Characters from the original Voltron series.
NOTE: Tropes related to Third Dimension and Voltron Force are below. Tropes relating specifically to Legendary Defender can be found on this page.
Tropes for the original GoLion versions can be found here.
For an index of the actors and actresses who have appeared on in this franchise and have pages on this wiki, see here.
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Voltron: Defender of the Far Universe
As a whole
- Adaptational Backstory Change: In GoLion, the Princess had many older siblings that were slain by the Galra when they exterminated her race. Here, Allura is an only child.
- Adaptational Dye-Job:
- In the original anime, Allura's eyes were blue. In Voltron Force, her eyes are green.
- In the original anime, Hunk was dark-skinned and had black hair. In Voltron Force and Voltron: The Third Dimension, he is pale-skinned and has light brown hair.
- In the original anime, Lance had tanned skin and dark brown hair. In Voltron Force and Voltron: The Third Dimension, his skin and are hair are much lighter.
- Pidge usually has brown hair in most incarnations, but Voltron: The Third Dimension re-colours his hair black.
- Adaptational Relationship Overhaul: In the original anime, Akira and Princess Fala weren't romantically pairednote . In most Western adaptations of the show, Keith and Allura often a couple, though in Voltron: Legendary Defender, Lance ends up with Allura (albeit tragically) while Keith doesn't have any love interest.
- Adaptational Name Change: All of them have different names from their GoLion counterparts.
- Akira "Chief" Kogane to Keith. Though some versions re-name him "Keith Akira Kogane".
- Isamu "Moody" Kurogane to Lance McClain.
- Takeshi "Quiet" Shirogane to Sven Holgersson.
- Tsuyoshi "Hothead" Seidō to Hunk. Though some versions re-name him "Tsuyoshi Garett".
- Hiroshi "Chibi" Suzuishi to Pidge.
- Princess Fala to Princess Allura.
- Raible to Coran.
- Hys to Nanny.
- Prince Sincline to Prince Lotor.
- Emperor Daibazaal to King Zarkon.
- Honerva to Old Witch Haggar.
- Amue to Romelle.
- Adaptational Nationality: Takashi Shirogane, who was Japanese in the original anime, is Norwegian here. His name is also changed to Sven Holgersson.
- Canon Foreigner: The entire cast of Voltron Force, plus most side characters of Defenders of the Universe.
- Race Lift:
- In the original anime, they were all Japanese (though Akira was half-Chinese). In Voltron, they're all given the very not-Japanese sounding names of "Lance Charles McClain", "Darrel Stoker" and "Sven Holgersson"note . Though some versions of Keith and Hunk retain their Japanese counterpart's names as Shout Outs.
- In the original anime, Lance and Hunk were dark-skinned. In Voltron Force, they're pale-skinned.
- Spared by the Adaptation:
- Whereas Takeshi died in the sixth episode of GoLion and his Backup Twin Ryo appeared late in the series, Voltron simply had the brothers merged so that Sven was injured, sent off to recuperate, and came back later.
- Ryo died at the end of GoLion killing Lotor/Sincline via a Taking You with Me move. Sven performs the same thing in Voltron, but he and Lotor both survive their injuries.
- Nanny survived in Voltron, but died in GoLion.
- Lotor's counterpart Sincline dies in the GoLion finale, while he lives to continue on in villainy in the English version.
- Daibazaal is killed near the climax of ''GoLion." Zarkon on the other hand remains at large.
Team Voltron
Commander Keith Akira Kogane
Voiced by: Neil Ross (original and Third Dimension), Giles Panton (Voltron Force)
Leader of Team Voltron and pilot of the Black Lion.Voltron: Defenders of the Universe
Voltron Force
Voltron: The Third Dimension
- By the Power of Grayskull!: "Activate interlock! Dynotherms connected! Infracells up! Mega thrusters are go! LET'S GO VOLTRON FORCE! Form feet and legs! Form arms and body (later "torso")! And I’ll form the head!"
- Determinator: He gets badly injured by Lotor, putting him on the sidelines while the others are forced to fight without the aid of forming Voltron. Seeing his friends in danger, Keith forced his way into his lion to help form Voltron despite his injuries.
- The Leader: In most incarnations of the show, Keith is the stern, no-nonsense leader of the team, while Lance is more of a goofball and Sven is more of a follower. Keith forms the head of the robot.
- Official Couple: After giving up her position on the team to be Queen of Arus full-time, Allura starts suggesting to Keith that he pass on his position as well so he can become King.
- Red Is Heroic: His suit in the original Voltron was red before wearing black to match his Lion.
- Space Police: In Voltron: The Third Dimension Keith is this, which Lance loves to mock. He even gets Keith in trouble by sneaking onto his ship without his knowledge.
Lance Charles McClain
Voiced by: Michael Bell (original and Third Dimension), Andrew Francis (Voltron Force)
Pilot of the Red Lion and second-in-command.Voltron: Defenders of the Universe
Voltron Force
Voltron: The Third Dimension
- The Cynic: He tends to assume the worst in people he's just met. He's often right.
- Deadpan Snarker: Lance is usually the one to quip with a smarmy remark at someone else's expense.
- The Lancer: Lance is almost the exact opposite of Keith. Keith is virtuous, serious, and idealistic, while Lance is crude, aloof, and cynical. He also becomes the team's second-in-command after Sven gets Put on a Bus.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's abrasive, cynical, and generally has a negative personality, but his heart is in the right place and he genuinely cares about his teammates.
- Living Lie Detector: When the villains insert a double agent into the castle, Lance is usually the first one to sniff them out.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: In Voltron: The Third Dimension, Lance disobeys Amalgamus' orders of staying put and not using the lions because he's fought Lotor before and knows leaving him unchecked is a bad idea. Keith and the rest are forced to join him so he doesn't die.
