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Is Gandalf a conjurer of cheap tricks?
- Thread starter Dalek
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Knightmarre
Member
He's as strong as Sauron.
cool smoking tricks too.
Zap Rowsdower
Banned
He's the Middle Earth equivalent of an angel pretty much.
Pfft; he freed Theoden King from Saruman's control, rallied the Rohirrim against an army of 10,000 strong, and survived a confrontation with the Witch King of Angmar.
Did he though?
Zap Rowsdower
Banned
He never did get that fight money. RIP.
Honestly Lord of the Rings came off as way more low end on the magic scale than I'd have expected, but I guess that was a period when magic was going away and Gandalf pointedly had self restraint there which is why he stayed good unlike Saruman or Sauron and had to refuse carrying the ring.
uh yeah. and even if he didn't, he single handedly fought him off and saved the fellowship, thus ensuring the entire world was saved. he put in so much effort that god himself resurrected gandalf and gave him saruman's job. that shit is CRAZY
Enosh
Member
Sauron, the Balrog and the wizards are all more or less the same type of being, Maiar, but the wizards were limited in the abilities they were allowed to use
Team Filler
Member
Not only is a conqueror, but he's also got a winning laugh.
Beren the Empty-Handed
Member
As an Ainur he is extremely powerful - he existed before the creation of the world. But all five of the wizards have had their power deliberately reduced by a large amount, and even then they purposefully hide what they can do.
After the disaster with Numenor, the Valar decided to take a more hands-off approach to helping the peoples of Middle-Earth. But at the same time they didn't want to abandon them to Sauron's machinations. So they sent five Ainur to Middle-Earth in the guise of five old men, who were then called wizards. Their purpose was to inspire, not to force, which is the main reason why they've had their powers limited. Think counselor, not warrior (although of course they're still capable of kicking ass). This is why they don't immediately start tearing shit up when stuff gets real - that's not their goal. But of course if they need to they will unleash some of their power - such as when Gandalf faces the Balrog, another Ainur of sorts.
So the answer you're looking for is: no, Gandalf is not just a conjurer of cheap tricks.
After the disaster with Numenor, the Valar decided to take a more hands-off approach to helping the peoples of Middle-Earth. But at the same time they didn't want to abandon them to Sauron's machinations. So they sent five Ainur to Middle-Earth in the guise of five old men, who were then called wizards. Their purpose was to inspire, not to force, which is the main reason why they've had their powers limited. Think counselor, not warrior (although of course they're still capable of kicking ass). This is why they don't immediately start tearing shit up when stuff gets real - that's not their goal. But of course if they need to they will unleash some of their power - such as when Gandalf faces the Balrog, another Ainur of sorts.
So the answer you're looking for is: no, Gandalf is not just a conjurer of cheap tricks.
Herr Schwarz
Banned
He only really gets involved against other higher plane entities.
But his magic use was pretty lame
But his magic use was pretty lame
There was an elective class on solely Tolkien literature back in my college. They were going to go over his major works and discuss the background of where he got his inspiration as well as delve deep into the myths and culture of his world.
Alas I didn't take it. One of my great regrets
I'm sure there's a YouTube masterclass type series though if I looked hard enough
Alas I didn't take it. One of my great regrets
I'm sure there's a YouTube masterclass type series though if I looked hard enough
titiklabingapat
Member
He is equal to Sauron before Sauron put all his malice into the One Ring. His earthly form is intentionally nerfed, however.
Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku!
Member
He's a celestial being who has been around since the beginning of time
titiklabingapat
Member
Why do that when you got Eagles?
Every Tolkien thread will inevitably go talk about the Eagles.
The Istari (Wizards) were sent to Middle Earth by the Valar to inspire the Elves, Dwarfs, Men etc. to fight against and defeat Sauron on their own. The last time the Valar intervened directly (to defeat the original dark lord) it was so destructive that one third of the continent sank into the sea.
As such, most of Gandalf's work is seeing that other's succeed. His great strengths were vigilance and the ability to inspire others. Just look at how throughout the books people stop despairing and start fighting back whenever he arrives on the scene. Theoden is the most obvious case, but it goes all the way back to him getting Thorin to go and mount an expedition against Smaug.
Which isn't to say he doesn't act on his own on occasion. As has been noted he killed a Balrog. He also drove off the Ringwraiths when attacked by them on Weathertop. He confronts Saruman and deprives him of his power.
In the end though, he wants others to be the ones to bring victory to the free races of Middle-Earth. The Hobbits, and Aragorn especially were watched over by him carefully their whole lifes, and could be said to be pupils of him.
As such, most of Gandalf's work is seeing that other's succeed. His great strengths were vigilance and the ability to inspire others. Just look at how throughout the books people stop despairing and start fighting back whenever he arrives on the scene. Theoden is the most obvious case, but it goes all the way back to him getting Thorin to go and mount an expedition against Smaug.
Which isn't to say he doesn't act on his own on occasion. As has been noted he killed a Balrog. He also drove off the Ringwraiths when attacked by them on Weathertop. He confronts Saruman and deprives him of his power.
In the end though, he wants others to be the ones to bring victory to the free races of Middle-Earth. The Hobbits, and Aragorn especially were watched over by him carefully their whole lifes, and could be said to be pupils of him.
KeyBladerXIII
Member
He made a boat out of smoke, that's some high level shit.
Only Sargeras can beat himself if we're going to involve Blizzard storytelling antics, and this isn't the thread for trash-tier fantasy.
Aaronology
Member
Aye. And one of my favorite magical feats in the cinematic universe is Galadriel utterly vaporizing an orc(?) holding Gandalf captive.
somuchwater
Member
I dunno. I loved the LOTR trilogy movies when they came out but now I've swung around to Christopher Tolkein's view: Jackson turned the stories into cheap action movies.
True of the Hobbit movies, not the LOTR movies.
But he didn't die like a bitch.
Killing a fucking Balrog wasn't hint enough at how badass Gandalf the Grey was?
...and Gandalf the White is even more powerful.
Herr Schwarz
Banned
When's the remake of lord of the rings coming anyway.
Should be soonish. What's the earliest in terms of time frame Hollywood has taken and remade a movie?
Should be soonish. What's the earliest in terms of time frame Hollywood has taken and remade a movie?
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