Voltron: Legendary Defender/Characters/The Galra Empire

In General

• Aliens Are Bastards: Generally their reputation though it gets subverted as their series goes on, showing that not all Galra serve the Empire.
• Always Chaotic Evil: Subverted. While this was the case in Season 1, Season 2 was quick to show that not all Galra are heartless monsters. Later seasons would even include a few Noble Demons among the Empire's ranks.
• Asskicking Equals Authority: All but stated by the Kral Zera.
• Base on Wheels: Since Daibazaal was destroyed, Zarkon runs all operations through his truly massive command ship.
• Boldly Coming - Interspecies Romance: They've been pulling both tropes through their history, and they become vital plot points when some half-Galran (namely Keith (half-human), Lotor (half-Altean) and Lotor's Generals (exact non-Galra heritages unknown)) become key story elements.
• Catchphrase: "Vrepit sa." Translation: "Victory or death."
• Colour-Coded for Your Convenience:
  • Red - Emperor.
  • Orange and Black - High ranking generals, admirals, and commanders.
  • Black/Blue/Purple - Special operatives.
  • Black and Orange - Field commanders.
  • Black and Grey - Squad leaders.
  • Black - Medics and technicians.
  • Grey - Mooks.
• The Empire: Well yes.
• Enemy Civil War:
  • Once Zarkon awakens in Season 4, he brands Lotor a traitor, which creates ripples through the empire.
  • When Zarkon is killed and Lotor becomes emperor, the empire all but splits in two. Most of the major generals (like Sendak, Ranveg, and Trugg) have gone rogue and Haggar is off running her own operations.
  • When Lotor dies, any sense of unity collapses and Haggar seems to have the most power but it's clear that most of the top brass is long gone. Sam outright says that there doesn't seem to be anyone in charge by Season 7.
• Evil Counterpart Race: Largely viewed as one to the Alteans.
• Fantastic Racism: Befitting any galaxy conquering empire, they loathe other lifeforms. It's so bad that despite their penchant for Boldly Coming, anything less than a half-Galra may not join the military (the exceptions seem to be Lotor's generals). And a half-Galra may not claim the throne or take part in the Kral Zera, which means TROUBLE for Lotor later.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: The Galra were just one of many races on Daibazaal before they destroyed the others. Then they joined the alliance in their solar system and became a space faring power. Then the Trans-Reality Comet landed on their planet...
• Glass Cannon: Galra warships can dish it out... but they sure as hell can't take it. A single shot from the Galaxy Garrison's fusion cannon took out one of their capital ships.
• Heel Race Turn: The Galra were once a member of the Federation, admittedly its Token Evil Teammate, before Zarkon was corrupted and rallied them into the Empire. After the events of the series cause the Empire's warlords and extremists to die off, Keith is able to reform the now much more reasonable Galra into a peaceful species.
• Higher-Tech Species: Zig-zagged. They've got 10,000 years of R&D on Team Voltron, but they're often seen enslaving other species for their advanced technology.
• Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: Per any evil empire. Special credit goes to the episode Kral Zera where Sendak orders the orbiting warships to fire on the Black Lion. The gunners seemingly go out of their way to hit everything but the Lion. Which was stationary.
• Interservice Rivalry: The standard Mooks and the Druids do not get along.
• Mecha-Mooks: The Galra Empire is so vast that most of it is staffed by Sentries.
• Proud Warrior Race Guy: The Galra were conquerors from the start of their civilization and it shows.
• Purple Is the New Black: Purple is their main colour.
• Space Age Stasis: Seemed to have settled into this sometime in the last 10,000 years. Only Lotor seems devoted to any real R&D. Could be because they had no threats to their rule.
• Villain Forgot to Level Grind: The Castle of Lions is equal to roughly five Galra capital ships. The Castle of Lions having been built by Coran's grandfather. Keep in mind that Coran was Really Seven Hundred Years Old before he went into cryo-stasis.
• Weapon of Choice: Ion cannons.

Emperor Zarkon and his entourage

Emperor Zarkon

Voiced by: Neil Kaplan and Kevin Durand (original), Idzi Dutkiewicz (Mexican Spanish)