- Swapped Roles: He used the Blue Lion in "The Deadly Flowers" because the planet where he traveled to find the cure to the title flowers' poison was a water world. Allura ended up using the Red Lion because it was the only one left when the team took on the episode's Robeast.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: In the Voltron Force series (mostly towards Keith), his personality was much more Hot-Blooded and abrasive.
Sven Holgersson
Voiced by: Michael Bell (original), Alan Marriott (Voltron Force)
Original pilot of the Blue Lion.Voltron: Defenders of the Universe
Voltron Force
- Artistic Age: He's supposed to be in his teens. Yet he looks and acts like someone in their mid twenties.
- Babies Ever After: Had a baby with Romelle.
- The Bus Came Back: Returns at the end of a story arc and the finale.
- Composite Character: He was two twin brothers (Takashi and Ryou Shirogane) in the original Japanese version.
- Happily Married:
Word of God confirms he is this with Romelle in Force. - I Choose to Stay: Rather than rejoin the Voltron Force and return to Arus, he decides to stay on Planet Pollux to help protect it.
- Put on a Bus: Injured by Haggar in an early episode and sent to a medical planet to recover, while Allura takes over his lion temporarily. Her takeover becomes permanent when Zarkon attacks that medical planet offscreen and recaptures Sven.
Hunk (Tsuyoshi Garrett)
Voiced by: Lennie Weinrib (original), Kevin Michael Richardson (Third Dimension), Ty Olsson (Voltron Force)
Pilot of the Yellow Lion.Voltron: Defenders of the Universe
Voltron Force
Voltron: The Third Dimension
- Acrofatic: While not necessarily fat fat, Hunk was a bit chubby in his original Voltron series depiction.
- Big Eater: Keith once told everyone to dig into a large banquet. Hunk tries to literally dig in, with a shovel.
- The Big Guy: He's the largest, and strongest member of the team. Notably he's fairly smart.
- Epic Flail: "Form Blazing Something!" Rock Wrecking Maces!
- Genius Bruiser: While not as smart as Pidge, Hunk is rather intelligent, and is a mechanic.
Pidge (Darrell Stoker)
Voiced by: Neil Ross (original), Billy West (Third Dimension), Samuel Vincent (Voltron Force)
Pilot of the Green Lion.Voltron: Defenders of the Universe
Voltron Force
Voltron: The Third Dimension
- Badass Adorable: He's a little guy, but he's just as tough and skilled as his fellow pilots.
- In a Single Bound: This guy's jumps are absurd! He is shown jumping up to the top of a castle gate, among other things.
- Shout-Out: His Voltron Force incarnations looks like Ben Tennyson, complete with an omnitrix.
- The Smart Guy: The smartest member of the team.
- Tagalong Kid: He's the youngest of the cast, but treated like an equal.
Princess Allura
Voiced by: B. J. Ward (original and Third Dimension), Ashleigh Ball (Voltron Force)
Allura is the princess of planet Arus. She becomes pilot of the Blue Lion after Sven is no longer able to do so.
Voltron: Defenders of the Universe
Voltron Force
Voltron: The Third Dimension
- Beauty Equals Goodness: She is very, very pretty (capturing the hearts of Keith and Lotor), and one of the good guys.
- Creator Thumbprint: Like most female characters designed by Kazuo Nakamura, Allura is very, very pretty, an Ojou, and has long, blonde hair. She also has blue eyes and has an innocent nature.
- Cool Crown: Her tiara, which she wears even without her other regalia.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: An innocent and pure princess with blonde hair who serves as The Heart of the team.
- Long Hair Is Feminine: Her long, blonde hair goes past her back.
- Martial Pacifist: Most adverse towards the idea of killing and violence on the team. However, she will use lethal force on the Ro-Beasts.
- Ms. Fanservice: In "It Takes Real Lions", when the gang go swimming, she wears a pink bikini.
- Modest Royalty: Wears a jumpsuit a lot of the time instead of her Simple, yet Opulent dress.
- Parental Abandonment: Her parents were killed years before (although the series doesn't say it directly).
- Princess Classic: She is kind, diplomatic, good-hearted and strives to defend her people.
- Princesses Prefer Pink: In the first series, only a few things she wears don't have some form of pink.
- Pretty Princess Powerhouse: The pink and feminine princess turns out to be pretty good in a Robot Lion.
- Ship Tease: She has a crush on Keith. They eventually end up together.
- Simple, yet Opulent: Her princess dress has only a few frills on it. Her jumpsuit arguably also counts, being elegantly styled yet practical enough for more informal occasions.
- Slippery Swimsuit: When she takes a high dive into the water, she loses her top which surfaces. When Pidge finds it and she realizes she lost it, she turns red and ducks under the water in embarrassment.
- The Smurfette Principle: She is the only female member of Team Voltron/Voltron Force.
- Statuesque Stunner: She's 5'8".
- Swapped Roles: In "The Deadly Flowers", Lance takes the Blue Lion to the water world where the antidote to the flowers' poison can be found. When Lotor attacks Arus with his latest Robeast, Allura has to pilot the Red Lion because it's the only one still in the castle.
- True Blue Femininity: Her outfits in later series are blue, to match her lion.
Allies
Coran
Voiced by: Peter Cullen (original), Michael Bell (Third Dimension), Ron Halder (Voltron Force)
Coran is Allura's royal advisor, and is in charge of the Castle Control. He also advises the Voltron Force when need be.Voltron: Defenders of the Universe
Voltron: The Third Dimension
- Dark and Troubled Past: A flashback in "Return of Coran's Son" shows what he was doing during Zarkon's initial attack. While he stayed behind to help defend the castle, he tried to send his wife and newborn son to safety. He spent years not knowing what became of them and fearing the absolute worst, though he kept this to himself.
