Lion Guard (group)

"The Lion Guard is the team that protects the Pride Lands and defends the Circle of Life."

- Kion, The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar

The Lion Guard is a group dedicated to saving the Pride Lands from danger.

Role
The Lion Guard is a group tasked with the job of defending the Pride Lands from danger, traditionally led by the second-born cub of the monarch. The leader of the guard is bestowed with the Roar of the Elders, which helps them in battle. Each member is bestowed a marking upon their shoulder in the shape of a lion's head. This marking may be different colors, and the color seemingly depends on the fur, skin, or feather color of the animal with the mark.

Backstory
The Lion Guard is a tradition within the Pride Lands. Scar led the Lion Guard before Kion, but he was irresponsible with his duties and abused his powers, using the Roar of the Elders to destroy the other members of the Guard.

The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar
When Janja's minions Cheezi and Chungu threaten to kill Bunga, Kion steps in, roaring so loudly that the hyenas drop Bunga, who climbs to safety. Rafiki and Simba overhear Kion's roar, and the two come to realize that it is time for him to lead the Lion Guard. When Bunga and Kion return to Pride Rock, Rafiki leads them to the Lair of the Lion Guard, where he explains that Scar used to lead the Lion Guard until he lost his powers. Simba then tasks Kion with gathering a new Lion Guard to protect the Pride Lands.

Bunga and Kion set out right away, and Kion asks the honey badger if he will join the team. Bunga accepts, and his adopted uncles, Timon and Pumbaa, offer him enthusiastic congratulations. Unbeknownst to the friends, they are being spied on by Mzingo, a vulture minion of Janja's, who reports back to his leader about the newly formed Guard. When Janja hears the news, he announces to the clan that they will strike that very night. On the other side of the savanna, Kion has appointed Beshte, Fuli, and Ono to positions on the Guard. He gathers the team together and attempts to show them his Roar, but all that comes out is a squeak. Just then, Simba arrives and reacts in horror to Kion's choice of teammates. He insists that the Guard must be made of lions and then berates Kion for treating his role as leader like a game.

Wanting to be alone, Kion isolates himself from his friends, where he encounters the ghost of his grandfather Mufasa. The wise king tells Kion to trust his instincts and promises that he will always be there to guide him. No sooner has he faded from the sky when Kion hears Bunga calling for him, shouting that the hyenas are attacking a herd of gazelles. With no time to lose, Kion assembles the Lion Guard, using his paw to gift them each with a special shoulder marking. Together, the five friends attack the hyenas, driving them back into the Outlands. Kion finishes the fight with the powerful Roar of the Elders, and even Janja flees in terror. Simba, Nala, and Rafiki watch from a nearby ridge and realizes that his son was wise to have chosen who he chose. He congratulates his son on the victory and accepts this new, brilliant assembling of loyal animals.

Never Judge a Hyena by Its Spots
The Lion Guard becomes separated when Kion is swept into the Outlands. With the help of Mbeya the rhino and Jasiri the hyena, the Guard is able to reunite with their leader at Flat Ridge Rock.

The Rise of Makuu
When a new crocodile leader, Makuu, begins to cause trouble in the Pride Lands, the Lion Guard uses a demonstration of the Roar of the Elders to show Makuu what he's up against if he chooses to fight them.

Bunga the Wise
The bravest member of the Guard, Bunga, begins giving bad advice to Pridelanders. The rest of the Lion Guard helps the animals he administered the bad advice to. They later protect the Pridelanders from the flooding waters of Lake Kaziwa.

Can't Wait to be Queen
When Kiara becomes queen of the Pride Lands, she agrees to meet Janja in the Outlands for a "peace meeting". The Lion Guard saves her from the attacking hyenas after the meeting turns out to be a trap.

Eye of the Beholder
Ono, the keenest of sight in the Guard, temporarily loses the sight from one of his eyes. Despite his injury, he goes to help the rest of the Lion Guard stop Janja from attacking the zebras. At the end of the episode, Rafiki completes his painting of the Guard, and they all admire it.

The Kupatana Celebration
Kion accidentally allows a family of jackals at Kupatana. The Lion Guard drives these attackers away so that the Pridelanders can celebrate Kupatana.

Fuli's New Family
The Lion Guard begins to question how good of friends they are to their fastest member, Fuli. They make an effort to include her more, but end up failing to please her. They eventually rescue her and Bunga from the Outlands, and she says that while she prefers to hunt alone, she considers them her family. They then hug each other.

The Search for Utamu
Fuli overexerts herself when she tries to use her speed too much, leaving her as easy prey for Mzingo's Committee. The Lion Guard drives the vultures away from their friend.

Follow That Hippo!
The hyenas are lurking in the Pride Lands, and the Lion Guard is on the lookout. When they chase Beshte and his little elephant friend Mtoto down a river, the Lion Guard arrives in time to stop them.

The Call of the Drongo
The Lion Guard are called by some animals who believe they have heard Janja, Makuu and Goigoi in the vicinity. They soon learn that it was just a drongo bird named Tamaa imitating their voices, and Kion orders him to stop. However, Tamaa is kidnapped by Janja's Clan, and forced to use it again, this time impersonating the Guard. The Guard soon hear about this, and venture to the Outlands to ward of Janja's Clan and free the impalas that had been lured there. They return to the Pride Lands, and Tamaa agrees not to use his voice for anything other than helping others in the future.

Paintings and Predictions
The Lion Guard comes to the rescue of a young gazelle with his hoof stuck under a rock. They save him successfully and retire to the Lair.

Later, they are alerted to herd of stampeding zebras, and manage to save them from a rock that is about to fall on them. Having seen one of Rafiki's paintings depicting the same sequence of events, Bunga believes that the paintings tell the future. Upon seeing a painting of Kion falling from a tree, Bunga becomes concerned for his friend. However, Kion doesn't believe him, and the Guard soon must go to help the zebras again, as they are being attacked by the hyenas. They successfully drive the hyenas out of the Pride Lands, but three zebras are missing. The Guard travels to Maji Baridi Falls to find the zebras, and along the way, Bunga enlists the rest of the Guard to help him protect Kion. When the Guard reaches the zebras, a rolling boulder causes the zebras to panic and run into a river, headed straight for the Falls. However, Kion is able to use his roar to save them. The group returns to their lair, where Rafiki reveals that his paintings tell the past, not the future.

The Mbali Fields Migration
The Lion Guard are tasked with guiding Muhimu's Herd and Swala's Herd to the Mbali Fields.

Bunga and the King
The Lion Guard helps out a group of sable antelopes who are stuck in the mud near Chekundu Cliffs. As they work, they hear a loud crash, and Ono reports that Simba fell into a sinkhole. He and Kion go to check things out, and once the rest of the Guard is finished freeing the antelopes, they go after their friends, and Bunga dives into the sinkhole.

The Guard first attempts to rescue Simba and Bunga by pushing a log into the sinkhole for the pair of them to use to climb out. However, the log shatters upon hitting the ground, and the plan fails, so the Lion Guard arranges to meet up with Simba and Bunga in Nandembo Caverns. This plan is successful, and Simba and the Guard join Nala and Kiara, who are attending a concert performed by Ma Tembo's Herd. Though they are too late to hear the elephants' songs, they perform Hakuna Matata for the herd.

Current Members

 * Kion (leader, the fiercest)
 * Bunga (the bravest)
 * Fuli (the fastest)
 * Beshte (the strongest)
 * Ono (the keenest of sight)

Former Members

 * Scar (Leader)
 * Unknown lion
 * Unknown lion
 * Unknown lion
 * Unknown lion