I just created this guide to the pilots and vehicles of Vehicle Team Voltron from VOLTRON: DEFENDER OF THE UNIVERSE. Enjoy! (Click the image to view it at full size.)
This article is a conjectural early history of Vehicle Team Voltron, as well as a conjectural “technical primer” to the power systems of Vehicle Team Voltron and its constituent Rugger vehicles, based on sometimes conflicting evidence from the Voltron: Defender of the Universe television program.
Many years before Keith, Lance, Pidge, Hunk, and Sven reached Planet Arus, Doctor Loring, the Galaxy Alliance’s eccentric but pre-eminent expert in robotics engineering, traveled in secret on an unauthorized, solo mission to Arus to learn as much as he could about Voltron, Defender of the Universe. To many, Voltron was only a legend, but Doctor Loring believed Voltron was real, and that the mighty robot now resided on Arus.
King Alfor reluctantly allowed Loring to study the Lions in secret, as long as he did not activate them, and as long as his methods were non-destructive. Loring’s presence was kept a secret from the Arusian public, the Galaxy Alliance, and the many factions of the Drule Empire.
For five short months, Loring studied the dormant Lions in their Dens. Were it not for his genius-level intellect, his decades of experience in robotics, and what little of his personal knowledge King Alfor was willing to share, Loring would have learned nothing about Voltron’s technology. By the end of the fifth month, Loring had discovered that each Voltron Lion was powered by a distinct element of nature, but there was much about this that Loring did not understand. When Loring asked King Alfor for more information about how a Lion harnessed a natural element and transformed it into usable power, Alfor, fearing that such knowledge could fall into the wrong hands, told Loring that his time on Arus had ended.
Loring returned to Earth, where he began to work in secrecy on the design of his own modular super robot – his own Voltron. A particular focus was to power the robot using an element of nature — an ancient secret of the legendary robot that, if reproduced, would provide Loring’s super robot with equal power.
Several years after departing Arus, Loring finally completed much of the daunting but plausible design for his Voltron. Loring presented his design before the Galaxy Alliance council and the Galaxy Garrison’s top officers, requesting funding to construct his Voltron. Aware of growing threats from the Drule Empire, and a need to explore the universe to find new habitable worlds, the Alliance, by way of the Galaxy Garrison, agreed to fund the construction of Loring’s Voltron.
Because of the nature of its constituent modules, and the likely organization of their future pilots, “Loring’s Voltron” became known as Vehicle Team Voltron, which helped to distinguish it from the legendary “Lion Force Voltron.” Partially as a joke, and partially because of his fondness for rugby, Loring referred to Vehicle Team Voltron’s 15 constituent vehicles as Ruggers.
Loring continued to pursue powering Vehicle Team Voltron using an element of nature. Given the Alliance’s intended mission for Vehicle Team Voltron, which included the discovery and study of new, habitable planets, the super robot would need to be able to operate for long durations without reliable access to planets rich in natural resources, such as those which powered the Voltron Lions: lightning, fire, wind, water, and magma. Loring quickly realized that the only element of nature that could possibly power a super robot that spent much of its time in space was solar energy – electromagnetic radiation, or light, from stars.
As construction began, Loring kept certain aspects of Vehicle Team Voltron’s design known only to himself – particularly details about the adaptations that he had made in order to power the super robot. Loring had grown to appreciate the wisdom of King Alfor for wanting to prevent this secret of Voltron from falling into evil hands.
The greatest challenge to using solar energy to power Vehicle Team Voltron was that the rate at which the super robot consumed power could easily exceed the rate at which it could recharge, especially when operating in interstellar space, where stars, while plentiful, were distant. Loring was on the verge of surmounting this challenge…until he died unexpectedly, and as with many aspects of Voltron’s design, this last major technical hurdle was one of the secrets that Loring took with him to the grave.
For years following Loring’s death, the Galaxy Alliance’s top engineers and scientists pored over the miniscule records that they could decrypt from the few records that Loring kept of his work. Although these great intellects could not ascertain what Loring had in mind to handle Voltron’s recharging challenge, they did devise several workarounds that, in aggregation, made Vehicle Team Voltron a true Defender of the Universe of modern legend — even if it arguably fell short of its full potential.
Numerous workarounds were devised and implemented.
Power Turbos: A critical part of forming Vehicle Team Voltron was connecting the Ruggers’ diatherms and activating infracells. This sequence boosted the structural strength of the Rugger-to-Rugger connections – effectively holding Voltron together. To eliminate the need of the Ruggers to consume Voltron’s limited solar energy reserves for this purpose, each Rugger utilized a Power Turbo – a component that, when sufficiently charged, provided adequate power to connect diatherms and activate infracells. A Rugger’s Power Turbo was charged by the Rugger’s conventional fuel. When a Power Turbo was empty, a full charge could take up to four hours. For this reason, each Rugger’s Power Turbo was normally maintained at a charge level of at least 84%. A Rugger could operate normally while charging its Power Turbo.
Embedded Solar Micropanel Matrices (ESMM): Each Rugger’s hull incorporated an Embedded Solar Micropanel Matrix (ESMM), a grid of tiny, unobtrusive solar energy collectors that fed solar energy directly into a network of batteries that powered Vehicle Team Voltron when the Ruggers were combined.
Team Fighter configuration: To increase the Ruggers’ combat capabilities without consuming Vehicle Team Voltron’s solar energy reserves, the Ruggers of each five-module sub-team– the Air Team, Sea Team, and Land Team – could combine into a large “Team Fighter” fighter craft that drew power from its constituent Ruggers’ conventional fuel supplies.
The five Ruggers of the Sea Team formed the Aqua Fighter. When combined, the Aqua Fighter often increased its energy capacity and speed by igniting its twin Nuclear Power Thrusters (NPT), housed in Rugger 9 (port aft module) and Rugger 10 (starboard aft module). Vehicle Team Voltron could also utilize the NPTs for bursts of acceleration.
By transporting the docked Ruggers, Explorer greatly reduced the need for Voltron to travel through interstellar space, reducing the robot’s power consumption.
Embedded Solar Micropanel Matrices (ESMM): Like the Ruggers, the hull of the Explorer incorporated an Embedded Solar Micropanel Matrix (ESMM). When the Ruggers were docked, the ESMM delivered solar energy directly to them. When the Ruggers were elsewhere, the ESMM stored solar energy in large batteries like those of the Ruggers themselves, for subsequent delivery to the Ruggers. The Explorer’s large, flat upper hull contained a high-density version of an ESMM that enabled the ship to collect enormous quantities of solar energy when the ship was landed on a planet with an Earth-like atmosphere that scattered light from the planet’s sun(s).
Solar Energy System (SES): As a last-resort backup system to enable Vehicle Team Voltron to recharge more quickly while in interstellar space, the Galaxy Alliance created what it referred to generically as the Solar Energy System (SES). The SES is comprised of a sparse network of space stations and satellites that refracted and reflected light from nearby stars in focused beams to distant locations. The SES was highly inefficient – its focused beams spreading over longer interstellar distances – and the SES provided inadequate coverage in many regions of space, but it could be effective under certain conditions when the Stellar Ship Explorer or the Ruggers themselves were incapable of recharging the Ruggers’ solar energy reserves at a sufficient rate. When conditions were right, the SES transmitted deliver beams of starlight directly to the Ruggers. To be recharged successfully by the SES, the Ruggers had to be in the direct line of sight of an actively transmitting SES component.
Incremental system upgrades: As Vehicle Team Voltron operated in the field, the greatest scientific and engineering minds of the Galaxy Alliance continued to design and implement incremental upgrades to Vehicle Team Voltron, extending the capacity of the robot’s energy reserves and increasing its ability to recharge at greater speed. Upgraded Voltron hardware and software were secretly transported to the Stellar Ship Explorer by various Galaxy Garrison support fleets. Once the upgrades were delivered, an engineering team aboard the Explorer installed and field-tested each upgrade with the help of the Ruggers’ pilots, the Voltron Vehicle Team. When initially launched, Vehicle Team Voltron, with full solar energy reserves, could operate in a Notionally Typical Combat Scenario (NTCS) for only 5.2 minutes. Through multiple system upgrades, Voltron’s NTCS capability had been increased to nearly 20 minutes, which proved to be essential during the liberation of Planet Drule. Despite these upgrades, and the increasing knowledge of the scientists and engineers who have worked on them, to this day the top minds of the Galaxy Alliance have not been able to create another successful Voltron-like super robot, even using Doctor Loring’s original plans.
