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117-482: Katharine M. Rogers, a biographer of L. Frank Baum , has argued that there was a precursor of the Nome King in one of Baum's pre-Oz works. In A New Wonderland (1899), later known as The Magical Monarch of Mo , there is a similar character called King Scowleyow. Rogers finds him a "convincingly evil" villain despite his ridiculous name. His people reportedly live in caves and mines. They dig iron and tin out of

234-407: A fairy tale writer. He places him in a group of writers with Charles Dickens (1812–1870), John Ruskin (1819-1900), George MacDonald (1824–1905), and Oscar Wilde (1854–1900). They brought an oppositional political perspective to their fairy tales and questioned the classical fairy tales and society at large. They reached out to young readers from the upper class , the petite bourgeoisie , and

351-625: A "pink kitten," or sometimes, as in Glinda of Oz (1920), as a "purple kitten." The last third of Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz presents her as dishonest, and she is placed on trial for having eaten the smallest of the Nine Tiny Piglets , which was given to Princess Ozma as a pet. Eureka is threatened with execution until the piglet is finally found. Although Eureka ultimately tells them where

468-472: A beautiful young woman who practices Yookoohoo (transformation-only) magic for her own amusement. Reera is interested by his impertinence with her, and Ervic very shrewdly manipulates her into restoring the Adepts to human form, taking quite a bit of time and waiting for her to ask permission to transform them several times. The Adepts are able to assist the raising of the city, and with Coo-ee-oh gone, Lady Aurex

585-470: A chance to locate the Scarecrow, whom the Nome King transformed into an ornament shortly after their entering of his domain. Of the group, all but Dorothy fail and are subsequently transformed also. As this occurs, the Nome King progressively becomes more organic looking in appearance, and would have most likely became completely human should Dorothy failed on her last guess (why the Nome King so desires this

702-581: A dumb king. Peter, Pigasus and Captain Samuel Salt aid in his defeat and he is transformed into a jug. In Handy Mandy in Oz (1937), the Wizard of Wutz, the handsome but cruel King of the Silver Mountain, restored Ruggedo's proper form. At the end of that book, Himself the Elf transforms both of them into cacti, so that they can never make trouble again. Ruggedo made no further appearances in

819-484: A giant pair of forceps and clamp it to one of the Purple Dragon's teeth, but it winds its tail around a pillar to stop the people from pulling his tooth out. As it turns out, its tooth cannot be removed, even though the people run all the way to the other side of the valley with the forceps. Instead, the Purple Dragon is stretched all the way across the valley; it is stretched so thin that it's "no larger around than

936-519: A large crown upon his rocky head. He controls the Nomes at will, headed by his lead Nome, Feldspar, who is very similar to Chistery , the flying monkey character from the Broadway adaptation, Wicked . The Nome King was portrayed on film by Nicol Williamson in 1985's Return to Oz which was based loosely on the books Ozma of Oz and The Marvelous Land of Oz . In that film, his rock-like nature

1053-536: A large kite, which flies into the air, taking Zingle with it, eventually landing in the Land of the Civilized Monkeys, where monkeys act like humans. The monkeys do not speak English (but rather, they speak Monkey) and have never seen a human before. So they think Zingle is a dangerous animal and lock him in the zoo, where all of the monkeys come to see him, including two professors who believe that Zingle may be

1170-503: A lion collector named King Mustafa seeks to capture him, while he seeks to restore his courage. Dorothy Gale is the main character and adolescent protagonist in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) and several sequel Oz books. She is a heroic and sweet-tempered orphan girl from a small farm on the prairies of Kansas . Baum never reveals Dorothy's age, but she is thought to be no older than twelve years old. In appearance she

1287-506: A machine capable only of destruction, and both villains demonstrate the tendency of evil towards self-destruction. The character called the Nome King is originally named Roquat the Red. Later, he takes the name Ruggedo, which Baum first used in a stage adaptation. Even after Ruggedo loses his throne, he continues to think of himself as king and the Oz book authors politely refer to him that way. Authors Ruth Plumly Thompson and John R. Neill used

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1404-555: A novelization of the play), wherein she teams up with the Shaggy Man and together they go to the Nome King 's Caverns. In the book series, Betsy arrives to Oz from Oklahoma with a mule named Hank, and she is shown as a constant companion of both Dorothy and Trot in the later books. In The Lost Princess of Oz (1917), she is said to be one year older than Dorothy Gale. Betsy is more passive than Dorothy, and in one book she

1521-420: A piece of twine". Prince Fiddlecumdoo decides to cut the dragon into strings, some of which he decides to use for his violin, while he stores the rest in the royal warehouse for anyone to take and use. Though it is technically still alive, the Purple Dragon is now nothing more than two pieces of matter: "one tied to a tree in the mountains and the other fastened to a post of the castle". With the Purple Dragon gone,

1638-626: A small farm on the prairies of Kansas . Neither of them believe their niece when she tells them she has been to the Land of Oz ; they consider her a mere dreamer, as her dead mother had been. This changes when the two later face foreclosure on their farm. Dorothy arranges with Princess Ozma to bring them to Oz, so that they can escape their bleak fates and be safe and finally content. Eventually, in The Emerald City of Oz (1910), they move permanently to Oz and take up jobs there. Betsy Bobbin

1755-535: A train with her to San Francisco to visit her relatives on Hugson farm. While riding with Bill Hugson's nephew Zeb, an earthquake opens a large chasm in the ground, and Eureka falls with Dorothy, Zeb, and Jim the Cab-Horse into the land of the Mangaboos, people made of vegetable. The strange lights in the Mangaboos' cavern create all sorts of odd colors, and Eureka looks pink there. Eureka is then referred to as

