| “ | Sendak is a cold-blooded fighter and Zarkon’s number one military leader. He lost his arm during his time on the front lines and has had it replaced with a robot appendage featuring a nasty claw and a laser blaster. He will do anything he can to defeat Voltron and earn Zarkon’s respect. | ” |
— Official Profile on the Voltron Legendary Defender Website | ||
Commander Sendak was one of Zarkon's most trusted and loyal commanders. When Sendak was stranded on planet Arus, he was trusted to take down the Castle of Lions from the inside, which he almost managed to do, had it not been for Pidge's untimely exit. Shiro ejected him out into space while in a cryogenic pod. There he waited until after Zarkon's death where he was freed by Acxa, Ezor and Zethrid under Haggar's orders.
After Lotor became the empire's new emperor, Sendak began the Fire of Purification, a group of Galra that believe that the Altean-Galra prince shouldn't be their leader, and that the honor should be given to Sendak. He then led his own fleet, planning to take down Voltron, but continued to apparently answer to Haggar, reporting to the High Priestess.
After the disappearance of Voltron, Sendak led an invasion of Earth that lasted 3 years; until his forces were defeated by the Galaxy Garrison and the Paladins. He was then killed by Keith; after he fought and defeated Shiro. Sendak's death brought an end to the invasion.
Biography[]
At some point, Sendak was stranded on the planet of Arus, and was given a mission by Zarkon to destroy the Castle of Lions. He defeated Shiro in single combat, and hacked into the Castles controls, corrupting the data of King Alfor, forcing Allura to destroy her father's memories, erasing him for good. Sendak was then stopped, thanks to intervention from Pidge. Shiro then ejected Sendak out into space in a cryogenic pod.
Sendak was later collected by Acxa, Ezor and Zethrid on the orders of Haggar after the death of Zarkon. After he learned that Lotor was in line for the throne, Sendak formed the Fire of Purification, so he could take the throne, but truly, he was just being used by Haggar.
Sendak later fought in the Kral Zera, as he hoped to take the throne. After killing a contender, he fought a violent battle against Lotor, until Shiro arrived with the Black Lion and attacked him. He then declared to the other Galra that Lotor had sold them all out to Voltron. Haggar then left him behind, yet Sendak apparently remained answerable to her.
Later, Sendak led his own fleet on a full attack on Earth, as a way to get the paladins to hand over the Lions. The Humans and Galaxy Garrison fought back with hybrid technology after their Basic fighters were easily taken out. Four years later, the paladins returned with their lions to repel Sendak's invasion. Having remained under the authority of Haggar, Sendak therefore reported the lions' presences to her and inquired whether she wished him to capture them, although the witch denied this, ordering her general to destroy Voltron, which he answered with the traditional Galra salute before signing off. Voltron planned to destroy Sendak's Zaiforge Cannons, yet Admiral Sanda made a deal with Sendak, telling him the plan and getting him the lions in exchange for him to leave earth with his fleet. Sendak then double crossed Sanda, locking her up with the Paladins. They later escaped, but Sanda was killed in the process.
Shiro fought Sendak in a final battle as his flagship fell from orbit, fighting each other with their bionic arms. After a long fight, the ship crashed, and Shiro was thrown on the ground. Sendak stood over him, ready to kill his old enemy, when the Black Lion arrived and Keith leapt out, his sword activated, and slashed through Sendak's chest. Sendak then fell, finally dead.
Personality[]
I know exactly what I am. I am a warrior!
—Sendak, in "Kral Zera"
Sendak was an extremely sadistic, ruthless, and powerful fighter who is not to be underestimated. His loyalty to Zarkon and adherence to the military hierarchy was without question and only obeys the commands given to him. He was a model soldier and citizen of the Galra Empire. He was also skilled in psychological warfare and military strategy, particularly by exploiting the weakness of people valuing others' lives.
Sendak is calculating, quick to pick up on deceit, and not above taunting his enemies during battle nor emotional and mental manipulation on top of brutal physical torture.[1][2][3] His cruelness shows in his views that valuing the lives of others is a weakness to exploit, and his readiness to electrocute prisoners where they can be seen and heard to make their allies bend to his will.[4][2]
The commander delights in displaying his accomplishments to the emperor, seeking his approval, and seems to carry great pride as the First in Command of the Galra Empire's military bestowed with the honor of being personally trained by Zarkon himself.[4] The burdens of his pride and lack of failure seem to be his own weaknesses, as Sendak will quickly fly into a rage when things to not go according to his expectations.[1][2] This frenzied state renders him easy to deceive and ultimately leads to his downfall.[2]
When Sendak fought Shiro in the Castle of the Lions, he said "Too bad you didn't get the latest model", referring, of course, to Shiro's Galra arm. From this, we can infer that Sendak underwent the same procedure to remove his left arm, and have a robotic lengthening one in its place. Of course, as a commander, Sendak received the most upgraded version, allowing him to defeat Shiro in a melee fight. This indicates Sendak willingly had his arm removed to be surgically implanted with a weaponized cybernetic limb to become stronger, implying he's willing to sacrifice his own flesh for power.
