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Voltron is a series of animated television programs, the first of which was titled Voltron: Defender of the Universe. There has since been a second series, made in the 1990s using CGI techniques. The 1980s Voltron series was based on two vaguely-related Japanese anime series GoLion and Dairugger XV (both originally produced by Toei Animation & Bandai, who also produced the popular Super Sentai series in Japan which would later be adapted as the Power Rangers in USA). The anime was later dubbed into English and edited by the North American television production and distribution company World Events Productions. The adaptation was not a straight dub, however--as much violence as possible was removed from the original Japanese series.

Voltron variations

Lion Force Voltron (Voltron of the Far Universe)

The first episodes were based on the 1981 series Beast King GoLion (百獣王ゴライオン, Hyakujūō Goraion), and they featured a team of five (six when later Princess Allura replaced Sven) young pilots commanding five robot lions, which could be combined to form Voltron. In this undefined future era, the Voltron Force was in charge of protecting the planet Arus (ruled by Princess Allura) from the evil King Zarkon (from planet Doom), his son Lotor, and the witch Haggar, who would create huge Robeasts to terrorize the people of Arus. (This storyline is similar to those of the Toei Super Sentai shows, which formed the basis for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.) Despite being the first of the two robots to appear on American television, the "GoLion" version of Voltron was regarded as "Voltron III" within the toyline because, within the original planned "three-Voltron" continuity, Arus was the furthest setting from Earth's side of the universe ("Voltron I" being intended for the Near Universe, and "Voltron II" for the Middle Universe).

Voltron, in the comic book series published by Devil's Due, was originally a unified machine intelligence, since it was created by sorcerers and scientists, therefore having hands and feet making him look like a knight. Voltron was tricked by Haggar into landing on a black comet with nearly the gravitational attraction of a singularity. This comet was either a reference to, or actually was, the Omega Comet from the anime, which had identical properties, and which appeared in the TV show. Voltron was then attacked by Haggar, and somehow blown into five pieces. They became the five "lions." (Much of this was presented in the "History of Voltron" back-up stories written by Mark Waid, which were ended early due to the cancellation of the series.)

Vehicle Voltron (Voltron of the Near Universe)

Later episodes were based on the 1982 series Armored Fleet Dairugger XV (機甲艦隊 ダイラガーXV, Kikō Kantai Dairagā Fifutīn), and they changed the storyline considerably. In this iteration of Voltron, the Galaxy Alliance's home planets have become overcrowded, and a fleet of explorers has been sent to search for new planets to colonize. Along the way, they attract the attention of the evil Drule Empire, long engaged in an ongoing war against the Alliance, and the Drules proceed to interfere in the mission of the explorers and the colonists. Since the Voltron of Planet Arus was too far away to help the explorers, a totally new Voltron is constructed to battle the Drule threat.

This Voltron team consisted of 15 members, who were divided into three teams of five, known respectively as the Land, Sea, and Air Teams. Each team was specialized in gathering data or fighting in their area of expertise. Each team could also combine their vehicles into a bigger machine, with each combined vehicle differing amongst the three teams. These fighters were:

• The Aqua Fighter (Sea Team)
• The Turbo Terrain Fighter (Land Team)
• The Strato Fighter (Air Team)

When necessary, all 15 vehicles combine to form the mighty Voltron. This Voltron in the toyline was referred to as Voltron I (also called the Vehicle Team), possibly due to it being closer to Earth than the more popular Voltron III (or Lion Force Voltron).

According to the backstory provided by World Events Productions, the Vehicle Voltron was constructed after consultations by the Galaxy Alliance with Planet Arus's King Alfor before his death, with the new Voltron's designs retrofitted in part from the original, much older, Lion Voltron schematics. However, in the continuity of the recent comic by Image and Devil's Due Publishing, the Vehicle Voltron came about through the capture and study of the original Voltron on Arus by forces from Earth itself. Thus, while machines cannot truly be cloned, this new Voltron could be considered an imperfect clone of the original Lion Voltron. The machine was referred to in one issue as V-15, and was actually attacked by the Lion Voltron in order to repair itself. Unlike the animated series, which only had two crossovers with the Lion Force (once at the end of the Lion Force run, and the other in the "Fleet of Doom" special, which brought both Voltrons together), and which depicted the two Voltron Forces as being longstanding friends, the comics showed Keith and Jeff as having an antagonistic relationship with one another, particularly with regard to the Lion Voltron's supposed "sneak attack" on the Vehicle Voltron.

In early episodes, it was mentioned that the Vehicle Voltron, once assembled, had only five minutes of nuclear operational capability. This angle promptly vanished during later episodes.

Gladiator Voltron (Voltron of the Middle Universe)

There were plans for yet another Voltron, which would have been based on the series Lightspeed ElectroGod Albegas (光速電神アルベガス, Kōsoku Denjin Arubegasu). This series would have featured three smaller humanoid robots (named Alpha, Beta, and Gamma) that combined to form one larger robot — Voltron. It was housed in a mountain base and wielded an energy sword, much like the other Voltrons. Due to the strong popularity of the Lion Voltron, the unenthusiastic response to the Vehicle Voltron, and Albegas's lack of popularity in Japan, World Events Productions, (the St. Louis, Missouri based company who owns the rights for both Voltron series) ultimately decided against another parallel Voltron saga. Matchbox released a toy of Gladiator Voltron labeled Voltron II, in addition to Voltron I (Vehicle Voltron) and Voltron III (Lion Voltron).

To appease fans who wanted to see a spawned feature from the Voltron II toy, Gladiator Voltron made a brief, one-panel appearance in the Devil's Due comic in 2004.

The Black, Blue, and Red Gladiators form Voltron in six different combinations, each having a specialty area.

• Black Gladiator > Blue Gladiator > Red Gladiator — The primary form of Gladiator Voltron, and the form which would have utilized the Gladiator Voltron's Blazing Sword.

• Black Gladiator > Red Gladiator > Blue Gladiator — This form would have been optimized for use in space.

• Blue Gladiator > Black Gladiator > Red Gladiator — This form would have been optimized for use in atmospheric flight.

• Blue Gladiator > Red Gladiator > Black Gladiator — This form would have been optimized for use underground.

• Red Gladiator > Black Gladiator > Blue Gladiator — This form would have been optimized for use in the water.

• Red Gladiator > Blue Gladiator > Black Gladiator — This form would have been optimized for rescue actions.

New projects

• Voltron: The Fleet of Doom — In 1986, World Events had Toei Animation produce some additional footage to create this crossover television special, which had entirely new animation, containing very little recycled GoLion and Dairugger footage. Made for the international markets, this special has not been released in Japan.

• Voltron: The Third Dimension — After some initial interest, a computer-generated series was released in 1998 (set five years after the end of the original Lion Voltron series) to a mixed response, because of its departure from the original Lion Voltron's anime look, as well as some character changes (such as the physical appearance of Prince Lotor, now voiced by Tim Curry, taking over the role originally voiced by Lennie Weinrib). Two of the most infamous scenes coming from this series are the scene where Keith pulls a gun on Lance in a fight between the two Lion Force pilots over authority in the episode "A Rift in the Force," and the destruction of the Voltron lions brought on by Amalgamus, the computer leader of the Galaxy Alliance in "The Troika Moons" saga. It served as a sequel to the Lion Voltron series, and among the tools used to bridge the gap was an official starmap as designed by Shannon Muir, and finalized in partnership with World Events Productions. After Voltron: The Third Dimension, World Events Productions went back to the drawing board to develop a more traditionally animated series, in an attempt to recapture the spirit of the original.

• Untitled Voltron Movie — Producer Mark Gordon (Grey's Anatomy, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) is developing an as-yet-unnamed Voltron movie.

• Interactive Voltron Series — A new animated series originally slated to be released in the fall of 2005, it was set to be produced by Kickstart Productions, with Tom Pugsley and Greg Kline writing the episodes. It has yet to debut, as 2005 has passed.

Galaxy Garrison

American names are first, followed by the Japanese names. (Note: full names taken from Devil's Due comic series.)

Based on the American version of Voltron: Defender of the Universe:

Voltron Lion Force

• Captain Keith: Commander and leader of the Voltron Force, who pilots the Black Lion that forms the bulk of Voltron. Keith/Akira wears a red uniform in the original series, and a black uniform in Voltron: The Third Dimension. He is approximately 21-23 years of age. Keith is a quiet individual who spends much of his time pondering his decisions, thinking up new strategies, and simply being a leader. He also has a hobby of reading books. He can often be found doing so either in the pilot's lounge, or in his room. He seemingly cherishes Princess Allura and is thought to be somewhat protective of her; his worst fear, according to Voltron: The Third Dimension, was that she would be forced to marry the evil Prince Lotor. Keith was played by Neil Ross (US) & Kazuhiko Inoue (Japan).

