Keith (Legendary Defender)

* The Black Lion
 Birthday
 Sex
 Species
 Height
 Weight
 Alignment | Neutral Good

**Keith** is one of the main characters of Voltron: Legendary Defender, a reboot of the Voltron anime series.

## Background

Not much is known about Keith's backstory. Orphaned at a young age, the only remnants Keith had of his parents was a knife given to him by his mother Krolia, a Galra and member of the Blade of Marmora, though he didn't know this at the time. At some point in time, Keith met Shiro, an ace pilot from the Galaxy Garrison, and enrolled in the Garrison himself. During his time as a pilot, Keith was considered one of the best of his generation, which earned jealousy from his classmate Lance. However, disciplinary issues led to Keith being kicked out of the school, and he went to live in a shack in the desert to search for a new purpose in life. That came when Shiro, who was thought to have died while on a mission, crashed on Earth after escaping from an alien empire known as the Galra, which abducted him. After saving him with the help of Lance and two other Garrison students, Hunk and Pidge, the five fled to Keith's shack, and went to find a strange blue mechanical lion that Keith had been having visions of. The Blue Lion then took the five through space, until they reached the planet Arus, where they accidentally freed an alien princess and her adviser from stasis. The princess, Allura, revealed that the lion was a piece of the superweapon Voltron, which the Galra have been searching for, and that there are four other Lions that needed to be found to form Voltron and stop the Galra's conquest of the universe. Keith was chosen to pilot the Red Lion, the most restless and hard to control of the lions. After Shiro's mysterious disappearance, Keith was chosen as the new leader of the Paladins and Paladin of the Black Lion.

## Powers & Abilities

* **Skilled Pilot:** Keith is an incredible pilot, being considered the best of his generation during his time at the Garrison. He's been able to control a one-man hovercraft that was overweight and still move at high speeds, and maneuver through an asteroid field without getting hit once. This skill got him his position as the Paladin of the Red Lion, and he was even good enough to briefly control the Black Lion, the lion meant for the leader of Voltron to pilot. He was also chosen to pilot the Black Lion after Shiro's disappearance.
* **Skilled Fighter:** Keith is one of the team's best fighters up-close, only behind Shiro. He's been said by Zarkon to fight like a Galra soldier, never giving up unless he wins, or dies trying. However, this determination can send him into a berserker rage during combat, pushing him past his limits, at the cost of clouding his judgement. After awakening his knife and coming to terms with his Galra heritage, Keith learned to adapt his fighting style to incorporate the Blade of Marmora's techniques.
* **Bond with the Black Lion:** After returning to his position as the Black Paladin, Keith was able to bond with the Black Lion enough to see through its eyes. This allows the Black Lion to show Keith visions of other people, even those who are far away, or even show him past events that the Black Lion witnessed.
* **Galra Blood:** Due to being a hybrid of human and Galra, Keith is able to interact with and activate Galra technology.

## Equipment

* **Paladin Armor:**The standard armor worn by Paladins of Voltron. The armor protects Keith from harm, allows communication with the other Paladins, and is equipped with a jetpack for sustained flight, along with an energy shield to block attacks. The helmet produces oxygen when worn, allowing Keith to function normally underwater or in a vacuum, and the bracers can fire small lasers or project holograms of Keith.
* **Bayard:** The Bayards are the Paladins' main weapons when on foot. When not in use, they're stored inside the Paladin's armor, and can be summoned to the hand at will. Each Bayard takes the form most suitable for its wielder, and Keith's takes the form of a sword sharp enough to easily slice through steel. Keith has incredible skill with his Bayard, enough that he can swiftly revert it to its inactive form and warp it between his hands with one quick motion. He later gained the ability to transform his Bayard into a large, arm-mounted laser cannon, which has enough power to easily blast through thick metal walls.
* **Knife:** A knife used by the Blade of Marmora, which is Keith's only remnant of his mother Krolia. The blade is made of luxite, making it incredibly sharp, and due to his Galra blood, Keith can will the knife into full-length sword.
* **The Black Lion:** Forged from a meteor that crashed on the Galra homeworld, the Red Lion is one of the five robotic lions that combine together to form Voltron. When the five lions form Voltron, the Black Lion forms into the head and torso of the giant robot, and Keith, as its Paladin, is the leader of the Paladins as a result. The Black Lion is the strongest of the Lions, able to destroy an entire fleet of Galra ships by itself, and is extremely balanced in terms of strength, speed, and durability. All the Lions are sentient to some extent, and can move to protect their Paladins without a pilot.
	+ **Armor:** The Black Lion's armor is incredibly tough, able to take laser blasts and explosions without a scratch.
	+ **Rocket Boosters:** All the Lions have rocket boosters mounted on the back, allowing for high-speed flight. The Lions are each fast enough to travel from Earth to Pluto in seconds, making them faster than the speed of light.
	+ **Laser Cannons:** The Black Lion has laser cannons stored inside the mouth and tail, both of which have enough power to pierce through a Galra ship in one shot.
	+ **Jaw Blades:** For close-ranged combat, the Black Lion can form blades from its jaws that can slice clean through a Galra ship. The jaw blades can also be thrown like a boomerang.
	+ **Wings:** Unlike the other Lions, the Black Lion has a pair of wings on its back. While they normally appear simple, Keith can unfurl the wings, making them larger and covered with bladed energy feathers that can destroy several ships with one strike. Unfurling the wings also grants the Black Lion a massive boost in speed and power, along with the ability to teleport.

## Feats

### Strength

* Knocked out grown men with his bare hands.
* Sliced through solid steel.
* Took down trained Galra soldiers.
* Traded blows with an Altean robot.
* Sliced off the clone Shiro's robotic arm.
* The Black Lion can slice clean through Galra ships.

### Speed

* Considered the fastest of the Paladins.
* Dodged magic blasts of lightning from a Galra druid.
* Can dodge laser fire.
* The Black Lion can fly fast enough to escape from a black hole.

### Durability

* Survived a brutal beating from the Blade of Marmora.
* Has survived laser blasts and explosions.
* Survived several magic attacks from a Galra druid.
* The Black Lion can tank explosions and laser fire without a scratch.
* The Black Lion can survived a shot from the Ion Cannon, which can blow up planets at full-charge.

### Skill

* Was the top pilot in his Garrison class.
* Chosen to pilot the Red Lion.
* Fought on par with Sendak.
* Fought with a Galra druid.
* Survived a battle with Zarkon.
* Briefly piloted the Black Lion.
* Shiro chose him to lead Voltron if anything happens to him.
* Infiltrated Zarkon's ship and escaped.
* Chosen over Shiro as the Black Paladin.
* Became a full-time member of the Blade of Marmora.
* Defeated the clone Shiro in a fight.

## Weaknesses

* Hot-headed and rash, though he seems to have overcome this since returning to the Paladins.
* Won't run from a fight, even if it kills him.
* Lacks confidence in his leadership abilities, though he seems to have overcome this since returning to the Paladins.
* Can't form Voltron without the other Paladins.
* Another Paladin who has a strong bond with the Black Lion can take control away from him.

## Fun Facts

* The Legendary Defender version of Keith isn't the first one to have alien genetics. His Voltron Force incarnation was part-Arusian.