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You'll NEVER hurt Kiara, OR Simba, not while I'm here!
„
~ Kovu standing up to Zira.
Kovu is the deuteragonist of Disney's 1998 film The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and a supporting character in Disney Junior's TV series The Lion Guard. He is the youngest son of Zira, the protégé and alleged heir of Scar, as well as Nuka and Vitani's younger brother. He is Kiara's best friend and love interest, and later her mate, making him the son-in-law of King Simba and Queen Nala, as well as the brother-in-law of Kion.
He was voiced by Ryan O'Donohue as a cub, and Jason Marsden (who also voices Haku, Max Goof, Danger Duck, Nermal, Shere Khan, and Craig Boone) as an adolescent (Gene Miller, singing) in the movie. Marsden reprised the entire role in The Lion Guard (including replacing O'Donohue as his cub self).
Kovu has auburn fur and green eyes. As a cub, he had a dark brown tuft of hair on his head. As an adolescent, this tuft grows into a mane which stops at top of his chest. His most distinguishing feature is the scar over his left eye, which he got from Zira after she hit him in the face after blaming him for Nuka's death. His appearance is quite similar to Scar, but his physiques are similar to Simba.
Biography
Early life
Kovu was born sometime near the end of Scar's reign over the Pride Lands to Zira and an unknown lion. He had an elder brother Nuka, and elder sister Vitani. At some point in Kovu's life, following his birth, he became Scar's protégé, and was designated as his heir.
Soon after, Scar's nephew and the rightful King of the Pride Lands Simba, returned to Pride Rock and challenged, battled, and defeated his uncle, and became King. Zira, accusing Simba for his uncle's murder (where in fact, Scar was killed by his hyena army after he tried to blame them for the death of his brother Mufasa), attempted to dispute Simba's reign by mentioning Kovu's position as Scar's heir. When Simba denied Kovu as the heir and said that Scar was never the true King, Zira struck out and fought Simba, before being defeated. Soon after, Simba had no choice but to exile Zira, her family and any other lion loyal to Scar from the Pride Lands, threatening to kill them should they return. As a result, Zira plotted revenge by training Kovu to avenge Scar and take back the throne. Kovu along with the other exiled lions moved to the Outlands and became known to as the Outsiders.
The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride
Cub
Some months after this, Simba's daughter Kiara sees, Timon and Pumbaa (who were assigned by Simba to keep an eye on Kiara whilst she played in The Pride Lands) arguing over grubs. She uses this opportunity to sneak into the Outlands, where she trips and bumps into Kovu. He snarls at Kiara and demands her to tell him who she is before he teases her for doing what her father says (never turn the back on an Outsider). He claims Outsiders don't need anybody and he takes cares of himself. Kiara and Kovu end up standing on a float of crocodiles, mistaking them for logs. The crocodiles tried to devour them, but they got away from the angry and hungry reptiles. After complimenting each other, the two begin to play together. Their interaction is interrupted by their feuding parents, Zira and Simba. Zira takes Kovu back to the Outlands and scolds him for sneaking off and interacting with Simba’s daughter. Her rage turns into a twisted joy when she realizes the advantage a connection between Kovu and Kiara could be. Taking him into a cave inside the termite mounds, Zira lulls Kovu to sleep whilst manifesting her dreams of victory, beginning her master plan.
Adolescence
As the years go by, Zira sets up her plan for Kovu to avenge Scar's demise by killing Simba. After Nuka and Vitani set fire to the Pride Lands while Kiara is out hunting trapping her, Zira sends Kovu into the fire to rescue Kiara from being burned. On the way to safety when they fall into a lake, Kovu manages to stop Kiara from drowning and swims her to the Pride Lands. When Kiara wakes up, she gets angry that Kovu ruined her hunt and they begin to briefly argue until she recognizes Kovu and she smiles fondly. Just then, Simba and Nala (having noticed the fire from Pride Rock and notified by Zazu of the pair's location) show up and find out from Rafiki that Kovu saved Kiara. Kovu asks to join the pride. Although, Simba at first, refuses as he’s an outsider but Kovu says he left the Outsiders and is a rogue now and tells Simba to judge him for who he is or blame him for a crime he didn't commit. As Nala and Zazu points out that the law is to owe Kovu a debt for saving Kiara's life (though Zazu says that Simba might want to make an exception in this case), Simba decides to let him join the pride but he will reserve judgment until he sees who Kovu really is and makes him sleep outside Pride Rock. Kiara goes to thank him for saving her. Kovu begins to tease her about her hunting skills, and Kiara challenges him to teach her how to be a better hunter much to Kovu's eager. Later, he appears in Simba's nightmare in which Simba tries to rescue Mufasa from falling into the gorge but is stopped by Scar who transforms into Kovu and throws Simba into the gorge after Mufasa.
