| NOTE: This page is only for the Wizard of Oz's characterization in Wicked, considering the original novel counterpart was not voted Inconsistently Heinous. Therefore, only the musical version's info and crimes should be listed here. |
The Wizard of Oz is the main antagonist of the 2003 Broadway musical Wicked based on the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.
Unlike his original incarnation, who is a deceitful yet good-hearted conman, this version is a cunning and power-hungry dictator willing to do anything necessary to keep hold of his control over Oz. He is also the illegitimate father of Elphaba Thropp.
He is portrayed by Joel Grey.
His Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Him Heinous?[]
- Despite having some comedic lines in his songs, his crimes are taken 100% seriously. These moments also only exist to build up the facade he holds as a whimsical man with everyone’s best interests in mind, with them no longer appearing after the reveal of what he did to Dr. Dillamond.
- While the song Wonderful seems to imply he had the position of Oz’s ruler thrust upon him and was only doing what he could to keep his citizens happy, in same song, it eventually becomes clear that what he really cares about is the positive attention he receives as the wizard.
- He attempted to scapegoat the animals of Oz so the citizens would have an enemy to focus on instead of his incompetent leadership following a drought he failed to prevent.
- He is a notorious womanizer who would go around different towns and sleep with several women, regardless of whether they were married or far younger than him. He did this with Elphaba's mother and attempted to do the same with a barely legal Glinda.
- He is responsible for the mutilation and conditioning of many talking animals in Oz as a means of removing their speech. We see this in effect with Dr. Dillamond after Elphaba uncovers him.
- He intended to raise the future animals of Oz in cages so they would never learn to speak, with the cowardly lion being one of the first victims. His crusade against animals is also a case of cultural genocide as he was attempting to remove every right they had as a sentient creature.
- He tricked Elphaba into casting a spell that transmuted his monkey servants to give them wings so he could use them as spies. The process was shown to be incredibly painful for the monkeys.
- He painted Elphaba as a villain in the eyes of the people of Oz, blaming her for the treatment of the animals.
- He went along with Madame Morrible's plan to drop Dorothy's house on Elphaba's sister, Nessarose, to draw her out.
- He was initially satisfied upon believing Dorothy has killed Elphaba and considered his battle won.
- While the events of the original Wizard of Oz story took place the same in Wicked, it's made clear the Wizard's actions there were done solely for pragmatic reasons, and his treatment of Dorothy and her friends was faux affability.
- Although, he willingly left his position as Oz’s ruler due to his remorse over thinking he killed his daughter, this isn’t a true redemption since he felt no remorse for all his other crimes.
What Makes Him Inconsistent[]
- While far from a well-intentioned extremist since he objectively made Oz a worse place, he does genuinely care for his citizens and views them as his family, even if said care doesn't extend to the animals.
- He is slightly affable to Elphaba and Glinda, opening up to them about his familial desires and giving Elphaba multiple opportunities to join him, even being willing to free his flying monkeys in return.
- After discovering that Elphaba was his daughter, he is left a broken and remorseful man due to believing he killed her. He was so hurt by this revelation that he goes along with Glinda's order that he retire as Oz's ruler without putting up a fight, despite his claim to power being what motivated all his crimes previously, essentially abandoning his evil ways out of remorse (if for just one of his crimes).
- His final scene is played for sympathy as he solemnly sings a second rendition of Sentimental Man, now darkly ironic considering he seemingly sentenced his only chance at a real family to death.
Trivia[]
- In the original novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, the wizard is far worse than his Broadway counterpart as, while the Broadway version conceived Elphaba through a secret affair with her mother, his novel counterpart drugged Elphaba's mother and conceived her through rape. He also only left Oz out of concern for his own safety after a coup attempted to overthrow and kill him, feeling no remorse for his crimes.
- He is one of the two characters from Land of Oz media to be inconsistently heinous, alongside Theodora from Oz the Great and Powerful.
External Links[]
- Wizard of Oz on the Villains Wiki.