Notable incidents
On rare occasions, Voltron’s power-related vulnerabilities hindered its mission capability.
Keith, Lance, Pidge, Hunk, and Sven reached Arus twice in “Space Explorers Captured” (Production #201).
In “In Search of New Worlds” (Production #101), immediately after Voltron is formed, Jeff says, “Voltron assembled! Connect diatherms! Activate infracells!”
Incidents were shown in “In Search of New Worlds” (Production #101) and “First Day on a New World” (Production #102).
Robeast names are from Voltron: From Days of Long Ago: A Thirtieth Anniversary Celebration (ISBN-13: 978-1-4215-7540-7). Most Robeasts in Voltron: Defender of the Universe were not named in the episodes themselves.
Commander Hawkins identified Vehicle Team Voltron’s power source as “stored solar energy” in “In Search of New Worlds” (Production #101).
Commander Steele identified Vehicle Team Voltron’s power source as “stored nuclear power” in “In Search of New Worlds” (Production #101). Professor Page referred to it as “stored thermo-nuclear energy” in “A Temporary Truce” (Production #111). The Explorer‘s conjectural Thermonuclear-Powered Artificial Sunlight System (TPASS) is an attempt to reconcile the apparent contradiction between “solar energy,” “nuclear power,” and “thermo-nuclear energy.”
The three teams’ names were established in “In Search of New Worlds” (Production #101).
The Ruggers were first shown to be docked within and launched from the Stellar Ship Explorer in “In Search of New Worlds” (Production #101).
In “Meanwhile Back at Galaxy Garrison” (Production #133), Doctor Loring is described as having created the “original plans for Voltron,” and for making “certain secret adaptations known only to the doctor, and these he took with him to his grave.”
In “Meanwhile Back at Galaxy Garrison” (Production #133), Commander Steele describes a failed attempt to create another Voltron-like super robot: “Our sci-tech division has been trying to come up with a duplicate Voltron, but up to now there’s been little success. The machine that you see here was assembled by our technicians using Doctor Loring’s original plans for Voltron. Unfortunately there were certain secret adaptations known only to the doctor, and these he took with him to his grave. All of our extensive testing shows that, while this Voltron is superficially similar to the first, it is considerably inferior. It’ll never serve as a replacement for the present Voltron, or even as a backup, I’m sorry to say.”
The term “Rugger” is not used in any Voltron: Defender of the Universe episode; however, it was used in Armored Fleet Dairugger XV, and the term “Rugger” is a less generic designation than “vehicle.”
In “In Search of New Worlds” (Production #101), Hawkins states that “our entire team of young Space Explorers is just as determined as ever to find new and livable worlds for the people of our over-crowded galaxy.”
The spirit of King Alfor told the Voltron Lion Force about the power source of each Lion in “Magnetic Attraction” (Production #229).
In “Building a New World” (Production #103), Sparks announces that the already-launched Ruggers will “be able to form Voltron in less than an hour.” Later Sparks replies in the negative when Hawkins asks, “Does the Force have enough stored power to form Voltron?” Finally Jeff announces that, “Our power turbos are finally charged, and not a minute too soon. We’ve got to form Voltron fast!” This scenario does not occur in any other episode.
The liberation of Planet Drule was shown in “The Drules’ World Cracks Up” (Production #150) and “The Drules Surrender” (Production #151).
The evacuation of Planet Drule was shown in “The End of Hazar’s World” (Production #152).
The terms “Lion Force Voltron” and “Vehicle Team Voltron” were used in Voltron: Defender of the Universe promotional materials and licensed merchandise in the 1980s.
The Strato Fighter was first shown in “Help Not Wanted” (Production #107).
The Aqua Fighter was first shown in “Goodbye New World” (Production #104).
The Turbo Terrain Fighter was first shown in “Ghost Fleet from Another Planet” (Production #108).
The “solar energy system” was mentioned and shown only in “Raid on Galaxy Garrison” (Production #130).
Drule Captain Durka destroys a Galaxy Garrison space station, disabling solar energy refractors and commenting that the Garrison “can’t use Voltron.”
Captain Newley tells the Galaxy Garrison’s top officers that “they’ve damaged the space station and solar energy system. Until they’re repaired, Voltron is on the disabled list.” Steele hopes “the first thing repair is Voltron’s energy source.”
A Garrison repair technician states that “without this refractor, Voltron can’t recharge his energy.”
Voltron’s five Land Team Ruggers are shown flying on patrol.
Newley informs the Explorer that “as soon as [the solar energy system]’s back up to full power, you’ll have to form Voltron and stop the Drule attack force.”
Lisa tells Jeff that the Explorer is moving toward “the area from which the Drule attack ships are coming. By the time we get there, the repair crews will have the solar energy system working, and we’ll be able to form Voltron again.”
In “Earth’s State of Emergency,” the Armored Fleet Dairugger episode from which Voltron‘s “Raid on Galaxy Garrison” was adapted, Dairugger has no energy problems. The Rugger Guard and its fleet is unable to reach Earth in time to be of any help. The fleet is flying at half-speed because it is being repaired following a recent battle against the Galveston Empire. The fleet is also on a mission to find the Galvestons’ front line base.
Shown in “A Curious Comet” (Production #114).
Shown in “Defend the New World” (Production #120).
Shown in “Just Like Earth” (Production #125).
Shown in “A Storm of Meteors” (Production #106).
Shown in “Fleet of Doom.” The term “Ultrabeast” is from the script.
In “Hazar on the Carpet” (Production #123), the Strato Fighter — specifically Chip’s vehicle, Rugger 4 — is impaled by a Drule rocket. Chip says, “We took a direct hit in our energy storage tank!” Jeff replies, “Switch to the auxiliary tank!”
In Voltron: Defender of the Universe, during ten out of the 19 times the Sea Team was ordered to form the Aqua Fighter, they were first ordered to “ignite Nuclear Power Thrusters.”
The Sea Team was ordered to “ignite Nuclear Power Thrusters” before forming the Aqua Fighter in episodes 104 “Goodbye New World”, 118 “What’s on First”, 122 “Nerok Scores Big”, 128 “Planet of the Amazons”, 132 “A Man-Made Sun”, 134 “Hazar Bucks the Empire”, 136 “Peace! A Fish Story”, 139 “That’s the Old Ball Game”, 141 “Another Solar System”, and 143 “It’s Anybody’s World”.
The Sea Team was not ordered to “ignite Nuclear Power Thrusters” before forming the Aqua Fighter in episodes 117 “Who’s on Second”, 119 “Great Stone Space Faces”, 123 “Hazar on the Carpet”, 126 “The Planet Trap”, 133 “Captain Newley Returns”, 144 “Frozen Assets”, 146 “It Could Be a Long War”, 147 “Color Me Invisible”, and 150 “The Drules’ World Cracks Up”.
Although Vehicle Team Voltron is far less well remembered than Lion Force Voltron, one fact about the vehicle-based ‘bot that people seem to remember most is that it can operate for only five minutes.
What do actual episodes of Voltron: Defender of the Universe say — and show — about Voltron’s time limit, if there is one? Let’s find out.
In Search of New Worlds (#101)
In the first Vehicle Team episode, “In Search of New Worlds” (Production #101), Commander Steele reminds other Galaxy Garrison officers of Voltron’s power limits.
STEELE
…the Land, Sea, and Air Teams can combine to form the giant robot… but remember he has only five minutes of stored nuclear power. He’s our last line of defense.
Another officer in the room, called “Professor” in the script, replies.
PROFESSOR
We can only hope five minutes is enough.
Later in the episode, as Voltron battles a Robeast that Voltron: From Days of Long Ago: A Thirtieth Anniversary Celebration calls the Crush Crab Robeast, Hawkins mentions Voltron’s time limit.
HAWKINS
Voltron only has five minutes of stored solar energy. There’s not much time left.
Is it “stored nuclear power” or “stored solar energy?” We’ll think more about this later.
As Voltron continues to fight the Robeast, Jeff announces to the team:
JEFF
One minute left, team!
Fortunately Voltron destroys the Robeast less than a minute later.
A Temporary Truce (#111)
The next mention of a five-minute limit for Voltron is in “A Temporary Truce” (Production #111). Professor Page, the resident scientist of the Stellar Ship Explorer, mother ship of the Voltron Force, openly mentions it to Sandu, a young Drule soldier whom the Explorer crew brought aboard as a guest following the crash of his ship.