• Lance Charles McClain: Second-in-command of Voltron, who pilots the Red Lion that forms the right arm of Voltron. Lance wears a blue uniform in the original series, and a metallic red uniform in Voltron: The Third Dimension. He is a tall man, both wiry and wily, about 21-23 years of age. Lance is always cracking jokes and teasing others whenever he gets the chance. He is the only one in the group who contests any of Keith's commands. He is a ladies' man and a great pilot, though reckless at times. Lance was voiced by Michael Bell (US) & Yuu Mizushima (Japan).

• Darrell "Pidge" Stoker: Pidge is the youngest and smallest of the group; he pilots the Green Lion that forms the left arm of Voltron, and wears a green uniform. He is approximately 12 years old. His home planet Balto was destroyed by nuclear missiles from King Zarkon. Pidge graduated from the academy at a young age, and his specialty is science. Like the others, he is well-trained in martial arts, and uses his size and agility to his advantage. Pidge is not afraid to speak his mind, especially to the villains. His heart is often in his words. Pidge has a twin brother, Chip, who is a member of the Vehicle Voltron Air Team. Pidge was voiced by Neil Ross (US) & Masako Nozawa (Japan). In Voltron: The Third Dimension, Pidge was voiced by Billy West.
  • Note: Pidge is the only member of the Voltron Force whose uniform did not get a color change in Voltron: The Third Dimension. He is also the only member of the Voltron Force who's original uniform color was actually the same color as his Lion (Hunk wore orange, not yellow, but it was close in color).

• Princess Allura: Princess Allura of the planet Arus is the ruler of the Kingdom of Altair (as well as of the entire planet, for the most part) and is also the object of Lotor's affections. She takes over for Sven as the pilot of the Blue Lion that forms Voltron's right leg. Allura wears a pink uniform in the original series, and a metallic blue uniform in Voltron: The Third Dimension. Her age is about 18-20. Though a bit naïve, especially with matters of romance, Allura is a strong-willed person, and is very capable of ruling her planet, though some like Coran and Nanny tend to doubt this ability. She is capable of invoking the dead, particularly her father, the late King Alfor. In The Third Dimension, Allura later learns special mind skills that could allow the Voltron Force to control the Lions without having to be in the cockpits, and also helps the others to learn it as well. Allura's voice was played by B.J. Ward (US) & Rumiko Ukai (Japan). She also has feelings for Keith.

• Tsuyoshi "Hunk" Garett: Hunk is the strong-man of the group, piloting the Yellow Lion that forms Voltron's left leg. He is shown wearing an orange uniform in the original series, and a metallic yellow uniform in Voltron: The Third Dimension. He is about 24-26 years old. He may look tough and mean, but has a soft heart, especially when it comes to children. He is never late for a meal. Though his friends tease him about his appetite, most of Hunk's bulk is muscle. It is revealed that he eats "-'Fruit Loops' (almost) every morning". Hunk was voiced by Lennie Weinrib (US) & Tesshô Genda (Japan). In Voltron: The Third Dimension, Hunk was voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.

Voltron Vehicle Team

Air Team

Air Team uniforms were dark blue and white.

• Jeff Dukane: Leader of the Air Team and the entire vehicle Voltron Force, Jeff is hot-headed, occasionally quick-tempered, yet still brave and a very capable leader, even if he doesn't always follow the rules. Although dialogue early in the series hints at something going on between him and Ginger, later episodes suggest a relationship between him and Lisa, much as there was with their Dairugger XV counterparts. He pilots the Command Jet Explorer (#1), which becomes the head of Voltron. In Fleet of Doom, it is revealed that Jeff and Keith had a friendly rivalry in their academy days.

• Rocky: Brooklyn-accented member of the Air Team, usually described by fans as the "Hunk" of the Vehicle Voltron Force. He pilots the Strato Weapons Module (#2) that forms the upper torso of Voltron. Sparring partner of Hunk in their academy days.

• Wolo: A blue-skinned member of the Air Team with very little character development. He pilots the Advanced Recon Helicopter (#3) that becomes the right upper arm of Voltron.

• Chip Stoker: Member of the Air Team, and the youngest member of the Vehicle Voltron Force, Chip happens to be Pidge's twin brother, despite the fact that they are visibly different heights. Although not often prominently featured except in one episode, Chip can be described as the brains of the Vehicle Force, much like Pidge is to the Lion Force. He pilots the Advanced Recon Helicopter (#4) that becomes the left upper arm of Voltron.

• Ginger: Member of the Air Team. Despite her high, girlish voice, Ginger is a brave and capable pilot, and has fought for a worthy cause ever since she helplessly watched her family destroyed in an astro-ship explosion when she was a little girl. She pilots the Falcon VT Fighter (#5) that forms the chest plate of Voltron.

Sea Team

Sea Team uniforms were navy blue and aqua.

• Cric: Hailing from an unnamed water planet, Cric is appropriately the leader of the Sea Team. Speaking with an otherworldly alien accent, he has clairvoyant powers that tend to tell him when something bad is about to happen. He is the pilot of the Communications Module (#6) that becomes the torso mid-rif section of Voltron.

• Lisa: Kind and compassionate member of the Sea Team. She is very knowledgeable in ancient cultures, and always seems to know the right thing to say to others. It is most likely she is in a relationship with Jeff, much like their Dairugger XV counterparts. She pilots the Space Prober (#7) that becomes the right thigh of Voltron.

• Tagor: One of the members of the Vehicle Voltron Force who is usually treated as unmentionable background characters. Tagor pilots the Space Prober (#8) that forms the left thigh of Voltron.

• Shannon: Irish-accented member of the Sea Team. Like Ginger, he too fights for a worthy cause, as his brother is a prisoner of the Drule Empire, on Planet Doom. He pilots the Multi-Wheeled Explorer (#9) that becomes the right lower leg of Voltron.

• Zandee: One of the members of the Vehicle Voltron Force who is usually treated as unmentionable background characters. Zandee pilots the Multi-Wheeled Explorer (#10) that becomes the left lower leg of Voltron.

Land Team

Land Team uniforms were white and red.

• Cliff: Leader of the Land Team. He has a strong Australian accent, and sometimes tends to have a wry sense of humor. He pilots the Jet Radar Station (#11) that forms the lower torso/hips of Voltron. When he first came to the academy, Lance and Wolo yanked him into the pool.

• Cinda: Member of the Land Team. Like Lisa, she too is kind and compassionate, especially when it comes to nature. She comes from the same water planet as Cric. She pilots the Rotating Personnel Carrier (#12) that forms the right forearm of Voltron.

• Modoch: Large member of the Land Team, who can best be described as a "gentle giant." He pilots the Armored Equipment Carrier (#13) that forms the left forearm of Voltron.

• Marvin & Hutch: Good buddies and members of the Land Team, these two are often seen together, either playing cards or brawling with each other. While Marvin is usually comedic, Hutch is a regular tough guy, always looking for a good fight. They pilot the All-Terrain Space Vehicles (#14 and #15) that form the right and left feet of Voltron, respectively.

Allies

• Space Marshal Graham: Supreme commander of the Galaxy Alliance. Along with Commander Steele, he is usually conducting meetings discussing current situations involving the ongoing conflict with the Drule Empire.

• Commander Steele: High-ranking official of the Galaxy Alliance. Along with Space Marshal Graham, he is usually conducting meetings discussing current situations involving the war with the Drule Empire. He takes a more active role in the conflict towards the end of the series.

• Sven Holgersson/Takashi Shirogane (銀貴, Shirogane Takashi): Sven, a Norwegian pilot, was the original second-in-command. He piloted the Blue Lion and wore a black uniform in the very beginning of the series. In episode 6, he was badly injured during an attack by Haggar, and was sent away to the planet Ebb to be healed. He was killed in the Japanese version, with his younger brother appearing later in the series. Ebb was attacked and raided by Lotor's Forces and Sven was captured. The prison ship on which he was transferred accidentally crashed on Planet Doom where Sven went into hiding becoming a hermit within the caves. He eventually encountered Allura's cousin from the Planet Pollux, Princess Romelle, who had been sent to the slave mines after she rejected Lotor's advances. During Sven's time on Planet Doom he witnessed Zarkon and Lotor's cruelty to their slaves, which drove him to the point of madness. He recovered thanks to Romelle's emotional support and helped her escape Doom. Sven was later reassigned to the Planet Pollux with Romelle and her brother Prince Bandor. Sven eventually fell in love with Romelle, though he was reluctant to pursue his feelings because he felt he was unworthy of her. Sven was always very quiet and reserved, and spoke only when he had something important to say. Though he may not show it, he is a very emotional person, and his heart is always leading his mind in any decision. Sven was voiced by Michael Bell (US) & Ryusei Nakao (Japan). Sven does not appear in nor is mentioned in Voltron: The Third Dimension.