1872-733: A tunnel under the Deadly Desert while his general recruits a host of evil spirits like the Whimsies, the Growleywogs, and the Phanfasms to conquer Oz. Fortunately at the moment of invasion, Ozma wishes (using her magic belt) for a large amount of dust to appear in the tunnel. Roquat and his allies thirstily taste the Water of Oblivion and forget everything where Roquat forgets his enmity and his name. Tik-Tok of Oz (1914) reintroduces

1989-700: A valley controlled by the giant Hartilaf. It is ruled by a royal family like those in European fairy tales, but they use modern inventions such as telephones, electric lights, bicycles, and chewing gum. The people are immortal and cannot be killed. The Land of Mo is also mentioned in The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (as Phunniland), as well as in The Patchwork Girl of Oz , and appears in The Scarecrow of Oz . Chapter One : This chapter

2106-562: A wooden-headed man. The wood-chopper then confronts the Purple Dragon, who tries its head-biting technique again, only to get its teeth stuck in the wooden head, thus letting the wood-chopper get his own head back so he can marry a princess. Chapter Three : The Monarch meets a dog who is a curiosity because there are no dogs in Mo. However, his majesty loses his temper and ends up kicking the dog who literally gets bent out of shape until he resumes his natural form again. Chapter Four : Prince Zingle,

2223-453: A year) by throwing a huge celebration, during which he entertains everyone with items from a magical casket. Everyone goes ice-skating on a lake of sugar-syrup. The sugar-syrup cracks and Princess Truella, Prince Jollikin, and Nuphsed sink to the bottom. The King gets them out by fishing for them, baiting the line with a kiss for Truella and a laugh for Jollikin. But when it comes to getting Nuphsed, no one knows what he likes best, so they consult

2340-555: Is a Munchkin who attends Shiz University with Elphaba and Galinda . In the musical adaptation (but not in Baum's or Gregory Maguire 's books), Boq becomes the Tin Woodman . In the musical's two-part film adaptation (2024–2025), his character arc is expanded upon, complete with him being given a surname, Woodsman. The Braided Man is a bent-over old man with his hair and beard in braids who lives halfway up Pyramid Mountain. He

2457-410: Is a fictional character in L. Frank Baum 's Land of Oz . Betsy is portrayed with various hair colors throughout the series; in her initial appearances her hair was colored as blonde, strawberry blonde or light brown. Later appearances depicted her as brunette or with auburn hair. Betsy first appears in Baum's 1913 stage play The Tik-Tok Man of Oz , and then in his 1914 novel Tik-Tok of Oz (partly

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2574-461: Is a fictional character who first appears in two of Baum's fantasy novels, The Sea Fairies (1911) and Sky Island (1912). Bill was introduced along with his friend Trot; they both later appear in The Scarecrow of Oz (1915) which is the ninth book in the Oz series . Cap'n Bill Weedles is an ex-sailor with a wooden left leg from the knee down. His head is almost bald and what little hair he has

2691-594: Is a great inventor who used to live on the surface of the Earth where he worked with holes until a big one caused him to fall deep underground where he landed on Pyramid Mountain and lived on its spiral staircase since. Since then, he has amused himself by making Flutters and Rustlers. He first appears in Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908) where he meets Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz when they arrive at his cave and he gives them some of his products. While he states that there

2808-535: Is a minor character who appears in the beginning of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). He is depicted as a wealthy Munchkin man with a large family who offers Dorothy Gale and Toto shelter after throwing a lavish banquet in Dorothy's honor upon her arrival to the Land of Oz . Boq plays a much larger role in the Wicked books (1995) and the successful Broadway musical of the same name (2003). In Wicked , Boq

2925-767: Is a white rabbit from Bunnybury who first appears in The Emerald City of Oz (1910). He works as the Keeper of the Wicket which is a name given to the Doorman of Bunnybury. He can only admit visitors with an order or letter of introduction from Ozma of Oz or Glinda the Good. When visitors are admitted, Bristle reduces them to the size of a rabbit before letting them into the village itself. Button-Bright (real name: Saladin Paracelsus de Lambertine Evagne von Smith) first appears in

3042-563: Is called "the Cast-iron Man". The metallic creature roars, rolls his eyes, and gnashes his teeth. It is set on marching across a valley, destroying trees and houses on its path. Rogers notes the similarities between Scowleyow and the Nome King: they represent the negation of good will and happiness, they are associated with the underground and material wealth, Scowleyow is a powerful figure who uses his technological knowledge to create

3159-560: Is described as having chubby little hands, a round rosy face, big earnest eyes filled with awe and a merry laugh. She has a small pet dog Toto , whom she loves dearly. After her first adventure in the Land of Oz , she returns to Kansas via the charmed Silver Shoes ( Ruby Slippers in the classic MGM musical of 1939 ) she obtained while there but lost between worlds when she was teleported back. Not much later, she unexpectedly returns to Oz again, thus having several more adventures before permanently settling there as an official princess of Oz in

3276-455: Is described as shy. Betsy was later made a Princess of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson , and she also appears as the protagonist of Thompson's The Hungry Tiger of Oz (1926) in which she helps a young prince from an Evian kingdom called Rash regain his throne from a wicked uncle. Billina is Dorothy's pet hen on the Kansas farm and first appears in the book Ozma of Oz (1907), in which she saves

3393-473: Is driven by a lust for power for the sake of power. Once defeated, the King gains a new sinister motivation, revenge . He and his allies want to enslave people to attain wealth and power. Oz is Baum's version of the utopia and the Nome King strives to undermine this utopian civilization. Zipes believes that Baum was against any kind of violence. In The Emerald City of Oz (1910), the Nome King's invasion of Oz