• Abusive Parents: Utterly despises Lotor to a degree beyond words and tries to have him killed in Season 4. And boy, does that bite him later...
• Ambiguous Innocence: Even before he became a tyrant, he admired conquerors, salivated over superweapons, and endorsed a Fantastic Caste System.
• Ancient Evil: He began his conquests 10,000 years ago.
• Back From the Dead: As the Whole-Episode Flashback flashback reveals, he died from overexposure to Quintessence. Then he came back to "life" as a twisted and evil tyrant.
• Bad Boss: Unleashes firepower great enough to harm the Red Lion while duelling said Lion on his own command ship... with no regard for his many troops.
• Badass in Charge: Though Keith and Lance initially dismiss him as a dusty, old, figurehead, he proves capable of going toe-to-toe with the Red Lion.
• Berserk Button: No one shall imply he's losing control over the Black Lion.
• Big Bad: From Seasons 1 to 5.
• Came Back Wrong: He died from overexposure to Quintessence 10,000 years ago and was warped by its energies, and possibly by the dark creatures living in the field, into a feared tyrant. And when he comes back again, he's even more unhinged.
• Create Your Own Villain: It was his abusive treatment of Lotor that led the prince to become a Half-Identifying Hybrid and favour his Altean heritage. Granted Zarkon died by Lotor's own hand before he could witness this but the point stands.
• Creepy Monotone: Though he used to have a Badass Baritone.
• The Dark Side Will Make You Forget: Averted. He remembers everything of his past. One of the reasons he hates Altean culture and Lotor so much.
• Darth Vader Clone: A champion of justice that gives into fear when it looks like his wife and unborn child won't survive and comes back a feared, world conquering tyrant. He even gets a full suit of armor in Season 5.
• Disc One Final Boss: The instant Lotor is introduced, Zarkon starts playing second fiddle.
• The Dreaded: Coran advises Keith to run away from him. For reference, Keith was piloting the Red Lion at the time.
• Drunk on the Dark Side: As Alfor says, living by the Quintessence rift poisoned his mind (though not to the extent of Honerva) and it only became worse once he died.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Which was ultimately what caused all the trouble. There was nothing that Zarkon wasn't prepared to do for his wife.
• Evil Counterpart:
  • To Shiro. Both were Paladins to the Black Lion and lead their factions but Shiro is a Team Dad who respects the Black Lion while Zarkon is a Bad Boss that only sees Black as a weapon. He even lampshades it at some point.
  • To Alfor. Both were the most powerful leaders of The Alliance that governed their solar system but Alfor saw that too much Quintessence was a bad thing and against the laws of nature, saying Voltron was where the line had to be drawn. Zarkon went Drunk with Power and became a Galactic Conqueror, intending to use Voltron as but a stepping stone to even greater power.
• Evil Knockoff: Inverted. The Paladins styled their armor after his traditional Galra accoutrements.
• Evil Makes You Ugly: He was quite a handsome man before he entered the Quintessence Field.
• Failed a Spot Check: He needs Voltron to open a new rift between the realities. While it could have been due to scanning technology not being advanced enough, he never realized that the original rift had survived Daibazaal's destruction (albeit condescend to a much smaller size than before).
• Fallen Hero: As shown by the Whole-Episode Flashback, he was a great champion of justice once upon a time.
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: His eyes constantly glow purple.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: How he finally dies. At the hands of Lotor.
• I Have No Son: If ordering the entire empire to bring back Lotor's corpse isn't this, then nothing is.
• I Was Quite a Looker: As said above, Zarkon was quite the Hunk in his prime.
• Knight of Cerebus: Has a grand total of two funny moments. Both from the Whole-Episode Flashback, both before said episode's 10 minute mark, and both before he went anywhere near the Quintessence Field.
• Never My Fault: Doesn't take any blame for what the Trans-Reality Comet did to Daibazaal and blames Alfor for everything.
• Noble Bigot: Was a great hero in the past, and most definitely not a racist, but he still enforced a Fantastic Caste System.
• Orcus on His Throne: Spends most of his time in his throne room. He gets off his ass in the Season 1 and 2 finales. Starting in Season 4, he's a more frontline leader.
• Swiss Army Weapon: Justified since it's the Black Bayard. Exactly how he managed to hold onto it is never explained.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: He and his wife, Queen Honerva. Who became Haggar.
• Tears of Remorse: When his ghost understands the horrible deeds he's committed, he breaks down in tears barely able to comprehend it all and do little more than apologize.
• Tragic Villain: All he wanted was to do was save his wife and unborn child. The methods he attempted were, however, terrible.
• Unrelated in the Adaptation: Zig-zagged. In GoLion, Old Witch Honerva was Daibazaal's mother, here she's his wife.
• Villainous Breakdown: Loses much of his composure in Season 2 as he becomes obsessed with regaining the Black Lion. Justified since if he loses his connection to it, his whole plan to access the Quintessence Field will be lost.
• You Should Have Died Instead: Season 8 implies this is why he hates Lotor so much as Lotor was born normal and full aware while the Quintessence Field wiped Honerva's memories and turned her into Haggar.

High Priestess Haggar

Voiced by: Cree Summer and Lily Rabe (original), Laura Torres and Sarah Souza (Mexican Spanish)

