You really thought you could get rid of the son of Simba, didn't you, Zira?

This is my depiction of Kopa, now a fully grown adult, returning to his old home at last after so many years of trying to get back to it. The sight of Pride Rock is bringing him to tears, as he's finally going to be able to see his parents again, plus finally meet that unborn brother or sister he was promised just before Zira attacked him. At last, his life is about to get back on track.

I know I've already mentioned this more than once before, but I absolutely despise the idea of Kopa actually dying as a cub and never being able to grow up. I know that's probably the most popular theory about Kopa out there, but I don't think it has to be that way. I say that when Zira tried to kill him, she threw him off of a cliff and into a river below, sending him floating miles away. Then when Kopa woke up, he was lost and confused about where he was, and then dedicated the next several years of his life trying to find his way back home. Once he finally does (as shown here), he decides to let Kovu and Kiara keep their positions as king and queen, and then he settles down with Vitani like he'd always wanted. They end up with three cubs together, and at last, the circle of life is restored.

This is the only way I can accept the theory of Kopa. I love the idea of Zira wanting to kill him, but I hate when she actually goes through with it in most variations of the story. Him dying at such a young age is just way too depressing of a thought for me, and as a result, that's why it means so much to me to have him com back after the events of Simba's Pride. I mean, just imagine how happy that would make all of the Pride Landers, especially Simba, Nala, and Vitani. The thought is just so sweet to me, and I personally wouldn't have it any other way.

Anyway, with that off my chest again, I really like how this drawing came out. It was a real pain trying to get the sky to look right, the shadows on Kopa gave me a headache, and it took me a long time to get the background to look good. But thankfully, I was able to pull it off. This is the first time I've ever added visible texture to any TLK character's mane before, since I noticed that most other drawings I could find have something like that on them. I figured I could give that sort of thing a shot, and luckily, it worked for me.

Let me know in the comments what you think!