Over lunch, Avery asked me, “Who is a better
wizard: Gandalf, Dumbledore, or Merlin?”
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| Gandalf - Lord of the Rings |
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| Dumbledore - Harry Potter |
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| Merlin - Merlin |
I stopped mid-chew of a turkey sandwich. The question had never been asked of me
before and I’d never linked the three of them together – WHAT was the
answer?!
The more I thought about it, the more confused
I became. I’m still confused but the question must be answered so here I go, on a
quest to discover truth. You may join if
you wish (I have cool photos).
*Please note 1: some info may be gather from
the actual books that produced the movies, rather than just from what we see in
the movies themselves.
*Please note 2: When I speak of Merlin (also
known as Emrys but I’ll call him Merlin for the duration of this blog) I will
be speaking of Merlin from the BBC show Merlin
– I know nothing else about the character Merlin than what I’ve seen in this
show (Disney’s Sword in the Stone
doesn’t count – wonderful as it is).
Round 1. Magic: Who has more
powerful magic?
Gandalf shows us his magic in pyrotechnics most
often – firework, flaming pinecones, inflaming trees, keeping fires going in
blizzard conditions, etc. We see him use
his stick as a flashlight and blow smoke ships through Bilbo’s smoke rings –
those are fun pieces of magic. And if he
needs a ride he speaks the language of the moths so they can go collect the
eagles for him. As far as real power – it was pretty amazing that he
created the bubble shield against the Balrog (I’m curious why he didn’t use
that more often though….seems like it would have come in handy against people
like the Witch King of Agmar) and when he came back to Middle Earth we can
see that his power has grown when he snaps Saruman’s staff with a mere spoken
word. He also possesses some ability to
see into the future. And let’s not
forget that after Pippen’s dangerous encounter with the palantir, Gandalf
restored him.
Dumbledore studied magic his whole life. He dueled and defeated a great wizard named
Grindelwald, despite the fact that Grindelwald possessed what was possibly the
greatest wand of all time. The powerful
Dumbledore took the powerful wand and with it, became the only wizard that the
evil and quite powerful Voldemort feared.
Lots of power going on here.
Later, Dumbledore uses his magic to capture all Death Eaters but one and
then he encases Voldemort in a dome of water, turns Voldemort’s hurling glass
into sand, and makes statues obey his commands.
On a lighter note, we see Dumbledore doing fun things like blow out or
light candles and put food on the table (I LIKE that!). He can either apparate or head out in style
on a Phoenix if the going gets rough.
And this dude knows how to
pull memories out of his head so he can reflect on them and share them with
others.
Merlin is young, far younger than the other two
wizards. However, age does not a wizard
make. Gaius himself tells Merlin right
off the bat that he’s special – most wizards have to study to use their gifts
but with Merlin it’s elemental and instinctive.
With a golden light in his eyes and an utterance (aloud or in his mind)
Merlin can defeat any monster that crosses his path, save the city from
plagues, heal desperately sick people, control dragons (since he IS a dragon
lord), control elements like wind and water, expose villainous witches and
warlocks, engineer escapes for those who were wrongly imprisoned, bring magical
lightning down out of the sky to defeat a powerful witch and then use the power
of life and death to bring Gaius back from
death, create potions not just for healing but also for the undoing of powerful
and evil witches/wizards, see into the future….these things are done in every
episode. Under the very nose of
Uther. Without anyone but Gaius and Lancelot ever knowing. Sometimes, no one knows.
Ladies and gentlemen, I think our choice is
clear: Merlin has the strongest magic.
Gandalf: 0 Dumbledore:
0 Merlin:1
Round 2. Strength: Who would
win in a battle if magic wasn’t
allowed?
Gandalf is a real trooper. He walks everywhere so he’s in much better
shape than Dumbledore even though he’s older than Dumbledore. Rather than solely relying on the magic of
his staff (as Dumbledore his wand), Gandalf wields his staff as a pretty mean
weapon and his sword skills aren’t bad for an old man. He actually kills Orcs, Goblins, and Urak hai
with those things. Dumbledore probably
couldn’t lift a sword. Of course, Merlin being young, is in much
better shape than either wizard but he does tend to trip and goof up without
his magic (one reason why Arthur laughs when someone suggests that Merlin is a
powerful wizard). He has some sword
skills but in the end, he must always rely on magic.
That means: Gandalf takes this round.
Gandalf: 1 Dumbledore: 0 Merlin:
1
Round 3. Wisdom: Who is the
most clever, the wisest of them all?
Gandalf is a source of wisdom for the
fellowship. He knows what’s going on
with the ring, he knows that he should not be the one to take it because he
could not withstand the temptation to use it, so he sends it with the best
possible person – Frodo. Furthermore,
Gandalf knows that Frodo will need Sam so he has Samwise Gamgee pack up and go
along. Gandalf knows where to find
answers and he knows how things will probably end up so he plans
accordingly. Once he becomes Gandalf the
White he becomes more clever and convinces others to help him distract Sauron’s
eye from Mount Doom so Frodo and Sam have a chance. Gandalf is one who sees men for what they are
and for what they might be. And you
gotta’ love this:
“Pity?
