Land of Oz/Characters: Difference between revisions

* [[Accidental Hero|Accidental Heroine]]

* [[Baleful Polymorph]]: The Magic Belt gives her this power, although she seems to forget she has it for several books.

* [[The Fool]]

* [[Funetik Aksent]]: Dorothy's [[Country Mouse]] colloquialisms get more pronounced in later books.

* [[Requisite Royal Regalia]]

** Crown

* [[Stranger in A Familiar Land]]: Em and Henry notice Dorothy's behavior changed after her time in Oz, and became more of a dreamer than usual. It was one of the factors in [[I Choose to Stay]].

* [[Tagalong Kid]]: Inverted; she's the leader, and the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion are the tagalongs.

Former ruler of Oz, he is still well beloved by the citizens and a trusted advisor to Princess Ozma. He helped Dorothy on her first adventure, hoping to receive a brain. He got it, and his wisdom has been most helpful in thinking through many problems. After the Wizard stepped down, he left Scarecrow in his place to rule as King of Oz. However, he was overthrown by General Jinjur and her Army of Revolt. He helped topple Jinjur's rule with the help of Tip and Glinda's army. King Scarecrow graciously stepped down when Princess Ozma was discovered. Now he serves as Ozma's most trusted adviser.

 

* [[The Good Chancellor]]: Is this to Ozma.

* [[Heterosexual Life Partners]]: with The Tin Woodsman

* [[It Was With You All Along]]

* [[The Lancer]]

* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: In the first book even he thinks he's stupid but, as the Wizard points out, he came up with the best ideas

* [[Ragdoll Physics]]

* [[Determinator]]: As much of his character as being a sweetheart. He was so determined to earn enough money to support his fiancee that he didn't stop working, even after losing his limbs to the cursed axe. If there's a situation where the axe has to come out, he does not stop unless all the threats are missing their heads or he is literally too damaged to move.

* [[Everything but The Girl]]: He becomes a hero of Oz, ruler of Winkie Country, and close friends with the Princesses, but it turns out his girlfriend left him while he was rusted.

* [[The Heart]]: In spite of his insistence that he doesn't have one.

* [[Heterosexual Life Partners]]: With Scarecrow.

* [[Iconic Characters]]: He's first in a long line of cybernetic beings that question their humanity.

* [[It Was With You All Along]]

* [[Older Sidekick]]

* [[Steven Ulysses Perhero]]: Look at his name again.

* [[Cowardly Sidekick]]

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: At least in the books. For someone so cowardly he sure can be sarcastic when the mood hits him.

* [[Gentle Giant]]

* [[Heterosexual Life Partners]]: With the Hungry Tiger, at least in Baum's books, starting with ''Ozma of Oz.''

* [[Iconic Characters]]

* [[It Was With You All Along]]

* [[Older Sidekick]]

* [[Status Quo Is God]]: A weird version of this happens with him in later Oz books. While the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodsman both keep the gifts given to them by the Wizard (and indeed seldom pass up an opportunity to brag about them) the Lion returns to being a self-admitted coward in his subsequent appearances. This goes unexplained for several books, until ''The Cowardly Lion of Oz,'' where the Lion simply mentions that the courage the wizard gave him has "worn off."

Dorothy's faithful dog who travels with her in the many adventures in the Land of Oz. Toto is a small, black dog with long silky hair.

 

* [[The Quiet One]]

* [[Talking Animal]]: He really can, since all animals in Oz can talk. He just chooses not to. This isn't revealed until ''Tik-Tok of Oz'', when Dorothy finally realizes that he has the ability to talk and gets him to admit it. (He'd occasionally speak after that, but mostly he didn't.)

An Omaha, Nebraska sideshowman, ventriloquist, and [[Master of Illusion|magician]], who came to the [[Magical Land|Land of Oz]] by accident in a hot air balloon. He tells Dorothy and her friends they must first kill the Wicked Witch of the West before he will grant the favors they seek from him. After accomplishing this mission, Dorothy discovered him to be a [[The Man Behind the Curtain|humbug]] (not a real wizard). After being exposed by Dorothy he finds a way to help the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion get what they desire most, brains, a heart, and courage. He then leaves the Land of Oz the same way he first arrived, by a hot air balloon. After returning to America, the Wizard found his way back to Oz once again, where he was invited to stay and become a real wizard. He has learned much real magic from Glinda the Good, and is now one of Ozma's closest advisers.

 

* [[God Guise]]

* [[Karma Houdini]]: He does, or is described as having done, some very questionable things in the earlier books, but he never gets any sort of comeuppance for them.

* [[Bad Boss]]: She must had been this if her [[Mooks]] celebrated her death.

* [[Dark Is Evil]]

* [[God Save Us From the Queen]]

* [[Iconic Characters]]

A band of flying monkeys. Their services can be commanded by the wearer of the Golden Cap.

