| | ||
|
This Antagonist was Headlined on February 2016. | ||
|
The Wicked Witch of the West is the main antagonist of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the first novel of the famous Oz series by L. Frank Baum.
She is a malevolent witch who rules over the Winkie Country, as well as Dorothy's arch-nemesis. She desires the ruby slippers Dorothy wears due to their great powers in order to conquer and rule the land of Oz.
Appearance[]
The Wicked Witch of the West is a hag in a yellow and black dress and pointed hat covered in various images, pigtails, eyepatch, and a notable feature being an enchanted eye that can see vast distances beyond her castle walls. The Witch also carries an umbrella to shield her from water.
Biography[]
The Wicked Witch of the West leagued with the Wicked Witch of the East, Mombi the Wicked Witch of the North, and the Wicked Witch of the South to rule all of Oz and later conquered and ruled the yellow land of the Winkie Country with the power of the magic Golden Cap that summons the Flying Monkeys three times which she also used to ban the Wizard from entering the Winkie Country.
Dorothy Gale is a young girl from Kansas and lands in the fantasy world of Oz after her house was blown away by a tornado. Longing to return home, she goes on a journey to meet the Wizard of Oz in the Emerald City. On the way, she befriends the Scarecrow who longs for a brain, the Tin Man who longs for a heart, and the Cowardly Lion who longs for courage. When they meet the Wizard, the Wizard tells them to kill the Wicked Witch of the West in order for their wishes to be granted.
When in the Winkie Country, the Witch spies them with her sole and magic eye. She sends wolves, bees, and some of her slaves to kill them. However, her minions fail so she uses the Golden Cap to summon the Flying Monkeys who destroy the Tin Man and Scarecrow and kidnap Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion. They do not harm Dorothy due to a magical kiss placed on her by the Good Witch of the North.
At the castle, the Witch attempts to make the Lion her pet and steal Dorothy's shoes but fails. She decides to obtain the shoes by making an iron bar invisible on the floor. Dorothy trips over the bar, losing one of the slippers which is obtained by the Witch. Angered, Dorothy throws a bucket of water over the Witch, melting her and killing her.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Magic/Witchcraft: As a witch, the Wicked Witch of the West can use the ability of magic.
- Invisibility Extension: The Wicked Witch of the West uses magic to make an iron bar disappear in order to steal Dorothy's silver slippers.
- Enhanced Vision: The Witch has one magical eye that allows her to see great distances.
- Animal Control: The Wicked Witch has minions at her disposal that include her flying monkeys, Winkie guards, and a wide variety of other creatures which she controls with magic and uses to kidnap Dorothy and guard her castle.
Other Media[]
The Wizard of OZ (1939)[]
Main article: Wicked Witch of the West (1939)
Wicked[]
- Main article: [[Elphaba Thropp]]
The Wicked Witch of the West is also famously featured in the book and theatrical production Wicked, which explores her past and portrays her as a tragic character and the protagonist, while the Wizard is the true villain. Here, she is given the name Elphaba Thropp, a pun on the name L. Frank Baum. The role was originated by Idina Menzel. Her sister is Nessarose (the Wicked Witch of the East).
Sesame Street[]
The Wicked Witch and Oscar the Grouch.
The Wicked Witch of the West appears in episode 0847 of Sesame Street, where she is again portrayed by Margaret Hamilton, which will be her last. The episode was met with controversy and negativity as many parents had written letters to complain that the witch is too scary for their children. As such, the episode where the Witch appeared in was pulled from airing. It remained like that for many years until the episode resurfaced online in 2022 by an unknown person.
In the episode, the Witch flies over Sesame Street and loses her broom, causing it to fall into the hands of Sesame Street resident David. Appearing in Sesame Street, she realizes that she herself in no longer in the land of Oz. When she saw that David has her broom, she demanded that he give it back. However, David refuses to give it back to the Witch, due to her nasty attitude, unless she shows some respect. Losing patience, the Wicked Witch of the West attempts to wrest her broom away from David, but ends up getting a supernatural shock, as she had forgotten that she can't touch her broom when someone else is holding it. After warning David that she will be back, the Witch disappears in a cloud of smoke.
