Note: Characters are listed by order of the Oz book in which they first appear, but each character listing includes their later appearances as well. So, for instance, if you've only read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, be aware that all the character listings will contain spoilers for later books.

For the MGM film, see here.
For The Wiz, see here.
For Return to Oz, see here.
For The Wicked Years books, see here.
For the Wicked musical, see here.
For Lion of Oz, see here.
For Oz: the Great and Powerful, see here.
For Dorothy Must Die see here.

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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Dorothy Gale

Formerly a Kansas farm girl and now a princess of Oz. She destroyed two wicked witches on her first trip to Oz, and has had many adventures since. She eventually moved to Oz for good, and lives there still. Over time, her Uncle Henry, Aunt Em, dog Toto, and cat Eureka all came to live in Oz as well.

'20s Bob Haircut: She has her hair like this in John R. Neill's illustrations.
Accidental Hero: Killed two Wicked Witches without intending to. The first was totally out of her control, more accurately being killed by the tornado, the second she threw a bucket of water at in anger, not realizing witches were melted by water.
Berserk Button:
- Don't mess with her silver slippers. Exclusive to the first book.
- Don't threaten her dog.
Determinator: Nothing, and we mean nothing, will stop Dorothy from going to the Wizard or returning home.
Direct Line to the Author: In Baum's forewords, he generally credits Dorothy as the main source of his information about the goings-on in Oz.
Forced Transformation: The Magic Belt gives her the power to transform other beings against their will, although she entrusts it to Ozma for several books after first acquiring it.
Funetik Aksent: Dorothy's Country Mouse colloquialisms get more pronounced in later books.
Girlish Pigtails: She has her hair like this in W. W. Denslow's illustrations in the first book.
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: In John R. Neill's illustrations. Zigzagged in the first book; she still has the heart of gold, but Denslow's illustrations veer back and forth between giving her brown or dirty-blonde hair.
Hitman with a Heart: Dorothy is a sweet little girl, but in the first book she is hired by the eponymous wizard to assassinate the Witch of the West in exchange for being sent home. She kills the witch, and then returns to the Wizard to be paid.
I Choose to Stay: Despite being famous across literature for Home Sweet Home at the end of the first book, that largely has to do with her being a good niece/adopted daughter. After several adventures in Oz, she eventually doesn't go back to Kansas and decides to live in Oz. This time, she brings her aunt and uncle with her.
Inconsistent Coloring: Her hair color isn't noted in Baum's books. Illustrators present her as either a blonde or a brunette. Even original illustrator W. W. Denslow was pretty inconsistent about this, as her hair sometimes looks brown in his pictures, sometimes blonde, and occasionally even red. John R. Neill, who illustrated the original editions starting with book 2, consistently drew her with blonde hair. However, more recent illustrators frequently take their cues from the MGM movie and make Dorothy a brunette.
It Was with You All Along: The climax of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz reveals that the Silver Slippers, which she's worn since the beginning of her journey, will let her return home.
Kid-Appeal Character: She was introduced as the character the children would identify with. It worked too, because she was by far the most beloved main character. She's only absent for one of Baum's books, and this had been followed up with so many children sending him letters asking for more Dorothy, so that in all subsequent books she is either one of the main characters or at least makes a substantial appearance.
Kid Heroine: She's roughly seven to nine years old in her earliest adventures and is about eleven by the time she comes to live in Oz.
Mirror Character: Oz and Dorothy are both from the civilized world and transported to the Land of Oz where they were mistaken for great magicians. However, while the plot of the book revolves around Dorothy trying to return to the civilized world, Oz stayed in the Land of Oz and let the people of the land think he was their most powerful wizard.
Platonic Life-Partners: With Princess Ozma, though some interpretations throw aside the 'platonic' aspect.
Protective Charm: In the first book, the Good Witch of the North's kiss.
The Quest: Her most famous quest is of course the quest to get back home to Kansas in the first book — but this is only the first quest of many, as she undergoes more of them than any other character in the series.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: Being elevated to the rank of Princess of Oz when she moves there permanently doesn't slow her too much.
Seen It All: Dorothy starts out the first book as just a normal (if more down-to-earth and resourceful then than average) little girl who just wants to get back home to Kansas, and she could, at times, actually be alarmed and even a bit frightened at the strange and often dangerous situations she and her friends found their way into. By the third book though, it turns out that her first adventures in Oz toughened her up, and as a result, she's hardly the least bit surprised or shocked at what she goes through in Ozma of Oz. By Book 4, she's an experienced vet; calm and confident. And in Book 6, she moves to Oz for good, as by that point, she feels more at home there than she does in our world. It robably helps that she kept getting shanghaied into Oz against her will by various disasters and several dozen unexplained magical roadways, so she also probably figured that, if she's going to keep getting dragged back into Oz anyway, she might as well just stay there.
Stranger in a Familiar Land: Em and Henry notice Dorothy's behavior changed after her time in Oz, and she 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.
Trapped in Another World: In the first book, being whisked away to Oz via cyclone.
Upgrade Artifact: The Magic Belt, at least in Ozma of Oz, when she knows how to use its transformation powers as soon as she puts it on. When she finally uses it again in The Lost Princess of Oz, she has to practice a bit.

The Scarecrow

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scarecrow_6.png

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 Royal Book of Oz, the first written by Thompson, explores his backstory. It turns out that he was once Emperor Chang Wang Woe of the Silver Islands. Due to a wicked magician and the unintended side effects of the spell, his spirit ended up possessing (and animating) a Munchkin scarecrow. Like before, he decides that being a ruler is not for him, appoints a competent sucessor to the Silver Islands throne, and leaves to go back to Oz,

