List of magicians in fantasy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This literature-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

This film, television, or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

It has been suggested that Magi in fantasy fiction and games be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Famous magicians in fantasy fiction include the following:

1 Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends
2 Written fiction
- 2.1 Dungeons & Dragons
3 Comics and animation
4 Television and film
5 Video games
6 Note

[edit] Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends

Merlin, from the British mythology surrounding King Arthur, is an example of a well-known wizard.

Circe -- Greek sorceress
Merlin - the famous wizard from Arthurian legends and their modern retellings.
Morgan le Fay -- an enchantress in both the Matter of Britain and the Matter of France
The Telchines - four wizards of ancient Greek myths.
Väinämöinen - the grand wizard of Kalevala
Gwydion -- Welsh
Atlantes -- an evil sorcerer in the Matter of France
The wizard in the fairy tale of The Wizard King.
Farmer Weathersky
Baba Yaga
Fitcher in the fairy tale Fitcher's Bird
The master in the fairy tale The Thief and His Master
The master in the fairy tale Master and Pupil
The magician king in the fairy tale Penta of the Chopped-off Hands
Fioravante in the fairy tale Cannetella
The witch in the fairy tale Prunella
The witch in the fairy tale The Canary Prince
The old woman in the fairy tale The She-Bear
The wizard in the fairy tale Aladdin
The witch in the fairy tale The Bird of Truth
The witch in the fairy tale Esben and the Witch
The wizard in the fairy tale The False Prince and the True
The magician in the fairy tale The Glass Coffin
The magician in the fairy tale The Magician's Horse
The witch in the fairy tale The Old Witch
The witch in the fairy tale The White Dove
The witch in the fairy tale Rapunzel
The troll witch in the fairy tale The Twelve Wild Ducks
The magician in the fairy tale Water and Salt
Fairy tales about good and bad wizards are collected in A Book of Wizards, by Ruth Manning-Sanders

[edit] Written fiction

See also: Category:Characters in written fantasy

Abhaydatta is the wizard/healer from the fantasy series, The Conch Bearer, created by the author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.
Aes Sedai are female wielders of the One Power from Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. They are human beings born with either the spark of the ability in them or the opportunity to learn (2% of total population). Aes Sedai is an Order, not the general name for a female Channeler. Aes Sedai were once an Order of both men and women but this has changed because of historical events.
Akthuri is the wizard from The Dragonfighters of Kulamain, young adult fantasy/adventure novel by Karen M. Penn ^[1].
Allanon is a wizard, also known as a druid and historian, from the Shannara series, which was created by Terry Brooks.
An anonymous magician in The Charwoman's Shadow by Lord Dunsany both dispenses magic and threatens the other characters by tricking them into giving up their shadows.
Archimago -- an evil enchanter in The Faerie Queene.
Asha'man are male wielders of the One Power from Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. They are human beings born with either the spark of the ability in them or the opportunity to learn. As with the Aes Sedai the Asha'man is only an Order and not the general name of a male Channeler.
Belgarath - created by David Eddings as a leading character for The Belgariad series of fantasy novels (also called 'Belgarath the Sorcerer' or 'The Eternal Man').
Bloyse - also known as Blaise, Blaze; Merlin's master/instructor in the Arthurian tradition.
Channeler, a wielder of the One Power in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. Different titles are given to Channelers of different gender and in different cultures.
Chun the Unavoidable, Rhialto the Marvelous, and others - from Jack Vance's Dying Earth stories.
Chrestomanci in Charmed Life and sequels by Diana Wynne Jones
Dallben is a magician in The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander.
In the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, wizards are numerous, and can normally be found in the Unseen University. One of the predominant wizards in the series is Rincewind, although he only uses magic on extremely rare occasions.

