Gandalf, Dumbledore, Ebenezum...in fantasy/fiction, who's the greatest wizard or sorcerer of them all, and what makes them so great?

The wizard that Mickey is an apprentice to, because he has Mickey Mouse as an apprentice.

Rand al’Thor because he is not only the Dragon Reborn and a master of physical combat but he also was able to cleanse The Source of all magic.

Got to go with Gandalf. He’s hot!

Fizban from Dragonlance. You thought he was just a crazy sorcerer- NO!

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He’s a god.
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I’m going to go with Merlin from the Arthurian legend.

He was a total badass, wizard style. Plain and simple. At least he was in the movie Excalibur.

As much as Dumbledore is highly favoured today, I believe Tolkein’s books give us more insight into Gandalf. Of course, most people’s information about wizards comes from movies.

@toomuchcoffee911 His name is Yensid – Disney spelled backwards.

@Dr_Lawrence—Yeah, but I still think it would be cool if we had a book about Gandalf’s life, kinda like the one for Belgarath from the Belgariad. A lot of that stuff about Gandalf being some kinda holy elf and a missionary of “God” so to speak was confusing.

Among all fantasy book wizards you’ve got to go with God.

I’ll also go w/Merlin from Excalibur. I saw it after seeing Monty Python & the Holy Grail…I think that added a lot to my enjoyment.

Gandalf.

Merlin for me too, and not from any movie but from the Arthurian tales of yore. All the others are lesser imitations; Merlin was the real thing.

I think that as far as actually WIZARDING stuff, Belgarath beats Gandalf. I mean what does Gandalf actually do? He backtalks the Balroc and shoots light out of his staff ONE time when he’s riding into Gondor carrying Pippin. He Generals the hell out of the troops and wields that staff pretty well. Oh yeah, he released Theodin from Saruman. But there were so many times when they could have used some WIZARDY help.
Cashel, Ilna and of course Tenoctris are fairly great too. And if by sneezing you’re referring to the guy from the Death Gate cycle, he was good but the guy chasing him was pretty cool too, and so was the wizard with the dragon with the smart ass mouth.
I didn’t know that we considered Rand al’Thor a wizard. He did manage to cleanse the male half of the source, but then anyone who can channel qualifies as a wizard. I also like Richard Rahl and Zed. Zed is great and really knows his lore, and Richard, while new to his craft, has great instincts.
In the end though, I think I have to go with Good Magician Humphrey. He’s grouchy and peevish but he knows your question before you ask it and he’s a master of research. It’s not his fault if you’re too stupid to know what the answer means. ;-)

I vote for
Merlin ,too, and what happened to the tv show?

Merlin, of course. If not primus than at least primus inter pares.

I thought we were just choosing from the current crop, but if not, I agree – Merlin is the one.

@Grisaille I heard that somewhere! :D

I don’t know about Gandalf. He gets smacked off a bridge by a Balrog and makes everyone thinks he’s dead while he gets his laundry done (finally).

I have to go with (you must have known already) Rincewind. Sure, he can’t cast a spell worth a damn, but he was chosen by the Octavio to store the eight spells and save the Discworld. Also, he’s awesome at figuring things out and crazy good at running away from danger.

@Trillian Agreed, I love Belgarath too. I think Gandalf is mostly loved not for his powers or feats, but rather as the pillar which supports everyone, and because he’s wise…while Belgarath’s role in that respect was mostly shared with Polgara, he, however, had both flashy magic AND wisdom. His personality, in my opinion, was also a lot more interesting than Gandalf’s.

Yaaayyy me! ;-)

I also have a soft spot for Skeeve, because he’s so kind hearted. Like me.

elminster from fogotten realms

Echoing Merlin here. I even named my first dog after him. Was not a fan of either of the Merlin TV shows, though….

And he (Merlin, not my dog) is the original, as @pdworkin said (fancily).

Electric Wizard is my favorite wizard
Dooom

I’m going with my favorite from times gone by, Camber of Culdi from the Deryni Series, written by Kathern Kurtz.

A really close second would be the “Reverend Mother” from Dune.

@absalom Haha, my dad had a dog before I was born, and he called him Gandalf.

I love the Wizard of Oz. And agree with toomuchcoffee911 about the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. I was a very small lad when I first saw that film, and the Sorcerer sent me running to the lobby. I can still remember those big yellow eyes.

@Austinlad When I was little I have never been more disappointed in any movie more then when they finally got to the actual Wizard of Oz. Not when they revealed it was man behind a curtain but when they first got there and it was fucking giant green head with a fire. What was that shit?

I kind of like Brom from the Inheritance series. You don’t know how kick-ass he is while he’s alive, but you find out how awesome he was when he’s dead.

harry potter

Well, simone54, guess we were different as little kids. ;-) I thought—and still do—that he was a good wizard not because of his magical powers, but because of his common sense.

Q

@mattbrowne How do you figure Q? He’s more of an over worked, underpaid and under appreciated genius. Kind of like a McGyver who has real stuff to work with and no impending doom hovering over his head. I’d love to hear your logic. I’m sure that you have some….If we’re counting Q we have to count Artemus as well.

Dumbledore
Gandolf
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Merlin

@Trillian – When looking at Star Trek I’d say 20% counts as hard science fiction, 50% as science fiction and 30% as fantasy. For the latter part there’s no attempt explaining any technology scientific rules. Q and his Q continuum belongs to this part. To me he looks more like a mythical figure. He represents omnipotency although his continuum does set some boundaries.

@mattbrowne Do you believe Trallane (from the original series) was part of the continuum?

@filmfann Do you mean Trillian from Hitchhikers Guide(character)?

No, Trelane from Star Trek the original series.
The link has a bit about his possibly being a young member of the continuum, and I guess there has been a couple books considering this, which I was not aware of.
I am such a geek

@filmfann Oh, yes, that Trelane. I agree, he and his parents showed all the traits of Q.

@filmfann – Yes, it has been suggested, but I don’t believe it. I think Roddenberry or some of key people involved in TNG invented the idea of the continuum. They might have used some of the old series as input for brainstorming sessions.

Her Wisdom from Heinlein’s “Glory Road”. She was, after all, Empress of the Universe. Heinlein describes magic more as a technology that earth-humans percieve as magical due to lack of knowledge. Diffrerent “places” having different rules.

Gandalf, because he appears when needed, does what is needed, then gets out of the scene, probably the best of the true wizards. Tolkein seems to base Gandalf heavily on Merlin but removing some of the human failings (he doesn’t lust after a maiden who learns his skills and then traps the old lecher under a rock).

Of the Harry Potter world; although Dumbledore was clearly the most powerful wizard, I found Alastor Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt to be much more cool. After re-reading the entire series I came to have a deep sympathy for Severus Snape.

I also found the Gaia character of John Varley’s trilogy sympathetic; aging, losing her powers and needing to create a proxy/successor.

@Trillian If Tolkien allowed Gandalf to use his powers too much, it would leave the other characters far less to do. He’s following the Merlin role of Arthurian legend; pop in, do a spell only where needed to make the story work and disappear.

I’m pretty sure that I have to go with Dr. Strange. He dropped the Silver Surfer’s surfboard into a pocket dimension. The Silver Surfer wields the freaking Power Cosmic. Although Elminster and Blackstaff would give him a run for his money. As would the Sorcerer – Mickey Mouse Fantasia beauty. He wields the power of awesome water splashing.