- Mission Control: While the Voltron Force is in the field, Coran is often monitoring their efforts and providing vital intel.
- Papa Wolf: While not her actual father, Coran will not stand idly by if Allura is in danger or being threatened.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: He's made to think his son survived and has returned to Arus, but it's really a clone saboteur working for Lotor and Haggar. Coran is completely devastated.
Nanny
Voiced by: B. J. Ward
Allura's overprotective nanny. Like Coran, Nanny fusses over Allura's safety and is bent on keeping her away from danger.- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": She's only known as Nanny.
- Out of Focus: She appears in the fewest number of episodes and disappeared almost completely near the end. And she doesn't appear in any of the sequel series, despite being...
The Space Mice
The Space Mice are pastel-colored mice who are Princess Allura's friends. They are often mischievous, but also helpful.
- Arch-Enemy: Haggar's cat, Cova, as to be expected. The cat never misses an opportunity to try to eat them, and they appear to delight in always getting the better of it.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: A bunch of cartoony, and colorful mice.
Princess Romelle
Voiced by: B. J. Ward
Princess Romelle is Allura's cousin from the Planet Pollux. Unlike her royal family and most of the people of Pollux, she's not a warmonger and hopes her home world and Arus can live together in peace.
- Action Survivor: A peaceful princess put into horrible circumstances. She will use whatever weapon she can get her hands on to fight her oppressors. This includes a knife, guns, or her bare hands.
- Babies Ever After: According to the showrunners of Voltron Force, she is the mother of Sven's son but she did not have the chance to appear in the series.
- Beta Couple: Is this with Sven, whereas Keith and Allura are the main couple of the series.
- Break the Cutie: While serving as Lotor's prisoner and journeying with Sven.
- Cool Big Sis: To her little brother Bandor.
- Creator Thumbprint: Kazuo Nakamura has a thing for pretty, blue-eyed, blonde ladies that are hyperfeminine and wear a lot of pink. Romelle is no exception.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: She goes through hell and back but finally finds happiness with Sven and starts a family with him in Voltron Force.
- Fallen Princess: She is captured, her younger brother is missing, her older brother becomes a Robeast, her father is murdered, and her planet is conquered by the Drule.
- Foil: Serves as a mature and Darker and Edgier counterpart to Allura. Romelle speaks in a deeper voice to emphasize this.
- Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: Wears her iconic Minidress of Power near the end of the series which is even fancier than her regular blue dress.
- Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Is the dark feminine to Allura's light feminine. While Allura is young, innocent and naive; Romelle is older, wiser, and endures incredible hardship.
- Long Hair Is Feminine: Romelle has long hair styled in Ojou Ringlets.
- Made a Slave: Enslaved by Lotor as part of his conquest.
- Martial Pacifist: She's a princess who hates fighting but is always forced to.
- Ojou Ringlets: As expected of a Princess, Romelle has fancy, curly ringlets.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Romelle is both of these to Allura. She starts off as more refined and feminine than Allura but becomes much tougher and daring when she leads a rebellion against the Drule herself.
- Took a Level in Badass: After escaping from slavery with Sven's help, she eventually becomes a Rebel Leader leading a band of freed ex-slaves on Planet Doom. While she still hates war, Romelle now fights to free as many slaves as she can and sabotage the schemes of Planet Doom.
- Uncanny Family Resemblance: The Voltron force, Bandor and Lotor noticed her uncanny resemblance to Allura.
- The Unfavorite: Being the middle child, a pacifist who mistrusted the Drule, and only daughter of the Polluxian royal family all together lead her parents to favor her brothers, to put it mildly.
- The Wise Princess: She can immediately tell Lotor is bad news - advice which the rest of her family ignores. This leads to their demise.
- Warrior Princess: A highly intelligent and compassionate princess who escaped slavery and fights a war against the Drule to reclaim her lost kingdom.
- White Sheep: Polluxians are warmongers and love violence; Romelle despises it.
Enemies
Prince/King Lotor
Voiced by: Lennie Weinrib (original), Tim Curry (Third Dimension), Mark Hildreth (Voltron Force)
Lotor is the son of Zarkon and prince of Planet Doom, he often plots to rule in his place with Princess Allura by his side.Voltron: Defenders of the Universe
Voltron: The Third Dimension
- Abhorrent Admirer: His feelings for Allura could be from lust to love, but they are never reciprocated. Being the son of the monster who ruined her life doesn't exactly endear him to her. When he tried to kiss her unconscious body, she woke up in time to slap him and say she hates him.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Lotor might be a massive jerk and a threatening villain still, but he's nowhere near the irredeemably evil bastard that his GoLion counterpart, Prince Sincline, was. To make a point, where Lotor shows some genuine care for Allura besides a lust for her, even hesitating to have his forces harm her. Also his more depraved moments with his harem are removed, as is his implied rape of Amue/Romelle.
- Arch-Enemy: Lotor sees himself as one to Keith as he views him as an obstacle to claiming Allura for himself.
- Bad Boss: Tends to get angry at his subordinates, when Mogor tried to remove him from the throne, Lotor killed him.
- Combat Pragmatist: He cares nothing for fair play or honor, only victory. In his first duel with Keith, Lotor was disarmed but he knocked Keith unconscious with a sneak attack using a rock. When Bandor once tried to goad Lotor into a one-on-one duel, Lotor simply threatened to slay Romelle, whom he had as a prisoner. Feeling he had no choice, Bandor surrendered despite his sister's pleas for him to keep fighting. At the final battle on Planet Doom, a furious Haggar taunted Lotor with the prospect of fighting Voltron in fair fight. A shocked, speechless Lotor shivered visibly for a tense moment until, in a burst of bravado, he declared that he didn't need Haggar and tried to rally the remnants of the Doom army to fight Voltron.