In Hooper's Store, David recounts of his encounter with the Witch to Maria and some children, but Maria didn't believe him until the Witch herself reappears. She again demanded her broom back but David firmly insists that she has to give him some respect. When Maria asks David to serve her and the children some water, the Witch proceeded to magically make it rain inside the store before again disappearing in a puff of smoke. When Big Bird came by, David warns him of the Witch, but like Maria, Big Bird didn't believe him as he thought that David is just using his imagination, but the latter reveals to him of what she did. When he advices Big Bird that he should go back to his nest if he wants to avoid the Witch, the bird bravely refused to do so, as he insisted that he is a very brave bird, and he resolves to help his friends if the witch ever bothers them again.
As he is looking for something that he could use to fight off the Witch, such as a stick, Big Bird, upon seeing the Witch's broom in David's hand immediately takes it and the Witch once again reappeared. When Big Bird saw her, he thinks that she is a customer, but a fearful David reveals that it is the Witch herself. Now knowing that it is really her, Big Bird threatens her to stop bothering David. Seeing that the bird is now in possession of her broom, the Witch acknowledges that he now has it as well as calling him her "feathered friend". She demanded that he give her her broom back, but Big Bird firmly refused.
When the Witch tries to grab it from him, she ends up getting a shock again, which left her pain. Now furious, the Witch warns David, who gets the broom back from Big Bird, that Hooper's Store will be more than what she had finished and threatens to turn him into a basketball. Turning to Big Bird, she magically makes a feathered duster appear in her hand, waves it at him in a threatening manner, and threatened to turn him into a feathered duster before again disappearing in a puff of smoke. Despite the threat the Witch gave him, Big Bird still remained fearless and he bravely swore to stay and help David protect Hooper's store.
Later, after stopping by the trashcan of Oscar the Grouch, she began recounting of all the events that has so far transpired, to which she enjoys, but she'll state to herself that her attempts didn't work. As she continues scheming on how she could get her broom back, Oscar, who overheard everything, immediately appears from his trashcan and tells her that she is the most beautiful person he has ever seen, causing the Witch to bark back and Oscar immediately goes back inside his can while he declares his love for her. Flattened by this, she suddenly gets the idea to disguise herself so that no one would recognize her. Now resorting to deception, she uses her magic to turn herself into an elderly woman wearing normal clothes. Now in disguise, she goes back to Hooper's Store, which is now under guard by Big Bird, who armed himself with a baseball bat and a hockey stick. The witch's disguise easily fools Big Bird, who allows her to enter the store.
Once inside, she was greeted by David, who didn't recognize her. After the Witch took a seat, both David and Maria began telling her of the Witch and on show she had zapped and threatened people, though the two had no idea that the woman they are talking to is the Witch herself. When David reveals the broom, she asks if she could hold it to which David allows. However, when she asks him to put it down on the counter, David immediately knew something is suspicious. Despite this, he, still wanting some respect, suggested that she ask nicely if she wants to hold the broom. After some stammering, the Witch, in her disguise, finally asked in a nice way as well as saying "please". Finally satisfied, David puts the broom down, allowing the Witch to reclaim it. Once the broom is back in her possession, she reveals herself. When David asks her on what she is gonna do now that she got her broom back, the Witch declares that she is gonna fly back to the land of Oz and never see Sesame Street again before going out of the store.
As the Witch prepares to leave, Maria remarks on how glad she herself is as the Witch is finally leaving, but Big Bird, who had warmed up to the Witch, is saddened to see her go, because everything became interesting and exciting to him during the Witch's stay. Hearing this, she tells him that while it was exciting for him it wasn't for her as all she wanted is to return home. She then takes off on her broom as Big Bird waves her good-bye and he, David, and Maria watched as the Witch flies away. While in the sky, she carelessly navigates without hands, causing her to lose her broom again, much to her frustration. The broom ultimately falls back into David's possession.