The next morning, Kovu hides behind a rock as Simba goes to the watering hole to drink. He was almost about to sneak up on Simba when Kiara interrupts him, ready for her first lesson as Simba leaves. Throughout the morning, Kovu gives her pointers about her pouncing. When they ran into Timon and Pumbaa, Kovu learns to have fun as he, Kiara, Timon and Pumbaa run amok in the Pride Lands and chase birds. They then accidentally run into a herd of angry rhinoceroses. When they escape into a little cave, they all laugh. When they get out of the cave when the coast is clear, Kovu and Kiara accidentally nuzzle. Even though they follow Timon and Pumbaa for more fun, they decided to focus on each other. Later on at night, Kovu and Kiara are seen laying on the grass stargazing later on. He is hesitant to admit to Kiara about Zira's plot. Rafiki then finds them and takes them to a place to fall in love, called "Upendi". As the days progress, that night Kiara and Kovu become even closer while singing a little bit of Upendi. As Simba sees Kiara come home in happily, following Nala's advice, he lets Kovu sleep inside Pride Rock, much Vitani's horror reporting to Zira that Kovu betrayed them.
The next morning, Kovu finally decides to come clean to Kiara what Zira wanted him to do but he refuses to kill Simba because he cares about Kiara so much. Before he could, Simba decides to go out for a walk and chat with Kovu. Simba revealed what actually happened between him, his father and Scar and the fact that Scar couldn't let go of his hate and how it destroyed him in the end. Kovu understands the truth but horrified to hear Scar really was a bad guy. It isn't long before they are ambushed by Zira and the Outsiders. Zira in her way of breaking Simba and Kovu apart, she "praises" Kovu for getting Simba alone just as "they" would’ve planned. Her own plan worked as Simba angrily believes her and confronts Kovu. Kovu truthfully tries to tell Simba that he had nothing to do with ambush Zira led. The Outsiders attack Simba while Kovu tries to rescue him, but Vitani knocks him away into a rock, knocking Kovu unconscious briefly.
Kovu regains consciousness and looks down a cliff and witnesses Simba climb up a log damn to escape the Outsiders. Zira notices Kovu and tries to get him to attack Simba, however, Kovu instead leaves. When Simba escapes, he unintentionally knocks logs onto Nuka, who had climbed up the damn after Simba in order to try and prove himself to Zira. Afterwards Kovu also tries to save his brother by moving the logs off him, but Zira pushes him aside and moves the logs herself, where she finds a mortally wounded Nuka, who apologizes for failing Zira before dying from his injuries. Kovu and the Outsiders then mourn Nuka. After Zira prays to Scar to watch over Nuka, she angrily lashes out at Kovu and strikes him in the face, making Kovu yelp in pain. Kovu then faces Zira and glares angrily at her, showing that in striking him, she had also scratched his left eye, giving him a scar like the one Scar had. Zira, horrified to see her youngest child looking like Scar despite his betrayal, asks what has he done. Kovu stammers at first, but then he firmly states he did nothing. Zira exclaims to Kovu that in doing so, he betrayed his pride and Scar. Knowing the truth from Simba, Kovu stands up to his mother, telling her that he refuses to have anything more to do with Scar. Zira argues that Kovu cannot escape it and accuses her youngest son for killing his own brother. Finally fed up, Kovu exclaims he wasn't the one who killed Nuka, and runs back to the Pride Lands to apologize to Simba.
By the time he gets there, the Pridelanders are ready to go after him. Simba, who still believed that Kovu had other motives when saving Kiara, exiles him from the Pridelands, much to Kiara's heartbreak and horror, who believes Kovu is innocent. Ignoring Simba's orders to not leave Pride Rock without an escort, Kiara goes to look for Kovu. She eventually finds him later that night. They run up to each other and embrace. They also begin kissing, playfully teasing each other and run around the savannah. Their bond becomes even closer. Then they look at themselves in the pond as Kovu says "we are one". Kiara has heard this saying from her father when she was little. Kovu suggests they start their own pride now they're finally together. However, Kiara has a better idea, especially since she now knows the true meaning of "we are one", says they have to go back as their place is within their prides. If they don’t do something, the prides will be divided forever. Kovu agrees to this idea and they go back to the Pride Lands.
