What About Nuka?

[Carl]

Well, not really much of a topic itself, but I thought I might as well make it as I'm curious. I've already made a thread about Kiara, Kovu & Vitani, but Nuka got a bit left out. So now we'll have one about him.

How does Nuka fit in?

Is he Scar's son, or not? If he is Scar's son, why isn't he the "chosen one"? Why isn't he Scar's heir?

If he's not Scar's son, what made Zira (or Scar, if you believe Zira wasn't just a crazy fangirl and that Scar really chose Kovu himself) choose Kovu to follow in Scar's pawprints instead of Nuka? As a baby it wouldn't have been known if he'd be smarter or more powerful than Nuka in anyway.

What are your theories about poor old Nuka and his meager role in his mother's plan and in the film?

[The Spirit of Life]

Actually, given that Kiara and Kovu are presumably close to if not the same age, and Kiara wasn't even born until after the battle of Pride Rock, could it conceivably be theorized that Kovu might not have been born yet either, and that Scar never actually met cub Kovu and couldn't have hand chosen him, and thus Zira is actually just a crazy fangirl? This is all just my own unsubstantiated theory of course, but it's interesting to think about.

However, if you don't buy into the above (and even I'm not sure about whether I really believe it or not), then another wild idea I have is that Scar did hand pick Kovu, and he did it because he was jealous of Mufasa and resented him being the oldest and therefore the rightful heir to the throne. So perhaps Scar's shunning of Nuka was his way of "sticking it" to the "system".

[Carl]

Yes, I made a thread discussing Kiara and Kovu's age (and such) a while back. I should have linked it in the first post. It's because that thread did not include Nuka that I made this one. I do not believe that Zira is more than a crazy fangirl, though I've created a different theory for fics that involves her being Scar's half-sister. As far as my actual opinion of the movies, I think she's just a fangirl who chose Kovu because he looked like Scar moreso than Nuka did.

But, I'm curious as to people's opinions specifically about Nuka. What made him less desirable as an heir? Was he Scar's son (lots of people think he is) or was he just the older son of the fangirl who wasn't likable enough for some reason or another? Why isn't he the chosen one, how does he fit into the family and the story? That's what I'm wondering here.

Your theory on if Scar chose Kovu he might have done so to go against the "oldest gets the throne" tradition is an interesting point, thank you for sharing it.

[The Spirit of Life]

I think that Nuka's age fits the timeline perfectly for him to be Scar's son, which leads me to believe that he is. I do think that Zira is a crazy fan girl as well, and given that Nuka was already a teen/not a cub by the time of "My Lullaby", perhaps she did not see King potential in him. I think Zira might have believed that the way to become the rightful King was to kill the current one (Simba), and that Nuka was not physically capable of this. Assuming that Scar is Nuka's father but not Kovu's, then nobody but Zira knows what the latter lion's father was like (perhaps he was a large, Mufasa-sized lion as opposed to Scar, who was "at the shallow end of the gene pool.")

[TheLionPrince]

I don't believe Nuka is Scar's son since he never calls Scar his father, and the fact that the director of Simba's Pride stated Zira was rewritten from Scar's mate to be being Scar's follower with an obscure relationship. There is still the possibility that he is, so perhaps no one told him that he is Scar's son.

As for who is the father, my theory is that since the Outsider pride lacks an adult male lion during the second movie's events, they probably had one that led the pride into the Pride Lands during Scar's reign after their homeland suffered a drought or something. After Kovu and Vitani was born, Scar feared he would challenge his authority (and begin a new dynasty) so he was chased out by the hyenas. Just recently, I thought he could have been groomed by the Pride Landers to be their savior, but when he left, they decided to send out Nala to find another male lion. (Zira, already in love with Scar's leadership, did not care about her mate's desertion.)

By that time, Nuka was a young cub approximately around cub Simba's age, and Scar could judge whether he was physically fit enough to be his successor. He did not see a leader in Nuka, and appointed the infant Kovu to be his heir. Zira, being the follower she is, obeyed his commandments.

By the way, that is a very interesting observation, The Spirit of Life!

[juhouh]

Although most of you wouldn't say this but I believe he is Scar's son. There's no actual answer for this

"Scar wasn't even his father, just took him."
~Nuka provides an explanation for why he should be "the chosen one" instead

[DragonFromNewYork]

(adult) Nuka was always one of my favorite characters. One of the things that make me think he is biological son is not only the slight resemblance, but also the similarity of their situation. Nuka, although having some sort of right to, is not chosen to be king.

And I agree with the above posts, Nuka is around the right age to have been born during Scar's reign, so I suppose it's likely that Scars the father. But that doesn't necessarily mean that he decided who would be his heir ir not. Zira was probably the one who saw which ofnthe two males in the Outlander Pride were fit to be king.

[SimbaRomKing]

I think Nuka is Scar and Zira's son, but Scar considered he was too weak to be his heir... So sad...

[ScarXZira10889]

Why would Zira be a "Crazed Fangirl" if she was that obsessed with Scar? Clearly in a cut scene she go's on about being "SCARS, devoted Queen." That also debunks the theory of her Being his "Half sister."

[Rollo]

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