) and Young Justice, and Kalibak was definitely one of the select few used in each series.
Example story: Orion #7 (December 2000) "Tough Love!" by Walter SimonsonDarkseid is dead, apparently (it happens quite a lot), and this is the big Kalibak/Orion showdown in the wake of their daddy's death. It's, of course, not the first time, but it might be the last if the Big K has anything to say about it. This is it, a battle royale for who takes the throne. Call the Black Racer!And you can always count on Walt Simonson and his good buddy, letterer John Workman, to bring it with the punching and the wild sound effects.Darkseid's close personal friend Mortalla picks a side and it's Orions, pulling a level to take him out of the fight for a minute so he can recover. Or else, who knows? Kalibak won't forget this, and without Darkseid pulling him back, his monstrous son's fury goes unchecked. Oh, and that shiny belt that seems central to the cover? It's making him stronger. Orion blames DeSaad for this and seeks him out, tries to shake secrets out of him. Before anything comes out, Kalibak finds them. Sound effect, please?But Kalibak is still pretty easy to manipulate, so Orion thanks DeSaad for giving him something, which turns one villain against another. And I bet he's wanted to do this since the Super-Powers days.You can trust DeSaad to have a back-up plan, probably to do with agony. But if the cruel little God HADN'T betrayed Kalibak, he was about to, and indeed, does while the big bruiser writhes on the floor. He tells Orion all about the Thunderbelt, a relic of the Old Gods, which multiplies its wearer's strength. It's also addictive, a way to control the beast, so Kalibak is really in terrible withdrawal! "Turn it back on!", he screams. Orion has other plans.He saves his brutish brother, but also dooms him. And THIS doesn't count as "defiling a sacred relic", Orion?
Who's Next? A hex-casting queen in exile.







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