Sure enough another battle between the Pridelanders and Outsiders kicks off once again. As Zira is about to strike at Simba and vice versa, Kovu and Kiara jump in front of them managing to break up the fight. Kovu faces his mother and Kiara faces her father. Zira tells her youngest cub to move while Simba tells his daughter to stand aside. Their respective cubs firmly refuse to budge. While Kiara tells her father the fight has to stop, Zira mocks Kovu claiming he's even weaker than she thought and demands him to get out of the way. Kovu firmly refuses, telling his mother that he will never let her hurt Kiara or Simba while Kiara reminds Simba about what he told her as a cub about them being one. The other lions from both sides, especially Simba and Vitani see what Kiara said was true. Vitani walks next to Kovu. The outsiders even refuse to be apart of Zira's plot after Zira threatens to kill Vitani because she sided with her brother and Kiara, while Simba tells Zira to put the past behind them. Zira then tries to attack Simba one last time, but Kiara jumps at her, not letting it happen and two lionesses scuffle down a cliff. Kovu, Nala, Simba watch the tumble in horror and Kovu sees Simba going after Kiara.
Kiara manages to save herself and lands on a platform. Zira isn't so lucky. Kiara tries to help her but Zira falls to her death in the river below. Kovu sadly sighs and mourns on Zira's death, for despite everything, she was still his mother. After Kiara is helped back up the cliff by Simba, a relieved Kovu embraces her. Simba owes Kovu an apology and allows him and the other Outsiders to rejoin the Pridelanders. Kovu is seen at the end of the film married to Kiara at long last. He is also presented as the Prince Consort and future king. The lionesses form a circle as Simba and Nala lead Kovu and Kiara to the end of Pride Rock. Simba roars with Kovu following suit. Then all of the lions roar and the two sets of couples nuzzle one another.
The Lion Guard
Kovu reappears in the 2016 Disney Junior series The Lion Guard, which takes place after he first meets Kiara and before he rescues her during her first hunt.
He is once again voiced by Jason Marsden.
Kovu is first seen in the Season 1 episode "Lions of The Outlands" where he comes across Nuka being pinned down by Kion (who was in the Outlands to sort out a problem of lions not sharing a waterhole with his hyena friend Jasiri's clan) after Nuka attacked Jasiri. At first, Kion believes that Kovu is Nuka's friend, only for Kovu to correct him in saying that Nuka is his brother.
Kion then questions Kovu and Nuka on why they are in the Outlands and not the Pride Lands and learns that their family's not welcome there. After learning from Jasiri that Kion is Simba's son, Kovu believes that his family might be allowed back into the Pride Lands and he could see Kiara again. Kion is surprised to hear that Kovu knows his sister, to which Kovu says that it was a while ago, before telling Nuka that they have to take Kion and Jasiri to see Zira.
Kovu and Nuka take Kion and Jasiri to Zira, who is drinking from the waterhole with Vitani. After Kovu tells Zira that Kion is Simba's son and Jasiri says that he is also the leader of the Lion Guard, Zira takes Kion away to talk privately and leaves Jasiri with Kovu, Nuka, and Vitani.
Kovu is later mentioned when Rafiki tells Bunga, Fuli, Beshte and Ono about how the Outsiders were banished to the Outlands after Zira tried to claim Kovu as Scar's heir and attacked Simba when he told her that Scar wasn't the true king.
Nuka gets impatient on waiting on Zira and tries to attack Jasiri, but is stopped by Kovu. Eventually, Zira returns and tells Jasiri that Kion decided to let the Lions keep the waterhole. After Jasiri leaves, Zira takes Kovu, Nuka, and Vitani to Kion, who is surrounded by the other Outsiders. Kovu is confused about what is going on as he believed that Kion was going get them back into the Pride Lands and be their friend. Zira tells Kovu that if Kion uses the Roar of the Elders on his fellow lions, he will lose it and if he doesn't use it, he will still lose, thus the Outsiders win.
Just then, Jasiri and the rest of the Lion Guard arrive to help Kion and fight off the Outsiders. When Kion confronts Zira, Kovu distances himself from the other Outsiders. After learning from Bunga that Scar didn't lose the Roar due to using it against his fellow lions but for evil, Kion uses the Roar to blast Zira and the Outsiders away to termite mounts. Kovu is the only one not to be blasted away, but when seeing Kion approaching him, Kovu runs after his family and pride.
