Best wizard/mage/magic user in fiction

[Padwolf]

I'm... Gonna have to go with...

Spoiler: Tom Marvolo Riddle.

In the first book, he's Voldemort. Your generic cookie-cutter dark wizard. Meh. But in the later books... He is fleshed out and becomes... Much more interesting. ESPECIALLY in the Half-blood Prince where they delve into his entire history. Where you learn how he grew up. How he handled and overcame so many situations through his cunning and power to get what he wanted. How he inspired and got others to follow him. How he kept them all in line and made his mark on history and in the minds of everyone he met... It's just so interesting to me to read and to think about. He may have been a demonic evil bastard who got what was coming to him but there is no denying... He was legendary.

I was going to go with this to be honest. Many people I've spoken to have thought that Half Blood Prince was the worst book. I say it's one of the more interesting ones because of Riddle's background. It's so incredibly dark, but so very interesting. So much goes on in that book! He was a dark bastard, but damn he was great. What a spectacular villain.

 

[Zen Bard]

Well, I was going to go with John M@therf*cking Constantine, Son. But some astute posters beat me to it.

So, I'll go with another comic book favorite. Ol' Johnny Boy would be around if it weren't for him (even if only because Alan Moore wanted his wizard to be the complete opposite of this guy)

But, you don't get played by Benedict Cumberbatch for being a slouch. And you're not called the

Spoiler: Sorcerer Supreme

for nothing...

 

[Akjosch]

No mention of the best magic user ever? Internet, you disappoint me.

Here he is. A dream to some.

Spoiler

A nightmare to others.

 

[happyninja42]

There are only three words that need to be said here
Harry.

Motherfucking.

Dresden

YEAH! I second this. I still maintain that the most awesome scene was when he caused a frozen turkey to fall from the sky and kill a vampire[footnote]Not entirely his plan, but still.[/footnote]. In the middle of a fight amongst vampires. This was shocking enough for everybody to stop and stare at the turkey. How did Harry capitalise on that moment? By saying "For my next trick: anvils.".

Agreed, though my personal favorite moment is when:

Spoiler

He wrote that letter to Ivy while she was kidnapped, banking on the fact that since she's the Archive she would instantly KNOW it when it was written down. Considering her current state of being a being of timeless knowledge and understanding of the evils of the world, encased in the body and mind of a 6 year old girl, filled with natural terror. While floating in a magical bubble, naked, freezing, alone, with literal hellhounds snapping at her to petrify her even more. The image of her suddenly having in her mind..."Ivy, we're coming, I'm alive, Kincaid's alive, we're fine, don't listen to them. We're COMING." Was just really powerfully awesome to me.

Another contender I think is Alex Veras, written by Benedict Jacka. He's not a traditionally powerful wizard/mage, as he only has the power of divination. But the ways in which he uses that power to destroy threats much larger than himself, and the lengths he goes to in the book series is really awesome. Honestly, thinking about it, he kind of reminds me a bit of Constantine, in the fact that he will do whatever to get the job done. He's probably more "heroic" than Constantine, but as the book series goes on, he starts doing some fairly bad shit, but it's just so awesome to read.

Doctor Orpheus! For a mere whisper from his lips can open your mind to a world of arcane tortures!

I love you so much for this one. xD He's my favorite character on that show.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

Many people I've spoken to have thought that Half Blood Prince was the worst book.

wat?

Pretty sure the general consensus for this is that HBP is one of the best HP books.

 

[Padwolf]

Many people I've spoken to have thought that Half Blood Prince was the worst book.

wat?

Pretty sure the general consensus for this is that HBP is one of the best HP books.

I know, it suprised me. But most people I've talked to have said "It's not that good. It's all about their relationship dramas." Apparently the story of Voldemort, and the end of the book, wasn't good enough for them, too much teenage romance dramas going on in their eyes. Though I made the argument "Well... they are 16. They are still human teenagers despite everything and they are developing characters. What on earth do you expect" and "But this is where EVERYTHING is happening!" but nope, nay saying commenced.

 

[Hawk of Battle]

If we're talking most powerful, ambitious, experienced and ancient, then there is only one magnificent bastard who could ever possibly be the correct answer.

Spoiler

All bow before the might of Nicol Bolas!

 

[Methodia Chicken]

Spoiler: I think the answer is really quite obvious if you think about it.

Though, I'm not terribly sure if I'd describe him as a "Magic User" magic just seems to occasionally use him, whenever the mood takes it.

If those who just get thrown around by magic to accomplish amazing things that they in no way wanted doesn't count these fellows are also good.

Spoiler: the faculty

[img=The faculty]http://wiki.lspace.org/mediawiki/images/thumb/1/14/UUFaculty.jpg/350px-UUFaculty.jpg[/img]

Limitless powers of the universe at their fingertips, and the do the smart and sensible thing and make sure to wear gloves, maybe take their fingertips a bit further away, and if possible forget about the whole silly thing and go have a nice dinner.

and if people who have magic happen to them count. I vote for the ape.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Magnus the Red, obviously.