• Space Mice: The Space Mice are pastel-colored mice displaying a humanlike level of intelligence, who were Princess Allura's friends as a child. They are often mischievous, but sometimes helpful. There are five Space Mice, though the fifth mouse is rarely seen until later episodes, perhaps because of not being born, or being too young to leave the nest at first. There is a large light blue mouse, a large pink mouse, two medium-sized light blue mice, and a much smaller light blue mouse. The cartoon was very inconsistent with the names of the mice; names used for various mice included Chitter, Cheddar, Cheeser, Cheesy, Pip, Squeek, Mousie, Prince, Toady, Inky, and Suki. Toward the end of the Lion Force Voltron series, the Space Mice wear orange Voltron Force uniforms and pilot a machine called the Mouse Plane, which can transform into a comic-looking Mouse Voltron. In the comic from Image and Devil's Due, the Space Mice were cybernetic robots constructed for Princess Allura by her father.

• Prince Bandor (Prince Alor): Co-ruler of planet Pollux, along with his sister, Princess Romelle.

• Princess Romelle (Princess Amue): Princess Romelle is Allura's cousin, who lives on the planet Pollux, where she co-rules with her brother, Prince Bandor. She is a dead-ringer for Princess Allura, in terms of physical appearance. Romelle was once a slave of Lotor, until Sven came to her rescue; together they fight for her people against the Drule Empire. She and Sven fall in love and live "happily ever after" on Pollux (a sharp contrast from the original ending of GoLion, in which the character of Shirogane Takashi's brother dies).

• Coran (Raible): Coran is Allura's royal advisor, and is in charge of the Castle Control. He also advises the Voltron Force, and is very wise, though he can be very overprotective and opinionated at times. He is the commander of the Castle of Lions crew, once the Castle became battle-worthy, and especially once it transforms into the Mecha Fortress. In Voltron: The Third Dimension, Coran remians the same as before but is now more affiliated with the Galaxy alliance then before. His biggest role in that series was, when the Voltron Force was on trial for treason, he spoke for them in their defense, which resulted in the Alliance finding the Voltron Force "not guilty". Coran is voiced by Peter Cullen (US) & Yuji Fujishiro (Japan). In Voltron: The Third Dimension, Coran was voiced by Michael Bell.

• Nanny (Hys): Nanny is Allura's over-protective caregiver, who always wants to make all of Allura's decisions for her. Like Coran, Nanny fusses over the Princess, and is bent on keeping her away from all harm. She dies near the finale of GoLion, shot to death by Garret while protecting Coran; this scene was cut from the U.S. version. Nanny was voiced by B.J. Ward (US) & Kazuyo Aoki (Japan).

• King Alfor (King Raimon): King Alfor is Allura's deceased father, and the previous ruler of planet Arus. Years ago, King Alfor went forth to battle against King Zarkon and his forces in the Valley of Zohar on Planet Arus. He was tragically killed on that day. His body was placed in a royal tomb, located directly beneath the castle. Nowadays, he returns to the world of the living in a ghostly form to give advice to his daughter to help her in her struggles to maintain peace on Arus and the surrounding galaxy. King Alfor is credited with being the designer of Voltron in the American version, but not in the Japanese. In The Third Dimension, it was Alfor's rejection of Witch Haggar that embittered her to evil. She later got her revenge on him by capturing his spirit with magic and implanting it within a robeast, preventing the Voltron force from attacking it. He was eventually released with the help of Allura and the voice of Queen Ariella. Alfor is voiced by Peter Cullen (US) & Mahito Tsujimura (Japan). In Voltron: The Third Dimension, King Alfor was voiced by Tim Curry.

• Commander James Hawkins: Commander of the S.S. Explorer, it is Commander Hawkins who gives all the orders to the Vehicle Voltron Force. Firm and strict, Hawkins is determined to make peace with the Drule Empire, despite how many times they attempt to backstab him in the process. Voiced by Peter Cullen.

• Captain Newley: Captain of the S.S. Explorer, and good friend to Commander Hawkins. Midway through the series, he gets transferred back to Galaxy Garrison on Earth, but that doesn't stop his fight against the Drules.

• Professor Page: The S.S. Explorer 's chief scientist and acting physician, he can tell you all about a planet and even its cultures simply by examining a mere sample or artifact.

• Amalgamus: Cyborg-like mentor of the Voltron Lion Force in Third Dimension. He is an amalgam of all 900 planets of the Galaxy Alliance and the highest-ranked official of Galaxy Garrison. He at first was reluctant to have Voltron reactivated, believing diplomacy could be used to make peace with Lotor, but over time he comes to accept Voltron as a necessary ally. He is also the only one who fully trusts Zarkon, which is also his greatest weakness, as he was unknowingly reprogrammed by Zarkon to distrust the Voltron Force more and more, going as far as to have them decommissioned five times, and even put them on trial against the Alliance one time. When Lotor held the Troika Moons hostage in exchange for the destruction of the Voltron Lions, it was Amalgamus who gave the order to destroy them. This, along with Zarkon's position within the Alliance, left Galaxy Garrison open for an easy assault by Lotor at them end of the first season. By this time, Amalgamus had learned of Zarkon's true allegiance, but was helpless to stop zarkon from turning him into a video game, and then later a cowardly blabbermouth later in the series. Toward the end of the series, he was retaken by the Voltron Force and restored to his original Voltron-allied programming, and exposed Zarkon's true plans to the Alliance.

• Queen Ariella: First Queen of Planet Arus in The Third Dimension. She first came to Arus from another planet and was found and raised by the five lions before they became Robot lions. It was said they she constructed the Castle of Lions. Now deceased, she appears to Allura as a spirit, much like her father does, and reveals to Allura a way to recreate the five Lions after they are destroyed. She explains that the five lions can never really be destroyed, as their spirits will always be with Arus.

Mecha

• (Lion) Voltron (Golion): Combination of the five Lions. Voltron was once a sentient being in his own right before being separated into the five Lions. In the finale of the first season of The Third Dimension, Voltron was destroyed, but recreated in the beginning of the second season, and would go on to be reconfigured into Stealth Voltron whenever it passed into another dimension.
  • Black Lion (Kuro Jishi): Piloted by Commander Keith. Piloted by Allura in one episode. Unlike the other Lions, the Black Lion did not have a "closed" hangar. Throughout the series, it was assumed that the Black Lion's hangar was located on the large tower fronting the castle, which was previously occupied by a winged lion statue which hid it. When the Black Lion was first activated, this statue crumbled apart to reveal it, and the Black Lion folded its seldom-used wings.
  • Red Lion (Aka Jishi): Piloted by Lance. Piloted by Princes Allura in one episode since Lance was using the Blue Lion to find the cure for the deadly flowers. The Red Lion's hangar was located inside a volcano near the castle.
  • Green Lion (Midori Jishi): Piloted by Pidge. Piloted by Keith in its first launch, before the Black Lion was recovered. The Green Lion's hangar was located in a forest near the castle.
  • Blue Lion (Ao Jishi): Piloted by Sven up to episode 6, and thereafter by Princess Allura (although Sven would return to pilot the Blue Lion on one more occasion in the second season episode "Who's Flyin' Blue Lion?"). Piloted in one episode each by Keith, Coran, and Nanny together, and a replacement pilot (who turned out to be an agent of Zarkon). Piloted once by Lance when he went off to a distant planet to find the cure by which to heal the Princess. Lance piloted the Blue Lion because the planet had a special magnetic field that only the Blue Lion could overcome. The Blue Lion's hangar was located underneath the moat that surrounded the castle.
  • Yellow Lion (Ki Jishi): Piloted by Hunk. The Yellow Lion's hangar was located inside a cave located in a desert near the castle.

• Mouse Plane / Mouse Voltron (Gonezumi): piloted by the Space Mice.

• Castle of Lions (Gradam Castle, Mechafortress) / Flying Fortress (Flying Mechafortress): The Lion Voltron force's base of operations and their home, which near the finale can transform into a flying fortress piloted by Coran.

• S.S. Explorer: Mothership of the Voltron Vehicle Team, piloted by Commander Hawkins.

