Imara is a character featured in The Lion Guard. She is a former member of the Outsiders and currently the strongest in the Lion Guard under Vitani.
Background
Imara was originally born a Pridelander sometime during the reign of Scar. During his reign Imara, along with multiple other lionesses, were very loyal to Scar and supported his rule. For this reason she along with all the other lions who supported Scar were exiled to the Outlands, by his nephew Simba, after he defeated Scar in the battle for Pride Rock. As a member of the Outsiders, Imara was originally an enemy of Simba’s pride and the Pridelands, taking part in the plans of the Outsiders’ leader Zira to overthrow and assassinate Simba. However, during the events The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride, she along with the other Outsiders (sans Zira who refused and Nuka who had already died) were persuaded by Kovu and Kiara to stop the fight and switch over to Simba’s side. Sometime after the reunion of the two prides, Kovu’s sister and the former second-in-command of the Outsiders Vitani, recruited Imara along with fellow former Outsiders Kasi, Tazama, and Shabaha, to become members of her Lion Guard (since Kion’s Lion Guard was away at the Tree of Life at the time). Due to her incredible strength, Imara was chosen as the strongest member of Vitani’s Lion Guard.
Personality
Imara is not only a lioness with great physical strength but also great inner strength as well. Like the rest of Vitani’s Lion Guard she is a fierce, but also brave and dutiful warrior committed to protecting the Pride Lands. She constantly challenges herself in order to both prove and improve her strength. This was shown when she challenged Beshte to push a rock with an elephant on it to the finish line, despite being fully aware that hippos are naturally much stronger than lions. This not only shows her confidence in her strength but also her extreme desire to challenge herself in order to prove how strong she is and to become stronger. This may also show a slight sign of over-confidence in her though. She can also be very stubborn as she, like her teammates, refused to step down from the Lion Guard even though Kion and his friends had the mark of guard, and had been the guard long before they were. Despite this, she means well, and her attempts to challenge herself seem to not only be out of a desire to improve her skills but also to help her friends who she desperately wishes to support and be strong for. This shows that Imara is a strong-willed, brave, noble, and supportive friend to her teammates and warrior committed to fighting for her new home.
Trivia
- Imara is the first strongest lioness to be a member of the lion guard.