The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character and the main
antagonist of the classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
(1900), created by American author L. Frank Baum. In Baum's subsequent
Oz novels, it is the Nome King who is the principal villain; the
Wicked Witch of the West is rarely even referred to again after her
death in the first book.The witch's most popular depiction was in the
classic 1939 film based on Baum's novel, where she was portrayed by
Margaret Hamilton. Hamilton's characterization introduced green skin
and this has been continued in later literary and dramatic
representations, including Gregory Maguire's revisionist Oz novel
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (1995) and
its musical stage adaptation Wicked (2003), the 2013 film Oz the Great
and Powerful, and the television series Once Upon a Time and Emerald
City.The witch's most popular depiction was in the classic 1939 film
based on Baum's novel, where she was portrayed by Margaret Hamilton.
Hamilton's characterization introduced green skin and this has been
continued in later literary and dramatic representations, including
Gregory Maguire's revisionist Oz novel Wicked: The Life and Times of
the Wicked Witch of the West (1995) and its musical stage adaptation
Wicked (2003), the 2013 film Oz the Great and Powerful, and the
television series Once Upon a Time and Emerald City.The Wicked Witch
of the West is the malevolent ruler of the Winkie Country. Her castle
is described as beautiful instead of being the sinister fortress shown
in the movie. In all versions, she is seriously aquaphobic. The Wicked
Witch of the West was not related to the Wicked Witch of the East, but
leagued together with her, the Wicked Witch of the South, and the
Wicked Witch of the North to conquer the Land of Oz and divide it
among themselves, as recounted in L. Frank Baum's Dorothy and the
Wizard in Oz. She shows no interest in the death of the Eastern Witch
and all she cares about is obtaining the Silver Shoes which will
increase her power. W. W. Denslow's illustrations for The Wonderful
Wizard of Oz depict her as a paunched old hag with three pigtails and
an eyepatch. Baum himself specified that she only had one eye, but
that it "was as powerful as a telescope", enabling the witch to see
what was happening in her kingdom from her castle windows. Other
illustrators, such as Paul Granger, placed her eye in the center of
her forehead, as a cyclops. Usually, she is shown wearing an eyepatch,
however, some illustrations show her with two eyes.Most of her power
resides in the creatures she controls. She has a pack of 40 great
wolves, a swarm of black bees, a flock of 40 crows, and an army of
Winkies. She possesses the enchanted Golden Cap, which compels the
winged monkeys to obey her on three occasions. First, the witch
commanded the creatures to help her enslave the Winkies and to seize
control of the western part of the Land of Oz. Second, she made the
winged monkeys drive Oz out of the Winkie Country, when he attempted
to overthrow her. Wicked Witch of the West Top Movies & Young Movies