A Cowardly Lion

A Cowardly Lion is a comic inspired by The Lion King.

Plot
At the start of the comic, Mufasa is trying to make conversation with his son, but Simba is too distracted to answer. A bush rustles, and the frightened cub leaps away in fear of the poisonous snake he believes is hiding in the leaves. As a tiny bird takes flight, Mufasa assures his son that it's only a harmless bird.

Not long after this, Simba hears a strange noise and hides behind his father. Mufasa is confused, and asks his son if he's afraid of a monkey. The two continue on their way, and Mufasa thinks to himself that Simba has been acting very skittish lately. He desires to help his son but can't think of a way to assuage his fears.

Suddenly, Mufasa treads on a thorn and falls to the ground. Simba cries out in dismay as Mufasa tells the cub that the thorn is poisonous. Simba asks what he can do to help, and Mufasa instructs him to find the antidote, an herb with orange flowers. Shakily, Simba complies.

As the cub searches for the herb, he wanders into a dangerous forest. The strange noises reverberating all around him frighten him, and he begins to fantasize about scary beasts roaming through the trees. Suddenly, he sees a gorilla sitting in the forest, peeling back the skin of a banana. At first, the cub is frightened. Then he crouches down and sneaks past the gigantic creature.

Upon leaving the dark forest behind, Simba finds himself confronted with a river. After gathering that the water is calm enough to swim through, he plunges into the river and begins to swim. As he's swimming, a hippopotamus suddenly appears beneath him and asks him why he's standing on his/her head. Simba is frightened, and asks the hippo if s/he's going to eat him, but the hippo tells him that s/he only eats plants. As the hippo takes Simba to the other side of the river, the cub thanks him/her for the ride and then continues on his way.

As he's walking through another forest, a vulture approaches him and proclaims that he is simply starved. At first, Simba is frightened, but then he puffs out his chest and proclaims that he is the son of the Lion King. The vulture merely laughs and points out that he's just a king-sized snack, but Simba surprises the mangy creature by striking out with unsheathed claws and swiping the bird across his beak. The vulture flies away in a hurry, and Simba growls at his retreating figure.

The cub then takes off through the forest, muttering to himself about what he would do if the vulture returned. As he's running, he is suddenly stopped by an achingly-familiar voice. Simba turns around and is delighted to see his father standing before him. The cub asks Mufasa if he is still sick, and the king explains that the thorn was never poisonous. Simba asks why he had pretended to be sick, and Mufasa explains that he had hoped his son would be brave in an attempt to save his father.

Simba boasts to Mufasa that he's not scared anymore and roars heroically at a passing wildebeest. The giant creature is not amused and begins to chase the tiny cub in anger. As Simba tries to apologize to the angry wildebeest, Mufasa calls out after his son that he must be cautious as well as brave.