The Dean of Unseen University in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series is not named, but is a senior wizard and recurring character.
Mustrum Ridcully - Archancellor of Unseen University throughout most of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.
Ponder Stibbons is the Head of Inadvisably Applied Magic at Unseen University in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels.
Rincewind - strictly a "Wizzard" (it says so on his hat) and the wizards of Unseen University - from many of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels.

Elric of Melniboné - often called a sorcerer or a wizard - from Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné and its sequels.
Eric, from Eric by Terry Pratchett
Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, Alatar and Pallando - from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings - are called Wizards, but are really supernatural beings called Maia. In the Middle-earth legendarium, "wizard" is a term applied only to the five members of the Order of the Istari. While other practitioners of magic exist in Middle-earth, they are never referred to as wizards. No purely human character has power to work magic. Non-wizard naming examples include: Sorceress of the Golden Wood, The Witch-king of Angmar, and The Necromancer.
Ogion and Ged (Earthsea) (Sparrowhawk) from Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea book series, the most well-known of which is A Wizard of Earthsea, first published in 1968.
Gereth Yaztromo is a major wizard in the world of Titan, which was created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone.
Gideon is a 13th century wizard in the Hatching Magic series by Ann Downer. Other wizards in the series include Iain Merlin O'Shea, Harvard professor, Margery MacVanish, and Septimus Silvertongue.
Harry Potter, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Lord Voldemort, and all other non-Muggle male characters from J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and its sequels are called wizards. The female practitioners of magic (such as Hermione Granger) are called witches.
Harry Dresden is a Wizard up for hire for investigating crimes the Dresden File books by Jim Butcher
Howell Jenkins in Dian Wynne Jones book Howl's Moving Castle
Iucounu the Laughing Magician. From Jack Vance's Dying Earth series.
J. Wellington Wells ("a dealer in magic and spells") - the eponymous Sorcerer of Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta, who also features in two books by Tom Holt.
Mauryl Gestaurien, last of the ancient Galasieni race of C. J. Cherryh's Fortress series
Michael Scot - protagonist of Michael Scott Rohan's The Lord of Middle Air - a historical figure and an ancestor of the author!
Merlin, the wizard, associated with King Arthur, also in Spenser's The Faerie Queene.
Morgon was the riddlemaster of Hed in books by author Patricia A. McKillip.
Ningauble of the Seven Eyes and Sheelba of the Eyeless Face are the sorcerous advisors for Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, in Fritz Leiber's Swords series. They are (apparently) unhuman, and they aid (in other words, complicate the lives of) the two rogue heroes. Sheelba is noted as being female in Knight and Knave of Swords.
Polgara the Sorceress - The Belgeriad.
Prospero, (The Tempest by Shakespeare)
Proteus - converted from Greek god to magician in Spenser's The Faerie Queene.
Pug (also known as Milamber) is the wizard protagonist of the fantasy books by Raymond E. Feist.
Richard Rahl - The central character from Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. Richard's original name was Richard Cypher, and he is married to Kahlan Amnell, the Mother Confessor, also a supernatural being.
Randall Flagg, an evil entity from Stephen King's epic The Stand, often appears as a "wizard" in the author's other works. Notably in the Dark Tower series as Walter o'Dim (The Man in Black) and Marten Broadcloak (Steven Deschain's magician). He also plays the part of the antagonist in Eyes of the Dragon as "Flagg," King Roland's advisor.
Thoth-amon in The Phoenix on the Sword, Tsotha-lanti in The Scarlet Citadel and Yara in The Tower of the Elephant are examples of evil wizards from the stories about Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard.
Väinämöinen (Kalevala)
The Wizard and The Wicked Witch of the West from L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The wizard is a stage magician pretending to be a genuine wizard. In the 1939 movie version the wizard was also a fake. However, in later Oz stories, he studies magic with Glinda and becomes a genuine wizard. See Wizard (Oz).
Wizard Whitebeard in Martin Handford's Where's Wally? series is often the instigator of Wally's travells.
Young Wizards: Diane Duane describes wizards as emissaries of "the One" (see God), who take an oath to use powers beyond the comprehension of a non-wizard in the service of life, to keep entropy, personified as a Lone Power, under control and therefore delay the demise of the universe. They are said to still exist in the present day, but due to negative public perception, work undercover.
Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander is a prominent wizard in the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind.