Crying, the latter, knowing that the Witch will come back, began lamenting on having to go through it again. While he is being comforted by Maria, the children, and Big Bird, the Wicked Witch of the West (out of sight) announces the sponsors for the episode, which are the letters "I" and "Z" and the number "9".
Paul Lynde Halloween Special[]
In the 1976 Paul Lynde Halloween Special, Margaret Hamilton again reprises her role as the Witch, this time teaming up to torment the hapless Lynde (who himself played a Warlock on Bewitched) with Billie Hayes as Witchiepoo from HR Pufnstuff.
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz[]
- Main article: Wicked Witch of the West (Muppets)
Oz: The Great and Powerful[]
- Main article: Theodora
Tom and Jerry[]
The Wicked Witch of the West is the main antagonist of Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz and a posthumous antagonist of Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz.
Once Upon a Time[]
- Main article: Zelena
The Wiz[]
- Main article: Evillene
Lego Dimensions[]
The Wicked Witch of the West appeared as the first boss in Lego Dimensions after Dorothy and her friends were captured by Lord Vortech, who was in need of her Ruby Slippers. When the Wicked Witch of the West saw the three protagonists of the game, she thought Wyldstyle was Dorothy and Batman was her dog. She then sees the keystone and orders her Flying Monkeys to get it for her. After she acquires it, she flies back to her castle. As Batman, Gandolf, and WildStyle makes their way towards her castle, she acquires new powers from the keystone and uses it to create portal everywhere. Once the heroes place cages in front of the portals to capture her, she breaks free. After that, they use the spare pieces of the cages to build a water cannon and use it to squirt her with it. She then disintegrates and falls into a portal summoned by Lord Vortech. Despite having melted, she is later seen in one piece in Vortech's headquarters, implying that she either didn't die and regenerated her body or was revived by someone else.
She also appears in the same game as a playable character, via the 71221 Fun Pack.
Space Jam: A New Legacy[]
The Wicked Witch of the West makes a cameo appearance in the 2021 film Space Jam: A New Legacy, the anticipated sequel to the 1996 Warner Bros. hybrid film Space Jam. She appears alongside other villains from other Warner Bros. properties such as Agent Smith, the 1989 incarnation of Joker, the 2017-19 incarnation of Pennywise the Dancing Clown, and Lord Voldemort as one of the speculators of Al-G Rhythm's basketball game. Much like in The LEGO Batman Movie, the Wicked Witch of the West has been reunited with Agent Smith and Lord Voldemort.
She was portrayed by Mila Kunis.
The Wonderful Galaxy of Oz/Space Oz no Bōken[]
The Wicked Witch of the West in The Wonderful Galaxy of Oz.
The Witch of the West is the main antagonist in The Wonderful Galaxy of Oz. Her spirit was imprisoned in the necklace of her daughter Gloomhilda. She wants the Rainbow Crystal so she can return to her body and rule over the Galaxy of Oz. When Gloomhilda and her henchmen arrived on the crystal castle for the Rainbow Crystal, the Witch of the West broke free from the necklace and returns to her physical form. With her in her body once again, she planned to destroy Dorothy and her friends. Once she was about to kill them all, Gloomhilda stopped her. She was admired by the heroes' way of loving and caring, she decided to be more like them, which mean being good. Her actions of redemption had angered the Witch, so she turns her own daughter into stone for ignoring the dark powers. In her flame form, she chased Dorothy and her friends, but when they escaped, the Wicked Witch transforms into a red giant monster. Dorothy and everyone makes wishes with the Rainbow Crystal and destroys the Witch on her monstrous form, then her spirit returns to Gloomhilda's (who has turned back into normal) necklace where she cannot harm anyone again.