PAGE
The giant robot only has five minutes of stored thermonuclear energy, but that’s always enough to defeat any enemy.
Why Page would trust a Drule soldier — even one as seemingly friendly as Sandu — with such critical information is baffling. It’s also baffling that Voltron’s five-minute limit refers to yet another metric — thermonuclear energy.
The Red Moon People (#137)
The next reference to a five-minute limit is in “The Red Moon People” (Production #137), when a Drule robot (called a “hooded robot” in the script) announces:
HOODED ROBOT
Voltron has only five minutes of stored energy and most of it is used up. Now finish him off!
How did the Drule robot know about Voltron’s time limit? It seems certain that Sandu would have been debriefed after he was returned to the Drule Empire. Despite Sandu’s growing interest in peace between the Drule Empire and the Galaxy Alliance, Sandu probably would have told his superiors what Professor Page had openly told him.
Summary of Dialogue
Among all episodes of Voltron: Defender of the Universe, a “five-minute rule” is mentioned four times across three episodes:
Production #
Title
Reference
101
In Search of New Worlds
Five minutes of stored nuclear power (Commander Steele)
101
In Search of New Worlds
Five minutes of stored solar energy (Commander Hawkins)
111
A Temporary Truce
Five minutes of stored thermonuclear energy (Professor Page)
137
The Red Moon People
Five minutes of stored energy (Drule hooded robot)
That said, the phrases “five minutes of power” and “five minutes of energy” can be thought of as stating the same thing — that, for a “typical” set of power-draining activities, Voltron can operate for about five minutes before depleting its energy reserves.
And now, the adjectives — “nuclear,” “solar,” and “thermonuclear.” The term “thermonuclear” refers to nuclear reactions at very high temperatures. In other words, “thermonuclear” is a more specific term than “nuclear.”
What about “solar?” The term “solar energy” usually refers to energy gathered from sunlight. On the other hand, the energy of a star itself comes from thermonuclear reactions, so if we streeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetch a bit, Hawkins’ “solar energy” reference can be thought of as a very loose description of thermonuclear energy.
To summarize, with a bit of hand-waving, as stated in episodes 101, 111, and 137, Vehicle Team Voltron’s “five-minute rule” is that the robot’s thermonuclear energy reserves can provide power for an estimated five minutes’ worth of a typical range of activities.
But is that the whole story? Let’s dive deeper.
Believe Nothing You Hear, and Only One Half that You See
Edgar Allan Poe is credited for having originated, in “The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether” (1845), the phrase “Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see.” We’ve just examined all that we hear about Voltron’s power limits, but we haven’t examined what we see.
I used a video editing application to analyze how long Vehicle Team Voltron remains formed in each of the robot’s appearances in Voltron: Defender of the Universe. The goal to was to see how often, if ever, Voltron stays formed for longer than five minutes.
Caveats:
We almost never see Voltron form and disassemble in the same episode. Usually but not always, we see the Voltron Force actually form Voltron. Very rarely do we see Voltron disassemble. Since the robot must assemble after its 15 constituent vehicles launch from the Explorer, and the robot must disassemble before returning to the Explorer, these events must occur off-screen when they aren’t shown on-screen. In other words, Voltron does more in each appearance than is overtly shown in an episode.
Episode running time does not necessarily correspond to narrative time. For example, even though we might first see Voltron 16 minutes into an episode, and last see Voltron 21 minutes into the episode, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Voltron had been active for five minutes of narrative time. It might have “really” spanned more time or less time than what we see on the screen. Scenes shown sequentially might have “really” taken place wholly or partially at the same time, and more narrative time might have passed between scenes than running times would suggest.
For each of Voltron’s appearances:
I defined the “start time” as follows:
If we see Voltron form, then the clock starts when the final assembly action ends. For example, in many episodes, the last assembly action is Ginger’s red jet attaching to Voltron’s chest. In some episodes, the last action is Voltron’s twin face plates opening to reveal the face.
If we don’t see Voltron form, then the clock starts when we first see the robot.
I defined the “stop time” as follows:
If we see Voltron disassemble, then the clock stops when Voltron breaks apart.
If we don’t see Voltron disassemble, then the clock stops when we last see the robot.
If Voltron remains assembled across commercial breaks, then I didn’t count the breaks — or the bumpers, when Peter Cullen says “Voltron will return after these messages,” or “We now return to Voltron: Defender of the Universe.”
If Voltron makes an out-of-context appearance at the end of the episode, then this analysis does not include that appearance. For example, if after Voltron fights a Robeast, we see the Voltron Force back aboard the Explorer, followed by an end-of-episode appearance of the robot with a voice-over narration, then this analysis does not treat that appearance as a “real” appearance of Voltron, or an extension of an in-context appearance of the robot.
This analysis of Voltron’s appearances also does not include flashbacks of appearances from prior scenes or episodes.
(Robeast names are from Voltron: From Days of Long Ago: A Thirtieth Anniversary Celebration.)
Appearance #
Episode Production #
Episode Title
Appearance # in Episode
Duration (Minutes)
Comments
1
101
In Search of New Worlds
1
2.70
Voltron forms, fights the Crush Crab Robeast, then stands dramatically on the planet. Note: 1.47 minutes after forming, Jeff says, “One minute left, team!”
1′
101
In Search of New Worlds
1′
5.23
As with Appearance #1 (101-1), but assumes Jeff’s “One minute left, team” line begins exactly four minutes after Voltron has formed.
2
102
First Day on a New World
1
3.01
Voltron forms, fights the Titanic Tick Robeast, then stands dramatically on the planet.
3
103
Building a New World
1
0.67
Voltron forms and then flies away from a planet before it is destroyed.
4
104
Goodbye New World
1
3.80
Voltron forms, fights the Dragonoid Robeast, then stands dramatically while Hawkins communicates with Jeff, telling him to meet the Explorer at a newly sighted planet.
5
105
Try This World for Size
1
2.31
Voltron forms, fights the Crush Crab Neo Robeast, then leaves the planet upon Hawkins’ order to withdraw.
6
106
A Storm of Meteors
1
2.81
Voltron forms, fights the Antropoda Robeast, then disassembles to escape the Robeast’s rocket ropes. Voltron immediately re-forms (Appearance #7) to continue the battle.
7
106
A Storm of Meteors
2
7.13
Voltron re-forms immediately after escaping (Appearance #6) the Antropoda Robeast’s rocket ropes. Voltron fights the Robeast, then goes to the nearby Planet of Meteors and stands guard as the Explorer is repaired. When a storm of meteors begins to fall, Voltron uses its Blazing Sword against large, falling meteors until the Explorer leaves the planet. Voltron flies alongside the Explorer.
6, 7 (cumulative)
106
A Storm of Meteors
1, 2 (cumulative)
9.94
(Voltron had no time to replenish its energy reserves between Appearance #6 and Appearance #7.)
8
107
Help Not Wanted
1
1.31
Voltron forms and fights the Cannon Mantis Robeast.
9
108
Ghost Fleet from Another Planet
1
2.68
Voltron forms, fights the Mutant Sphere Robeast, then drives away Mongo’s attack fleet.
10
109
A Very Short Vacation
1
3.22
Voltron forms, fights the Barracudax Robeast, dragging it underwater. Note: 1.56 minutes after forming, Jeff says, “We don’t have much time!” After destroying the Robeast, Voltron flies back toward the Explorer, which prompts Zabor to retreat.
11
110
Planet of the Bats
1
2.78
Voltron forms, fights the Dread Sinistar Robeast, then stands dramatically on the planet.
12
112
Wolo’s Lost World
1
4.15
Voltron forms, fights Brak’s Robeast, then stands as Wolo remembers a lesson that his brother Kobal had taught him. (Note: FDLA does not unambiguously name this Robeast, due to errors in the book.)
13
113
Planet Stop for Repairs
1
2.90
Voltron forms, prpeares to fight Nerok’s Robeast, but does not strike, avoiding a battle. Voltron stands by as the Robeast and Nerok depart. (Note: FDLA does not unambiguously name this Robeast, due to errors in the book.)
14
114
A Curious Comet
1
2.08
Voltron forms and begins to fight the Cyberbug Robeast, which fires at Voltron, causing its right arm to separate and separate into Rugger 3 (Wolo’s ship) and Rugger 12 (Cinda’s ship). (Time between completion of assembly and detachment of right arm: 0.55 minutes.)