• Adaptational Attractiveness: The original Haggar was really ugly, but when this one's face is fully seen, she's a haggard but not too unattractive old lady.
• Bigger Bad: Of Season 7. Her influence is only felt and it's retroactively revealed that Sendak's invasion of Earth was him operating under her command. In fact, literally everything can be traced back to her Quintessence experiments that were the catalyst for her going from a Hot Scientist to a crazy one.
  • Big Bad: Of Season 8.
• Broken Bird: This woman's life has been truly and genuinely terrible (and in no small part, due to HER own actions)... and as of Season 8, she fits in near perfectly in this trope. Bad thing, due to her anger and despair she ALSO is one Hell of a Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds.
• Composite Character: She's a mixture of the original Haggar from GoLion and Voltron and Sincline's mother from GL.
• The Dark Side Will Make You Forget: This woman has been so consumed by her experiments with Quintessence, she has all but forgotten everything else.
• Dark Magical Girl: She can be seen as an older one who never got better.
• Dark Messiah: After Lotor's death, she goes to the Altean colony and reveals their blood link to them, making them switch to their side and effectively becoming this to them.
• Dead Person Impersonation: "Haggar" is not her original name. The real "Haggar" was a Galra doctor that tended to her in the past, and then she killed.. Mind you, she's not pretending to be this woman, she just took the name. Additionally, this is also her ultimate plan in the perfect Alternate Universe: replace her dead counterpart and live with that Zarkon and Lotor, so she can recover the family that she lost and still deeply misses.
• Death Equals Redemption: Barely. Her actions were horrendous, but she does willingly sacrifice herself alongside Allura to correct them at the end. Maybe she didn't fully understand the error of her ways, but at least she took responsibility and decided to do what she could to fix what she did..
• Despair Event Horizon: She already wasn't the poster lady of sanity, but she definitely crossed it when the alternate Lotor rejected her as not being his mother.
• Didn't Think This Through: In her master plan, she never paused to consider that the alternate Zarkon and Lotor might not accept her right away.
• The Dragon: To Zarkon. Goes into Dragon Ascendant after his death.
• Dragon-in-Chief: Lotor is technically in charge in Season 3, but everyone defers to her.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She once had a very beloved husband, Zarkon. Even now, she cares for him and their son Lotor in a very twisted, desperate, insane way. The Lotor case is rather interesting: before he was born Honerva really wanted to be a mom... but having been addicted to Quintessence during pregnancy AND having gone through a very risky and traumatic childbirth, as Haggar she completely forgot about her past life as Honerva - and that included forgetting Lotor, who was raised by Dayak instead. When she finally remembers him, he's already dead due to his Quintessence overexposure, and she goes the Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds way.
• Evil Counterpart: To Allura, since both are women with magical skills who support a faction in an intergalactic war. The parallels become more pronounced after she remembers she's really Honerva.
• Evil Sorcerer: The most deadly magic user in the universe.
• Fallen Hero -> Tragic Villain: She used to be a Happily Married, very kind Hot Scientist named Honerva... but her addiction to Quintessence completely twisted her body, mind and soul. Heck, one can see her as a rare adult version of a Dark Magical Girl, in a way - a good part of her drive and motivation at the end is her looking to recover the family she lost, and destroying whole universes in her anger and despair to get them back.
• Fatal Flaw: Season 8 reveals it to be a Control Freak mixed in with Never My Fault. Since the Galra (not her Quintessence experiments) ruined her family and she couldn't control her son, she'll start again in a new reality.
• The Heavy
• Hollywood Postpartum: A particularly horrific example. After losing her memory due to a traumatic childbirth, she forgot ever wanting a child and demanded he be kept away from her, leaving him to be raised by an abusive father and a tough governess.
• Humanoid Abomination: By Season 8.
• Hypercompetent Sidekick: Zarkon's Villainous Breakdown would likely have been even faster without her.
• Hypocrite: In Season 8, she brands all Galra as monsters. Doesn't stop her from using Galra resources, technology, and personnel to achieve her goals.
• It's All About Me: If she doesn't get her Happily Ever After, then there shall be no multiverse.
• Imperiled By Pregnancy: Already suffering from Quintessence poisoning while pregnant with Lotor, culminating in a very difficult and traumatic childbirth.
• Karma Houdini: She ripped holes in, and doomed, several Alternate Universes to be with her husband and son. When they reject her, she decides to destroy the Multiverse. Allura then forgives her before she joins Zarkon and Lotor in the afterlife, getting her happiness at the expense of Allura's Heroic Sacrifice. To be fair though, she is a Fallen Heroine and Tragic Villain that led a truly tragic life (and in no small part, due to HER own flaws) and had begun to repent at the end.
• Lady of Black Magic: She may be a Wicked Witch, but she's still NO slouch in the battlefield. Anyone who believes this lady cannot pack a magical punch will suffer.
• Loony Fan: Lotor's in Season 8. Pretty much the only person who has any fondness for him at that point.
• Mad Scientist: On one hand, she uses lots of magic. On the other, she isn't adverse to using Galra tech if it's needed.
• Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds AND Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Once upon a time, Honerva was a perfectly ordinary Altean alchemist who only sought to expand the knowledge of her people. By the end of her life, she's destroying the multiverse out of a mix of petty spite and genuine pain.
• Never My Fault: When she remembers how she and Zarkon were Abusive Parents to Lotor, she decides that it was the Galra who led to Lotor's death. Not that his parents pushed him to strike out on his own and tear down the old order or anything like that.
• Pragmatic Villainy: In the first four seasons.
• So Proud of You: Tries this on Lotor in Season 6 in an attempt to rekindle their bond as mother and son. He tells exactly where she can shove it.
• Squishy Wizard: Has reality bending powers, but is about as durable as she looks. Good luck getting close enough to DO damage to her, however.
• Teleport Spam: A favoured tactic of hers.
• Trauma-Induced Amnesia: Her addition to Quintessence made her TOTALLY forget her past as Zarkon's wife and Lotor's mother, Honerva. Heck, she cannot even really remember her own name - "Haggar" is the one coming from a doctor that she killed! When she finally remembers... she crosses the Despair Event Horizon and becomes a Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds.
• Undying Loyalty: For all her many flaws, no can argue with her genuine devotion to Zarkon. It's more literal than most examples as she Came Back Wrong and retains her loyalty.
• Unfortunate Names: Haggar sounds very similar to "haggard." It's also a Meaningful Name. Honerva can sound like someone slurring their pronunciation of "unnerving." Again, a Meaningful Name.