3510-457: Is grizzled. His eyes are pale blue with a gentle look to them, and his face is round, rugged, and bronzed. He has been Trot's companion from birth as he was her mother's star boarder. Formerly he was captain of a schooner with Trot's father as his mate; after losing his leg, the Cap'n retired, and Trot's father was promoted to captain of the same ship. Cap'n Bill and Trot also play significant roles in

3627-601: Is helped off the island by Peter Brown , an athletic boy from Philadelphia , making his first trip to Oz. As in Ozma of Oz , Ruggedo is quite friendly when he thinks he is going to get his way. After threatening the Emerald City utilizing a Cloak of Invisibility, he is hit with a Silence Stone and immediately struck dumb. In Pirates in Oz (1931), the mute Ruggedo finds a town in the Land of Ev called Menankypoo, whose people speak with words across their foreheads and seek

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3744-465: Is named Queen of the Skeezers by Princess Ozma , and for his valor, Aurex names Ervic her Prime Minister . Eureka is a white kitten who is introduced in Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908). She is found by Uncle Henry who gives her the name Eureka, which means "I have found it!" Henry then gives the cat to his niece Dorothy making the cat her pet. Dorothy carries Eureka in a small birdcage on

3861-428: Is never elaborated upon). It is only when she successfully locates the Scarecrow and her friends, subsequently reverting the Nome King to his original form, does he reveal a more sadistic and threatening side to his character (hinted at throughout the film in his earlier exchanges with Princess Mombi and also his Nome Messenger). Hungry for revenge, he grows to an enormous size surrounded in a blaze of fire and tries to eat

3978-497: Is no use of money on Pyramid Mountain, he does accept Dorothy's blue bow. In The Road to Oz (1909), the Braided Man appears to have made it back to the surface as he was among the guests at Princess Ozma's birthday party. His present to Princess Ozma is the finest Flutters that he has made. The Braided Man appears in the 1985 film Return to Oz . He made a background appearance at the coronation of Princess Ozma. Bristle

4095-537: Is not bothered by his lack of a heart). Nimmie Amee agreed to marry him, but on the day of their wedding, a storm rose up, and the rain rusted Fyter so badly that he was frozen in place along a little used forest path. There he stood for years until he was discovered by the Tin Woodman , the Scarecrow , Woot the Wanderer, and Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter . Once lubricated and restored to life, Fyter accompanies

4212-467: Is now angry morning, noon, and night. He sees his situation as monotonous and preventing him from gaining any pleasure in life. Rogers observes that the King now resembles any number of historical rulers. He has become an irresponsible tyrant , and is driven only by malice . He also resembles a naughty child given to impotent rages. He starts the book by storming and raving "all by himself". He walks up and down in his jewel-studded cavern and gets angrier all

4329-458: Is often considered one of Baum's strongest male characters (as the author's male characters often tend to be ineffectual). When Queen Coo-ee-oh launches her submarine attack on the Flatheads, Ervic is one of the young men in her flagship. The Flatheads quickly dispatch with Coo-ee-oh, as they simply wanted revenge on her personally, but as she is the only one who knows the magic to get back to

4446-414: Is only slightly altered—Mo is called Phunniland or Phunnyland, but aside from the last paragraph of the first chapter, they are essentially the same book. It is illustrated by Frank Ver Beck . The Land of Mo occupies a magical valley across a desert from the Land of Oz . It is a sort of candyland , with many edible features in its landscape. It is adjacent to the land of the wicked King Scowleyow, and to

4563-415: Is plotless, serving more as a basic description of the Land of Mo, or "The Beautiful Valley". It explains that everyone in Mo is happy, and that the people never need to work, because everything they could desire grows on the trees, including items such as clothes. Nobody ages and the King and Queen of Mo have a lot of children. In A New Wonderland , the author mentions planning to move there himself, but this

4680-524: Is rather clear. Though unlike the Woggle-Bug, Frogman is not thoroughly educated and is much more interested in dandy fashion . He accidentally bathes in the Truth Pond and is thereafter magically compelled to speak only the truth. In The Magic of Oz (1919), Frogman is among the guests at Princess Ozma's birthday party. In 1986, March Laumer made him, with the proper name Frederick Fraukx,

4797-661: Is terrified, declaring that "Eggs are poison to Nomes!" He claims that any Nome who comes in contact with an egg will be weakened to the point that he can be easily destroyed unless he speaks a magic word only known to a few Nomes. Baum, however, strongly hints that the fear of eggs is unjustified, as the Scarecrow repeatedly pelts him with eggs at the end of the novel, causing him no apparent harm beyond stress enough to allow Dorothy Gale to remove his Magic Belt . Sally Roesch Wagner, in her pamphlet The Wonderful Mother of Oz , suggests that Matilda Joslyn Gage had made Baum aware that

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4914-400: Is therefore defeated in a non-violent way. Baum invented a fountain filled with the water of oblivion . A single sip of this water makes the drinker forget everything, including any evil intentions. The would-be invaders of Oz drink from the fountain, forget everything, and return home. Zipes argues that Baum was not going for a message of turning the other cheek . He was aware that if one uses

5031-620: The Emerald City . Soon after taking over the Oz series, Ruth Plumly Thompson brought back Ruggedo, his memory and rancor restored and living imprisoned under the city. Finding a box of mixed magic in Kabumpo in Oz (1922), he grows into a giant and runs away with Ozma's royal palace on his head. He is placed on a Runaway Land which runs out to the Nonestic Ocean and strands him on an island. In The Gnome King of Oz (1927), he

5148-519: The Land of Oz . In the sequel Oz books, he is often the main character in subplots that deal with him getting lost and being found again. In the non-canon stories of March Laumer , Button-Bright is depicted as an adult and married to Glinda . In the Dorothy Must Die multi-volume series, he is married to Polychrome. Button-Bright appears in the 1985 film Return to Oz in the background at Princess Ozma's coronation. Cap'n Bill Weedles