Kovu reappears at the end of Season 3, taking place an undetermined amount of time after the events of Simba's Pride as an adolescent where he and Kiara stop Kion and the Lion Guard (who had left the Pride Lands prior to search for the Tree of Life to heal Kion and Ono following the Guard's battle with Scar's spirit) from fighting Vitani when she mistaken them for intruders. Kovu and Kiara explain to Kion that whilst he and the Lion Guard where away, the Outsiders joined the pride and Vitani had formed her own Lion Guard in the usual Guard's absence. They inform him of Zira's death, and Simba also informs Kion that after his reign is over, Kovu and Kiara will be King and Queen of the Pride Lands, respectively. Kovu later goes to the Tree of Life where he witnesses Kion (who had retired as leader of the Lion Guard and was succeeded by Vitani) marry Rani and become King of the Tree of Life, thus uniting the two prides like Kovu and Kiara had done in their marriage.
Comics
A Little Help From a Friend
In this comic (which is a midquel to the film), Kovu runs into a cub whom he eventually discovers is Kiara. She invites Kovu to go to the canyon to watch Simba deal with Outsiders, but he declines. Kiara begins to leave but decides to stay and play with Kovu.
As the cubs are playing, Kiara hears Pumbaa cry out for help. The two friends immediately race to the source of the voice and find that Timon is hanging unconscious from a vine in a tree. Quickly, the two formulate a plan. While Kovu climbs up the tree and frees Timon, Kiara clambers onto Pumbaa's back and catches the meerkat as he falls. After laying Timon gently in Pumbaa's tusks, Kiara bids her friend farewell, as they both agree that he would not be welcome in the Pride Lands.
Trivia
As The Lion King II: Simba's Pride is loosely based on Romeo and Juliet, Kovu is based on Romeo.
Originally, Kovu was written as the son of Scar, so that he could have a claim to rule the pride. It was decided that Micheal Eisner, the former Disney CEO that Kovu shouldn’t be related to Scar due to the incestuous undertones his relationship with Kiara would have had. Many early drafts of the sequel had utilized this concept in various ways before it was ultimately cut.
According to production notes of The Lion King II’s development, Kovu was an orphan who would have been the leader of his own “gang.” The second-in-command of his gang, a rouge elephant known as Brutus, would have served as the main antagonist of the sequel, allying with the hyenas of the Elephant Graveyard to force Kovu as a puppet ruler to kill Simba.
In 1996 drafts, Kovu was an orphan, born and raised in exile by his aunt Bianca (an early iteration of Zira) after the death of Scar. Kovu would have fallen in love with Simba’s daughter Shani (an early iteration of Kiara), becoming her eventual groom, much to the anger of Bianca and her hyenas, (among them being Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed). Kovu was also unrelated to Nuka and Vitani, instead of being his siblings, Nuka was meant to be Kovu's idol whilst Vitani would have served as an admirer of Kovu.
In production notes, Kovu had a rival for Shani's effection, dubbed Lion X.
The shooting script of Simba’s Pride, saw Kovu as the son of Zira and Scar, who would have seduced Aisha (a working name for Kiara) in order to get to Simba.
In 1996 production notes for Simba’s Pride, Kovu’s father was named Regandi, the king of the distant pride territory whom Kovu was stolen from but later reunites with Kovu when the latter is older. Regandi had been cut from the story and in the final film, Zira and Kovu’s lineage is not disclosed as either biological or adoptive.
Kovu is one of the three lions of the Pride Lands' royal family to have a scar over his left eye, with the other two being Scar and Kion. Chronologically, he is the third lion of the royal family to receive a scar, as Scar had received his prior to the events of the original film and Kion got his scar long after Kovu's first encounter with Kiara, but before Zira sent Kovu to attack Simba.
Kovu is the only lion who got his scar that wasn't from a snake (Kion and Scar got theirs from being bitten by a king cobra while Kovu got his from his mother scratching him).
Due to his marriage to Kiara, Zira's plan to have Kovu as King of the Pride Lands will eventually succeed. However, Kovu is now Simba's heir instead of Scar's and plans to rule for the sake of his subjects instead of for his own personal gain, therefore carrying on the legacies of Mufasa and Simba.
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