Commander Sendak

Voiced by: Jake Eberle (original), Arturo Mercado Jr. (Mexican Spanish)

• The Ace: Considered the best Galra officer there is. It's not hard to see why.
• Adaptation Name Change: He's a new incarnation of Yurak from the 84 series.
• Almighty Janitor: The fact that Zarkon's Number Two is a Commander instead of an Admiral is worth noting.
• Artificial Limbs: His left arm is totally gone and replaced with a powerful prosthetic.
• Back From the Dead: Well not actually but he was Put on a Bus for so long after his defeat that he might as well have been. Hunk even quotes this.
• Big Bad: In Season 7.
• Break Them by Talking Deals a nasty and quite effective "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Shiro in Season 1.
• Curb Stomp Battle: Conquers Earth in, at most, two hours.
• The Dragon: Originally Zarkon's, then Season 8 reveals his invasion of Earth was him operating under Honerva's orders.
• The Dreaded: Anyone who sees him is utterly terrified of him. And with good reason.
• Early Installment Weirdness: Like most of the baddies in the Pilot Movie, he doesn't look or act much like he does later on. He even has a vague Australian accent.
• Epic Flail: Can use his prosthetic arm to this effect.
• Evil Counterpart: To Shiro. Both have Artificial Limbs and both were rebuilt by the Galra Empire to be Super Soldiers. Per Word of God, he's Shiro's true Evil Counterpart instead of Zarkon.
• Decomposite Character: With Prorok (see below).
• Famous Last Words: Fittingly enough, "Victory... or death."
• Killed Off for Real: Cut down by Keith in the penultimate episode of Season 7.
• Near Villain Victory:
  • In Season 1, he comes within a hair's breadth of stealing the Castle of Lions and Voltron, failing only because he didn't know Pidge was still inside.
  • In Season 7, he loses only because the Paladins magically gained the ability to remotely control their Lions. Which they never did again after this event mind you.
• No-Nonsense Nemesis: Is utterly ruthless in his conquest of Earth.
• Puppet King: Haggar aims to make him one in Season 5.
• Seventies Hair: Sports a wicked mullet from Season 5 onwards.
• The Starscream: Honerva ordered him to destroy the Voltron lions. When he captures them, he stores them for later use. Granted he died before anything could be done but it does stand out as odd behaviour for such a professional.
• Starter Villain: The first Galra villain that the Paladins face.
• Taking You with Me: Everything in Trial by Fire and Lions' Pride, Part 1 is just a mad, desperate attempt to drag Shiro down with him.
• Those Were Only Their Scouts: Retroactively revealed to be as such in Season 8. Despite all the damage he did to Earth, including nearly destroying it, he was ultimately only ever Haggar's attempt to draw Voltron out of, presumed, hiding.
• Vague Age: In the Alternate Universe shown in Season 8, he's seen fighting alongside Zarkon. Since Sendak has never shown any signs of Quintessence dependance, this calls into question how old he is and just how long Galra can live for.
• Villainous Breakdown: When the Paladins begin destabilizing his rule over Earth.

Commander Prorok

• Decomposite Character: Takes on Yurak's role as Haggar's rival and his Fate Worse Than Death while Sendak gets the rest of Yurak's role.
• Dragon with an Agenda: Defied Zarkon's orders when he engaged Voltron. It didn't end well.
• Fate Worse Than Death: Becomes a Ro-Beast.
• You Have Failed Me: Zarkon throws him to Haggar after he fails to bring back Voltron.

Commander Throk

• Jerkass Has a Point: As later episodes reveal, he was quite right to doubt Lotor's ability to lead.
• Klingon Promotion: Subverted. Though his schemes are presented as such originally, he was simply gaining support for a Kral Zera should Zarkon perish.
• Lean and Mean: Very thin and a Jerkass.
• Proud Warrior Race Guy: The reason he didn't want Lotor in charge, fearing that the prince's ideas would soften the Galra's glorious heritage and lead to the collapse of the Empire. This concern was warranted.
• Reassigned to Antarctica: Though Lotor spares his life in public, in private he has Throk banished so he can "rot with the iceworms."

Commander Morvok

Voiced by: David W. Collins (original), Víctor Ugarte and Tommy Rojas (Mexican Spanish)

• Beware the Silly Ones - Bunny Ears Lawyer: For how silly he comes across, he is a commander (making him equal to Sendak) and nearly condemned a whole race to extinction out of sheer pettiness.
• Dirty Coward: Makes a grand speech about the glory of the Galra and hops in an escape pod. Then again, this might make him the most sensible Galra ever. Before that, he tries to squirm out of facing Voltron by saying he can bring Zarkon valuable resources.
• Evil Is Petty: There was no real benefit to condemning the Taujeer but he did it anyway.
• The Napoleon: The shortest Galra officer.
• Professional Butt-Kisser: Not that it helps with Zarkon.
• Small Name, Big Ego: In his own little world, he's Zarkon's BFF. In reality, Zarkon, if at all possible, seems to hate him even more than he does Lotor.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Disappears after his failure with the Taujeer, save for a fantasy appearance in The Feud.

Lieutenant Thace

Voiced by: Mick Wingert (original), Héctor Moreno (Mexican Spanish)

• Badass Beard: His goatee
• Consummate Liar: He can lie to Haggar's face and get away with it.
• Enigmatic Minion: It's hard to predict what this man will do. Again, he can even fool people like Haggar.
• Evil Is Sexy: Well, look at him. Subverted when he's revealed as The Mole and therefore a case of Beauty Equals Goodness.
• Go Out with a Smile: Before his Heroic Sacrifice.
• Kicked Upstairs: After Prorok's Fate Worse Than Death, he's put in charge of finding the spy.
• The Reveal: That he is a high-ranked member of La Résistance, and therefore The Mole and then a Mole in Charge
• Tall, Dark and Handsome: Among the most human-looking Galras, and pretty easy on the eyes.