5265-590: The Scarecrow and Tin Woodman as he is in search of courage. At the end of the book, he becomes King of the Beasts in the dark forest in Oz's southern quadrant called Quadling Country , though this is rarely brought up in later Oz books. In the sequels, he appears in minor roles as Ozma's bodyguard and beast of burden, along with the Hungry Tiger . In Ruth Plumly Thompson's The Cowardly Lion of Oz (1923),

5382-521: The bullfrog , who is also captured. The bullfrog explains that he did not do it, as he and his wife were busy trying to save their tadpoles, who were eaten by a large fish. The wise men then blame the Yellow Hen, who is also captured. She explains that she did not do it, as her last batch of eggs accidentally produced a Hawk , not a chicken, and the Hawk took her away to a different country, and she spent

5499-410: The missing link . Prince Zingle manages to escape and get back home. Chapter Thirteen : The King's plum-pudding has been stolen, so he asks his wise men who did it. The wise men blame the fox, who is captured. The fox explains that he did not do it, as he was busy curing his family's sore throats by taking out the throats and turning them inside-out, then drying them in the sun. The wise men then blame

5616-591: The winged monkeys native to Oz. In the comic book The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles #1 (2006), Ruggedo is coerced by a new Witch to bring the Jabberwocky creature to life. In the novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , the Nome King is alluded to once, along with other underground threats believed by the citizens of Wicked's Oz to be mere legend. It is not officially stated whether

5733-422: The working class . The literary fairy tale was their political weapon and they preached a message of social liberation. In Zipes words': "Their art was a subversive symbolic act intended to illuminate concrete utopias waiting to be realized once the authoritarian rule of the Nome King could be overcome". Rogers points that The Emerald City of Oz (1910) was supposed to be the finale of the Oz series. Following

5850-546: The 1909 book The Road to Oz . When Button-Bright first appears, he is shown as a little boy who answers most questions with "Don't know." In the story Button's head is temporarily changed into a fox 's head by King Dox of Foxville; upon arriving in the Land of Oz, Billina and Tik-Tok took Button-Bright to the Truth Pond so that he could regain his head. He later makes an appearance at Princess Ozma 's birthday party. Baum brought Button-Bright back for his 1912 novel Sky Island , where he encounters Trot and Cap'n Bill for

5967-687: The Cookie Cook is a character who appears in the book The Lost Princess of Oz (1917). She is a Yip, a resident of a remote plateau in Oz who is noted for the delicious cookies she bakes in her diamond-studded gold dishpan. Cayke knows that the dishpan has magic powers; she admits to the Frogman that without it she is a poor cook, and her cookies are "pretty poor stuff and no better than any woman could make who does not own [her] diamond-studded gold dishpan." However, she has no idea that her magic dishpan can carry its occupants anywhere they desire to go. Ugu

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6084-584: The Emerald City, captured Glinda and Tuffy, took Glinda's wand, and now he wants to destroy Dorothy and seize her ruby slippers. Since his great fear of the Wizard has kept him underground, Dorothy and her friends journey to Topeka to get the Wizard to return to the Land of Oz and set everything straight. The Nome King is defeated when he falls under the Jitterbug's dancing spell and loses the Ruby Slippers when Tom and Jerry try to keep him from falling into

6201-573: The Great Jinjin expels him from his kingdom, placing Chief Steward Kaliko on the throne. In Rinkitink in Oz (1916), Kaliko behaves much like his former master. In The Magic of Oz (1919), the exile Ruggedo meets the young enchanter Kiki Aru and plans to destroy Oz again. He gets into the country without Ozma's knowledge, creating havoc. However, he again drinks of the Water of Oblivion, and to stop him ever going bad again Ozma settles him in

6318-604: The Imperial conference called after the destruction of the magic grove and was positively delighted by the plans outlined by the Snow Queen for the effective genocide of the mundane population. He did feel, however, that the plan could be improved with his assistance, feeling that he had many minions that could be of great use. In the wake of the fall of the Adversary's Empire, the Nome King creates his own pan-Ozian empire. He

6435-468: The King consents, although it is a bad idea. Prince Fiddlecumdoo leaves and meets a friendly giant named Hartilaf. Hartilaf's wife accidentally runs the prince through a clothes-wringer and Prince Fiddlecumdoo returns home, completely flat. They use an air pump to get him back to normal. Chapter Twelve : This chapter anticipates the novel Planet of the Apes by more than sixty years. Prince Zingle builds

6552-447: The King gives a feast to his people to celebrate the end of its reign of terror on their land. Betsy Bobbin This is a list of characters in the original Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum . The majority of characters listed here unless noted otherwise have appeared in multiple books under various plotlines. Oz is made up of four divisions that surround the Emerald City in

6669-638: The Magic Belt, and it must be seized again. He uses Nomes that parody the Fantastic Four and the Hulk that get pelted by Easter Eggs , again to no apparent harm, as in the book. Michael G. Ploog , who was a conceptual artist of Return to Oz , wrote and illustrated a graphic novel based on The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus in which the Gnome King looked like the Nome King's likeness in

6786-763: The Magical Monarch of Mo and His People (copyright registered June 17, 1896) is the first full-length children's fantasy novel by L. Frank Baum . Originally published in 1899 as A New Wonderland, Being the First Account Ever Printed of the Beautiful Valley, and the Wonderful Adventures of Its Inhabitants , the book was reissued in 1903 with a new title in order to capitalize upon the alliterative title of Baum's successful The Wonderful Wizard of Oz . The book

