List of magicians in fantasy
Famous magicians in fantasy fiction include the following: For witches, see List of fictional witches
Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends
Written fiction
- Abhaydatta is the wizard/healer from the fantasy series, The Conch Bearer, created by the author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.
- Adbaldar from Domdaniel in Robert Southey's oriental poem Thalaba: the Destroyer.
- 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].
- Alice Deane, Tom's Mam and various antagonists in the children's fantasy series The Wardstone Chronicles.
- 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.
- Anton Gorodetsky, main protagonist and narrator of three of the four Night Watch novels by Sergei Lukyanenko is a Light Magician for the Moscow Night Watch (although in the film version of Night Watch he was presented as a seer instead of a magician). Initially merely a moderately powerful magician, by the later books of the series he became a Higher Magician, one of the most powerful
- 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 the name of an Order and not the specific 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').
- Ben Adeaphon Delat (Quick Ben) is a Mage of reputation in the 'Malazan books of the Fallen' By Steven Erikson.
- 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, Mazirian the Magician, 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 be found, among other places, in the Unseen University. One of the predominant wizards in the series is Rincewind, although he only uses magic on extremely rare occasions.
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- Elric of Melniboné - often called a sorcerer or a wizard - from Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné and its sequels.
- Eridanus, Nequam, Djutoris and others - from the Guptara Twins' Insanity Saga (Conspiracy of Calaspia and sequels)
- 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.
- Goblin, One-Eye, Silent, Tom-Tom, The Lady and The Ten Who Were Taken From Glen Cook's The Black Company
- 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.
- Grubbs Grady from Darren Shan's Demonata is a magician, werewolf and part of the Kah-Gash.
- 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.
- Gorice XII, King of Witchland, in The Worm Ouroboros by E. R. Eddison.
- 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 and Lily Potter) are called witches.
- Harry Dresden is a Wizard up for hire for investigating crimes The Dresden Files series 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.
- Queen Jadis also known as The White Witch from The Magician's Nephew and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian of Narnia by C. S. Lewis.
- "The Magus," the eponymous title character in the novel by Alex Sumner.[1]
- Maugraby from Domdaniel in the continued story of the Arabian Nights by Dom Chaves and Cazotte.
- Mauryl Gestaurien, last of the ancient Galasieni race of C. J. Cherryh's Fortress series.
- Mr Majeika protagonist of a series of children's books that bear his name in the title - later adapted for television.
- 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.
- Nathaniel a.k.a.John Mandrake and other magicians from The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud.
- 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 Belgariad.
- 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 and Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander - Wizards; central characters from Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind.
- 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.
- Various Sith sorcerers in Star Wars.
- Various characters in the ongoing Skulduggery Pleasant series of children's books by Derek Landy
- Sonea, Rothen, Akkarin, Dannyl and others in The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan. The series centres around a "Magician's guild". Hence, most of the characters wield magic.
- Tayschrenn, High Mage of the Malazan Empire in the Malazan books of the Fallen by Steven Erikson.
- 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 travels.
- Wodehed, Flaggatis, Maghatch, and others in the Welkin Weasels series.
- 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.
- Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi, and Pang Tong, although not truly mentioned in the story, was a magician who called on mystic powers to aid them in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Dungeons & Dragons
The role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons by TSR, Inc., 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 wizards are Elminster and Khelben.
- 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.
- Mystara: Countless Wizards exist on Alphatia, such as Haldemar of Haaken, Terari and Empress Eriadna, while some notable wizards of the Known World are Étienne d'Amberville, Demetrion Karagenteropoulos, Bargle the Infamous, Claransa the Seer, Jagger von Drachenfels, Dolores Hillsbury, and Kol XIV.
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.
- Doctor Doom is a supervillian appearing in the Marvel Universe.
- Henrot, Necross the Mad, the Flame Jewel Wizard, and Charles X. Claremont are all wizards in the Cerebus universe.
- Huckleberry Yiucko (his nickmane is Huck) is a wise teenage medieval wizard and Daishiko, Maude, Keishin, Hana and the Kinghs's master in the upcoming Dark and Light Elemental Ages from Warlords comics by Marie-Eve April-Dufour.
- Shazam, the ancient Egyptian wizard who gives Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family their powers.
- Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia are the main protagonists and mages of the manga/anime series Fairy Tail.
- 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 was shown to be able to control the elements of wind, fire, water, and earth before being robbed of his intelligence, now wielding a form of shadow magic, allowing him to slip in and out of shadows at will.
- 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.
- There are at least two wizards in The World of David the Gnome. The first is Tiraland, a mischievous little wizard who could turn rocks into gold. Then he stole all the gold from the king. The second is Pondent do Rey, a human wizard and friend of David's. He lives in the Himalays, and he has many magic mirrors.
- Lina Inverse, of The Slayers is a young sorceress and heroine of the series who is extremely powerful. She is able to cast many varied spells with a high degree of proficiency, ease, and power (most take no more than a couple of seconds to cast; many are instant). She specializes in black magic, which is unusual for a protagonist. She also has the unique ability to draw power from the Lord of Nightmares to use spells made from chaos itself. In addition, she has access to a few limited healing and protection spells. Her abilities are significantly more varied than most wizards/sorcerers/mages appearing in fiction.
- Zatanna in the DC Comics universe.
Television and film
- 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.
- Sorcerers and sorcery are a staple of Chinese wu xia fiction and are dramatically featured in many martial arts movies.
- Max Russo, Alex Russo, and Justin Russo are all wizards in the Disney Channel Original Series Wizards of Waverly Place.
- Serinda Swan portrayed the magician Zatanna in the Smallville television series, episode Hex.
- Sabrina Spellman, her family and various others in the movie Sabrina the Teenage Witch and its later television adaptations. Interestingly, the term "witch" is used for both male and female spellcasters.
- Chris Halliwell, Wyatt Halliwell, Prue Halliwell, Piper Halliwell, Phoebe Halliwell, Paige Matthews, Patricia Halliwell, Penny Halliwell, Melinda Warren are witches in the television series Charmed.
- Samantha, the main character of the 60s and early 70s television series Bewitched.
Video games
- Crispin 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.
- Manannan and Mordack are two evil wizards featured in the King's Quest series.
- Mondain, Minax and Exodus opposed the player in the first three Ultima games.
- Ad Avis, Aziza, Erana, Erasmus, Henry the hermit, Zara, Keapon Laffin and a few others are all wizards from the game series Quest for Glory.
- Khadgar, Medivh, Jaina Proudmore and Gul'Dan are all prominent wizards of the WarCraft universe (the latter being of the warlock variety).
- In the Kingdom Hearts series, the Disney Character Donald Duck is portrayed as the magician of King Mickey's Court.
- Marisa Kirisame, the secondary protagonist of Touhou Project.
- Tohsaka Rin,the secondary Heroine of Fate/Stay night
- In the Dragon Age series, mages are common place and the player can even choose to play as a Mage. Notable mages are First Enchanters of a country's Circle of Magi, Morrigan, Anders, and countless others.
Note
In some fictional and game settings, wizard or a similar term is the name for a "race" or species, not just a job title.
For example:
References
- ^ Sumner, A, 2009, The Magus, Bihutys Books, London.