Scar (Disney)/Synopsis

The story of the evil usurper Scar from The Lion King franchise.

The Lion King
"Run away, Simba. Run. Run away, and never return."

- Scar banishing the young Simba after slyly incriminating the death of Mufasa on him.

In his debut, Scar is first seen after the presentation of his nephew Simba, catching a mouse and prepares to eat it, before he is confronted by Zazu, giving the mouse time to escape. Annoyed at losing his lunch, Scar attempts to eat Zazu, but is stopped by Mufasa, who confronts Scar over missing the ceremony. Scar claims that it must have slipped his mind. Zazu tells Scar that as the King's brother, he should have been first in line, to which Scar replies that he "was" first in line until Simba (whom Scar refers to as "the little hairball") was born. Mufasa replies that the "hairball" is his son and Scar's future King, to which Scar sarcasticlly replies that he will practice his curtsy. Scar attempts to leave, causing Mufasa to warn him not to turn his back on him, to which Scar replies that perhaps Mufasa shouldn't turn his back on him. When Mufasa demands to know if Scar was challenging him, Scar replies that he wouldn't dream of it. When Zazu asks why, Scar says that as far as brains go, he got the lion's share, but when it comes to brute strength, he is at the shallow end of the gene pool. After this, Scar exits Pride Rock.

A few months later, Scar is visted by Simba, who tells him that Mufasa showed him around the whole kingdom. Scar asks Simba if Mufasa showed him the rise above the northern border, to which Simba says that Mufasa told him that he could not go there. Scar replies that only the bravest lions go there and reveals that the place is an elephant graveyard, but has Simba promise to not visit there, to which Simba says he won't. However, Scar, knowing that Simba will go to the Elephant Graveyard anyway just to prove his bravery, secretly orders his hyena minions, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, to kill the cub as part of his plan to overthrow Mufasa as king. However Simba and his friend Nala are saved by Mufasa, who scares off the hyenas. It's then shown that Scar watched the whole thing on top, and he is extremely angry that his plan had failed. Later that night, Scar goes to the hyenas and sings his song "Be Prepared", revealing his intention to murder both Mufasa and Simba and claim the throne to himself. He also convinces the hyenas to help him in his plan, saying that they will never go hungry again.

Sometime later, Scar sets another trap for Simba by having him stay inside a gorge while Shenzi, Banzai and Ed chase a wildebeest herd into the gorge, causing a stampede. Scar alerts Mufasa to the incident and the two brothers along with Zazu race to the gorge. Whilst Mufasa dives into the stampede to rescue Simba, Zazu declares that he will go and get help. However Scar, not wanting his plan to be ruined, knocks Zazu out by hitting him against a wall in the gorge. Scar then watches as Mufasa rescues Simba and places him on a small ledge out of harms way. Mufasa then struggles to climb up a cliff to safety. He looks up to see Scar and desperately begs for his help. Scar, seizing the opportunity presented by his usually powerful brother's helplessness, grabs hold of his paws and sinks his claws into them, which makes Mufasa roar in pain. Scar then whispers, "Long live the King" to his horrified brother before hurling him off the cliff back into the stampede, where he is trampled to death by the wildebeest.

As Simba did not see his uncle's action of throwing Mufasa, Scar manages to manipulate a devastated Simba into thinking Mufasa's death was his fault (as Simba had roared seconds before the stampede started), and he tells him to run away and never return. The minute Simba is out of earshot, Scar orders Shenzi, Banzai and Ed to kill him; but unknown to Scar, Simba escapes. Believing Simba to be dead, Scar returns to Pride Rock and tells the pride that both Mufasa and Simba perished in the stampede. He then takes over Mufasa's throne and lets the hyenas into the Pride Lands, resulting the Circle of Life broken.

Though it would have seem that Scar has finally achieved his goal in becoming King of the Pride Lands and letting the hyenas hunt down whatever food they can, the Pride Lands start to grow barren due to over-hunting over the years, causing many herds of animals to wander off. A drought also has stricken the lands, and both the the lions and hyenas are complaining over the lack of food or water left for them to feed on. However, Scar completely ignores their pleas, as he still wishes to maintain his power of the lands. He also forbids anyone to say Mufasa's name in his presence.

Scar later confronts his sister-in-law Sarabi over the lack of food. Sarabi suggests that the entire pride must leave the Pride Lands to survive since there is nothing left, but Scar stubbornly refuses to leave his kingdom. After Sarabi unfavorably compares Scar to his late brother, Scar loses his temper and brutally strikes Sarabi.