Voltron’s right arm re-attaches, and Voltron continues to fight the Cyberbug Robeast. (Time between re-attachment of right arm and last instant of Voltron’s appearance: 1.29 minutes.)
This sequence is considered a single appearance because Voltron remains (mostly) assembled.
15
115
In the Enemy Camp
1
4.36
Voltron forms, fights the Planet Smasher Robeast, then stands dramatically on the planet.
16
118
What’s on First
1
4.06
Voltron forms, fights the Hades Orb Robeast. Voltron then fights the Nightshade Berzerker Robeast. Voltron’s Wing Beam and a rogue tornado presumably destroy the Robeast, and Voltron escapes the tornado.
17
119
Great Stone Space Faces
1
1.57
Voltron forms and fights a Nightshade Berzerker Robeast — seemingly a different one than the Robeast fought in Episode #118.
18
120
Defend the New World
1
3.04
Voltron forms without its head. Krik commands the headless Voltron as it fights the Heavy Blazersect Robeast. Voltron’s head attaches 0.81 minutes after forming. Voltron defeats the Robeast, then stands dramatically on the planet.
19
121
Meanwhile Back at Galaxy Garrison
1
0.25
Voltron forms, then flies off to meet a support fleet.
20
122
Nerok Scores Big
1
2.36
Voltron forms, then fights the Arachno-Binder Beast, accidentally damaging the Explorer during the battle. Voltron then escorts the Explorer away from the battle site.
21
123
Hazar on the Carpet
1
2.08
Voltron forms, then fights the Rocket Sniper Robeast.
22
124
Hazar is Demoted
1
0.88
Voltron forms, then departs a planet with the Explorer to meet a group of space settlers.
23
125
Just Like Earth
1
3.37
The Steel Spacebug Rattler Robeast fires at Rugger 7 (Lisa’s ship) before it, Rugger 9 (Shannon’s ship), and Rugger 14 (Marvin’s ship) can form Voltron’s right leg. Voltron fights the Robeast. After Voltron’s right leg attaches, Voltron defeats the Robeast and destroys Zabor’s Drule battleship.
24
126
The Planet Trap
1
2.49
Voltron forms, fights the Wolf-Beetle Robeast, then destroys Brak’s Drule battleship before it can ram the Explorer.
25
127
Save the Space Station
1
9.26
After the Explorer and are repaired, Voltron forms and escorts the fleet near an asteroid field, where Voltron is ambushed by the Death Digger Robeast. Voltron fights the Robeast.
26
128
Planet of the Amazons
1
3.35
Voltron forms, fights the Dagger Toad Robeast, and then destroys the attacking Drule fleet.
27
129
Revolt of the Slaves
1
8.18
Voltron forms, protects the Explorer from Drule missiles, then fights the Twin Equinox Dragon Robeast.
28
129
Revolt of the Slaves
2
1.43
Voltron forms, then fights an attacking Drule fleet.
29
130
Raid on Galaxy Garrison
1
0.48
Voltron forms, then strikes a heroic pose.
30
131
Smashing the Meteor Barrier
1
13.63
Voltron, already formed, flies with the Explorer fleet toward a Drule command base. Then Hawkins orders Voltron to protect a support fleet from a Drule attack. Voltron fights a Robo-Golem Robeast, then helps the Explorer fleet and the support fleet to drive the Drule forces into an asteroid belt. On Hawkins order to return to the Explorer, Voltron disassembles.
31
131
Smashing the Meteor Barrier
2
2.97
Voltron, already formed, follows the Meteorbreaker and leads two Galaxy Garrison fleets through a dense meteor barrier and to a Drule command base.
32
132
A Man-Made Sun
1
3.31
Voltron, already formed, approaches a Drule base and destroys incoming Drule missiles, fights the Black Poison Robeast, and then separates to enter the Drule base.
33
133
Captain Newley Returns
1
5.23
Voltron forms, then fights the King Hydraxis Robeast.
34
134
Hazar Bucks the Empire
1
2.43
Voltron forms, fights the Razorface Robeast, disassembles, then escapes the planet before it is destroyed.
35
135
Letters from Home
1
1.82
Voltron forms, then fights the Death-Knight Crusader Robeast.
36
136
Peace! A Fish Story
1
1.89
Voltron forms, fights the Beachhead Robeast, then frightens the Drule fleet into retreating.
37
137
The Red Moon People
1
3.21
Voltron forms, then fights the Demon Bluegore Robeast.
38
138
This World’s for the Birds
1
4.06
Voltron forms, fights the Cyberai Robeast, then protects the Explorer from Twyla’s Drule fleet.
39
139
That’s the Old Ball Game
1
2.45
Voltron forms, fights the Repto-Boxer Robeast, then destroys Drule battleships.
40
140
Red Moon Rises Again
1
3.12
Voltron forms, then fights the Invincibeast Robeast, with the help of a buck.
41
141
Another Solar System
1
5.16
Voltron forms, fights the Doom Gladiator Robeast, then strikes a pose.
42
142
Whose World Is It?
1
9.08
Voltron forms, fights the Astroblaster Robeast, and then stands by as Hawkins convinces the Drules to conduct peace talks.
43
143
It’s Anybody’s World
1
2.41
Voltron forms, then fights the Planet Compactor Robeast.
44
144
Frozen Assets
1
1.83
Voltron forms, then fights the Bladebug Robeast.
45
145
Coconuts
1
2.01
Voltron forms, fights the Sentrius Robeast, then destroys Zutka’s Drule battleship.
46
146
It Could Be a Long War
1
1.67
Voltron forms, then fights the Blackstar Unicorn Robeast.
47
147
Color Me Invisible
1
1.19
Voltron forms, then fights the Krushborg Robeast.
48
148
Time Is Running Out
1
3.80
Voltron forms and is immediately covered with Magna Mines. Voltron fights the Monster Vultura Robeast and throws it at a Drule attack base, destroying both.
49
149
Zero Hour Approaches
1
5.50
Voltron forms, fights the Astronomax Robeast in an asteroid field, then destroys a Drule base with a full-power Electro-Therma-Blast.
50
150
The Drules’ World Cracks Up
1
6.50
Voltron forms, fights its way to the surface of the Drule homeworld, then disassembles during combat against three Robeasts.
51
151
The Drules Surrender
1
16.02
Beneath the surface of the Drule homeworld, Voltron forms and fights multiple Robeasts. When Voltron is approached by Drule civilians who wave a white flag of surrender and peace. Jeff tells the team that it’s time to return to the Explorer.
52
152
The End of Hazar’s World
1
0.78
As the already formed Voltron, already formed, stands before a group of Drule citizens, Hazar emerges from the crowd, asking Voltron to help the people to evacuate before the Drule homeworld explodes.
53
?
Fleet of Doom
1
8.16
Voltron forms, then fights alongside Lion Force Voltron against the Drule Voltron 2 Robeast. Afterward, the two Voltron robots stand side-by-side as their pilots reunite.
Summary of Appearances
Regardless of Vehicle Team Voltron’s “five-minute rule,” on 13 occasions (12, if we ignore Jeff’s “One minute left, team!” remark in “In Search of New Worlds”), the mighty robot is seen to be active for over five minutes of episode running time.
How can this be?
The likely real-world reason is that the Voltron writers invented the “five-minute rule” to increase the suspense in a given episode, knowing full well that most of the time, the robot would not be seen in action for more than five minutes. It should be noted that Voltron’s limited energy reserves were a purely Voltron invention. Such a limitation is never specified in Armored Fleet Dairugger XV, the anime program from which the “Vehicle Team” episodes of Voltron: Defender of the Universe were adapted.
In the context of the Voltron fictional universe, there are multiple possible reasons for the occasional, unexpected longevity of Voltron’s energy reserves:
One minute of episode running time need not equal one minute of narrative time. Perhaps a longer-than-five-minute appearance “really” lasted less than five minutes.
In some of Voltron’s longer-than-five-minute appearances, the robot spends portions of time flying casually in space, or standing still — activities that presumably require less power than active combat against a Robeast.
Perhaps Voltron’s limited energy reserves are used only during “surges” of activity, such as combat. For less-intensive activities, the robot might be able to tap other energy reserves that are adequate for low-intensity activities, but inadequate for combat.