Warlord Ranveig

• Dual-Wielding: With a pair of Sinister Scythes.
• Evil Is Bigger: Really well built.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Haggar agrees with him that a planet conquering empire should be led by someone who conquers planets. She'd just prefer the next emperor to be Sendak instead of Ranveig.
• The Rival: To Sendak.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Lampshaded by Krolia. He probably died at the disastrous Kral Zera, in fact it's supremely unlikely that he didn't, but no clear answer is given.

Quartermaster Janka

• Boring but Practical: He keeps conquered planets in line via bureaucracy. Even Pidge is impressed by his supply chain management.
• Killed Off for Real: Sendak drops him off a cliff after stealing his fleet.
• Non-Action Guy: No fighting prowess but does possess a lot of resources and the ability to order instant strikes.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To Morvok.

The Druids

• Ambiguously Galra: What exactly the Druids are is never made clear.
• Ditto Aliens: As a result of their armor, there's nothing distinguishing one Druid from the other.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: They vanished after Season 4 and are later mentioned in Season 7 as hunting down the Blades. Save Macidus, they all died in this campaign.
• Elite Mooks: Going by Season 7, the Druids can rip apart planets.

Prince Lotor and his entourage

In General

• Ace Custom: They all have custom uniforms and fighters.
• Amazon Brigade - Bodyguard Babes: The four ladies are VERY competent fighters, plus they're under the direct orders of none other than the Crown Prince.
• Half-Identifying Hybrid: All five of them are (at best) half-Galra (and none of them even come close to looking like a Galra). The girls all consider themselves as Galra while Lotor views himself as an Altean.
• Lady and Knight: Genderflipped with Lotor (Dark Lord) and his Generals (Dark Knights).
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: In the penultimate episode of Season 6, Ezor, Zethird, and Axca decide that Lotor has lost all his marbles and high tail it away. Considering what he's doing, they can't be blamed.

Crown Prince Lotor

Voiced by: Anthony Junior "AJ" LoCascio (original), Héctor Emmanuel Gómez (Mexican Spanish)

