Gandalf: Grey or White?

[lime]

This is a question that my and my friends are debating for a very long time.

I personally love Gandalf the Grey, as he is so calming and pleasant character. I love that he is this great father/grandfather figure when he is the Grey, but when he turns to the White, he becomes this dull and a bit off character. I don't know why, but I just don't like him as white.

Witch form do you prefer?

 

[Ghostvirus]

I gotta go with Grey. He stood up to the Balrog. That thing was badass looking.

 

[Orb]

This is a question that my and my friends are debating for a very long time.

I personally love Gandalf the Grey, as he is so calming and pleasant character. I love that he is this great father/grandfather figure when he is the Grey, but when he turns to the White, he becomes this dull and a bit off character. I don't know why, but I just don't like him as white.

Witch form do you prefer?

Racist!!!
[BLACKOUT]
I prefer Grey as well.[/BLACKOUT]

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

He's coolest in the first movie.
He's more like an old man, he becomes far too athletic in the other movies.

 

[AndThePickles]

I prefer Grey because he's a bit more down to earth/kindly old manish. But White is also extremely badass and powerful

 

[WarBlade]

I'm not really into long beards. I'll stick with Galadriel.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Istari

Saruman: Okay, let me introduce everybody to everybody. But once again, at the risk of being redundant, if I even think I hear somebody telling or referring to somebody by the wrong color...you won't want to be you. Okay, quickly. I'm Saruman the White. The rest of you... Gandalf the Grey, Radaghast the Brown, Alatar the Blue, Pallindo the Blonde, Rothetim the Orange, and Buscemis the Pink.

Buscemis: Why am I the Pink?

Saruman: 'Cause you're a f*****.

Buscemis: Why can't we pick out our own colors?

Saruman: I tried that once, it don't work. You get four wizards fighting over who's gonna be the Black. Since nobody knows anybody else, nobody wants to back down. So forget it, I pick. Be thankful you're not the Yellow.

Radaghast: Yeah, but the Brown? That's too close to the sh**.

Buscemis: Yeah, the Pink sounds like the P**sy. Tell you what, let me be the Purple. That sounds good to me, I'm the Purple.

Saruman:You're not the Purple, somebody from another realm is the Purple. You're the Pink!

Gandalf: Who cares what your name is? Who cares if you're the Pink, the Purple, the P**sy, the Piss...

Buscemis: Oh that's really easy for you to say, you're the Grey. You gotta cool-sounding name. So tell me, Gandalf the Grey, if you think "the Pink" is no big deal, you wanna trade?

Saruman: Nobody's trading with anybody! Look, this ain't a goddamn f***in city counsel meeting! Listen up, Pink. We got two ways here, my way or the the way of the Dark Lord. And you can go down either of 'em. So, what's it gonna be, Pink?

Buscemis: Jesus Christ, Sar. F***in forget it. This is beneath me. I'm the Pink, let's move on.

 

[bullets]

Gandalf the grey .


That was the real Gandalf not some post mordem mirror image.

 

[Bat-Mite]

Grey.

He stood up to the Balrog and fought him to the bitter end.

White shined a flashlight at the Nazgul and got his staff broken by the Witch King.

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

Fabulous hair though.

 

[obin_gam]

Grey.
Because of that badass hat!

 

[redhawk23]

Rowsdower you are amazing.

 

[Brother Jack]

I like them both for different reasons. They are both essentially the same character, but each showcases unique traits. The Gray Pilgrim is more down-to-earth and interpersonal, while the exalted Gandalf the White is more singularly focused on his mission and has a higher, almost detached quality. These dynamics are reflective of the archetypal wizard, mentor figure, who can be both the earthen, humble traveler and the highly powerful overseer.

 

[kedrell]

I wish in the films he'd have kept the hat after becoming the white(like the Bakshi cartoon).

 

[PWN3R]

Gandalf 'YOU SHALL NOT GODDAMN PASS' the Grey, please.

 

[Ponyboy]

I like both of them equally, for different reasons. Gandalf's power was always veiled for a purpose, even when he returned from death. The fact that he was, in his beginning, part of the same order of spirits as Sauron shows you just how rich & complex the character history is. If we're talking about Sir Ian's portrayal, I think Gandalf the Grey was a bit more interesting to watch.

 

[Armored Avenger]

I love both incarnations, as he was deliberately different when he became the White wizard. He had been sent back with the singular purpose of completing his mission and time was moving against him - he couldn't be the grandfatherly figure who would ride into Hobbiton on a cart and smoke pipe weed with old friends. However, after the Ring is destroyed, Tolkien writes that Gandalf was often laughing and smiling, showing that with his purpose complete he could once again reveal the merrier side that the Hobbits had known when he was the Grey pilgrim.
I would have to say that I prefer Gandalf the Grey though. I adore his look, from the wooden staff and pointy hat to the long grey robes that he has travelled in for years. Gandalf the Grey had a real sense of history to him, having wandered across Middle-Earth for around 2000 years before dying and returning as Gandalf the White.

 

[Thundercrack85]

White was basically an uncorrupted version of Saruman (that was the point). So I definitely prefer Grey.

 

[terry78]

Grey had more mischief going on. White was kinda overpowered, though not overpowered enough that he couldn't do more for Frodo and Sam aside from call the eagles after the mother****ing fact.

 

[kedrell]

I like both of them equally, for different reasons. Gandalf's power was always veiled for a purpose, even when he returned from death. The fact that he was, in his beginning, part of the same order of spirits as Sauron shows you just how rich & complex the character history is. If we're talking about Sir Ian's portrayal, I think Gandalf the Grey was a bit more interesting to watch.

I think that is what the OP meant. Of course my mind reading powers are rusty these days.

 

[kedrell]

I love that the Gandalf we get with the upcoming film as back to the good ole' grey version.

 

[Marvolo]

Grey all the way!!!

 

[Ponyboy]

White was basically an uncorrupted version of Saruman (that was the point).

Exactly. Saruman was indeed head of the order of Wizards sent because he was the eldest of them and came first to Middle Earth. But his place as head was usurped by Gandalf's return... and I believe that this return allowed Gandalf to replace Saruman; in the sense that he became what Saruman should have been... not what Saruman was. Saruman's power had long dwindled as he slowly succumbed to the will of Sauron, and failed in his task. Pity, really. Saruman is one of the most interesting characters in Tolkien's literature.

 

[SuperFerret]

I see them as two sides of the same man, and I can't chose either. I will say that aside from the occasional line here and there ("A wizard is never late..."), movie Gandalf is not as much of a snarky dick as he was in the books, and I think I like him less in the movies for that.

 

[Ponyboy]

movie Gandalf is not as much of a snarky dick as he was in the books, and I think I like him less in the movies for that.

The new films will remedy this for you.