[edit] Dungeons & Dragons

See also: Category:Fictional arcane spellcasters (Dungeons & Dragons)

The role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons by TSR, later bought out by Wizards of the Coast and then Hasbro, has several settings in which novels have been written. See also Category:Fictional arcane spellcasters (Dungeons & Dragons).

Greyhawk: Wizards of Greyhawk include Mordenkainen, Bigby, Drawmij, Evard, Leomund, Melf, Nystul, Otiluke, Rary, Tasha, and Tenser.
Forgotten Realms: Wizards are featured in many of the Forgotten Realms fantasy novels and RPGs. The most famous wizard is Elminster.
Dragonlance: Raistlin Majere was a very powerful mage in the Dragonlance fantasy series. Other mages in Dragonlance include Magius, Palin Majere, Par-Salian, Dalamar and Fistandantilus among (many) others. Fizban is the mortal avatar of the god Paladine from the Dragonlance fantasy novels.

[edit] Comics and animation

Avatar One of the prophesied twins born in the post apocalyptic movie Wizards. Avatar, the good son, is human and seeks a passive life of non-aggression in order to avoid responsibility for the bloodshed and despair prophesied. He defeats his evil brother Blackwolf, who tries to take over their world machinery gleaned from an old Nazi war reel.
Blackwolf The evil twin of Avatar, who uses magic to create Nazi machinery from an old projector and war film. Blackwolf's disastrous attempts to assassinate his brother compel Avatar to marshal forces against Blackwolf, leading to the ultimate confrontation.
Doctor Fate is a sorcerer and superhero in stories published by DC Comics.
Doctor Strange is a superhero and Sorcerer Supreme appearing in the Marvel Universe.
Henrot, Necross the Mad, the Flame Jewel Wizard, and Charles X. Claremont are all wizards in the Cerebus universe.
Shazam, the ancient Egyptian wizard who gives Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family their powers.
The Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon series mentions two wizards; one named Lazaar who had slept for centuries until his computer of magic spells was stolen, forcing the title character to retrieve it for him with his famous speed as collateral, and another named Naugus who creates an alternate dimension known as the Void, only to be double-crossed by Robotnik and trapped inside it. Naugus also appears in the comic books based on the cartoon, wherein he's shown to be able to control the elements of wind, fire, water, and earth.
Tim Hunter, the young wizard in the Books of Magic comic by Neil Gaiman and others.
John Constantine, of Hellblazer
Wizardmon of the Digimon series is one example of the few Wizard-type Digimon.
Pitbullfan#1 of the TL/FWI series is one example of a Grand Wizard. Has the ability to quote, post emoticons, and also youthful information on the internets. Can also log-off line, turn off his computer and get in bed all before his parents catch him on the internet late night.

[edit] Television and film

Tim the Enchanter (John Cleese) from Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Astoroth, the medieval wizard whose spells are central to the plot of the Disney film Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Catweazle of the british tv-series with the same name. A magician fleeing from the Normans to modern England.
Obi-Wan Kenobi, as a master of the Force, has some wizard-like attributes in George Lucas' Star Wars films: "That wizard's just a crazy old man" said Uncle Owen to Luke Skywalker in Episode IV: A New Hope.

Sorcerers and sorcery are a staple of Chinese wu xia fiction and are dramatically featured in many martial arts movies.

[edit] Video games

Crispinophur is the wizard that helped King Graham in the King's Quest computer game series created by Roberta Williams and produced by the game company Sierra Entertainment.
Mondain was the villainous wizard of the first Ultima game.
Khadgar, Medivh, and Gul'Dan are all prominent wizards of the WarCraft universe (the latter being of the warlock variety).