Scar (Disney)

"Mufasa: Don't turn your back on me, Scar! Scar: Oh, no, Mufasa. Perhaps YOU shouldn't turn YOUR back on me."

- Scar provoking Mufasa by telling him not to turn back on him, and foreshadowing his intentions.Scar&Mufasa_Arguement.ogg "Long live the king!Scar_kills_Mufasa.ogg"

- Scar showing his true nature to Mufasa before throwing him off the side of the gorge to the stampede below to his death - his most famous quote. "Janja: Are... are you... Scar: Yes, I am Scar!"

- Scar finally gets resurrected.Scar's_return.ogg

Scar is the overall main antagonist of The Lion King franchise, serving as the main antagonist of Disney's 32nd full-length animated feature film The Lion King, a posthumous antagonist in the 1998 sequel The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and the overarching antagonist of both the 2004 prequel/parallel film The Lion King 1 1/2 and the animated television series The Lion Guard, serving as the main antagonist of the second season and the special "Battle for the Pride Lands" and later as a posthumous antagonist for the remainder of the third season. He is Mufasa's jealous younger brother and Simba's uncle-turned-arch-nemesis. Scar's desire to rule Pride Rock drives him to enact a regicidal plot to kill both his brother and nephew to leave himself the sole royal in line for the throne as the "true" ruler.

In the non-canonical books of the franchise, his full name is Taka, while in The Lion Guard, his canonical full name is Askari, the same name as the first leader of the original Lion Guard.

Voices

 * In the original film, he was voiced by, who also played Simon Gruber in Die Hard with a Vengeance and Profion in Dungeons & Dragons.
 * In the 1998 sequel The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, he was voiced by, who was his singing voice in the first film and also voiced Jacques from Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island released that same year.
 * In the Kingdom Hearts franchise, he was voiced by, who also played Skull Face in Metal Gear Solid V.
 * In The Lion Guard, he was voiced by, who also played Steven Jacobs in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Agent Kallus in Star Wars Rebels.
 * In the 2019 CGI live action remake, he was voiced by, who also played Victor Sweet in Four Brothers, Luke in Children of Men, and Baron Mordo in Doctor Strange.

Appearance
"Well, as far as brains go, I got the lion's share, but when it comes to brute strength..... I'm afraid I'm at the shallow end of the gene pool..."

- Scar remarking on his poor genetics despite his high intelligence.Scar's_appearance.ogg

Scar is a slender lion, but stands eye to eye with Mufasa and Simba, making him tall - otherwise bulky - like they are. He has sharp features and is a gangly lion, thanks to poor genes, with orangish-brown fur and striking green eyes. He has a silky black mane, elbow tufts, a goatee beard and his claws are always extended. He also has a pink scar over his left eye, earning him his name. Despite his poor genetics, Scar is surprisingly strong, as he held his own very well against the much younger and more powerfully built Simba during their final battle.

Personality
As a young lion, Scar was leader of the Lion Guard that protected the Pride Lands from danger. Scar proved to be a good leader and always followed his duties and was loyal, though had a lust for power and attention. One day he met a strange lion and Scar was poisoned by his cobra. The poison brought out Scar's desire for power, his greediness and his hatred for Mufasa.

As an adult, Scar is a cunning, sarcastic and narcissistic lion with a cultured and chivalrous demeanor, and a wry and cynical wit. However, even with his evil and deceiving ways, he is still very cowardly and prefers to run rather than fight, though if cornered Scar has shown the ability to hold his own as seen in his final fight with Simba.

Scar is filled with hate and disgust for his brother and nephew, and most likely everybody against him. He does not care much about the hyenas and seems to view them only as tools and weapons to use for his own gain, which ultimately resulted in his death when he tried to blame his crimes on them.

Scar is also shown to be very antipathetic and intolerant of failure, berating the hyenas for their failure to kill Simba, even though it wasn't their fault, and angrily throwing them out after they made the mistake of mentioning his brother, Mufasa, of whom Scar was extremely jealous.

Nevertheless, Scar is also very sophisticated, charismatic, and persuasive, able to rally the hyenas to his cause and inspire fanatical loyalty from Zira and her pride of lionesses. He retained his manipulative side after returning as a sprit; using his charismatic persona to inspire the Outlanders to help him kill Simba and control the rest of the Pridelands.

He is also shown to be highly intelligent and knowledgeable, able to manipulate conversations and situations to his advantage with relative ease. Scar also proved to be extremely sadistic and merciless, convincing his own nephew, Simba, that he was responsible for the death of his father, Mufasa, and later going on to taunt him that in fact, he himself was responsible for Mufasa's demise, which also led to his own demise.

Despite all these negative traits, it's roughly hinted that Scar may have had some kind of standards before Simba returned to reclaim his position as king. After killing Mufasa, instead of killing Simba with his own paws right then to get rid of him once and for all, Scar didn't treat him harshly (although still blaming him for Mufasa's death) and recommended him to run away before sending Shenzi, Banzai and Ed to kill him in spite that they had previously failed to do so in the Elephant Graveyard. This may hint that Scar couldn't bring himself to kill his own nephew, the only lion of the pride who treated him with respect and kindness. However, if those standards existed, they were all gone by the time of Simba's return, where Scar finally shows his extreme hatred towards him and desperately tries to kill him so only he will be king.

Upon his return in The Lion Guard, Scar became more chaotic in nature, as he was willing to break the Circle of Life and take over the entire Pride Lands by turning it into chaos as revenge for his defeat. He also becomes more sadistic; gleefully attempting genocide to get revenge on Simba and the rest of the Pridelands.

The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
"Gotcha! Trust me!"

