Nuka

* Lion Guard
* Lion King

—Nuka about Zira

**Nuka** is the secondary antagonist of *The Lion King II: Simba's Pride*. He is the son of Zira, and the older brother of Kovu and Vitani.

## Background

### Physical Description

Nuka is extremely mangy and is apparently infested with termites (partly due to living in a termite mound). Nuka has dark brown fur and a black mane, and keeps his front claws unsheathed, a trait seen in all the Outsiders. Judging from the thickness of his mane in his first appearance, he would be about a year and a half old. Despite being older than Kovu, his mane does not grow in as thickly - a trait seen in real lions, where stronger lions usually have thicker, fuller manes.

### Personality

Nuka is usually shown to be extremely jealous of his brother, Kovu, for being chosen by Scar as his heir, and thus is shown to give him a hard time, such as intentionally letting him wonder off at the start of the the second movie. He is shown to love his Mother dearly, catching her dinner (shown at the start of the second movie), and before he dies, tell her he was sorry, and that "*he tried*". Ironically, he was even more like Scar than Kovu: for both Scar and Nuka envied their brother, who would be king. He seems to be somewhat of a pyromaniac, screaming avid "FIRE!" at the Elephant Graveyard, and getting excited when setting the Pride Lands alight.

## The Lion King II: Simba's Pride

He constantly tries to please his mother and is very jealous of Kovu's position as Scar's heir. It was Scar's dying wish that Kovu be the next king despite the fact that Nuka is older than Kovu.  Nuka may think highly of himself due to the fact of him calling himself "*The oldest, the strongest and the smartest*" out of Zira's three children. Nuka carries out what Zira commands along with his sister Vitani.

Nuka first appears as a teenager in the Outlands complaining about Kovu, saying Scar wasn't his father and just took him in. He then notices Vitani tugging a root which he cuts, sending Vitani flying backwards which Nuka laughs at. Vitani then questions Nuka on Kovu's whereabouts as Zira had told him to watch Kovu, but Nuka says he himself should have been the chosen one as he's "the oldest, the strongest and the smartest" and says that he can be a leader if Zira gave him a chance to which Vitani says here's your chance as Zira arrives with Kovu. Nuka tells his mother that he caught field mice for her dinner, but Zira walks right past him and places Kovu down next to Vitani. Zira then scolds Nuka as he was supposed to be watching Kovu to which Kovu comes to his brother's defence and says it was his fault not Nuka's. After Zira compares Kovu to Scar, Nuka scoffs at this but ends up getting growled at by Zira. Nuka next appears during My Lullaby where Zira throws him to ground and stamps on his tail. He along with Vitani look at a sleeping Kovu whom Nuka calls a little termite only to be knocked away by Vitani before the two sing "Kovu What a Guy" though Nuka says it unwillingly.

Nuka next appears years later as an adult going with Vitani (now a young adult) to the Elephant Graveyard and lit the sticks they brought on fire in order to set fire to the Pridelands during Kiara's hunt in order to trap her as part of Zira's plan for Kovu to get accepted by Kiara's father Simba and kill him and take over as king. He next appears with Zira watching Kiara and Kovu talking. Nuke later helps the other Outsiders when ambushing Simba and Kovu, he is the first Outsider to try and attack Simba at the ambush, but gets pushes aside. As the Lioness' bombard Simba, Nuka takes a run at him and knocks him off a small cliff, then with the Lioness', slides down the cliff in pursuit of Simba. Simba climbs up a steep hill littered with old tree logs and Kovu sees this on the clifftop, and Zira shouts "*Get him, Kovu! Get him!*", but Kovu turns and runs away. Nuka then jumps in front, climbing up the steep hill and screaming "*I'll do it for you, Mother!*". As he climbs up, he asks if his mother is watching, then mutters "*I'm doing it for you, and I'm doing it for me*".

He grabs Simba's ankle, but looses his footing on the log and falls, getting trapped under a large log. Simba clambers up the logs, knocking some onto Nuka, and trapping him inside the logs. Kovu attempts to dig him out, but Zira pushes him away and she removes the remaining logs, and is kind to Nuka the first time in the movie before he dies.