Asian and Nerdy: Possibly the Ur-Example and Unbuilt Trope. The Silver Islands are a Fantasy Counterpart Culture to Imperial China, albeit with what you'd expect from a 1920s American writing it.
Family-Unfriendly Violence: Is forced to break the necks of 40 crows who try and attack him and his friends.
Genius Ditz: Scarecrow fits in somewhere between this and Bunny-Ears Lawyer. While he may be one of the smartest guys around, he can still be pretty daft even after getting his brains, not that this stops him from coming up with plan after plan and being positively brilliant where it counts.
Ghost Amnesia: He certainly never remembered being the Emperor, but being transformed into a crocus by a wicked sorcerer and possessing a scarecrow was understandably unpleasant.
The Good Chancellor: Is this to Ozma. His formal title is "Regent", and possibly third in the line of succession behind Ozma and Dorothy.
Heterosexual Life-Partners: With The Tin Woodman, especially in Baum's books.
Innate Night Vision: His painted eyes can see in the dark as well as the light.
It Was with You All Along: Played with, as the Wizard points out that he doesn't need a physical brain to be smart: "You are learning something every day. A baby has brains, but it doesn't know much. Experience is the only thing that brings knowledge, and the longer you are on earth the more experience you are sure to get." However, the Scarecrow completely fails to see this and insists that he still wants an actual brain.
Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Briefly turns into one in the book, after having received his brains from the Wizard, becoming utterly convinced that his new brains makes him the smartest person in the world. He gets over it fairly quickly, though.
Magic Misfire: The spell that turned him into a crocus was intended to make sure he was removed from power, either by death or a Fate Worse than Death, but the crocus was growing around a pole that connected to one in Munchkin Country and the farmers decided to hang their scarecrow on it, allowing Chang's soul to inhabit the stuffed straw.
Neck Snap: Can you claim to have snapped the necks of forty crows? I think not!
Non-Human Sidekick: A living scarecrow who serves as Dorothy's first traveling companion, and remains a close friend afterward. Subverted in that he was once a human man, but can't recall it.
Race Lift: Played with. Baum's canon had him as merely a construct of Munchkin farmers. Thompson, on the other hand, revealed that he was the reincarnation of Chang Wang Woe, the Emperor of the Silver Island. The Scarecrow himself didn't know this beforehand.
Ragdoll Physics: The guy's made of old farm clothes stuffed with hay. At one point he attempts to jump into a river to save the Tin Man only to find he can't break the surface since he's so light. This usually gets played up with adaptations as actors need to be able to simulate his rag doll movements.
Reluctant Ruler: He never actually wanted to be the King of Oz — plus the crown hurts his head. So he's more than happy to hand to throne over to Ozma, when Glinda insists upon it. Likewise, he's quite happy to hand the ruling of the Silver Islands to someone who wants to job and would do it well.
"I don't mind much the loss of my throne, for it's a tiresome job to rule over the Emerald City. And this crown is so heavy that it makes my head ache."
Requisite Royal Regalia: Crown and scepter; he hates wearing the crown though.
Scary Scarecrows: An example of an Unbuilt Trope. When Baum was a child, he had a nightmare about a scarecrow that would chase him and then flop around. He remembered the scarecrow when he wrote the Wizard of Oz and it became a lovable and positive character. It's pretty common for Darker and Edgier retellings of the story to make him more inhuman, unnerving and frightening, in line with most living scarecrows in fiction, but in the original Oz books and more faitful retellings, he's anything but.
Ship Tease: With Scraps, the Patchwork Girl.
Smarter Than You Look: In the first book even he thinks he's stupid but, as the Wizard points out, he came up with the best ideas and his problem wasn't a lack of brains, but a lack of experience — he was only a couple of days old when first encountering Dorothy and knew nothing about the world.
The Smart Guy: Parodied in the first book, where he thinks he's brainless but is clearly the smartest of the companions. Played straight in all subsequent books, where he knows he's smart and will make references to his "excellent brains" whenever he can.
Strawman Political: Only in the most literal sense; he's actually wise and fair in his ruling.
Worthless Currency: When he lost a bunch of his straw in an unfortunate accident in the second book, Ozma and Nick stuff his clothing with useless paper currency they find in the jackdaw nest.

The Tin Woodman

The Tin Woodman, AKA Nicollo "Nick" Chopper

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tin_man_2.png

He was an ordinary Munchkin woodchopper who, having angered the Wicked Witch of the East, accidentally chopped parts of himself off when the witch enchanted his ax. Fortunately he had a friend who was a skilled tinsmith, who was able to replace each part with tin, until there was nothing left of Nick Chopper but tin. He joined Dorothy looking for a new heart. He is one of the kindest men in Oz, and after the Wicked Witch of the West was killed, her Winkie slaves chose him to be their new Emperor. He is a steadfast servant of Princess Ozma.

Artificial Limbs: What his tin body started out as. Eventually, he was nothing but artificial limbs.
Beware the Nice Ones: Can you claim to have killed 40 wolves? I think not. And the badassery doesn't end there. However, the Tinman's still a truly kind soul at heart, and will only raise his ax when he knows innocents to be in danger.
Bruiser with a Soft Center: He's probably the party's best fighter, and didn't so much as flinch when he killed off a wildcat (to save a mouse), pack of wolves (to protect his companions), or flock of humongous jackdaws (again, protecting his friends). But he cried himself rusted over accidentally crushing a bug, and his determination to get a heart was so he could return to his girlfriend and be a proper husband. Didn't work out for him on that front, though
Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: Subverted; he just thought he couldn't feel without biological parts.
Cyborg: A curious blend of man, magic and replacement parts.
Demoted to Extra: Despite being one of the iconic Oz characters and a major character in Baum's books, he's delegated to very minor roles (and often doesn't appear at all) once Ruth Plumly Thompson takes over the series.
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.
Full-Conversion Cyborg: An early, fantasy version. He started out as a munchkin whose body parts were gradually chopped off by an enchanted axe and replaced until there was nothing left of him but tin.
Family-Unfriendly Violence: In the first book, he's the most consistent dealer of this, beheading quite a few creatures with his axe. This is toned down in later books and done away with altogether in the 1939 movie.
Friend to All Living Things: He refuses to kill any innocent living creature. In which he becomes extremely adamant about refusing Ojo the wings of a butterfly that lives in his Kingdom. Despite Ojo needs them as the final ingredient to cure his cursed uncle.
The Heart: In spite of his insistence that he doesn't have one.
Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Scarecrow.
It Was with You All Along: Not directly stated, but definitely understood. He's clearly the kindest and most emotional companion even without a physical heart. Uniquely, the Wizard doesn't try to tell him that he already has a heart; he initially tries to convince him he's better off without one. It doesn't take, of course.
Meaningful Name: Both "Nick" and "Chopper" are words relating to cuts, fitting for a skilled axeman who was cut apart by his own tool.
Mighty Lumberjack: Oh, Great Oz, yes. He is truly the nicest, kindest being in all of Oz. But threaten an innocent or his companions, and Nick is not going to stop until the threat is dead or he is too damaged to keep fighting.
Non-Human Sidekick: But formerly human until the WWoE enchanted his axe. Or is he? (Perhaps the head in the tinsmith's cabinet is the real Nick Chopper, and the Tin Woodman is a different person with Nick Chopper's memories.)
Older Sidekick: He's a grown man to Dorothy's young girl.
Steven Ulysses Perhero: Look at his name again.
Tin Man: Trope Namer.
Too Dumb to Live: Seeing as he lives in a magical land with evil witches, and his axe kept beyond his control chopping his limbs off, it probably would have been best to toss the axe and get another job. Some adaptations have acknowledged this issue by suggesting that the curse was on the Woodman himself rather than the axe, so just getting rid of the axe wouldn't have helped him.
Weapons of Their Trade: One way the Tin Woodsman is identified as a woodcutter is his axe, which appears to be made out of tin like he is. He uses it to fight off flying monkeys.
We Can Rebuild Him: In his case, it was a slow and (maybe) painful process.

