The Lord of the Rings is full of intense battles, but Gandalf experienced a particularly intriguing duel with the Witch-king of Angmar. Peter Jackson’s Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies are based on the work of legendary British author J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien released his seminal Lord of the Rings novel in three parts between 1954 and 1955, starting off the genre of modern fantasy as it is now known. Jackson incorporated many of Tolkien’s fights and added some of his own, from large-scale set pieces to gripping single combat scenes, including Gandalf vs. the Witch-king.

Gandalf fought the Witch-king of Angmar in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King movie, the final part of Peter Jackson’s trilogy. In Jackson’s follow-up to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Jackson pitted these two foes against each other in a fight that seemed unevenly matched to many book readers. This left some fans unpicking the fight and trying to work out whether Gandalf was stronger than Sauron’s right-hand man or vice versa. The answer lies in Tolkien’s lore.

Gandalf Is More Powerful Than The Witch-king

Gandalf Is Superior To The Witch-king Of Angmar

Gandalf is one of the most powerful characters in The Lord of the Rings and is certainly stronger than the Witch-king of Angmar. The Witch-king of Angmar is Sauron’s second-in-command, and Sauron is stronger than Gandalf when all is said and done. As such, it is easy to see why those who aren’t knee-deep in Lord of the Rings mythology may mistakenly perceive Gandalf and the Witch-king as evenly matched. The Return of the King added fuel to this misconception, making it seem as if Gandalf was having a hard time beating the Lord of the Nazgûl.

In terms of named characters, the Witch-king of Angmar is one of Sauron’s most powerful followers in The Lord of the Rings, and definitely his most trusted. Only Saruman could rival him, but Saruman betrayed Sauron. Sauron had the Witch-king totally under his control using the One Ring, flaunting his dark will. The Witch-king’s black breath, Morgul-blade, fell beast, and resistance to weapons of the Seen world made him a ᴅᴇᴀᴅly enemy. But Gandalf was an immortal Maia with innate power to weaponize energy with song and read minds, a Ring of Power, and sorcery that could beat the Witch-king.

Why Did Gandalf Struggle Fighting The Witch-king In Return Of The King?

Peter Jackson May Have Been Leaning On Glorfindel’s Prophecy

Gandalf struggled in his fight with the Witch-king of Angmar in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King because he wasn’t an entirely faithful adaptation of Tolkien’s character. In reality, the Witch-king of Angmar would probably have stood no chance against Gandalf. Gandalf never stood against the Witch-king in single combat in the novel that any of the movies were based on or in any other part of the legendarium. This battle, in The Return of the King, was entirely made up, hence its slightly overpowered Nazgûl king.

Gandalf’s staff broke in the movie, potentially indicating a real power imbalance, although he should have been beating the leader of Lord of the Rings’ Ringwraiths with relative ease. Peter Jackson may have been relying on one of Glorfindel’s prophecies to justify his overpowered Ringwraith. Although Glorfindel was sadly excluded from the Warner Bros. movies, in the book, he predicted that the Witch-king of Angmar could be defeated by no man. Glorfindel’s Third Age prophecy was included in the movie in the end, enabling Éowyn’s spectacular defeat of the Witch-king, and would have been ruined if Gandalf had beaten him first.

Could Gandalf Have Defeated The Witch-king?

Gandalf Likely Would Have Bested The Witch-king In Combat

Due to Glorfindel’s prophecy and some help from Merry’s enchanted blade, Éowyn was able to defeat the Witch-king of Angmar, but Gandalf could have bested him, in theory. It just would not have made much narrative sense. There is one catch in the terms of Gandalf’s campaign to oppose Sauron on Middle-earth that could have led to his inability to tackle the Witch-king properly. Gandalf was sent across the sea from Valinor to Middle-earth by the Valar to help in the fight against Sauron, but he was told to mask the true extent of his power.

Gandalf was clearly a terrifyingly powerful Wizard to anyone who got in his way, as proven by his battle with the Balrog in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Gandalf’s possession of Narya, the Ring of Fire, must have helped him in this one-to-one fight. He used his staff to fend off Sauron’s demonic ally but was still dragged to the depths of the earth and forced to endure the death of his body before being resuscitated by Lord of the Rings’ God, Eru Ilúvatar. Gandalf did not display the extent of his power even then.

Gandalf was locked into his body as one of Lord of the Rings’ five Istari, despite the Maiar capacity to shapeshift. This was part of Eru’s failsafe, built into the Istari plan, to ensure that the Istari did not get too big for their boots and start demanding worship like Sauron – who was also a Maia. Gandalf had no access to one of the key abilities of his species and relied a lot on his learned ability as a sorcerer and items of power. Jackson may have rationalized his weaker Gandalf as an inhibited Maia in The Lord of the Rings.