According to
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed.), "A mischievous, troublesome, or unruly person". They relate its origins to "
hallion", a "worthless person", and pronunciation is
HEL-yun, like a cross between a
hellcat and a
scallion.
1980's to '90's, an
L.A. heavy metal band, fronted by
Ann Boleyn. They haven't toured in some years, but the official Hellion web site indicates Miss Boleyn is recruiting musicians for a tour in Summer 2001.
The diving
bird of prey on
Judas Priest's 1982
Screaming For Vengeance release is known among fans as "the Hellion", after the title of the instrumental piece opening the album. This
mascot would be joined by the spiny beastie known as "
the Metallion", with the next release, 1984's
Defenders of the Faith. Hellions and
hair metal seem to have an affinity, as
W.A.S.P. and
Children of Bodom have also recorded tracks under that title.
In the
graphic novel world of
the X-Men, the Hellions were a team of mutants assembled by
the Hellfire Club, under the direction of
Emma Frost. The ranks of the Hellions included (in order of their recruitment):
Thunderbird II,
Catseye,
Empath,
Jetstream,
Roulette,
Tarot,
Firestar,
Beef, and
Bevatron. There were other Hellions, unnamed in the stories, and
Magneto's
New Mutants associated with the Hellions for a brief spell. The Hellions disbanded when they all died.