You know that massive, shaking beast from The Wizard of Oz? The one who needs a medal just to stop his knees from knocking? Well, if you’ve only seen the 1939 movie, you’re missing the actual tragedy. In the world of Wicked, the answer to who’s the lion in Wicked isn’t just a "who"—it’s a "how." And honestly, the "how" is pretty dark.
He starts as a cub. Tiny. Terrified.
In the Broadway musical, he’s a literal prop in a cage. In Gregory Maguire’s original 1995 novel, he’s a political catalyst. But in every version, he is the living, breathing proof of Elphaba’s failure to save everyone. It’s a gut-punch of a backstory that turns a goofy childhood character into a symbol of systemic oppression.
The Shiz University incident: Where it all begins
The Cowardly Lion doesn’t just happen to be "born" yellow. He is a victim of the Wizard’s regime. When Elphaba and Glinda are students at Shiz University, they’re introduced to a new, cruel curriculum. The Wizard is stripping Animals (with a capital A, meaning those who can talk and hold jobs) of their rights. They’re being forced into cages. They’re losing their voices.
Enter the Lion cub.
In the classroom scene, Dr. Dillamond—the Goat professor who is eventually hauled away by authorities—is replaced by a man who brings in a caged Lion cub. This cub is the "model" for a new experiment. The goal? To prove that if you keep an Animal in a cage long enough, it loses the ability to speak. It becomes just a "beast."
Elphaba loses it. She uses her budding magic to freeze the classroom, and she and Glinda (then Galinda) steal the cub. They run into the woods. They set him free.
💡 You might also like: Disney Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas Light Trail: Is the New York Botanical Garden Event Worth Your Money?
Why his "cowardice" is actually trauma
Here is the part most people miss. When Elphaba rescues the cub, she tells him to run. She thinks she’s saved him. But years later, when Dorothy is trekking down the Yellow Brick Road, we meet the Lion again. He’s a mess.
He’s a coward not because of a personality flaw, but because he was traumatized in that cage. He was separated from his pride, mocked by a classroom of students, and then dumped in the wild by a green girl who, while well-intentioned, didn't give him the tools to survive.
He didn't learn how to be a lion. He learned how to be a victim.
The Musical vs. The Movie: A radical shift in tone
In the 1939 film, the Cowardly Lion is comic relief. Bert Lahr’s performance is iconic—all "Put 'em up, put 'em up!" and tail-tugging. It’s vaudeville.
But Wicked reframes that entire performance as a coping mechanism. If you look at the timeline of the musical, the Lion is one of the few characters who bridges the gap between the "good old days" at Shiz and the totalitarian nightmare of the Wizard’s later reign.
Elphaba spends her whole life feeling guilty about him. In the song "March of the Witch Hunters," Boq (now the Tin Man) and the Lion are used as evidence of Elphaba’s "evil." Boq screams that she shrunk him. The Lion is cited as someone she "tortured" into cowardice.
📖 Related: Diego Klattenhoff Movies and TV Shows: Why He’s the Best Actor You Keep Forgetting You Know
It’s a lie, of course. Elphaba was the only one who tried to help. But the Wizard’s propaganda is so strong that even the victims start to believe the person who tried to save them is the villain.
Gregory Maguire’s much darker version
If you think the musical is sad, the book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West will wreck you. Maguire doesn't play around with the political metaphors. In the novel, the Lion’s name is Brrr.
Yes, Brrr. Like the sound you make when you're cold.
Brrr’s journey is long and winding. He’s not just a sidekick for Dorothy; he’s a character who struggles with his identity as an Animal in a world that wants him to be a rug. In the later books of the Wicked series, specifically A Lion Among Men, we get a deep dive into his psyche. He’s obsessed with his own history. He feels like a "traitor" to his kind because he survived while others were slaughtered or silenced.
Does the Lion actually talk in the musical?
Interestingly, in the Broadway show, the Lion never speaks. Not as a cub, and not as an adult. You see his silhouette in the final act, and you hear about him, but he remains silent.
This is a deliberate choice by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman. It emphasizes the tragedy: the Wizard’s experiment worked. Even though Elphaba freed him, the Lion’s "voice"—his literal ability to speak like a human—was stunted by the fear instilled in him at Shiz.
👉 See also: Did Mac Miller Like Donald Trump? What Really Happened Between the Rapper and the President
The Fiyero theory: A common misconception
Let’s clear something up that pops up on Reddit and TikTok every few months. Some people get confused and think Fiyero is the Lion.
He isn't.
Fiyero is the Scarecrow. That’s a very specific, magical transformation that happens to save his life. The Lion is a completely separate entity. Fiyero’s transformation is an act of desperate love; the Lion’s "creation" is a byproduct of political cruelty. Don't mix them up, or you'll lose the thread of the story’s themes regarding the different ways the Wizard breaks people.
Why the Lion matters for the 2024/2025 movies
With the Wicked cinematic adaptation starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the Lion is getting a high-def makeover. Fans are looking closely at how the movie handles the classroom scene.
In the trailers, we see the cub. He looks incredibly realistic. This matters because it grounds the stakes. When Elphaba looks at that cub, she isn't just looking at a cat; she’s looking at the soul of Oz being extinguished.
The movie has the chance to show the "cowardice" not as a joke, but as a tragedy. When we see the Lion later on the Yellow Brick Road, we’re supposed to feel a twinge of "we failed him."
Key things to remember about the Lion’s identity
- He was a Shiz University experiment: He was used to prove that Animals could be "broken."
- Elphaba saved his life, but couldn't save his spirit: Her rescue gave him freedom, but not the courage he needed to handle that freedom.
- He is a symbol of the "Silenced": His inability to speak (in the musical) represents the successful oppression of Oz's minority groups.
- The "Cowardly" label is propaganda: He isn't inherently weak; he was conditioned to be afraid by a government that saw him as a threat or a tool.
Actionable ways to engage with the Lion's story
If you’re a fan trying to peel back the layers of Ozian lore, start by looking at the "Animal" vs. "animal" distinction in the text. It’s the key to the whole franchise.
- Read A Lion Among Men: If you want the full, unvarnished history of the Lion (Brrr), this Gregory Maguire book is the definitive source. It’s not a light read, but it’s the most complex version of the character ever written.
- Watch the "Something Bad" sequence closely: Next time you see the musical or the movie, pay attention to Dr. Dillamond’s warnings. The Lion is the literal fulfillment of those fears.
- Compare the endings: Notice how the Tin Man and Scarecrow get "reborn" through Elphaba’s magic, but the Lion is the only one who has to find his way back on his own. It makes his eventual meeting with Dorothy much more significant.
The Lion isn't just a background character. He is the living evidence of the Wizard’s crimes and Elphaba’s desperate, imperfect attempt to be a hero. He’s a reminder that sometimes, even when you escape the cage, you take the bars with you.