Who Would Make the Best Ruler?

[BlitzRogue]

[quote="TheLionPrince"]Simba's reign was faced with a difficult crisis while Mufasa's reign was more easier and didn't have major conflicts as far as the movies show.[/quote]
Like I told DGFone, I'm pretty sure you're doing that backwards. Mufasa's reign appeared "peaceful" in the movies because he was strong and respected enough as a king to keep everything from going awry (until his brother double-crossed him; which brings up another unfair comparison between Scar and Kovu, but I'll come back to that in a minute). You seem to be judging this from the assumption that Mufasa only looks like a strong ruler because nothing bad is going on, when in reality, the hyenas are constantly breaking into the land and trying to gain territory into the Pridelands, and only the fact that Mufasa's a tank in lion form keeps them from succeeding.

In my opinion, this puts Mufasa's job FAR beyond the "feud" Simba had to worry about. Until the final moment, Zira was an entirely passive entity. The only thing Simba actually had to deal with was paranoia (which I suppose you could argue is worse in some ways).

As for Simba's skepticism of Kovu making his judgement superior to Mufasa's judgement of Scar (not your idea, but I remember someone bringing it up), I'm going to call BS for one reason only. Scar was Mufasa's brother. Yeah, he was shady and detached from the rest of the pride, but Mufasa had no proof that Scar was doing anything wrong, and he honestly wanted to trust in him. He couldn't throw his own brother out of the pride just because he didn't like to interact with anyone.

Kovu, on the other hand, was a known member of Zira's coalition, so skepticism of the validity of his story that he'd "left" was natural. It was common sense; nothing to be praised over, really.

So yeah. Obviously, I still feel Mufasa's the clear choice, but whatever. Everyone's entitled to their own opinions.

[Misiziri]

^ Excellent post, I agree. I believe Mufasa makes a better ruler, although I do like adult Simba quite bit, and I think he earned the fame of being such a wise and great king because he pushed through hardships. Or else he wouldn't have been known as such a good king, right?

[TheLionPrince]

[quote="BlitzRogue"][quote="TheLionPrince"]Simba's reign was faced with a difficult crisis while Mufasa's reign was more easier and didn't have major conflicts as far as the movies show.[/quote]
Like I told DGFone, I'm pretty sure you're doing that backwards. Mufasa's reign appeared "peaceful" in the movies because he was strong and respected enough as a king to keep everything from going awry (until his brother double-crossed him; which brings up another unfair comparison between Scar and Kovu, but I'll come back to that in a minute). You seem to be judging this from the assumption that Mufasa only looks like a strong ruler because nothing bad is going on, when in reality, the hyenas are constantly breaking into the land and trying to gain territory into the Pridelands, and only the fact that Mufasa's a tank in lion form keeps them from succeeding. [/quote]

That's what I stated before in my previous post. I stated the kingdom under Mufasa's reign was prosperous and peaceful, which, in no doubt, comes from a strong, capable leader in power. But, I do admit that I did overlooked the "hyena" problem Mufasa's reign was facing, but as DGFone stated, the Outsiders were more of a threat than just hyenas. Read the bottom as I go into detail.

Mufasa didn't get the chance to resolve the hyena issue, but his son, Simba, with the help of the lionesses, solved it nicely and he wasn't even the king yet by the time he did it. So, I could only judge the condition of the kingdom and compared to how Mufasa ruled, but I did overlook the hyena problem.

[quote]In my opinion, this puts Mufasa's job FAR beyond the "feud" Simba had to worry about. Until the final moment, Zira was an entirely passive entity. The only thing Simba actually had to deal with was paranoia (which I suppose you could argue is worse in some ways).[/quote]

I could argue with that, and in fact, I will. Think about it, an entire pride of lions trying to kill you and take over your kingdom lead by a zealous obbesser over Scar and try to keep peace in the Pridelands is all Simba had to worry about as far as the movies show. I admit that would cause paranoia, but seeing it from Simba's perscesptive, he would at have a reason to seeing as the Outsiders supported as a lion who took away his father, told him he was responsible for it, turned the Pridelands into a graveyard, abused his mother, and so on. Since the Outsiders were capable of doing the same thing to him to his daughter who was like him when he was young, he would have reason not to trust him. As if one single lion was able to do all those terrible things, then, how would you feel about an entire pride doing twice as worse what Scar did.

Hyenas alone may not have been capable of doing what Scar (or a pride of lions) would, which is why Simba deserves my vote. But, Mufasa and Simba's reign hold water, but Simba is THE LION KING!

[BlitzRogue]

[quote="TheLionPrince"]Mufasa didn't get the chance to resolve the hyena issue, but his son, Simba, with the help of the lionesses, solved it nicely and he wasn't even the king yet by the time he did it.[/quote]
Well, to be fair, he didn't so much "solve" the problem as much as he ran in, Rambo style, and somehow managed to beat Scar before the onslaught of hyenas massacred the pride. :/

And all that really did was get the hyenas off the lionesses and onto Scar; we really don't see how it is the hyenas are chased off of Pride Rock, let alone how they ended up out of the Pridelands and nowhere to be seen from again. Because it certainly wasn't Simba or the lionesses. They were all standing around holding their ceremony for Simba to become king. But I digress...

