Scar (2019 film)

Scar (birth name Taka) was a male lion. He was the king of Pride Rock who succeeded Mufasa and preceded Simba. He was the son of Obasi and Eshe, the adoptive younger brother of Mufasa, and the adoptive uncle of Simba.
From a young age, Scar resented Mufasa for his position as the king of Pride Rock. His bitterness only increased when Mufasa had a son, Simba, who was declared the new heir to the throne. Once Simba grew into a cub, Scar made several attempts on his life. In the final incident, Scar worked with a hyena clan to instigate a wildebeest stampede that threatened Simba's life and thus lured Mufasa into danger. Though Mufasa managed to rescue Simba, Scar intercepted Mufasa as he tried to climb out of the gorge and threw him to his death. Afterward, Scar sent his hyena minions after Simba, but they failed to kill him.
Meanwhile, Scar informed the pride that both Mufasa and Simba had perished in the stampede, after which he became the new king of Pride Rock. Under Scar's reign, the hyenas over-hunted the herds and thus caused the Pride Lands to fall into disrepair. Several times, Scar attempted to coerce Sarabi into becoming his queen so he could win over the pride's loyalty, but she refused. Eventually, a full-grown Simba returned to Pride Rock to reclaim his birthright, and the lionesses supported his right to rule. Simba defeated Scar in battle, and the hyenas promptly turned on him and ate him alive amidst a fire at Pride Rock.
==Biography==
===Early life===
Scar was born to the reigning monarch of Pride Rock. He had an elder brother named Mufasa, who was adopted into his family. In his youth, Scar fell in love with Sarabi, but she chose to become mates with Mufasa instead. This incident, coupled with Scar's jealousy of Mufasa's position as the king of Pride Rock, embittered Scar and caused him to challenge Mufasa for the throne. Though he lost the fight, Mufasa allowed him to remain in the pride because of their familial ties.
===Simba's presentation===
On the day of Simba's presentation, Scar deliberately missed the ceremony. Afterward, he stalked a mouse that had strayed into his cave and lamented how some were born to feast, while others were destined to spend their lives begging for scraps in the dark. He then compared himself to the mouse.
Scar started to eat his prey, but Zazu arrived and announced the impending arrival of Mufasa. He proceeded to chastise Scar for his absence at Simba's presentation. Incited, Scar attacked Zazu and declared that he answered to no one, but Mufasa arrived and stopped him from harming the hornbill.
Mufasa admonished Scar for missing Simba's presentation, but Scar feigned forgetfulness. Mufasa reminded Scar that Simba was his son and the future king, and Scar sarcastically promised to practice his curtsy. He then turned his back on Mufasa and started to walk away. Though Mufasa called after him to not turn his back on him, Scar retorted that Mufasa was the one who should not turn his back on him. This riled Mufasa, who demanded to know if he was being challenged. Scar reassured Mufasa that he would not dare challenge the king again, as he did not have the brawn to do it. He then slunk around Mufasa and Zazu, and strode off into the savanna.
After Scar's departure, Zazu remarked that Mufasa should have exiled Scar long ago, but Mufasa reminded Zazu that Scar was his brother and that the Pride Lands was Scar's home.
===Assassination attempt on Simba===
Many seasons passed, and Simba grew into a lively young cub. One day, Mufasa had to deal with several invading hyenas, so he sent Simba back to Pride Rock. There, Simba stalked a beetle, only for it to escape him. Scar mocked Simba for his failure to hunt properly, then attempted to shoo the cub away. Instead of leaving, Simba told Scar that Mufasa had showed him around the Pride Lands and declared that Scar would have to listen to him when he became the king. Scar surmised that Mufasa had not showed Simba what was beyond the northern border, and Simba deflated and explained that he had been forbidden to go there. Scar immediately affirmed Mufasa's decision and purposefully let it slip that the forbidden land was an elephant graveyard. Though Simba was excited at the prospect of an elephant graveyard, Scar made the cub promise to stay away from the area.
Ultimately, Scar's plan to have the hyenas kill Simba at the Elephant Graveyard was foiled when Mufasa came to the cub's rescue. That night, Scar visited the Elephant Graveyard and met with the hyenas. He revealed that he had sent Simba to the Elephant Graveyard and expressed contempt that the whole clan had been unable to kill him. In response to the hyenas' hostility, he detailed his plot to kill Mufasa and Simba, take the throne of Pride Rock, and allow the hyenas into the Pride Lands so they could hunt at their leisure. The hyenas agreed to his proposal.