• (Vehicle) Voltron (Dairugger XV, Dairugger Fifteen)
  • Strato Fighter (Kuu Rugger): Piloted by the Air Team.
    • Command Jet Explorer (Rugger 1): Piloted by Jeff.
    • Strato Weapons Module (Rugger 2): Piloted by Rocky.
    • Advanced Recon Helicopter (Rugger 3, the red one): Piloted by Wolo.
    • Advanced Recon Helicopter (Rugger 4, the blue and red one): Piloted by Chip.
    • Falcon VT Fighter (Rugger 5): Piloted by Ginger.
  • Aqua Fighter (Kai Rugger): Piloted by the Sea Team.
    • Communications Module (Rugger 6): Piloted by Cric.
    • Space Prober (Rugger 7, the red one): Piloted by Lisa.
    • Space Prober (Rugger 8, the blue and yellow one): Piloted by Tagor.
    • Multi-Wheeled Explorer (Rugger 9, with red markings): Piloted by Shannon.
    • Multi-Wheeled Explorer (Rugger 10, with yellow markings): Piloted by Zandee.
  • Turbo-Terrain Fighter (Rikku Rugger): Piloted by the Land Team.
    • Jet Radar Station (Rugger 11): Piloted by Cliff.
    • Rotating Personnel Carrier (Rugger 12, with blue markings): Piloted by Cinda.
    • Armored Equipment Carrier (Rugger 13, with red markings): Piloted by Modoch.
    • All-Terrain Space Vehicle (Rugger 14, the yellow one): Piloted by Marvin.
    • All-Terrain Space Vehicle (Rugger 15, the black one): Piloted by Hutch.

• (Gladiator) Voltron (Albegas, six possible assemblies or Dimensions)
  • Black Gladiator (Alpha Robo)
  • Blue Gladiator (Beta Robo)
  • Red Gladiator (Gamma Robo)

• "Gorilla Gladiator" (Gori Robo)

Drule Empire

• Emperor Zeppo: Through most of the series, all we ever see of Zeppo is a portrait of him adorning every Drule command ship. It is not until much later that he is introduced in the flesh, attending meetings of the Drule Supreme Council. No other Drule holds higher royal rank than the Emperor. When the liberation of planet Drule finally came, Zeppo quietly stood by as Hazar personally overthrew his rule. Hazar thus immediately became Drule's rightful emperor, though he then decreed that their world would no longer have any Emperors, but that leaders would from then on be elected. Zeppo and Throk proceeded to quietly flee the dying planet. Shortly after the inevitable destruction of planet Drule, the liberated citizens were moved to a new planet by the Galaxy Alliance. As soon as they settled in, Zeppo and Throk set up a decoy to distract the Voltron Force, while the remnants of the Drule Empire swept in on the planet and retook control of their people. Emperor Zeppo was in control again. This possibly would have led to a second season of the Vehicle series, had WEP decided to animate their own episodes of it, as they had with the Lion Force series.

• Viceroy Throk: Possibly the worst of the worst, Throk is at bitter ends with Mozak and Hazar, and the loyalist supporter of Emperor Zeppo. Throk becomes the main baddie under Zeppo towards the very end of the series, especially during the impending arrival of the Voltron Force on the planet Drule to aid Hazar in liberating the homeworld, and overthrowing Zeppo. Later, Throk would join forces with Zarkon in building the universe's most feared space armada, the Fleet of Doom.

• Commander Hazar: High-ranking warlord of the Drule Empire. At the beginning of the series, he was a typical Drule leader bent on galactic conquest. However, midway through the series, he begins to have a change of heart, and becomes more compassionate in his quest; and, like Commander Hawkins, tries time and time again to arrange for peace between the Drule Empire and the Galaxy Alliance. Throughout the series, he has had to put up with demotions, imprisonment, and worst of all, treacherous underlings who repeatedly and deliberately disobey his direct orders of helping bring peace, in favor of attacking the Alliance.

• Dorma: Hazar's kindhearted sister, who appears towards the end of the series. When she is kidnapped by the Drule U.R.F. (Underground Rebel Force), she agrees to join in their fight for peace and freedom on planet Drule.

• Chancellor Mozak: Hazar and Dorma's father, and kindhearted member of the Drule Supreme Council, he wishes nothing more than for peace and freedom on planet Drule. He often clashes in his views with Viceroy Throk.

• Captain Mongo: One of the Drule Empire's best officers, and loyal friend to Hazar. When Hazar began to have a change of heart, Mongo was one of the few Drules who supported him, and he continued to loyally support him, until he eventually went into exile midway through the series.

• Bakki: Founder of the U.R.F., Bakki is a kind-hearted Drule, who hopes to liberate his homeworld's citizens from the tyranny of the Drule rulers.

• Commander Quark: An early opponent of the Explorer and its crew. Persistent, but ultimately ineffective against the Voltron Force. He causes the destruction of an uninhabited planet that the Drules and humans were competing over. Curiously, his death scene is included in the American Voltron release, but the scene was incongruously dubbed over, with Quark saying, "I'll be back," before his ship explodes. A member of the Voltron Force later states, "Quark got away again."

• Captain Nerok: Cruel and heavyset Drule officer. A natural-born kiss-up and backstabber, he lives for nothing more than destroying the Galaxy Alliance and making Hazar look like a fool.

• Marshall Keezor: Wicked and crafty member of the Drule Supreme Council. He first arrived personally to give Hazar the news of his demotion, then appeared to take on Hazar's duties of eliminating the Voltron Force. In the Lion Voltron series, it was also Keezor who arranged for Zarkon to be stripped of his powers and to have those powers handed over to Lotor.

• Captain Twyla: A female Drule officer who is captured by the Explorer crew. She is confused by Commander Hawkins's treatment of her as a guest instead of a prisoner. Hawkins explains to her that willingness to discuss peace negotiations is not the same thing as selling out her race. Her final fate is unknown, but Hawkins hoped that she communicated a new alternative to other members of her race.

• Zandu: A Drule pilot who is captured by the Explorer crew. Commander Hawkins, in usual form, treats the pilot as a guest instead of a prisoner. However, this upsets Shannon, a member of the Voltron Force Sea Team, who has a brother being held prisoner by the Drules. Shannon, upon getting to know Zandu, realizes that Zandu, despite being on the side of the enemy, is only following orders and unaware of the evil nature of his masters. Zandu is allowed to return to his ship, but is shot down by a Drule commander, who believes it is a trick by the humans. In the American version, he crashlands on a planet and though badly wounded, apparently survives. As is the usual case, he dies in the original Japanese version.

• Robeasts: Monsters of the Drule Empire that they send to fight the two Voltrons of the Galaxy Alliance.

Planet Doom

The villains who are from Golion or the Korean animated episodes featuring the Voltron Lion Force, ruled by King Zarkon.

• King Zarkon (Emperor Daibazaal): King Zarkon of the Planet Doom is one of the rulers of the Drule Empire, though by no means the absolute ruler. He is constantly using others as scapegoats for his own failures (à la Zanbazir using Prince Heinel as a scapegoat), including his son Lotor. In the Japanese version, however, he is the evil ruler of his own Empire, without anybody controlling him. This differs from the American version, where he is a king with a Senate advisory body, with none daring to oppose him; very similar to Voltes V 's Emperor Zanbazir in his treatment of slaves (ex. whipping, starving, killing them on the spot, which is typical in super-robot shows). In the Japanese version, his character was eventually killed by GoLion. Zarkon was voiced by Jack Angel (US) & Kousei Tomita (Japan). In Voltron: The Third Dimension, Zarkon managed to redeem himself prior to his final defeat, and became a member of the Galactic Council. His redemption, however, was a ruse by which he and his son worked together to take over the alliance. In this version, he was voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.

• Prince Lotor (Prince Sincline): Prince Lotor is the evil son of the Drule King Zarkon. He dislikes his father greatly, and wishes to rule in his place with Princess Allura by his side, to whom he has developed a strong and obsessive attraction. Like some supervillains who follow the cliche-but-adorable idea of a villain falling for a beautiful girl, Lotor is often shown commenting on how good a Queen she would be or how beautiful she is. So powerful is his attachment that he is unable even to destroy a holographic image of Allura. Lotor also has an even stronger hatred with Keith, because he's seen Allura's love towards Keith. Because of Allura and Keith's love, Lotor is more determined to kill Keith than any other Voltron Force member. Lotor is a very sly, smart, smooth, powerful man, who exudes force and emanates what seems to be pure evil, except when Allura is around. In GoLion, Sincline's obsession with Farla occurs because she resembles his mother, whom Emperor Daibazaal (a.k.a. King Zarkon) had killed for refusing to marry him after Lotor was born, with Princess Farla/Allura becoming his major psychological weakness. This is basically an Oedipus complex. Lotor was killed in the last episode of GoLion, something that is typical for super-robot shows. Lotor was voiced by Lennie Weinrib (US) & Akira Kamiya (Japan). In Voltron: The Third Dimension, Lotor was mortally wounded in a battle, and was converted into a cyborg after he was placed in prison. However, he escaped and perpetrated his revenge on the heroes, though he still has feelings for Allura. In this version, he was voiced by Tim Curry.