• 0% Approval Rating: Following his demise, Honerva (along with her brainwashed cult) is pretty much the only person in the universe who has any fondness for him. Even his generals have long abandoned him by that point and spit on his name.
• A God Am I: If screaming that everyone will remember his name and praise him isn't this, then nothing is. Discounting that, he seems to have given himself an Omniscient Morality License and feels entitled to do whatever he pleases for the perceived good of the universe, plus Honerva actually builds him up as a god to the Altean colonists.
• Abnormal Limb Rotation Range: In Begin the Blitz. Whether it's a natural ability thanks to his Altean genes or just something he trained himself to do is unclear.
• Adaptation Name Change: While there have been other Lotors in the franchise who were princes of the conquering aliens, this incarnation takes more inspiration from Sincline from Beast King GoLion. In a Mythology Gag, that a name is given to his personal Combining Mecha.
• Adaptational Heroism: He's committed more atrocities than any other incarnation of Lotor (expect maybe Sincline) but his reasoning is far more well-intentioned.
• Aliens of London: As an early hint of his origins, he shares Allura's accent.
• Anti-Hero -> Anti-Villain: He claims to be the first, his backstory and actions are closer to the latter, and in the end he zigzags both tropes all around. Settles on a QUITE vicious shade of the latter.
• Betty and Veronica: As a literal Prince who straddles the line between Anti-Hero and Anti-Villain, he is the Veronica to Lance's Betty.
• Berserk Button: He has two. First, NO ONE shall ever compare him to Zarkon. Second, NO ONE shall question his plans.
• Big Bad: In Seasons 5 and 6.
  • Big Bad Wannabe: Zig-zagged in Season 3. While he's technically in charge of the Galra Empire, he prefers to be a Rogue Agent and, while the Paladins take him seriously, the Empire views him with slightly more contempt than the average person has for belly button lint.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: At his worst, and even worse regarding the Altean colony that he set up... and whose inhabitants he used as living batteries to get more and more Quintessence
• Can't Take Criticism: As said under Berserk Button and Fatal Flaw, he will not tolerate someone else's opinion on his work. He masks it better than most who are subject to this but he's always very subtly pushing the criticizer to see it his way. He can't even abide doubt in his tactics, as shown when he banishes Throk. All bets are off in Season 6 however.
• Crazy Prepared: In the event his generals turned on him, he had a backup control console in his ship which could override the pilot's seat. His ship can also override those of his generals.
• The Chosen One: He and Allura are this... To Oriande.
• Complexity Addiction: In his first appearance, he instantly wins the support of the Galra Empire due to how charismatic he is and his new age ideas. Then literally everything he does for the rest of the series causes all his followers to abandon him because of how secretive he likes to make his plans.
  • Ezor outright admits that she doesn't even try to follow Lotor's plans and just goes along with it.
• Dragon with an Agenda: To Zarkon. He wants to get a planet's Quintessence peacefully... And by "peacefully", he means rounding Alteans up in a colony and tricking the ones with more Quintessence into going to his other colony, where they become living batteries.
• Drunk on the Dark Side: In the Season 6 finale. Like Father, Like Son.
• Establishing Character Moment: The Season 3 opener establishes everything one needs to know about Lotor in very short order. He's first introduced as a masked gladiator who defeats a much larger opponent, showing that he relies more on cunning and ploys that people won't see coming rather than brute tactics. He then spares Throk showing that he is capable of Pragmatic Villainy and genuinely would like to avoid killing if he can. Then, behind closed doors, he banishes Throk for doubting him, showing both that he cares more for appearing noble than being the bigger man and his refusal to hear anyone's doubt in him.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He cherishes the image of his missing mother, Queen Honerva, and unlike in the original GL and Voltron he actually liked Allura rather than being a Stalker with a Crush to her.
• Evil All Along: Lotor certainly doesn't care for overtly cruel methods but at the same time, he doesn't give a damn about "ethics" or anything like that. He had good goals but he wasn't a good person.
• Evil Counterpart:
  • To Keith. Both step up to replace their faction's leader to a largely underwhelming response forcing the original leader to retake the reins. When both properly take charge, the Hot-Blooded Keith mellows out and becomes a great leader while the calm, collected Lotor undergoes a Villainous Breakdown. Adding to it, they're both Half-Identifying Hybrids and Troubled but Cute. Keith even seems to acknowledge this in the Season 6 finale, having some sympathy for Lotor. Per Word of God, the two were meant to interact more in earlier drafts of the series.
  • To Allura. Both want to preserve the legacy of Altea but Allura wants to ensure its legendary diplomacy and inspiration unites the universe once again while Lotor wants to build a new Altea as the capital of the Altean Empire.
• The Exile: In the past, he was assigned to harness the Quintessence of a planet. Rather than just take it all, he worked alongside the inhabitants and extracted a greater bounty while also making the source renewable. Zarkon promptly destroyed the planet and exiled Lotor.
• Facial Markings: Subverted, he's supposed to have them as the son of an Altean woman but they're actually of a lavender tone, meaning his Galra skin "hides" them from sight. He plays it straight when he turns out to have other ones, signalling him as The Chosen One for Oriande alias the real where Altean Alchemy was developed.
• Fallen Hero: See The Exile. Once upon a time he could have become a great and genuine hero, but he left his ambitions and arrogance consume him.
• Fatal Flaw:
  • Lotor will never ever, ever, take any criticism regarding his plans. This is what ends up doing him in in Season 6: had he altered his plans regarding the Altean refugees when he allied with the Paladins, he might have accomplished all his goals.
  • His pride. He always assumes that he's in the right, cannot abide disagreement, and places his own judgement above everyone else's. Even his closest allies don't get a say and god help you if your opinion, no matter on what subject, disagrees with Lotor's.
• Generation Xerox: There are some similarities between his courtship of Allura and Zarkon's courting of Honerva.
• It's All About Me: Downplayed but there. He truly does think he's acting in the best interests of the universe but when it comes down to it, it's all about his fragile ego needing validation and showing everyone that he can outdo Zarkon. The Voltron Coalition Handbook lampshades this by his habit of capitalizing "ME!"
• Killed Off for Real: Dies sometime between Season 6 and 8 as a result of being stranded in the Quintessence field. When his body is recovered, the few glimpses the audience is afforded of it show that it's decaying.
• Manipulative Bastard: He's GOOD at playing with people's ideas and emotions, and he lampshades it at some point.
• Not So Different: In Seasons 5 and 6 he steadily becomes more like Zarkon in his mad quest for Quintessence, and Allura calling him out on this causes him to go utterly berserk. In fact, his Evil Plan is actually Zarkon's. The only difference is what Lotor wanted the Quintessence for.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Compared to the more Obviously Evil villains of Seasons 1 and 2, he subscribes to this. There's no point ruling an empire if you have to fight both your subjects and your enemies. Why not let the former group fight alongside you?
• Princely Young Man: Has traces of the Prince Charming type, as a charismatic Warrior Prince who sways between Anti-Hero and Anti-Villain.
• Promoted to Love Interest: The original Sincline/Lotor was Fala/Allura's creepy Stalker with a Crush that she loathed, whereas this one likes her as a person and has an actually quite legitimate chance to become her boyfriend (and Word of God confirms he was genuinely in love with her, as much as he could given who he is). Until she finds out what he exactly does at the Altean colony...
  • On the other hand, the subplot where he captured Amue/Romelle and was implied to have a weird and also creepy Villainous Crush of sorts on her was axed. But "in exchange", her younger brother was one of the victims of his plans.
• Reality Ensues: Lotor and reality are not allies.
  • In Season 3, he's the head of the Galra Empire but spends so much time on his clandestine schemes and fails to be a public leader that absolutely no one has any faith in his leadership. Come Season 4, Zarkon brands him a fugitive on the basis that Lotor has been funnelling away resources. As a result, combined with the Fantastic Racism of the Galra, he's not exactly a popular choice for the Kral Zera. Him being crowned Emperor causes an Enemy Civil War since he's so hated.
  • He's spent most of his life warring with Haggar... When she figures out she's Honerva, Lotor is in no rush to identify her as his mother.
  • He doesn't identify as Galra but as an Altean, with his ultimate goal being to create the Altean Empire. His Amazon Brigade, made of young women who actually identify as Galra, turns on him as a result.
  • ... Did he really, REALLY think that his Altean Love Interest would EVER take well how he used the survivors of her lost planet as living batteries?
  • He's left trapped in the Quintessence Field without any supplies or any way out. He quickly dies of either starvation, overexposure to Quintessence, or most likely a mix of both. When Honerva pulls Sincline out of the field, it's clear his body has started to decompose long past the point of resurrection.
• Romance Arc: Unlike Sincline and the original Lotor, he DOES have one with Allura. It ends badly, and it's his own fault.
• Romantic False Lead: Will he be this to Allura, or not...? Unlike most incarnations of the franchise, he and Allura  actually formed a legitimate bond as they worked together, and even a jealous Lance seemed to accept that even if he didn't like it, they were perfect for each other. Then Allura discovered Lotor had been secretly farming thousands of Alteans for quintessence and dumped him. By throwing him across the room and angrily calling him out as he tried to defend his actions.
• Self-Made Orphan: He hates the fuck outta his dad and wants to do him in. And he does. As for his mom? As far as Lotor is concerned, she died a long time ago and it's very likely who she's become is high up on his list of targets.
• Shadow Archetype: Per Word of God, if not for his friends, Keith could have wound up exactly like Lotor.
• Stalker with a Crush: Averted this time. He has feelings for Allura, but unlike in GoLion these do NOT come from his Mommy Issues and he doesn't stalk her. He doesn't take her call-out after she learns his plans well, though.
• Tragic Villain: Odds were stacked against Lotor from before his birth, but his own and conscious actions did NOT help him through his life.
• Troubled but Cute: The Galra version.
• The Ugly Guy's Hot Son: Genderflipped: Zarkon is no longer the Hunk he used to be and Honerva became the... not too ugly but still haggard-looking Haggar, but Lotor is beautiful. Though taking closer looks at him and Honerva's aged self reveal that they do kinda resemble one another. . .
• Villain with Good Publicity: Subverted, though he did try. The high ranking Galra, aside from not caring for Pragmatic Villainy, simply hated him too much to go along with his more even handed approach to ruling and Lotor ultimately failed to have any alien race properly ally with the Galra. Played straight with the Altean colonists, however.
• Villainous Breakdown: He has a truly Oscar-worthy one in the Season 6 finale. It's brought on by the Paladins destroying his Inter-Reality Gate, his generals deciding that they've had enough of him and ditching him, overexposure to Quintessence, and Allura comparing him to Zarkon.
• Wants a Prize For Basic Decency: Half his dialogue in Seasons 5 and 6 is the fact that he's not Zarkon means everyone should love him.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Truly did want to extract Quintessence from a renewable source and end the conquering of the Galra Empire. Problem is, he has literally no scruples in accomplishing these goals.
• Xanatos Speed Chess: Very good at this. Not as good as he thinks he is, but still good.

