Original artwork, not a still
Form blazing sword!
— Voltron: Defender of the Universe · 1984
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the moment the toy-commercial mechanics become the show's big finish: the formation is done, the robeast has taken everything and the only thing left is the sword. Fans of 1980s Saturday-morning robots remember it as a call-and-response ritual, shouted by a leader to a machine that obeys. The line, and its sibling commands for forming feet, legs and head, became shorthand for any final all-in move.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Voltron: Defender of the UniverseShow the scene
In Voltron: Defender of the Universe, which aired in US syndication from September 1984, the five robot lions of the Voltron Force combine into one giant robot, and the blazing sword is its ultimate weapon: Voltron's two hands touch and form a blade that can cut through anything and is often used to slice a Robeast in half. Keith, commander of the Voltron Force and pilot of the Black Lion, is the one who calls it when a fight turns desperate. Episode summaries show him going for broke with the sword, as in "The Witch Gets a Facelift", and the order recurs in many battles before the sword slices the Robeast apart. The first season was adapted from the Japanese Beast King GoLion.
Sources (4)
- Voltron Wiki: Lion VoltronWeapons, Blazing SwordReference checked
- Voltron Wiki: The Witch Gets a FaceliftEpisode summaryReference checked
- Voltron Wiki: Keith (DotU)OpeningReference checked
- Wikipedia: VoltronLeadReference checked
Context reviewed