Cowardly Lion

The Cowardly Lion
Oz character
The Cowardly Lion as illustrated by William Wallace Denslow (1900)
First appearance	The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
Created by	L. Frank Baum
Portrayed by	Fred Woodward (His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz) Spencer Bell (The Wizard of Oz) Bert Lahr (The Wizard of Oz) Ted Ross (The Wiz) Cedric the Entertainer (1995 Apollo Theater Revival) John Alexander (Return to Oz) David Alan Grier (The Wiz Live!)
Voiced by	Jim Belushi (Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return) Jess Harnell (Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz)
In-universe information
Alias	Dandy Lion
Species	Lion
Gender	Male
Title	King of the Forest
Occupation	King of the Forest of Wild Beasts Ozma's chariot puller

The Cowardly Lion is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum.^[1] He is depicted as an African lion, but like all animals in Oz, he can speak.

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. In many scenes of the classic book and film, he shows bravery in the face of danger, similar to the Scarecrow who wants a brain even though he is the smartest one, and the Tin Man who wants a heart but cries to his detriment when he does anything remotely mean by accident and rusts himself still.