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- NOTE: This page is for the mainstream version of Gandalf. You may be looking for his Peter Jackson counterpart or his animated counterparts.
| “ | All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. | „ |
| ~ Gandalf to Frodo. |
| “ | You cannot pass, I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass. | „ |
| ~ Gandalf to Durin's Bane. |
| “ | This, then, is my counsel, we have not the Ring. In wisdom or great folly it has been sent away to be destroyed, lest it destroy us. Without it we cannot by force defeat Sauron's force. But we must at all costs keep his Eye from his true peril… We must call out his hidden strength, so that he shall empty his land… We must make ourselves the bait, though his jaws should close on us… We must walk open-eyed into that trap, with courage, but small hope for ourselves. For, my lords, it may well prove that we ourselves shall perish utterly in a black battle far from the living lands; so that even if Barad-dûr be thrown down, we shall not live to see a new age. But this, I deem, is our duty. | „ |
| ~ Gandalf's plan to defeat Sauron once and for all. |
Olórin, known in Middle-Earth as Gandalf, is the main protagonist of the Middle-earth legendarium by J. R. R. Tolkien.
He is a very old, wise, and powerful wizard, and one of the five Maiar who entered the world of Arda at the dawn of creation before becoming the Istari. Once a member of the high order of wizards, he travels all around Middle-earth visiting friends and embarking on journeys. Being thousands of years old, he is known far and wide by all men, elves, dwarves, hobbits, and evil such as Sauron and Orcs. He is the servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor, which is said where he is to be from. During the Third Age, he guides Frodo in destroying the One Ring and participates in several battles during the War of the Ring. He offers to guide Frodo to Mordor to destroy the Ring and several comrades of all races join them.
Appearance[]
Gandalf, in his mortal form, appears as an old man with long white hair and, his most noticeable trait, a long white beard. He is below average height of humans but is deceptively physically strong. He is also noted for having piercing and analytical eyes.
As Gandalf the Grey, he wore grey robes (hence his nickname), black boots, a silver scarf and a pointy blue hat. He was rarely ever seen without his wizard staff, and after the Journey to Erebor, carried the sword Glamdring with him. After being resurrected following his battle with Durin's Bane as Gandalf the White, he wore white robes.
Personality[]
Gandalf was wise, kind, witty, humorous, intelligent, mysterious, empathetic and compassionate. He seemed to always know exactly what to do in almost any situation. He was also known to be enigmatic, and most people rarely knew what Gandalf's plans were or what he was thinking. He came and went as he goes, and yet he always managed to appear whenever he was needed most. As a student of the Vala Nienna, he was widely regarded as the wisest of all the Maiar.
In addition to his wisdom, Gandalf also possessed a tremendous amount of empathy and compassion. When Frodo noted that it was a pity that Bilbo didn't kill Gollum when he had the chance, Gandalf corrected him by saying it was pity that led Bilbo to spare Gollum. He added this by saying while saying there are many people who live who deserve death, there are also many people who died when they did not deserve it. Even after Saruman's betrayal and all the pain and suffering he caused, Gandalf was willing to give Saruman another chance to redeem himself before breaking him staff and banishing him from the Istari.
Gandalf was also a brave and inspirational leader, capable of rallying a vast array of allies to aide him in his fight against evil. Indeed, this was his purpose as an Istari, and he was the only Wizard who never strayed from this path. His ability to rival hope is nearly unrivalled and is seen as a savior of Middle-Earth. He is a strong and wise leader, being intelligent, wise, brave, charismatic, inspirational and just.
He was also known for his sense of humor and his short temper. He is described as being equally prone to laughter as he is to anger. He is a loyal and loving but also brutally honest friend who was not afraid to state his thoughts. Many characters are frightened by Gandalf's anger. His anger was also shown when he lashes out at Pippin, telling him to throw himself down a well. Despite his anger, Gandalf was also known to be very forgiving and never held a grudge very long, even toward Pippin, despite the hobbit's reputation for clumsiness.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
As a Maiar, or lesser Ainur, Gandalf is one of the strongest beings in all of Middle-Earth. He is in essence an angel, and as such is completely immortal. He is older than the universe itself and aided in its creation at the Ainulindale, the Music of the Ainur. As Gandalf the Grey, his strength is rivaled only by Durin's Bane and surpassed only by Saruman and Sauron in Middle-Earth. As Gandalf the White, his powers strengthen considerably and he surpasses Saruman, leaving Sauron the only character more powerful than he is. However, due to his station as a wizard, he uses magic very rarely, as he was tasked by strengthening and aiding the people of Middle-Earth by inspiring courage as opposed to overpowering through magic.
