Object in The Oz Series
iron giant
Also known as the iron giant, a gigantic man built out of plates of cast iron, the monster, the monstrous man of iron, the giant's hammer.
A gigantic man built out of plates of cast iron, towering more than a hundred feet above the narrow mountain path, standing with one foot on either side of the road and constantly swinging an immense iron mallet over its right shoulder to pound the earth; built by Smith & Tinker for the Nome King to guard the path to the underground palace and prevent anyone from finding it, and can only be stopped by the Nome King, who alone holds the key to its machinery.
Appears in 2 chapters, first in chapter 58, last in chapter 66.
This encyclopedia covers chapters 1 to 100 of the story and shows the world as it stands at chapter 100, so it contains spoilers up to that point. To read it spoiler free, one chapter at a time, open the interactive codex.
What the story establishes
| Appearance | A huge form towering more than a hundred feet above the path, shaped like a gigantic man built out of plates of cast iron, standing with one foot on either side of the narrow road, swinging an immense iron mallet bigger than a barrel over its right shoulder. (as of ch. 58) |
| Object type | Artifact |
| Properties | A gigantic man built out of plates of cast iron, more than a hundred feet tall; a machine made by Smith & Tinker for the Nome King, with no thinking or speaking attachment, whose sole function is to swing an immense iron mallet and constantly pound the narrow mountain path to keep folks from finding the underground palace. Only the Nome King, who holds the key, can stop its machinery. (as of ch. 58) |
Relationships
- guards → Nome King's Palace ch. 58The iron giant stands astride the narrow mountain path leading to the Nome King's underground palace, continuously swinging an immense iron mallet to pound the road and block travelers from finding the palace.
- created by → Smith & Tinker ch. 58The iron giant was built by the firm of Smith & Tinker, the same makers who built Tiktok, and was made for the Nome King to guard the path to his underground palace.
- controls ← Dorothy ch. 66With a word to the magic belt, Dorothy causes the giant of iron to pause with his hammer motionless in the air, letting the whole party pass safely between his legs.
- defies ← ozma_rescue_expedition (ended) ch. 58The rescue expedition confronts and gets past the Nome King's guardian, the hammer-wielding iron giant, by dashing beneath its mallet one at a time and ferrying its weak-kneed soldiers across on the Lion and Tiger, so the whole party reaches the far side and continues toward the underground palace.
- injures → Scarecrow (ended) ch. 58While dashing in to rescue the Sawhorse from beneath the descending hammer, the Scarecrow has his left foot smashed by the iron giant's mallet.
- uses ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 66When the party reaches the giant of iron hammering on the road and the Queen of Ev worries how to get past him, Dorothy speaks a word to the magic belt, causing the giant to pause with his hammer motionless in the air so the whole party can pass safely between his legs.
- injures → Saw-Horse (ended) ch. 58The iron giant's mallet catches the Sawhorse squarely on the head while it is retrieving the stranded private, breaking off both its ears and cracking its left knee.
From the text
The ir-on gi-ant is a fine fel-low, and works as stead-i-ly as a clock. He was made for the Nome King by Smith & Tin-ker, who made me, and his du-ty is to keep folks from find-ing the un-der-ground pal-ace.Chapter 58
The form was that of a gigantic man built out of plates of cast iron, and it stood with one foot on either side of the narrow road and swung over its right shoulder an immense iron mallet, with which it constantly pounded the earth.Chapter 58
See iron giant chapter by chapter in the interactive codex →