6903-615: The Metal Monarch in the stage play The Tik-Tok Man of Oz (1913), by Baum, Louis F. Gottschalk , and Victor Schertzinger , produced in Los Angeles by Oliver Morosco . In the play, he sings a duet with Polychrome titled "When in Trouble Come to Papa". As in the novel, the lack of females among Nomes causes Ruggedo to be willing to take her as wife, sister, or daughter so long as she remains to brighten his kingdom, and

7020-458: The Nome King with his new name, Ruggedo (all the Nomes, Whimsies, Growleywogs, and Phanfasms having forgotten the old one and old resentments). Using some personal magic, he has enslaved the Shaggy Man 's brother, a miner from Colorado . Shaggy, with the help of Betsy Bobbin , the Oogaboo army, some of Dorothy's old friends, and Quox the dragon , conquer the Nome King again and Tititi-Hoochoo

7137-710: The Nome King, or other figures undeniably real in Baum's Oz such as Lurline , actually exist in Maguire's Oz. In Blade: Trinity , Zoe is read the Oz books by her mother and she later compares Drake to the Nome King in that he is bad simply because he has never tried to be good. In Emerald City Confidential , the Nome King is now a bartender and is mostly reformed (although he is not above using illegal magic to gain back his fortune). Sherwood Smith 's novels The Emerald Wand of Oz and Trouble Under Oz feature Ruggedo's son, Prince Rikiki, who aspires to regain his father's kingdom. The Nome King appears in Dorothy and

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7254-500: The Pit of Nome Return. His Kansas counterpart is Lucius Bibb who is the neighbor of Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. He files a lawsuit claiming that the twister released some of the Gale pigs who then plundered his prize watermelon patch. He takes the animals away unless Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, and their farmhands can get jobs to get the money to keep their farm animals in twenty-four hours. By the end of

7371-562: The Root Beer River, and so she gets too close to the waterfall at the end of the river and falls down. She ends up in Turvyland, where everything is opposite of the way it should be. With some help from a local named Upsydoun, she manages to get back to her home. Chapter Eleven : The King's animal crackers, which are real animals, fight amongst each other, putting the King in a bad mood. So when Prince Fiddlecumdoo asks to leave Mo,

7488-423: The Tin Woodman left his beloved Nimmie Amee after losing his heart (as he felt he could not love her), Fyter, a member of the Munchkin army, met and fell in love with her when he found her crying over her lost love. Unfortunately, she was a ward to the Wicked Witch of the East, who made Fyter's sword do what the Woodman's axe did and cut off his limbs, which Ku-Klip the tin smith replaced with tin limbs (although Fyter

7605-446: The Wise Donkey serve as public advisors. She first appears in The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913) where Patchwork Girl, Ojo, and Glass Cat stop by the office of the Foolish Owl and the Wise Donkey where they knew about their current mission. The Frogman is a human-sized frog who appears as a character who is first introduced in The Lost Princess of Oz (1917). He was once an ordinary frog and his similarity to Professor Woggle-Bug

7722-444: The Wise Donkey. The Wise Donkey suggests that they use an apple, knowing that it will not work. When it does not work, the Wise Donkey eats the apple and tells them to use a kind word. They do, and it works. Chapter Six : King Scowleyow, who lives in a nearby country, hates the people of Mo, and has his people build a giant man out of cast iron, designed to destroy Mo. They wind up the Cast-Iron Man and he walks towards Mo, but trips on

7839-426: The Witches of Oz played by professional wrestler Al Snow . He is among the villains that accompanies the Wicked Witch of the West in her attack on Earth. During the climax of the film, the Nome King fights the Tin Man and is defeated by him. The Nome King appears in the comic series Fables . He is the current ruler of that land, as well as many of the surrounding kingdoms and Imperial districts. Nome King attended

7956-409: The book The Emerald City of Oz (1910). Dr. Pipt is sometimes called the Crooked Magician. He first appears in The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913). He is so crooked that his legs are nearly as handy as his arms. When he sits, one knee is under his chin and the other behind his back. Dr. Pipt lives in the Munchkin Country with his wife Margolotte. He is notable for creating the Patchwork Girl (who

8073-408: The borders to stop them. The Nome King is a slave owner and a chauvinist . He is outsmarted and humiliated by Billina the hen, and literally left with egg on his face. The writers find it telling that the hyper-masculine Nomes and their King are terrified of feminine eggs. The Nome King was first played by Paul de Dupont in The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays (1908). John Dunsmure played Ruggedo,

8190-416: The center. The country as a whole was originally enchanted by a character named Queen Lurline , who is described in the Oz backstory. Additional characters were added in regions surrounding the Land of Oz (beyond the deserts) as the series progressed. Aunt Em and Uncle Henry appear in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). They are Dorothy Gale 's guardian aunt and uncle. They live a joyless and gray life on

8307-435: The citizens of Oz from being turned into decor objects by the evil Nome King . She is sassy and talkative; at the conclusion of Ozma of Oz, Billina chooses to stay in Oz and live in the Emerald City 's royal palace, later becoming the matriarch of a large colony of chicks. She is a major character in Walt Disney's 1985 live-action film Return to Oz , in which she helps Dorothy save the Land of Oz from near extinction. Boq

8424-566: The day by killing the Gigaboo. Chapter Nine : There is an evil wizard in Mo who is a midget and very sensitive about his height, so he tries to make a potion to increase his height. One of the ingredients of the potion is the big toe of a princess, so he steals the toe from Princess Truella. Truella gives chase, overcoming the obstacles the Wizard throws at her, and eventually kills the Wizard and recovers her toe. Chapter Ten : The Duchess Bredenbutta falls asleep on her boat while it floats down

8541-515: The diamond-studded gold dishpan has been passed down in her family, from her mother and all of her grandmothers since the beginning of time; but its origin is never disclosed. Cayke makes a brief appearance in Jeff Freedman's 1994 novel The Magic Dishpan of Oz (her dishpan plays a much greater role there). The China Princess is a delicate and beautiful figurine made of china who appears in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). She lives in