The Cowardly Lion

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cowardly_lion.jpg

He came with Dorothy to the Emerald City looking for courage, and the Wizard helped him acquire it. He is loyal and brave, and often acts as a bodyguard for Ozma on state occasions, or to Dorothy when she's out on adventures. But he's the first to admit that he's still scared sometimes.

Battle Butler: Especially in later books, when he plays bodyguard for Ozma and Dorothy. He's unfailingly polite, if rather snarky at times, and he's an efficient fighter, even if he's scared of everything.
The Big Guy: Being a lion, he naturally falls into this category. In later books, he's even described as the biggest lion in Oz.
Cowardly Lion: The Trope Namer. Though the movie version doesn't quite fit the mark, being more a Lovable Coward, the book version is the quintessential example. invoked
Cowardly Sidekick: Played with in the books, where he keeps insisting he's a coward even while doing brave things. Played straight in the movie, though.
Deadpan Snarker: At least in the books. For someone so cowardly, he sure can be sarcastic when the mood hits him.
Family-Unfriendly Violence: Kills a giant spider by beheading it with his claws.
Gentle Giant: The biggest Lion in all of Oz, but a genuinely kind and gentle soul.
Heterosexual Life-Partners: With the Hungry Tiger, at least in Baum's books; starting with Ozma of Oz, if the Lion appears the Tiger is usually not too far away.
It Was with You All Along: In the first book, he's the clearest example of the three companions, though it's played with. He suffers from the delusion that courage means that you're never afraid, which is why he thinks himself a coward. The Wizard does try to convince him that he really does have a lot of courage, but the Lion argues that that's not the kind of courage he wants:
Wizard: There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. The True courage is in facing danger when you are afraid, and that kind of courage you have in plenty.
Lion: Perhaps I have, but I'm scared just the same. I shall really be very unhappy unless you give me the sort of courage that makes one forget he is afraid.
Monster Façade: Once he realized that every creature in the forest ran from him because they assumed he was a ferocious lion, he ran with the facade in the hopes that no one would actually call his bluff and challenge him.
Non-Human Sidekick: He's a lion ally to Dorothy's human hero.
Older Sidekick: Possibly. He's clearly an adult lion, though since lions reach maturity when they're around two or three years old, he could conceivably still be younger than Dorothy.
Status Quo Is God: A weird version of this happens with him in later Oz books. While the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman 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." Which makes perfect sense when you think about it. The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman both received tangible, lasting placebos and were still in the possession of their "magnificent brains" and "kind heart" in later books — but the Lion simply drank an unidentified liquid, and didn't have the same kind of physical reminder. No wonder he alone slipped back into his previous behavior.
Talking Animal: The Oz books are filled with them, but the Cowardly Lion was the first (unless you count Toto, who doesn't begin talking until much later anyway).

Toto

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_wonderful_wizard_of_oz_007.png

It was Toto that made Dorothy laugh, and saved her from growing as gray as her other surroundings. Toto was not gray; he was a little black dog, with long silky hair and small black eyes that twinkled merrily on either side of his funny, wee nose. Toto played all day long, and Dorothy played with him, and loved him dearly.

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.

Adaptation Species Change: A variation. He's drawn as a Yorkshire or Carin Terrier in the first book but the new artist draws him as a Boston Terrier from then on. Unusually, this change apparently happened in-universe as he will occasionally be shown in flashbacks and art of Dorothy's first visit to Oz as a Cairn or Yorkie.
Female Feline, Male Mutt: Forms this dynamic with Dorothy's other pet, Eureka the Kitten.
Living Emotional Crutch: Toto is this for Dorothy in the gray world of Kansas.
The Millstone: He's the reason Dorothy ends up in Oz in the first place, and he ruins Dorothy's chance to get back to Kansas by balloon when he jumps out of Dorothy's arms to chase a kitten.
Non-Human Sidekick: Dorothy's first traveling companion, and her most common one.
The Quiet One: He could have talked in Oz any time he wanted, he just chose not to.
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.)
Team Pet: In the first book, to Dorothy and her friends.

The Wizard

The Wizard, AKA O.Z. Diggs

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wizard_75.jpg

"I am Oz, the Great and Terrible. Who are you, and why do you seek me?"

An Omaha, Nebraska sideshowman, ventriloquist, and magician, who came to the 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 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.

