King Zarkon

Zarkon is the sadistic and tyrannical king of Planet Doomand the Drule Empire.

Fiction

Voltron: Defender of the Universe cartoon continuity

Based on Daibazaal from Beast King Golion

Emperor zarkon of Planet Doom is the absolute ruler of the Drule Empire he is cruel and calculating and will stop at nothing to get the lions of voltron and use them to destroy the universe.

Voltron: The Third Dimension

Later Zarkon managed to redeem himself, and became a member of the Galactic Council. His redemption, however, was a ruse by which he and his son worked together to take over the alliance and destroy the universe with his Robeasts

Personal History

Most of Zarkon's life before the series is not revealed. It is known he was crowned King of Doom and his son Lotor was born to him (though the order of those events was not revealed.) It is known that during the war between the Galaxy Alliance and the Drule Empire, Zarkon waged his own conquest campaign. The Drule Empire Council declared him an outlaw due to this independent campaign Summit Meeting, but he had his sympathizers even within the council.

He then set his sights on Planet Arus. He first launched an attack to lure Voltron out, and his witch Haggarcast a spell that split the robot to five parts. Soon after, he invaded, killing King Alfor in a duel. A few years later, he launched a massive bombing raid on Arus, and took many of the survivors as slaves. It was during this attack that Keith and company were captured. Space Explorers Captured

Voltron would soon come backThe Missing Key, and it and the Voltron Force would be a thorn on his side. While he scored temporary victories, he would be frustrated in his efforts to destroy the robot and conquer Arus.

Eventually, agents of the Drule Empire would depose him and make Lotor king of Doom. Zarkon was forced to pilot a Robeast and engage in battle with Voltron. Zarkon Becomes a RobeastWhile the robeast was destroyed, Zarkon escaped in an escape pod. By the next day, his war machine was destroyed, and it looked as if he would have to sit in the sidelines in the larger war between the Galaxy Alliance and the Drule Empire. Final Victory

But the conclusion of that war would give him an opportunity. Planet Doom exploded, and the Drule Empire died with it. The End of Hazar's World Furthermore, the Galaxy Alliance was weakened in its war of attrition with the drules. Zarkon launched a second campaign of conquest. One of his early targets in his second campaign was Planet Pollux, and Cossack the Terrible, a general in the Doom military, led the attack. Dinner and a Show

Zarkon launched several offensives and made new alliances. Most notably, in an alliance with Largo of the Rogue Galaxy, he launched an attack on Earth, even capturing Galaxy Garrison briefly. Who's Flyin' Blue LionHe also made an alliance with Queen Merla, who was trying to fill in the power vacuum in the wake of the Drule Empire's death throes. Enter Merla: Queen of Darkness Merla would later break that alliance. The Alliance Strikes Back!

One day, Lotor made a failed attempt on his life, and he imprisoned his son. Lotor had escaped, and a short civil war started between father and son. Lotor - My Hero? Meanwhile, Zarkon was losing his second conquest campaign, as the Alliance went on the offense. The Alliance Strikes Back! Zarkon and Lotor eventually reconciled and executed a plan to trap Voltron and the Voltron Force on an exploding planet. Breakin' up is Hard to Doom

He made another power bid with Throk, a former Drule Empire viceroy. Their plan was thwarted by both Lion Voltron and Vehicle Voltron.

Trivia

• In the Japanese version, Zarkon's character was eventually killed by GoLion.