Magic practitioner in The Oz Series

Oz

Also known as Oz himself, the Great Oz, the good Wizard Oz, the terrible Oz, Oz, the Great and Terrible, Oz the Terrible, the false Wizard, the Great and Terrible Humbug, the man who gave me my lovely heart, such a bad Wizard, a mighty and wonderful Wizard named Oz, the famous Wizard of Oz.

In truth a little bald, wrinkled old man from Omaha — a trained ventriloquist and former circus balloonist with no magical power at all — who returned to the Emerald City, declined to rule again, and accepted Princess Ozma's offer to live in the palace as the kingdom's Official Wizard.

Appears in 43 chapters, first in chapter 2, last in chapter 89.

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

Affiliation	Returned to the Emerald City and declined Ozma's throne, formally accepting her offer to remain as the kingdom's Official Wizard, a faithful and devoted subject of Princess Ozma. (as of ch. 84)
Age	A very old man now; he was a young man when the balloon first carried him to Oz many years ago. (as of ch. 15)
Appearance	A little old man with a bald head and a wrinkled face; the terrible forms (giant Head, lovely Lady, Beast, Ball of Fire) were all props, not his true shape. (as of ch. 15)
Being nature	Uncertain; even the Witch of the North cannot tell whether he is a man.
Body conditions	A little old man with a bald head and a wrinkled face; an ordinary man of flesh and blood with no magical powers.
Conflict	Resolved: the lost piglet is found alive and Eureka is freed, ending the murder trial; his substitution trick is revealed and accepted, and he recovers the piglet he lent. (as of ch. 88)
Current goal	His plan to save Eureka has succeeded: the substituted-piglet trick plays out, Eureka is freed and the real piglet is found alive, and he takes back the piglet he had lent for the substitution. (as of ch. 88)
Dialogue style	As a public showman he speaks with grave, genial grandiosity and warm flattery, playing to the crowd; the trembling, apologetic register of his unmasking gives way to a confident performer's charm. (as of ch. 86)
Equipment	His deception props from the Emerald City era, plus a sword (deemed too weak against wooden bodies) and two revolvers he draws from his satchel to fight the Gargoyles. (as of ch. 80)
Gender identity	man (as of ch. 15)
Health condition	An old but sound man, alive and well; frightened and trembling when unmasked, but unhurt. (as of ch. 15)
Is alive	yes (as of ch. 2)
Magic alignment	good — reputed a good Wizard who rules wisely and well, though most terrible to the dishonest or the merely curious
Magic tradition	A wizard, characterized as good; the most powerful magic-worker in Oz.
Magical domain	Shape-shifting and protean appearance: he can take on any form he wishes — bird, elephant, cat, beautiful fairy, brownie — so that no living person can tell what the real Oz looks like; common report holds that 'Oz can do anything.'
Maturation stage	Aged adult (elderly)
Motive	To delight and remain among the people of Oz as their entertainer-Wizard; no longer anxious to conceal his humbuggery, since the people love his tricks whether or not he has real magic. (as of ch. 86)
Personality	Not fearsome but timid, sheepish, and self-deprecating once unmasked; good-natured and well-meaning toward his people yet a practiced deceiver who takes a certain pleasure in his own cleverness ('a very good man, but a very bad Wizard'). (as of ch. 15)
Power tier	Supreme among the magic-workers of Oz: the Witch of the North whispers that he is more powerful than all the rest of the witches together, and the farm man reports that 'Oz can do anything.'
Quirks	A skilled mimic who can imitate any bird or beast on a whim, mewing so like a kitten that even Toto is fooled; rubs his hands together with evident pleasure at his own cleverness. (as of ch. 15)
Referential profile	masculine (as of ch. 2)
Sex profile	male (as of ch. 15)
Skills	No magic whatsoever; instead a trained ventriloquist and sleight-of-hand performer who can throw his voice and produce tiny talking piglets from his pocket as a trick; resourceful enough to fashion a fish-hook from a pin and a fish-line from string to catch food. (as of ch. 74)
Social status	Formally installed as the Official Wizard of the Emerald City under Princess Ozma's rule, restored to his old palace room and treated with honor and respect by the court. (as of ch. 84)
Special capabilities	Reputed to be more powerful in magic than all the four witches of Oz combined.
Status	At the farewell gathering he performs new tricks to entertain the company and bids Dorothy to come again some time. (as of ch. 89)