Bunny-Ears Lawyer: As discussed in Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, Oz isn't good at being a real wizard at all...but he is a very talented false wizard. He's skilled at sleight-of-hand and deception, and manages to wow and deceive several people with his tricks.
Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?: Heck, yes. Using nothing more than BS, parlor tricks, and stage technology, he convinces all four Witches that he's too powerful to challenge.
God Guise: Flimflammery seemed his only defense in a world of real magic. Only by seeming far too powerful to attack could he survive.
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 (or authorial disapproval) for them.
Fireballs: One of his disguises was a "Ball of Fire".
Fountain of Expies: A fake ruling a magical land by pretending to be a magician. It caught on.
Had to Be Sharp: Given the fact he's powerless in a land with powerful (and mostly wicked) magic users, he had to be smart.
Let's Get Dangerous!: After being a mostly physically passive character in his first appearance, it's a bit jarring to see him in Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz with an IKEA Weaponry sword bifurcating a plant sorcerer and standing up to and killing an invisible bear.
Lovable Coward: In spite of putting up quite a fearsome façade in his appearance as a big fiery head, after he is unmasked, he admits that he is a good man and a terrible wizard. When Dorothy asks him if he was frightened, he tells her that as a man who laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe, he was petrified with fear when the Wicked Witch of the West threatened the Emerald City.
The Magnificent: He refers to himself as "Oz, the great and terrible".
The Man Behind the Curtain: Trope Namer
Master of Illusion: Since he was a magician he uses illusions to appear in different forms. It was Toto who exposes him as a fraud.
Master of Disguise: In the first book, he appears to the four travelers in four different forms, all of which are convincing.
Meaningful Name: His initials spell out "Oz Pinhead", naturally reflecting that he's almost a complete fraud.
Mirror Character: Oz and Dorothy are both from the civilized world and transported to the Land of Oz where they were mistaken for great magicians. However, while the plot of the book revolves around Dorothy trying to return to the civilized world, Oz stayed in the Land of Oz and let the people of the land think he was their most powerful wizard.
Multiple-Choice Past: He got hit with this in later books. Though his general past remained the same (a balloonist from Omaha who accidentally came to Oz, was thought a great wizard because he came through the air, and founded the Emerald City, which he then became the ruler of), the books varies in details, just how he'd come to power and how heroic/villainous his acts were:
- In the first book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, he was presented as fairly morally neutral: He did take advantage of the people who thought he was a wizard by making them his subjects (and played some weird tricks on them like making them wear green-tinted glasses so that the Emerald City would appear greener), and he was all too willing to send Dorothy out to do his dirty work for him and kill the Wicked Witch of the West, but he did try his best to be a fair ruler to the people of the Emerald City, and he had nothing but praise for his subjects, and he leaves the Scarecrow to rule in his stead when he leaves in a failed attempt to get Dorothy back home.
- In The Marvelous Land of Oz, he doesn't actually appear but his story is alluded to throughout, and here is he is presented as much shiftier and more villainous. Here, he is presented as having stolen the throne from the previous ruler, King Pastoria, and then disposed of Baby Ozma by giving her to Mombi, so that his rule of the Emerald City wouldn't be challenged by the true heir to the throne. Also, in this version he's said to have fled Oz because Dorothy and her friends threatened to expose him, and it was the people of the Emerald City who elected the Scarecrow to rule them.
- Then, when he returns to Oz in Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, he's played as more heroic; here he has no idea who Ozma is when Dorothy first brings her up, and the story is presented so that the King had already been deposed by the four Wicked Witches and imprisoned by Mombi, and Ozma had not yet been born by the time the Wizard came to Oz. Since his initials "O.Z." were printed on his balloon, the people thought that he was their returning King, who had become a powerful wizard while he was gone. Playing along with this, he re-united the four countries of Oz, had the Emerald City built, and set himself up as a wise ruler to oppose the Wicked Witches (who of course didn't know he wasn't a real wizard). In this version of the story, Ozma was born in captivity with Mombi and transformed into a boy (who her mother was, we don't know) and the Wizard never even knew she existed. And once more he was the one who left the Scarecrow to rule.
Older Sidekick: In Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz.
Overly Long Name: The Wizard's real name is "Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs".
Power Perversion Potential: By the end of The Magic of Oz he has the secret of unlimited transformation of himself and others with the magic word "Pyrzqxgl."
The Professor: When he returns to Oz in later books, he's usually the character others turn to for a solution to a technical or logical problem.
Punny Name: Since the Wizard's full name a bit too much, it was shorten to "O.Z. P.I.N.H.E.A.D. Diggs". That apparently reflected his intelligence poorly, so he went by O.Z. Diggs.
Shapeshifting: Subverted, he made it look like he could shapeshift, appearing to Dorothy and her companions as a great beast, a ball of fire, a beautiful woman, and a giant head.
Snake Oil Salesman: He managed to bluff two Wicked Witches, not to mention most of Oz, into thinking he was all powerful.
Stage Magician: As everyone knows by now, was not a wizard at all, but a stage magician flung by a tornado into a Magical Land, where through clever use of stage magic he was able to convince the denizens he was a powerful wizard.
Techno Wizard: He's pretty handy with machines.
Took a Level in Badass: In Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, he's far more dashing and ready for action than he was in the first book. He cuts the Mangaboo sorcerer Gwig in half with his sword and fights off the Gargoyles with a pair of revolvers.
Ventriloquism: Helps perpetuate his god guise.
The Wizard: Oh, I am a ventriloquist. I can throw the sound of my voice wherever I wish.

Glinda

Glinda, the Good Witch of South

Ruler of the Quadlings, she is also a powerful sorceress, and one of the most respected citizens of Oz because of her power and knowledge. She is able to keep track of all that goes on through her Great Book of Records (not to mention good, old-fashioned spies), where every event is written down as soon as it happens.

Beauty Equals Goodness: The most beautiful of all the Witches, and also the kindest and the most powerful.
Big Good: Of many of the books, though several sequels and remakes have her rather prone to The Worf Effect, where a new villain takes her out with little trouble.
Cool Old Lady: It's hinted that her youth and beauty are just a guise.
Good Witch Versus Bad Witch: One of the prime examples of a good witch in pop culture.
The High Queen: Although she just rules the southern quadrant of Oz, she answers to Princess Ozma. She is Merlin to Princess Ozma's King Arthur.
Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Glinda is angelically good, without a trace of self-interest — the closest she comes to a human flaw is a slight tendency to be a Trickster Mentor.
The Magocracy: Glinda rules the Quadling Country.
Mysterious Past: Nobody knows where she comes from or how old she is. It's never really explored in any of the books either.
Power Perversion Potential: A magical book that records everything that happens in Oz. Also a Story-Breaker Power.
Old Master: The Oz characters often consult her when there's a crisis that stumps them.
Redshirt Army: Glinda's army in a literal sense, as their uniforms are red. Unlike most examples, they're a Badass Army who are superbly trained and can deal with most monsters.
Took a Level in Badass: A curious example, because in the first book she's already stated to be the most powerful witch in Oz... but in subsequent books, her power just becomes more and more impressive.
The Watcher: She keeps an eye on all of Oz via magic and spies. A rare case of this being done entirely for altruistic motives.

The Wicked Witch of the West

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wicked_witch_9.jpg

The wicked witch who rules the Winkies from her Yellow Castle. When the Wizard of Oz sends Dorothy and her friends to defeat the witch, she uses the Winged Monkeys to capture them. The witch then tries to get the Silver Shoes away from Dorothy, who throws a bucket of water on the witch, not knowing it will make the witch melt away forever. With the Wicked Witch of the West gone, Dorothy, her friends, and the Winkies are set free.