- Conquering Alien Prince: His most consistent trait in all his incarnations; he is an Alien Prince that serves the Drule and helps them expand into other nations, hence why Team Voltron opposes him.
- Disc-One Final Boss: In Voltron Force. We are initially led to believe Lotor is the main antagonist, as his resurrection pretty much led to Voltron's return, but he's taken out in the penultimate episode and his Dragon Maahox usurps him as the Final Boss of the series.
- The Dragon: Zarkon's second-in-command.
- Dragon Ascendant: Early in the series, he took over as commander of the Doom forces following Yurak's demotion and later death.
- Evil Gloating: He cruelly taunts his enemies whenever he has them at his mercy. Unfortunately for Lotor, this often buys a precious few seconds for the heroes to turn the tables on him.
- Evil Is Petty: In the end, there is almost nothing remotely likeable about Lotor as he is a cruel warlord who forces his feelings on Allura whether she wants them or not.
- Hostage Situation: His favorite method of putting his enemies at his mercy and he has no intention of honoring his end of any bargains made, if any. Despite this, Lotor's enemies surrender, or play along, more often than not because of his willingness to murder the hostages immediately if refused.
- Large Ham: All versions of Lotor are hammy, shouting their lines and making grand declarations, but the degree to which it is played up varies. For instance, Tim Curry leaned far more into the ham than Mark Hildreth did, the former chewing the scenery whenever Lotor was on screen.
- Never My Fault: Whenever something went wrong with his plans, he usually muttered loudly about his father's lack of aid and/or outdated beliefs, Haggar's subpar Robeasts, his soldiers' incompetence or simple bad luck. Not once does he entertain the idea that his arrogance, his bad temper, his Bad Boss tendencies and his obsession with Allura just might be the reasons for his failures.
- Smug Snake: While he is dangerous and feared, Lotor isn't as competent as he thinks he is. He is disdainful of friend and foe alike, including his father Zarkon and his closest confidant Haggar. Whenever he thinks he's got the upper hand, Lotor tends to get arrogant and careless. When things don't work out as he anticipated, he becomes furious and quickly resorts to violence, usually with a Robeast. Lotor also quickly flees whenever his own life is in danger.
- The Starscream: To his father, with the aid of the Drule Empire. Although, Zarkon mostly brought it on himself by mistreating Lotor.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Subverted. Lotor not only looks very little like his father Zarkon, he doesn't even look like he's part of the same species. It's strongly implied throughout Lion Force Voltron that his mother was human/Arusian. It's interesting to note, though, that Lotor has a personal guard composed of men who share his appearance (white hair, blue/lavender skin, pointed ears and cat's eyes).
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Bails out a lot without directly fighting Voltron.
- Villainous Crush: For Allura. His goal is to make Allura his wife.
- Villainous Rescue: In one of the US episodes, he prevented Allura from being poisoned, even warning Keith.
- White Hair, Black Heart: His white hair is rather pretty but he himself rather evil.
King Zarkon
Voiced by: Jack Angel (original), Kevin Michael Richardson (Third Dimension)
King Zarkon of the Planet Doom, originally the main villain of Voltron.Voltron: Defenders of the Universe
Voltron: The Third Dimension
- Abusive Parents: He's verbally abusive towards Lotor due to his inability to defeat the Voltron Force.
- Authority Equals Asskicking: Though he spares much of it on his throne, when he gets off, he can even beat Lotor.
- Bad Boss: Must run in the family. He mistreats subordinates who fail him, and kills them when he's done putting up with them.
- Becoming the Mask: During The Third Dimension, when he's pretending to reform, he starts to actually reform and like it. It doesn't last, mind.
- Big Bad: Early on, he was the main villain but eventually his son Lotor took the job.
- Duel to the Death: Said to have killed Alfor in in combat.
- The Emperor: He's the leader of the Doom Empire.
- Good Feels Good: During The Third Dimension, when he pretends to reform in order to turn the Galaxy Alliance against Voltron, he comes to relish his role as a benevolent space king so much that it starts pissing his followers off. When he gets found out, though, he finally breaks character and admits that it ''also'' feels good to be back to his old self.
- It's Personal: In the original series, Zarkon's interest in conquering Arus has a lot to do with pride rather than generic warmongering. Getting beat back by Voltron was a major embarrassment, as were the next several encounters, due to Planet Doom having substantially greater resources than a world in sour condition. In his first appearance, Lotor tells Zarkon that word has spread throughout the galaxy of the Voltron Force's string of victories and that it's emboldening Planet Doom's other enemies. Zarkon believes crushing Arus would put to rest any questions about his fearsome reputation.
- Pragmatic Villainy: While evil, Zarkon is a smart and wise ruler, knowing that taking the Villain Ball would hurt his plans in the long run. Unlike his son, he never underestimates his enemies and never lets his temper get the better of him. Zarkon is also fairly successful at diplomacy, given that Planet Doom had a few planets allied with it. Such alliances are usually ruined by Lotor, who sees little use for diplomacy when conquest will allow them to take everything anyway.
- The Starscream: Technically an agent of the Drule empire who took power for himself, and is almost an independent entity.
- You Have Failed Me: He doesn't take his troops' failures well. After one too many losses, he was fully prepared to exile Yurak and was unmoved by his later death in battle. He is constantly threatening to punish Lotor for always failing, and he does try to make good on it at the end of Season 1. Ironically, by the time Lotor is detained and awaiting punishment, the Drule council comes to believe that the repeated losses against Voltron are actually Zarkon's fault. Drule agents free Lotor so that he can stage a Military Coup, and he is only too happy to turn the tables on his father.