Perhaps over time, Voltron’s energy reserve capacity was increased, perhaps just once, or perhaps incrementally. There is some evidence which might support the idea of such an upgrade or upgrades:
Although a Drule robot mentions Voltron’s five-minute energy reserve limit as late as “The Red Moon People” (Production #137), the last time anyone from the Galaxy Alliance mentions this limit is in “A Temporary Truce” (Production #111), when Professor Page openly states this limitation to Sandu, a young Drule soldier who is later returned to his people.
Perhaps Voltron’s energy reserves were increased sometime after the events of “A Temporary Truce,” but before the events of “Zero Hour Approaches,” the first of the last four of Voltron’s lengthy appearances.
It is also possible that Voltron’s energy reserves were increased before “A Temporary Truce,” and that Professor Page fed misinformation to Sandu. It does seem unconscionable that the professor would volunteer such sensitive information to an enemy soldier – even one who seems open to peace.
Prior to Page’s mention of the “five-minute rule” in “A Temporary Truce,” the only episode that references the limitation is “In Search of New Worlds” (Production #101) — the same episode in which Jeff tells the team that they have only one minute left — after which Voltron remains formed for at least 0.23 minutes of episode running time, plus the time needed for Voltron to separate off-screen. Maybe Voltron’s energy reserves were increased mere months, weeks, or even days after the events of this episode.
Conclusion
Vehicle Team Voltron’s “five-minute rule” is expressed four times in Voltron: Defender of the Universe, but based on episode running times, Voltron violates the rule as many as 12 or 13 times.
Maybe the rule was rendered “OBE” — Overcome By Events — through one or more upgrades to Voltron’s energy reserves. Maybe we weren’t supposed to notice Voltron’s lengthier appearances. We certainly weren’t meant to time the robot’s appearances with a stopwatch…or video editing software.
Whether Voltron can function for five minutes, five hours, or five months at a time, it has inspired the imagination for over 35 years, which is a remarkable time indeed.
The episodes of Voltron‘s first season originally aired out of sequence with respect to the corresponding episodes of Beast King Golion.
The episodes of Voltron‘s second season originally aired out of sequence with respect to the corresponding episodes of Armored Fleet Dairugger XV.
The double-length “Fleet of Doom” episode, which was animated specifically for Voltron, isn’t considered one of the program’s episodes, but rather a distinct production; however, in some markets, the episode was edited into two regular-length episodes that aired alongside the program’s 124 regular episodes.
While examining scripts from Voltron, I learned about the episodes’ production numbers:
The first season’s 52 episodes have production numbers 201-252. Their sequence matches that of the Beast King Golion episodes from which they were adapted.
The second season’s 52 episodes have production numbers 101-152. Their sequence matches that of the Armored Fleet Dairugger XV episodes from which they were adapted.
The third season’s 20 episodes have production numbers 301-317 and 319-321. Their sequence matches that of the episodes’ original air dates.
The third-season episode with production number 318 was never completed or aired. Video-only excerpts from this unfinished episode were an extra in the Media Blasters DVD sets of the mid-2000s.
The “Fleet of Doom” script has no production number.
In the original “Voltron Trilogy” concept for Voltron:
Voltron I, which later became known as Vehicle Team Voltron, was the titular robot in Armored Fleet Dairugger XV.
Voltron II was the titular robot from Lightspeed Electroid Albegas.
Voltron III, which later became known as Lion Force Voltron, was the titular robot in Beast King Golion.
That “Voltron I’s” 52 episodes have production numbers in the 100s, and “Voltron III’s” initial 52 episodes have production numbers in the 200s, suggests that the decision not to adapt Lightspeed Electroid Albegas into “Voltron II” was made fairly early in production — perhaps even during pre-production.
The Madman Entertainment DVDs of the early 2000s and the Universal DVDs of 2019 numbered the Voltron episodes as follows:
The first season’s 52 episodes are numbered as “Lion Force” episodes 1-52. Their sequence matches that of the Beast King Golion episodes from which they were adapted.
The third season’s 20 episodes are numbered as “Lion Force” episodes 53-72. Their sequence matches that of the episodes’ original air dates.
The second season’s 52 episodes are numbered as “Vehicle Force” episodes 1-52. Their sequence matches that of the Armored Fleet Dairugger XV episodes from which they were adapted.
The Media Blasters DVDs of the mid-2000s numbered the Voltron episodes as follows:
The first season’s 52 episodes are numbered as episodes 1-52. Their sequence matches that of the Beast King Golion episodes from which they were adapted.
The third season’s 20 episodes are numbered as episodes 53-72. Their sequence matches that of the episodes’ original air dates.
The second season’s 52 episodes are numbered as episodes 73-124. Their sequence matches that of the Armored Fleet Dairugger XV episodes from which they were adapted.
The table below is my attempt to capture all this information in one place. You can sort a column by clicking on its header. You can sort multiple columns by holding the Shift key while you select multiple columns. (Sorting by multiple columns probably won’t work on most mobile browsers.)
The abbreviated column headers are as follows:
Prod #: Voltron production number
Seas: Voltron season number (in original air date order)
Bot: Indicates Lion Force Voltron or Vehicle Team Voltron
Seas for Bot: For a given Voltron robot (Lion Force Voltron or Vehicle Team Voltron), the season number (in original air date order)
Title: Episode title
OAD: Original air date
MB DVD Ep #: Episode number according to the Media Blasters DVDs of the mid-2000s
ME / Univ DVD Ep #: Episode number according to the Madman Entertainment DVDs of the early 2000s and the Universal Home Entertainment DVDs of 2019
An: Original anime program (Beast King Golion or Armored Fleet Dairugger XV)
One of the surprisingly few links between the Lion Force and Vehicle Team episodes of Voltron: Defender of the Universe is the familial link between Pidge, a member of the Voltron Lion Force and the pilot of Green Lion, and Chip, a member of the Voltron Vehicle Team’s Air Team, and the pilot of Rugger 4.
Because 104 episodes of Voltron: Defender of the Universe were adapted from episodes of Beast King Golion and Armored Fleet Dairugger XV, some Voltron fans believe that Voltron‘s mythos was created mostly by happenstance, as each episode was adapted. There is almost certainly a degree of truth to this notion, but if a viewer examines the episodes more closely, he or she might find more depth to the story and characters than one might expect — and perhaps more than the writers actually intended. This is certainly the case with Pidge and Chip.
“Letters from Home” establishes that Pidge and Chip are twin brothers.
LISA: Chip’s very close to his brother. Don’t forget — they’re twins.
The episode also establishes that the brothers are orphans.
LISA: Chip and Pidge were orphans as children. Their adoptive parents took them both, so they wouldn’t be parted.
Pidge, himself a highly intelligent person, considers Chip to be the smarter twin, as he indicates in a letter to Chip in the episode “Letters from Home.”
PIDGE (voice over – as if reading his own letter to Chip): You always had the brains!
Later, after Chip has joined the Voltron Vehicle Team, his teammates acknowledge and admire his intelligence. In “A Man-Made Sun,” the five-member Air Team (of which Chip is a member), and Sea Team leader Krik, are in a death trap.
JEFF: Chip, you’re the scientific whiz — any suggestions?!
Chip saves everyone, after recalling some of his and his brother’s childhood interests.
CHIP: My brother Pidge and I used to study solar power as a hobby.
At some point in their childhoods, Pidge and Chip are adopted. They meet their parents at the orphanage. Pidge recalls some of the details behind the adoption in “The Green Medusa.”
PIDGE (inner monologue): I know what it’s like… finding new parents and a new home. I was an orphan, and I remember the day my new parents came to take me away. (Flashback to the orphanage) WOMAN: Are you sure you’ll like living with us? PIDGE: Yes, ma’am. I know I will. (Present) PIDGE (inner monologue): She was very good to me, but I always wished I’d had my own mother.
Pidge provides further details of the adoption in a letter that he writes to Chip in the episode “Letters from Home.”
PIDGE (voice over – as if reading his own letter to Chip): Remember the day at the orphanage, when Mom and Dad came to adopt me, and I said I wouldn’t go unless they took you, too? We swore we’d never be separated! Well, we’re finally separated, and I miss you.
The accompanying video, reused from “The Green Medusa,” shows only Pidge shaking the hand of his future adoptive mother.
We don’t know how old Pidge and Chip were when they became orphans. We don’t know how old they were when they were adopted. For that matter, we don’t know old they are in the “present” of the Voltron programs. In the footage from “The Green Medusa,” Pidge looks the same as he does in the “present” scenes of the program. This might suggest that Pidge and Chip were adopted no more than a few years before they joined the Voltron Force.