Wicked Flying Monkeys/Guardians of Oz/Save Oz![]
During an alternative timeline of The Wizard of Oz, Glinda gave Eveline (the Wicked Witch of the West) a second chance by reviving her and stripping her of her powers (thus storing them into her broom). Much later, Eveline devises a plan where she sends one of her monkeys to give Scarecrow, Tinman, and Cowardly lion some sleeping ribs to make them fall fast asleep and then send Ozzy to quietly open the windows, unfortunately Ozzy slips and falls waking Dorothy's friends in the process, but Eveline and the other flying monkeys manage to stop them and get her broom back. Eveline then curses Scarecrow with being too knowledgeable, Tinman with being depressed, and Lion with being enraged and banishes them back to separate locations. She then turns Goliath into a chicken after he refuses to arrest his own son "Ozzy" and orders derp to arrest both of them, Ozzy flees in terror as they chase him and accidently grabs Eveline's broom, Eveline orders Ozzy to give back the broom, but Ozzy flies away with it (since her broom is only powered by fear), She then orders her soldiers to find Both Ozzy and the broom. Meanwhile, Eveline orders her minions to bring her tower over to the emerald palace (since Glinda became frozen thanks to Gabby accidently). Much later as she spends time on the throne as the new ruler of Oz, her minions come back with urgent news about Ozzy stating that he's looking for the Lion, Tinsman, and Scarecrow making Eveline more mad being forced to take drastic measures by sending her pet Wingo (a giant, winged gorilla). Much later, her minions bring Gabby instead of Ozzy (it's unknown of what relationship they share, but considering that Glinda is her aunt, it could be stated that Eveline is Gabby's mother). She uses a machine to provide a message to Oz and a warning to Ozzy that if he doesn't return with the broom then Goliath will become nothing but chicken soup. Tinsman, Lion, and Scarecrow go off to face Eveline only to have the three of them defeated easily. Ozzy then confront Eveline and then refuses to give the broom and explains to the other flying monkeys that they work for Eveline out of fear. Ozzy then breaks the broom and Eveline sobs by seeing her broom destroyed (and thinks that her magic is gone forever). The flying monkeys then rebel against her, but the broom starts to spark making her realize she still has enough power and turns all her minions into sheep, and goes to grab the other piece. Ozzy quickly grabs it and flies away, Eveline gives chase but Ozzy manages to lure her to a fountain (depicting Dorothy), causing her to fall right into it and melt again. Despite the fact that the fountain had a lot of water, it's likely that she was melted for good and never came back.
Trivia[]
- Her 1939 counterpart came in fourth place in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains countdown.
- She's also the highest rated female villain on the list since the top three villains (Hannibal Lecter, Norman Bates and Darth Vader) are all males.
- Her "and your little dog, too" line came in 99th place in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes countdown.
- Although the Wicked Witch only appears in the first book, and the Nome King is the main antagonist of the series, she was so memorable (mostly thanks to the 1939 film) that the majority of media adaptations and retellings of The Wizard of Oz feature her instead as the main antagonist.
- In the unofficial Russian adaptation of The Wizard of Oz book series, The Wizard of Emerald City by Alexander Volkov, the Wicked Witch of the West is named Bastinda, and lives in the east instead of the west. Unlike the original Wicked Witch, she lost all her magical abilities after summoning the Flying Monkeys for the third and final time, but dies the same way as the witch in the original story.
- The Sentai/Power Rangers villainess Bandora/Rita Repulsa was partly inspired by the Wicked Witch, including her cackle, riding a bike through the sky like Miss Gulch, and having a (sometimes) Flying Monkey servant, Grifforzer/Goldar. Her scheme for destroying the Dragon/Green Ranger with a cursed candle also bears similarities to how the Witch intended to kill Dorothy.
- In the original RSC production of The Wizard of Oz, the role of The Wicked Witch of the West was portrayed by the male actor, Billie Brown, similar to how a male actor portrayed the evil character of Principal Agatha Trunchbull in the original classic musical production of Matilda.
