Kopa
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Kopa |
| Occupation: | |
| Relationships: | son of Simba/Nala, often killed by Zira or paired with Vitani |
| Fandom: | The Lion King |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
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
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
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
- Kopa Story | Animash/Crossover | All the right moves
- Zira kills Kopa [TLK crossover] Special of 1.016 subs
Visual Art
Links
- Adult Kopa (Nov 2010) by DJ88 - An extremely well known piece of fanart, to the extent that in January 2013 the artist updated the description to warn people off stealing it.
- A SunSet (Jun 2013) by mysteriousharu
- Adult Kopa (June 2017) by NamyGaga
- KionTheKing Kopa (Nov 2021) by elanordraws - Commission for KionTheKing's version of him.
- Kopa (Nov 2021) by SumaliArt
- Kopa referense [sic] and age sheet (Feb 2022) by jashindepressedclown
- Kopa (Sept 2022) by sleuthdraws, featuring a version of Kopa that isn't Simba and Nala's son, but Mheetu's son with another lioness.
- KOPA | Ref Sheet (Nov 2023) by kujoTLK
Gallery
Tlk1 Kopa reference sheet by elanordraws - Reference sheet for one interpretation of Kopa as both an adult and cub.
Kopa Reference Sheet by emilyjayowens - Reference sheet for Kopa based on him being 'Fluffy', the cub at the end of the first film. See here for an adult!Kopa from the same artist.
popular art of post-Zira Kopa by dantesparda
art by kati-kopa displaying the two most common Kopa tropes: death by Zira and pairing with Vitani.
Resources & External Links
- Kopa (The Lion King) - Ao3 tag