How are we to interpret what Pidge told Chip in the letter? Were Pidge and Chip’s future adoptive parents really planning to adopt only Pidge? Did Pidge have to put his foot down and insist that they also adopt Chip? Maybe the prospective parents had just met only Pidge, and Pidge told them up front that he and Chip must be adopted together, perhaps even before the prospective parents knew that Pidge had a brother.
In any case, how would Chip feel to be reminded, years later in a letter, that Pidge had insisted that Chip be adopted along with him? Pidge undoubtedly meant it to express how close they were to one another… but it’s also possible that the words, especially if said repeatedly over years, would make Chip feel inferior to his twin brother.
I point this out, because at the beginning of “Letters from Home,” Chip is sad because he hasn’t received a letter from his mother. (He receives the letter from Pidge at the end of the episode.) To hide this from his teammates, he goes so far as to write a fake letter that he claims is from his mother.
CHIP: Mom says, “I think of you often. We had a nice long letter from your brother Pidge today. He’s fine. I wish you and he were stationed together. Twins shouldn’t be separated. I miss you both.”
One might interpret this as more than a fake letter. It sounds like a cry for help. Maybe Chip isn’t doing well with the separation from his brother, but he perceives that Pidge is doing fine. And maybe it’s Chip who wishes he and Pidge were stationed together, especially when we learn later from Pidge’s letter that the brothers swore they’d never be separated.
In any case, Chip’s friends notice his sadness.
KRIK: Obviously his mother, for some good reason, couldn’t write to him this time around. So he felt abandoned all over again.
Chip is so distraught that he fails to join the rest of the Air Team on a mission. Later his teammate Rocky looks directly at Chip and speaks of him in the third person, with words so pointed as to suggest that Rocky knows just how to hurt his friend most. I don’t think Rocky means to be as hurtful as he comes across, since in many other episodes, he and Chip seem to be close pals, but…
ROCKY: This squirt thinks because he’s small, he gets special privileges! Well, he don’t! He’s gotta grow up and learn to be half the man his brother Pidge is!
Chip felt abandoned by his real parents, and he feels abandoned now from not having gotten a letter from his mother. He feels inferior to his twin brother, and Rocky’s words seem to confirm that belief. Ouch.
Later Chip talks about his fake letter to his friend, Lisa of the Sea Team.
CHIP: I wrote this to myself, and everybody knows it. How can a person be so dumb and live? Why didn’t she write? Maybe something bad happened to Pidge!
Chip just said, in so many words, that he doesn’t deserve to live! Then he covers it up by worrying once more about Pidge.
And how does Lisa respond?
LISA: Everything’ll be all right, Chip. You weren’t the only one who didn’t get mail. Sometimes a packet gets held up or lost. Aw, come on. You wouldn’t want your brother to see you like this, would you?
Soon afterward, a Robeast attacks, and the Voltron pilots are called to their ships.
LISA: Chip, yo you hear that? They need us. Come along. It’s not too late! What about Pidge? Wouldn’t he jump if *his* team needed him at a time like this? CHIP: Wait up, Lisa! I’m coming! Just because I’ve been a wimp, doesn’t mean I have to stay a wimp! LISA: You’re no wimp.
Lisa also means well, but her words seem to reinforce — twice — that Pidge is the better of the twins. And when Chip calls himself a wimp, she refutes his feelings.
I feel for the guy.
And at the end of the episode, when Chip finally gets that letter from Pidge, how does it conclude?
PIDGE (voice over – as if reading his own letter to Chip): Mostly I work with our Voltron team to defend Princess Allura and her planet from invasion. I fly the Green Lion, and I form Voltron’s left arm. I’m left-handed, you know. What part are you on your Voltron team? You oughta be the head. You always had the brains! Hey, do you think we’ll ever get to take that vacation we’ve been dreaming about for years? Well, write soon, and fill me in on everything! Chip (in tears, reading the letter): Love, Pidge.
Although the letter doesn’t state this outright, it seems like this is the first letter that Chip has received from Pidge since they separated. Why else would Chip not know about Pidge’s mission, or which Lion Pidge pilots, and why would Pidge not know which Rugger Chip pilots?
It’s no wonder that Chip is so sad. He became an orphan. He feels that he was adopted only because Pidge insisted that Chip be adopted. He feels inferior to Pidge. His friends’ words seem to reinforce that he is inferior to Pidge. He hasn’t heard from Pidge in weeks, months, or even longer. And he hasn’t heard from his mother as he had expected.
But it gets worse. In an earlier episode, “Pidge’s Home Planet,” Pidge and Chip’s home planet is destroyed!
PIDGE: Picking up radioactive missiles heading for Planet Balto! Oh, no! That’s my home planet, Keith! It’s being attacked! PIDGE: “My family was moving to another planet. I don’t know if they made it! Gotta go and see! LANCE: The whole planet has been destroyed! Wiped out! HUNK: Pidge, we’re near your village! PIDGE: I see, but I don’t recognize it. Wait, that’s my school… my home! PIDGE: Looks like the people escaped to another planet, but my world is sure ruined! KEITH: At least we’re sure everybody got safely off the planet before Lotor started his dirty work.
After a battle between Lotor and Voltron, Balto explodes!
PIDGE: At least I can think of Planet Arus as my home now till I find where my family has gone. Wish I could’ve seen my back yard once more.
Later in the episode, Pidge receives welcome news from his friend and teammate.
ALLURA: When get back to Arus, I’m going to make you an honorary citizen! Then you’ll have both a new home and a new world. Okay, Pidge? PIDGE: I’d like that.
And later, on Arus:
ALLURA: To Pidge! Now a full-fledged citizen of Planet Arua! PIDGE (to the Space Mice): Hi, fellow citizens! This is *my* country now! I could become a duke! An earl or a baron or maybe even a knight! But gimme your honest opinion. Am I too short to be a prime minister?
Pidge might seem to be in a better state than his brother, but Pidge might not be in the best mindset either. In “The Sleeping Princess,” Prince Lotor and witch Haggar execute an elaborate plan to make Princess Allura seem to have died, so that during her funeral, they can steal her body and take her back to Planet Doom. As Lotor drives the hijacked, horse-drawn hearse, Pidge jumps onto the carriage and tries to strangle Lotor. Eventually during a skirmish, Lotor stops the hearse and holds the unconscious Allura in his arms, ready to take her away. Pidge halts their plans temporarily by revealing a grenade and pulling out its pin with his teeth!
PIDGE: Her life means more than yours or mine or anybody’s!
Lotor then puts Allura on the ground.
PIDGE: Now get out! I oughta feed you this!
Then Pidge, who is still holding the live grenade, charges at Lotor and Haggar! Hunk and Keith plead with Pidge to get rid of the grenade, but he ignores them. As Pidge reaches Lotor, Lotor leaps over Pidge’s head. Pidge is knocked backward, landing next to Allura, and the grenade flies out of his hand. Pidge places himself over Allura’s body to shield her from the coming blast. The grenade lands on the hearse and explodes!
What was Pidge thinking? Anyone in the Voltron Force would stop at nothing to protect Allura from Lotor, but… a grenade? Why did Pidge have a grenade to begin with? Was he the only person who brought a grenade to Allura’s staged funeral? And why did he pull the pin so early during the confrontation with Lotor?
Pidge usually seems like an outgoing and joyful person, but his behavior during this incident suggests that he was in a dark place. Did he feel imdebted to Allura for making him an honorary citizen of her planet? Was this culmination of his childhood as an orphan, a lengthy separation from his twin brother, and the destruction of his home planet?
Pidge and Chip weren’t the only kids in their adopted family. They also have a younger sister. Pidge mentions her in the episode “Surrender,” after he meets a young girl named Tammy, who tells Pidge that after she grows up, she wants to become a Space Explorer like Pidge and the rest of the Voltron Force.
PIDGE (inner monologue): She reminds me of my kid sister back with the Space Explorers on Planet Terra.
Even as members of the Voltron Force, Pidge and Chip seem to be minors, and they have an even younger sister who is among other Space Explorers. If we assume that Pidge and Chip are about twelve years old, how old would their younger sister be — ten? Even younger? Tammy seemed to be no older than about eight.
March 4, 2019, Update: Shannon Muir suggested to me that perhaps one or both of Pidge and Chip’s adopted parents were career Space Explorers. This might have influenced the brothers’ decision to become Space Explorers themselves, and it might explain why their sister was “with the Space Explorers” — because she was with her parents.