===Assassination of Mufasa===
The next day, Scar took Simba to the gorge and told him that it was the place where all young cubs went to find their roar. He added that Mufasa had refused to leave until his roar could be heard above the rim. As Scar turned to leave, Simba asked if Mufasa would be proud of him, and Scar remarked that it would be something Mufasa would never forget.
Once Scar was clear of the gorge, the hyenas started a wildebeest stampede. Meanwhile, Scar feigned panic and informed Mufasa and Zazu that Simba was in the path of the stampeding wildebeests. Together, Mufasa and Scar rushed to the gorge, and Zazu flew ahead to find Simba. After Zazu showed Mufasa and Scar where Simba was, Mufasa leaped into the stampede to rescue his son, while Zazu flew back to Pride Rock to fetch the lionesses. Once Zazu had left, Scar stalked along the rim of the gorge and monitored Mufasa's progress.
After rescuing Simba, Mufasa began to scale the gorge wall. However, as he reached the rim, Scar intercepted him. Mufasa begged Scar for help, but Scar slammed his claws into his brother's paws and growled, "Long live the king." He then shoved Mufasa off the gorge wall and sent him plummeting to his death.
After Mufasa's fall, Scar met Simba at the bottom of the gorge and manipulated him into believing that Mufasa's death was his fault. In the face of Simba's uncertainty, Scar told him to run away and never return. The cub did as he had been told, and Scar instructed the hyenas to chase him down and kill him. Though the hyenas failed to kill Simba, they reported to Scar that the deed had been done.
When Scar returned to the pride, he delivered the news of Mufasa's and Simba's deaths and claimed that he had been too late to save them. Afterward, he announced that, since he was next in line for the throne, he must become the new king of Pride Rock. He commented that ruling the Pride Lands was a task that he could not manage on his own and revealed that he had allowed the hyenas into the Pride Lands. This shocked and horrified the lionesses.
===Reign over the Pride Lands===
Under Scar's reign, the hyenas over-hunted the Pride Lands and depleted the kingdom of its plentiful resources. Over time, the Pride Lands fell into disrepair. One day, Scar summoned Sarabi to speak with him and invited her to share his prey, but she criticized him for killing so many animals. Scar asked Sarabi to be his queen and pointed out that the pride would not answer to him so long as she resisted him. Despite his pleas, she refused his offer, and, as punishment, he decreed that the lionesses would eat after the hyenas.
One night, Nala attempted to sneak away from Pride Rock to find help. In the midst of the escape, Scar awoke and roared loudly. He began to scope out the area and almost found Nala, but Zazu appeared and distracted him and his hyena minions.
===Battle of Pride Rock===
On the promontory of Pride Rock, Scar made another attempt to convince Sarabi to become his queen. However, she refused and told him that he was nothing compared to Mufasa, which caused him to attack her in fury. Just then, a full-grown Simba emerged and roared. As Simba raced to Sarabi's side and yelled at Scar to get away from her, Scar mistook him for Mufasa. After a moment, he recognized Simba and expressed shock that the young lion was still alive. As Simba advanced on him, Scar pointed out that the hyenas still recognized him as the king of Pride Rock, but Nala arrived and rejected his claim, after which she rallied the lionesses against him. Simba told Scar to either step down or fight, but Scar instead coerced Simba into confessing that he was responsible for Mufasa's death.
Upon getting Simba to confess before the pride, Scar branded him a murderer, then forced him off the promontory of Pride Rock until he was clinging to the edge for dear life. From above, Scar slammed his claws into Simba's paws and commented that Simba had the same look in his eyes that Mufasa had had before Scar had killed him. Enraged, Simba lunged at Scar and grabbed him by the mane. In an attempt to get Simba off him, Scar pulled back, which allowed Simba to climb back onto Pride Rock. Once on solid ground, Simba accused Scar of murder, but Scar vehemently denied the accusation. However, Sarabi intervened and demanded to know how Scar had seen the look in Mufasa's eyes if he had not reached the gorge in time. Realizing that he had been outwitted, Scar ordered the hyenas to kill the lionesses.
