Scar

Prince Taka, better known as Scar, is the main antagonist of The Lion King. He was the son of Ahadi who was at one time king of the Pride Lands, and brother of Mufasa who would also become king of the Pride Lands. Scar was also the uncle of Simba. He was voiced by Jeremy Irons and animated by Andreas Deja.

The Lion King novels
Scar was once named Taka, and had became upset when he learned that his brother Mufasa was chosen to be king over himself. He wanders off to talk to three hyenas named Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, who tell him that if Mufasa is made to look like a failure, then he will look kingly in comparison and soon take the throne.

This leads to Taka tricking his brother into going down to the waterhole, where a Cape buffalo called Boma is refusing to share the water with the rest of The Pride Lands which, at the time, is having a terrible drought.

While there Mufasa starts to try to reason with Boma, and Taka roars and tells Boma that he must move by order of the Lion King, or fight Mufasa, Boma then charges out of the water at Mufasa. Mufasa escapes with the aid of a Mandrill called Rafiki, and Boma goes after Taka instead.

Mufasa runs back and finds Taka being attacked by Boma's herd. A large buffalo slashes Taka with his horns, causing him to be knocked unconscious. Mufasa leaps in to save his brother and the buffaloes prepare to attack again. Before they can do so, King Ahadi, father of Taka and Mufasa, appears with a large herd of animals that surrounds the Buffaloes. It was during this attack that Taka got a scar on his eye, and re-named himself Scar, as a reminder of his mistake.

The Lion King
Scar remained bitter at his brother but was allowed to live in the Pride Lands. He attended Simba's presentation but left after he was born, earning him Mufasa's disgust. Scar eventually became jealous of his nephew Simba's position as the next king of the Pride Lands, and stated plotting to kill both his brother and nephew in order to take the throne himself. He started to recruit hyenas including Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, to build an army. He used bribes of food to get them on his side.

The first attempt the hyenas made was to kill Simba when the young cub entered their territory, but Mufasa foiled that plan. Scar lined up his ranks of troops promising that under his rule, they would never go hungry again. With their help, he triggered a wildebeest stampede meant to kill both Simba and Mufasa, tricking Simba into waiting in a gorge under the notion that Scar had a "surprise" for him and his dad. He tricked Simba into practicing his roar to make it appear as the trigger of the stampede, which was actually started by the hyenas. Scar then sent Mufasa to save Simba, hoping that they would die.

Instead, Mufasa saved his son and ended up clinging to a cliff. He then spots Scar and pleads with Scar to help him. However, Scar pierces Mufasa's paws with his claws, and flung his brother off the cliff to his death with the mocking words "Long Live The King". Scar finds that Simba is still alive, and convinces him that it is his fault Mufasa is dead. He tells old the cub to "run away, and never return."

Scar went on to take the throne and sent Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed to finish Simba off. They failed this task, though the hyenas felt that allowing the cub to flee into the desert would kill him eventually. Under Scar's rule, the Pride Lands became a dry place and food for the animals became scarce. While he and the hyenas had at first prospered, they ate everything, drank the entire lake, and drove off the rest of the kingdom, leaving his clan and the lionesses on the brink of starvation. Determined to hold on to the throne, he forbade the lionesses to leave and continued to bask in his perceived glory.

Simba returned years later, to Scar's surprise (Who believed Simba was dead) and Scar was forced to reveal the truth that he himself had killed Mufasa. This lead to a battle in which the lionesses, aided by Rafiki, Timon, and Pumbaa, worked together to defeat the disorganised hyenas. Simba confronted Scar on the top of Pride Rock, but Scar, knowing he was not strong enough to defeat Simba, was hesitant to fight. He tried to blame everything on the hyenas, not knowing that Shenzi, Banzai and Ed had followed him (presumably to back him up) and heard Scar blame them. Scar (who was offered the chance to leave the Pride Lands), attacked his nephew but ultimately lost when Simba kicked him off the edge of Pride Rock, literally overthrowing him. The hyenas then arrived, reminding Scar that he had called them the enemy. Realizing his mistake too late, Scar pleaded for his life as the hyenas closed in and started to devour their former leader.

The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
Despite his ultimate demise, Scar maintained the loyalty of the Outsiders, a pack of lions led by his former mate Zira., who were banished by Simba. Zira was fanatically loyal to Scar and intended to install her son Kovu as King of Pride Rock, as previously decreed by Scar. They would continue to create trouble for Simba in the following years.

Scar also appeared briefly in a dream in The Lion King II: Simba's Pride where Jim Cummings voiced him.

The Lion King 1½
Scar play a small nonspeaking role in the third Lion King installment where he is seen only twice both in the climax area of the film.

Kingdom Hearts II
In Kingdom Hearts II, Scar is the main antagonist in his home world: the Pride Lands. He is successfully turned into a Heartless by Pete and battles with Sora, Donald, Goofy and Simba. Later in the game after Scar's demise, Simba's sadness and doubt manifest as ghosts of Scar appear all over the Pride Lands. When Simba faces his past, the ghosts create a giant Heartless known as "Groundshaker" that starts wreaking havoc around the savannah, but is ultimately defeated by Sora and Simba.

Disney Parks
In the Disney parks Scar is seen in parades and in shows usually based off Lion King. He is also a character who is called to destroy Mickey Mouse in Fantasmic.

Physical appearence
Scar is elegant and poised but unkempt and wild looking. He is perhaps the most evidently feline lion in the film, lithe and melanistic in appearence with a sleek, black mane, dusty brown fur and distinctive, almond-shaped green eyes. He has large, white paws with long, curving black claws that unlike those of other lions in the film are always bared and never retracted, perhaps alluding to his vicious nature. Scar also sports a white goatee beard, characteristic of villains, particularly the evil twin archetype which is fitting given his relationship with Mufasa. Finally Scar has a thin, white gash over his right eye, earning him his name.

Trivia

 * While Jeremy Irons voices Scar for most of the movie, he blew out his voice recording "Be Prepared" (Specifically the line "You won't get a sniff without me"), and the rest of the song is sung by Jim Cummings. Ironically, "Be Prepared" is also where Ed (also voiced by Jim Cummings) has his only line that is not laughter.