Kopa

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Character
Name: Kopa
Occupation:
Relationships: son of Simba/Nala, often killed by Zira or paired with Vitani
Fandom: The Lion King
Other:
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Kopa is the semi-canonical son of Simba and Nala from the universe of The Lion King. His only appearance is in the book series The Lion King: Six New Adventures. He is a well known character in the fandom, and is part of the ongoing, and likely neverending, dialogue surrounding the identity of the cub shown at the end of the first film.

Source Text

Fandom

Popular fanon lore states that Zira killed or attempted to kill him between the two Lion King films. This would explain her exile, Simba's overprotectiveness of his daughter Kiara, and the difference in appearance between the cub at the end of The Lion King and the beginning of The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. If he isn't killed, he'll often be headcanoned as having left the Pridelands to become a rogue. He is often paired with Vitani.

It's often argued that the cub at the end of the first film resembles Kopa more than it does Kiara, and that her ceremony at the beginning of the second film is vastly different to the first, amplifying headcanons regarding Kopa's existence. The nickname given to the first film's cub was 'Fluffy', and so occasionally fans will include yet another cub in fanworks, alongside Kopa, Kiara and Kion.

Reception

Kopa is a relatively divisive character in the fandom. Some fans love him, creating headcanons about his personality, drawing fanart of his design as an adult, and thinking up explanations as to what happened to him. Other fans dislike him, citing his lazy design in the books (mainly looking like Simba with a head tuft), lack of much character to go off of, and the difficulty in fitting him into the timeline.

in simba’s pride, simba and nala only have one cub, kiara. however, there’s a series of books where there’s no kiara, but instead a son named kopa. he’s bland but somehow has a cult following[1]

Common Themes & Tropes

  • Angst
  • Character Death
  • Interactions with his sibling(s) - Prior to about 2015, these would have just included Kiara, but with the release of The Lion Guard, Kion will often be featured too.

Relationships

Fanworks

Kopa is popular on some The Lion King fansites, as well as DeviantArt and the animash community. Fanworks centered on him are often gorey or tragic in nature. After The Lion Guard series aired, he began to appear interacting with Janja the hyena in some fanart.

Animash

Visual Art

Links

Gallery

Resources & External Links

References

  1. ^ [1]