Who would win, Gandalf or Dumbledore?

[GeneralHankerchief]

In a couple of my classes right now there is a massive debate going around centered around the two most well-known wizards of the modern era and who would win in a fight.

I'd like to know the Org's opinion on this. Keep in mind that it's who would win, not who's better. If I asked the latter, this being a wargaming forum the answers would be overwhelming. Please post why you think they'd win too.

I think that this question is just as important to society as the current "Pirates or ninjas" thread going around. I have my own opinion but I'll hold off until a few of you guys post.

[UltraWar]

I made a ytmnd site all about this ... http://gownsdumb.ytmnd.com/ you'd need to save the website and view the image on it's own to see who would win.

[Brutus]

I voted Gandalf, but seriously, Catweazle would rule them both.

[Mithrandir]

Mithrandir ofcourse, duh.

[Avicenna]

Darth Vader!

Gandalf, of course. He has a hobbit army to use as cannon fodder, a sword, a horse and a staff.

[Reverend Joe]

Neither.



"Good... bad... I'm the one with the gun."

[Ianofsmeg16]

Indiana Jones

[Dutch_guy]

Gandalf would totally destroy Dumbledore

Is there really any point asking ?

[The_Doctor]

What the hell is "Dumbledore"?

[GeneralHankerchief]

For all those who don't know, Dumbledore is a wizard in the Harry Potter series.

He kinda fills the role of Gandalf.

[Mithrandir]

I could add an offended relpy here offering insights on the role of Gandalf, but that'd just me look like more of a nerd...

[UltraWar]

Gandalf is cooler than Dumbledore...

I can't wait for Book 6 to be released in the cinemas >:}

[doc_bean]

Dumbledore lets an adolescent boy do the fighting for him (no the hobbits weren't doing the fighting), Gandalf can make horsemen charge through a phalanx better than CA can. He also wouldn't put up with any of those arrogant brats in that wizard's school.

Really, ninja vs pirate is debatable, this isn't.

[UltraWar]

Dumbledore lets an adolescent boy do the fighting for him (no the hobbits weren't doing the fighting), Gandalf can make horsemen charge through a phalanx better than CA can. He also wouldn't put up with any of those arrogant brats in that wizard's school.

Really, ninja vs pirate is debatable, this isn't.

Something Awful must be going on between Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore... burn the heathens!

[ajaxfetish]

Gandalf, no question

A tougher call for me would be between Gandalf and Merlin.

Old-school wizards just tend to have a lot more panache than the newer ones, who are so often based on their forebears, either in the entirety of their character or in smaller aspects. Now to go to nerd-mode. Uh-oh. We don't have quite the encyclopedic knowledge for Dumbledore that we do for Gandalf, but I think we can safely say he is quite old (I'm guessing several hundred years), and a human. He teaches children magic, and is among the most powerful and respected wizards of his age. He has no known military experience and the evil he faces is one other wizard, also human though corrupted and twisted, and those who follow him, a hated conspiracy that hides itself within the wizarding community, not sufficiently powerful to operate in the open.

Gandalf is a maia, on an even plane with other lesser deities such as Sauron or the Balrogs, and only one step down from the valar, such as Morgoth or the elemental gods. He has existed basically forever and is immortal. When he is killed by a Balrog (a peer of sorts), he is returned to life to finish his mission, thus showing he is an essential figure in the eyes of the gods. He faces an evil that has existed since the creation, which has virtually unlimited resources at its disposal, and which has thrown down the world's greatest hero's for several ages (ages being on a much more epic scale than anything in Harry Potter). Although a very powerful magician, he limits his use of magic greatly, aware of the corrupting nature of power, thus wise as well as mighty, unlike another of his peers, Saruman. He is experienced both in fighting himself and in leading men to war, as well as his maneuvering in the political/diplomatic sphere.

Gandalf bests Dumbledore on scale, fighting ability, personal nature, and contribution to the fantasy genre as a whole. As a sidenote, he also outnumbers Dumbledore when it comes to official alternative names (see Mithrandir/Olorin).

Merlin has made I think an even greater contribution to the fantasy literature as a whole, and since he is not limited to a single author his individual nature is much more ambiguous, so comparing his powers with those of Gandalf would be difficult, though I don't think he quite carries Gandalf's demigod nature. He is even older (historically, not age-wise), and even more a part of creating the wizard persona.

I'll leave that contest up to further debate, but Gandalf beats Dumbledore hands down, and the poll results thus far certainly establish that, so it looks like I've exposed myself by going into nerd-mode just to preach to the choir. Whoops. I guess I don't have the same discretion and restraint shown so recently by Mithrandir. One more plug for Gandalf's superiority, I suppose!

Ajax

[doc_bean]

Wait, I thought gandalf had beaten the balrog ?

[UltraWar]

Wait, I thought gandalf had beaten the balrog ?

Gandalf defeated the Balrog and cheated death.

[Duke Malcolm]

Which Dumbledore? Richard Harris or that Gambon fellow? Richard Harris would beat McKellen's Gandalf, but the latter beats Gambon...

Gandalf wins erstwhile...

[The Stranger]

Gah!!!

[Avicenna]

Rowling's Dumbledore, not Hollywood's.

[English assassin]

Merlin pwns all. Here's why:

If Gandalf/ Dumbledore are such powerful wizards why do they hang out with irritating child sized sidekicks? It can only be to make themselves look better. Obviously all these powers and so on are a lie. Did anyone actually SEE Gandalf kill that balrog?

Whereas Merlin hung out with the King Arthur and the Knights of the Round table who were rock hard.

Case closed

[Crazed Rabbit]

This isn't even a contest.

Gandalf is nigh an immortal demi-god, fighting another, evil demi-god for the fate of the world.

Dumbledore mumbles latinized english and waves a little stick, whose prime nemesis is a cliche of an evil wizard.

See Ajaxfetish's post for a better explaination.

Crazed Rabbit

[The Spartan (Returns)]

Gandalf. his task is to save the world which he hasnt yet, so if he dies he will just become Gandalf "The Black", "The Pink" and so on..

[GeneralHankerchief]

Not to mention the fact that if Dumbledore somehow killed Gandalf, Gandalf would just be resurrected and be more powerful than before.

[edyzmedieval]

The High Priest of Serapis is the most powerful wizard, because he has 500.000 scrolls knowledge from the Library of Alexandria.

[scotchedpommes]

The levels of Gah I feel on even seeing the title of this topic are simply
overwhelming.

[littlelostboy]

Gandalf, no need to think about it. He's a demi-god, for goodness sake, the same level as Sauron and extremely powerful. Dumbledore is just some human wizard that lived for a very very long time.

[yesdachi]

Gandalf beat the balrog that’s enough for me to think he could beat Dumbledore, but come on, he was in three 25 hour (exaggeration) movies and we only saw him cast a dozen spells, wtf! If Gandalf could have used magic as often as they do/did in the Harry Potter movies it would have made his role as a wizard much cooler.

How could this be a massive debate? Am I missing something?

[GeneralHankerchief]

I have no idea how it started. But it's gotten to the point where we start insulting each other's contributions to the class based solely on the fact that they're in favor of the other wizard.

It's split 50-50 too, which surprises me. Completely not like here, where Gandalf's nearest challenger is "Gah."

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

I'm sorry for being obvious, but I think you should all know who would win...























Chuck Norris!