Bad Boss: She must have been this if her mooks celebrated her death.
Breakout Villain: Despite only appearing in the first book and essentially being the series' Starter Villain, she's the most widely recognized villain in the series, to the point that she's the Big Bad of most adaptations (and most sequels to The Wizard of Oz tend to have her come back from the dead seeking revenge on Dorothy). This is largely thanks to the success of the 1939 film.
Everyone Calls Her Barkeep: Baum never gave her a name.
God Save Us from the Queen!: She's the evil ruler of Winkie Country; the Winkies all fear and hate her.
Graceful Loser: When she realizes that Dorothy had stumbled upon her Weaksauce Weakness and caused her to melt away, she concedes defeat and admits she never expected a little girl like her to be the one to do her in.
Wicked Witch of the West: Well, in a few minutes I shall be all melted, and you will have the castle to yourself. I have been wicked in my day, but I never thought a little girl like you would ever be able to melt me and end my wicked deeds. Look out — here I go!
Kill It with Water: A bucket of water? Really!? Justified in that she's so old that her bodily fluids (including her blood, as seen when Toto bites her leg but she doesn't bleed) have all dried out, making her exceedingly vulnerable.
Meaningful Name: No, really, that's her name.
Playing with Fire: In the movie, which is a great concern to the flammable Scarecrow.
Sorcerous Overlord: She rules like an Evil Overlord, and is a Wicked Witch.
Squishy Wizard: She's so old and wicked that all the fluids in her body have dried out, making her physically frail, so she relies on allies to do her dirty work. Then she outright melts just from a bucket of water.
Wicked Witch: The most famous example of this trope, thanks to the movie.

The Good Witch of the North

Locasta/Tattypoo, the Good Witch of the North

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/locasta.jpg

One of the two Good Witches of Oz and ruler of the Gillikin Country, though she's also a good friend to the Munchkins. Appearing as a small old lady with white hair, she only makes a few significant appearances in the books.

Adapted Out: Does not appear in the 1939 movie, since her character has been merged with that of Glinda, and given the popularity of the movie a lot of later adaptations or re-tellings leave her out entirely, leaving Glinda as Oz's only good witch.
The Cameo: In 5th Baum book "The Road to Oz", she shows up for Ozma's birthday party but is only mentioned among a bunch of other characters.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: She is never mentioned again in Baum's books after "The Road to Oz".
Cool Old Lady: Unlike Glinda, she even looks the part.
Easy Amnesia: Once again, she turns out to suffer from this in The Giant Horse of Oz.
Flash Step:
- Her main power, as demonstrated in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, is the ability to appear and disappear at will, effectively being able to teleport wherever she wants to go.
- In the alternate-continuity Russian series Tales of the Magic Land, she is summed up by one of the villains as impossible to fight because she can instantly teleport away from any danger.
Forced Transformation: Subject to this in Ruth Plumly Thompson's The Giant Horse of Oz, which some fans take as Fanon Discontinuity.
Good Witch Versus Bad Witch: She's a good witch, and has been working against the Wicked Witches for some time.
Hero of Another Story: She defeated Mombi and freed the Gilikins in the backstory.
I Have Many Names: She didn't get a name in her first appearance in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, though when Baum adapted the story to a stage play, she had a much bigger role and got the name 'Locasta'. In The Giant Horse of Oz, she was named 'Tattypoo' and was later revealed to in reality be the amnesiac Queen Orin. Later authors have varied between using 'Tattypoo' and 'Locasta' — or they discard both names and think up another name for her.
Magic Tool: She has a magical white cap that upon command will transform into a slate, upon which will be written (in chalk) what your best course of action will be in your current situation.
Mauve Shirt: A minor character, often left out of adaptations and not appearing in many of the books, but later authors and adaptations have begun to give her more of a role and more to do.
Protective Charm: Bestows a kiss upon Dorothy's head which acts as this, keeping the Winged Monkeys or the Witch of the West from daring to harm the girl.

Winged Monkeys

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.
The Prankster: They were very mischievous creatures, until one of their pranks — in which they threw a well-off man named Quelala into a river on his wedding day — went too far. Quelala didn't mind too much, but his fiancée, a sorceress princess, was angry, and cursed them to do the bidding of whoever held the Golden Cap.
Punch-Clock Villain: They do some pretty unsavory things when under the control of the Wicked Witch, but the Winged Monkeys aren't actually evil; they're just forced to follow the commands of whoever holds the Golden Cap, whether they like them or not.
Rule of Three: After you obtain the Golden Cap, the Monkeys will perform no more than three of your commands.
Super Powered Mooks: While serving the Wicked Witch.
Talking Animal: Like all animals in Oz, they are able to speak.

Jellia Jamb

A constant, if minor, presence in the Palace of the Emerald City, Jellia Jamb is the head of the Palace maids and has served under all the rulers of Oz as they've appeared in the books: first under the Wizard, then the Scarecrow, briefly under Jinjur, and finally under Ozma. She is specifically named as Ozma's favorite servant.

A Day in the Limelight: She is the main protagonist of Ruth Plumly Thompson's last book, Ozoplaning With the Wizard of Oz.
Ascended Extra: In the musical based on the second book, Jellia has a larger role, even accompanying Tip and the others on the journey to the Winkies.
Curtains Match the Window: Described as having green hair and green eyes.
Edible Theme Naming: Jellia Jamb = Jelly or Jam.
Mauve Shirt: She goes from a nameless extra in the first book to a fully-named recurring supporting character in later books, with occasional A Day in the Limelight moments.
No Name Given: In her first appearance in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, she is referred to simply as "the girl" or "the green girl". It's not until her second appearance in The Marvelous Land of Oz that she gets her name, but subsequent books confirm that it's the same character.
Servile Snarker: Of the good-natured kind. Her mischievous sense of humor is highlighted in a particularly memorable way in the famous "translator" scene in The Marvelous Land of Oz, where she has great fun acting as an "interpreter" between the Scarecrow and Jack Pumpkinhead, when the two fail to realize they're speaking the same language.

Omby Amby

Also known as the Soldier with the Green Whiskers, he is the only actual soldier in Oz's royal Army (in fact, in later books, he is the entire Royal Army) — at least until Ozma promotes him to Captain-General and makes him her personal bodyguard. He has a wife named Tollydiggle, who is the Emerald City's official jailer.