 

* [[Heel Face Revolving Door]]: Completely unwillingly on their part; they ''have'' to follow whoever possesses the Golden Cap and have no more choice in serving Dorothy than they did the Witch.

* [[Rule of Three]]: After you obtain the Golden Cap, the Monkeys will perform no more than three of your commands.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Most notably as Tip; as Ozma this trait is a lot more understated and almost seems to be absent -- though there are times when she'll be subtly mischevious or gently crack fun of a situation just for the hell of it.

* [[Distressed Damsel]]: Subverted big time in ''Land of Oz''.

* [[Flower in Her Hair]]

* [[Gender Bender]]

** Tiara with two poppy flowers and the letters "OZ" at the front of it.

** Scepter with the letters "OZ" at the business end.

* [[Rightful King Returns|Rightful Princess Returns]]

** [[Fisher King]]: The return of the monarchy of Oz turns everyone immortal.

* [[Royals Who Actually Do Something]]

* [[Samus Is a Girl]]

* [[Iconic Characters]]

* [[Luke Nounverber]]

* [[Simpleminded Wisdom]]: Displays traits of this at times, but plays the role of [[The Fool]] much straighter than, say, the Scarecrow.

 

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Occasionally, especially towards Jack Pumpkinhead.

* [[The Stoic]]: Insult him, threaten him, leave him standing by the road for days, send him into mortal peril -- he never minds and is never fazed.

 

 

* [[Insufferable Genius]]

* [[Intellectual Animal]]

* [[Older Sidekick]]

* [[The Professor]]

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]

* [[Giant Flyer]]: possibly the weirdest flying creature ever.

* [[Mix and Match Critters]]

* [[Talking Animal]]: the only animal part is the head.

 

* [[Author Appeal]]

* [[Big Bad]]

* [[Exotic Weapon Supremacy]]: General Jinjur's knitting-needles.

* [[Femme Fatale]]: She's not above using her looks to get her way.

* [[Rebellious Spirit]]

* [[Straw Feminist]]: She is Baum's [[Affectionate Parody]] of the American suffrage movement (which he supported).

* [[Zero Percent Approval Rating]]

 

* [[Arbitrary Skepticism]]: She's a talking chicken who doesn't believe that Dorothy had a friend who was a talking lion, and still found the Tin Woodman unbelievable even after she had met the robot Tik-Tok.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]

* [[Talking Animal]]

* [[Team Pet]]

* [[Iconic Characters]]

* [[Literal Minded]]: "How shall we go to the Nome King's cavern, Tik-Tok?" "We might crawl, or jump, or roll o-ver and o-ver un-til we get there; but the best way is to walk."

* [[Robo Speak]]: The oldest version of this trope.

* [[Robot Buddy]]: Tik-Tok was around before the term "robot" was coined.

* [[Heterosexual Life Partners]]: With the Cowardly Lion. It's most notable in Baum's books, where (post ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]'') if you encounter one of them, the other is generally not too far away.

* [[Miles Gloriosus]]: ...sorta. The Tiger makes a great fuss about how savage and dangerous he is, but he's really a big softy.

* [[Talking Animal]]

* [[Trademark Favorite Food]]: Fat babies. Though he never actually ''eats'' any.

* [[Beneath the Earth]]

* [[Big Bad]]

* [[Chronic Villainy]]

* [[Gondor Calls for Aid]]: Inverted in ''Emerald City of Oz''.

* [[Joker Immunity]]

* [[The Magnificent]]: Alternates between "of the Rocks" and "the Red".

* [[Weaksauce Weakness]]: Eggs. (Possibly symbolic of the matriarchy present in Oz.)

 

The Nome King's Chief Steward.

 

* [[Ascended Extra]]: Goes from an unnamed character in this book- who exists mainly so that Billina can overhear an argument between him and the Nome King- to a reoccurring supporting character, to the new Nome King in ''Tik-Tok of Oz''.

* [[Beleaguered Assistant]] / [[Hypercompetent Sidekick]]: Fluctuates between the two- most of the time he's the latter, but definitely the former by ''Tik-Tok of Oz.''

* [[Fearless Fool]]: Since she has nine lives, she's not afraid of anything, even when she ''should'' be.

* [[Meaningful Name]]: Dorothy certainly intended it to be one. Since she found the kitten by chance, she named it "Eureka" because Uncle Henry had taught her that this means "I have found it."

* [[Talking Animal]]

* [[Team Pet]]

* [[Guest Star Party Member]]: On several occasions.

* [[Improbable Hairstyle]]

* [[Meaningful Name]]: Her name is Greek for "multi colored" as opposed to Monochrome

* [[Mood Swinger]]: She's usually the happiest, most cheerful person around, laughing and dancing about without a care -- but when she's lost, lonely or upset, she'll cry loudly and declare herself "the most miserable girl in the world." Only to be all smiles again when someone shows her any amount of kindness.

