The Evil Eye is a Lion King webcomic by Sick Rogue, focusing on one of the Outlanders and former followers of Zira, named Belladonna. It tells of the aftermath of the events of Lion King 2, and Belladonna's inability to fit in and her decision to carry on Scar and Zira's vendetta against Simba's family, which eventually fails and gets her exiled from the Pride Lands. From there, she descends into further villainy and tries her luck in another pride. But she main find being a villain is not as easy as it seems...
Can be read on Webtoons here: https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/the-evil-eye/list?title_no=670747
Also can be found on Sick Rogue's Deviantart: https://www.deviantart.com/sickrogue/art/The-Evil-Eye-poster-882551115
Warning, unmarked spoilers.
- Anti-Villain: Very Downplayed. Belladonna's past shows she had a rough life in the Outlands and Zira's cultivation of the the lioness who would become the Outlanders pride was one of the few things she felt that drove her. She genuinely seems to feel frustrated that all her training and preparation to take over the Pridelands with Zira did not come to fruition, at least not in the way she intended. Plus, she does make an honest effort to fit into the Pride Lands but genuinely cannot seem to find true happiness. However, it should be noted she has a great life in the Pride Lands, she knows Zira is simply too far gone, and her actions of trying to murder three innocent cubs who see her like an aunt are unambiguously heinous and would negate most any sympathy for her. Additionally, the delusions she clings to( I.E murdering Simba's family to avenge a sociopathic tyrant) are not particularly sympathetic either.
- The summary of the comic on the post implies this will further be subverted as the comic goes along.
- Children Are Innocent: Kiara's three cubs are this, for the most part.
- Easily Condemmed: Averted. Although even her fellow former Outanders are quick to condemn Belladonna during her trial, its understandable in that she was caught in the act of trying ot murder cubs, with several trusted witnesses(I.E. members of Vitani's Lion Guard) having directly seen her in the middle of what she was doing. Considering the "smoking gun" evidence against her, its hard to see any one with moral not acting this way. The fact that, when she is given a chance to explain herself, she just goes on an irrational rant bemoaning everyone present and using delusional, borderline idiotic logic to justify herself in front of hte whole pride likely did not do Belladonna any favors.
- Foregone Conclusion: Belladonna's attempt to carry out Zira's revenge will fail and she will be exiled, as stated in the comic's summary. However, it played with in that her method of carrying out said revenge by murdering Kiara's cubs is a different matter, as though its clear Belladonna will be caught and exiled, it's not clear if she succeeds in killing one of the cubs before being found out. She fails.
- Fruedian Excuses Is No Excuse: Highlighted in a conversation between Belladonna and her "aunties" from the Outlands. It's noted she did have a hard life as a kid and her aunties were a bit rough on her, but that was just how life was in the Outlands. Additionally, it's made clear Zira's lies were some of the only things that made Belladonna feel important. However, when her aunties wish to reconcile, Belladonna can only nitpick( with some merit) their tough love raising of her and how Belldonna was put in a position she disliked (cub sitting), only for her aunties to note she would have disliked any other position she had been already been given or could be given in the pride lands, that Belladonna refuses the help of any sort despite being offered, and that Zira's lies were hollow and that she was nothing more than a vengeful fanatic not worth paying heed to. Despite her hard life before, she Belladonna still has everything a lion could ever want now by living in the Pridelands and all the love and support she could need, only for her to scorn it all, refuse aid, and stubbornly cling to Zira's vendetta despite knowing it too be hollow and built around delusions.
- It is also worth mentioning that before this conversation, Belladonna had been plotting to murder three innocent cubs who look up to her like an aunt. No amount of hardships justifies her villainous actions.
