Voltron: Legendary Defender has been one of Netflix's biggest animated properties to date, revitalizing the fan-favorite '80s cartoon for a new generation. And as much as it's been filled with nostalgic overtones, the way the series has gone about refining and reimagining characters was definitely one of its strong points.
One of those heroes is Coran, the Altean genius tasked with keeping Princess Allura safe and looking after Voltron's Lions and their pilots, the Paladins. With that in mind, let's look at his contribution to the show and how he proved to be a vital part of Team Voltron's heartbeat.
WHAT IS CORAN'S HISTORY?
Coran has quite a storied history in the Voltron mythos, since he's literally tied to the creation of the Castle of Lions. His grandfather built the castle over 10,000 years ago, designing it as a weapon to defend Altea. Coran, who's 600 years old himself, ended up inside it, locked in stasis along with Allura, after Emperor Zarkon betrayed the Altean empire and began enslaving the galaxy for the Galra.
Sadly, he'd witness Altea's destruction at Zarkon's hands, and once awakened, he'd become one of the last vestiges of his planet's deep knowledge of the cosmos. He was the most trusted advisor of King Alfor, Allura's dad, and would go on to provide Voltron's crew with the necessary information and background on how to break Zarkon's ever-spreading tyranny. Most importantly, he'd become Allura's mentor, helping her fulfill her true potential as Alfor's scientific and magical successor.
WHAT CAN CORAN ACTUALLY DO?
As funny and ditzy as he was, Coran was also quite the warrior. He's nimble in battle and could wield anything from swords to guns, not to mention he knew a fair amount of martial arts from all across the cosmos. We saw this when he suited up in his Paladin gear, and while he wasn't a full-time Voltron pilot, he showed his worth as a true scrapper in the field. That said, his brain was by far, his biggest asset.
He's basically a one-man library, holding centuries of intelligence inside his mind, from all over the vast reaches of space. This is why he's so eccentric, his mind literally has to process tons of data few Altean minds ever could. Dramatics aside, Coran's also an amazing pilot and he was in charge of manning the Castle's offensive and defensive weapons, effectively making it a Death Star at times. Also, Coran was able to change his skin color to blend in with other species to keep his Altean lineage secret on covert missions, since Zarkon often had hits out on him and Allura.
WHERE CORAN WAS WHEN THE STORY ENDED?
Cohan's journey was quite selfless, and his heroic tenure came full circle in the final season as he inspired Shiro and Earth's fleet to create their own Voltron-esque ship. The Castle was taken out after Coran's distrust of the vile Prince Lotor turned out to be justified, but with his integral help, this new vessel was rebuilt to match Voltron's power.
His protective instincts also saw him evolve into more than just a mentor to Allura, which made it so painful when he had to watch her sacrifice herself to save the Multiverse. It felt like he lost a daughter, but Coran knew he had to continue her legacy of helping unite all planets.
His compassion and care would stitch together a stronger alliance and at the very end, with a new Altean colony and several alien species living together in this utopian coalition, Coran's headquarters was used for a tribute dinner to Allura and to also comfort Lance, who loved her deeply. By the time the Lions departed, he immediately realized the universe didn't need Voltron anymore, finally accepting that he helped achieve the dream Allura and Alfor wanted all along.