Just then, another lion appears and comes to Sarabi's defence. Scar initially mistakes the lion for Mufasa before discovering that he is in fact an older Simba (who had been convinced by Nala, Rafiki and Mufasa's spirit to return to The Pride Lands). Simba confronts Scar and attempts to force him to resign the throne, but Scar questions on must it all end in violence and how he would hate to be responsible for the death of a family member and asks Simba if he agrees. When Simba says that he has put it behind him, Scar questions on if the pride have put it behind them. When Nala asks what Scar is talking about, Scar acts surprised that Simba has not told the pride his little secret and says that now is his chance to tell them who is responsible for Mufasa's death. After Simba admits that he is responsible, Scar calls him a murderer and backs him off the edge of Pride Rock at the same time a rogue lightning bolt strikes the ground below and lights the surrounding area on fire. As Simba clings on to the rock, Scar says that the scene looks familiar to him and wonders why. Scar then remembers that it was the same way Mufasa looked before he died just as Simba loses his footing and starts to slide further down Pride Rock. Rather than allow Simba to simply lose his grip and fall to his death, Scar (hoping to taunt his nephew further and to presumably kill him personally) grabs hold of his paws and sinks his claws into them (like he did to Mufasa), before leaning over and whispering to Simba "his little secret", that he really killed Mufasa.

Before Scar can throw Simba off Pride Rock into the flames, the younger lion upon realizing the truth and Scar being a liar, manages to free himself from Scar's grip, jumping up and pinning him down. Simba angrily demands that he confesses to Mufasa's murder to the pride. When Scar is unwilling to confess, Simba starts to choke his uncle by pressing his paw onto his throat. Scar then announces the truth, though in a low tone until he is forced to say it aloud and this causes the rest of the pride to rebel against him for his treachery and falsely accussing Simba over Mufasa's demise. The hyenas come to the king's aid and attack Simba and a fierce battle ensues between the pride, Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki and the hyena clan. Scar uses the ensuing discord to attempt to escape, but Simba manages to corner him at the top of Pride Rock and prepares to avenge his father. Scar pleads for his life, blaming his evil plot on the hyenas (not knowing that Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed are overhearing, causing them to angrily back away).

However, not wanting become the monster Scar was, Simba refuses to kill Scar and instead banishes him from the Pride Lands and tells him to run away and never return (the same words that Scar said to Simba after Mufasa's death). Recoiling on this, Scar manages to ambush Simba by throwing burning embers into his face before attempting to kill him. The two engage in a vicious fight, which ends with Simba managing to kick his uncle off of Pride Rock to the ground below.

Scar survives the fall, as he struggles to his feet, the hyenas arrive. Scar greets his "friends" in a pleasant matter, but, to his horror, the hyenas reveal that they overheard Scar blaming his crimes on them. In their hunger and vengeance, the hyenas begin to surround their treacherous former leader with wide grins. Realizing his mistake, Scar desperately pleads for his life, but to no avail; the hyenas close in, leap upon Scar and rip him apart as flames rise around them. It's implied that Scar was eaten alive by the hungry hyenas both for his betrayal and his broken promises, although he could also just have been mauled by his former sidekicks and later burned to death.

The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride
"GOTCHA!!! Trust me!"

- Scar in Simba's nightmare.

In the 1998 sequel, it is revealed that Scar has a pride of lionesses known as the Outsiders (led by his most loyal follower Zira) who were banished to the Outlands for their loyalty towards Scar. Also, Zira believes that Simba is responsible for Scar's death (unaware that the hyenas, not Simba, are the ones responsible for Scar's death) and plots to engineer Simba's downfall so that she can have her son Kovu take over as the new King. It was also revealed by Nuka that Scar had took Kovu into his inner circle and chose the young cub to be his successor before he died.

However when becoming a young adult, Kovu has a change of heart after falling in love with Simba's daughter Kiara, and soon learned about the truth about Scar's death from Simba. Initially, Simba barely accepted Kovu on his clan, having nightmares of Kovu transforming into Scar and betraying him before throwing him to his death. When Simba finally accepted Kovu, Zira appeared and ruined everything, leading Simba to hate Kovu again. In the final battle between the Pridelanders and Outsiders, Kiara and Kovu convinced the Outsiders to give up their grudge against the Pridelanders, except for Zira, who ends up falling to her death on the same gorge after her failed attempt to kill Simba. Despite Zira's death, both her and Scar's desire to have Kovu as their successor is most likely to come true, but not in the way as they expected as Kovu wants to carry on Mufasa's legacy, inspiring a touched Simba to accept Kovu as his new son-in-law and future successor.