Depending on the Writer: Few Oz characters vary so much in description as Omby Amby; his personality, name, and even who he is married to is wildly inconsistent with the books. In Baum's books, he is competent and efficient, but rather too soft-hearted to be an effective fighter (he never loads his gun for fear it might accidentally go off and hurt someone), while Thompson portrays him as a pompous coward with bad aim. Also, while his official name is "Omby Amby," some books name him "Wantowin Battles." In one of Baum's books, he is mentioned to have a wife with a fierce temper, but in Jack Snow's books, his wife is revealed to be Tollydiggle the jailer, who most assuredly does not have a fierce temper. Then again, that could just mean that no one's managed to piss off Tollydiggle yet.
Gentle Giant: He's consistently described as "very tall" (though one book states that his long beard makes him look taller than he is), and has a very gentle nature.
I Have Many Names: Most often he's referred to as "The Soldier with the Green Whiskers," though Baum eventually gave him the name Omby Amby. Ruth Plumly Thompson named him "Wantowin Battles," and this name shows up in a few books after hers as well.
Mauve Shirt: Like Jellia Jamb, he's a nameless extra in the first book, but returns to become a recurring supporting character in later books.

Aunt Em & Uncle Henry

Aunt Em and Uncle Henry

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/em&henry.jpg

Dorothy's aunt and uncle, who raised her after her parents died. They are poor Kansas farmers marked by a life filled with hardships and little money, but they love their niece very much, and it's Dorothy's concern for them that drives her to return to Kansas time and time again whenever she ends up in Oz. Eventually, after the farm goes bankrupt, Ozma invites them along with Dorothy to take up permanent residence in Oz.

Ambiguously Related: Fans of the book usually interpret Uncle Henry and Dorothy's mother as brother and sister. Uncle Henry once compares Dorothy to her mother, suggesting he knew her. It also helps that Zeb says he's related to Dorothy through her "Uncle Henry's wife's sister," which would be redundant if Dorothy and Em were blood relatives.
Cassandra Truth: They're on the receiving end of one when Dorothy tells them about Oz. Interestingly enough, Aunt Em seems more inclined to believe Dorothy, while Uncle Henry thinks she's been dreaming it all — Arbitrary Skepticism in that Dorothy reappeared to him in Australia, in Ozma of Oz after having been lost overboard in a storm on the way there, and has disappeared at least two other times in deadly circumstances only to reappear.
Deadpan Snarker. Surprisingly, Uncle Henry has a few moments like this.
Flat-Earth Atheist: It's hinted that Em doesn't exactly disbelieve in things like fairies and witches, but that they don't exist anymore. Henry seems to believe Dorothy's adventures in Oz are simply dreams, saying her mother was similar, and Em seems to agree on this point. Dorothy magically appearing back from her adventures does nothing to deter this. It's implied Ozma doesn't give them any fair warning when finally bringing them to Oz since they've already refused to believe everything's Dorothy previously told them.
Fish out of Water: They have bigger problems adjusting to life in Oz than Dorothy does, and it takes a long time for them to adjust to the grandeur of the Emerald City. It didn't help that they were unexpectedly teleported to Oz.
Funetik Aksent: Same as Dorothy, which makes sense.
I Was Quite a Looker: Aunt Em is mentioned in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to have been very pretty in her youth, but a hard life had left her thin, gaunt and gray.
Mauve Shirt: They are generally very minor characters in the books, but they remain important simply by being Dorothy's only family.
Nephewism: They've raised their orphaned niece, Dorothy.
The Stoic: Uncle Henry is pragmatic and serious, seldom showing much emotion — though there are notable exceptions to this rule. He is utterly broken when he thinks Dorothy drowned in Ozma of Oz.

The Marvelous Land of Oz

Princess Ozma

Tippetarius "Tip" / Princess Ozma of Oz

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ozma_7.jpg

The daughter of the former King of Oz, Pastoria, and the rightful ruler of Oz, she was discovered and restored to her throne, where she has ruled ever since. Her subjects love and trust her, and she is good and kind to them in return. She is originally introduced as the boy Tip, runaway foster child of the witch Mombi and protagonist of the second book. In the end, Tip learns that Princess Ozma, the heir to the throne he's been seeking all along, is actually himself, transformed when she was a baby. Ozma is returned to her natural form, and in subsequent books her past as Tip is rarely brought up.

