Zira

**Zira** is the supreme leader of the Outsiders, and the mother of Kovu, Nuka, and Vitani. She seeks to avenge the death of Scar.

She's *much* less composed and self-controlled than Scar, as shown during her actions in the final battle and her villain song. If she was Scar's mate, this was most likely make her his second-in-command. She's determined, devoted and charismatic. She's also a capable leader, given that her pride managed to survive in that wasteland.

She cannot understand why Kovu wants to abandon the plot, and is genuinely surprised when he stands up to her at the final battle. Also when her pride defects, you can tell from her voice and her expression that she didn't anticipate that, not that it makes her stand down. This traces back to when she first developed the plan, as she saw Kovu cared about Kiara and immediately saw it as a chance for him to kill Simba, rather than considering his attachment for Kiara could lead him away from the Outlanders.

She can *act* polite and affable when it suits her, but can lose her composure and turn violent at the drop of a hat. Case in point: when talking to Kion, she's initially calm and somewhat kind towards him until Kion refuses to join her and tells her that Scar was never the rightful king of the Pride Lands, upon which she loses her temper and orders the other Outsiders to attack him. Her fatal flaw is her thirst for vengeance. While she shows at Nuka's death and other times that she loves her children, her all-consuming thirst for vengeance causes her to be an abusive parent, ultimately causing the death of one of her children and the Heel–Face Turn of the other two, as well as her own demise.

She wants revenge on Simba for Scar's death, when in reality, Scar was killed by his own hyena minions after trying to pass the buck onto them.

## **Personality and Traits**

While Scar was a high-functioning sociopath motivated by ambition and with a complete lack of empathy, Zira is way more overt in her hatred for Simba and is motivated by revenge, although she has a degree of empathy for her family. Also while Scar was ultimately a coward and a self preservationist who died begging for his life against those he screwed over, Zira was maniacally defiant to the end even after all had turned on her, even willingly dying before turning in the original edit.

She's determined, devoted and charismatic. She's also a capable leader, given that her pride managed to survive in that wasteland. The leadership part is later shown to be subverted, as while she is competent enough to ensure the pride does not die, that is all Zira cares about.

Zira can act polite and affable when it suits her, but can lose her composure and turn violent at the drop of a hat. Case in point: when talking to Kion, she's initially calm and somewhat kind towards him... until Kion refuses to join her and tells her that Scar was never the rightful king of the Pride Lands, upon which she loses her temper and orders the other Outsiders to attack him. In the film itself, Zira actually tries to keep her violent impulses in check around Kovu to keep him from realizing who she really is, but there are a few times where the mask does slip.

Doing anything that opposes Scar will trigger her wrath. She especially becomes furious when Kion tells her that Scar wasn't the rightful king of the Pride Lands, and it's revealed she first attacked Simba for saying the same thing.

Her relationship with Nuka is a rather accurate depiction of familial abuse. Though when he dies, she shows she really did care about him. She just keeps getting worse, as well; by the time of the film's climax, she's slashed Kovu across the face, scarring him in the very same place Scar had his, and openly threatened to kill Vitani for siding with Simba.

She'll use her youngest child to get what she wants. When Vitani informs her that Kovu has apparently defected for real, she takes full advantage of Simba's paranoia by ambushing him and Kovu alone. Once she congratulates Kovu, Simba immediately falls for her tricks and believes Kovu lied. In *The Lion Guard*, she tries to sway Kion over to her way of thinking, and when that fails, she tricks him into believing that using the Roar of the Elders on other lions will result in him being stripped of its power.