Relationships

subordinate to → Ozma ch. 84
The Wizard accepts Ozma's offer to become the Official Wizard of her kingdom and declares himself one of her most faithful and devoted subjects, formally placing himself under her rule.
studies ← Glinda ch. 44
Glinda keeps in her library a book inscribing every observed action of the Wizard during his time in Oz, and reads it carefully to single out the suspicious acts — eating beans with a knife, three secret visits to Mombi, a limp — that might reveal where he hid Ozma.
located in → Palace of Oz ch. 83
Oz dwells shut away in his Palace, sitting day after day in its great Throne Room, never going out, so that even those who wait upon him do not see him face to face.
oath bound ← Dorothy's Traveling Party ch. 15
In return for Oz's help, the four travelers agree to keep his secret and tell no one he is a humbug. fulfillment_status: pending.
originated from → Omaha ch. 15
Oz was born in Omaha, in the ordinary world not far from Kansas, and lived there before his balloon carried him to Oz.
born in → Omaha ch. 15
Oz reveals he was born in Omaha before becoming a ventriloquist and balloonist.
possesses → the nine tiny piglets ch. 74
The Wizard keeps his tiny piglets in his inside pocket, taking them out to feed or to perform his conjuring act and returning them afterward; having given one to Ozma as a pet, he now keeps eight.
member of → Bailum & Barney's Great Consolidated Shows ch. 72
Oz states that he belongs to Bailum & Barney's Great Consolidated Shows, a circus with three rings and a menagerie, for which he draws crowds by going up in a balloon.
possesses → the box of flutters ch. 79
The Wizard now possesses the box of assorted flutters the braided man insisted he take.
subordinate to ← Guardian of the Gates ch. 10
The Guardian of the Gates serves under the Great Oz, enforcing Oz's standing order that everyone in the Emerald City wear locked green spectacles and controlling admission to Oz's Palace.
subordinate to ← the green girl ch. 15
The green serving-maiden serves under Oz in his Palace, attending to guests and carrying their messages to the Wizard.
subordinate to ← the soldier with the green whiskers ch. 15
The green-whiskered soldier served under Oz as his palace guard and messenger; with Oz now departed the Emerald City, that service is at an end, and the soldier is summoned before the Scarecrow, the new ruler, to give advice.
provides service ← Tin Woodman ch. 17
The Tin Woodman chops a big pile of wood and makes the fire whose hot air Oz uses to inflate the balloon for his launch.
kills → Gwig (ended) ch. 72
Oz assembled a sword from knives in his pocket and cut Gwig's vegetable body exactly in two, killing him before Gwig's breath-stopping charm could finish taking effect.
reveals secret to ← Ozma (ended) ch. 84
Ozma reveals to the Wizard the true history he never knew: that the Land of Oz was once united under a Ruler always named 'Oz' or 'Ozma,' that the Wicked Witch Mombi kidnapped her grandfather and later her father, and that Mombi transformed the infant Ozma into a boy to hide her identity until she escaped and reclaimed the throne.
appoints ← Ozma (ended) ch. 84
Ozma formally offers the aged Wizard a permanent home in the palace and names him the Official Wizard of her kingdom, to be treated with every respect, which he accepts with tears in his eyes.
rescues → the Royal Princess (ended) ch. 74
The Wizard, together with Dorothy, picks the Princess from the bush before the Prince can return and prevent it, rescuing her from continued neglect.
persuades → the Royal Princess (ended) ch. 75
By staging lantern-light and burning kerosene oil as a test of his advisors' guilt, the Wizard convinces the Princess that he is a greater sorcerer than any grown in her garden, so she spares him, Dorothy, and Zeb from the Garden of the Clinging Vines.
commands → Cowardly Lion (ended) ch. 11
Oz, as a Ball of Fire, commands the Cowardly Lion to bring proof that the Wicked Witch is dead before courage will be granted, decreeing that as long as the Witch lives he must remain a coward.
communicates with ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 11
In the Throne Room Dorothy meets Oz in the form of a giant Head; she names herself 'the Small and Meek,' answers his questions about the silver shoes and the mark on her forehead, and begs him to send her home to Kansas.
discovers ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 15
When the tipped screen exposes a little old man behind it, Dorothy discovers that the Great Oz is no wizard at all but a humbug — a common man who has been making believe.
rescues ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 83
Dorothy promises the Wizard that once she reaches Oz she will use the Magic Belt to wish him to safety in the royal palace along with the others.
negotiates with → Dorothy (ended) ch. 11