- Hate Sink: Downplayed, but Belladonna is an odd case where it's the protagonist that serves this role. While she is given somewhat understandable motives, she becomes increasingly irrational and clings to the delusions and vendetta of a dead psychopath (Zira), twisting logic to borderline *Insane Troll Logic to justify herself, ignoring everything good she had been graced with out of stubbornness and going as far as to plot and attempt to murder three innocent cubs who loved her like family( and whose mother trusted her as a close friend, even beating up one of said cubs and blaming them for stuff that is not their fault at all, all part of an attempt 'avenge' said, dead psychopath. Combine this with the fact she does little beyond complaining and refusing help for much of her screen time and its made even more obvious that Belladonna is irrationally warped and isn't to be disliked
- Jerkass Has a Point: Amongst the lionesses condemning Belladonna during her trial are no doubt a few who helped murder her mother and even former cruel lionesses of hte outlands. That being said, sneering at Belladonna is pretty understandable given her actions of attempting to murder innocent cubs.
- On another note some lionesses argued they should execute Belladonna for her actions. While a bit harsh at first, it's still worth noting in many medieval societies, lion or not, attempted murder of royal heris was punishable by death. Plus, this is a similar situation to Zira; given the fact, Belladonna is show to be near as psychotic and delusional as Zira is, and how Zira plotted revenge during her exile and nearly succeeded in killing the Pridelanders with her plot, its understandable that no one in the pride would want to risk a similar situation arising by letting Belladonna basically walk free to live nearby. Her blind devotion to Zira and eerily similar modus operari is due to cause for concerns she would perpetuate Zira's vendetta.
- Karma Houdini: Adverted with Belladonna, as she is caught and exiled for her actions but played straight with many of the other Outlander lionesses. Besides taking part in Zira's plot during Simba's Pride yet still being let into the Pridelands to live afterward, some of them even murdered Belladonna's mother on Zira's order. Yet this is never discovered by Belladonna, nor brought up in the present day. Other than Zira herself dying, those responsible. still live amongst the Pridelands like nothing happened.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Belladonna has shades of this. Despite being let into the Pridelands along with her fellow Outsiders after aiding Zira in her attempt to murder Simba and install a dictatorship on the thrown, she mostly complains about her life in the Pridelands, even though its objectively better than the harsh and unforgiving conditions she lived in the Outlands.
- Psycho Supporter: What Belladonna is to Zira. She still clings to Zira's delusions and blind lust for revenge, even a while after her death.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Belladonna's dislike of her fellow Outlanders and blame of them for her problems is this to an extent. She does understandably dislike them for their poor treatment of her as a cub, but alot of this blame is part of her delusional thinking in the present where she more or less acts like the whole world is out to wrong her and they are still mistreating her, ignoring how she most just complains and quarrels with them without trying to reconcile. She irrationally genuinely seems to think they and Kiara's family are at fault for her actions if her rambles are to be believed just before and during her trial. While the Kiara's family and the Pridelanders did nothing to her (other than fight off Zira, who was trying to kill their king and oppress them or outright kill them as well) blaming the Outlanders as well might make sense considering they murdered Belladonna's mother on Zira's orders in the past, depriving Belladonna of an actually rational guiding figure in her earlier life; as Belldonna's mother was one of the only lioness to question Zira's ways. Though it's not that Belladonna knows of this.
- Sanity Slippage: Subtle but noctiable with Belladonna. She was never exactly right in the head to begin with, seeing as Zira more or less cultivated and manipulated her and the outland lionesses into being fanatical followers of a deposed tyrant, but she gets worse over as the comic goes on. Initially, she does try to fit into the pride lands and give up Zira's vendetta after Zira dies and the other former Outsiders move on but finds she cannot seem to give it up and devolves to the point she murder Kiara's cubs. And during her trial, she uses twisted logic to try to justify herself; as in thinking that Zira's death gave her the chance to 'get even' with Kiara(whom she seems to blame for Zira's death despite Kiara trying to save Zira) and murder the cubs.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: Kiara pulls an epic one by slapping Belldonna in the face during her trial when Belldonna tries to justify herself by saying Zira's death means she gets to kill cubs. Understandable not just for the idiotic, twisted, *Insane Troll Logic filled delusion that this statement is in itself from a would-be child murderer, but even more so considering these were Kiara's own cubs that were targeted.
- Villain Protagonist: The entire selling point of the comic. Belladonna is a delusional fanatic who refuses to get over Zira's lies and tries to murder Simba's three grandchildren to carry out Scar and Zira's legacy. The comic assurances she will at least attempt to grow worse from there.