• Queen Merla: A villainess exclusive to the U.S. version, she was voiced by Tress MacNeille. Zarkon intended to have his son Lotor and Merla marry, but it didn't work out.

• Witch Haggar (Honerva): Haggar the witch is the one responsible for creating all of the Robeasts (or Galran Beast Fighters) Voltron must destroy. She is notorious for using her dark magic to cast hypnotizing spells over people. Though she was once good and beautiful, she is now evil and ugly. It was Haggar who was responsible for originally splitting Voltron into five components in the American version. In the Japanese version, she was one of Daibazaal's old love interests, and possibly a concubine. Haggar's voice was played by B.J. Ward (US) & Masako Nozawa (Japan). In Voltron: The Third Dimension, Haggar went into hiding after the final battle, but rejoined Lotor in his conquest schemes. They strike a deal in which, if Lotor conquers the universe, she gets the magic of the lions while he gets the universe and the lions themselves.
  • Cova: Haggar's blue cat, enemy of the Space Mice.

• Commander Yurak (Sadak): Commander of the Galran/Doom Forces. In both versions, he is sentenced to death. He is transformed into a gigantic beast fighter in hopes of redeeming himself. However, he is killed by GoLion/Voltron. Yurak's death is one of the few onscreen character deaths that were retained for the American Voltron release.

• Mogor: Took Yurak's place as Prince Lotor's second-in-command.

• Commander Cossack: A replacement for Mogor, he was generally ineffective against Voltron, though like Yurak, he often went into battle throwing everything he could think of against the robot, including various robeasts given to him by Haggar for the purpose of battling Voltron. Calls himself "Cossack the Terrible".

• Queequeg and Lafitte: Exclusive to Voltron: The Third Dimension, she and her partner were drafted by Lotor for menial work. Lafitte was voiced by Tress MacNeille.

• Igor: A robotic figure who was commander of Lotor's army. Never seen after Lotor's conquest of the galactic administrative council.

• Ultra Droids: Planet Doom's footsoldiers.

• Karp : a cocky, egotistical ace pilot who is recruited by Lotor and Haggar. Although given a robeast to pilot, he retains his smug attitude by demanding that the robeast be painted red to match his trademark color. He wreaks considerable Havok on Arus and several other planets. He is made Governor General much to the annoyance of Mogor who disliked Karp's superior attitude. Karp was eventually defeated by Voltron; one of the few enemies that Voltron defeated by chance. Mogor was not disappointed that Karp had such a short career as Governor General. In the American Voltron, as was usual, Karp's death was covered by dialogue; in this case Lotor saying "Maybe he'll land safely and come again." Lotor's voiceover continues over what is actually a sunrise, however the added sound effect suggests an explosion on the planet. Lotor states that Karp, unfortunately did not make a very good landing and would probably be in no condition to fly for a long time.

Drule Mecha

• Skull Ships: One of the various attack ships of Planet Doom.

• "Mighty Robeast": When Zarkon and Throk joined forces, they created four Robeasts to combine with one of Lotor's ships to combat against the two Voltrons of the Lion and Vehicle teams. Armed with the Blazing Scimitar, the Blade of Doom.
  • Rhino Beast: Rhinoceros-like Robeast, forms the main body and legs.
  • Scorpio: Scorpion-like Robeast, forms the front body armor.
  • Beetle: Beetle-like Robeast, forms the back and wings.
  • Armor Beast: Armadillo-like Robeast, forms the arms.
  • Lotor's Skull Ship: Forms the head.

• Dracotron: Evil counterparts to the lions based on dragons, the Dragons lived in an alternate dimension, but were so ferocious and destructive that they left it a desolate wasteland, forcing them to travel to other dimensions to steal food as well as structures within which to protect their eggs from their atmosphere. The most powerful Dragon is Black Draco, the black dragon. Five Dragons can merge to form Dracotron, an evil incarnation of Voltron with a superblast attack so strong, as indirectly stated in Third Dimension, that two blasts can destroy Voltron. In Third Dimension, the Dragons and Dracatron make multiple appearances and are destroyed each time, indicating that possibly any five Dragons can merge into a Dracotron.

Gladiator Voltron characters

The Japanese names of the three Gladiator pilots are Enjoji Daisakau (the leader), Jin Tetsuya (the taller boy), and Mizuki Hotaru (the girl). What their names would have been in the Voltron mythos is unknown. They piloted the Alpha Robo (Black Gladiator), Beta Robo (Blue Gladiator), and Gamma Robo (Red Gladiator), respectively. In the beginning of the series, each would have also piloted a small aircraft, the Jet Alpha, Jet Beta, and Jet Gamma. These three aircraft were flown through small hatches into the backs of the Gladiators in order to pilot the Gladiators. The three aircraft could also combine into a single jet called the Super Abega. They were very quickly replaced by a different set of small aircraft that could transform into different bipedal droid forms, called the New Jet Alpha/Jetrobo Alpha, New Jet Beta/Jetrobo Beta, and New Jet Gamma/Jetrobo Gamma. They combined into the New Super Abega. It is completely unknown what these smaller jets or their combined forms would have been called in the Voltron mythos.

There was also a fourth pilot character, Kumai Goro, who piloted a large robot called the Gori Robo. This would have been a "Gorilla Gladiator" in comedy-relief style, on the same level as the Space Mice and their Mouse Plane/Mouse Voltron.

Episode guide

DVD releases

In Australia, DVDs of all episodes of Voltron have been released by Madman Entertainment. The original series was released in five volumes between August 2004 and July 2005, under the name "Voltron: Defender of the Universe". Each box is in the color and style of one of the lions. Another three volumes of "Vehicle Force Voltron" were released between August and December 2005. Additionally a "Best of" 2-DVD set was released in November 2006 featuring five episodes from each series.

In Region 1, Voltron is being released on DVD in its original broadcast form by New York–based distributor Media Blasters. Lion Force Voltron was released in 5 volumes between September 2006 and December 2007. The volumes contain about 15 episodes each, along with special features such as documentaries featuring interviews with producer and director Franklin Cofod, and various others involved in the original and current productions. The first volume of Vehicle Force Voltron was scheduled for release on September 30, 2008 as Volume 6.

Additionally, the Fleet of Doom special was released on DVD early in 2007, as an online Voltron.com exclusive. Fleet of Doom was a special crossover film where the Vehicle and Lion Voltrons joined forces to defeat the "Fleet of Doom" (Galra and Drule Empires). The special was originally released in 1986, but was never released in Japan.

Media Blasters also plans to release the two Japanese shows that made up Voltron — Hundred Beast King FiveLion (GoLion), and Armored Fleet Dairugger XV — each in their original, unedited Japanese form, with English subtitles. Volume 1 of Golion was released on May 27, 2008, and Volume 2 was released on August 12, 2008. Release dates for Dairugger XV and the remaining GoLion episodes have not yet been announced.

Comic books

In 1985, Modern Comics, an imprint of Charlton Comics, produced a three-issue mini-series based on the Lion Voltron television show.

Lion Voltron recently was temporarily revived in print through a hit comic book series from Devil's Due Publishing, under the imprint of Image Comics. After a five-issue mini-series (with a preview issue #0 from Dreamwave), Devil's Due Publishing began to self-publish Voltron as Vol. 2 of the series. The series lasted another eleven issues, as well as two trade paperbacks collecting Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 Issues #1-5. The line was placed on hiatus in 2005, due to poor sales and lack of public interest. At this time, Devil's Due does still retain the rights to publish comics using the likeness of Voltron.

A recent announcement from Devil's Due reveals that every issue of their two series will be collected into an Omnibus book to be released in January 2008. This volume will also contain the first printing of the 12th and final issue of the series, which will bring all storylines to a close.

Action figures

Voltron was originally released in Japan under the name GoLion. The figure line is based on the U.S. version of the Japanese cartoon series, where five pilots combine their lion vehicles to form a super robot. Matchbox distributed the first series of die cast toys, which included Voltron I, II and III (some of the Matchbox toys were subject to a recall due to the use of lead paint), with earlier packaging referring to the Vehicle Voltron as the Warrior Voltron.

Panosh Place then purchased the rights, and released the 3 3/4" line of vehicles and action figures based around the Voltron III GoLion robot (a catalogue also showed action figures of the three Vehicle Team leaders, though these and additional action figures from the Lion Force remained unreleased).

LJN took over near the end of the series to release various versions of the Voltron III robot, and only a couple of Vehicle Voltron toys.

In the 1990s, Trendmasters started up the line with an all-new look for the Lion Voltron, then continued on to produce Stealth Voltron and Voltrex, the "Dino" Voltron.

