Warning: Spoilers for Disney Villains – Scar #4 One of the more significant takeaways from Disney’s The Lion King is that Scar was an ineffective leader, resulting from his failure to respect the Circle of Life. Although the movie’s new prequel comic recently made an effort to portray Scar as a more effective king, the latest issue from the same series confirms that Scar actually had no excuse for his later failings.
Disney Villains – Scar #4 – by writer Chuck Brown, artist Trevor Fraley, colorist Chiara Di Francia and letterer Jeff Eckleberry – features the villain at the height of his power, yet plagued by visions of a desolate Pride Lands, one that will be familiar to viewers of the film.
The Lion King Prequel Echoes Scar’s Hyenas Concerns In The Movie
As described by Timon in The Lion King, Scar’s poor decisions famously resulted in the Pride Lands becoming “a major fixer-upper.” In Disney Villains – Scar #4, Scar is depicted as having a dream of the future, one where he is visited by meerkats who inform their new leader that they have lost all their food because of the increased hunting that occurs under his rule, also noting that they have become easy prey to the hyenas. Scar dismisses their worries, however, later Rafiki shows Scar a vision of the same desolate Pride Lands, informing the lion that this will be his future as king if he doesn’t change his ways.
Scar Can No Longer Blame His Tenuous Alliance For His Failure As King
Some readers may agree with Scar’s dismissal of the warnings as mere dreams and prophecies, but the direct connection between what Scar is shown in the comics and what transpires in the film are clear, and intentional. Aside from how the dream’s bleak imagery of the Pride Lands accurately depicts Scar’s mistreatment of Mufasa’s kingdom in the film, the meerkat’s grievances mirror what Shenzi the hyena informs Scar in the film: there is no food or water. Moreover, the endless carcasses littering the Pride Lands in the original Lion King confirm that an overabundance of animals were preyed upon, as the meerkats were themselves. The dream’s forewarning was highly accurate.
Scar should have taken what he foresaw in the dream at more than just face value. Earlier moments in the prequel comic put Scar in the position of experiencing Rafiki’s foresight and mystical prowess while he was still awake, proving there were instances in reality where Scar had a chance to change his ways. In issue #1 of Scar, Rafiki warns the eponymous lion that his mindset will be his undoing, saying “I fear your dark choices will overshadow your potential.” Scar’s dark choice is failing to abide by the Circle of Life, allowing the hyenas to wastefully consume, neglecting the rest of the Pride Lands.
Scar’s failure to recognize the path he was headed down is the great tragedy of Disney Villains – Scar #4, the latest issue in a series that has served to recontextualize the nefarious villain, giving the character a deeper complexity. Scar not only became indebted to the wasteful hyenas who helped him assume the throne, but also to vultures. As revealed in an earlier issue, their voraciousness is similar to the hyenas, which would also negatively affect The Circle Of Life, thus further destroying the Pride Lands. It is ironic that after helping Scar look like a more effective leader, the same Lion King prequel comic now gives him no excuse as to why he wasn’t a more brilliant king.
Disney Villains – Scar #4 is available now from Dynamite.