Gandalf vs. Dumbledore
In a world of wizard VS wizard. who would be triumphant?
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Who would win in a battle Gandalf vs. Dumbledore?
This debate could go on for many pages and fill a book with an endless quirrel (see what I did there). Many other people have had this same question and many discussions have been conducted online.
Consider the following:
Mellissa Mcginnis, on quora.com
“Let’s look at the players in this battle.. We’ll begin with the mortal. Albus too-many-middle-names Dumbledore. Around 100 years old, considered the greatest wizard of his time, with possibly even greater abilities than Voldemort. One hundred percent mortal, 55 percent moral. Where was that mercy when he left a 15-month old BABY on the doorstep, in England, IN NOVEMBER at NIGHT?!
Now, the immortal. Gandalf the Grey, later known as Gandalf the White. He held his own, alone, in the upper chamber. Gandalf the Grey, who took on the Nazgul at Weathertop. Gandalf fought the Balrog, a fallen Maia, and a follower — not of Sauron, but of Morgoth himself.
Yes, Gandalf perished, but he was sent back, as his work was not yet done. Gandalf, who, if you recall, no longer had a mortal body. Gandalf offered the Balrog a chance to surrender, “Go back to the Shadow” and I think, had the Balrog backed down, it would have been allowed to dwell in Moria, though I do not know.”
Dumbledore, as strong a wizard as he was, would not win in a fight with Gandalf.
Brandon Layne, on quora.com
“I think it depends on whether we are talking about Gandalf the Grey or White. He is a an old man with a touch of magic, but otherwise subject to anything that may befall any person sans normal aging. Gandalf the Grey relied more on swords and melee staff attacks, and his mind wasn’t as sharp as it could have been. I honestly feel that Dumbledore’s power and skills are much more significant than the powers and skills of Gandalf the Grey.
Another thing to keep in mind is Dumbledore’s ruthlessness. Dumbledore is willing to sacrifice and lie to people the moment it seems necessary, while Gandalf tried his hardest to keep Frodo away from anything. He never lied to Frodo or Bilbo about their potential fates, readily telling them they their chances of survival were not very hopeful. I can definitely see Gandalf the Grey losing to Dumbledore.
However, Gandalf the White is a different matter. He is implied to have a degree of physical impermeability. He also claimed to be more powerful than anyone except Sauron, so this includes Galadriel, Saruman and any other potential Balrogs. Dumbledore’s fire attacks or concussive spells would hold little power over him, and his mind would be difficult for a mere man to read. Dumbledore’s magic works on what could be loosely be called the genetic level, growing from intelliect and experience.
Gandalf’s personality also undergoes a change. He is much more focused and aggressive, and is more willing to use direct force. Dumbledore is ultimately a human of exceptional power, but I don’t think he will stand against Gandalf the White.”
Abigail Cubbage, The Prowl
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was the greatest wizard to have ever lived, he also once had the three objects of the deathly hallows. Dumbledore fought the urge to become more powerful than death himself. However he also endured the horcruxes side-effects. Then he entrusted Harry to the Dursleys when he was a baby because he knew that Voldemort or his followers would never find him with the muggles.
Then he helped Harry find the other horcruxes because he knew eventually Harry would have to be able to destroy the horcrux within himself.
Gandalf the Grey was a mortal with a little magic. However standing up against the Balrog he ended up falling into shadow and then in a sense died. Then afterwards he came back as Gandalf the White as how Sarumon was supposed to be. Gandalf also became more powerful and had almost forgotten who he was. Then he also knew allies and attempted to get them to help Frodo get the ring to Mordor. Dumbledore didn’t have contacts to give Harry and kind of let him go off on his own without telling him hardly any information on where or how to destroy the horcruxes.
Also later begging Snape to kill him and not tell Harry in some way that he knew how to keep Harry safe. Gandalf came back to life and continued to fight and help Frodo on his journey. Making sure somehow and someway there was a chance he could make it possible for the good people to win. Dumbledore, as strong a wizard as he was, would not win in a fight with Gandalf.
PenDragon • Jan 13, 2021 at 7:43 am
Gandalf the Grey, Dumbledore I do believe could easily defeat. At minimum, Dumbledore would be as strong. But I’m fairly certain he’d be victorious. He’s in possession of the Elder Wand, a wand created by lord death himself. A wand that can never be beaten. Dumbledore has been in possession of all three deathly hallows, which to my knowledge no one else has ever done. He is the strongest wizard to live. And he has little regard for mercy. Dumbledore will be willing to lie, deceive, do whatever it takes to reach his end goal. And his mind is far to powerful to be read or tricked. I don’t mean to belittle Gandalf, for he is still very powerful. But from Dumbledore’s point of view, he’d be an old man with a large stick who can make fireworks. No challenge.
rlc • Oct 6, 2020 at 7:22 pm
The idea of Gandalf as ‘an old man with a touch of magic’ can only come from a person who never read the books. Most of the votes for Dumbledore seem to be from people who only saw the Lord of the Rings movies. Since you likely read Harry Potter, you need to do the same with LOTR if you want a fair comparison.
In the actual LOTR books, there are people who would agree with the above description of Gandalf—the ignorant hobbits who’d never been out of the Shire, and thought of him as only a ‘conjurer of cheap tricks’. This is contrasted in the books with those who actually know him, and understand that Gandalf has much more power than we are ever allowed to see—even more than he used to defeat the balrog. The reason we don’t see his full power is because the wizards are not allowed to use it—the world belongs to humans, and they must fix it. Wizards are mainly there to advise. This is not a cop-out, but a main theme. Throughout LOTR and the Silmarillion, you watch a slow diminishment, where the earliest and greatest beings (Valar, Maiar and early elves) slowly replaced by the lesser and later beings. It’s clear that later elves would not be able to stand against earlier ones. Even Sauron is a fraction of his former master Morgoth, and would have had a very hard time standing against some of the earliest elves. After a few millennia of this sort of diminishment of power, we would have Dumbledore.
So no…Dumbledore’s hallows wouldn’t do alot against a being who is basically an immortal angel, who even in his masked form could lightning-kill multiple opponents instantly without a wand and without a word.
John smithy • Jan 3, 2020 at 7:06 am
Gandalf is more powerful than he let’s on due to the fact he is there to guide the people of middle earth, not di the job for them. You never see what he is truly capable of.
Big Chungus • Oct 15, 2019 at 7:17 pm
Can’t Dumbledore just use Avada Kedavra to instant-kill Gandalf, or use imperio to control Gandalf and make him leave Middle Earth? If Gandalf’s mind is too powerful, Dumbledore could control other wizards or powerful beings that have weaker minds. Also, if Dumbledore uses Fiendfyre, Gandalf won’t be able to stop moving around due to the onslaught of living fire that can’t be extinguished. I think Dumbledore could still win.
CoolAnka • Sep 15, 2019 at 5:51 pm
Honestly, if Gandalf and Dumbledore were to meet, I think they would be good friends, and not fight.
Sawyer • Jun 13, 2019 at 10:08 am
Gandalf would win, i think. Dumbledore may have had more powerful magic, but the magic in the HP universe is obviously much less spiritual and a lot more physical. If he jumped into the LOTR universe, he would probably be as weak as radaghast or the blue wizards. If gandalf joined the HP universe, he would be the embodiment of magic, and i still dont think dumbledore would win. That is of course me taking into account their powers adjusting to the world around them.
Ultimately, if they came to fight each other as their powers were in either universe without adjusting their powers at all, i think that, even though dumbledore would obviously be more powerful with magic in the literal physical sense, gandalf being an undying maia, it would still be no contest. I dont think dumbledore could win, not because his magic was less, but because his magic could not harm gandalfs spirit.
jack • May 13, 2019 at 2:56 am
Dumbledore would win because he had the elder wand making him invincible, plus he became the master of death