Wicked Witch of the West Wicked Witch of the West The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum as the most significant antagonist in his classic children's novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" (1900). In Baum's subsequent "Oz" novels, it is the Nome King who is the principal villain; the Wicked Witch of the West is rarely even referred to again after her death in the first book. The witch's most popular depiction was in the classic 1939 film based on Baum's novel, where she was portrayed by Margaret Hamilton. Hamilton's characterization introduced green skin and
Land of Oz killable. "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" shows an early example of the problem: although the Tin Woodman does not die when his limbs and head are severed, the two wicked witches are killed (the Wicked Witch of the East could be explained that she was simply crushed and not really dead, but could not do anything anyway, and in "The Oz Odyssey", the Wicked Witch of the West comes back to life). One theory brought forth as to why the Tin Woodman does not die is discussed in Edward Einhorn's book "Paradox in Oz", where King Oz says that the