Simbopa

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Simbopa
GENERAL
The Lion King
Character	Simba
Character	Kopa
Canonical?	Canon
Status of Relationship	Father and Son
IN FANDOM
Type (?)	Family

Simbopa is the family ship between Simba and Kopa from the The Lion King fandom.

Canon

Kopa appears in several books, most notably the Six New Adventures series, which heavily feature his and Simba's relationship. In A Tale of Two Brothers, Kopa tells a friend about how he will one day succeed his father as king. Kopa then goes to find Simba, having previously arranged to visit the summit of Pride Rock with his father. Unfortunately, shortly after arriving, Kopa learned that Simba intended to leave to deal with an ongoing problem. Kopa was greatly disappointed by this development, noting that Simba had promised they go to the summit together.

While Kopa's mother Nala felt that Simba should attend to the other matter, their friend Rafiki supported Kopa's argument. He then shared with the royal family the story of how Simba's grandfather Ahadi had not kept his word, thus contributing to a rift between him and Simba's uncle Scar. As a result, Simba decided to honor his earlier promise to Kopa before attending to his other duties. Kopa was thrilled by this, and he eagerly joined his parents in making the visit to the summit. In Nala's Dare, Kopa accepted a foolhardy dare because he felt the need to emulate Simba and Nala's courage.

In Vulture Shock, Kopa attempted to follow his father as Simba went to settle a dispute. On the way, Kopa met some other lions and heard them talking about "family trees." He misunderstood the subject and thought it referred to an actual tree, and he thus became interested in finding his own family's tree. As such, Kopa attempted to ask Simba about the matter, btu Simba was caught up in the argument he had gone to mediate. In an unfortunate act of impatience, Simba demanded that Kopa leave, and a hurt Kopa resolved to search for his "family tree" on his own.

Unfortunately, Kopa ended up being abducted by several vultures who sought to use him to extort prey from Simba. Simba, who by this time was anxiously looking for his son, was fortunately contacted by a number of friendlier members of the vulture flock who had befriended Kopa during his time as their captive. These vultures then helped lead Simba and a group of rescuers to Kopa, where Simba demanded his son's release. Once the pair were reunited, Simba made amends for his earlier behavior towards Kopa and helped him understand that a family tree was a reference to their ancestry. He then led Kopa to go see a record that had been made of their family line.

In Follow the Leader, Kopa tried to entice his father to play, and Simba relented despite having been planning on a nap. However, they were interrupted by Rafiki and Zazu with news of a problem, and on this occasion Kopa encouraged his father to go and see what he could do to remedy the situation. Simba did so with some reluctance. Later, seeing another young animal menaced by a leopard, Simba thought of Kopa. Imagining how he would feel if Kopa were in such danger, Simba chased off the leopard.

In How True, Zazu?, Kopa became curious as to why Zazu the majordomo had to report to his father. Zazu decided to tell Kopa a story, and when he brought up the history of Simba and Scar, Kopa interrupted to finish the account due to being quite familiar with it. In Friends for Life, Kopa befriended a young hyena named Asante in spite of the long-standing antagonism between lions and hyenas. Though he would continue to visit Asante, he was reluctant to introduce her to his parents until Asante saved his life. He then became determined to introduce Asante to Simba and Nala, and after some initial reluctance she agreed.

In Fight for the Throne, Kopa would surprise Simba by questioning why it was that the Pride Lands were ruled by a lion rather than some other type of animal. Simba cited the long tradition of lions acting as monarchs, but Kopa continued to question matters until Simba sent him back to Pride Rock. Overhearing this conversation, a hyena named Fisi sought to put another animal on the throne whom he could manipulate to get his own way. This scheme succeeded, and after losing a sabotaged contest against the cheetah Kesho Simba chose to leave the Pride Lands. He returned to the jungle where he had long lived, this time with the companionship of Kopa.

Though both Simba and Kopa wished to return home, Simba would not do so out of a sense of honor, and Kopa refused to leave his father. Eventually, Nala sought the two of them out, and she and Kopa attempted without success to persuade Simba to return home. Kopa then enlisted the elephant Kia to help expose the usurpers. With the enemy defeated, Simba and Kopa returned to their rightful place in the Pride Lands.

Fanon

Simba and Kopa's relationship doesn't feature in many fan works due to Kopa's relative obscurity as a character. The introduction of Kiara and Kion as canon animated children of Simba and Nala largely overshadows Kopa. In spite of this, Kopa does have his fans, and a few works attempt to integrate him into the canon established by The Lion King II and The Lion Guard. Such works often explore the idea of Kopa returning after a long absence, usually having been assumed dead.

There are 3 works tagged for the relationship on AO3.

Fandom

FAN FICTION

Kopa & Simba tag on AO3