Acxa

Voiced by: Erica Luttrell and Anika Noni Rose (original), Reyna López (Mexican Spanish)

• Anti-Villain: The least bloodthirsty of Lotor's Generals, preferring to disable her foes rather than killing them.
• Bifauxnen: Her short hair and slim body caused some fans to mistake her for a guy in her first appearance.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: She may be one of Lotor's companions, but has also worked with Haggar as Lotor's mole and later joined Voltron's cause..
• Conflicting Loyalty: Regarding Lotor, especially after he kills her companion Narti.
• Enemy Mine: At least two with Keith.
• Everyone Has Standards: As said above, she'd rather disable than kill and she's capable of pulling Enemy Mines if it's needed.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Her hair's quite longer in season 7.
• Hand Cannon: Her Weapon of Choice.
• Horned Humanoid: Those black cropping on her hair.
• Statuesque Stunner: A lovely-looking and VERY tall Lady of War.
• Ship Tease: She and Keith, especially in Season 7.

Zethrid

Voiced by: Jamie Gray Hyder (original), Kerygma Flores (Mexican Spanish)

• Amazonian Beauty: Not exactly hard in the eyes, plus VERY tall and buff.
• Badass Gay: Both a lesbian and a powerful Dark Action Girl.
• Battle Couple: With Ezor.
• Berserk Button: No one should ever disrespect her boss Lotor or hurt her girlfriend Ezor in front of her.
• Blood Knight: Now only she's very big and imposing, but she LOVES fighting and views the Paladins and Allura as Worthy Opponents.
• Declaration of Protection: Towards Ezor.
• Dull Surprise: Her "reaction" when Lotor announces that he'll wipe out the Galra.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She may be an active member of The Empire, but her love for Ezor is completely genuine. To the point of falling into despair when Ezor decides to leave her, and then having a Heel-Face Turn for her sake among other things.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Half her face is scarred later in the story.
• Guttural Growler: Actually growls at Thok in her first scene.
• Laughably Evil: Her antics tend to be played for comedy at times. Until almost at the end, when she nears Broken Bird status.
• Psycho Lesbian: Toyed with. On one hand she a huge Blood Knight who enjoys the idea of beating up and torturing her enemies. On the other, her relationship with Ezor humanizes her and Zethrid takes it badly when she loses her.
• Trigger Happy: In her own words "As long as I get to shoot something."
• Undying Loyalty: The most loyal to Lotor. But even she had her limits.
• Worthy Opponent: Regards the Paladins as such.

