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Could Gandalf Have Defeated the Witch-king of Angmar?

The Broken Sword

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Could Gandalf the White actually have defeated the Witch-king of Angmar?
Peter Jackson's Extended Edition appears to give us an answer: the Witch-king confronts Gandalf at Minas Tirith and destroys his staff.
But Tolkien's version is very different.
Gandalf stands alone at the broken Gate of Minas Tirith, the Witch-king draws his flaming sword... and before either can attack, the horns of Rohan sound.
So what would have happened if Théoden had arrived five minutes later?

In this video, we look at just how powerful the Witch-king had become, what changed when Gandalf returned as Gandalf the White, Glorfindel's famous prophecy, Merry's Barrow-blade, Narya, and Tolkien's own comments about why the confrontation never became a fight.

Could Gandalf have won?

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Chapters:
00:00 – Chapter 1: Gandalf vs Witch-king: What Really Happened?
01:24 – Chapter 2: How Powerful Was the Witch-king of Angmar?
03:21 – Chapter 3: How Powerful Was Gandalf the White?
04:59 – Chapter 4: Could Gandalf Kill the Witch-king?
07:08 – Chapter 5: Gandalf vs Witch-king: Who Would Win?

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Art credits in order it first appears:
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy – New Line Cinema
The Witch King of Angmar - Melissa Hitchcock
Drawn - Douglas Beekman
Ride now! Ride to Gondor! – MagdalenaKatanska
The Witch King of Angmar - chillier17
The Hobbit - Gandalf - Daniel Govar
The Witch King of Angmar – AnatoFinnstark
The Nine Kings - Anato Finnstark
Witch King of Angmar – Ralph Damiani
The Black Breath - Chris Cold
The Siege of Gondor - Jeremy Bennett
By the Gates Of Angband – CKGoksoy
Morgoth and Fingolfin – JMKilpatrick
Portrait of Gandalf the White – ReneAigner
Lord of the Rings - Gandalf the White - p1xer
Mithrandir Meets the Captain of the Tower Guard – AbePapakhian
You fool. No man can kill me. Die now – Bembiann
Narya - Lucas Durham.
Gandalf – MattiasFahlberg
Glorfindel - Magali Villeneuve
Glorfindel and the Balrog - Alan Lee
Glorfindel - Thomas Rouillard
Eowyn & The Nazgul – tmza
One of the Nine - Anato Finnstark
The Skeleton King – ICUArt
Nazguls Witch-king - Margaux Valonia
The Lord Of The Rings - Gandalf vs The Balrog - DarkAvengers3000
Gandalf the White - Magali Villeneuve
Gandalf White - snezhana-mirkwood
Gandalf Confronts the Lord of the Nazgul - Angus McBride
The Prophecy Fulfilled - Joshua Cairos
Gandalf Defies the Witch King - Ted Nasmith
Éowyn and Nazgûl - Nick Deligaris
Middle earth – Klaradox

Disclaimer:
This video is for educational and entertainment purposes, following fair use guidelines. All artwork is credited to the respective artists. Please feel free to contact us for any credit or removal requests.

Tags:
#TheLordoftheRings #LordoftheRings #Lotr

20 Comments

@Ro-ie9ic 6 hours ago

It was always the worst thing in the movies when Gandalf’s staff is broken by the Witch King. Gandalf the grey smoked a balrog which is another Maia. The Witch King never stood a chance!

@dadventuretv2538 1 hour ago (edited)

The Witch King: “Fool, no man can kill me.”
Gandalf: (revealing his true self) “I am no man!”

@SymonTemplar82 2 hours ago

They would have had a five minute conversation with beautiful Tolkien language; then Rohan would show up.

@brianwrabley132 6 hours ago

I always thought Gandalf at this point was more powerful than any being in Middle Earth except for Sauron, so I'm confident he'd have defeated the Witch King.

@TechinRL 2 hours ago

Gandalf was ready to pursue the Witch King into battle, but was distracted by Pippin who called out that Faramir needed help and that Denethor was trying to kill him. Gandalf was forced to decide in favor of Faramir. Basically, Gandalf was never destined to defeat the Witch King whether he were capable or not. Merry was intended to break the Witch King's invulnerability with his Westernesse sword while Eowyn was destined to finish the job with her ordinary sword, which would have been useless had it not been for Merry breaking all the enchantments around the Witch King. I would note that Merry was also not a man.