Aside from being mentioned, Scar makes two appearances in the film. The first being in Simba's nightmare where he stops Simba from saving Mufasa from falling into the stampede. His second and fnal appearance is when Kovu is banished from the Pride Lands and gazes into a puddle, only to see Scar's reflection instead of his own.

The Lion King 1 1/2
In the 2004 midquel, Scar made a few cameo appearances, as the story shows the view points of Timon and Pumbaa while Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed take on the role as the main antagonists. Scar's first appearance is when he cornered Simba at the cliff of Pride Rock before the battle began. He is later seen being chased by Simba across the peak of Pride Rock, and he is last seen tumbling over the edge of the cliff after being defeated by Simba before being eaten alive by the jaws of the hyenas. Upon seeing Scar fall, Pumbaa says "I think Scar is down and out!".

In The Lion King: Six New Adventures


According to the novel series, The Lion King: Six New Adventures, Scar's real name is Taka, which is Swahili for "dirt", "trash", or "want".

In A Tale of Two Brothers, one of the books in the set, a teenaged Taka is angry that Mufasa is chosen to be the heir to the throne. He gets even angrier when his father, King Ahadi, breaks his promise to go hunting with him, choosing to solve the drought problems in the Pride Lands instead. Taka wanders off to talk to Shenzi, Banzai and Ed the hyenas, who tell him that if Mufasa were to be made to look like a failure to Ahadi, then Taka himself will look good in comparison and take the throne.

Taka later tricks his brother into going down to the waterhole, where a Cape buffalo named Boma is refusing to share the water. Mufasa begins reasoning with Boma, when Taka roars and says that Boma must move by order of the Lion King, or Mufasa will face Boma in combat. Boma charges out of the water at Mufasa. Mufasa escapes to safety with Rafiki, but Boma says that his herd will get Taka. Mufasa runs back to find Taka being attacked by Boma's herd. The largest of the buffaloes slashes Taka with his horns, knocking him unconscious. Mufasa leaps in to save his brother and the buffaloes ready themselves to attack again.

Before they can do so, however, Ahadi appears with a large herd of animals. The herd surrounds the buffaloes and ends the fight. Later on, Rafiki examines Taka and finds a deep cut on his left eye, which will never fully heal. When Taka reveals that he wished to get back at Ahadi for breaking his promise, he is scolded by Ahadi for letting his anger rule him. A remorseful Taka then requests that he be called "Scar" from now on, as a reminder of how he foolishly allowed his anger to rule him.

The Lion Guard


"They thought I was defeated, but very soon we'll see. The shock as I rise from the flames so triumphantly. I never thought I'd have this chance. Oh, how long it's been. A second opportunity and this time I'll win."

- Scar about his return in The Lion Guard.

In The Lion Guard (which takes place after the first film and in the middle of the second), it is revealed that when Scar was younger, he led the Lion Guard that protected the Pride Lands and defended the Circle of Life. His place was a tradition to all second born children of The Lion King/Queen, and was given a power called the Roar of the Elders which when used, causes the lions of the Pride Lands past to roar with him. However, the power got to Scar's head and he believed that with this power, he should be king instead of Mufasa. But when the rest of the Lion Guard refused to help him overthrow Mufasa, Scar used the Roar of the Elders to kill them. Due to using the Roar of the Elders for evil, Scar lost his power completely and became shriveled and horrible, becoming the power-hungry tyrant he is remembered as of currently.

Though Scar is long dead, his legacy had a big effect on his great-nephew, Simba's son, Kion. After gaining the power of The Roar and learning of Scar's past, Kion became more cautious about using the Roar for good instead of evil.

In the first season episode Lions of the Outlands, Scar's relationship with Zira is mentioned, where it is told that the two had a close relationship and Scar had told Zira about the Roar of the Elders and how he lost it.

Scar eventually returns as a spirit summoned out of Hell and serves as the main antagonist in the second season of the series after Kion unintentionally helps Janja and Ushari to summon him by using the Roar of the Elders in anger.