8658-626: The dog. Prince Thinkabit figures out how to get rid of the Cast-Iron Man: he tickles the Cast-Iron Man to get him on his back, then he pushes a pin in the Cast-Iron Man to get him to stand up again, but now the Cast-Iron Man is facing the other way, so he goes to King Scowleyow's kingdom and destroys it instead. The Cast-Iron Man eventually gets stuck in the mud at the bottom of the ocean and is never heard from again. Chapter Seven : A boy named Timtom falls in love with Princess Pattycake,

8775-473: The egg is an important symbol of matriarchy , and that it is this that the Nomes (among whom no females are seen) actually fear. In their first encounter with Roquat, in Ozma of Oz (1903), Princess Ozma , Dorothy Gale, and a party from the Emerald City free the royal family of Ev from his enslavement and, for good measure, take away his magic belt. Roquat becomes so angry that he plots revenge in The Emerald City of Oz (1910). He has his subjects dig

8892-408: The end of the Nome King's invasion, Baum announced that the Land of Oz was forever closed from the outside world. The truth was that the writer had become tired of the series. In the preface of Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908), Baum humorously complained that children kept asking him for more Oz tales. He claimed that he knew of many other stories and hoped to tell them as well. In other words, he

9009-445: The film, Dorothy, Toto, Tom, and Jerry use the potion the Wizard gave them to help pay off Mr. Bibb and have him cancel his lawsuit against the Gale farm where he gets a larger watermelon. The Nome King appears in Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz portrayed by J. P. Karliak . His plans to take over the Land of Oz and his fear of chickens remain intact with the series. The Magical Monarch of Mo The Surprising Adventures of

9126-515: The film, but whose function was greatly expanded from the novel to be the ruler of all the Immortals. In L. Sprague de Camp 's Harold Shea series he teams his protagonist with the Nome King in " Sir Harold and the Gnome King ." In Bill Willingham's Vertigo comic book series Fables , the Nome King has sided with the Adversary and is now the ruler of Oz. He is later deposed in an uprising led by former Fabletown resident Bufkin , one of

9243-439: The first time. In this novel he is shown to be older and more verbal. Button reveals that he is from Philadelphia, and that his real name is Saladin Paracelsus de Lambertine Evagne von Smith. He was given the nickname "Button-Bright" by his parents as his name is rather long, and because they think that he is "bright as a button". In The Scarecrow of Oz (1915), Button-Bright becomes the first American to accidentally emigrate to

9360-436: The gifts, thus pleasing the animals. He then goes to Pattycake and feeds her the pill. She loses her temper and then agrees to marry him. Chapter Eight : A horrible monster called a Gigaboo comes to Mo and starts destroying things. Prince Jollikin fights the Gigaboo, and has his head, arms and legs cut off. Prince Jollikin manages to put himself back together, although at first he could only find his legs and head. He then saves

9477-574: The group of adventurers on their quest to find Nimmie Amee, intending to fulfill his vow of marriage (although he is willing to give her up if she chooses the Woodman over him). When they finally find her, she is happily married to Chopfyt, the assembled and combined "meat" parts of the two men. Finding Nimmie Amee happily married, they return to the Emerald City where Captain Fyter joins the Royal Army of Oz. Eventually, Ozma sends Fyter to keep order among

9594-468: The ideals of Thomas Jefferson , though here the slaves have been replaced by magic and good will. The Nome King and his black magic represent a technological civilization, driven by machines and industrialization . Vidal concluded that "the Nome King has governed the United States for more than a century; and he shows no sign of wanting to abdicate." Zipes believes that Baum was essentially

9711-521: The inconsistency of Eureka's color. Eureka appears in the 2017 series Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz voiced by Kari Wahlgren . She is a resident of Purrville who becomes friends with the Cowardly Lion . Evoldo is the late king of the Land of Ev , a monarchy across the Deadly Desert from Oz . He is discussed and pictured in Ozma of Oz (1907), but has died before the adventure takes place. Evoldo

9828-485: The last nine days returning to Mo. The King, furious at the wise men for being wrong three times, has them put into a meat-grinder, so that they are mixed into one wise man, who tells the King that the Purple Dragon stole the plum-pudding. Chapter Fourteen : The King holds a council of war to figure out how to destroy the Purple Dragon once and for all. They decide that, since the Purple Dragon cannot be killed, they can try to rip out its teeth to make it harmless. They build

9945-538: The later Oz books The Lost Princess of Oz (1917), The Magic of Oz (1919) and Jack Snow's The Magical Mimics in Oz (1946). Baum borrowed from one of his own earlier characters, Naboth Perkins in Sam Steele's Adventures on Land and Sea (1906), to create Cap'n Bill. Cap'n Bill appears in the 1985 film Return to Oz , in the background at Princess Ozma's coronation, holding the Magic Flower. Cayke

10062-498: The most beautiful princess, who unfortunately has a bad temper and tries to beat anyone who talks to her. He journeys to see the Sorceress Maëtta to get her help, and along the way, he meets a bird , a rabbit , and a spider who agree to help him in return for gifts from Maëtta. Timtom gets a pill for getting rid of Pattycake's temper and the gifts for the animals, but they are stolen by a Sly Fox. Timtom manages to recover

10179-660: The oldest Prince, is upset because the King will not let him milk the Ice Cream Cow. Urged by the Purple Dragon, Zingle pushes his father down a large hole so he will become the King. The Monarch escapes from the hole and punishes Zingle by abandoning him on the Fruit Cake Island on the Root Beer River, an island made of fruit cake. After a while, Prince Zingle gets such a furious stomachache from eating nothing but fruit cake that he repents. Chapter Five : The King celebrates his birthday (which he does several times