Ezor

Voiced by: Kimiko Glen (original), Fernanda Robles (Mexican Spanish)

• Artificial Limbs: Has a robotic leg starting in Season 7.
• Badass Adorable: Maybe the most cheery Dark Action Girl ever.
• Badass Gay: Again, a lesbian who can kick ass really well.
• Battle Couple: With Zethrid.
• Beware the Silly Ones: Most people who've gone up against Lotor's minions assumed that she'd be the easiest one to take out. To be fair she is, but being the easiest to defeat and being easy to defeat are two very different things.
• Bury Your Gays: Toyed with. In Season 7 it's strongly implied that she and Zethrid died after their ship is blown up. In the first part of Season 8, Zethrid attacks Keith and Acxa on her own and this actually implies that Ezor did die... but later she shows up alive. (She apparently was supposed to die, but later the staff decided otherwise)
• Cute Psycho: She's as cute as she's deadly. By her own admission, she loves torturing people.
• Genki Girl: As the most hyper member of the posse.
• Feet First Introduction: In Season 3 Episode 1, her feet are seen after she de-cloaks.
• Handicapped Badass: Loses an eye and a leg later in the story, but she keeps fighting on. Doubling as Disabled Love Interest towards Ezor.
• Perky Female Minion: Oh. Yes.
• Perpetual Smiler
• Psycho Lesbian: Again, subverted: she and Zethrid aren't exactly saints, but their romantic relationship makes them more human. They may be psycho towards others, but NOT to one another.
• Stealth Expert: She's GREAT as this. Leads to a minor case of Crippling Overspecialization as she's not the best fighter without turning invisible.

Narti

• Blind Seer: A psychic lady who seems to have no eyes, and uses a cat (the below-mentioned Cova) to see through his own.
• Demonic Possession: She can pull this on others via touching them
• Handicapped Badass: Blind, mute, and an extremely proficient combatant who can attack people with her tail and control her enemies' bodies.
• Magic Knight: Her fighting style
• Sacrificial Lamb: Lotor kills Narti as he realizes that she is Haggar's "spy" of sorts.
• Unwitting Pawn: Cova is actually Haggar's cat, and she uses him and Narti to spy on Lotor. Not only Lotor kills Narti when he realizes it, but he completely turns against the Galra for it.

Others

Cova

• Animal Eye Spy: Narti can see through his eyes. And so can Haggar.
• Evil Counterpart: With The Reveal of who Haggar really is, he becomes this to the Space Mice.
• Killed Off for Real: Sacrificed in Season 8 by Honerva so that she can learn Lotor's fate.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Even more unwittingly than usual. His regaining his vitality after being treated with Quintessence was what led Honerva, his mistress, to realize what Quintessence truly was...

Dayak

Voiced by: Mary McDonald (original), Enriqueta "Queta" Calderón (Mexican Spanish)

• Adaptation Species Change: She's a Galra this time around.
• Catchphrase:
  • "Palen bo" which translates to "The Enlightening Pain".
  • "A fight to the death!" said whenever it looks like Hunk is going to bail on his training.
• Ms. Exposition: Reveals a lot about the early past of the Galra and what "Vrepit Sa" means.
• Mythology Gag: She was Allura's My Beloved Smother of a nanny in the '80s series.
• Parental Substitute: Essentially the one who raised Lotor.
• Sadist Teacher: Downplayed but present. She repeatedly strikes Hunk with a riding crop (and not in a fun way) and the only way to exit being her student is to either pass the course or defeat her in a fight to the death. In fact, she actually seems eager to fight him.
• So Proud of You: Says this to Lotor when he becomes Emperor.
• Time Abyss: She was old when Lotor was a child.

Varkon

Voiced by: Fred Tastaciore (original), Dafnis Fernández (Mexican Spanish)

• Heel Face Turn: Not that he was much of a heel in the first place but he's seen playing with Voltron action figures.
• Near Villain Victory: After Sendak (who succeeded), he came closest to capturing the Paladins (well four of them). One can imagine the military embarrassment that would occur if he'd caught them.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: Pursues the Paladins because they're criminals... but he thinks they're Space Pirates.

Queen Honerva

Voiced by: Lily Rabe (original), Sarah Souza (Mexican Spanish)

• Brainy Brunette: The flashbacks show her as a beautiful and book-smart woman with brown-gray hair. As Haggar, her hair has become white.
• Expy: Of Sincline's unnamed Hot Mom.
• Foreshadowing: Her name, Honerva, is the same as the original Haggar's in GoLion..
• Hot Consort: As Zarkon's wife and his Queen.
• Interspecies Romance: With Zarkon, since he's Galra and she's Altean. They also double as Star-Crossed Lovers
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: She began experimenting and researching with Quintessence, unaware of the prospect risks... and things quickly went downhill...
• Walking Spoiler: Talking about this lady without discussing her importance to the plot and how she became Haggar is near impossible. Heck, showing ever a PICTURE of her is spoileriffic! (Which is why it's linked on her name)

The Archivist

• Back for the Dead: Returns in Season 8 where Honerva stabs him in the back.
• Kneel Before Zod: Orders everyone to kneel before the new emperor. They do.
• Mr. Exposition: Explains the Kral Zera.
• Shrouded in Myth: He appears to hold quite a high place in Galra society.
• Time Abyss: Implied. This guy makes Season 5 Zarkon look like the picture of health.

Luka

Voiced by: Kari Walhgren (original), Alondra Hidalgos (Mexican Spanish)

• Anti-Villain: Ultimately, she was a pawn in Honerva's plans rather than a true contender.
• Dark Action Girl: Good enough to pilot one of the Komar Mechs
• Evil Redhead: This Altean young lady is Honerva's loyal follower, and has red hair.
• Facial Markings: Burgundy ones.
• Geas: It seems that Honerva placed one on her... When she's caught by the Garrison, snaps at the sight of her once-friend Romelle and then mentions Honerva... she pretty much dies at the spot, as a rift creature implanted in her is activated.
• Living Battery: For her mecha, rather than anything else
• We Used to Be Friends: She and Romelle know one another, and she says that Luka was hard to deal with but not cruel.