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| Lion Guard | |
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| Organizational information | |
| Leader | |
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| Purpose |
• To defend the Circle of Life |
| Status |
Active |
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The Lion Guard is a group of animals who protect the Pride Lands and defend the Circle of Life. The current Lion Guard is led by Vitani and includes Imara, Kasi, Shabaha, and Tazama.
Concept[]
Function[]
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The leader of the Lion Guard possesses the Roar of the Elders.
The Lion Guard is a group of animals who are divinely tasked with defending the Pride Lands and preserving the Circle of Life. The animals who make up the Guard are hand-chosen and led by either the younger sibling or the second-born cub of the monarch. The leader of the Lion Guard has possession of the Roar of the Elders, a mystical power that summons the Great Lions of the Past to roar alongside them.
Traditionally, the Lion Guard consists of the Pride Lands' fiercest, bravest, fastest, strongest, and keenest of sight, with the fiercest being the leader.[1] However, during his time as leader of the Lion Guard, Kion temporarily created a new position in the Guard: that of the Pride Lands' smartest.[2]
Fuli was the first female Lion Guard member.
Historically, the Lion Guard had always consisted of male lions. Kion's Guard was the first Lion Guard to include animals of other species as well as a female member: Fuli.[3] Additionally, Vitani's Guard was the first Lion Guard to be entirely comprised of female members.[4] With the exception of interim members, every Guard member is given the mark of a roaring lion on their shoulder.
The Lion Guard resides in the Lair of the Lion Guard, an open cave located within the base of Pride Rock.[1]
Duties[]
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As part of their pledge to protect the Pride Lands and the Circle of Life, the Lion Guard is bound to innumerable duties. These include but are not limited to:
- Conducting regular patrols of the Pride Lands,[5]
- Dealing with external threats, including invasions by Outlanders,[1] Back Landers,[6] and other foreigners,[7]
- Dealing with internal threats, including managing unruly Pride Landers,[8] and handling skirmishes,[9]
- Leading migrations,[9]
- Dealing with the aftermath of natural disasters, such as flooding[10] and the effects of the dry season,[3]
- Protecting weak and innocent animals, including those who are outside the jurisdiction of the Pride Lands,[11]
- Relaying royal messages to foreign leaders,[12]
- Assisting with the set-up of[13] and participating in ceremonies,[14] and
- Assembling, training, and leading larger armies against various threats.[15]
Training[]
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The Lion Guard periodically undergoes various training procedures in order to stay fit and prepared for future dangers. This training consists of races, obstacle courses, stealth-surround drills, and object retrieval challenges.[16][17]
Special cases[]
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Simba temporarily leads the Lion Guard in Kion's absence.
When the leader of the Lion Guard is otherwise occupied, the monarch may temporarily fill their role. As their leadership is brief, they are not gifted with the Mark of the Guard.[18]
To recognize heroic actions, the leader of the Lion Guard may gift other animals with "honorary" Marks of the Guard. This is usually done with young animals and does not signify the official bestowal of the Mark.[16]
History[]
Origin and Askari's Lion Guard[]
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Askari's Lion Guard protects the Pride Lands from an invasion of evil lions, as depicted in a cave painting.
At some point during his life, Askari, the second-born royal of Pride Rock, traveled to the Tree of Life, where he discovered the Roar of the Elders at Cikha Escarpment. He trained relentlessly to understand the Roar's powers and eventually mastered it. Due to his prowess with the Roar, Askari became the leader of the first Lion Guard and assembled a team of lions who were the bravest, strongest, fastest, and keenest of sight in the Pride Lands.[19]
At some point, a group of evil lions invaded the Pride Lands, but Askari and his Guard defeated them by working together. Eventually, Askari willingly relinquished the powers of the Roar.[20]
Unknown Lion Guard[]
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A Lion Guard was in existence when Nala's father was a cub. The identities of the members of this Lion Guard are unknown. However, they once saved Nala's father when he fell from a tree branch.[21]
Scar's Lion Guard[]
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Scar destroys his Lion Guard, as depicted in a cave painting.
Some time later, the second-born son of the monarch, Scar, ascended to the position of leader of the Lion Guard and likewise acquired the Roar of the Elders. However, the power of the Roar went to Scar's head, and he corrupted his purpose, coming to believe that he, not his older brother Mufasa, should be king.
Scar commanded his Guard to help him kill Mufasa, but they refused, which prompted Scar to destroy them with the Roar. As a result, the Great Lions of the Past stripped Scar of the Roar's powers as well as his position as leader of the Lion Guard. Thus, the Lion Guard was disbanded for a generation.[1]
Kion's Lion Guard[]
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Kion chooses Bunga, Beshte, Fuli, and Ono to be on his Lion Guard.
As the second-born cub of Simba, the monarch, Kion was destined from birth to be the leader of the Lion Guard. However, his parents withheld this information from him until he accidentally used the Roar of the Elders on Janja and his clan. When Rafiki informed Simba and Nala of the occurrence, Nala urged Simba to tell Kion about the Lion Guard, despite her mate's assertions that Kion was not ready for the responsibility.
