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This article is about a subject whose real name is unknown, and is known only by a title, nickname, alias or description |
| “ | I'm not a cowardly lion who's looking for courage. I'm a vicious lion looking for restraint! And I just remembered that I never found it! | „ |
| ~ The Cowardly Lion in Jack of Fables #30 — "The Book of Restoration: The Books of War, Volume Three" |
The Cowardly Lion is Fable who is a prisoner at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village. He first appears in flashbacks in Fables #4 — "Chapter Four: Remembrance Day."
History
The exodus
The Cowardly Lion, the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow met a young girl, Dorothy Gale, during her adventures in Oz.[4] The four were eventually driven out of the Homelands when the Adversary's territory expanded.[5] The Tin Man, the Lion, the Scarecrow and Jack Pumpkinhead found themselves running through the forest alongside a large crowd of Fable people, closely pursued by the Adversary's troops.[6]
The Lion, the Tin Man, Dorothy and Toto were on the run from the Adversary's forces for years, before the group made it into the mundane world in the year of 1943.[5]
The mundane world
Dorothy abandoning the Lion and the Tin Man in the Jersey Pine Barrens
Dorothy met with Snow White and Bigby Wolf in Fabletown but was repulsed by the Fabletown Compact and refused to sign. Though Snow believed it was because Dorothy did not want to see her friends sent to the Farm,[5] it was actually because Dorothy discovered that the Compact was too confining for her requirements, as it restricted her in ways she found unacceptable. She refused to allow her hands to be bound in such a manner[4] and stormed out of Fabletown.[5]
The Cowardly Lion and the Tin Woodman decided to live out on the Jersey Pine Barrens rather than staying at the Farm, while Dorothy went on to live as a killer for hire among the mundys. Colin Pig encountered them in the woods during one of his occasional getaways from the Farm. He proposed to escort them to Fabletown, yet they politely refused, appearing to anticipate Dorothy's return to fetch them. Unfortunately, she never did.[7] The truth was that she had deserted them, recognizing their presence as a hindrance that would only delay her ambitions of becoming a proficient assassin for hire.[4]
The Golden Boughs
Years later, Tin Man and the Lion were captured by Mister Revise's people and imprisoned at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village.[8] Eventually, Dorothy was also imprisoned at the village, where she was thrown down Revise's memory hole. When she emerged, she had been stripped of most of her memories and was again the same innocent girl she had been so long ago.[4] The Lion, the Tin Man and Dorothy remain prisoners for years.[4]
One day, as Sam leads the new prisoner Jack Horner to his cottage, the Lion can be spotted anxiously peering out the window of his own cottage, hidden behind the curtain.[8] Eventually, the Lion, along with, the Tin Woodman, Dorothy Gale, the Scarecrow and Toto flee the village during the mass escape orchestrated by Jack Horner, but Toto is killed and eaten by one of Robin Page's tigers.[9] Unfortunately, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion are ultimately apprehended and returned. Dorothy is also captured at a later time.[10]
Bookburner's attack
The Lion's old identity is restored
Jack is enthusiastically supported by the Cowardly Lion and many other prisoners as he assumes the responsibility of leading the defense against the army of Bookburner.[11] In a last-ditch effort to defeat Bookburner, Mr. Revise makes the decision to allow the Fables' original stories to be reinstated,[12] and distributes copies of the book containing them to everyone.[2]
The Lion is given his own book and meticulously reads through it. He learns that he was actually a vicious lion looking for restraint before he was revised.[2] With a powerful roar, he charges into battle with his fellow Fable. He tears a man to shreds while growling menacingly. After the skirmish, he proudly declares that they have completely overpowered their enemies. He is certain that the opposing forces will think twice before attempting to challenge them again.[13]
Dino Diner
Nevertheless, this proves to be insufficient. Following a volcanic eruption caused by Mr. Revise in an attempt to halt Bookburner, resulting in the destruction of the Golden Boughs, the Lion, and various other Fables, all embark on a stolen bus. After a lengthy trip, they eventually come to a halt at Dino Diner.[14]
