| The Wicked Witch of the North | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real Name |
Mombi |
|
First Appearance |
The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904) |
|
Original Publisher |
Reilly & Britton |
|
Created by |
L. Frank Baum |
Origin[]
Mombi herself enslaved King Pastoria, the last King to rule Oz, prior to the Wizard of Oz's arrival.
She lived on a farmland which included corn fields, a four-horned cow, and some pigs.
After arriving in Oz, the Wizard of Oz made three visits to Mombi, and handed King Pastoria's baby daughter, Princess Ozma, over to the old witch. Mombi kept the infant heir to the throne successfully hidden away, transforming her into a boy named Tip. Having been the jailor of Ozma's father and grandfather before, Mombi treated Tip as a slave too, as "he" grew up.
One day Mombi visited a Dr. Nikidik and purchased the Powder of Life from him, which she used to bring Jack Pumpkinhead to life. Tip had created Jack in order to scare her, so as punishment Mombi began brewing a potion that would turn the boy into a marble statue. That night, Tip ran away, taking Jack with him.
When General Jinjur's Army of Revolt conquered the Emerald City, Jinjur feared that the deposed Scarecrow would return with the Tin Woodman to take back the throne of the kingdom. She asked Mombi for help and the old witch agreed, planning to recapture Tip, who had joined the deposed king of Oz.
After leaving the Gillikin Country to join forces with General Jinjur (the self-appointed new Queen of Oz), Mombi was no longer under the jurisdiction of the Good Witch of the North, but the unscrupulous old witch was forced to reckon with Glinda, The Good Witch of the South (who wanted to restore Princess Ozma to the throne). The wicked old witch tried to trick and escape Glinda with a series of transformations ranging from the maid Jellia Jamb, the Green Girl, to a rose, and ultimately a Griffin, but the Good Sorceress was too clever, slick and resourceful. Glinda turned out to be an even tougher adversary than the Good Witch of the North, and ensured that Mombi could never harm anyone again.
Just before being disenchanted, Tip promised to provide for Mombi in her old age, despite the witch's fiendish actions. After forcing her to disenchant Princess Ozma, Glinda made Mombi drink a powerful draught that stripped the old witch of all her magic powers.
Public Domain Appearances[]
Books:
- The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904)
- The Lost King of Oz (1925)
Film:
- The Fairylogue and Radio Plays (1908, lost)
- His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz (1914)
Stage:
- The Woggle-Bug (1905)
Notes[]
- For the 1910 film, Momba the Witch conflates Mombi and the Wicked Witch of the West.
- The 1914 film His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz was novelized as a subplot of The Scarecrow of Oz (1915). To preserve novel continuity, Mombi is supplanted by Blinkie.
- Many still copyrighted books and movies feature a villain who conflates Mombi with Langwidere of Ev.