* [[Took a Level In Badass]]: With each chronological appearance in Baum's books she becomes more useful and competent. In her first appearance in ''The Road to Oz'' she's a helpless [[Fish Out of Water]], but in her second appearance in ''Sky Island,'' when we for the first time see her in her true element, [[Hidden Depths|it becomes clear just how smart and competent she really is.]] In later Oz books she becomes a lot more confident and powerful even on the ground.

** Interestingly enough, in her first appearance, in ''The Road to Oz.'' she tells Dorothy that she doesn't know any kind of magic, because "we who live on the rainbow among the fleecy clouds have no use for magic." However, in ''Tin Woodsman of Oz,'' she has become a rather accomplished magic-user and, despite spending much of the book [[Baleful Polymorph|stuck in the form of a canary]], performs several helpful magics. Possibly, she began learning magic in anticipation that she might get stuck on the ground again.

* [[Catch Phrase]]: Whenever something goes wrong, Ojo will state that the reason for the misfortune is that ''"I'm Ojo the Unlucky."''

* [[Mood Swinger]]: A mild case, but still.

 

=== Bungle The Glass Cat ===

 

* [[Catch Phrase]]

* [[Pride]]

* [[Tomboy and Girly Girl]]: Girly Girl to Scraps's Tomboy.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]

* [[Genki Girl]]

* [[Rhymes On a Dime]]: She makes up little songs and poems on the spot; some of the later books has her talking ''entirely'' in verse.

* [[The Runaway]]: Often. She refuses to return to Dr. Pipt in her first appearance, and later stars in an entire book ''about'' her running away (and the places and people she runs into along the way).

* [[Berserk Button]]: Parodied. The word "Krizzle-Kroo" sends him into a rage, because he has ''no idea what it means.''

* [[Big Eater]]: And how. His favorite food is honey-bees

* [[Sealed Good in A Can]]: Was trapped in an enclosure with a fence too tall for him to jump over, and didn't think to break out himself until Ojo and pals came along.

* [[Trademark Favorite Food]]: Honey bees. He got into quite a bit of trouble with the Munchkin beekeepers because of this.

* [[Demoted to Extra]]: Almost immediately. He quickly becomes less important once Betsy gets some companions she can actually talk to, and in subsequent books he barely appears at all -- other than the occasional, very brief, passing mention.

* [[Expy]]: For Toto, originally.

* [[Talking Animal]]: Once he's in Oz, anyway.

 

 

* [[Baleful Polymorph]]: Turned into a fiddle by Ruggedo.

* [[Expy]]: In the stage play, her role was played by Ozma. Since this wouldn't fit with the continuity of the books, Ozga was created to take her place.

* [[Interspecies Romance]]: There's at least a hint of this in her relationship with Jo Files.

* [[Cheerful Child]]

* [[Constantly Curious]]: Trot is very curious and thoughtful and tends to ask a lot of questions, perhaps because she has the well-traveled Cap'n Bill as a ready [[Mr. Exposition]], who gives her the opportunity to play [[The Watson]] on more than one occasion.

* [[Intergenerational Friendship]]: With Cap'n Bill, who acts as a father-figure to her.

* [[Only Known By Their Nickname]]: She got the nickname "Trot" when she was a toddler learning to walk, because she took so many busy little steps. She grew to prefer her nickname to her real one, so her real name, Mayre, is only mentioned in passing a couple of times. Otherwise both narrative and characters refer to her as "Trot" or sometimes "Tiny Trot."

* [[Incredible Shrinking Man|Incredible Shrinking Ork]]: When he accidentally discovers berries that shrink anything that eats them. Comes in very handy when he needs to carry Cap'n Bill and Trot on a particularly long voyage.

* [[Noble Savage]]: Definitely fits into this role, since the Orks disdain technology and consider themselves higher moral beings then the earth-bound humans. Flipper takes pains to point out that the Orks achieved mastery over their land by being in harmony with it and not driving everything else to extinction - they don't even know how to use fire.

* [[No Name Given]]: Only averted when he mentions his name in passing, talking about Orkland. Otherwise, he's simply 'the Ork'.

* [[Super Mode]]: He and the other Orks can call up ''small tornadoes'' with their proptails, which they do to blow out the fire threatening the Scarecrow, and flatten Krewl and his soldiers. Individually, he manages to fly himself, Cap'n Bill and Trot out of a '''vertical''' shaft, with only his proptail for lift.

 

* [[Baleful Polymorph]]: Turns Coo-ee-oh into the Diamond Swan.

* [[Unholy Matrimony]]: Until Coo-ee-oh turned his wife into a golden pig.