Currently, Toynami holds the license. They have produced I-Men mini-figures of the pilots and the lions, as well as a fully articulated Masterpiece Voltron.

Though not under the Voltron license, a version of Vehicle Voltron sporting a different color scheme was released under a different name to Toys R' Us in the late 1990s. The variation was packaged as fully combined in robot mode behind a clear plastic window box. Prior to the Voltron series, GoLion and the New Super Abega were part of Bandai America's Godaikin toyline. The Lion Voltron robot toy was also widely released as Lionbot which was essentially a Hong Kong produced bootleg version of the toy, identical to the Godaikin version.

Changes from the Japanese version

Though airing in syndication, which offered other anime shows such as Robotech greater freedom to deal with subject matter such as death that were off-limits in most network children's programming, WEP's adaptation of Voltron was heavily edited to conform to the more strict standards of American television, as well as the standard name change of characters and concepts in Golion.

Content edits

• Shots of shooting/explicit torture (e.g., whipping) prisoners/civilians/slaves, and some shots of corpses were removed.

• Bloody arena battles, most notably in the first episode of the series, were heavily edited to remove most of the graphic scenes of characters dying.

• Zarkon's soldiers were referred to as robots as opposed to alien soldiers. Also, crews of space ships that were destroyed were often either said to have been evacuated prior or referred to as robot-ships in order to lessen the impact of their deaths.

• In the case of special characters who died in the original series, they sometimes escaped (in the case of Haggar/Honerva) or sent off-planet to receive medical treatment for their injuries, even though they died in the original Japanese series. Since this was the case with Sven (Shirogane) and Nanny (Hisu), the scenes of their funeral and characters visiting their graves were thus cut. While Sven was "brought back" through the use of Shirogane's younger brother (who was an exact lookalike of his dead brother) being declared to be Sven, both Haggar and Nanny would be absent for several episodes until the show's United States exclusive second season aired, bringing them back to the forefront.

• The commands to form the robot were not mentioned in GoLion.

Technical modifications

• Lion Voltron featured redubbed sound effects (Vehicle Voltron used the original Japanese effects).
• Both Lion and Vehicle Voltron used different background music from their original counterparts.

Plot changes

GoLion

• Both shows begin with the five pilots as pilots sent by the Galaxy Alliance, whose space-exploration mission takes them to a planet devastated by war. In Voltron, the pilots arrive on Arus, and are captured and taken to Planet Doom. They then escape and return to Arus, and become the pilots of the robot lions and Voltron. In GoLion, the initial scenes are actually of Earth, as the pilots have returned from their mission in the year 1999 to find that the entire population of Earth has been killed in a nuclear war. They are then captured and taken to Planet Galra, where the plot proceeds similarly.

• The entire plot involving Coran and his son Garrett was drastically altered for Voltron, with Garrett being revealed to be a clone of Coran's son and that Garrett and his mother were spirited away to another dimension by a mystic shaman they had befriended. In Golion, Garrett was indeed Coran's son, having switched sides due to his belief that his father abandoned him and his mother to die years earlier. Furthermore Garrett kills Nanny, who sacrifices herself to save Coran when his son fires at him (Nanny's death was omitted in Voltron and the character returns in the third season of episodes made for the United States).

• Shirogane Takashi (Sven) was killed when he battled Honerva (Haggar), whereas in Voltron he was severely injured and later returned to help the Voltron Force. His younger brother Sho (who was turned into Sven himself in the voltron series) was the one who fought Sincline (Lotor) at the siege of Planet Galra (Doom). Sho and Sincline fell to their deaths, whereas in Voltron they fell into a body of water and survived.

• It was a goddess, not Honerva (Haggar), that split up GoLion due to his arrogance (GoLion is supposedly sentient, although this was subtly discarded in the series).

• Voltron 's "Queen Merla" arc never existed in the original Japanese run, and was created by Toei at the request of World Events Productions. The Japanese GoLion series ended with the destruction of the giant Daibarzaal (Zarkon) Beast Fighter, which killed him.

• The Mecha Fortress could only transform one-way into the Flying Mecha Fortress, unlike the ability the Flying Fortress of Voltron had to transform back into the Castle of Lions in the second season of Voltron.

• Lotor/Sincline kills Haggar/Honerva,; in "Voltron" Haggar's death is sidestepped as her death scene is omitted and the character briefly written out of the series as far as Haggar abandoning Lotor right before the assault on Planet Doom.

Dairugger XV

• Manabu (Jeff) has a serious relationship with Haruka (Lisa).

• Chip was never Pidge's brother.

• All the Galaxy Alliance officers a given episode focused on were killed, unless it was explicitly shown they survived (i.e., they are in succeeding episodes); likewise, this is also the condition for Drule officers and leaders.

• The Voltron series starts with the Drules and the Galaxy Alliance having tense relations, with the Drules attacking the Explorer, on the grounds it violated their space. In the Japanese series, both powers were unaware of each other, and there was no overcrowding within the Alliance; the Explorer is merely an exploratory vessel, and the Drules are stretching their power, not looking for a new world. It is by fate that they meet, and that Dairugger XV is given a new mission.

• Emperor Zeppo was killed in Dairugger XV. Also, Hazar died a martyr's death, and his body destroyed along with the Drule homeworld.

Devil's Due comic book

From 2003 until its hiatus in 2004/5, Devil's Due began publishing an updated version of Voltron for modern audiences. The characters remained the same, but were given further backgrounds and character development. Stylistic changes were also made. In the cartoon, Keith, Lance, Sven, Hunk, and Pidge were all members of the Galaxy Alliance, and knew the Vehicle team quite well from their academy days. In the comic book, each member was a nobody of sorts, scrounged together by Colonel Hawkins (later demoted to Commander) to search for Voltron, and did not meet the Vehicle team until the second story arc. In the cartoon, the team's search for Voltron was a result of mere chance. The characters are also possibly slightly older than in the cartoon, but then, ages for the characters in the cartoon were never officially given. Also, in the cartoon, Zarkon was described as a renegade of the Drule Empire, and Queen Merla was queen of an unknown kingdom. In the comic book, the Drule Empire is instead the Drule Supremacy, consisting of 10 kingdoms, with Zarkon ruling the Ninth Kingdom and Merla ruling the Seventh Kingdom. Another stylistic change went to Allura's space mice, who are now bio-mechanical, created by King Alfor when Allura was little to be her companions. Their familiar mischievous tendencies don't emerge until Pidge modifies them into diagnostic tools ("sensors on legs", as he puts it). These modifications appear to have set up "a few unexpected behaviors".

Comic book bios

• Keith Akira Kogane: The comic book version of Keith depicts him as 26 and a very anti-social character in the beginning. Born to a Japanese father and a Chinese mother, his father trained him in kung fu until Keith's parents died tragically in an accident when he was 12. Afterwards, Keith continued to practice many other forms of martial arts until he turned 18 and enrolled in the United States Marine Corps, spending several years as a reconnaissance specialist. When he was 24, he met and proposed to Beverly Hagel, who died 7 weeks before their wedding date in a plane accident. Two years later, he was approached by Colonel Hawkins to join a team of outcasts to search for the legendary robot Voltron on the distant planet Arus. During the course of the series, he begins to form a comradeship with his teammates, and begins to develop feelings for Princess Allura and vice-versa.

• Lance Charles McClain: The comic book version of Lance depicts him as 24 with a criminal record. For most of his life, Lance grew up as an adolescent daredevil and drag-racer. His life changed forever when he won a gift certificate for 10 free flying lessons in a radio contest. These lessons displayed that he had a natural talent for flying. At age 18, he joined the navy, and flying became his obsession, but his hot-headedness landed him in deep water when his jetstar buzzed the penthouse of a vindictive senator. Three months into his five-year sentence in a military prison, Lance was approached by Colonel Hawkins to join a team of outcasts to search for the legendary robot Voltron on the distant planet Arus. The comic book version of Lance is given the catchphrase of exclaiming "holy cats!", or sometimes "ho-leeee cats!".

• Tsuyoshi "Hunk" Garrett: The comic book version of Hunk depicts him as 24 and born to an American father and Japanese mother. His nickname "Hunk" comes from his 4 brothers, of whom he's ironically the smallest, despite his own great size. While his brothers sought activities to take advantage of their physical prowess such as football and sumo, Hunk found a knack for all things mechanical. He was not very social, though, and would spend most of his time tinkering in garage workshops. Later he put himself through college on the G.I. bill, and after gaining a Master's in engineering, he discovered the equipment that fascinated him most was military in nature. However, he remained rather anti-social, establishing himself as someone who it was unwise to harass, until he was approached by Colonel Hawkins to join a team of outcasts to search for the legendary robot Voltron on the distant planet Arus.