He and the rest of the group are seated quietly while Jack makes a phone call to Snow White and Bigby Wolf, urgently requesting their presence due to a grave situation at hand. The looming threat of Kevin Thorn, known as the Author, possesses the power to erase them all effortlessly with a mere stroke of his pen.[15]
As Snow and Bigby enter the diner, they find everyone still seated inside. However, when they encounter Jack and Bigby, a heated altercation ensues. In the midst of the chaos, Bigby forcefully hurls Jack through a nearby window, shattering it into pieces. Among the onlookers, the Lion stands out as one of the enthusiastic supporters, cheering them on with his loud cries of "Fight! Fight!"[16]
As Snow and Bigby depart with Gary and Mister Revise, she describes the Lion as ferocious. In response, Revise mentions that the Lion is the former Cowardly Lion, while Gary interjects that he believes the Lion is now known as Fiercely Lion. Snow expresses concern that the Lion may consume Mother Goose; however, Revise assures that he has instructed the Fables to conduct themselves appropriately, while the page sisters are in charge of supervising them.[1]
Shortly afterward, the Lion watches through window as the Page sisters decide to take matters into their own hands and leave the others to fight Thorn and his group.[17]
Decades later, the remaining Fables have turned Dino Diner into an amusement park. The Lion admits to the Tin Man he is so sick of this place he could eat someone. They talk about how Dorothy struck off on her own may years ago. The Lion mentions that she got "all dark," and the Tin Man responds that Dorothy always was "kind of creepy."[18] Unbeknown to both, she got her memories back when the Golden Boughs was destroyed, along with the memory hole.[4]
Raven gathers everyone for a meeting. Upon their arrival, Lion expresses his hope that the matter at hand does not involve any unpleasant incident related to vomit. He sternly mentions his previous warning, stating that he would maul anyone who dared to assign him the task of dealing with such a situation. Raven tells the others that the bird spirit has showed him the way to Fabletown, and the group sets off to find the place.[18] The group follows the spirit for days, until they reach their destination.[19]
Death
The group finds themselves in the middle of a battle between Jack Frost, and Jack Horner in dragon form. Raven lies to the others and convinces them to protect the dragon, saying the dragon is the only one who knows the secret way to Fabletown. Everyone soon realizes that they have been tricked when Jacks kills several of them, believing that they are out to steal his treasure.[3]
The Lion informs the Tin Man that Raven has deceived them; the dragon is on the move, breathing fire and destruction, and it is their responsibility to defeat it. If they are to perish, they must do so with courage and valor, just like lions.[3]
The Page Sisters also show up, and are devastated when Jack burns the books of original Fable stories that they have been looking for. Upset at the loss of the books, they start shooting everyone around them, and the Lion defends himself by pouncing on Robin Page and biting her head off. The Lion dies when he is caught in Jack's dragon fire, and goes out with a growl.[3]
Appearances
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Original source
He is based on the Cowardly Lion, a character created by L. Frank Baum for the children's novel Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its many sequels. Since lions are supposed to be "The King of Beasts," the Cowardly Lion believes that his fear makes him inadequate, without understanding that courage means not a lack of fear but acting in the face of fear, which he does frequently. Only during the aftermath of the Wizard's gift, when he is under the influence of an unknown liquid substance that the Wizard orders him to drink is he not filled with fear. He argues that the courage from the Wizard is only temporary, although he continues to do brave deeds. The Cowardly Lion is in fact brave, but he doubts himself.
References
See also
| Jack of Fables | |
|---|---|
| Characters | Jack Horner • Kevin Thorn • Gary • Mister Revise • Robin Page • Priscilla Page • Hillary Page • Jack Frost • Babe • Snow Queen • Wicked John • Alice |
| Locations | Fabletown • Golden Boughs Retirement Village |