In the world of Wicked, Elphaba is one of the most powerful characters in The Land of Oz, and here is how powerful she is compared to The Wicked Witch of the West in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz. Wicked attempts to paint a more sympathetic picture of the villain from The Wizard of Oz, showing how the witch actually came to be wicked. Despite Elphaba and 1939’s Wicked Witch of the West being very similar characters, they are not identical, with Elphaba and the Wicked Witch having different powers, abilities, and magical capabilities in their respective stories.

The canon status of the various Oz stories is a little murky, as while author L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and other Oz stories are public domain, Warner Bros.’ 1939 The Wizard of Oz film is not. However, much of the iconography associated with Oz comes from the 1939 film, meaning that other adaptations like Wicked have to find a careful balance. Wicked is not a canon prequel to the 1939 movie, but it is attempting to draw from the story and world of the 1939 film and the original books, meaning that the characters have some differences.

Every Magical Ability Elphaba Has In Wicked

& How She Can Use Them

Despite 2024’s Wicked movie being only the first half of the musical that it is based on, the film manages to show off a lot of Elphaba’s powers in its story. The first power that Elphaba is shown to have is the ability to telekinetically move and levitate objects. At first, Elphaba can’t control this power. It only happens in moments of extreme emotional distress, such as when she is born and when she first arrives to Shiz University. However, she seemingly gets control over it by the end of Wicked, with her using it to fly on a broomstick.

Elphaba’s magical abilities also give her some other powers. While attempting to escape Shiz, she manages to use poppy flowers to make everyone around her (with the exception of Fiyero) fall asleep. Her other powers come from her ability to read the Grimmerie, an ancient book of spells that nobody else can read. When first reading the Grimmerie, Elphaba is able to enchant The Wizard’s army of monkeys, turning them into the flying monkeys that are seen in The Wizard of Oz. However, she doesn’t get much time to use the Grimmerie, leaving her magical potential up in the air.

The Wicked Witch Of The West Has Some Magic Powers In Wizard Of Oz That Elphaba Doesn’t

The 1939 Film Shows Them All

Although Wicked spends a lot more time with Elphaba than The Wizard of Oz spends with the Wicked Witch of the West, the 1939 villain has a lot of powers that Elphaba doesn’t. Firstly, the Wicked Witch is shown to have all of the powers that Elphaba has, proving that she is far more powerful than the version that is seen in the 2024 film. The Wicked Witch is also able to teleport, with her demonstrating this early in The Wizard of Oz when she teleports to Munchkinland after Dorothy kills the Wicked Witch of the East.

The Wicked Witch of the West also possesses the power of pyrokinesis, which is the ability to manipulate fire. In The Wizard of Oz, it is shown that the Wicked Witch can create fireballs in her hands and throw them at people. The Wicked Witch also has far more control over her telekinetic abilities, with her manipulating objects with her mind on purpose. Rather than this accidentally happening due to her emotions, the Wicked Witch intentionally does things like lock her castle with her mind.

The Wicked Witch also has a variety of abilities that come as a product of her magical crystal ball. Firstly, she is able to view Dorothy and her friends through the ball, with her tracking their journey throughout the film. The Wicked Witch can also use the crystal ball to cast spells in spaces she isn’t physically in, such as when she enchants the poppy flowers. Since Elphaba can do this without the crystal ball in Wicked, it is unclear if the Wicked Witch could perform this specific spell without the aid of her crystal ball.

Wicked Does A Better Job Of Showing How Powerful Elphaba Is

It Makes Her Powers More Significant In Oz

Although 1939’s The Wizard of Oz gives the Wicked Witch of the West a lot more powers, 2024’s Wicked does a much better job of showing how powerful Elphaba is. Elphaba’s magic is one of the main focuses of the film, with the movie highlighting each moment she gains a new ability or gains further control over her magic. Characters are scared of her powers, although others like Madame Morrible want to train her to better utilize her abilities. Wicked viewers see Elphaba’s attempts to grow in her magic, while the Wicked Witch simply has the powers already.

Wicked also shows that Elphaba’s powers are so unique that she has gotten the attention of the Wizard of Oz. This highlights how special Elphaba is, with the film time and time again reinforcing that these magical abilities are wholly unique to Elphaba. In 1939’s The Wizard of Oz, it isn’t explained that these powers are unique to the Wicked Witch, although the presence of Glinda and other witches implies that the Wicked Witch isn’t the only figure in Oz with these abilities.

Wicked 2 Will Bring Elphaba’s Power Level Closer To Wizard Of Oz’s Wicked Witch Of The West

Based On The Musical’s Story

Although 2024’s Wicked may not have presented Elphaba as being nearly as powerful as The Wizard of Oz‘s Wicked Witch of the West, Wicked Part Two will fix this. The second act of Wicked, which Wicked Part Two will adapt, covers the events during and after the story of The Wizard of Oz. Thus, it is necessary that, by the end of Wicked Part Two, Elphaba has every power that the Wicked Witch had during The Wizard of Oz. So, it can be expected that Elphaba will utilize things like pyrokinesis and her crystal ball in the sequel.

On top of that, there is a time jump after the events of 2024’s Wicked. This means that Elphaba will have spent time with the Grimmerie, allowing her to gain control over her preexisting powers and even gain some new ones. Elphaba will have much more potential by the time Wicked Part Two is released, building off her Wicked story and bringing her closer to her incarnation in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz.