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In the movie the Witch King breaks Gandalf's staff. How did this happen and why (since it's not in the book)?

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Just standard Jacksonian blustery injury to the tale. It never happened. Maketh no sense. – tchrist Feb 23 '12 at 5:17
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@tchrist - 1. Welcome to SFF! 2. I would like to see Jackson's version of YOUR books :) – DVK Feb 23 '12 at 10:46
@Eelvex - frankly, I like Gabe's answer more than my own. I would suggest you change your accepted answer to his. – DVK Aug 22 '12 at 13:56
@DVK, well, OK. – Eelvex Aug 22 '12 at 20:54

2 Answers

up vote 8 down vote accepted

While Gandalf faces the Witch King in Minas Tirith, there is no record of Gandalf's staff being broken. The flaming sword is seen in the scene in the book, from Return of the King, The Seige of Gondor:

'You cannot enter here,' said Gandalf, and the huge shadow halted. 'Go back to the abyss prepared for you! Go back! Fall into the nothingness that awaits you and your Master. Go!' The Black Rider flung back his hood, and behold! he had a kingly crown; and yet upon no head visible was it set. The red fires shone between it and the mantled shoulders vast and dark. From a mouth unseen there came a deadly laughter. 'Old fool!' he said. 'Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know Death when you see it? Die now and curse in vain!' And with that he lifted high his sword and flames ran down the blade. Gandalf did not move. And in that very moment, away behind in some courtyard of the City, a cock crowed. Shrill and clear he crowed, recking nothing of wizardry or war, welcoming only the morning that in the sky far above the shadows of death was coming with the dawn.

After that scene, Rohan arrives, and the Witch King flies off to handle them.

The Witch King's ability to destroy other's weapons is found in the books, however. From The Fellowship of the Ring, Flight to the Ford:

Then the leader, who was now half across the Ford, stood up menacing in his stirrups, and raised up his hand. Frodo was stricken dumb. He felt his tongue cleave to his mouth, and his heart labouring. His sword broke and fell out of his shaking hand. The elf-horse reared and snorted. The foremost of the black horses had almost set foot upon the shore.

From the same chapter, after the wraiths are driven off, Aragorn is examining the cloak left by the Witch King:

Look!" he cried; and stooping he lifted from the ground a black cloak that had lain there hidden by the darkness. A foot above the lower hem there was a slash. "This was the stroke of Frodo's sword," he said. "The only hurt that it did to his enemy, I fear; for it is unharmed, but all blades perish that pierce that dreadful King.

It's likely that Jackson interpreted Gandalf's raised staff as a "blade to pierce" the Witch King. It doesn't say in the books whether the WK could destroy an Istari's staff, but I think that scene is Jackson's interpretation of these scenes in the book.

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+1. I really like the nugget about "power stare" shattering weapons being canon in the books even if not in the same scene. I think it's the most reasonable explanation. Frankly I'd change the accepted answer to this from mine if I was the OP – DVK Aug 22 '12 at 13:54
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AFAIK, there was no Jackson commentary on that specific scene, so one can only speculate.

As for "Why", the most cogent speculation I have seen on the forums is that the scene served to:

  • Highlight Witch-King's power

  • Therefore make Merry's and Eowyn's takedown of him all the more heroic.

A second theory was that this was to highlight the power and contribution of the World of Men - Gandalf is almost beaten and can be killed by such a powerful adversary, yet saved by the fact that WK needs to go away and deal with Rohirrim - which, if you know the backstory of Istari, actually jibes with Tolkien's overall vision of the order of things (Olorin's mission is to inspire Middle Earthers to fight Sauron, not to fight him himself with his Mayar powers).

This has further symbolic significance in that this mirrors Gandalf the White's breaking of Saruman's staff.

As for "How", there just isn't any info. WK holds a flaming sword, stares at Gandalf, and the staff explodes.

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Very interesting. Any ideas on how did he do it? – Eelvex Feb 23 '12 at 0:37
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@Eelvex - The Force. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Seriously, there's zero info from Jackson and co, and the image in the movie is basically WK staring at Gandalf till the staff explodes. – DVK Feb 23 '12 at 2:47
the same way that gandalf shattered saruman's staff? – SteveED Feb 23 '12 at 3:34
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Gandalf was a Maiar. The Witch-King was a shade of a Man. Very different levels of power, so I don't think there's a internally consistent way of how the Witch-King shattered Gandalf's staff unless you ignore the books completely and treat the movies as a separate world. In which case, the Force, a Care Bear Stare or the power of Heart all work. ;) – dlanod Feb 23 '12 at 4:58

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