cowardly lion

It is assumed that the Cowardly Lion lived his whole life in the Munchkin country, and that he was born worthless. The other animals, however, feared him because he was a lion and because of his loud roar.

And so it continued until one day the great beast encountered Dorothy Gale, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and Toto in the woods as they traveled to the Emerald City to see the Wizard of Oz. Trying to intimidate and scare them, he knocked Scarecrow and the Tin Man down and almost succeeded until he tried to bite Toto, then Dorothy jumped to her little dog's defense and punched the beast in the nose, causing his facade to crumble and revealing what a great coward he was. Dorothy invited him to come along and Leon accepted. Thus began their journey with the beast, who hoped that the Wizard could grant him some courage.

After several adventures, including escaping the Kalidahs, meeting a stork, and the Queen of the Field Mice, who helped rescue them from a field of deadly poppies, the group arrived at the gates of Emerald City. There, the Guardian of the Gates forced them to wear green-tinted glasses to protect their eyes from the brightness and glory of the city. The group was then escorted to the Royal Palace of Oz by the Soldier with the Green Whiskers.

When the group spoke to Oz, they were ordered to kill the Wicked Witch of the West if they wanted their wishes to come true. When they traveled to find her, the Wicked Witch sent her winged monkeys to capture Dorothy and Lion (and kill Scarecrow and Tin). While Dorothy was forced to do chores around the witch's castle, Lion was locked in an iron cage in the castle yard without food or water, as he refused to be a pack animal. Dorothy secretly brought him food and water at night so he wouldn't die. After Dorothy dispatched the Wicked Witch with a bucket of water, they went to the Wizard, who turned out to be nothing more than a fraud, but tried to grant his wishes as best he could, giving Lion a bowl of an unknown green liquid (some kind of alcohol, it is suspected), which would make him brave.

After the Wizard left Oz in his hot air balloon and accidentally left Dorothy behind, the Cowardly Lion would accompany Dorothy along with Scarecrow and the Tin Man on their journey to Quadling Country, to meet the beautiful good witch of the south, Glinda. The group encountered a group of fighting trees, a small country made of porcelain, and a hill full of unfriendly hammerheads. The travelers also passed through a dark forest that was home to hundreds of creatures and beasts. These animals were being terrorized by a giant spider-like monster that was the size of an elephant, had many sharp teeth and many large eyes, and had devoured several beasts. The Lion agreed to fight this monster, whom he found asleep in his cave and broke its neck. The grateful animals made him their king and he accepted. After managing to bring Dorothy and Toto to Glinda and get him back home, the Lion would return to be king of the forest. (The wonderful wizard of oz)

In canon he was a normal lion until he was affected by magic. But growing up among humans he never knew what courage was.

Contrary to the stereotype that makes the lion the king of the jungle, and therefore an emblem of courage and strength, this lion is a fearful anthropomorphic animal that asks for magic to restore its courage, without realizing that it contains it within itself, as demonstrated in adverse situations.