Simba took Kion to the Lair of the Lion Guard, where he explained the history of the Lion Guard and of Kion's new duty to it. He then tasked Kion with assembling his Lion Guard. Kion chose his friends Bunga, Beshte, Fuli, and Ono to be the bravest, strongest, fastest, and keenest of sight, respectively. However, Simba was disappointed with Kion's choices, asserting that the Lion Guard had always been comprised of lions and berating his son for treating the Lion Guard like a game.
Kion's Lion Guard defeats Janja and his clan in battle.
Hurt, Kion went for a walk, where he encountered the spirit of his grandfather, Mufasa. The spirit urged Kion to trust his instincts, adding that he would always be there for his grandson. No sooner had Kion accepted his destiny than Bunga arrived and informed him that Janja's clan was attacking the Pride Lands.
Kion reconvened with his friends, all of whom he gifted with the Mark of the Guard, officializing their places on the Lion Guard. He then led them into battle with the hyenas. The Lion Guard emerged victorious, with Kion using the Roar of the Elders to blast the hyenas back into the Outlands. Simba, watching from a nearby ridge, marveled at his son's wisdom and acknowledged that it was time for a new Lion Guard.[1]
After the battle for the Pride Lands, Kion and his Guard depart for the Tree of Life.
Kion's Lion Guard dealt with many various threats over the years, the most notable of these being Janja's clan, Makuu's float, Reirei's pack, and the Outsiders. The Lion Guard's most formidable foe was the Army of Scar—led by the spirit of Scar himself—with whom they waged war for years.
After the Lion Guard finally defeated Scar, Kion was left with the Mark of Evil, which had been inflicted by Ushari during the final battle. In order to save Kion from becoming evil, the Lion Guard departed the Pride Lands for the Tree of Life, a place renowned for its healing powers.[22] They would be gone for some time.[4]
During the Lion Guard's time at the Tree of Life, Kion communed with the spirit of Askari, who taught him to master all the powers of the Roar.[23]
Battle of the Lion Guards and Vitani's Lion Guard[]
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Vitani prepares to lead her Lion Guard against Kion and his friends.
While Kion and his Guard were absent, Kiara underwent her first hunt, which led to Kovu's reception into the pride. Kovu, as part of his mother Zira's plot to avenge Scar, planned to kill Simba, but he fell in love with Kiara and thus abandoned his part in the plan. Enraged by Kovu's betrayal, Zira led the Outsiders into battle with Simba's pride.[24] Janja and Jasiri learned of the invasion and set out for the Tree of Life to warn the Lion Guard. When Kion learned of the event, he and the Lion Guard made haste for the Pride Lands.[25]
Meanwhile, the battle had ended peacefully and Zira had perished. Simba's pride and the Outsiders were reunified with the marriage of Kiara and Kovu. Shortly afterwards, Vitani established a new Lion Guard comprised of former Outsiders, since Kion and his Guard were still at the Tree of Life. When Kion and his Guard finally made it to the Pride Lands, Vitani believed them to be enemies and led her Guard in an attack against them. The two Lion Guards engaged in a brief skirmish before Kiara and Kovu intervened and explained all that had occurred.
Rafiki announces the Battle of the Lion Guards.
The next day, Kion's Lion Guard entered the Lair of the Lion Guard only to find that Vitani's Lion Guard had taken up residency there. Vitani asserted that, as the future king's sister, it was her responsibility to lead the Guard, while Kion argued that he was the future queen's brother and had the mark of the Guard as well as the Roar of the Elders. Nevertheless, Vitani and her Guard refused to relinquish their duties.
Just then, Laini arrived at the Lair and informed Vitani and Kion of an emergency. After a brief debate as to who should go, the two Lion Guards agree to help Laini together. Following Laini, the Lion Guards found Thurston trapped in a hole. Both Guards tried to help him, but they spent so much time arguing with one another that Azaad was forced to step in and rescue Thurston himself. Kion pointed out that neither Guard could protect the Pride Lands with so much conflict between them, which prompted Thurston to suggest that they have a formal competition to determine whose Lion Guard was better suited for the job.
In Mizimu Grove, Rafiki announced the battle of the Lion Guards, which would consist of five competitions suited to each position on the Guard. Of the first four competitions, Vitani's Guard won two, and Kion's Guard won two. Thus, the final competition—Kion and Vitani's—would determine the winner.
Kion gifts Vitani with the Mark of the Guard, officializing her as the leader of the Lion Guard.
Vitani called for a mashindano, but Kion warned her that he would easily defeat her with the Roar of the Elders. However, Vitani asserted that she could be the fiercer even without the Roar, which prompted Kion to recall what Askari had taught him at Cikha Escarpment: that only one who could let go of the Roar could truly master it. Realizing that Vitani's team deserved to be the new Lion Guard, Kion officially relinquished his team's duties and gifted Vitani's group with both the Mark of the Guard and the Roar.[4]
Notable members[]
Appearances[]
Trivia[]
- Ford Riley pitched the concept for the Lion Guard when he saw his son and his friends pretending to be superheroes.[26]
Media[]
References[]
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