- Enhanced Strength: Gandalf has shown to be stronger than the average man, being able to grapple a Balrog.
- Enhanced Speed: Gandalf can move faster than most men. He is swift enough to pass through enemy flanks unhindered and to give his enemies difficulty hitting him with projectile weaponry.
- Enhanced Durability: Gandalf was capable of taking extended punishment from a Balrog and only fell after multiple days of injuries. As Gandalf the White, he became impervious to non-magical attacks and weaponry.
- Enhanced Stamina: Gandalf's stamina enables him to exert himself at peak capacity for very long periods of time without tiring at all.
- Enhanced Endurance: When pressed into long battles, Gandalf has shown to be capable of fighting for multiple days straight without tiring.
- Spells: Being a wizard, Gandalf can cast various spells for a variety of magical effects.
- Illumination: A spell that produces light from Gandalf's staff, allowing him to see in dark places.
- Blinding Light: An enhanced version of Illumination that allows Gandalf to strike his foes with a blast of light resembling a magnified sunbeam. Despite dealing little to no damage, it renders his enemies blinded for a period of time.
- Commanding Voice: Gandalf can control most people with his voice, as he did with Saruman the White when he found himself being turned as if he was being dragged against his own will.
- Magical Kinesis: This spell allows Gandalf to telekinetically push back his foes with his staff, even being powerful enough to disarm his enemies in the process.
- Lightning Strike: Gandalf can summon lightning bolts from the sky, such as when he killed several goblins whilst escaping their horde. He can also channel the lightning through objects.
- Sword of Power: Gandalf can channel lightning through Glamdring to enhance its striking power, suck as when he used it to slay Durin's Bane.
- Counter-Spell: Gandalf can counter any magical spell to negate its effects. However, Gandalf's counter-spell is shown to have limits, and he can't dispel any magic more powerful than his own.
- Light of the Valar: Gandalf can cast a lightning bolt projectile at his enemies. The spell can be upgraded to light enemies ablaze (presumably with Narya) when struck, or even further to become a beam of light that passes through enemies while also setting them on fire.
- Healing (an extent): Gandalf chanted a healing spell that had woken Thorin Oakenshield after he had fallen unconscious from his fight with Azog and later healed Thráin's mind after he drove into madness. As the white wizard, Gandalf healed Pippin after he was stunned by the Palantír (An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug, The Return of the King)
- Telepathy: Gandalf can read people's minds in an attempt to access their memories. He can even control people's minds and make them complete tasks against their own will like he once did with Gimli.
- Fire: Enhanced by Narya, Gandalf can produce a magical flame of varying colors. He most notably used this where he lit pine cones ablaze which could be thrown as explosive projectiles. As Gandalf can produce green, red, or blue flames, his fires can range anywhere from 327° Celsius to 1,600° Celsius.
- Call Gwaihir: When Gandalf has to in a desperate moment of need, he whispers to a grey moth to contact Gwaihir, the Lord of the Eagles. When he does this, Gwaihir summons a band of large eagles to aid Gandalf in his fight.
- Call Shadowfax: Due to their special connection, Gandalf can call upon Shadowfax, the lord of all horses, and ride him as his steed.
- Shield of the Istari: To defend himself from physical or magical harm, Gandalf can produce a transparent dome around him powerful enough to temporarily hold off Sauron and Durin's Bane's attacks.
- Destructive Blast: Gandalf's most powerful spell as he is capable of raising his staff into the air and slamming it down onto the ground to cause a massive shock wave. Gandalf has control of the overall effects of the spell, being able to produce any effect from destroying a stone bridge to knocking back entire legions of orcs, destroying them in the process.
- Illumination: A spell that produces light from Gandalf's staff, allowing him to see in dark places.
Abilities[]
- Vast Intellect: As a Maia, Gandalf has been learning from the greatest of teachers since the dawn of time.
- Vast Wisdom: Gandalf is officially one of the wisest Maiar and acts as the mentor of his companies, offering them his wisdom from millennia of experience.
