Shenzi,Banzai and Ed

**Shenzi**, **Banzai**, and **Ed**  are a trio of adult spotted hyenas who are fomer loyal followers and henchmen of Scar. One of the Hyenas named Shenzi is Leader of her own Hyena Clan.

## Appearance

Shenzi: Shenzi is a moderately sized hyena. She has gray fur, with a pale gray underbelly and dark gray spots on her flanks. While her ears and paws are black, her eye rims and inner ears are dark gray. Her eyes are black with yellow sclerae. Unlike most hyenas, she has a long black mane that ends in bangs over her forehead.

Banzai: Banzai is a moderately sized hyena, with a hunched back, a long neck, and thin legs. His fur is gray, while his ears, mane, and paws are black. He has several distinctions, including a speckled gray muzzle, spots on his hide, thick eyebrows, and some sparse hairs on his head.

Ed: Ed is a moderately sized hyena, with a hunched back, a long neck, and thin legs. His fur is gray, while his ears, mane, and paws are black. He has several distinctions, including a speckled gray muzzle, spots on his hide, some sparse hairs on his head, and a lolling red tongue.

## Personality

Shenzi: Of the hyena trio, Shenzi is the most cunning and even-tempered. She rarely loses her composure and is far more focused than her friends, as seen when she did not let Banzai hunt before the assassination of Mufasa. She carries herself with authority, charisma, and drive, and does not struggle to keep her clanmates in line, even when they disagree with her decisions. Though she was initially subservient and loyal to Scar, she changed allegiance once it became clear that he was not looking out for her clan's best interest, and her fellow hyenas were quick to follow her lead. Shenzi is somewhat sassy and snarky, and tends to make light of situations. She can have a dark sense of humor, such as when she and Banzai exchanged quips about how they were going to eat a young Simba and Nala.

Initially, Shenzi considered Scar to be her friend and was willing to follow his every order. However, her trust in him began to waver when the Pride Lands suffered a severe famine, and it shattered completely when he betrayed her clan to Simba. Ultimately, Scar's treachery pushed her to turn on him and enact her vengeance by eating him alive.

Banzai: Of the hyena trio, Banzai is the most aggressive and volatile. He is prone to losing his temper, especially when mocked by his companions, and often resorts to violence if provoked too much. Despite this, he submits to the authority of his leader Shenzi and does her bidding whenever she demands his obedience. Like most hyenas, Banzai is bumbling, humorous, and driven by hunger. He showed exceptional gluttony and greed when he encountered Simba and Nala, being willing to kill young cubs to sate his appetite. Ultimately, though Banzai is loyal and subservient, he does not take well to betrayal, as seen when he murdered his former friend Scar as an act of revenge.

Ed: Ed does not speak but rather uses laughter to communicate. He enjoys teasing Banzai and finds it hard to control his laughter. Like his fellow hyenas, he is quite clueless and unintelligent, and often gets his friends into trouble. However, he is a loyal follower and never questions orders, whether they come from Scar, Shenzi, or Banzai. Even so, his friends frequently ask for his opinion and treat him as an equal member of the clan rather than a subordinate. Despite his dim-witted nature, Ed is aware of what is happening around him, as he was the first hyena to notice that Simba, Nala, and Zazu were escaping. Also, he expressed anger when Scar tried to blame the hyenas for Mufasa's death. Ultimately, though Ed is loyal and subservient, he does not take well to betrayal, as seen when he murdered his former friend Scar as an act of revenge.

## Relationships

### Scar

Scar convinced the hyenas that if they joined him and helped him kill Mufasa and Simba, they would live off the abundance of food. The hyenas served the lion almost until the end of his life, but when Scar was defeated by Simba and was pushed from the rock by him, they refused him favor and killed him.

## Trivia

* Shenzi's position as leader is like hyenas in real life, as they are a matriarchal society. This matriarchy also tends to run in families as cubs of high-ranking hyenas get aggressive hormonal boosts. To have any power, male hyenas must perform services for high-ranking females, implying that Banzai and Ed are courting Shenzi in order to be allowed to hunt and work with her.
* It has been revealed that Janja (the main antagonist of *The Lion King*'s spin-off series *The Lion Guard*) and his clan are descendants of Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed's clan, but it's still never revealed what happened to the previous clan and to Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed themselves.
* Although they are officially spotted hyenas (*Crocuta crocuta*), they have fewer spots, bigger ears and a streak of mane on their back, like striped hyenas (*Hyaena hyaena*).
* It's a popular theory that Shenzi, Banzai and Ed are the parents of Janja, Chungu and Cheezi.
* In the stage musical version of *The Lion King*, Shenzi mentions that Banzai's father was eaten by Nala's mother, Sarafina.
* In Issue 49 of *The Lion King: A Nature Fun and Learn Series*, the "Puzzles" section states that Banzai and Ed are both one year older than Shenzi.
* In the 2019 remake of *The Lion King*, Banzai is re-imagined as a character named Kamari and Ed is re-imagined as a character named Azizi.
* In *The Lion King: Six New Adventures*, the hyenas were reintegrated into the Pride Lands after the defeat of Scar. This is shown in *Vulture Shock* when they appear alongside the other Pride Landers.
	+ This is at odds with *Simba's Pride* and *The Lion Guard* as both sequels to *The Lion King* imply that the hyenas were exiled from the Pride Lands following Simba's ascension to Pride Rock.