Nuka’s Father

So here’s the situation. The majority of devoted Lion King fans think that Nuka is Scar’s son, and that possibly Vitani is his daughter. Most people agree that Kovu had a different father; it was, after all, clearly stated at several points in the movie that Kovu is not and never was related to Scar. Now we get to my case in point: if Kovu isn’t Scar’s son, why would Kovu’s siblings be Scar’s children?

I know those of you who believe Nuka and Scar are related are probably starting to fume right about now. But please hear me out.

The most common “proof” is this. In the first Outlands scene, Nuka mutters the following line: “Kovu, Kovu, Kovu. Scar wasn’t even his father. He just took him in.” Nuka is saying exactly what he means; he’s reinforcing to the audience that Kovu was taken in by Scar and is now considered more important than Nuka. Naturally Nuka is jealous of Kovu getting such special treatment, and he puzzles aloud why Kovu is being treated as something so special if Scar wasn’t even related to him. It’s kind of like he’s wondering, “What does Kovu have that I don’t have? If he were Scar’s son, then sure, he’d be the heir. But he’s not. So why did Scar choose HIM when he could have easily chosen me instead? I am older, after all.”

Nowhere in the quote does Nuka say HE is Scar’s son. Most people seem to think that this quote “proves” Nuka and Scar are related. And where does it say that they are, exactly? Point it out to me. If Nuka was supposed to be Scar’s son, the moviemakers would have made it clear.

About that. Allow me to go into some detail. Nuka says to Vitani, “Oh, who cares? I should have been the Chosen One. I’m the oldest, I’m the strongest, I’m the smartest…” and that is his argument. Nuka believes that he should have been chosen instead of Kovu for three very clear reasons: he’s older, stronger, and smarter (or so he thinks) than Kovu. Now, if Nuka were Scar’s son, he would be sure to say that as well. In fact, if Nuka were Scar’s son, would he even resort to his other arguments at all? He would be constantly complaining that his position as prince had been usurped. He would make it clear to everyone, including the audience, that he was Scar’s blood son who had been unrightfully deposed from his throne. He would make a big fuss. But does Nuka do that? No. He would probably also refer to Scar as “Father” or “Dad” as well, but he doesn’t do that either. He merely thinks that he would have been a better candidate than Kovu.

This brings us to something else: did Scar have any children anyway? He doesn’t seem like the fathering type. There is one scene in the Broadway musical where Scar realizes that he needs a queen so that he can have cubs. Here’s the quote: “Without a queen, what am I? A dead end, no line, no descendants, no future! With a queen, I’ll have… cubs. Immortality will be mine. Immortality will be mine!” He then proceeds to flirt with Nala, who is naturally disgusted and smacks him in the face. In the next scene Nala leaves the Pride Lands to find help. The point is that Scar had neither children nor mate, all the way up until Nala’s departure. And she wasn’t gone very long, either. Within the space that Nala is gone, which can’t have been more than a week, Scar could have mated, but could not have had a child. He probably realized after looking around that his chances of finding a mate that actually liked him were slim. When he saw that Zira had had a cub that looked almost exactly like him, he was obviously impressed/thrilled and promptly named the cub as his “son.” This cub was, of course, Kovu. Nuka and Vitani were unimpressive to Scar in comparison. Perhaps Scar named Zira as his queen then, perhaps not. They could have mated, they could have not. But Scar couldn’t have given Zira children. There was no time.

There’s one question left that you may be asking. Where was the father? We’ve already established that none of the cubs were Scar’s progeny. We know of no other males in the pride (though there could have been). The father is most likely a rogue or male from a nearby pride. Zira could not have met/fallen in love with Scar until after she became pregnant with Vitani and Kovu. (Side note: Vitani and Kovu are fraternal twins/littermates. They look too close in size and age not to be.)

On a parting note, I’m providing a link to a couple of deleted scenes from the movie. They paint a pretty clear picture of Zira’s family. Notice:

1. Zira fawning unrealistically over Scar. She acts more like a self-deluded fangirl than a real mate.

2. Nuka’s dialogue. He repeats his “oldest” argument, and watch how he reacts when Scar is mentioned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGBj64sp1rk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leiPvxuNop4

And thus concludes my first article! Hope it’s enjoyed. (Or if not enjoyed, at least not thoroughly trashed.) Later!