Oz bargains with Dorothy in the Throne Room, refusing to send her home for nothing and insisting that in his country everyone must pay for everything he gets; he offers to use his magic to return her to Kansas only in exchange for killing the Wicked Witch of the West.
commands → Dorothy (ended) ch. 11
Oz commands Dorothy to kill the Wicked Witch of the West and orders her not to seek him again until the task is done, insisting she will not see her uncle and aunt again until the Witch is dead.
commands → Dorothy's Traveling Party (ended) ch. 11
In four separate audiences Oz refuses to grant any wish for free and sets one and the same condition to Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Lion: kill the Wicked Witch of the West and bring proof of her death. This decree redirects the party's entire journey from petitioning the Wizard to hunting the last Wicked Witch.
deceives → Dorothy's Traveling Party (ended) ch. 15
Oz confesses he deceived the four travelers, appearing to each in a different fabricated form (Head, Lady, Beast, Ball of Fire) worked by props and ventriloquism, to make them believe he was a Great Wizard.
confesses to → Dorothy's Traveling Party (ended) ch. 15
Oz confesses to the four that he is a humbug with no magic, admitting 'I am a humbug' and begging them to keep his secret.
threatens ← Gwig (ended) ch. 72
Gwig threatens to stop Oz's breath with sorcery, claiming it will kill him within about five minutes.
used against ← Gwig (ended) ch. 72
Gwig used his breath-stopping sorcery charm against Oz, making it hard for him to breathe until Oz cut him down first.
deceives → Mangaboos (ended) ch. 75
The Wizard tricks the Mangaboo advisors into stepping into a pool of burning kerosene oil by falsely framing it as a magical test that will only harm those who advised the Princess wrongly.
confronts → Mangaboos (ended) ch. 76
The Wizard confronted the Mangaboos who were sealing the Black Pit entrance, angrily commanding them to stop and beginning to tear down the glass rocks they had piled up.
reveals secret to → Ozma (ended) ch. 84
Over dinner, the Wizard tells Ozma his true origin story: his real name (Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs), how he shortened it to O.Z. to avoid being called 'pinhead,' his circus ventriloquism and balloon tricks, and how a runaway balloon carried him to Oz where the people mistook him for a superior being.
commands → Scarecrow (ended) ch. 11
Oz commands the Scarecrow to kill the Wicked Witch of the West as the condition for receiving brains, telling him not to seek Oz again until he has earned them.
kills → the bears of the Valley of Voe (ended) ch. 78
As he retreats toward the river, the Wizard stabs at an unseen attacking bear with his sword three times, the final thrust killing it; its body becomes visible, revealing a great red bear as big as the horse and much stronger and fiercer.
challenges ← the man with the star (ended) ch. 72
The Prince challenges Oz to prove he is a better Wizard than Gwig the Sorcerer, offering to make him Chief Wizard if he succeeds.
communicates with ← the Royal Princess (ended) ch. 75
The Princess tells the Wizard that her advisors have decided the meat people do not belong in the Land of the Mangaboos and must be destroyed, then challenges him to demonstrate his sorcery before she decides his fate.
threatens ← the Royal Princess (ended) ch. 75
The Princess threatens to destroy the Wizard along with Dorothy and Zeb by casting them into the Garden of the Clinging Vines unless he proves himself a worthy sorcerer.
commands → Tin Woodman (ended) ch. 11
Oz, in the shape of the Beast, commands the Tin Woodman to help Dorothy kill the Wicked Witch of the West, directing him to return only when the Witch is dead to receive his heart.
includes ← underground_traveling_party (ended) ch. 74–89
The Wizard of Oz becomes a working member of the stranded party: he rides in the buggy with Dorothy and Zeb, calls them 'my friends', schemes with them to survive the Prince, and shares their lodging in the House of the Sorcerer.
negotiates with → Cowardly Lion (ended) ch. 11
Oz, as the Ball of Fire, tells the Cowardly Lion to bring proof that the Wicked Witch is dead; the moment he does, Oz will give him courage, but as long as the Witch lives the Lion must remain a coward.
gives → Cowardly Lion (ended) ch. 16
Oz gives the Lion his courage: he pours the contents of a square green bottle into a green-gold dish and has the Lion drink it, telling him that once swallowed it becomes the courage that is always inside one; the Lion drinks it all and declares himself full of courage.
communicates with ← Cowardly Lion (ended) ch. 11
The Cowardly Lion is led before Oz, who now appears as a fierce Ball of Fire; the Lion, unable to approach the heat, begs Oz to give him courage so that he may truly become the King of Beasts.
discovers → dama-fruit (ended) ch. 77