• Darrell "Pidge" Stoker: The comic book version of Pidge depicts him as a growth-stunted 16-year-old, and as an Earthling (as opposed to his cartoon counterpart hailing from the planet Balto). He's also depicted as an orphan abandoned outside a convent when he was six weeks old (however, he may yet have a family because later he talks with Vehicle team member Chip about the similarities that exist between the two of them, he remarks that ''re one DNA test short of discovering 're brothers' which is a nod to the cartoon establishment of Pidge and Chip as twins). During his years at the orphanage, his scores on a state-mandated IQ test caught the eye of the New West Point military academy, who promptly enrolled him to put his awe-inspiring understanding of computer systems to good use. However, his life at NWP turned out to be worse than at the orphanage, and was the subject of regular beatings by his intellectually-threatened peers, until he was approached by Colonel Hawkins to join a team of outcasts to search for the legendary robot Voltron on the distant planet Arus. Pidge didn't have to be asked twice, and promptly agreed.

• Sven Holgersson: The comic book version of Sven depicts him as 27, the oldest member on the team. Unlike his cartoon counterpart, the comic book Sven is given much further depth, and plays a major role. Much of Sven's past remains unknown, except that he was a former member of an elite Navy squad similar to the SEALS. During an insurrection in a small South American country, a serious miscommunication caused a foreign national Sven was supposed to extract to believe Sven was an assassin and opened fire. Sven was left with no choice but to fire back, protecting himself and eliminating the extraction target. He was then placed on "administrative leave" until he was approached by Colonel Hawkins to join a team of outcasts to search for the legendary robot Voltron on the distant planet Arus. Sven was possibly the most anti-social of the group, but this is possibly due to being the oldest and most mature. Unlike in the cartoon, Sven never got a chance to properly form Voltron, or even get to wear his classic black uniform (the only comic book image of Sven in his uniform is in a promotional picture in the back of Issue #0, although Allura did offer to find him a uniform, possibly in black, when the team plus Allura finally attained their own familiar uniforms). This is due to him having a brain defect that caused the magic of Voltron to somehow reject him. This brain defect caused him to fall under the influence of Queen Merla and Haggar, under which he betrayed his friends and Arus by stealing files from the Castle of Lions' control room. He was then placed on a mission alongside Prince Lotor, during which the two found themselves having to survive together and try to trust each other. During a conflict that erupted later, Sven apparently crash-landed on planet Pollux, where he was discovered by Princess Romelle. Due to the comic's hiatus, what path Sven's tale would have taken from that point remains a mystery.

• Princess Allura: The comic book version of Allura places her at age 19, and depicts her with a much stronger backbone than her cartoon counterpart. When her home planet Arus was ravaged by the forces of Zarkon and her parents murdered by Zarkon's own hand, she was taken in and raised by Coran, a retired combat instructor in the royal army, and was forced to grow up much too fast. Years later, she would renounce her title of "princess," answering only to "Allura," until her people are liberated from Zarkon's tyranny. Visions while she slept showed the spirit of her father King Alfor promising that five young men would come to Arus in search of the legendary robot Voltron. When Keith, Lance, Hunk, Pidge, and Sven arrive on Arus and speak of the mighty robot, Allura instantly knows that they are the ones spoken of in her visions, and helps them to find the five hidden lions that will unite to form Voltron. When Voltron fails to combine properly due to a brain defect within Sven, Allura mans his Blue Lion, and with her royal Arusian blood, the unification of Voltron is finally a success, and she becomes a member of the Voltron Force. During the course of the comic, she begins to develop feelings towards Keith and vice-versa.

References in other media

This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. Please relocate any relevant information into other sections or articles. (November 2007)

As Voltron was a popular and distinctive cartoon in the United States during the 1980s, many artists who grew up watching the show have recently started referencing the show in more modern works.

Music

• Voltron was mentioned in a song by Murphy Lee, Nelly and P. Diddy "Shake Ya Tailfeather" with the line "Come on, you know the 'Tics connect like Voltron"
• Voltron is referred to often by the hip-hop group, Wu-Tang Clan.
• Voltron is referenced in the song "Funky Voltron" from Edan's 2005 album "The Beauty and the Beat."
• Voltron is mentioned in the chorus of a song by the former Christian ska band Five Iron Frenzy, entitled "Wizard Needs Food, Badly." The song examines the differences between the sexes by referencing popular culture of the seventies and eighties.
• In the song "This D.J." by Warren G, the second verse starts with, "Verse two, (uh-huh), now what the fuck I do? Catch the bus to Cal State, or chill with the Voltron crew."
• In the song "I Just Don't Give A FUCK" by Eminem, the second verse contains "This is a lyrical combat, gentlemen hold your pistols/But I form like Voltron, and blast you with my shoulder missiles."
• There is a band called Voltron whose lyrics are based around the series, as well as a ska-punk band called Let's Form Voltron.
• Ska band, DHGB (Dabe & His Good Buds), make extensive reference of Voltron, most notably in their song "Giant Robots."
• In "The Second Coming" by Juelz Santana (used for Nike's "Second Coming" commercial), says "... Together we stand, divided we fall, united we form Voltron and take on all".
• Voltron is mentioned in a song by Busta Rhymes, "Everything Remains Raw". Part of the second verse says, "On and on, hey, on and on and on/You won't understand when I form Voltron".
• In Chamillionaire's "Mixtape Messiah Pt 2" on the track "Let Em Know" he states, "Got everybody staring at the car components/It look like Voltron with the door don't it?"
• In The Moldy Peaches' song "Nothing Came Out" Kimya Dawson sings "I want you to watch cartoons with me; He-Man, Voltron, and Hong Kong Phooey."
• There is a grindcore band named Voltron (band) whose lyrics are focused around the series. They have a song ("The End Of Planet Arus") featured on the extras portion of the US volume 3 release.
• Voltron is a name of a song recorded by Flo Rida.
• Houston band Letters to Voltron maybe a play on alt band Letters to Cleo

Comics

• Voltron was featured in the satirical web-based cartoon strip Get Your War On.
• In the comic book series Gold Digger, there are regular appearances by a group of Leprechaun heroes called the Vaultron Force. They pilot five mechanical shoes that combine to form the giant robot Vaultron (It's only giant by Leprechaun scale, only being about five feet tall, overall). They are menaced by both a direct parody of Lothar and Haggar, (Oompa Loompas), and their enemies, the Pirate Ninja Leprechauns.
• In the webcomic Sluggy Freelance, main characters Torg and Riff are accidentally teleported to a parallel universe, where they encounter a team of superheroes similar to Gatchaman, who form a Voltron-like robot named Gofotron.
• In the webcomic Perry Bible Fellowship, characters who look much like the Voltron characters form a unit called "Guntron" to destroy a giant robot scorpion. At the end of the strip, the blue character is missing, since his contribution to Guntron was the blue bullet that destroyed the scorpion. The next bullet in the chamber is green, and now the green character wears a much more worried expression than in the first panel. (The other three characters form the gun itself and are safe)
• In the comic "Ursa Minors" #2, General Kien Lo Mein tries to convince The Bears to hand over the rights to their magical suits in order to employ nanite transformation converting the three Bears into a giant mecha bear. The Bears politely decline, saying "Look, not that we don't appreciate it, but you're preaching Voltron to the uninterested."