Age Is Relative: Ozma's actual age is kept deliberately ambiguous; in Baum's narration she is merely described as looking "very young" (in The Tin Woodman of Oz, she is said to look around fourteen or fifteen, which is the age she appears as in O'Neill's drawings, but even this isn't really kept consistent from book to book; she is sometimes also described as appearing the same age as Dorothy, and sometimes as noticeably older). Despite this she celebrates her birthday on August 21; L. Frank Baum lampshades this in the books, stating that since Ozma is a fairy she is effectively immortal and her exact age doesn't matter much — but that's no reason to pass up a perfectly good opportunity for a party.
Benevolent Mage Ruler: Princess Ozma is a good and magical ruler of a fairyland.
Celibate Hero: Depending on the Writer. Ruth Plumly Thompson's 1922 Kabumpo in Oz has her "dismayed at even the thought of marriage". However, other writers do present her as interested in romance, specifically with Dorothy.
Chariot Pulled by Cats: Princess Ozma's chariot is pulled by the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger. This is often the extent of their participation in the books.
A Child Shall Lead Them: She often looks no older than Dorothy, though quite a few illustrations depict her as a young woman. Either way, she's meant to seem under eighteen.
Damsel in Distress: Subverted big time in The Marvelous Land of Oz, but played straight in a couple of the later books.
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 mischievous or gently poke fun at a situation just for the hell of it.
Early Installment Character-Design Difference: She is described with reddish blonde hair early on but almost everything else depicts her with either brown or black hair.
Fisher King: The return of the monarchy of Oz turns everyone immortal.
Gender Bender: She was transformed into a boy as an infant to hide her identity.
The Heroine: For the second book, The Marvelous Land of Oz.
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Played straight in her first appearance as she has blond hair. Subverted with the other books where the illustrations consistently have her hair being black but she still has the heart of gold. The books themselves describe her as being a strawberry blonde.
The High Queen: Despite being the supreme ruler of Oz, she very seldom uses the title "Queen." The Marvelous Land of Oz is probably the book where the "Queen" title is used the most; Ozma is referred to as a Princess before her crowning and a Queen afterwards — but in later books she is most often called either "Ruler" or "Princess".
I Am Who?: She quickly gets over it after the transformation, though.
Iconic Sequel Character: Ozma is one of the most important characters of the books that didn't debut in first book. She appears in every book onwards.
The Magocracy: The return of the monarchy results in a Magocracy. The use of magic becomes banned for everyone except Princess Ozma, Glinda, and the Wizard. Rebel magic users have to go underground.
Multiple-Choice Past: Thanks to retcons and Continuity Drift, the reader has a choice on the origin of Princess Ozma:
- The human daughter of Pastoria, who ruled prior to the arrival of the Wizard.
- A fairy descended from a long line of fairy queens.
- A member of Fairy Queen Lurline's band who stayed behind after Lurline enchanted Oz, ruling alongside King Pastoria.
Platonic Life-Partners: With Dorothy Gale, though some interpretations drop the 'platonic' part.
Rags to Royalty: Complete with a evil stepmom and a twist!
Raised as the Opposite Gender: She was magically turned into a boy named Tip, who had no idea he was really a girl until the end of his debut book.
Requisite Royal Regalia:
- A tiara with two poppy flowers and the letters "OZ" at the front of it.
- A scepter with the letters "OZ" at the business end.
- Pimped-Out Dress: Depends on the author and/or artist.
Rightful King Returns: Or princess, rather, after the defeat of Jinjur's army.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: Actually goes on missions to improve the lives of her subjects and stop wars between them, and even to rescue the foreign royalty of Ev in Ozma of Oz.
Samus Is a Girl: She didn't even know she was really a girl, due to being raised as a boy.
Secret Legacy: In this case, it's double on the secret part.
Signature Headgear: Her tall gold crown, Oz tiara, and the two large red poppies over her ears.
Upgrade Artifact: Princess Ozma has a magic picture that see can every part of Oz, which brings to mind Princess Ozma is watching you. She also has the Nome King's magic belt for a time, after Dorothy gives it to her in Ozma of Oz, although she seems to have returned it to Dorothy in the later books.

Jack Pumpkinhead

Jack was made by Tip from wood he cut from the forest and shaped into the arms, legs, and body, and a head he carved from a pumpkin much like a jack-o'lantern would appear. From Mombi's chest he took some old clothes for Jack; purple trousers, a red shirt, a pink vest with white polka dots, and stockings, to which he added a pair of his shoes. Jack was brought to life by Mombi when she sprinkled the Powder of Life on him. Once alive, Jack proved to a very agreeable but rather simple-minded person. After Ozma was restored, Jack settled down in a house carved from a giant pumpkin just outside the Emerald City to grow vegetables (he needs to replace his head every so often, you see), but still gets mixed up in new adventures from time to time.

Contrasting Sequel Main Character: To the Scarecrow. Despite his claims to the contrary, the Scarecrow was extremely smart and helpful throughout the first book. Jack, on the other hand, actually is naive and childlike, and spends a lot of time in his first appearance worrying about what will happen to his head when it spoils and annoying his creator.
Non-Human Sidekick: An unwanted one to Tip in The Marvelous Land of Oz, as he insisted on following Tip around everywhere and calling him "father". This stopped after Tip was turned back into Ozma since he could no longer be Jack's "father", although no one points out that Ozma could still be his "mother".
Pumpkin Person: As the name suggests, he has a pumpkin for a head.
Ridiculously Average Guy: While most of the characters from the first three books end up with important jobs, Jack simply chooses to become a simple farmer and his only real interests outside of agriculture are going for rides on the Sawhorse or socializing with friends.
Simpleminded Wisdom: Displays traits of this at times, but plays the role of The Fool much straighter than, say, the Scarecrow.
Theseus' Ship Paradox: Discussed. When Jack was first born, he figured he only had about a month to live before his pumpkin head rotted and he died. However, in later books he found he could replace his head with any new pumpkin and thus becomes a farmer to grow new heads. He and his friends both note that his personality and intellect change subtly with each new pumpkin.
Vocal Dissonance: Despite his outlandish appearance many characters note that his voice sounds like a Ridiculously Average Guy in his 20s or 30s.
The Watson: In Marvelous Land, his simple-minded questions that Tip patiently answers allow new readers to catch up on the backstory.

The Sawhorse

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sawhorse_1.jpg

Like Jack Pumpkinhead, the Sawhorse was given life by Mombi's Powder of Life, though in the case of the Sawhorse Tip called him to life to serve as a riding animal on his and Jack's trip to the Emerald City. Being made entirely of wood (and "shod" with gold, to keep his wooden hooves from wearing out), he's both faster and more durable than any normal horse and in subsequent books is generally seen pulling Ozma's carriage.

Automaton Horse: Justified and often Lampshaded in-verse, as he is specifically mentioned to be not only faster than a normal horse but also completely tireless, utterly fearless, very compliant, and of course needing no extra care or even food. He even has no problem crossing large bodies of water, since he's made of wood and floats quite well. Might count as a Mechanical Horse, but only if you use the term loosely. Definitely a Horse of a Different Color, though.
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.
What Measure Is A Non-Flesh Animal?: Of all the creatures in Oz that are inanimate objects brought to life, the Sawhorse is really the only one who has this trope brought up more than a couple of times; for some reason he's the one most often told that he isn't a real animal and has no business being alive. He himself invokes the trope by agreeing with them, only pointing out in his defense that he never asked to be brought to life, so the blame doesn't lie with him. (Unlike the Gump, though, he never expresses any sort of wish for his life to end — perhaps because, unlike the Gump, he doesn't remember any previous life.)

The Woggle-Bug

Mr. H. M. Woggle-Bug, T.E.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/woggle.gif

A Highly Magnified Woggle-Bug who has been Thoroughly Educated, both thanks to Professor Nowitall. He is rather flat, with a glistening dark brown back and a striped light brown and white front. His nose ends in a curling antenna and his ears look like miniature curling pig tails. Thanks to the kindness of a tailor whose life he saved, the Woggle-Bug wears a swallow-tail coat that is dark blue with a yellow silk lining and a flower in the button hole, a white vest, fawn colored knickers, and a top hat. The Woggle-Bug has a fondness for making puns, and can be a bit overbearing in trying to impress others with his Thoroughly Educated status. After he helped restore Ozma, she founded Oz's first university and appointed him dean.