The Wizard realizes that the fruit the piglets ate is the dama-fruit, which renders whoever eats it invisible, and warns the children to avoid it.
communicates with ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 72
Dorothy recognizes Oz as he emerges from his balloon, and they exchange remarks; she reminds him of his past mistakes in the Land of Oz.
reveals secret to → Dorothy (ended) ch. 15
Oz tells Dorothy and her friends his whole secret history — born in Omaha, a ventriloquist and balloonist carried to Oz by accident, who let the people take him for a wizard and built the Emerald City illusion.
commands → Dorothy's Traveling Party (ended) ch. 12
Oz makes killing the Wicked Witch of the West the price of every member's wish, setting the whole fellowship on the westward quest that drives this arc.
confronts → Gargoyles (ended) ch. 80
When the Gargoyles swarm past Jim toward the rest of the party, the Wizard raises a revolver and fires a thunderous shot into the throng, knocking some of the wooden creatures down and scattering the rest.
used against → Gargoyles (ended) ch. 81
The Wizard fired his two revolvers, twelve shots total, against the attacking Gargoyles, and swung his jointed sword at them once it snapped apart at the first blow.
rival of · Gwig (ended) ch. 72
Oz and Gwig compete in a contest of magic before the Prince, trading tricks and threats until Oz kills Gwig with a sword to settle who is the greater magic-worker.
defeats → Gwig (ended) ch. 72
Oz defeats Gwig in their magic contest, first outperforming him with the piglet trick and then killing him with a sword before the Sorcerer's breath-stopping charm could take full effect.
frees → Jim (ended) ch. 76
The Wizard began pulling down the glass rocks sealing the Black Pit in an attempt to liberate Jim, though the Mangaboos then resealed the entrance, trapping the Wizard, Dorothy, and Zeb inside with Jim instead.
located in → Land of the Mangaboos (ended) ch. 72–74
Oz's balloon descended through the earth's crack and landed in the great square of the Land of the Mangaboos, where he remains after meeting the Prince and killing the Sorcerer.
imprisoned by → Mangaboos (ended) ch. 76
[CASCADE] Created by CAPTURES(mangaboos→oz_the_wizard)
captures ← Mangaboos (ended) ch. 76
The Mangaboos resealed the Black Pit entrance with glass rocks after the Wizard fled inside to escape their thorns, trapping him within the mountain.
communicates with ← Ozma (ended) ch. 84
At dinner, Ozma questions the Wizard about the origin of the name "Oz" and reveals the true history of the Land of Oz, her grandfather's overthrow by the Witches, and Mombi's role in her own concealment, before offering him a permanent home as Official Wizard of her kingdom.
deposes → Pastoria (ended) ch. 44
The Wizard of Oz usurped the throne of the Emerald City from King Pastoria, the rightful sovereign — a theft Glinda reveals as the true origin of the disputed throne.
negotiates with → Scarecrow (ended) ch. 11
Oz, as the Lady, bargains with the Scarecrow: she promises that if he kills the Wicked Witch of the West she will give him a great many brains and make him the wisest man in the Land of Oz, but will grant nothing until the Witch is dead.
gives → Scarecrow (ended) ch. 16
Oz gives the Scarecrow his long-desired brains: he takes off the Scarecrow's head, empties the straw, and fills the top with a mixture of bran, pins, and needles ('bran-new brains'), leaving the Scarecrow proud and convinced he feels wise.
appoints → Scarecrow (ended) ch. 17
Before departing, Oz publicly installs the Scarecrow as ruler of the Emerald City in his absence and commands his people to obey the Scarecrow as they would Oz himself.
communicates with ← Scarecrow (ended) ch. 11
The Scarecrow is admitted to the Throne Room, where Oz appears as a lovely winged Lady; he bows and prays that she put brains in his straw-stuffed head so he may become as much a man as any other in her dominions.

125 further relationships are in the interactive codex.

From the text

“I am Oz, the Great and Terrible. Who are you, and why do you seek me?”Chapter 11

“Oh, no, my dear; I’m really a very good man, but I’m a very bad Wizard, I must admit.”Chapter 15

I am tired of being such a humbug. ... I’d much rather go back to Kansas with you and be in a circus again.Chapter 17

"So I may die with a clear conscience," returned the Wizard, gravely. "It's every man's duty to do the best he knows how; and I'm going to do it."Chapter 80

"I am one of the greatest humbug wizards that ever lived, and you will realize this when we have all starved together and our bones are scattered over the floor of this lonely cave."Chapter 83

"When I grew up I just called myself O. Z., because the other initials were P-I-N-H-E-A-D; and that spelled 'pinhead,' which was a reflection on my intelligence."Chapter 84

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