Strange Lion

Evil-doer
Full Name	Unknown
Alias	Strange Lion
Origin	The Lion Guard
Occupation	Blackmailer
Powers / Skills	Manipulation
Hobby	None known
Goals	Have Scar serve him and take over the Pride Lands for himself (failed).
Crimes	Attempted hostile takeover Treason Attempted blackmail Sabotage Conspiracy Corruption
Type of Villain	Sadistic Predator

The Strange Lion is the overall Greater-Scope Villain of the The Lion King franchise and a minor, but significant antagonist of the The Lion Guard special Battle of the Pride Lands.

He was an unnamed lion whom Scar met in the past when he was young. He was also the reason why Scar became the main villain in the first place.

Biography

The Strange Lion's origins are unknown, but given the fact that Scar did not recognize him, it seems to be likely that he may have come from somewhere far away from the Pride Lands and the Outlands. According to Scar as he explains his story to a cobra named Ushari, he met him when he was the leader of the Lion Guard (going under the name Askari) at the time while scouting the Outlands alone.

He somehow knew Askari was second-best in power to his older brother by the name of King Mufasa, yet possesses a special power called the Roar of the Elders, which is always granted to every leader of the Lion Guard. The Strange Lion claimed to have wisdom and power, and that with the help from Askari and the Roar, they could overthrow Mufasa and rule the Pride Lands together as equals. Askari finds the idea to be intriging, but as he follows the Strange Lion to a volcano, the lion leads him to an ambush by having his friend the Strange Cobra attacks Askari, biting him on his right eye and giving him his trademark scar.

As Askari fumes in pain due to the venomous bite, the Strange Lion reveals his true colors by implying that he intends to exploit Askari to overthrow Mufasa and take over the Pride Lands for himself. He then attempts to blackmail Askari into serving for him in exchange for the cure of the venom. But Askari, angry that he was lied to and losing control of himself due to the snake venom, refuses and instead uses the Roar of the Elder to blast both the lion and cobra, sending them towards the lava river behind to their deaths. Returning to Pride Rock, Askari explained his story to Mufasa and expected to be praised for stopping the Strange Lion's attempted coup d'etat, but Mufasa just friendly patted Askari while giving his nickname Scar.

While the Strange Lion and the Strange Cobra were never able to proceed with their plans to take over the Pride Lands, their attack on Scar, coupled with the Strange Cobra's venom slowly poisoning his mind, makes certain one thing about them: they are indirectly responsible for making Scar turn into the selfish and tyrannical monster he later became.

Appearance

The Strange Lion had tan coloured fur with a dark brown stripe on his forehead, a dark reddish-brown mane which reached to his lower chest, red eyes and a scar over his left eye.

Gallery

The Strange Lion and Scar

The Strange Lion luring Scar to the Strange Cobra

The Strange Lion and Cobra being blasted to their deaths by an angry Scar for ambushing him.

Trivia

• The Strange Lion is considered to be the Greater-Scope Villain of The Lion King series as his actions against Scar are what caused Scar to become the hate-filled tyrant he was in the first film and the Big Bad of the series, who in turn inspired the Outsiders to engage in a war against Simba's pride in the second film and left the Pride Lands without a Lion Guard, leading Simba to recruit Kion and his friends to lead a new one in The Lion Guard.
• The Strange Lion is the second lion in The Lion King series to have a stripe on their forehead. The first being Zira. Both the strange lion and Zira also has the same eye color.
  • This has caused several fans to theorize that he was Zira's father, even though this may not be the case as Zira was born in the Pride Lands while the Strange Lion wasn't. Ford Riley, the show's creator, hinted at the possibility that the Strange Lion is related to Zira, but refused to confirm or deny anything.
• He is one of four lions in The Lion Guard to have a scar on his eye. The other three being Scar, Kovu and Kion.
• Despite his importance in Scar's descent into villainy, the Strange Lion's name is never revealed (as perhaps Scar didn't know his name). Considering that Scar was destroyed for good in the same episode he reveals how he got his namesake and since the show is over, it's likely that we will never learn the Strange Lion's name.
• He bears resemblance to the franchise's protagonist Simba and his father Mufasa.

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Villains

Movies The Lion King (1994): Scar † | Hyena Clan (Shenzi, Banzai & Ed) The Lion King II: Simba's Pride: Outsiders (Zira †, Nuka† & Vitani) | Scar † The Lion King 1 1/2: Hyena Clan (Shenzi, Banzai & Ed) | Scar † The Lion King (2019): Scar † | Hyena Clan (Shenzi, Kamari & Aizi) Television Timon & Pumbaa: Quint | Mel | Shenzi, Banzai & Ed | Pimon & Tumbaa | Ralph & Eddie | El Toro | Claudius | Native Chief | The Three Natives | Cheetayta & Cheetahto | Dragon The Lion Guard: Janja's Clan (Janja, Mzingo, Mwoga, Cheezi, Chungu, Nne & Tano) | Scar's Army (Scar †, Ushari †, Shupavu, Njano, Kiburi, Nduli, Tamka, Reirei, Goigoi, Dogo, Kijana, Nyeusi, Waza, Nyata, Kenge, Sumu and Hodari) | Outsiders (Zira †, Nuka †, Vitani, Shabaha, Tazama, Kasi & Imara) | Makuu | Mapigano | Makucha's Army (Makucha, Chuluun, Ora, Mama Binturong, Fahari, Jiona & Smun) | Strange Lion† | Strange Cobra† Literature The Lion King: Six New Adventures: Chewa | Joka Hakuna Matata magazine: One-Eye | Growler | Kesho Disney Villains: Scar: Scar | Kabeer and Krass | Hyena Clan (Zuhour†, Shenzi, Banzai & Ed)