[quote="TheLionPrince"]I could argue with that, and in fact, I will. Think about it, an entire pride of lions trying to kill you and take over your kingdom lead by a zealous obbesser over Scar and try to keep peace in the Pridelands is all Simba had to worry about as far as the movies show. I admit that would cause paranoia, but seeing it from Simba's perscesptive, he would at have a reason to seeing as the Outsiders supported as a lion who took away his father, told him he was responsible for it, turned the Pridelands into a graveyard, abused his mother, and so on. Since the Outsiders were capable of doing the same thing to him to his daughter who was like him when he was young, he would have reason not to trust him. As if one single lion was able to do all those terrible things, then, how would you feel about an entire pride doing twice as worse what Scar did.[/quote]
My main point is that Simba didn't personally have to deal with anything but the fear that something might happen. Mufasa actually had to deal with the hyenas on a day-to-day basis for quite some time, near as we could tell. Simba's only real, physical job came at the very end, and with that in mind, if it hadn't been for Kiara and Kovu stopping the battle, the Outlanders would have easily defeated Simba's Pride and taken over. So, to be honest, Simba absolutely failed at his only time to really prove himself as king.

And even during the time when he was "dealing" with the paranoia, he was a nervous wreck! Yeah, the land seemed quiet enough, but Simba was completely consumed in his paranoia and could hardly keep himself functioning half the time.

[quote="TheLionPrince"]Hyenas alone may not have been capable of doing what Scar (or a pride of lions) would, which is why Simba deserves my vote. But, Mufasa and Simba's reign hold water, but Simba is THE LION KING![/quote]
Teeeeeeeechnically, a group of hyenas that large would be able to take out (or at least chase off) a group of lions about 4 or 5 times the size of the remnants of Scar's(?) pride + Simba, but Disney likes to think they're weak. :[

[Maleficent]

Personally, I think Mufasa makes the best leader. Kiara...well, I don't know, I just don't feel like she'd be a great leader. I think Simba is good too, but he's rather blinded by his past in TLK II, so that makes me think Mufasa was the best.

[TheLionPrince]

[quote="BlitzRogue"][quote="TheLionPrince"]Mufasa didn't get the chance to resolve the hyena issue, but his son, Simba, with the help of the lionesses, solved it nicely and he wasn't even the king yet by the time he did it.[/quote]
Well, to be fair, he didn't so much "solve" the problem as much as he ran in, Rambo style, and somehow managed to beat Scar before the onslaught of hyenas massacred the pride.

And all that really did was get the hyenas off the lionesses and onto Scar; we really don't see how it is the hyenas are chased off of Pride Rock, let alone how they ended up out of the Pridelands and nowhere to be seen from again. Because it certainly wasn't Simba or the lionesses. They were all standing around holding their ceremony for Simba to become king. But I digress...[/quote]

I assume you haven't watched the movie in a while as your memory of it is WAAAY OFF. Watch this video of the battle squence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KKixKXstNI around 4:36 to 4:40. You obviously see hyenas, as the movie draws them, running from Pride Rock (at the bottom of the screen) as they are battling the Pridelanders. It is also possible that the hyenas that killed Scar were also burnt up in the flames. I assume the surviving hyenas "ran off" out of the Pridelands because they lost their power they had (with Scar) over Pride Rock over to Simba and the lionesses. Without Scar allowing them to live there, the hyenas had no choice, but to leave somewhere else. Plus the hyenas that ran off were hungry, and the Pridelands were in drought at the time so they obviously left to find some food resources somewhere else.

[quote="BlitzRogue"]My main point is that Simba didn't personally have to deal with anything but the fear that something might happen. Mufasa actually had to deal with the hyenas on a day-to-day basis for quite some time, near as we could tell. Simba's only real, physical job came at the very end, and with that in mind, if it hadn't been for Kiara and Kovu stopping the battle, the Outlanders would have easily defeated Simba's Pride and taken over. So, to be honest, Simba absolutely failed at his only time to really prove himself as king.[/quote]

Okay, I understand your point, but Simba didn't fail at proving himself the king as his own father said to him from the sky , "Well, done, my son." praising his actions he did dealing with the "feud". Being king does not mean not having enough physical strength to physically defeat your opponent(s), but by making the right decisions. Simba made the right decision to look inside, and free himself from the hatred he had of the Outsiders. So, your point of Simba nearly getting his butt handed to him shows him he has not a capable leader is invalid, as it takes making good decisions to be a capable leader.

[quote="BlitzRogue"][quote="TheLionPrince"]Hyenas alone may not have been capable of doing what Scar (or a pride of lions) would, which is why Simba deserves my vote. But, Mufasa and Simba's reign hold water, but Simba is THE LION KING![/quote]
Teeeeeeeechnically, a group of hyenas that large would be able to take out (or at least chase off) a group of lions about 4 or 5 times the size of the remnants of Scar's(?) pride + Simba, but Disney likes to think they're weak. :[[/quote]

Tomato tomahto, Blitz. Tomato tomahto.

[Misiziri]

Poor Kiara, nobody likes you lol

[SimbasGuard]

As for Zira defeating Simba, keep in mind a 1 on 1 fight between the two never took place. It is not a forgone conclusion that Zira would have won. Simba would easily have the strength advantage (despite being worn down by many Outlanders). Being that Zira had chose to confront Simba face to face for their final battle, it would have played directly into Simba's strength. While that would not have guaranteed victory for Simba, it would have put the fight in his favor.

[Misiziri]

I'm not sure, Zira's a persistant little lioness. They never would've confronted one-on-one. Plus, being a male lions and a bulkier, younger, healthier female (Kiara), both Mufasa and Simba could've taken her down with brute strength. But maybe her agility and flexibility could've allowed her to win in some way, or use the environment around her to her advantage.

[AdAstrα]

I don't think Simba ever became as good a ruler as Mufasa, seeing as he grew up away from the Pridelands. He missed out on a lot of things by being raised by Timon and Pumbaa rather than his own parents. I do think he tried his hardest though :3 As for Kiara...well, it's quite possible that she became more responsible later in life. In which case she probably would make a good ruler. But still not as good as Mufasa.