How are Pidge and Chip related to their sister? She is mentioned only in “Surrender.” She might not be their biological sister. She might be the biological child of Pidge and Chip’s adoptive parents — or she might also be adopted.
In “Final Victory,” Lotor has been defeated — although it’s not known for how long — and Pidge contemplates the future.
Pidge (inner monologue): Now that there’s peace in *this* part of the universe, I guess the Galaxy Alliance will be sending us out on assignment some place else. Hey, maybe they’ll call us back to join the rest of the Voltron Force! I’ll get to see my brother, Chip, again! I’m gonna write him a apace letter right away!
Aboard the Stellar Ship Explorer, Chip receives another letter.
ROCKY: Hey, Chip, looks like you got a *real* letter today! CHIP: It’s from my brother, Pidge! He says their Voltron Force defeated all the Drule bad guys in the Danubian Galaxy. Now maybe they’ll be coming back to join us! If the Galaxy Alliance doesn’t decide to transfer them to another trouble spot. JEFF: And if *we* don’t get sent to another galaxy! But then we expect that, because we’re all a part of Voltron, Defender of the Universe!
The twins finally re-unite in “Fleet of Doom.” We see them smiling and shaking hands, and a Space Mouse sits on a shoulder of each brother. Chip is taller than Pidge, and they don’t look exactly alike, which suggests that they are fraternal rather than identical twins.
After the events of “Fleet of Doom,” I imagine that Pidge showed his brother some of the Space Mice’s talents, which he had mentioned in his first letter to Pidge in “Letters from Home.”
PIDGE (voice over – as if reading his own letter to Chip): When we’re not flying, I spend my time training animals. You oughta see the great act I’m putting together with some very clever mice here at the Castle.
As an additional curiosity, in “A Ghost and Four Keys,” Pidge calls himself an “Earth man.”
PIDGE: Come on, you robots! You’re only a bunch of nuts and bolts! Let’s see what you can do against one little Earth man!
Why would Pidge call himself an “Earth man?” Before joining the Voltron Force, the brothers had lived on Balto. Did they live on Earth before they were adopted? Were they born on Earth? Did Pidge call himself an “Earth man” simply because he had attended the Space Academy of the Galaxy Alliance, which was headquartered on Earth? Voltron: The Third Dimension establishes Pidge to be a native of Balto, and Voltron Force establishes the same for Pidge and Chip, but that’s not necessarily true in Voltron: Defender of the Universe.
August 23, 2019, Update: I recently noticed a voiceover line of Pidge from the episode “The Little Prince.” The Voltron Force, trapped on the Omega Comet, is on its way to oblivion. A mysterious angel appears before them and offers to them the opportunity to proceed to the afterlife, sacrificing Arus to Lotor, or to return to Arus, sacrificing this opportunity to see what lies beyond. Pidge considers the alternatives:
PIDGE: Maybe I’d see my family again. No, we’ve gotta go back to Arus!
It’s unclear whether Pidge is referring to his biological parents or his adoptive parents. In “Pidge’s Home Planet,” Pidge mentions that he needs to find out where his presumably adoptive family has gone following the devastation of Balto. Maybe he subsequently learned that his adoptive family did not survive.
Pidge and Chip overcame major obstacles in their younger years, they lost their home planet, and they continue to struggle with feelings of abandonment and insecurity. But they are every bit as heroic as their bigger teammates in the Voltron Force.
During a recent re-watch of the Voltron: Defender of the Universe episode “Letters from Home,” which was adapted from the Armored Fleet Dairugger XV episode “Get Yourself Together, Mutsu,” I noticed a funny Easter egg.
In this single shot, Ginger’s Voltron vehicle or “Rugger” bears the name “USS Enterprise,” presumably from Star Trek! Some old-school fans differentiate the Vehicle Team episodes of 1980s Voltron by likening it to Star Trek, while likening the Lion Force episodes to Star Wars. Maybe this is why!
I have no idea why the “USS Enterprise” marking would be next to an “SR-5” marking. Ginger’s Rugger is Rugger #5, so “R-5” would make sense… but what’s with the “S?” In Voltron, Ginger is part of the Air Team — but “Air” doesn’t start with “S.” The five Air Team vehicles combine into the Strato Fighter, so maybe that’s where the “S” comes from. On the other hand, in Dairugger, the team is called the Air Rugger Team — the “Aki Team” for short, and the five Ruggers form the Air Rugger. None of those terms start with “S.”
Then again, I’m trying to rationalize a marking that’s next to a nonsensical “USS Enterprise” marking. Curse you, brain, for overthinking yet again! :)
Neil Ross, best known to Voltron fans as the voices of Keith and Pidge in Voltron: Defender of the Universe, has written a new book called Vocal Recall: A Life in Radio and Voiceovers. As described on Neil’s website, NeilBook.com:
How does a kid who survives the rain of V-2 rockets on London in the waning years of World War II, end up in Hollywood announcing the Diamond Jubilee of Oscar? Veteran Hollywood voice actor Neil Ross tells the amazing story of his life, and fifty-plus year career, in two exciting, highly competitive professions in his autobiography: Vocal Recall A Life in Radio and Voiceovers.
Check out NeilBook.com for a full description of the book, plus sample pages. The book can be ordered as a paperback, a downloadable audio book read by Neil Ross himself, a downloadable eBook in Kindle format, and as a downloadable e-Book in PDF format. You can also order a custom autographed bookplate to personalize your book.
Ross’ many other Voltron voices include but aren’t limited to Jeff, Chip, Bandor, and Commander Steele from Voltron: Defender of the Universe, and Keith and Amalgamus from Voltron: The Third Dimension.
The Shake Ups, a band that specializes in pop culture-themed “power pop” music, is releasing a Voltron-inspired album on June 1, 2018. Entitled The Shake Ups – Legendary Defenders, the album features 15 tracks that cover Voltron Legendary Defender and Voltron: Defender of the Universe. The tracks cover a variety of topics in Voltron lore, from Shiro, Haggar, and even the Space Mice from Voltron Legendary Defender to the Voltron Vehicle Team from Voltron: Defender of the Universe.
In a Let’s Voltron: The Official Voltron Podcast episode scheduled to be released on June 1, Marc Morrell and I spoke with band members Patrick O’Connor and Savannah O’Connor about the upcoming album. The Shake Ups were kind enough to allow Marc and I an early listen to the album, and… well… it’s a lot of fun! There’s something to like in each of the tracks. My personal favorites are “Space Mice”, “Quiznak!”, and “Team Punk.”
If you like Voltron and music, you’ll like Voltron music — and you’ll like this album, so check it out!
In the 1980s, and still today, toy makers try to entice retailers to purchase current and possible future toy offerings at an annual trade show called New York Toy Fair. In the pre-Internet era of the 1980s, a toy maker would give printed catalogs to retailers, so that they would be aware of the toys that the company made, how to order them, and other information.
In the mid-1980s, Voltron: Defender of the Universe was a hot toy property, and Matchbox was Voltron’s first licensed toy maker. All of Matchbox’s Voltron toy offerings were modified re-releases of toys that had originally been produced by Popy, later Bandai, for the anime programs that were adapted to make Voltron.
Here are some photos of Matchbox’s 1985 and 1986 Toy Fair catalogs!
1985
Front Cover
What’s that on the cover? Is that Voltron? Yes — it’s Voltron I! There’s not a lion to be found… yet. Given Matchbox’s history with small toy cars, this Voltron does seem to be the most appropriate robot to feature on the cover of the catalog.
Pages 48-49
It’s Voltron I! This mighty robot had five toy offerings:
700211 Voltron I Air Warrior Set
700212 Voltron I Space Warrior Set
700213 Voltron I Land Warrior Set
700002 Voltron I Miniature Space Warrior Robot
700210 Voltron I The Deluxe Warrior Set.
If I were a nitpicker, I would point out that the forearm vehicles are swapped in the photo of The Deluxe Warrior Set — and in the photo of the Land Warrior Set. I’d also point out that the Air Warrior Set, Space Warrior Set, and Land Warrior Set did not have die-cast parts. It’s good that I’m not a nitpicker.
Note the “NEW! TV” markings on each page. Having a television program as a promotional outlet for toys was and still is hugely important to a retailer.
