"Did Scar Live?"
Copyright (c) 1997 by Joe McCauley

     The ending of "The Lion King" strongly suggests that Scar was
killed by the hyenas.  Yet there has been much speculation, particularly
among Scar fans, about the possibility that he survived and continued
his life outside the Pride Lands.  Along with this are various theories
about whether the hyenas left him for dead or knew he escaped, about
whether he remained evil or faced up to his past misdeeds and reformed
himself, and about whether he might one day be planning to return to the
Pride Lands.
     Simba himself, however, insists that Scar died in the reclamation
of Pride Rock, and all the theories are nothing more than idle
speculation.  Nevertheless, the rumors persist.  A chimp working at a
Circle L insists that one day Scar came into her place of business, and
that she is quite certain it was him.  This is only one of several
alleged Scar sightings that have fueled the rumors.
     So many rumors, so many theories, so many questions floating about.
One day Simba decided that he had had quite enough, so he called Zazu to
his side and gave him an announcement to be spread as far and wide as
possible.  The announcement was directed at Scar, requesting that he
report to Pride Rock on the morning after the next full moon.  As the
primary reason for the request was to determine if Scar was alive, there
was a promise along with it that he would not be detained or harmed in
any way if he appeared.  Zazu passed the word along to all the
majordomos of neighboring prides and as many other traveling messengers
as he was able to reach.
     As the moon waxed, anticipation built.  Would Scar appear or not?
Thus when the appointed day arrived, Simba was up early, looking outward
from the promontory of Pride Rock, wondering with much anticipation what
the approaching sunrise would reveal.
     He was not prepared for what he saw.
     Looking down near the base of Pride Rock, he observed Scar
approaching, padding along carefully, looking around, sniffing, taking
in the surroundings as though experiencing them for the first time.
Before he had a chance to wonder about this behavior, he raised his head
toward the waterhole.  There he noticed two more figures approaching,
both of whom appeared to be Scar as far as he could tell from that
distance.  Dumbfounded from this observation, he looked left and right,
and saw three more lions approaching separately, all of whom appeared to
be Scar, all of them destined for Pride Rock.
     The Scar he had seen first was about to ascend to the promontory,
so Simba turned and walked down to meet him.  There he encountered not
only him, but another Scar who had arrived from behind Pride Rock a
moment earlier, along with the confused faces of Sarabi, Sarafina, and
some of the other lionesses.
     "Ahh, you must be Simba," said the arriving Scar, in a voice that
was distinctly not Scar-like.  Turning to the other Scar, he continued,
"I see I'm not the only one who got the idea.  Pleased to meet you.  My
name is Magwa."
     "And I'm Pagado," the other Scar replied.  "This is quite
interesting...  I get to meet another Scar."
     Sarabi rolled her eyes.  "Interesting indeed.  We invite Scar back,
and we get two of them."
     Simba gave her a resigned glance.  "It's going to get a lot more
interesting.  I saw several more approaching."
     Sarabi nearly fainted, as Magwa and Pagado smiled at each other
excitedly.  "Oh, dear!  It'll be a party," said Magwa, now sounding much
more like Scar.
     The ensuing moments heralded the arrival of several more Scars,
appearing in ones and twos from various directions.  Each arrival was
met with additional enthusiam from the Scars who had arrived before, and
with increasing incredulity from the residents of the Pride Lands.  By
the time the sun had reached its mid-morning elevation and the day was
heating up, there were fifteen of them in all.  Simba talked with each
of them long enough to establish that none of them was the real Scar,
before retreating to join the lionesses, who were utterly dumbfounded by
the whole thing.  The Scar impersonators, on the other hand, were having
a grand time trading stories and sharing secrets.
     "How did you get your scar?"  one asked.
     "I had my shaman give it to me.  More of a tattoo than a scar,
really.  Nearly painless, and quite effective, wouldn't you say?"
     "I did mine myself...  the hard way."  He winced at the thought.
     "You're too brave for me," a third remarked.  "I just keep rubbing
the hair off, and paint one on when I need it."
     "I did it that way at first, but if you want to look your best
there's no substitute for the real thing."
     Next to them a group was discussing manes.  "Lucky you, yours is a
natural black.  I have to dye mine."