Witch Haggar
Voiced by: B. J. Ward (original and Third Dimension)
The witch Haggar is the one responsible for creating all of the Ro-Beasts Zarkon uses. She is notorious for using her dark magic to cast hypnotizing spells over people. Haggar has a pet blue cat named Cova.
- The Dragon: She is the primary advisor and enforcer for Zarkon and eventually Lotor. She is also Co-Dragons with Lotor.
- Evil Sorcerer: A witch who hypnotizes people and creates the Ro-Beasts. She also manages to create a Voltron replica in one episode.
- I Was Quite a Looker: She was young and beautiful until she turned evil.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: She can't stand the Space Mice.
Commander Yurak
Voiced by: Jack Angel
Zarkon's original enforcer against the Voltron Force.
- Eyepatch of Power: His cybernetic eye can considered a futuristic variant of it.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: Eventually finds himself on the receiving end of one of Voltron's sword slashes. He promptly explodes.
- Honor Before Reason: Chose becoming a Robeast over being exiled from the empire. to live in disgrace.
- Hollywood Cyborg: His arm and eye is robotic. As a Robeast, both his arms are robotic.
- Killed Off for Real: He becomes a Ro-Beast in the first episode to feature Lotor, and is killed by Voltron at the end of it; he's one of the few characters to die in both the Japanese and American dubs.
- Meaningful Name: Yurak may be a reference to Yorick, the dead jester from Hamlet, referencing his nature as one of the few main characters to die.
- Robeast: Was turned into one to redeem his honor, and pitted against Voltron.
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Like Lotor, he bails out when things start going against him until Lotor shows up; a death threat from Zarkon bars him from doing this in his final appearance as a Ro-Beast himself.
- You Have Failed Me: After failing too many times, Zarkon prepares to exile him, but Lotor's arrival convinces him to give Yurak one final chance. Yurak dies at the end of it.
Mogor
Voiced by: Jack Angel
Yurak's replacement, and Lotor's assistant.- Bloodless Carnage: Dies in one, likely the reason why WEP allowed it to slip by.
- The Dog Bites Back: After being used as Lotor's punching bag several times, and Lotor's failure as King, Mogor tries to remove Lotor from power with support from the Drule council. Unfortunately for Mogor, Lotor kills him in a Bloodless Carnage.
- The Generic Guy: Mogor sticks out the least compared to Yurak, and Cossack. Basically being a standard military man.
- Killed Off for Real: Lotor jumps on top of him with a Laser Blade. Notably he was replaced in the US exclusive episodes.
- Military Coup: leads one to rescue Lotor, and overthrow Voltron with the approval of the Drule council. Later when the Drule council finds Lotor ineffective, Mogor leads the military to force Lotor to step down from the throne. It ends poorly for Mogor.
- Mook Lieutenant: He leads Lotor armies.
- The Rival: He viewed a hotshot alien pilot known as Karp as this.
- Yes-Man: To Lotor, who at one point literally steps on Mogor in frustration.
Commander Cossack
Voiced by: Jack Angel
The third captain of Doom's armies, a wisecracker with a sense of humor.- Butt-Monkey: Probably the biggest one in the series.
- Canon Foreigner: Only appears in the US episodes.
- Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: Always liked to crack jokes.
- Horny Vikings: His helmet gives him the look of a Space Viking.
- Villainous Friendship: Tended to joke around with Haggar.
Queen Merla
Voiced by: Tress MacNeille
Another Drule conqueror who allies with Doom.
- Canon Foreigner: Was invented for the US Post-Script Season.
- Fembot: Her Mecha-Mooks are female.
- Lady Land: Apparently her empire is mostly female.
- Unholy Matrimony: Was briefly married to Lotor on Zarkon's orders. Needless to say, it doesn't work out.
Other
Voltron
A giant sentient robot composed of five robot lions (Black, Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow) joined together.
- Animal Mecha: Again, five lions.
- Dub Name Change: When Al-Sharq Al-Adnaa Studios dubbed Voltron, it's name became Foltron (فولترون ), because the letter "v" is near-unpronouncable in Arabic.
- Empathic Weapon: The Black Lion (at least) appears, at least superficially, able of judging the worthiness of it's pilot.
- Epic Flail: Yellow Center's Wrecking Maces.
- Guns Akimbo: Red Center's Magma Pistols.
- Humongous Mecha: The five robot lions form the giant robot Voltron.
- Laser Blade: "Form Blazing Sword!"
- Leader Forms the Head: As Keith says, this is the leader's job.
- Panthera Awesome: Voltron is composed of five robot lions. Each with their own array of powers.
- Rocket Punch: The Lion Head Attack, which launches the lion heads the make up its hands and feet at the enemy.
- Throwing Your Shield Always Works: Green Center's Boomerang Shield.
- Transformation Sequence: "Form, feet and legs! Form, arms and bodynote ! ...and I'll form ... the head!"
- Whip Sword: Black Center gains one when Sky Commander Wade hijacks it.
Voltron: Defender of the Near Universe
Team Voltron Air Team
Jeff
Voiced by: Neil Ross
Jeff is the leader of both Vehicle Voltron's Air Team and the entire Voltron team itself. While headstrong and reckless, he is also committed to the ideals of peace and justice.
- A Protagonist Shall Lead Them: Jeff is the protagonist of Vehicle Voltron and serves as Voltron's leader.
- Did Not Think This Through: Jeff has a bad tendency to leap into the action without considering the ramifications of his actions.
- Hero Protagonist: He's the one the team rallies around and serves as the driving force of the narrative on humanity's side.
- Hot-Blooded: He's very aggressive and temperamental.