@LuciFeric137 6 hours ago (edited)

Absolutely. At the end of the day Witch king was a fallen man. Gandalf was a Maia

@tomfurlong3491 4 hours ago

Finglofin had balls of steel

@PaulGuy 2 hours ago

Even Gandalf's horse wasn't worried.

@wingwang321 4 hours ago

The witch king wouldn't fight one on one unless he was sure of winning...he wasn't a coward but self preservation was his go to tactic

@LarryJL 6 hours ago

The Witch King was afraid of elves like Glorfindel. Gandalf is an order of magnitude more powerful than the strongest elves. I think it’s pretty clear Gandalf would have beaten the Witch King easily if he was allowed to use his full power.

@GenkiTheEthical 4 hours ago

Yes. Next question.

@patrickginther8527 28 minutes ago

Gandalf had been in Middle-Earth for 2,000 years at this point, harrying Sauron and his forces, but always avoiding or retreating from any direct confrontation. I think that a good deal of The Witch King's confidence came from a belief that Gandalf had avoided direct confrontation until then out of weakness, not strategy.

@josephesquivel4066 1 hour ago

Gandalf for the most part is always holding back when he fights. The only exception in the trilogy is first confrontation with Saruman and he is overmatched and again with the Balrog, another Maia. The rest of his confrontations his objective is not to dominate the enemies, rather to inspire his allies. Against the Witch-King he wasn't fighting to defeat him but to maintain the fragile will of Gondor's forces. The studio just nerfed it with him being portrayed as in danger of defeat.

@matthew-xf3zi 2 hours ago

It seems like Gandalf did beat the witch king. He beat him using his powers to kindle the hearts of man and by completing his mission to stand aginst Sauron. He.just beat him in a chess match more so then a boxing match.

@NathanaelArias8276 6 hours ago

I appreciate you breaking this down like you did it was done with care and good insight.

I also think it’s key to differentiate between Gandalf the grey & white. They both would win but the grey would be a lot more evenly matched with the witch king and it would be significantly taxing on him. With the version of him being white he says a line that says it all where he would just destroy the witch king "I am dangerous, more dangerous than anything you will ever meet, unless you are brought alive before the seat of the Dark Lord."

@MarkV-s7i 20 minutes ago

The Witch King is basically an extension of Sauron - I believe that Saurons power is essentially to incite fear and despair, which was lessened by the hope aroused by the arrival of the Rohirrim and the coming of the Dawn.
So, for a moment the Witch King was capable of defeating Gandalf; a moment later he was not.

@unclefester1991 6 hours ago (edited)

Gandalf the White had foresight, from Eru, as to the exact end of the witch king. That is why he was so calm at the gate. No enemy ever passed through the gate.

@BrianEthridge-m2t 6 hours ago

Gandalf is my favorite character in the entire legendarium, and that saying quite a bit! He's powerful yet humble immortal, but lives in the moment he is perfect in my mind.He doesn't have a flaw to him. He should have got promoted when he got back to a valor rather than just a Myar! I heard there was an opening!!

@nigeldepledge3790 2 hours ago

The witch-king is merely a Man who has been lent power by a maia. Gandalf actually is a main.

Admittedly, Tolkien hints several times that Gandalf is not a match for Sauron. At least, certainly not in a direct confrontation.

But Gandalf's wisdom far exceeds Sauron's, because Sauron can only assume that everyone else wants power and cannot resist the lure of the One.

We should remember also that Sauron is considerably weakened while he lacks the One. Gandalf may be able to best Sauron in a direct contest of wills while Sauron does not possess his Ring. Therefore, even the "added demonic force" possessed by the witch-king is not enough to overwhelm Gandalf.

Gandalf would have bested the witch-king, but only if he needed to. Remember that, while Gandalf's mission was given to him by the Valar, Gandalf is first a servant of Eru Iluvatar. Gandalf's task is to guide and encourage the free peoples to end Sauron's reign. But, if Gandalf is forced into a confrontation with the witch-king in the pursuance of his mission, he will ipso facto be strong enough to defeat the witch-king.

@Marcus-ki1en 2 hours ago

The proof is in the putting. When Gandalf stood in opposition to the Witch King, he hesitated, then backed away. Same on Weathertop, and at the Ford of Bruinen. Once the fear doesn't work, he hesitates as if to re-evaluate.