History Characters / TheLionKingScar

-->'''Voiced in English by:''' Creator/JeremyIrons (''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}''), Creator/{{Jim Cummings|1952}} (''[[WesternAnimation/TheLionKingIISimbasPride Simba's Pride]]'', ''Simba's Mighty Adventure'')[[note]]Also fills in for the last verse of "Be Prepared", including the EvilLaugh at the end[[/note]], Creator/JamesHoran (''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', ''TabletopGame/SorcerersOfTheMagicKingdom'', ''VideoGame/DisneyDreamlightValley''), Creator/DavidOyelowo (''WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard'')

* SurroundedByIdiots: Stated word for word in regards to the hyenas.

* BrilliantButLazy: He's very talented at using cunning and manipulation to get what he wants, but he doesn't even try to be responsible once he becomes king, leaving his hyena minions to work with the lionesses.

** In ''The Lion Guard'', it is revealed that he told Zira that if he roared directly at a cloud, it would rain. Zira later tells this to Kion, and he uses this to [[spoiler: finish Scar off for good]].

** The Lion Guard reveals that he took Mufasa's relatively playful and harmless decision to call him "Scar" as an insult and this caused him to begin to scheme to get Mufasa off the throne.

* MotiveDecay: [[spoiler:In ''The Lion Guard'', his new goal is to build an army to destroy the Pridelands. This is [[JustifiedTrope justified]], though; as a spirit, he is no longer in a position to rule over the Pridelands, so he will simply have it destroyed as {{Revenge}} for his death.]]

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: According to a storybook published following the film's release, his birth name was ''Taka'' (Swahili for "trash" or "want"). ''The Lion Guard'' renders this non-canon, though it is clarified that "Scar" is still not his true name. According to Ford Riley on Twitter, his real name was Askari (named after the original leader of the first Lion Guard), and it was shortened to "Scar" after he got his scar.

* ThePowerOfHate: Selfishness and resentment fueled his rage, darkened his heart, and drove him to kill Mufasa. If the Roar of the Elders is used with malice, the user loses it permanently, as this is exactly what happened to him when he abused its power to eliminate his own Lion Guard. Upon his return years later as a demonic entity, he is even more wrathful than before, getting enraged even more whenever Kion foils his schemes, whom he despises as much as he does hate Simba and Mufasa.

* {{Pride}}: His pridefulness prevents him from acknowledging that he's ill-suited to rule a kingdom or accepting responsibility.

** Like Kion in ''The Lion Guard'', Scar once led the Lion Guard during Mufasa's regime and was blessed with the power of the Roar of the Elders. But since the Roar was never meant to be used for evil, Scar was stripped of it when he killed his own Lion Guard for not supporting him in his coup against Mufasa. Due to this, Kion constantly regulates the use of the Roar, fearing he may end up becoming Scar should he let anger poison his mind. [[spoiler: In Season 3 of ''The Lion Guard'', Scar arranges for Kion to get an identical scar-like he received from a cobra out of pure spite]]. He represents a Kion who let his bestowed gifts corrupt his mind and seek more power.

* ManChild: Even once you get past the immature reason he wanted to be king, there are some implications that he's actually very childish underneath his suave, charismatic demeanor:
** When he's ''introduced'' he's seen moping and complaining about not being king like a kid who didn't get what he wanted and is also seen playing with the mouse, his food. Even Zazu, once he sees him, literally compares him to a child by mockingly asking him "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?"
** His nickname is literally Scar, which is more the kind of nickname a teenager would give themselves to sound cool.
** He constantly makes impulsive decisions like threatening Mufasa or still trying to become king when the lionesses wouldn't accept him, which makes sense when you realize he has a child-like mind as children tend to make impulsive, rash decisions.
** His childishness is most clearly shown when he becomes king, throwing temper tantrums whenever Mufasa's name is said and shifting blame for why things aren't going right to others like a spoiled toddler would.