- The Mccoy: Of the three Voltron commanders, he's easily the most emotional.
- Ship Tease: It's heavily implied that he and Lisa have a mutual crush.
Rocky
Voiced by: Lennie Weinrib
A member of the Air Team, a New York native with a temper to match.
- Big Eater: Rocky is almost always eating.
- Brooklyn Rage: He has a heavy Brooklyn accent and has a hot temper to match.
Wolo
Voiced by: Michael Bell
A member of the Air Team and... that's about it, really.- Dark and Troubled Past: The only thing we know about his past is that his older brother died (though not in the English dub) saving his life.
- Out of Focus: Wolo only gets any character focus in one episode.
- Token Non-Human: He's the only alien in the Air Team.
Chip Stoker
Voiced by: Neil Ross (original), Gabe Khouth (Voltron Force)
Chip is the twin brother of Pidge and a pilot in the Air Team.- The Cutie: He comes across as the youngest and most vulnerable member of the Air Team.
- The Smart Guy: He's the brains of Air Team.
Ginger
Voiced by: B. J. Ward
A pilot in the Air Team who is kind, compassionate, and nurturing.- Dark and Troubled Past: Her entire family died when an Astro Ship with her entire family on board suddenly exploded.
- Girly Bruiser: She may be the girliest member of the Voltron Force, but she's still one of the best pilots in the Galaxy Alliance.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Ginger is easily the most kind and gentle member of the Vehicle Voltron Force, and her blonde hair matches it.
Team Voltron Sea Team
Krik
Voiced by: Michael Bell
An alien pilot and leader of the Sea Team of the Vehicle Voltron Force.- Funetik Aksent: He has a very thick Indian accent despite being well, an alien.
- My Significance Sense Is Tingling: Krik has a sixth sense that allows him to detect danger or when other people are in trouble.
- The Spock: He's much more level-headed and practical than Jeff and Cliff.
Lisa
Voiced by: B. J. Ward
A member of the Voltron Force's Sea Team who is well-versed in history.
- The Heart: Lisa has a big heart and is usually the one to get her team members to open up about their problems.
- Ship Tease: It's heavily applied that she and Jeff share a mutual crush.
- The Smart Girl: She knows a great deal about ancient cultures and languages.
Shannon
Voiced by: Michael Bell
A member of the Voltron Force's Sea Team who has a burning hatred of the Drule Empire for kidnapping and enslaving his brother.- Fantastic Racism: He despises the Drule species for enslaving his brother. He does grow out of it after becoming friends with one, though.
- Fighting Irish: He has a thick Irish accent and is always ready for a fight.
- Tragic Bigot: He's got good reasons to hate the Drules for what they've done to his family.
Tagor
A member of the Voltron Force's Sea Team.
- Living Prop: He's essentially a background character.
Zandee
A member of the Voltron Force's Sea Team.
- Out of Focus: He has lines and definitely has more to do than Wolo and Tagor, but his character never actually develops.
Team Voltron Land Team
Cliff
Voiced by: Lennie Weinrib
The leader of Voltron Force's Land Team. Charismatic and witty, Cliff is beloved by his squadmates and serves as a more-than-adequate second-in-command to Jeff.- Awesome Aussie: Has a thick Australian Accent and is one of the best pilots in his squad.
- Deadpan Snarker: Cliff frequently has a witty remark ready no matter the situation.
- The Kirk: He's more calm and patient than Jeff, but more emotional and open than Krik.
- The Lancer: He's a lot more level-headed than Jeff and usually plays Devil's Advocate whenever Jeff is planning to do something crazy.
Cinda
Voiced by: B. J. Ward
An alien member of the Voltron Land Team who grew up on the same planet as Krik. She has a deep fascination with nature.- Green-Skinned Space Babe: Well, her skin is blue, but her squad does agree that she has an exotic beauty to her.
- Nature Lover: She's the most likely member of the team to go The World Is Just Awesome.
Modok
Voiced by: Michael Bell
A member of the Voltron Land Team.- Gentle Giant: He's big, but he's also a softy.
Marvin
Voiced by: Michael Bell
A member of the Voltron Land Team who is close friends with fellow squadmate Hutch.- Plucky Comic Relief: Marvin usually brings in the slapstick humor.
- Straight Man and Wise Guy: He's the Wise Guy to Hutch's Straight Man.
- Those Two Guys: He's always seen with his best friend Hutch.
Hutch
Voiced by: Peter Cullen
A member of the Voltron Land Team who is close friends with fellow squadmate Marvin.- Boisterous Bruiser: He's always looking for a good fight.
- Straight Man and Wise Guy: The Straight Man to Marvin's Wise Guy.
- Those Two Guys:He's always seen with his best friend Marvin.
S.S. Explorer Crew
Commander James Hawkins
Voiced by: Peter Cullen
The direct commanding officer of the Voltron Force and a constant force for peace throughout the Galaxy.- Big Good: He may not be the highest ranking character, but he's the most valuable person available if the Galaxy Alliance wishes to have peace.
- The Captain: Despite being a commander, he is still the leader of the mission and his authority is unquestioned, even by those who outrank him.
- Reluctant Warrior: He hates war and violence, but he won't hesitate to use it if it's the only way to resolve a problem.
Captain Newley
Voiced by: Lennie Weinrib
The captain of the S.S. Explorer.- The Bus Came Back: He rejoins the Explorer crew toward the end, though.
- Number Two: Despite outranking him, Newley defers to Hawkins' judgement.
- Put on a Bus: He's forced to leave the Explorer about halfway through the series to serve on the Military Council.
Dr. Page
Voiced by: Jack Angel
The head botanist, terraforming expert, and medic of the Explorer.- Omnidisciplinary Scientist: He's a botanist and medic, and knows how to perform terraforming.