TV

• Throughout the entire series of Voltron (Lion version), even though he disappeared after the fifth episode, Sven is shown in the opening credits (first in the scene and fifth in the flying flicks of the crew). In the closing credits, Princess Allura is shown second after Keith, and also shown standing on Blue Lion.
• In a sketch on Robot Chicken, "You got Robo-Served", Voltron is forced into a dance competition against a Robeast and loses. Voltron proceeds to kill the Robeast with his sword. Both of the songs danced to (the original "Work It Out on the Floor" and its legally-necessitated replacement) contain references to the cartoon series. A later sketch parodies the Vehicle Voltron trying to rescue a space station under attack, but was too late after the transformation took too long. The surviving commander kills himself, grieved that it wasn't the original Voltron, "just that stupid vehicle one". The episode was called Nutcracker Sweet
• In an episode of Sealab 2021, five mice are placed inside the empty bodies of five Sealab crewmembers, who were now robots. The mice are all wearing Lion Voltron flight suits and shout "GO, MOUSETRON!!" after they are all placed inside.
• The Lion Force's combination sequence is constantly playing on monitor screens in the TV show Butt-Ugly Martians.
• Voltron was referenced in the VH1 anthology series I Love the '80s 3-D.
• A large Voltron toy is shown as a Christmas present during a 1980s-era flashback on Lost.
• In an Episode of Home Movies, five kids can be seen forming Voltron in the background during the battle between the kids from the Sci-Fi Convention and the kids from the Renaissance Faire.
• In the television show, Dexter's Laboratory, Dexter and his family form a Super Robot in order to stop a monster from destroying Tokyo—in order to combine vehicles, Dexter uses a key similar to the one used to initiate the combination for GoLion/Voltron.
• In the animated television show Megas XLR (episode 18 — "S-Force S.O.S"), a complete parody is done of Voltron, including similar character designs, and differing animal mechs that join together.
• In an episode of Taz-Mania, upon readying a trap for Taz, Bull Gator confirms with his partner Axle that all preparations are in order. Axle responds affirmatively and emphatically "Mega Thrusters are GO!"
• In the film Vice Versa starring Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage, Judge Reinhold plays with a large size, remote controlled Lion Voltron toy.
• Sprite used Voltron in a series of hip-hop-themed commercials in 1998. Each of the five lions were piloted by a prominent hip-hop artist or group: Goodie Mob (representing Southern hip-hop) piloted the Blue Lion, Mack 10 (representing West-Coast hip-hop) piloted the Yellow Lion, Fat Joe (representing East-Coast hip-hop) piloted the Green Lion, Common (representing Midwest hip-hop) piloted the Red Lion and Afrika Bambaataa (a hip-hop legend and pioneer) rode in the Black Lion with his own pilot. Instead of his trademark Blazing Sword, Voltron uses his "Blazing Mic". Jack Angel reprised his voice role of King Zarkon; There was also an animated character, a teenager named Jamal, who calls for the lions' help to fend of the Robeast in the commercials, and he was voiced by Jazzy Jeff.
• In an episode of The Fairly Oddparents called "Smarty Pants", Timmy Turner mentions King Zarkon's name while playing a "Crash Nebula" game.
• In the Family Guy episode "No Meals on Wheels", Joe along with other handicapped people come back to Peter's restaurant and form "Cripple-Tron" in a manner similar to Voltron.
• On X-Play's salute to Boss Characters in video games, Morgan Webb talked about Jo Slade, the fat, lesbian security guard rapist from Dead Rising, saying "she's like if weight, gender, and sexual preference stereotypes formed Voltron and tried to Taser you."
• The two X-Play hosts, Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb said that together they form Voltron... a pathetic, one-armed, one-legged Voltron with no torso.
• During the episode "Imaginationland" of South Park, Voltron can been seen clearly in the background as one of the imaginary denizens.
• In the season 3 episode of Bones titled "Boy in the Time Capsule", psychologist Dr Sweets talks about childhood icons, and reveals to Booth and Brennan that he was "very attached to Voltron".

Miscellaneous

• In the late 1990s, a series of short stories called "Voltron Park" was created. This series was based on the animated series South Park, with the five Space Explorers playing the roles of the four main kids. There were two separate story arcs. The "Voltron Park" story arc featured episodes based on the actual South Park series, except with the South Park characters being replaced with Voltron characters, as well as Babylon 5 and Robotech characters. The "Great War" story arc somewhat followed the storyline of the "Lion Voltron" series, but instead of facing Zarkon and the Drule Empire, they faced off against the "forces of Haim Saban", meaning the characters from various Saban produced series such as Power Ranger, Masked Rider, Beetleborgs, etc.
• A Gizmodo computer review describes the Itronix GoBook III laptop as looking "like Voltron's underwear."
• In the Nintendo GameCube game Gotcha Force, the character Metal Hero is arguably modeled after Voltron, with a helmet resembling that of a lion or tiger, and wielding a "blazing sword." Also, the motions used by Metal Hero to perform his special attack are identical to the motions used by Voltron to summon the Blazing Sword. Voltron is also referenced by the Borg Victory King, who utilizes gatlings fired from his legs.
• In the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering, the Visions expansion featured robotic Chimera creatures, which added their abilities interchangeably to one another. Though the deck built around the Chimera creatures was never particularly powerful, it was and is still well known as the "Voltron Deck," and the game mechanic from the Chimera as the "Voltron Mechanic."
• Voltron was mentioned in a quote by New York Giants Linebacker Lavar Arrington about the potential of the team's defense for the 2006 season: "Voltron still hasn't formed yet... I can only imagine what we will be once we get everybody out there."
• In the 2006 Halloween cartoon of Homestar Runner, the character Strong Bad states, "we'll form into a giant robotic Halloween Night-finding space panther!"
• The Lion Voltron appears as a playable unit in the Nintendo DS game Super Robot Wars W, under its GoLion name. GoLion's story is slightly changed to allow interaction of the GoLion cast with the other characters included in the game (i.e. Honerva/Haggar offering her service to Dr. Hell of MazinKaiser, King Zarkon's empire forming an alliance with the enemies of GaoGaiGar).
• In Jim Butcher's Dresden Files novel Blood Rites, Harry Dresden refers to the merged form of a bunch of flying monkey demons as "Monkey Voltron." (on page 4).
• In the opening scene of Hot Rod (film) Dave orders his food under the name "Vultron" because "It's super bad ass."
• In an episode of the online machinima series Red vs. Blue, Pvt. Tucker says "Women are like Voltron. The more you hook up, the better it gets."
• Reebok made a line of shoes named "the Voltron Pack" which features 5 designs of Reebok's famous shoes each with its own action figure that can combine to make a large one.

Broadcast history

• 1981-83 TV Tokyo in Japan (Golion from 1981-82, Dairugger from 1982-83)
• 1984-86 Aired in U.S. first-run syndication
• 1989-96 USA Network
• 1997-98 Cartoon Network (Toonami)
• 1997-98 First-run syndication (The New Adventures of Voltron)
• 1998-00 First-run syndication (Voltron: The Third Dimension)
• 2006- Cartoon Network (Adult Swim) (Tuesdays - Saturdays at 5:30 A.M.)
• 2008- Boomerang (Monday - Friday at 10:30 P.M. Eastern Time)
• 2008- x box live

Film adaptation

In July 2005, producer Mark Gordon announced a collaboration with producer Pharrell Williams as well as producers Mark Costa and Frank Oelman to make a live-action film adaptation of the franchise. Pharrell Williams was also reported to score the film. The project's development was funded by Jim Young's Animus Films. In December 2006, screenwriter Justin Marks was announced to have completed a script for Gordon.

In August 2007, the production entity New Regency entered negotiations with Mark Gordon Co. to adapt Voltron. Interest in the property heightened after the box office success of Transformers, another film involving robots. Marks's script was described as "a post-apocalyptic tale set in New York City... five ragtag survivors of an alien attack band together and end up piloting the five lion-shaped robots that combine and form the massive sword-wielding Voltron that helps battle Earth's invaders." On August 18, 2008, Relativity Media entered negotiations with New Regency to finance and produce the film, though on a more moderate budget, utilizing cost-saving CGI techniques such as those used in 300. Max Makowski is set to direct. As of the end of August 2008, the title had been set for "Voltron: Defender of the Universe".

Anime staff

• Original Story: Saburo Hatte
• Director: Kazushi Nomura, Kazuyuki Okaseko, Hiroshi Sasagawa, Katsuhiko Taguchi
• Scenarists: Ryo Nakahara, Masaaki Sakurai, Susumu Takahisa
• Music: Asei Kobayashi
• Theme Song Performance (Golion): Ichirou Mizuki (OP- Tatakae! Goraion, ED- Gonin de Hitotsu)
• Production: Toei Animation Co., Ltd. / Toei Advertising Co. Ltd (credited as "Toei Agency")

References

1. Madman website.
2. Voltron / Go Lion Origin Story
3. Voltron / Go Lion! Difference: Sven's Death
6. Stax (2005-07-26). "Voltron Targets Hollywood". IGN. Retrieved 2006-12-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
7. ^ Marc Graser (2007-08-09). "'Voltron' gets bigscreen go". Variety. Retrieved 2007-08-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
8. Pamela McClintock (2006-10-29). "'Street Fighter' packs Hyde Park punch". Variety. Retrieved 2006-12-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
9. Title Revealed

External links

• Voltron:The Official website of the Voltron Universe
• Voltron: Defender of the Universe at IMDb
• Voltron: The Third Dimension at IMDb
• Voltron ({{{type}}}) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Kikou Kantai Dairugger XV ({{{type}}}) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Voltron: The Third Dimension ({{{type}}}) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Voltron at TV.com
• Die-cast toy recall at CPSC.gov
• Voltron in Ciberia News about the live action movie based on Voltron
• Voltron headed for the big screen at Slashdot.org
• Let's go Voltron Force as reported on E!
• KiethBlackLion's Voltron Movie Script Review
• Voltron Spanish Site

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