In the special episode "The Rise of Scar", finally growing tired of being hurt anytime he is near the Lion Guard and after discovering Kion's secret of speaking to his grandfather Mufasa's spirit, the snake Ushari starts wondering how he can use that information for his own benefit. He eventually runs into Janja and his clan and, in order to save himself from being eaten, Ushari starts trying to bargain with Janja, telling him of Kion's secret. The pair wonder if they can bring Scar back to life, and do some research. Eventually, they learn that to summon Scar, they need fire, a Bakora Staff and Kion to use the Roar of the Elders. Knowing that Kion's roar is most powerful when his loved ones are threatened, Janja's clan kidnap Kiara and steal the Bakora Staff of Rafiki's apprentice Makini and return to their volcano lair.

Although the Lion Guard rescue Kiara, Janja warns Kion that he and his clan will keep coming back again to harm his family, causing Kion to unleash the Roar of the Elders in anger in the lair, causing the volcano to erupt. After the Guard leave, Ushari starts to use the Bakora Staff to try and summon Scar, but nothing happens. Furious, Janja grabs the staff and kicks it into the volcano. With a small eruption Scar suddenly appears and, after being questionned, introduces himself.

In the episode "Let Sleeping Crocs Lie", now that he's revived, Scar begins to plot to get his revenge on Simba and reclaim control over the Pride Lands, first forming an alliance with Ushari and Janja and his clan. Upon learning from Ushari's Skinks spies that the Lion Guard has accidentelly awakened Makuu and his float from their hibernation during the dry season, Scar sees this as an opportunity to wreak havoc in the Pride Lands, and orders the Skinks to keep watch on the situation, and inform him of any changes. When informed that a rebellious member of Makuu's float, Kiburi, has challenged the latter to a Mashindano, Scar decides this is the perfect opportunity to get rid of Simba, knowing that many Pride Landers, as well as the royal family, will be in attendance. He orders Ushari to trick Kiburi into believing that if he killed Simba, he will rule the Pride Lands. However, while Ushari succeeds in tricking Kiburi, the plan ultimately fails, due to the Lion Guard's interference. This also causes Kiburi and his three crocodile followers to be banished from both the crocodile float and the Pride Lands forever.

On their way in the Outlands, Kiburi and his followers run into Ushari again, who takes them to the volcano, where Scar reveals himself to them. Singing "I Have A Plan", Scar explains his revenge plan to Janja, Ushari, Cheezi, Chungu, Kiburi and his followers, explaining his scheme to unify all of the animals in the Outlands. With an army of henchmen at his side once more, Scar seeks to ignite a hostile takeover of the Pride Lands to reclaim the kingdom as his own domain, and break the Circle of Life for good.

In the episode "Swept Away", Upon learning from one of Ushari's Skinks spies that Beshte has ended up in the Outlands alone, Scar sees this as a good opportunity to eliminate the strongest of the Lion Guard, which would weaken it. When questioned by Cheezi and Chungu about how they're going to do that, Scar irritably reminds them that it is the dry season and too much sun weakens hippopotamuses. As Beshte already seems to trust Ushari's Skinks, Scar decides to take advantage of this and then explains his plan: the Skinks will lure Besthe to the Rocky Plateau where Janja, Cheezi and Chungu could trap and crush him by dropping rocks.

The plan nearly succeeds, but is ultimately thwarted when the rest of the Guard arrives just in time and Kion uses the Roar of the Elders to send the hyenas flying away. After landing near the volcano, Janja, Cheezi and Chungu decide not to return to Scar immediately, knowing that he will be so furious at them for their failure. Unfortunately for them, as they begin to walk away, Ushari arrives and coldly informs them that Scar wishes to speak to them now and he is not happy. A small eruption can be seen at the top of the volcano, apparently confirming this.

In the episode "Rescue in the Outlands", Scar sends Janja, Cheezi and Chungu in search of Reirei's Pack, wanting to get them on his side. During their search for the jackals, Janja and his goons stumble on Jasiri, who marks the area as her turf (something which Janja forgot to do) and defeats and sends them back to the volcano when they try to get it back. Upon hearing about Jasiri, Scar, at first, sees her as a possible valuable ally, but Janja reveals that Jasiri is friends with the Lion Guard and also respects the Circle of Life, unlike the other Outlanders (singing "The Worst Hyena We Know" in the process). With this information, Scar changes his mind and decides that she is a threat. He orders Janja to get rid of her immediately, and to do this with his entire clan, as he perfectly understands that Jasiri is too strong for only him, Cheezi and Chungu. As they leave, Scar coldly warns Janja to not disappoint him again.