- The Stoic: He's the most logical and goal-oriented member of the main cast.
Drule Empire
Chief Commander Hazar
Voiced by: Jack Angel
A high-ranking Drule soldier. Initially as ruthless and bloodthirsty as his contemporaries, he slowly develops a moral compass and strives to peacefully find a way for his people to find a new world.- Anti-Villain: Becomes one pretty early in the series. He wants to find his people a new world, but doesn't want to fight the Galaxy Alliance, instead wanting them to be allies. However, he still loyally served an oppressive and aggressively expansionist regime.
- Brother–Sister Team: With his sister, Dorma, who acts as his chief advisor.
- Butt-Monkey: He's constantly being hounded by superiors forcing him into conflicts he doesn't want, subordinates betraying him, imprisonment, and slavery.
- Deuteragonist: He's the second most important character in Vehicle Voltron.
- Heel–Face Turn: Toward the end of the series, after one too many humiliations, he finally turns on the Empire and takes over to lead the people in a more peaceful direction.
- Noble Top Enforcer: Hazar is a good man at heart, but he still faithfully serves an Empire that seeks to conquer the whole galaxy. At first.
- Worthy Opponent: He and Hawkins share a mutual warrior's respect for each other.
Emperor Zeppo
Voiced by: Michael Bell
The ruler of the Drule Empire.- Affably Evil: He's polite, cordial, and reasonable. He also happens to be a tyrant.
- Big Bad: As the ruler of the Drule Empire, he's this by default.
- The Emperor: He's the ruler of the Drule Empire.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: When he realizes he can't beat both Voltron and Hazar, he surrenders and takes his supporters to leave the galaxy peacefully.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: About as reasonable as a tyrant can get, but he's still fair to Hazar and always wants to hear opinions that differ from his own.
Viceroy Throk
Voiced by: Peter Cullen
Zeppo's chief supporter and a representative of the worst aspects of the Drule Empire. Warmongering, treacherous, and cruel, Throk will do anything to destroy Voltron and Hazar.- Beard of Evil: Has a goatee that instantly marks him as "bad guy."
- The Dragon: He's Zeppo's top operative.
- The Sociopath: He never once demonstrates any kind of care for others.
- Smug Snake: He's arrogant and cruel, but woefully outmatched by Hazar and Hawkins.
Captain Mongo
Voiced by: Jack Angel
Hazar's best friend and subordinate and one of the few Drule officers to be a good man from the get go.- Minion with an F in Evil: Mongo is a decent and reasonable guy despite working for the mostly evil Drule Empire.
- Punch-Clock Villain: He's loyal to the Empire, but sees no reason to be as cruel and ruthless as his fellow officers.
- Token Good Teammate: He's a genuinely good man serving a tyrannical regime.
Captain Nerok
Voiced by: Michael Bell
Hazar's other subordinate and Mongo's exact opposite. Treacherous and aggressive, Nerok hates Hazar and wants to supplant him.- Fat Bastard: He's heavyset and represents some of the worst elements of Drule culture.
- Hate Sink: Of all the Drules, Nerok is the most detestable. He's treacherous, ruthless, and cruel, but he has none of the competence or style of Throk and Borgam.
Marshall Keezor
Voiced by: Michael Bell
A high-ranking Drule officer who replaces Hazar when the Empire believes him to be too soft.- Faux Affably Evil: He puts up a polite front, but he's just as conniving and scheming as most of the other Drule commanders.
- I Surrender, Suckers: A favorite tactic of his is pretending to surrender only to ambush the Voltron Force once they lower their guard.
- Smug Snake: His encounters with the Explorer demonstrate a shocking degree of incompetence and arrogance on his part.
Commander Borgam
A Drule Commander who is implanted within Hazar's officers by Throk as a double agent.
- Military Maverick: He constantly disobeys Hazar's orders and triggers a conflict where Hazar wanted a peaceful outcome.
- The Mole: He's a subordinate of Hazar's, but he really answers to Throk.
- Professional Butt-Kisser: He acts like a loyal supporter of Hazar whenever he's being watched, but the second Hazar turns off the vidcom, he's belaying orders.
Dorma
Voiced by: B. J. Ward
Hazar's sister and advisor.- Action Girl: After joining the URF, she co-leads the battle against the Empire.
- Brother–Sister Team: She's Hazar's closest ally and chief counsel.
- Token Good Teammate: She was already opposing the Empire's militaristic ways before Hazar had his change of heart.
- Women Are Wiser: The reason Hazar values her counsel so much is because she often sees what he misses.
Voltron: The Third Dimension
Allies and Civilians
Amalgamus
Voiced by: Neil Ross
The computer leader of the Galaxy Alliance in Voltron: The Third Dimension.
- Horrible Judge of Character: He trusts King Zarkon more than he does the Voltron Force. It was the result of his reprogramming by Zarkon.
- Jerkass: Towards the Voltron Force, especially Lance. Only because Zarkon reprogrammed him to distrust and condemn them.
- Lord Error-Prone: He's more talk than action for most of The Third Dimension. Once restored to his original programming, he quickly throws this off.
- Meaningful Name: His circuits are connected to the leaders of all 900 planets of the Galaxy Alliance. His decisions reflect their amalgamated views.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: After the Voltron Force restored him to his original Voltron-allied programming, he is more willing to support than instead of blind obstruction.
Queen Ariella
Voiced by: Tress MacNeille
Judge Armistice
Voiced by: Billy West
A diminutive yet well-respected justice, and the Azure Quadrant's representative in the Galaxy Alliance. Ueep Ueep Cheramoya
Voiced by: Billy West
The slightly obnoxious main reporter for Galactic Action News.Enemies
Black Draco
Voiced by: Neil Ross
The most fearsome and powerful member of the Dragons, a race of techno-organic beings from the same universe as the Hunters. I.G.O.R.
