Leodore Lionheart

Leodore Lionheart is a lion and the former Mayor of Zootopia. He serves as the main antagonist of Season 3, orchestrating a prison breach at Zootopia Correctional Facility to escape incarceration and attempting a coup to retake political power.

"Tonight, I'm taking back what was stolen. Not for me. For Zootopia. For stability." -- Leodore Lionheart (S03E06)

Background

Leodore Lionheart served as Mayor of Zootopia before the events of the series. During the Night Howler crisis (depicted in Zootopia), Lionheart secretly detained predator mammals who had been affected by the Night Howler serum at Cliffside Asylum, locking them away without due process, trials, or oversight. He claimed this was "protection" for the city, but it constituted false imprisonment.

After his crimes were exposed by Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps, Lionheart was removed from office and imprisoned. He was a political protégé of Milton Lynxley, connected to the Lynxley family's network of power and influence.

The Cliffside Operation

Lionheart's elite wolf guards at Cliffside Asylum were secretly ZSI Special Activities Division (SAD) operatives. Among them was Luther, who was following orders without knowing the full scope of the operation. This connection becomes critical in S03E08 when Lionheart exposes Luther's past on live television.

Season 3: The Lionheart Crisis

Pre-Series (S03E02)

Lionheart is mentioned in ZNN news broadcasts as facing additional charges--corruption, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy--stemming from post-Lynxley investigations. Nick Wilde reacts sharply: "Guy locked up sick mammals without trials and called it 'protection.' Now he's getting more time for being Milton's puppet."

Prison Breach (S03E05)

Lionheart orchestrates a coordinated assault on Zootopia Correctional Facility, deploying sleeper agents (including Officer Jasper Paddock at Precinct 1), stolen security equipment, and planted explosives. The breach serves multiple purposes: freeing himself, freeing high-value Lynxley inmates, and demonstrating that the current government cannot maintain order.

Cattrick Lynxley and Kitty Lynxley escape during the breach and disappear from the series. Milton Lynxley attempts to escape but is recaptured.

Broadcast and Coup Attempt (S03E06-07)

From Dead End Station, Lionheart broadcasts a citywide manifesto hijacking ZNN displays, ZTA monitors, and emergency alert systems. His rhetoric attacks Mayor Winddancer, lists government scandals, and includes xenophobic appeals against the reptile community: "He has allowed these REPTILES--dangerous cold-blooded creatures who MURDERED innocent mammals generations ago--to return to OUR city."

Lionheart commandeers a twelve-car Inner Loop train and leads his army to City Hall, using route switching to outmaneuver ZPD positioning. His forces seize the building, and a traitor ZSI wolf opens the safe room, allowing Lionheart to capture Mayor Winddancer.

Defeat (S03E08)

In the City Hall press room, Lionheart recognizes Luther from Cliffside and exposes his past on live television--including his inter-species relationship with Pawbert. However, Nick Wilde disperses the manufactured crowd by exposing the paid agitators, and Luther disarms the traitor wolf during a moment of distraction.

Mayor Winddancer defeats Lionheart physically, delivering a headbutt ("That's for the reptiles") and his signature kick ("And THAT'S for making me sit in that chair"), crashing Lionheart into the camera equipment and cutting the broadcast.

Lionheart is arrested and taken to a black-site facility, removing him from the series.

Personality

Lionheart is charismatic, calculating, and utterly convinced of his own righteousness. He genuinely believes he was protecting Zootopia during the Night Howler crisis and that his imprisonment was unjust persecution. His political instincts are sharp--he knows how to manufacture consent through paid agitators and how to weaponize fear against marginalized communities.

He is willing to use violence, manipulation, and systemic corruption to achieve his goals, but frames everything in the language of civic duty and stability. His self-image as a protector blinds him to the harm he causes.

Key Relationships

Milton Lynxley

Lionheart was Milton's political protégé, connected to the Lynxley network of power. Their relationship represents the intersection of political and criminal power in Zootopia's governance.

Luther Pawthorne

Luther was one of Lionheart's Cliffside wolves, part of the ZSI SAD unit that detained savage mammals without due process. Lionheart uses this knowledge to expose Luther on live television, though the revelation ultimately fails to save his coup.

Mayor Winddancer

Lionheart's political rival and the mammal he attempts to depose. Winddancer was originally installed as a puppet by the Lynxleys but has since found genuine leadership. Their confrontation ends with Winddancer's physical victory.

Key Quotes

• "I'm coming home, Zootopia. And this time, I'm not leaving." (S03E06)
• "Mayor Winddancer has been the worst mayor in the history of mayors, maybe ever." (S03E06)
• "He has allowed these REPTILES--dangerous cold-blooded creatures who MURDERED innocent mammals generations ago--to return to OUR city." (S03E06)
• "Anyone who tries to stop me will learn what a lion does when he's cornered." (S03E06)
• "Hello, Brian." (S03E07)
• "Smile, everyone. You're on camera." (S03E08)

Trivia

• Lionheart is a lion, sharing the species with Harvey Specter and David Rossi.
• His populist rhetoric ("worst mayor in the history of mayors, maybe ever") echoes recognizable political language.
• The shell company "Citizens for Stability" used to pay his agitators was incorporated three days before the coup and dissolved twelve hours after.
• He is one of only a few characters sent to a black-site rather than standard ZCF incarceration.
• His anti-reptile xenophobia directly targets Gary De'Snake and the returned reptile community.