* PsychopathicManchild: Best exemplified by his "I am the King, I can do whatever I want!" excuse, because it is essentially the attitude of Simba as a cub, though it's doubtful that Simba would have ever condemned his own subjects to death.

** He [[StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred attempts to guilt-trip]] Simba into killing him by using the relative card, thinking it'll make him no better than the lion [[CainAndAbel who killed his own brother]]. Simba instead makes it clear that he won't stoop so low to murder his own family and asks Scar to leave the Pridelands forever.

** When he's ''introduced'' he's seen moping and complaining about not being king like a kid who didn't get what they wanted and is also seen playing with the mouse, his food. Even Zazu, once he sees him, literally compares him to a child by mockingly asking him "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?"

** His childishness is most clearly shown when he becomes king, throwing temper tantrums whenever Mufasa's name is said and shifting blame for why things aren't going right to others like a spoiled child would.

** Deconstructed. "I am the king, I can do whatever I want" sums his rule up, but this view on life results in the Pridelands going to hell and him having a ZeroPercentApprovalRating. Whenever he claims his rule will be UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans, it's actually the opposite: he is perfectly willing to let the Pridelands go to hell just to cling on to power. He's also pretty upfront that he only cares about the title.

* KinslayingIsASpecialKindOfEvil: He crosses the line by assassinating his own brother in order to seize power. He even [[WouldHurtAChild tries to have a young Simba]] killed off as well.

** Scar's time as a tyrant of the Pride Lands shows what Simba could have been without the moral guidance on how to be king. Simba eventually outgrew his belief that being king is all about the power and prestige, while Scar embraced it to the full extent, not caring about the royal duties.

* EvenEvilHasStandard: He can't stand "It's a Small World after all".

** Deconstructed. "I'm the king, I can do whatever I want" sums his rule up, but this view on life results in the Pridelands going to hell and him having a ZeroPercentApprovalRating. Whenever he claims his rule will be UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans, it's actually the opposite: he is perfectly willing to let the Pridelands go to hell just to cling on to power. He's also pretty upfront that he only cares about the title.

** PlayedWith in ''The Lion Guard''. [[spoiler:Kion has every reason to hate Scar and use the Roar of the Elders to destroy his spirit. But Mufasa warns Kion that fighting fire with fire is not the solution, and Scar's fiery spirit wants to corrupt Kion by making him give into his hate. Ultimately, Kion finds enough will and courage to do the unthinkable and forgives Scar for his evil actions. Then he uses the Roar to summon the Lions of the Past to pass judgement on Scar with gentle rain. This peaceful action is what ultimately destroys Scar as his entire spirit is completely made of fire, symbolizing that he's irredeemable to the core even when he's granted forgiveness and love.]]

* AdaptationalVillainy: [[Theatre/{{Hamlet}} Claudius]], though still a villain, was a ''lot'' less wicked than Scar (or at least, a lot more ''[[AffablyEvil pleasant]]''). He's genuinely warm-hearted to the queen (whom he married after taking the throne), told Hamlet to stay in Denmark so that he can succeed him as king, apparently showed genuine concern for Hamlet's [[ObfuscatingInsanity apparent madness]], was a relatively [[VillainWithGoodPublicity competent ruler]], and at least had the decency to feel a little ashamed over murdering his brother. Scar, on the other hand, mistreats Sarabi after taking the throne, tries to get Simba killed because he doesn't want the competition, proves to be an utterly ''poor'' king, and shows absolutely no remorse over murdering Mufasa. It makes more sense whenever you compare him to another of Shakespeare's kingslayers, Theatre/RichardIII, who was more callous and merciless.