~Mahewa

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141 visitors have seen this article (31 this week)

Rain24, August 11, 2008 at 00: 26 Member

firstly good article i've always been one to belive that scar at least fathered nuka (never vitani because she and kovu are to close in age) but your agrument is compeling. The deleted scencs as well make it hard to go aganst you. But one thing is incorrect, Kovu and vitani aren't twins their littermates and this only since their markings and colors are not identical. Kovu's just the runt (since Zira states he was last born). other then that this was a very good article i enjoyed reading it. and kind of with they'd have kept the deleted sceens

Rain24, August 11, 2008 at 00: 29 Member

i mean wished

Banshee, August 11, 2008 at 07: 25 Webranker

Great article you have here. I always thought that Nuka and Vitani were Scar's offspring. I didn't realize that they were Kovu's siblings. So yeah, nice job on your article.

Mahewa, August 15, 2008 at 02: 18 Member

Thanks for commenting, guys! Oh, and Rain24, I think I meant to say *fraternal* twins. I know what you were getting at: Kovu and Vitani are most definitely NOT identical twins, 'cause then they'd look the same and be the same gender! I'll go fix that now.

vividlegacy, August 27, 2008 at 06: 56 Member

Great article! I always considered Nuka to be Scar's son, because of the 'proof', but you make some brilliant points. It would make much more sense if he wasn't Scar's son, actually. Because I just realized that Nuka was never called Kovu's 'half-brother' but his brother. So perhaps Nuka, Kovu and Vitani all had the same father, just Nuka was in a different litter, possibly the same as some other outlanders. Anyway, great article!

vividlegacy, September 08, 2008 at 08: 03 Member

Also, another point. When Zira says to Kovu "You have the same conniving mind that made Scar so... powerful!" And Nuka exclaims "Yuck!" Which always confused me. But if Nuka's father wasn't Scar, it would make a lot more sense.

Seth2208, September 15, 2008 at 20: 18 Member

Good observation. Nice article. I pretty much haven't noticed. I wonder they weren't intended to be scars children first. But then they just made it to look so. I always thought Kovu was adopted by Zira and Scar after his mother died or something. And Nuka and Vitani are their children.

ograndebatata, September 22, 2008 at 23: 42 Member

Well... your article has some good points. And it is very well done. But still, I think that Nuka MIGHT be Scar's son. And as for why he didn't call Scar as "father"... that's not sure, I admit... but he may have reasons not explained in the movie. The Broadway Musical is not necessarially canon, as well... Well, no offense meant, OK? Your article was good... but I still think that is perfectly possible for Nuka to be Scar's son, as it is perfectly possible for Nuka not to be Scar's son. Whatever... your article was very good. I didn't mean to offend you, alright?

Seth2208, September 24, 2008 at 09: 34 Member

Could be ograndebatata, Nuka could hate his father, becouse he did not chose him, but Kovu(some cub over his son). And because Scar and Zira never paid much attention to him. And hate woud led him to not calling Scar father. just a thought.

Mahewa, October 06, 2008 at 19: 23 Member

I respect your opinion, ograndebatata. Thanks for commenting. (Also, I just realized what your username means. ) That's an interesting point, Seth2208. I've heard some people say that Nuka and Vitani look like Scar or have his body proportions and things like that. But remember: EVERY Outsider is drawn like that because they're the "bad guys" and are supposed to look evil. Scar was a "bad guy" too, so it's no wonder they all look similar.

Seth2208, October 08, 2008 at 18: 47 Member

Well its interesting that Vitani doesn't look much like Scar to me. And I would say, that Vitani and Kovu aren't Scars children, and that they are twins. But first thing I thought when i saw Nuka was Scar. So you are right about look. For Nuka I just get that idea from ograndebatatas post. But your theory is stronger. And Scar would chose Kovu, because he is younger, just born cub, and Scar would raise him in king on his own way. Rather than older Nuka. That was raised by Zira to that point/age. And as I said nice article, keep up the good work.

piper_mheetu_152, October 19, 2008 at 16: 26 Member

Well, it is possible Zira and Scar met as cubs as they did in one of the tales of how Taka(Scar) got his, well, scar.

brontespurge, November 29, 2008 at 17: 01 Member

i still think nuka is scar's son, there is a bit of resemblence. scar probably didn't choose nuka to be the next king because he thought that kovu would make a better leader.

Conception