- Margaret Hamilton later became known to a new generation from a series of commercials for Maxwell House Coffee, playing Cora the Storekeeper. Reportedly, during the 1939 filming, the cast had a hard time acting scared of Hamilton, who was widely known as a kind and giving person.
- The Wicked Witch of The West appeared in The LEGO Batman Movie as one of the non-DC villains and a Phantom Zone prisoner.
- She also appeared in The LEGO Movie as one of the master builders along with MetalBeard to enter the Octan Tower and destroy the Kragle, but was captured by Lord Business.
- The late Gale Sondergaard was originally cast as the Wicked Witch of the West, but she had to drop out as she believes that the witch's persona would be too similar to Queen Grimhilde from Walt Disney's first animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the role was given to Margaret Hamilton.
- In the Berry Brick Road episode in Strawberry Shortcake, the character resembles Sour Grapes.
[]
| | ||
|
Animated Features Live-Action Features Direct-To-Video Features Animated Television Live-Action Television Video Games Shorts See Also | ||
| | ||
|
Animated Features Live-Action Films Animated Television Live-Action TV Video Games Shorts Music See Also | ||
Villains
| ||
|
Books Movies Television | ||
|
Television Movies | ||
| | ||
|
Alley Cats | Arthur Slugworth | Augustus Gloop | Barney Bear | Bulldog | Butch Cat | Butch Dog | Captain Kiddie and Squawk | Cat Guards | Devil Jerry | Dr. Applecheek | Dr. Malevolent | Dr. Zin | Drizelda | Ferdinand | Flappy | Flying Monkeys | Freddie | Gorthan | Grammy | Joey | Invincatron | James Moriarty | Jeannie | Jerry | Joseph Walters | King of the Cats | King Thingg | Lackey | Lickboot | Mechano | Mike Teavee | Mr. Salt | Nome King | Nomes | Prince John | Pristine Figg | Sheriff of Nottingham | Simon Legree | Spike | Squirty | Steed Dirkly | Straycatchers | Terrance Mendoza | Tin, Pan & Alley | Tom | Tom's Owner | Veruca Salt | Violet Beauregarde | Wicked Witch of the East | Wicked Witch of the West | Winkie Guards | Ginormous | Wolf | ||
| | ||
|
Comics Theatrical Movies Direct-to-video Movies Television 1970s Filmation series Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures The Batman (2004) Batman: The Brave and The Bold Beware the Batman Harley Quinn Batwheels Gotham Knights Batman: Caped Crusader The Penguin Bat-Fam Video Games Batman: The Caped Crusader (1988) Batman: The Video Game (1990) Batman: Return of the Joker (1991) Batman Returns (1993) Batman: The Animated Series (1993) The Adventures of Batman & Robin (1994) Batman Forever (1996) Batman and Robin (1998) Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000) Batman: Chaos in Gotham (2001) Batman: Gotham City Racer (2001) Batman: Vengeance (2001) Batman: Dark Tomorrow (2003) Batman: Toxic Chill Batman: Justice Unbalanced Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (2003) Batman Begins (2005) Lego Batman: The Videogame Batman: Arkham Asylum Batman: The Brave and the Bold - The Videogame Batman: Arkham City Batman: Arkham City Lockdown Gotham City Impostors Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Injustice (2013-2017) Batman: Arkham Origins Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate Batman (2013 arcade game) Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham Batman: Arkham Knight Batman: Arkham Underworld Batman: The Telltale Series Batman: Arkham VR Batman: The Enemy Within Gotham Knights Batman: Arkham Shadow Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight See Also | ||
| | ||
|
Super Secret Police Phantom Zone Criminals Others | ||
| | ||
|
Bad Guys See Also | ||
| The Headlined Antagonists | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
2013
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
2015
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
2016
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
2017
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
2018
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
2019
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
2020
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
2021
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
2022
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
2023
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
2024
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
2025
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
2026
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
