One of the mainstay figures in the Voltron franchise is Lord Zarkon. The equivalent of Emperor Palpatine from the Star Wars Universe, he's as treacherous as villains get, which is why fans were excited to see Netflix's Voltron: Legendary Defender make him the main tyrant for most of the series.
However, one major twist came with the revelation Zarkon was actually the Paladin for the Black Lion centuries before. With that in mind, we're taking a look back at his corruption and subsequent rise to power as he enslaved most of the galaxy using the Galra Empire.
THE ORIGINAL BLACK PALADIN
Zarkon worked alongside Alura's dad, King Alfor of Althea, to explore the cosmos for resources to improve life for all planets. When a meteor landed on Daibazaal, a crater formed which allowed Zarkon's team access to Quintessence. Alfor used the energy and ore from the crater to create the Five Lions in the name of justice, and they merged to form Voltron later on.
When deadly creatures began emerging from the crater, Alfor wanted the rift sealed, but Zarkon kept pushing for them harness the energy so they could police the galaxy as Voltron. Eventually, they eliminated the monsters, and Voltron becomes a beacon of hope across the cosmos. However, Honerva, Zarkon's scientist wife, was infected by the Quintessence, which saw him fall from grace as the Black Paladin.
ZARKON'S RISE AS EMPEROR
Zarkon wanted to cure Honerva and tricked Team Voltron into entering the Quintessence dimension. This was all part of his plan to bathe himself and his wife in its healing energies. Zarkon thought this was the key to immortality, but they became monsters when the emerged later on. They seemingly returned from the dead, disfigured, with Honerva turning into the witch, Haggar.
They attacked the other Paladins and destroyed Althea as revenge for Alfor letting Daibazaal die, even though he had no choice if he wanted to save the rest of the galaxy. Zarkon went after the other Lions to kill the remaining Paladins, but Alfor hid the Lions away before he died so that his daughter and her friends would find the Lions later on in the series. Zarkon went on unperturbed, though, as he wanted to use the Quintessence as a power source now that he was the Galra Emperor and the universe was trembling at his might.
HIS DEATH AND THE LEGACY LEFT BEHIND
As the series unfolded, Zarkon went into a coma after battling the new Paladins, namely Shiro (the new Black pilot) and Keith (the Red Paladin), who both knew secrets to the Lions since they were pure of heart. But Haggar would have none of this, and she used her dark magic and Quintessence to bring the Emperor back as she remembered how much she loved him. By this time, Prince Lotor had taken over the Empire, only to switch sides to help Team Voltron stop his dad once and for all.
Lotor used his own mech-like suit to battle Zarkon in a hostage situation where Sam Holt was held by the villain. Wth the aid of the other Paladins, Lotor was able to ram a metal rod through Zarkon's robotic suit, killing him for good. But Lotor quickly succumbed to his father's maniacal ways, since he was merely using Voltron's pilots to get the Quintessence for himself.
Zarkon and the Empire were simply tools to the prince, but he too would perish when Haggar tried to rewrite the universe in the final season, as Team Voltron stopped the witch at the edge of all reality. In the finale, Alura harness the ghost of Zarkon to get to Haggar and Lotor as the power of family helped heal the cosmos and restore everything once again. Zarkon's life may have been about death and destruction, but his soul was redeemed in the end as life and the power of love triumphed.