Princess Allura

Princess Allura
Voltron character
First Episode Appearance	Voltron: Defender of the Universe - Space Explorers Captured (1984)
Character played by	B. J. Ward (1984) Ashleigh Ball (2011) Kimberly Brooks (2016)
In-universe information
Species	Arusian/Altean (depending on continuity)
Gender	Female
Occupation	Blue Paladin (formerly), Princess of Altea (formerly), Pilot of the Castleship (formerly)
Family	King Alfor (Father) Melenor (Mother)

Princess Allura is a fictional character in the media franchise Voltron and member of the Voltron Force who made her first appearance in Voltron: Defender of the Universe.

Voltron Defender of the Universe

Main article: Voltron (1984 TV series)

Princess Allura is ruler of Planet Arus and last surviving member of royal family after the death of her father King Alfor. She became the pilot the Blue Lion of Voltron after Sven became no longer able to do so. She has highly intelligent mice that can understand human speech. She is also stalked by Prince Lotor for her affection.

Voltron Force

In Voltron Force Allura is Queen of Arus who trains her niece Larmina to pilot the Blue Lion of Voltron.

Voltron Legendary Defender

In Voltron Legendary Defender Princess Allura is the Princess of Altea, the daughter of King Alfor and last surviving female member of the Altean race. She was asleep in the Castle of Lions with her servant Coran for 10,000 years and commands and pilots the Blue Lion of Voltron.

Conception

In the Voltron: Legendary Defender, Princess Allura is not initially a member of the Voltron force. But after the "disappearance" of Shiro, with Keith becoming the Black Paladin and Lance taking Keith's place as Red Paladin, Allura, to complete the Voltron team, is chosen as the Blue Paladin.

Design

In the classic version of Voltron, Allura was depicted as either Altean or Arusian depending on the region the anime was aired. Also, she was depicted as being Caucasian with blonde hair. In Legendary Defender, she was depicted as Altean, and was reimagined as being dark skinned with white hair (likely so she was distinguishable from her human allies) and, unlike the rest of the main cast, spoke with a British accent.

Comics

Main article: Voltron (comics)

In the 2011, Devil's Due comics the character is portrayed as a teenager. The comic book version of Allura places her at age 19, and depicts her with a much stronger backbone than her cartoon counterpart. When her home planet Arus was ravaged by the forces of Zarkon and her parents murdered by Zarkon's own hand, she was taken in and raised by Coran, a retired combat instructor in the royal army, and was forced to grow up much too fast. Years later, she would renounce her title of "princess," answering only to "Allura," until her people are liberated from Zarkon's tyranny. Visions while she slept showed the spirit of her father King Alfor promising that five young men would come to Arus in search of the legendary robot Voltron. When Keith, Lance, Hunk, Pidge, and Sven arrive on Arus and speak of the mighty robot, Allura instantly knows that they are the ones spoken of in her visions, and helps them to find the five hidden lions that will unite to form Voltron. When Voltron fails to combine properly due to a brain defect within Sven, Allura mans his Blue Lion, and with her royal Arusian blood, the unification of Voltron is finally a success, and she becomes a member of the Voltron Force. During the course of the comic, she begins to develop feelings towards Keith and vice versa.

Reception

The Legendary Defender incarnation of the character was praised to for being diverse.