Keith (Voltron: Legendary Defender)

Keith is the main protagonist from the Voltron: Legendary Defender series.
== Charactah Account ==
Keith is the current Paladin of the Black Lion of Voltron, and the former Paladin of the Red Lion as well. A man of few words and dry wit, Keith is a loner and rebel by nature with "discipline issues" that resulted in his expulsion from the Galaxy Garrison. He has stepped down as a Paladin to work for the Blade of Marmora, only to later regain his rank as the leader of Voltron.
Keith is hotheaded and temperamental, much like his (former) lion, which makes it hard for many to work with him. Known to be an orphan, Keith has trouble opening up and connecting with others aside from Shiro, who has acted as a mentor and guide for him; Keith quickly seemed to forget his fellow classmates once expelled from the Galaxy Garrison.
Keith spent most of his time after his expulsion living alone in a shack out in the desert and searching for the source of strange energy he felt, leading him to explore a nearby range of mountains. It was in these mountains that he learned of the existence of the Blue Lion once Shiro returns from his captivity in the Galra Empire and fellow Garrison cadets assist in the Lion's discovery.
== Appearance ==
=== Cartoons ===
* Voltron: Legendary Defender
* Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 2
* Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 3
* Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 4
* Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 5
* Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 6
* Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 7
* Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 8
=== Comics ===
* Voltron
* Voltron: Legendary Defender
=== Video Games ===
* Voltron VR Chronicles
== Trivia ==
* Keith was originally only known to be in his late teens. His age was published as being 18 in The Paladin's Handbook, which was not reviewed by executive series staff.
** While The Voltron Coalition Handbook states that a year has passed since Shiro's return to Earth, making Keith 19 by the time season six begins, his age is subject to his travels through the warped space-time of the Quantum Abyss, aging him two additional years. This was so Keith and Krolia could properly bond.
** Consequently, Keith ages two years ahead of the rest of Team Voltron, on top of the year he experiences along with everyone else, making him 21 years old at the youngest by season six's end, three years older than his age in season one. This also coincides with his Voltron: Defender of the Universe counterpart's being older than the rest of his team.
* Unlike the other Paladins, Keith's birth date was not revealed on social media, but instead first published in The Paladin's Handbook.
* Keith's full name is unknown. His mother, Krolia wanted to name him "Yurak", which is a reference to Yurak of Defender of the Universe.
* Keith's human ethnicity is unknown. What is known about his father's background is that he highly resembles Keith, possesses a rather mild southern accent, and appeared to be in his mid-thirties in Keith's vision of him.
* The Voltron Website describes Keith as an orphan.
* Keith is known to possess Galra heritage, as evidenced by his Galra knife (which he has possessed since early childhood) activating after passing the Trials of Marmora.
** Keith's Galra heritage was hinted at a few times during Season 1: his ability to activate the Galra technology on the Balmera with his handprint, his fighting style being remarked upon by Zarkon in their first duel, etc.
** Keith received his knife from his father, who in turn received it from Keith's mother. Therefore, it stands to reason Keith inherits his Galra lineage from his mother. This was revealed explicitly in the Season Five Episode "Bloodlines" when Keith meets his mother, a Blade of Marmora operative named Krolia, for the first time.
** Due to his father being human, Keith's maximum possible percentage of Galra heritage is 50%. This was confirmed in "Bloodlines" when he rescued a Blade from a Galra base who turned out to be Keith's mother.
* Despite his percentage of Galra heritage being unknown, Keith's Galra bloodline appears to be dominant over his human heritage in all but appearance, as Keith is able to access tech that is genetically encoded to the Galra; it did not reject him due to his human heritage. Additionally, Keith appears to be more physically resilient than most humans, able to handle punishment that utterly astounded a physical specimen like Shiro during the trials with the Blade of Marmora.
* Strangely, despite not appearing Galran on the surface, Keith's eyes are similar in color as the average Galran's skin tones.
* Keith is the first known character with part Galran heritage shown in the series. Others that followed include Lotor's generals.
* Keith is the first Galran shown in full profile in the series despite appearing human.
* Keith’s Marmorite blade, when fully manifested, bears a resemblance to the kukuri knife from Nepal.
* Keith now bears a facial marking similar in appearance to his mother's natural Galran markings after his duel with Shiro's clone.
* The showrunners have explained that Keith's two-year journey through the Quantum Abyss was not about aging him, but to give him time to really bond with Krolia, without losing time with the rest of the team.
== Gallery ==
File:Keith (Voltron - Legendary Defender) Render 01.png
File:Keith (Voltron - Legendary Defender) Render 02.png
File:Keith (Voltron - Legendary Defender) 01.png
File:Keith (Voltron - Legendary Defender) 02.png
File:Keith (Voltron - Legendary Defender) 03.png
== External Links ==
* Keith (Legendary Defender) at Voltron Wiki
Category:Characters
Category:Males
Category:Voltron: Legendary Defender