Zira blames Kovu for Nuka's death and slashes Kovu across the face, leaving him with a facial wound identical to Scar's.

## The Lion Guard

Nuka guest stars in the episode "Lions of the Outlands" (which takes place after the "My Lullaby" scene and before Nuka and Vitani go to the Elephant Graveyard).

When Jasiri leads Kion to the watering hole that was stolen from her clan, she is ambushed by Nuka, who pounces and pins her down. He scolds her for returning, but before he can attack, Kion pounces on him and pins him down instead. His brother, Kovu approaches, and Nuka orders Kion to let him go, since the fight was now two against one. Jasiri then joins Kion, making the fight equal. They circle around each other, and Nuka voices his disgust in a lion that sides with a hyena. Kion questions what they're doing in the Outlands, and Nuka scoffs at the idea that they'd be welcome in the Pride Lands. Kion assures him that his father would be okay with that and, after Nuka asks who his father is, Jasiri reveals it to be Simba, the Ruler of the Pride Lands. Nuka is shocked, but when his little brother gets excited at the prospect of returning and seeing Kiara, he agrees with his brother on taking him back to see his mother. Nuka leads them all away.

When they reach the watering hole, Kovu introduces Kion to his mother, Zira, and his sister, Vitani, whilst Nuka complains that they pounced on him. Zira is certain that he pounced first, and he admits to doing so. Nuka waits for his mother, who discovers that Kion is the leader of the Lion Guard. She explains Kion's special power briefly. She manages to get Kion to give a demonstration of the Roar of the Elders in a way Kion did not believe was possible whilst Nuka watches with awe. Kion is eventually persuaded to speak with Zira alone, leaving her children with Jasiri. Nuka growls towards her, but Zira calls for him to play nice. When she's gone, Jasiri snaps towards Nuka, scaring him and hides behind his younger brother and sister.

A while later, Nuka becomes antsy waiting for his mother. He leaps down from some rocks and attempts to attack Jasiri, but Kovu steps between the pair, urging his brother not to start anything. Jasiri laughs, telling him that any game Nuka can play, she can play better. Nuka comments that he's not playing and races towards her, but his mother returns just before he can attack. Surprised by his mother appearing, Nuka swears that they're just playing, and tries to put his paw around Jasiri's shoulder, but she shrugs him away and makes him fall so she can speak with Zira, where she informs her that Kion has decided to let the lions have the watering hole all to themselves. Nuka watches Jasiri leave.

His mother brings him to Kion, who she declares has chosen to side with the hyenas. Nuka then worriedly asks his mother if they should be concerned about his Roar, but Zira explains that if Kion uses it against lions, he'll lose it. And if he doesn't use it, they win regardless. This gives Nuka the energy he needs to strike Kion, and he lunges towards him. He strikes out, but Kion merely headbutts him back to his siblings, where Vitani shakes her head and utters his name disappointedly. Shortly after, the rest of the Lion Guard and Jasiri enter, tackling the Outsiders. Nuka tells his mother that he's scared, and backs away when the Lion Guard and Jasiri approach them. His mother tells them to stand tall, since they can take them.

Although Kion at first refuses to use his Roar, Bunga reminds him of the real reason why Scar lost his Roar was because he used it for evil. Kion remembers, and orders them to leave both the Pride Lands and the Outlands before using his Roar of the Elders to throw them over a wall and far, far away.

When Nuka and most of the Outsiders arrive in a new area, Nuka gazes around with confusion and asks where they are. His mother replies that it is their new home.

Cave of Secrets

Nuka and his family make a brief appearance as cave paintings in the song The Wisdom on the Walls.

## Family

* **Zira** (mother; deceased)\
* **Vitani** (younger sister)
* **Kovu** (younger brother)
* **Kiara** (sister-in-law)

## Friends

* **Scar**
* **Lioness**
* **Outsiders**

## Enemies

* **Simba**
* **Nala**
* **Kiara**
* **Kovu**
* **Mufasa**
* **Kion**
* **Bunga**
* **Fuli**
* **Beshte**
* **Ono**
* **Jasiri**
* **Pridelanders**