10296-403: The original Oz series, but his further adventures have been written in several later books (some of which harmonize with one another; others which are contradictory). Much fan discussion has revolved around the identity of the Gnome King in Baum's The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (1902), a jolly rock dweller who does not believe in giving, but only in even exchange. His gnomes watch over

10413-416: The other Nome King, Kaliko . In Rinkitink in Oz (1916), Kaliko says to his allies Queen Cor and King Gos: "as a matter of business policy we powerful Kings must stand together and trample the weaker ones under our feet". In this case, Baum makes his replacement Nome king sound like a stereotypical capitalist from his time period. According to Jack Zipes, the Gnome King represents materialist greed . He

10530-552: The piglet is, she is amused at being tried for something that is in her nature to attempt. Eureka returns with Dorothy to Kansas, but is later found living in Oz with no explanation of how she returned. Eureka may be conniving and deceitful, but overall she has a good heart. Eureka plays a significant supporting role in Dick Martin's 1986 novel The Ozmapolitan of Oz , and she is the heroine of Chris Dulabone's The Colorful Kitten of Oz (1990) which, among other things, addresses

10647-487: The plateau where the Yips live and travels the general land of Oz to find it. This trip makes her the first Yip to leave the plateau. Though the Frogman joins her, she was prepared to go alone, showing her courage and determination. Cayke is a relatively simple woman, but she is honest except when the truth will hurt someone's feelings, and seems to be generally good natured, if a little ill-tempered at times. According to Cayke,

10764-429: The princesses. After two failures, a durable head is made out of wood by a wood-chopper. The Purple Dragon finds the wood-chopper and bites his head off, replacing it with the King's head. When the wood-chopper appears in court, he switches heads with the King, so that the King has his own head again and the wood-chopper has a wooden head he made. The King then tries to fulfill his promise, but the princesses refuse to marry

10881-574: The protagonists in a scene inspired by Georges Méliès 's The Conquest of the Pole (1912). He is eventually destroyed by ingesting the hidden Billina 's chicken egg, laid in a panic by the hen (herself hiding in Jack Pumpkinhead 's hollow head), since eggs are poisonous to Nomes. In Kansas, his counterpart is Dr. J.B. Worley (also portrayed by Williamson) who is a psychiatrist obsessed with machines and has an interest in electro-therapy. Dorothy

10998-463: The readers' continued demand for new stories, his financial need for commercially successful stories, and his own fascination with the world of Oz. In this second period of Oz, Oz becomes a " socialist paradise ". The threats to it are genetic experimentation and abuse of magic. The Nome King returns in Tik-Tok of Oz (1914), where he represents cruel oppression. Jason M. Bell and Jessica Bell trace

11115-461: The rocks in the Forest of Burzee and make sleigh bells for each of Santa Claus 's ten reindeer that he gives in exchange for toys for his children. An editor's note to Judy Pike's article "The Decline and Fall of the Nome King" conjectures that the Gnome King is the Nome King's father. Concerning the original depiction of the Nome King by L. Frank Baum , essayist Suzanne Rahn has suggested that he

11232-401: The rocks in their environment. They melt these metals into bars and sell them. Scowleyow hates the King of Phunnyland and all his people, because they live so happily and "care nothing for money . He decides to destroy Phunnyland and instructs his mechanics to build what is essentially a robot . It is described as a great man built of cast iron , and containing within him machinery. The robot

11349-420: The same methods as one's enemies, one risks becoming like them. If the defenders of Oz became cutthroat and militant like the Nome King and his forces, this would have tarnished the spirit and principles of Oz. So their victory, as orchestrated by Ozma is using a different method, oblivion. The method is creative, humane , and humanitarian . Gore Vidal argued that Oz represents a "pastoral dream" deriving from

11466-416: The shoemaker steals Cayke's dishpan and uses it to kidnap Ozma and steal all the magic in the Land of Oz . When Cayke discovers her dishpan has gone missing, she is greatly distressed, and causes quite a fuss by wailing and screaming. After the Frogman, who is thought to be extremely wise by all of the Yips, tells her that the dishpan has been stolen by someone outside of the country of the Yips, she leaves

11583-541: The slavery and emancipation theme in the Oz tales to Baum's own childhood. As a child, Baum experienced the American Civil War (1861-1865) and the consequent abolition of slavery in the United States . The heroes of the Oz tales tend to be abolitionists and strive to end slavery in any form. The villains are slave owners who seek to enslave others and institute slavery. The inevitable conflict between

11700-419: The song has him trying out the father option. Over the summer of 2007, South Coast Repertory performed a play called Time Again in Oz, featuring many familiar Oz characters, such as Roquat the Nome King, Tik-Tok, Uncle Henry, and, of course, Dorothy. Instead of being portrayed as an old man that looks like a mineral, Roquat is identified as being tall, rock-like with a boulder-like mass for his torso, and wears

11817-646: The stone giants. He manages to find his skin and puts it back on, before growing bat-like wings and flying to the Emerald City. While his name isn't revealed, it appears he is a form of the so-called "Beast Forever" that the people of Oz are afraid of. The episode ends with Dorothy being called back to Oz to help save it from the Beast Forever. The Beast Forever's identity is revealed in the credits, which list him as "Roquat". The Nome King appears in Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz voiced by Jason Alexander . He has taken over

11934-462: The submerged city, the young men sit in the boat, unsure what to do. Ervic is approached by the Three Adepts at Magic who are stranded in the form of fish. They wish him to catch them in a bucket and to follow their instructions, and that if he does so, he will save himself, his city, and his companions. They help him get the boat to shore and have him carry the bucket to Reera the Red. Reera is