After fighting off the hyenas, Simba spotted Scar trying to escape and gave chase. Scar fled until he was trapped on the peak of Pride Rock, where he begged Simba for mercy and even attempted to blame his crimes on the hyenas. In spite of Scar's pleas, Simba refused to believe him and accused him of using the hyenas as he had used Simba so long ago. Scar asked Simba if he would kill his own uncle, and Simba declared that he would not, for he was better than Scar. Relieved, Scar asked how he could make it up to Simba, and Simba told him to run away and never return.
At first, Scar seemed to cooperate, but then he threw burning embers into Simba's face and attacked him. The two lions engaged in a brutal fight, during which Scar angrily declared that the Pride Lands was his to rule. After an extended battle, Simba managed to throw Scar onto his side. Though Scar briefly gripped on to Simba's mane, he lost his hold and slipped off the peak of Pride Rock.
Scar survived the fall and slowly got to his paws. Just then, the hyenas arrived and began to encircle him. Scar greeted them as friends and asserted that they could rebuild their army in time. However, to his horror, they revealed that they had overheard his betrayal. Scar desperately tried to explain that he had been deceiving Simba, but Shenzi rejected his claims and declared that there was only one true thing that he had ever said: "A hyena's belly is never full." Cornered and outnumbered, Scar attempted to fight off the hyenas, but they overwhelmed him and devoured him alive amidst a fiery blaze.
==Physical appearance==
Scar was a large lion with a rather emaciated and skinny build. He had a slightly bleached grayish-tan coat and a thin, ragged, dark brown mane. His body was covered in scars, the most notable of which was a long, thin, vertical gash over his left eye. He also had a notch in his right ear, a small cut on the right side of his muzzle, and several small scratch marks on his flanks. Additionally, he had golden eyes, black lips, a dark stripe on his forehead, and a light tan muzzle.
After several years of reigning over the Pride Lands, Scar became slightly less emaciated, gained a somewhat stronger build, and grew a fuller, darker mane.
==Personality and traits==
Due to living in the shadow of his elder brother, Scar grew to be bitter, jealous, and deeply resentful of Mufasa. He made no attempt to hide his contempt, as he openly mocked and disrespected his brother whenever they interacted. His jealousy extended to Mufasa's son, Simba, who had replaced him as the first in line to the throne. Though not as openly hostile toward Simba, Scar still treated him with cold indifference and subtle derision. He was ultimately willing to kill both his brother and nephew, and even enjoyed inflicting pain on them, as seen when he convinced Simba that he was responsible for Mufasa's death.
While physically weaker than his brother, Scar was far more cunning and intelligent, and could come up with complex schemes to further his own ends. He took advantage of Simba's trusting nature to lure him to the gorge and correctly guessed that Mufasa would put himself in danger to save his son. He was also charismatic and pragmatic enough to win over the allegiance of Shenzi and her clan with a single speech.
As king, Scar enforced a tyrannical rule that served his own selfish needs. He did whatever it took to get what he wanted and used force to make his critics submit to his rule. Scar punished those who rejected him and was particularly sensitive whenever someone compared him to Mufasa. Despite his attempts to appear powerful, Scar was a coward, as he shamelessly begged Simba for mercy and did not hesitate to double-cross his loyal and subservient hyena allies. Ultimately, this treacherous and cowardly act cost him his life.
==Appearances==
==Trivia==
* Scar was voiced by Chiwetel Ejiofor in The Lion King. He will be voiced by Kelvin Harrison Jr. in Mufasa: The Lion King.
* Scar's birth name of "Taka" originated in The Lion King: Six New Adventures, a book series inspired by the original 1994 The Lion King.
* Jeremy Irons, who voiced Scar in the original film, was interested in reprising his role for the 2019 remake but was never asked to do so.
* It was initially reported that Hugh Jackman would voice Scar, but his representative deemed these claims to be false.
* In the official novelization, it is revealed that after Scar got his scar, his father never took him on any more hunts, as he deemed Scar ineffectual.
==References==
Category:Antagonists
Category:Characters
Category:Deceased characters
Category:Leaders
Category:The Lion King (2019 film) characters
Category:Lions
Category:Males
Category:Mufasa: The Lion King characters
Category:Pride Landers
Category:Pride Lands royal family
Category:Rulers of Pride Rock