It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that
die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal
out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells
me that Gollum has some part to play yet, for good or ill before this is over.
The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many.” ~ Gandalf
Dumbledore was the most clever headmaster
Hogwarts ever saw. No matter what was
done in ‘secret’ – Dumbledore always knew what was up. From the beginning of Harry’s life,
Dumbledore was setting in motion plans that would keep him safe and plans that
would eventually bring the demise of Voldemort.
Dumbledore’s knowledge seems to know no limits – he even knew how many
turns on the time-turner it would take to get Hermione and Harry to the EXACT
moment they needed to be at to save more than one life (The Prisoner of
Azkaban). Meanwhile, Dumbledore never
runs out of great things to say:
“Do not pity the dead Harry. Pity
the living, and, above all, those who live without love.”
“It is a curious thing, but
perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought
it. Those who have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle
because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well.”
“It does not do to dwell on dreams and
forget to live.”
“Dark times lie ahead of us and there
will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right.”
“It is our choices...that show what we
truly are, far more than our abilities.”
“Happiness can be found in the darkest
of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”
In
the beginning, Merlin largely relies on either the dragon or Gaius for
wisdom. Merlin seems to know what his
heart wants or what he feels is right but he has a harder time looking at
everything in perspective and thinking about the whole picture. He does, as he ages, gain more wisdom and he
does make decisions that in the end, turn out to be good ones. However, I can’t say that Merlin is wiser
than Gandalf or Dumbledore.
Choose
between those two, I’m going to go with: Dumbledore (with Gandalf as a close
second).
Gandalf:
1 Dumbledore:
1 Merlin: 1
Now
that we’re all tied up…
Round 4. Selflessness: Who
puts their own personal desires on the shelf the most?
A sign of a great man, wizard or no, is
selflessness – can he put aside his own, personal desires and do what is right,
even when it’s hard and there may be no glory in it for him?
Gandalf must be selfless. In a way, the fate of Middle Earth rests on
what Gandalf decides to do. The ring
tempts him but knowing that it would end very badly for all if he took it, he
refuses. Rather than just hopping in his
wagon and traveling through the fire setting off fireworks and smoking his
pipe, Gandalf joins the Fellowship on a quest that he knows will be hard and he
may well lose his life. Indeed, Gandalf
pays the ultimate sacrifice in the mines of Moria – he sacrifices his life to
save the others from the Balrog. 
Dumbledore must be selfless. In a way, the wizarding world rests on what
Dumbledore decides to do. He could
easily have been like Prime Minister Fudge and buried his head in the
sand. Life would have certainly been
easier for him. He would have never had
to watch people suffer and struggle. He
wouldn’t have been slowly dying from the ring with the Horcrux in it. He wouldn’t have had to torture himself by
drinking the potion in the cave to get to the Horcrux. He wouldn’t have had to ask a close friend to
kill him. But Dumbledore was brave,
thought of others first, and sacrificed his life.
Merlin must be selfless. The fate of Arthur, the kingdom of Camelot,
and the land of Albion rests on his young shoulders. Merlin must make difficult choices every day. Sometimes Merlin must choose between what is
right and what his destiny is said to be – because sometimes they are at odds
with one another. Sometimes Merlin holds
the power of life or death of a truly despicable person in his hands and he
alone knows it. Sometimes Merlin must choose
to illuminate the truth even when it will have dire consequences – but he does
because that is what’s right. Sometimes
Merlin must let die someone he loves because it must be that way. To keep secret that he has magic, Merlin must
allow all others except Gaius and Lancelot to think him clumsy, stupid, and
fairly worthless. Merlin never takes
credit for what he’s done – usually he finds a way to give Arthur the glory for
anything done well. Not that Merlin
wouldn’t like some recognition – indeed, he struggles with it at times. However, he never does bring to light his
triumphs because ultimately in his heart, he does all that he does simply
because he knows that it is right and that it must be done. Merlin lays his life down readily many times not
only for individual people that he loves but also for the good of the
country. He does not ever actually have
to die but he does come pretty close – believing that he will.
These three are all selfless and two did have
to give their life, in the end. If I’m
to choose who is the most selfless, I
would have to say: Merlin – because he lived his life always in the shadow of
another. The most powerful man in the
land and everyday he chose to be the
bumbling, stupid servant of the king. He
was ready to sacrifice his life at a moment’s notice for the country, for his
friends, and for his king.
Gandalf: 1 Dumbledore:
1 Merlin: 2
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our winner,
the greatest wizard of the three:
Please feel free to give me your supporting or
opposing viewpoints :-)