Janja and his clan nearly succeed in getting rid of Jasiri and also two hyena cubs named Tunu and Wema at the same time, but ultimately fails, as Madoa (Jasiri's sister) secretly escapes to warn the Lion Guard, who save Jasiri and the two cubs and chase Janja's clan away.

In the episode "The Bite of Kenge", Scar stops an argument between Janja, Cheezi, Chungu and Ushari (the latter having been trampled on by the others) and learns from the hyenas that they have discovered a supply of watermelons intended for the elephants through the Dry Season. Scar sees this as potential to break the Circle of Life by removing the watermelons from the Pride Lands as this will cause the elephants to become dehydrated as a result. He orders Janja and his goons to return and steal all of the watermelons. But Janja is hesitant as the Lion Guard had already prevented them from doing so earlier and will probably be waiting for them. Ushari then reveals having a friend who can help and will not disappoint them. Satisfied, Scar orders Ushari to find his friend Kenge and tell him to deal with the Lion Guard.

In the episode "The Morning Report", Scar orders Janja ans his hyenas to kidnap Zazu. When Janja questions him on what to do next, Scar orders him to interrogate Zazu. Although this annoys Janja, Scar explains that being Simba's royal adviser, Zazu is "keeper of all the secrets of the Pride Lands", and that the information Zazu could disperse would make it easy for them to take over the Pride Lands. He then tells Janja to hurry as the Lion Guard must already be looking for Zazu.

In the episode "Divide and Conquer", Scar sends Janja's clan and Reirei's pack into the Pride Lands to eliminate Rafiki as he can sense Lions of the Past. Luckily, Rafiki and The Lion Guard are able to defeat the two groups. However during the battle, Janja tries to escape, only for Scar to appear and berate him for being cowerdly, unaware that they are being watched by Kion.

In the episode "The Scorpion's Sting", Scar gathers up all his minions at the volcano and reveals his plot to defeat Simba and the Lion Guard. When Janja asks how they are going to get rid of Simba and the Lion Guard on the same day, Scar reveals that he brought in some help and sends Sumu, a scorpion, to sting Simba. After Sumu accomplishes his job, the Lion Guard and Makini head to the Outlands to get volcanic ash to heal Simba, and Scar sends his minions to slow down the heroes. After beating Kiburi's float, Reirei's pack, and Janja's clan, the Lion Guard and Makini arrive at the volcano, where they gather some volcanic ash and get ready to leave, when suddenly, Scar appears from the volcano to greet them. Kion recognizes Scar, but decides not to fight him and prepres to leave, only to be surrounded by Scar's minions. When Kion decides to use the Roar, Scar warns him of the side-effects of using it in a volcano, but the lion cub surprises him by using the Roar in a way he never thought possible, and is able to clear a path, defeating Ushari, the skinks, Kenge, Kiburi's float, Reirei's pack and Janja's clan in the process. In a last resort, Scar orders Mzingo's flock to get the gourd with the ash, but when the vultures are defeated, Scar states in frustration that the war has just begun.

In the episode "The Kilio Valley Fire", Scar orders his minions to set fire to the Kilio Valley (the Pride Lands's elephants's home). After they succeed in doing so, he rises from the small flame of a remaining flaming stick that was thrown to the ground by a member of Mzingo's flock named Mwoga and praises them for their victory before ordering them to remain in Kilio Valley. When being questioned by Kiburi and Reirei, Scar reveals that his plan is to take over the Pride Lands piece by piece so that the Lion Guard will have nothing left to defend the Circle of Life and protect the Pride Lands.

Later on, in the episode "Undercover Kinyonga", Scar summons Janja and his clan back to the volcano. He stops a brief argument from Ushari and Janja (as the cobra was berating the hyena for being late), stating he has no time for "these ridiculous arguments". He then orders Janja to enter the Pride Lands with his entire clan, enter the riverbank above Hakuna Matata Falls at night, and push the rocks into the river until it stops the water from flowing as this will cut off a major water supply during the middle of the dry season, which will thus cause the Pride Landers to get thirsty and will plunge the Pride Lands into unrest, desperation, and chaos. However, Scar is unaware that a female chameleonnamed Kinyonga, who is spying on him by using her camouflage ability, has heard everything and is planning to expose it to the Lion Guard so they can foil his scheme.

Soon after the plan has been confirmed, however, Shupavu and her group notice Kinyonga's shadow against a wall, and brings her to the attention of Scar, who then asks to know who dares to spy on him. Ushari then commands them to stop the intruder, and the skinks pursues Kinyonga out of the volcano but ultimtely fail to apprehend her.