Voiced by: Clancy Brown
A ruthless battle cyborg constructed by King Zarkon to co-lead the Fleet of Doom with Prince Lotor. Kolak
Voiced by: Neil Ross
A smug member of the Hunters, a techno-organic race from another dimension that created Black Draco. Queequeg and Lafitte
Voiced by: Tress MacNeille (Lafitte) and Billy West (Queequeg)
A pair of thuggish space pirates hired for grunt work by Prince Lotor.Voltron Force
Team Voltron
As a whole
- Token Trio: Daniel is Asian, Vince is black, and Larmina is an alien that passes as a Caucasian girl.
Daniel
Voiced by: Vincent Tong
Daniel is one of three new cadets for the Voltron Force. Him and Vince were once cadets for the Galaxy Alliance until they became the "cadets".
- Ascended Fanboy: He's always been a fan of Voltron.
- All There in the Manual:
- According to the script for New School Defenders, Daniel's last name is Lee.
- The same script states that Daniel is 14. This is in direct contradiction to the Voltron 30th anniversary book, which lists him as 16.
- The Corruption: Becomes infected with Haggarium while in control of Voltron and swears the other cadets to silence. He uses it to good effect to increase his fighting skills and read the thoughts of the Spider/Wade Robeast in the battle that earned him the Black Lion seat, but it also causes him to become a raging Blood Knight. The end of season one suggests it may have become a case of Comes Great Insanity.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Okay, so Daniel is touted as the Plucky Comic Relief of the cadets, he's always rushing into a fight when even he knows he shouldn't, and is frequently taken down by bad guys with one hit. Digested all that? Well, here's what this same guy is capable of doing when he quits fooling around: Giving Volton a Super-Speed boost, not to mention taking out an entire space-station of robot-mooks with minimal back-up.
- Rookie Red Ranger: Gain the role of Black Lion pilot after Keith retires. He loses the position after his inability to work with the others nearly costs them the battle against Maahox. Despite this Keith still believes he will earn the right to lead the team again.
- Super-Speed: Thanks to his Voltcom, he can now run super fast.
Vince
Voiced by: Doron Bell Jr.
Vince is one of three new cadets for the Voltron Force. He and Daniel were once cadets for the Galaxy Alliance until recruited by the Voltron Force.
- Mind over Manners: He and Daniel develop a mind-link, where they can both hear each others current thoughts. It take them a while to lay out a set of ground rules to avoid confusion in the future.
- Electric Black Guy: Vince is a black teenager capable of manipulating electrical energy with his fingertips.
- Mysterious Past: He has some kind of power that links him to Voltron, the reason why is currently unknown. Vince's power acts as a "Key" in enabling Voltron to reconfigure each lion to form the main body and give it new powers.
Larmina
Voiced by: Shannon Chan-Kent
Larmina is one of three new cadets for the Voltron Force. She is Allura's niece and way more gung-ho than her aunt.
- Action Girl: The best female fighter in the series. She's shown to be a Blood Knight and the first thing we are shown about her is her fighting skills.
- Attack! Attack! Attack!: Like Daniel, subtlety isn't one of her strong suits.
- Leeroy Jenkins: She's quite capable of formulating and following plans when absolutely necessary, but she prefers to simply smack the badguys with her staff.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Her title is Lady Larmina and she is the niece of Princess Allura.
Allies
Manset
An alien smuggler and friend of Keith's.
Enemies
Sky Marshall Wade
Voiced by: Garry Chalk
Wade is a dangerous, corrupt official. Originally a Galaxy Alliance cadet, Wade tried to become a Voltron pilot, but he was rejected because the Black Lion found him unworthy.
- Big Bad Ensemble: Despite Lotor being the franchise's traditional Big Bad, Wade proved to be equally dangerous, if not more so due to his control over the Galaxy Alliance's military. Even after Lotor's resurrection, Wade remains the chief enemy of the Voltron Force for the first half of Season 1.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Zigzagged. At first, he seems to be the new Big Bad. Having successfully outlawed Voltron and even successfully launches a military coup against the Galaxy Alliance. Then Lotor is revived, and the first confrontation between their forces results in Wade getting his brain fried and publicly humiliated. But after that, Wade continues to be a major threat and still controls the Galaxy Alliance as a military dictatorship. He later intended to take over Voltron itself... and fails.
- Evil Is Petty: Wade initially devoted his life to becoming a Voltron pilot. When the Black Lion found him unworthy, he responded by sabotaging the Lions during a parade and spending his remaining career trying to destroy everything Voltron stood for.
- Manipulative Bastard: He successfully turned public opinion against Voltron and consistently lured the team into various traps.
- Start of Darkness: Was rejected by the Black Lion as a young man which led to his hatred of the Voltron Force. Considering what he became like later, it was probably a good call on Black's part.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: He loves these, especially if it's towards Voltron.
Maahox
Voiced by: Ron Halder
A scientist with knowledge of the occult and genetic manipulation before being sent into exile. Maahox revived Lotor and became his right hand man.- Arc Villain: Manipulates Lotor throughout the entire season to further his own goals.
- Dragon with an Agenda: Manipulates Lotor into gathering all the Haggarium in the galaxy so he can use it to turn Castle Doom into a giant Robeat. His first act as the Big Bad is to permanently kill Lotor.
- Final Boss: He is the last threat Team Voltron faces in the season due to the show getting cancelled.
- The Starscream: To King Lotor. Once enough Haggarium has been obtained, he reveals that he's only interested in chaos and uses his new Robeast to kill Lotor.