Pages 50-51
It’s Voltron II! This mighty robot had four toy offerings:
700100 Voltron II Miniature Red Gladiator Robot
700110 Voltron II Miniature Blue Gladiator Robot
700120 Voltron II Miniature Black Gladiator Robot
700220 Voltron II The Deluxe Gladiator Set.
These toys are also “NEW! TV” — but Voltron II never appeared on TV, at least not in the Voltron: Defender of the Universe program. To my knowledge, Matchbox never even televised ads for this poor guy, who incidentally is horribly mis-transformed on page 51. As shown in the catalog, the Blue Gladiator Robot’s head seems to be stuck in the ro-butt of the Black Gladiator Robot, whose head seems to be stuck in the ro-butt of the Red Gladiator Robot. It’s a good thing that robots don’t feel pain.
Pages 52-53
It’s Voltron III — or what most people today simply call Voltron. This mighty robot had five toy offerings:
700201 Voltron III Giant Black Lion Robot
700202 Voltron III Yellow and Green Mighty Lion Robots Set
700203 Voltron III Blue and Red Mighty Lion Robots Set
700001 Voltron III Miniature Lion Space Robot
700200 Voltron III The Deluxe Lion Set
Again, it’s good that I’m not a nitpicker, because if I were, I’d point out that, in the photo of The Deluxe Lion Set:
The rear feet of Blue and Yellow Lions are pointed incorrectly.
The front legs of Blue and Yellow Lions are posed incorrectly.
Black Lion’s rear legs (Voltron’s thighs) are posed very strangely.
Black Lion’s shoulders (Voltron’s shoulders) are oriented incorrectly.
Black Lion has a yellow button on its left shoulder. This play feature was never present in the released Voltron toy.
Voltron III’s “NEW! TV” markings are the most apropos of the three robots, because after the first run of Voltron: Defender of the Universe, “Voltron I” all but disappeared from television, and as I already mentioned, “Voltron II” never made it to TV.
1986
Front Cover
What the heck are those toys? They aren’t Voltron toys, and more strangely, they aren’t the tiny, die-cast toy cars for which Matchbox was best known. Read on, fearless reader!
Table of Contents
Voltron scored two fewer pages in 1986 than it enjoyed in 1985. Then… there’s this thing called Robotech, which spanned 36 pages — whereas Matchbox’s traditional die-cast cars had only 22 pages. What gives?
Pages 30-31
If you’re thinking that these toys look like 1985’s “Voltron I” toys, then you’re thinking correctly. At some point, Matchbox must have gotten a memo from World Events Productions that the Roman numerals became passe sometime between when the TV program’s pilot episodes were made and when the “real” episodes were made. The renamed offerings were:
700211 Strato-Fighter
700212 Aqua-Fighter
700213 Turbo-Terrain-Fighter
700002 Miniature Vehicle Team Voltron
700210 Vehicle Team Voltron
Why was the “Aqua-Fighter” previously called the “Space Warrior?” I have no idea.
Pages 32-33
By 1986, poor “Voltron II” had disappeared even from Matchbox’s toy offerings. Fortunately “Voltron III” was still around, albeit renamed. The 1986 offerings for this Voltron robot were:
700201 Giant Black Lion
700202 Yellow and Green Lions
700203 Blue and Red Lions
700001 Miniature Lion Force Voltron
700200 Lion Force Voltron
700401 Blazing Sword Set
700402 Miniature Blazing Sword Set
The new-to-1986 items, 700401 and 700402, probably came along because someone at Matchbox realized that Voltron had become kind of well known for using a sword.
The Lion Force Voltron toy is once again mis-transformed:
The rear feet of Blue and Yellow Lions are pointed incorrectly.
The front legs of Blue Lion seem to be posed incorrectly.
Black Lion’s shoulders (Voltron’s shoulders) are oriented correctly; however, Black Lion’s lower front legs are sticking out as if whoever set up the toy didn’t know that the lower front legs could be folded inside the shoulders.
Pages 34-35
These pages have nothing to do with Voltron, but they have everything to do with the catalog’s cover, as well as the most prominently featured licensed property in the catalog: Robotech, another animated program made by adapting multiple anime programs. Matchbox put a huge investment into Robotech. The company launched an enormous product line targeted at boys and girls, and it was co-financing the production of a 65-episode sequel to Robotech, called Robotech II: The Sentinels. Unfortunately retailer interest at 1986 New York Toy Fair was well below expectations. This and other factors led to Matchbox abandoning Robotech II: The Sentinels mid-production. But that’s a story for a different website.
And there you have it — Voltron as it appeared in Matchbox’s 1985 and 1986 Toy Fair retailer catalogs.
Updated December 6, 2017, with information from a recent New York Times article about shipping.
Since Voltron: Defender of the Universe premiered in 1984, there has been Voltron fan art and fan fiction. Perhaps surprisingly to a casual Voltron fan, much of Voltron fan art and fan fiction concerns romantic relationships.
Fans of Voltron: Defender of the Universe have created relationship-based fan art and fan fiction for a small number of pairings, the most popular of which seems to be between Keith and Princess Allura. Such stories commonly were, and to a lesser extent still are, called “K/A” for “Keith/Allura.” In the TV program, a Keith/Allura romance was only subtly implied, most notably in the final episode, “Fleet of Doom.” In that story, Haggar releases Keith and Allura from an alternate dimension. She tells them to let their love guide them home. When they return to the real world, Keith holds Allura’s hands, and they smile at each other. Voltron: Defender of the Universe fan art and fan fiction also explore other romantic pairings, including but not limited to Sven and Romelle — the couple that was most overtly suggested in the TV program — as well as Lotor and Allura, and Lance and Allura.
Voltron: The Third Dimension does not seem to have inspired much in the way of fan art or fan fiction.
Voltron Force inspired relationship-based fan art and fan fiction, much of which explores a Keith/Allura relationship. Voltron Force was subtle but direct in suggesting a Keith/Allura romance. In “Gary,” Keith says, “if it’s what Allura wants, then it’s what I want.” Afterward, Allura smiles, eyebrows raised. In “Crossed Signals,” the pair hold hands, and in front of the other members and cadets of the Voltron Force, Allura puts her hands on Keith’s right shoulder and gives him a loving look. In “Deceive and Conquer,” the recently crowned Queen Allura suggests, in front of the rest of the Voltron Force, that Keith, who in this show is of Arusian heritage, become king. It’s clear to the rest of the Force that Keith and Allura are a couple. Later Keith smiles and has an arm around Allura. In the final episode, “Black,” when Allura first sees Keith, it’s clear from the look on her face that she is in love with him.
Voltron Legendary Defender has inspired a new wave of fan art and fan fiction. The scale of this wave of fan creativity is unprecedented in Voltron fandom. A sizable amount of this program’s fan art and fan fiction concerns romantic and/or physical relationships — commonly abbreviated as ships. Fans who support ships are commonly called shippers. Many shippers name ships after the people are in the ship. Ships explored in Voltron Legendary Defender fan art and fan fiction include, but are by no means limited to, the ones listed below. More comprehensive ship lists are available online.
Characters
Ship Name
Shiro, Keith
Sheith
Shiro, Lance
Shance
Shiro, Keith, Lance
Shklance
Keith, Lance
Klance
Keith, Allura
Kallura
Hunk, Lance
Hance
Lance, Lotor
Lancelot
As reported in December 4, 2017, article in the New York Times (Link), the most popular ship in all of Tumblr in 2017 was “Klance” (Keith/Lance). According to Tumblr (Link), “Sheith” was a still impressive #12.
Voltron Legendary Defender ships have been a source of strife among some shippers. A small subset of shippers have demanded that the creators of Voltron Legendary Defender make their favorite ships “canon” — that is, overtly depict the ship in the television program. A tiny number of shippers have even attacked or threatened other shippers who prefer different ships, or the show’s creators if their favorite ships are not made canon. As a very small but very vocal subset of shippers actively attack other people, as of this writing (December 2017, between the releases of the fourth and fifth seasons), the Voltron Legendary Defender TV program has not depicted a romance among any of the show’s prominent characters. In essence, a militant shipper lashes out at others for not imagining what he or she is imagining. Even if one or more ships were to become “canon” in the show, it wouldn’t make anyone’s imagination any less valid than anyone else’s imagination.
Relationship-based Voltron fan art and fan fiction have existed since the 1980s, and today they are more prominent than ever. As long as their creators and consumers treat others with kindness, fan art and fan fiction are fun ways to celebrate and share enthusiasm for Voltron.
This author supports fellow fans’ enthusiasm and creativity. It is the opinion of this author that all fan-imagined romantic and physical relationships are equally valid, as long as they are consensual and lawful.