- Scar stops Simba in saving Mufasa

Reception
Scar has received widespread acclaim from both critics and audiences alike, who consider Scar to be one of Disney’s greatest villains, with some stating that he was a better character than Simba. Critics who didn’t like the film tended to enjoy Scar’s characterization and Irons’ performance. Irons himself said that compared to most villains he played, Scar "measures very highly," having "charm," "Machiavellian qualities" and being "iconic in some of the things he says. Irons would then win an Annie Award for Best Achievement for Voice Acting. Watchmojo.com placed Scar as #1 on “Top 10 Animated Disney Villains”. Scar is also considered widely as one of Disney's darkest villains due to his murder of his own brother, Mufasa. Watchmojo.com also 1st Scar's act of fratricide as #2 on "Top Worst Thing Disney Villains Have Done", behind Judge Claude Frollo's acts of attempting genocide, killing Quasimodo's mother and lusting Esmeralda. Despite worldwide aclaim, he did meet some mild controversy, being perceived as a racist, effeminate and homophobic and fans did complain he was less enjoyable after becoming king. Critics and parents alike warn that Scar's behavior can frighten small children. Due to being one of Disney's most infamous villains, Scar is one of the primary members of the Disney Villains franchise.

Trivia

 * Although his nickname did not come from Swahili, his real name in Swahili is never mentioned.
 * He is ranked #3 in the Top 30 Disney Villains.
 * According to Andreas Deja, Scar is modeled after his voice actor Jeremy Irons.
 * Scar is notable for being voiced by Jeremy Irons and animated by Andreas Deja (who also animated Jafar, Alameda Slim, Dr. Frankenollie, and Gaston).
 * In Disney's Hercules, the Nemean Lion that Hades sends to fight Hercules bears an exact resemblance to Scar after it is killed and turned into a skin by the former. Given that Andreas Deja was the lead animator of the film, this cameo was likely a reference to his previous work; and may also be a reference to Zazu's joke that Scar could make "handsome throw rug" as well.
 * Scar's character is loosely based on Claudius from the Shakespearean play Hamlet; both are the uncle of the main character, and both kill their brother, the main character's father, in order to rule over a land originally lorded over by said brother. This is part in due to the various parallels The Lion King shares with Hamlet. However, unlike Claudius, who seems to hold some regret over killing his brother, Scar holds no guilt over killing Mufasa. Also, unlike Hamlet (who kills Claudius to avenge his father's death), Simba refuses to kill Scar (as he doesn't want to be like him).
 * Scar is also based on real-life dictator ; as the scene where Scar is over looking his hyena army mimics the scene where Hitler over looks his army and stretches out his hand over them.
 * It is said that there is no blood relation between Scar and Kovu, who appeared in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, so there is no blood relation between Kovu and Kiara. However, Nuka mentions that Scar took Kovu in before he died.
 * In the early drafts of The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, Scar was meant to be Kovu's father. However, this was changed as this would have made Kovu and Kiara's relationship incestuous as they would have been first cousins once removed.
 * In an earlier draft for The Lion King, Scar was originally a baboon as the plot of the film would have been about a battle between lions and baboons. The only thing that was kept was the scar in the his left eye.
 * In an early script for The Lion King, Scar was a rogue lion who was never related to Mufasa and Simba. However, this was changed after the writers decided later in production that the threat should come from within the family for a bigger impact on the characters.
 * Scar was originally going to reveal his allegiance with the hyenas to the pride some years into his reign instead of straight after becoming king.
 * Before Jeremy Irons was cast, actors such as Malcolm McDowell and Tim Curry were considered for the role.
 * Scar was initially thought to be the main antagonist of the third season of The Lion Guard much like in the second season, but this later turned out to be false as Scar gets destroyed for good in the season premiere and Makucha takes over his role as main antagonist, having bigger plans than Scar. However, even after his ultimate defeat, Scar still serves as a posthumous antagonist for the rest of the season due to Kion questioning himself if he will succumb to his great-uncle's fate or not.
 * In the episode "Battle for the Pride Lands" of The Lion Guard, it is revealed that Scar got his scar from a cobra who was a friend of a unnamed lion that Scar befriended. The lion promised to cure his scar if Scar agreed to do whatever he said, instead Scar destroyed him and the cobra with the roar. When Scar hoped that Mufasa would praise him for destroying the scheming lion. Mufasa mocked him instead by nicknaming him "Scar". The poison from the cobra later made Scar's personality even darker than it already was.
 * This means that Mufasa was partially responsible, albeit unintentionally, for the creation of Scar.
 * According to Ford Riley, Scar's original name was "Askari" named after his ancestor and the founder of the original Lion Guard of the same name (who later on appears in Season 3), but was shortened down to "Scar" by Mufasa after he was bitten by the cobra.
 * Scar is easily the most evil villain in the The Lion King franchise (alongside his live-action incarnation, who could even be considered to be worse) as most villains have redeeming traits (like Janja and the Outsiders), taken comically (like Nuka or Shenzi, Banzai and Ed) or have noble goals. While Scar does have a motive on being evil by being bitten by the Strange Cobra and then being nicknamed by Mufasa turned him evil, he goes way past from being excused by that by not just by outright murdering Mufasa, but tried to kill his nephew, Simba, mostly when he was a child and blamed Mufasa's death on him and literally wants to turn the Pridelands into a wasteland without life as revenge for his demise, not to mention the venom is only shown to bring out the bite victim's darker instincts and desires and Scar had already wanted to overthrow Mufasa.
 * Scar is considered a foil to both Simba and Kion. If Simba didn't realize that being king takes responsibilities and forgot about the past, he would've ended up like Scar. He is also an example of what Kion would have become if he didn't decide to search for a cure for his scar.
 * Scar is a member of Disney's Sinister Cats, a sub-franchise of the mainline Disney Villains franchise.

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