** PlayedWith in ''The Lion Guard''. [[spoiler:Kion has every reason to hate Scar and use the Roar of the Elders to destroy his spirit. But Mufasa warns Kion that fighting fire with fire is not the solution, and Scar's fiery spirit wants to corrupt Kion by making him give into his hate. Ultimately, Kion finds enough will and courage to do the unthinkable and forgives Scar for his evil actions. Then he uses the Roar to summon the Lions of the Past to pass judgement on Scar with gentle rain. This peaceful action is what ultimately destroys Scar as his entire spirit is completely made of fire, symbolizing that he's irredeemable to the core even when he's granted forgiveness and love.

* ManChild: Even once you get past how he wanted the kingship for the power, there are some implications that he's actually very childish underneath his suave, charismatic demeanor:

* ManChild: Even once you get past how he wanted the kingship for the power, there are many implications that he's actually very childish underneath his suave, charismatic demeanor:

** At the end, when he fights Simba, he throws embers in his eyes like a schoolyard bully trying to win a fight.

* ManChild: Even once you get past how he wanted the kingship for the power, there are many implications that he's actually very childish underneath his suave, charismatic demeanor

** His nickname is literally Scar, which is more the kind of nickname a teenager would give themselves to sound cool
** He constantly makes impulsive decisions like threatening Mufasa or still trying to become king when the lionesses wouldn't accept him, which makes sense when you realize he has a child-like mind as children tend to make impulsive, rash decisions
** His childishness is most clearly shown when he becomes king, throwing temper tantrums whenever Mufasa's name is said and shifting blame for why things aren't going right to others like a spoiled child would
** At the end, when he fights Simba, he throws embers in his eyes like a schoolyard bully trying to win a fight

* TaughtByExperince: He still remembers that blaming the hyenas for Mufasa's death was the final nail that cost him Pride Rock in the movie, so when Janja betrays Scar to help the Guard, he simply feeds him misinformation on how to defeat him, which he gives to Kion and the Lion Guard

* EqualOpportunityEvil: Scar has no qualms about siding with hyenas. As shown in ''The Lion Guard'', he assembles an army of various animals such as snakes, hyenas, crocodiles, jackals, vultures, and lizards in order to take down Simba and Kion.

** When he's ''introduced'' he's seen moping and complaining about not being king like a kid who didn't get what they wanted and is also seen playing with their food. Even Zazu, once he sees him, literally compares him to a child by mockingly asking him "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?"

* ManipulativeBastard: One of the classic movie examples and fitting for a villain in a Shakespearean-style film. There are very few characters in the story whom he does not deceive, and he sometimes manipulates others purely for [[ForTheEvulz his own amusement]].

[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scarthelionguard.jpg[[/labelnote]] to see him in ''The Lion Guard'']]

* TheSlacker: Rules with slackness, causing the Pridelands to turn into a literal hellhole. A JustifiedTrope as he was not properly raised to be king. He is too prideful to realize he had a been unfit to rule a kingdom.

* TheSoCalledCoward: The film describes Scar as a skinny weakling, who openly confesses that he's no match for Mufasa in a fight. During the climax, he begs Simba for mercy, but as soon as said mercy is granted, Scar ambushes Simba at full force and nearly beats him.

* MoreThanMindControl: In [[spoiler:Season 3 of ''The Lion Guard'', he explains his scar was inflicted by a cobra bite, which corrupted him and drove him insane. However, it's implied the cobra venom merely removed his morals and brought out his darker impulses, since it's shown that even before being scarred, Scar was an arrogant warrior who thought himself the most powerful lion and was tempted by the idea of overthrowing Mufasa.]]

* NamedAfterTheInjury: Has a scar going down the side of his face, and is named Scar.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: According to a storybook published following the film's release, his birth name was ''Taka'' (Swahili for "trash" or "want"). ''The Lion Guard'' renders this non-canon, though it is clarified that "Scar" was not his true name. According to Ford Riley on Twitter, his real name was Askari (named after the original leader of the first Lion Guard), and it was shortened to "Scar" after he got his scar.

* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: He finally pays for his fratricide and years of tyranny when Simba returns home.