12051-432: The time. He also turns his anger towards his own subjects, when they disagree with him. He punishes them by throwing them away, though Baum does not really explain the meaning of this punishment. Rogers suggests that it sounds "mysteriously horrible". Despite Baum's intentions to end the Oz series, he eventually returned to it. He continued writing it from 1912 until his death in 1919. His motivations for returning to it were

12168-577: The tiny hidden enclave called "Dainty China Country" in the Quadling Country of the Land of Oz . She, like all the other china people, cannot leave their enclave or they will become lifeless and stiff. The China Princess appears in the 2013 film Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return voiced by Megan Hilty . The Cowardly Lion is a talking lion who lives in the Land of Oz . He appears in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) and becomes one of Dorothy Gale 's first companions in Oz, joining her and

12285-554: The title character of The Frogman of Oz: The Oz Book for 1947 , along with a U.S. Navy frogman . The Frogman is a crucial character in Jeff Freedman's 1994 novel The Magic Dishpan of Oz . The Frogman appears in the 1985 film Return to Oz . He is seen in the background at the coronation of Princess Ozma. Captain Fyter the Tin Soldier is a character who is first introduced in The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918). After

12402-567: The traditional spelling " gnome " so Ruggedo is the title character in Thompson's The Gnome King of Oz (1927). In Baum's universe, the Nomes are immortal rock fairies who dwell underground. They hide jewels and precious metals in the earth, and resent the "upstairs people" who dig down for those valuables. Apparently as revenge, the Nome King enjoys keeping surface-dwellers as slaves —not for their labor but simply to have them. The Nomes' greatest fear are eggs . Upon seeing Billina , Roquat

12519-465: The two sides is a recurring theme in the Oz tales and has in their view contributed to the enduring popularity of the series. The Bells argue that it is no coincidence that abolitionist Dorothy Gale is from Kansas. Baum was a child during the Bleeding Kansas conflict (1854-1861). Thousands of abolitionists moved to Kansas to vote against slavery, while Border Ruffians from Missouri crossed

12636-551: The wild inhabitants of the unknown areas of the Gillikin Country. Gayelette was an ancient princess and sorceress who lived in a ruby palace in the northern quadrant called Gillikin Country of the Land of Oz , introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). She was the original owner and creator of the charmed Golden Cap which had a curse cast upon it that compelled the creatures called Winged monkeys long before

12753-594: Was a "distinctly American kind of monarch". Rather than a traditional king, the Nome King was more of an industrial capitalist . His power resided in controlling a monopoly . Ozma's relationship with the Nome Kingdom has been discussed as an example of imperialism in English literature. Rahn compares the king to industrialists Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919), J. P. Morgan (1837-1913), and John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937). Richard Tuerk expands this theory to include

12870-509: Was a cruel despot ; after purchasing Tik-Tok , the clockwork man, and giving him his name, Evoldo sold his wife and ten children (five boys, five girls) to the Nome King in exchange for a long life. Later, regretting this bargain, he locked Tik-Tok in a stone chamber and committed suicide by jumping into the Nonestic Ocean . The Foolish Owl is a great blue owl that lives in Munchkin Country and speaks in nonsense poetry. She and

12987-572: Was created by Dr. Pipt's wife, Margolotte) and the Glass Cat . Dr. Pipt also invented the Powder of Life (although in the 1904 novel The Marvelous Land of Oz this invention is credited to another crooked magician named Dr. Nikidik). In an article in the Spring 1965 issue of The Baum Bugle , Lee Speth argues that Nikidik faked his death in the earlier book, to assume a new identity as Pipt. He

13104-518: Was deprived of his magic abilities by Glinda for doing magic without a permit. Glinda also straightened his crooked limbs. In The Lost Princess of Oz (1917), Dr. Pipt assists Ojo and Unc Nunkie in a search party that is organized to find Princess Ozma. Dr. Pipt appears in the 2017 series Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz voiced by J. P. Karliak . Ervic is a major character in Glinda of Oz (1920). Displaying "courage, cleverness, and ingenuity," Ervic

13221-531: Was killed during Bufkin's revolution when the Nome King's own hanging rope magically came to life and snapped its master's head off. The Nome King appears in the season one finale of Emerald City portrayed by Julian Bleach . He appears as a flayed man trapped by Mistress East in the Prison of the Abject, possibly even the first to be imprisoned there. Dorothy Gale frees him in her search of someone able to control

13338-477: Was omitted from subsequent editions. Chapter Two : The King of Mo goes to fight the Purple Dragon, which has just eaten all of the caramels in the land. The Purple Dragon bites off his head and the King is forced to go home headless. The King tries to make the best of it, but the Queen complains that she cannot kiss him anymore, so he issues an edict saying that whoever can make him a new head will get to marry one of

13455-525: Was ready to move on to other works. This complain also appeared in The Road to Oz (1909), where he hinted at a coming finale to the series. In this novel, the Nome King has lost all traces of being jolly and good-humored. He has long been stewing over his defeat and the loss of his magic belt. He feels nothing but a constant anger , which has destroyed his own capacity to feel happiness and makes his subjects miserable as well. The King himself points that he

13572-477: Was taken to his clinic when she was unable to sleep. By the end of the movie, it was mentioned by Aunt Em that Dr. Worley perished in the fire trying to save his machines. Roquat, having regained his original name, is the villain of The Oz-Wonderland War , published by DC Comics and starring Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew . Much of the story retreads material from Ozma of Oz , as he has also regained

13689-430: Was taken to the extreme via Will Vinton 's Claymation . His personality and characterization largely stays true to how he is portrayed in the original novels, being seemingly fair and courteous to Dorothy and her companions under the belief that they will fail a game he sets up for them (in which they touch an ornament from his collection and say "Oz" simultaneously, having three chances each to do so) in order to give them

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