     "Mine grows in too thick, and I have to keep mine trimmed.  I don't
know which is worse."
     One whose mane was a dead ringer for the real thing spoke up.  "I
had mine done professionally, by none other than Vidal Baboon himself.
Cost me a foreleg and a leg, but it was definitely worth it."
     A few paces away, one of them was giving it his best shot.  "'I'm
surrounded by idiots!'" he said in a Scar voice.
     "Not bad," said another, "but you need to put more into the gesture
with your forepaw."
     "Okay," he replied.  "Watch this.  'I'm surrounded by idiots!'" A
pause.  "Okay, how did I do that time?"
     "Now you're overacting.  Tone it down a little, like this.  'I'm
surrounded by idiots!'"
     Throughout the morning, the Scars critiqued each other in their
delivery of many of his classic lines.  At one point, when Pagado had
the attention of several others, he was heard to say, "Whenever you
catch a mouse, tell me you don't get the urge to hold it up and say,
'Life's not fair, is it?'" pretending to hold up a mouse and looking at
it as he spoke the line in his Scar voice.  He looked back at them.
"You can't, can you?  You do it, don't you?"
     Some of the others nodded.
     About this time, the remaining lionesses, including Nala and
Elanna, returned from the morning hunt.  After the initial shock wore
off, they walked among the almost-Scars to look them over and convince
themselves that none of them was the real Scar.  They also received some
looks in return.
     "Wow!  If it isn't Elanna, in the fur," said one.  "Can you tell us
a little bit about...  Naughty Bunnies?"
     The others laughed.  Elanna shot a look that could kill at him
which only made the others laugh harder.
     "Pay no attention to him," said another.  "Most of us are quite
civil, you know."
     Elanna gave him a challenging grin.  "Try as you might, in some
ways you'll never be Scar."
     Nala was getting her share of attention as well.  "'Nala, your
timing couldn't have been more perfect.  My, how you've grown'"
     "What are you talking about?"  she replied, puzzled.
     "'She's got those assets feminine.'"
     "All right, stop it!"  said Nala, smiling.  "I've got my Simba
now."
     "Yes, of course," said her mock-suitor.  "Sorry, I just couldn't
resist having a bit of fun with you."
     Another who was looking her over intently spoke up.  "I thought you
looked astounding in the Nala Lisa, but you look even better in person."
     "Oh, really?  You've been to the Louvre?"
     "Why, just a fortnight ago, it was.  But it doesn't do justice to
the real thing."
     "Oh, you're just trying to flatter me."
     Another Scar look-alike spoke up.  "Please tell us, Nala.  Why do
you smile like that?"
     As that very smile came over her face, she fought to suppress it.
"I'll never tell."
     So it went for the rest of the morning.  By the time the sun was at
its peak, it was apparent that Scar wasn't going to show, so Simba stood
before the assemblage.  "I don't see any reason for you guys to hang
around.  You can go any time you want."
     Magwa stood up.  "I think I speak for all of us when I say Thank
You, Simba, for your hospitality.  And your lionesses, too.  Surely this
wasn't quite what you were expecting, but you've handled it rather well,
and none of us here will say it wasn't worth the journey."
     "You're welcome," Simba replied.  "But I have to ask one thing.  If
none of you is really Scar, why did you come?"
     One of the others sat up.  "Well, for one thing, we were rather
hoping that Scar, the lion himself, might show, and we couldn't pass up
an opportunity like this to meet him."
     "'Tis true, 'tis true," Magwa added, "but it's more fundamental
than that.  We see ourselves as much Scar as our true selves, so when we
hear of Scar being summoned to appear before a king, who are we to
refuse such a request."
     Elanna and Sarabi looked at each other strangely.
     As the Scar impersonators departed in groups, one was heard to ask
another, "Where are you off to now."
     "Oh, I don't know.  Vegas, maybe."
     The other laughed.  "Someday, someday..."
     Scar may well have been alive and chose not to come, or he might
not have even heard the announcement summoning him.  In any case, the
rumors persist, so in the end, Simba and his pride were left with no
better information than they started with whether Scar was alive.  At
least in body, that is.  If they learned one thing that day, it was that
Scar was still alive in spirit, and would be with them for a long time
to come.