One of Sendak's quotes was the following: "Nothing will stop me but victory or death" and indeed he showed many times he was relentless in his goals. Sendak is the military leader who will fight on at the cost of all his men, because he was loyal to Emperor Zarkon and the Galra idealism of strength, power and victory over all enemies of the empire, and will follow his emperor's commands with every ounce of his being. This loyalty further extended to Zarkon's right-hand, the witch Haggar, who had first intended to install Sendak upon the Galra throne as a pawn in her plans for Lotor, who was secretly the witch's son. Although Haggar chose to leave him behind when the Kral Zera ceremony disintegrated into chaos and upheaval, it was later revealed that she was in contact with Sendak during his invasion of Earth, which indicates that Sendak had remained loyal to her and obedient when she instructed him to destroy Voltron, rather than seize the lions for her future use. He showed extreme hatred towards Shiro and Voltron when he attacked Earth. Indeed, his attack on and invasion of Earth was very much personal as it was the homeworld of the Paladins who'd defeated him before and just before his death he swore to devote every fiber of his being to destroying Earth, as he earlier double-crossed Sanda after she'd helped Sendak capture the paladins and the lions in exchange for the Earth's safety but he had no intention of honoring the bargain.
Sendak has a twisted and selfish idea of honor that is very different from what others would see honor as, for Sendak's supposed "honor" was more akin to an easily-bruised ego that would settle for nothing less than vengeful payback out of utter spite.
Appearance[]
Like most Galrans, Sendak stands well taller than any human; he has mauve fur and a yellow eyes, although his right eye has been replaced with a red prosthetic. Sendak has also lost his left arm in the midst of battle and had it replaced with a large, powerful, and terrifying clawed gauntlet attached to his shoulder by a violet energy chain.
Sendak wears the bright red armor typical of many higher-up commanders in the Galra Empire accented with black and dark grays. On its cuirass, the armor has two glowing yellow adornments with a design reminiscent of an aggressive face.
Combat style[]
Sendak's combat style relies primarily on the use of his cybernetic left arm and its energy tether and terrifying piercing claws. But without it, he is incredibly vulnerable and can be taken down relatively easily. despite Sendak's large size; he is also athletic, as he is able to dodge and move around quickly to evade attacks.
Abilities[]
Being the Empire's First in Command, Sendak is a skilled fighter personally trained by Zarkon and seems to have heavy combat experience fighting on the front lines of battlefields.[4] His greatest asset in battle is his gigantic prosthetic clawed gauntlet granted to him by Haggar and her Druids.[1] Besides giving him immense physical strength, the gauntlet can be launched great distances, either for smashing targets with a super-charged punch, or to allow him to quickly pull himself across the battlefield.[1] The gauntlet is also equipped with a laser blaster for ranged combat.
This gauntlet is not without weakness: it is possible to sever the energy chain between the gauntlet and Sendak's shoulder, forcing him to rely on his natural combat ability.[2] While Sendak has imposing strength on his own, he is limited in close-quarters combat with only one arm.
Notes[]
- Sendak rules over a territory including the Javeeno Star System where Arus and Balmera X-95-Vox are located.[5][6]
- Sendak seems to be in charge of prisoner transport, as he had many on his ship who had been captured previously and who knew Shiro, who had also been transferred to Sendak's ship after being captured by the Galra Commander at Kerberos.[7]
- Sendak is the new incarnation of Commander Yurak from Voltron: Defender of the Universe, who is turn is based on the character of Sadak from Beast King GoLion This is notably seen with his big feline ears, along with a single bright glowing yellow eye, and the bright red cybernetic eye. The most notable difference in his appearance is Sendak's cybernetic arm is far more prominent than Yurak's prosthetic, and that it has switched sides (now on his left rather than the right).
- Sendak was killed by Keith.
- When Shiro gets a new arm, it is similar to Sendak's as the lower part is floating.
- Sendak is far taller than an average Galra.
- In "Shadows", Haggar contacts Sendak during his invasion of Earth, suggesting that she was behind this event or had at least encouraged it.
- An alternate version of Sendak was seen in "The Zenith", where he was a kinder and honorable soldier training under an alternate Zarkon
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Season One: Episode 4, "The Fall of the Castle of Lions"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Season One: Episode 5, "Tears of the Balmera"
- ↑ Season One: Episode 9, "Crystal Venom"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Season One: Episode 3, "Return of the Gladiator"
- ↑ Season One: Episode 6, "Taking Flight"
- ↑ Season One: Episode 7, "Return to the Balmera"
- ↑ Season One: Episode 1, "The Rise of Voltron"