- High Charisma: Gandalf is extremely charismatic, and has been able to use his charm to gather armies in order to thwart a seemingly unstoppable threat.
- Skilled Armed Fighter: Gandalf has proven to be very proficient at sword and staff combat, being able to strike down an army's worth of foes on his own.
Weaknesses[]
- Staff Dependency: Gandalf conducts much of his magic through his staff, like Destructive Blast or Illumination. Should the staff be removed from Gandalf's grasp or destroyed, the wizard may lose much of his spell casting power.
- Defensive Nature: Because of his defending nature against all evil, Gandalf is more prone to defending himself from attack rather than taking the initiative himself, usually placing himself in a reactive position where his strategic options are much more limited. His attacks are also somewhat slow and leave him open to counterattack.
- Wizard Station: As a Wizard sent by the Valar, Gandalf and the other wizards have certain restrictions placed upon them due to being placed in mortal bodies. Their bodies, while strong and durable, are not as strong as when they were pure Maiar. Their use of magic also has a limit.
Equipment[]
- Glamdring: Gandalf wields an elven bastard sword called Glamdring, also known as Foe-Hammer. Glamdring is light enough for Gandalf to wield it with one hand easily.
- Wizard Staffs: Gandalf always carries his wizard staff in hand. It acts as a conduit for many of Gandalf's spells and he is capable of wielding it simultaneously with the Glamdring during battle. His staff as Gandalf the Grey is made of brown wood with a jewel fixed on the top that can light upon his command and as Gandalf the White, his staff got an upgrade as it is now in white in color.
- Narya, the Ring of Fire: Gandalf wears the Ring of Fire, also known as Narya, one of the three Rings of Power meant for the Elves, forged by Celebrimbor. Although Celebrimbor forged it without Sauron's knowledge, it was forged with Sauron's techniques, and therefore was connected to the One Ring.
- Willpower Enhancement:: Narya has the power to inspire others to resist tyranny, domination, and despair.
- Magical Cloak: In order to hide Gandalf from others, Narya uses its power to hide him from remote observation from all but the wearer of the One Ring or powers similar to it.
- Slowed Aging: Narya grants resistance to the weariness of time itself.
- Fiery Properties: Narya grants fire resistance to Gandalf, allowing him to shrug of fiery attacks. It can also enhance his attacks with fire-based magical properties and allows Gandalf to dispel any magical flame thrown his way.
- Fireworks: As they were created and designed by Gandalf himself, he is known to have a variety of fireworks such as Squibs, crackers, backarappers, sparklers, torches, Dwarf candles, Elf fountains, Goblin barkers, a flash of birds, green trees that transformed into possibly Mallorn trees, and a red and gold dragon. The wizard occasionally uses them in combat to stun his opponents for an extended period of time.
Quotes[]
| “ | Yet he is great among the Wise. He is the chief of my order and the head of the Council. His knowledge is deep, but his pride has grown with it, and he takes ill any meddling. The lore of the Elven-rings, great and small, is his province. | „ |
| ~ Gandalf the Grey about Saruman. |
| “ | Then darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time, and I wandered far on roads that I will not tell... Naked I was sent back – for a brief time, until my task is done. And naked I lay upon the mountain-top. ... There I lay staring upward, while the stars wheeled over, and each day was as long as a life-age of the earth. | „ |
| ~ Gandalf describing his revival and promotion into Gandalf the White. |
| “ | Your servants are destroyed and scattered; your neighbours you have made your enemies; and you have cheated your new master, or tried to do so. When his eye turns hither, it will be the red eye of wrath. But when I say 'free', I mean 'free': free from bond, of chain or command: to go where you will, even, even to Mordor, Saruman, if you desire. But you will first surrender to me the Key of Orthanc, and your staff. They shall be pledges of your conduct, to be returned later, if you merit them. | „ |
| ~ Gandalf the White demands Saruman to surrender. |
Trivia[]
- The Witch-king of Angmar does not break Gandalf's staff in the novel The Lord of the Rings, nor does he do it in the theatrical version of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. He only does so in the latter's Extended Edition.
- Had Gandalf taken the One Ring from Frodo, he would have likely become far eviler than Sauron, which Tolkien stated in one of his letters.
External Links[]
- Gandalf on the Pure Good Wiki
- Gandalf on the The Lord of the Rings Wiki
- Gandalf — Wikipedia
- Gandalf — Tolkien Gateway