 

[TheDrunkNinja]

There are only three words that need to be said here
Harry.

Motherfucking.

Dresden

Oh yeah, definitely. Awesome wizard with awesome power, but what makes him the best is that he almost always faces off against others that are far above his weight-class. And wins. After like the third book, he get's this awesome reputation of being incredibly dangerous and clever when he's underestimated. Like his greatest strength is the fact that he's not the most powerful wizard out there (hellfire powerhouse or no), and sooo many villains think they have him outwitted and outclassed... only to find he was conning them the whole time (Skin Game anyone?).

Nah, Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden takes it, in this case. Best Wizard. Hands down.

 

[GoodOmens]

Exactly, DrunkNinja. Harry doesn't have the raw power of, say, Gandalf or Strange. He relies on the magical equivalent of sand in the eyes and a quick knee right in the tender bits. And summoning the occasional undead dinosaur.

Capcha: magical realism. Very well suited.

 

[kasperbbs]

Edermask from the webtoon 'Magician', he is an unaging mage who lived long enough to forget his real name and he can cook a whole army with lightning if he so desires.

 

[Nismu]

I would give my vote to Nanoha (from magical girl lyrical Nanoha).. i mean how many of other mages have just used search magic (while fighting) to pin point the baddie and then blasted them with massive magic? Trough the baddies fortress (well spaceship or something in Nanohas case). Trough the walls and what ever there were between.

Spoiler

 

[Godhead]

There's only one proper answer.

Spoiler: I love my mommy!

 

[Zakarath]

Yep, for reasons already mentioned above, it's gotta be Dresden. No contest.

Some honorable mentions: Kvothe (Kingkiller Chronicles), Tohsaka Rin (Fate/Stay Night), Akemi Homura (Madoka Magica)

 

[Belaam]

my favourite will always be Pug/Milamber from many of Raymond E. Feist's works.

This.

Warping space and time and, you know,

Spoiler

throwing a moon at an extra-planar gate, destroying the planet to save a universe.

Puts George R. R. Martin to shame with that loss of life.

 

[happyninja42]

Exactly, DrunkNinja. Harry doesn't have the raw power of, say, Gandalf or Strange. He relies on the magical equivalent of sand in the eyes and a quick knee right in the tender bits. And summoning the occasional undead dinosaur.

Capcha: magical realism. Very well suited.

Bolded for emphasis. I would disagree that he doesn't have the raw power of Gandalf, as in the actual books, Gandalf never did much of anything except several light related spells. He was a glorified flashlight. xD Fighting the Nazgul on the rider, floodlight to the face. Banishing the spirit of Sauraman from the Rohan King, bright light to the face. In the mines of Moria, flashlight on his staff.

I'll grant Dr. Strange is pretty powerful, though I don't read his comic so I can't really compare, but I will stand by the fact that the thing that made Gandalf powerful, wasn't his magical muscle. It was his mind, and his ability to figure out the right bit of information to save the day. He was the one that went into the great library, and discovered the true nature of the ring, and thus knew how to defeat Sauran. Which is the key trait actually, that Jim Butcher quoted as being part of his inspiration for Harry, the investigator who will uncover your darkest secrets, and bring you down.

Though really, trying to debate which one is more powerful is kind of pointless. If you are crossing genre's and settings, the levels of power can vary drastically. In comic books, it's not a thing at all to have magic that lets a person summon giant tornadoes that shoot lightning and are possessed by some crazy demon thingy that also mind controls everyone touched by those winds. But in Middle Earth, that level of magical stuff just didn't exist. The magic was more subtle and pervasive, so trying to say one is more powerful than the other really fails at the onset, since they're working from entirely different playbooks of possible levels of power.

 

[Pescetarian]

I'm gonna give some much-needed exposure to "Harry Potter-Evans-Verres", the hero of the ridiculously professional science-based fan fiction Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality [http://hpmor.com/], which just finished. It's written by a quantum theorist and huge nerd, and turns Harry Potter into a mixture of Ender Wiggin and the Big Hero 6 kid.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

I know, it suprised me. But most people I've talked to have said "It's not that good. It's all about their relationship dramas." Apparently the story of Voldemort, and the end of the book, wasn't good enough for them, too much teenage romance dramas going on in their eyes. Though I made the argument "Well... they are 16. They are still human teenagers despite everything and they are developing characters. What on earth do you expect" and "But this is where EVERYTHING is happening!" but nope, nay saying commenced.

wat again?

There is more "relationship drama" in the 4th book by far if anything. Furthermore, one of the JK's strengths is that she knows how to write such amazing characters. So honestly, if people are complaining about too much character development... Just tell them to be quiet.