On The Armies Of Doom
Hello there, all ye denizens of the netlands. You know why Arus keeps winning battles and Doom keeps losing battles, thus prolonging their war? Hint: it's not because of Voltron. It's because the forces of Doom are doomed to failure in their current state.
Take the first army: Zarkon's forces. Those are the ones that razed Arus to the ground after its Golden Age, drove its people underground, and took much of its population into slavery. As far as conquering goes, Zarkon's army has it.
Problems with the first army: Zarkon is inconsistent. There are times when he has vowed that all he wants is to destroy Arus, Voltron, and anything thereto related. Other times he wanted to keep the natural resources, game, architecture, the people for slaves, and Voltron intact if possible: in essence, a total victory with huge net profit for the Drule. Added to that is the fact that King Zarkon is no longer personally invested in the war. He fell into the habit of delegating, and although the Aruso-Doom war is a thorn in his side and a roadblock in his universal conquest, Zarkon himself no longer seems to care.
Take the second army: Prince Lotor's army. This is the army waging the daily war on Arus (biweekly to monthly, more like—it takes time to gather resources, travel, and regroup after every time he's beaten). As far as presenting a primary enemy at present, Lotor's army has it.
Problems with the second army: Lotor is more personally invested in his own agenda, the ends he wages war to achieve (being the acquisition of his chosen wife and queen), than actually winning a war. Honestly, if he really wanted to win, I think he might think up or implement some of the ideas that come to me every single day (it's amazing the mass carnage my microwave inspires, or the cruel and quick strategies that just crop up while painting my nails). Lotor's personal involvement seems to have built up psychological blocks which prevent him from being capable of success. Or perhaps I'm just reading too much into Lotor's consistent failures, seemingly in spite of the odds consistently being in his favor at the beginnings of the battles before the lions form Voltron. Another problem is that Lotor keeps relying on the wrong people. My sources tell me that he constantly consults Zarkon's witch Haggar, even though it's common knowledge that she hates "the slimy half-blood" and there is great evidence that she sabotages his battle plans which rely on her Robeasts. Besides his direct lack of strategy, Lotor's management skills are horrendous as he often raids Arus, a planet at the Galactic poverty standard and universally classified as a "rebuilding planet." There's no prosperity to loot—just poor people to steal from. When Lotor has conquered many more profitable planets, it makes no sense to raid Arus, except for his own personal issues. Lotor knows what he wants, but he allows his emotional ties to the battle to compromise him.
Now, if either of the armies would just fix any of these small problems, then Arus would lose and Doom would win because Doom has a massive pool of resources, the capacity for many giant war machines to Arus' single Voltron. Also the armies of Doom are not moral, while Arusian armies must always think of the cost of life and civilian casualties.
Add to the mix the Psychic (and arguably psychotic) Queen Merla, allegedly the estranged wife of Prince Lotor (with much evidence supporting that rumor). She is incredibly intelligent, reports label her as "coldly strategic in thinking," and she has her own entourage of loyal warriors and an empire of her own supplying the capital and raw materials for her war efforts. Queen Merla's forces have been reported to cut through Arusian defenses through sister planet Pollux, proving that a woman's devious touch really expedites things in a war. But the woman is apparently slave to her own emotions, particularly jealous rages over her "husband." She is easily emotionally compromised, and therefore easily manipulated, most notably by Prince Lotor. Though the woman is a wildcard, and I wouldn't want to be in a fight with her, because she keeps her head in battle at least (which neither Zarkon nor Lotor make a habit of). She is scary good in a fight, but I wouldn't count her a fine asset in a war, particularly with her extreme love-hate relationship with her enemy-ally-significant other Prince Lotor.
In short, as long as the enemies remain uncomplimentary and divided, retaining their flaws (which they seem unable to rid themselves of) then they seem doomed to fail.
All right, and Voltron makes a giant-fighting-robot-sized difference.
This is Starre Smith, bringing you what isn't going to happen in the Aruso-Doom War first.
