There are many magic users in the Buffyverse, but Ethan Rayne is by far my favorite. A chaos worshiper and kind of a cad, he's responsible for a wide variety of mayhem, including that Halloween where everyone in Sunnydale turned into real-life versions of their costumes. Medieval damsel Buffy? Not so useful.
There are many magic users in the Buffyverse, but Ethan Rayne is by far my favorite. A chaos worshiper and kind of a cad, he's responsible for a wide variety of mayhem, including that Halloween where everyone in Sunnydale turned into real-life versions of their costumes. Medieval damsel Buffy? Not so useful.
His door reads "Harry Dresden, Wizard," and no, it's not a joke. Both a wizard and a detective, Harry is the subject of a series of books by Jim Butcher as well as a television show that was depressingly short-lived. His TV version carries a hockey stick as a staff, and he keeps a drumstick hidden up his sleeve in case of emergencies. Also, he has a talking skull that runs errands for him.
Gandalf and Saruman aren't the only wizards running around Middle-Earth; there's three more. We don't know much about two of them, but the third, Radagast the Brown, pops up on occasion. Gandalf runs into him on his way to Minas Tirith to research the ring in The Fellowship of the Ring, and he's mentioned in The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. He's set to make an appearance in Peter Jackson's Hobbit film, played by Sylvester McCoy.
Lev Grossman's novel is at once a send-up of Harry Potter and Narnia and a commentary on them. Having grown up his whole life in love with the Fillory books (read: Narnia), Quentin is one day surprised to discover that they are not fiction. Furthermore, instead of a regular university, he somehow finds himself at Brakebills (read: Hogwarts). But it turns out that the magical worlds of both Fillory and Brakbills aren't quite what Quentin had imagined...
In Neil Gaiman's novel, the Lilim are ancient witches that require the heart of a star to stay young and powerful. Michelle Pfeiffer played Lamia, the eldest of the three, in the 2007 film version. Don't let her near Claire Danes.
It's pretty common knowledge these days that the sorcerer of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" is named Yen Sid ("Disney" spelled backwards), but he's still worth noting. Top bad Mickey had to run in and screw everything up.
Anne Rice doesn't write only about vampires-- she also writes about witches. The Lives of the Mayfair Witches series chronicles (perhaps unsurprisingly) the lives of a family of witches in New Orleans known as the Mayfairs. There IS some crossover with The Vampire Chronicles, though, so don't be surprised if you catch Lestat wandering through on occasion.
He may not be called a wizard and she may not be an actual witch (at least, not in the "I'm not a witch, I'm your wife!" way), but these two are a powerful magical duo all the same. Have fun stormin' the castle!
In what's considered Shakespeare's last great play, Prospero, the Duke of Milan, is ousted by his brother and sent to die at sea. Luckily, he washed up on an island and went to work perfecting his magic skills. You may be noticing that Prospero looks rather a lot like Helen Mirren here. That's because in Julie Taymor's wacky film of The Tempest, Prospero became Prospera. It's okay, though, because Helen Mirren can do no wrong.
I don't know about you guys, but this was one of my favorite books when I was a kid. Who wouldn't want a spaghetti pot that's never empty? Of course, there's that whole be-careful-what-you-wish-for thing to contend with, but still. MAGICAL SPAGHETTI!
Marten Broadcloak goes by many names. You may know him as Walter O'Dim. You may even know him as Randall Flagg. But whatever his name, you don't want to run into him. Trust me.
Rincewind is the rather hapless wizard that jump-started Terry Pratchett's Discworld series with the novel The Color of Magic. Technically, he's not a full wizard; he failed out of the Unseen University. Furthermore, his talents lean more towards the running-away-from-things-while-screaming variety than the magical wizardly sort.
Like Harry Dresden, John Constantine is a wizard detective; unlike Harry Dresden, he's lacking in the friendliness department. Fun fact: John Constantine's look is modeled on Sting (the musician, not the Hobbit sword).