Breakout Character: He was considered this for a while after The Marvelous Land of Oz came out, having large roles in side projects such as the comic strip Queer Visitors from the Land of Oz and quite a bit of merchandise devoted solely to him — there were Woggle-Bug postcards, Woggle-Bug buttons, a Woggle-Bug song, a Woggle-Bug board game and a book starring him called, imaginatively enough, The Woggle-Bug Book, which was closely tied to (and meant to promote) the stage musical The Woggle-Bug, which was loosely based on The Marvelous Land of Oz. The musical, however, bombed, and that was the end of the Woggle-Bug's superstardom. He'd have drastically reduced roles in the following books. Also, in those subsequent appearances he became even more pompous and conceited than before, to the point where none of the other characters liked him much, perhaps as a reflection on how he had grown less popular with the audience.
Big Creepy-Crawlies: He started out as a normal sized Woggle-Bug — whatever size that might be — before being Highly Magnified.
Delusions of Eloquence: He's got a good vocabulary, but regularly misuses it.
Hurricane of Puns: He considers puns to be the highest form of humor, as they rely on wordplay and the duality of language. Neither Scarecrow nor Tin Woodman agree, even going so far as to threaten physical violence on him unless he quits punning.
Refugee from TV Land: The Woggle-Bug is one of the first examples of a character projected upon a screen who then escapes from the screen.
Small Name, Big Ego: Grows increasingly so as the series moves on.
Took a Level in Jerkass: In later books he loses the amiability he had in his debut novel and grows increasingly haughty and stuck-up about his own perceived superiority. By the time Ruth Plumly Thompson takes over the series, he's pretty insufferable.

The Gump

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gump_2.jpg

"The last thing I remember distinctly is walking through the forest and hearing a loud noise. Something probably killed me then, and it certainly ought to have been the end of me. Yet here I am, alive again, with four monstrous wings and a body which I venture to say would make any respectable animal or fowl weep with shame to own. What does it all mean? Am I a Gump, or am I a juggernaut?"

—The Gump

Originally the Gump was a mounted head over the mantel in the great hallway of the Royal Palace in the Emerald City. It has antlers like an elk, but its up-turned nose and billy-goat chin whiskers give it an air of absurdity. The Tin Woodman uses the Gump as a head along with two large sofas for a body, four palm leaves for wings, an a broom for a tail to fashion a means to escape the Army of Revolt. Tip then applies the last of the Powder of Life to bring this strange creation to life. Thus the Gump becomes an unlikely aerial transport for Tip and his friends in their escape from Jinjur and the Army of Revolt. After tranquility and order is finally restored to the Emerald City, the parts of this strange flying machine are returned to their original function, with the Gump returning to its place over the mantel, where he sometimes strikes up conversations with shocked visitors.

Back from the Dead: The only part of the Gump that was dead was the head.
Giant Flyer: possibly the weirdest flying creature ever.
I Cannot Self-Terminate: He asks to be disassembled, on the grounds that he was not well-made. Though this doesn't kill him.
Improvised Golems: He was slapped together on the spur of the moment as an emergency escape vehicle.
Mix-and-Match Critters: His head is that of a real Gump, his body is made up of two sofas, and his wings are palm leaves.

Mombi

"She is a terrible old woman!"

—Tip

An old woman who secretly engages in the practice of magic. Although she has developed many powers, she is not simply a witch, but more of a sorceress. Her best magic involves the creation of very realistic illusions. She uses these powers in an attempt by rebels to retain control of the Emerald City and to foil Glinda the Good's move to restore the rightful heir to the throne of Oz. Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz reveals that Mombi was one of the four wicked witches who came to power in the four quadrants of Oz, ruling Gillikin Country as the Wicked Witch of the North, until she was overthrown by the Good Witch of the North.

Abusive Parents: Closest thing Tip had to a parent, and treated him/her as a servant.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: In Baum's books at least, Mombi was never heard from again after she was defeated. At least until Ruth Plumly Thompson brought her back in The Lost King of Oz. Still stripped of the power to do magic, she has reinvented herself as a Lethal Chef.
The Dragon: Becomes this to General Jinjur, in part to reclaim Tip as her servant.
Easily Forgiven: Ozma/Tip promises to ensure she will be taken care of in her old age.
Fat Bitch: In the 1986 cartoon, she's presented this way.
How the Mighty Have Fallen: She once ruled the North of Oz, before being defeated and winding up as a lowly wizardess on a farm.
Jerkass: She's an unpleasant piece of work to say the least, being a very bad tempered sort.
Killed Off for Real: In The Lost King Of Oz, she's executed by throwing water on her.
Voluntary Shapeshifting: Transforms herself into a flower and later a griffin. She also turned Ozma into the boy Tip.
Wicked Witch: In later books, she's described as the former Wicked Witch of the North.

Jinjur

General Jinjur

Commander of the Army of Revolt. After successfully capturing the Emerald City, she summoned Mombi to help defend it against counterattack by former King Scarecrow and Emperor Tin Woodman. Ultimately she had to deal with Glinda the Good in her drive to restore the throne to its rightful heir. Jinjur was defeated and resigned herself to settling down with a nice Munchkin farmer, but she makes it clear that she wears the pants in the family. In later books, she lived on the farm alone, contented with her new life and helping the heroes.

Big Bad: Has this role for most of The Land of Oz.
Call to Agriculture: Like many soldiers, Jinjur follows the traditional pattern of becoming a farmer after her revolt is defeated, in this case a dairy farmer.
Eek, a Mouse!!: A bit of a Weaksauce Weakness.
Exotic Weapon Supremacy: General Jinjur's knitting-needles.
Four-Star Badass: Self-proclaimed general she might be, she's the only antagonist to conquer the Emerald City and sit on its throne.
Heel–Face Turn: She and the Scarecrow eventually become friends, and she shows up to help the heroes during The Tin Woodman of Oz.
Femme Fatale: She's not above using her looks to get her way.
Lady of War: She's the only would-be conqueror who actually captured the Emerald City.
Straw Feminist: She is Baum's Affectionate Parody of the American suffrage movement (which he enthusiastically supported), or rather she is the parody of what anti-suffragists thought of the suffragettes.

Army of Revolt

"What man would oppose a girl, or dare to harm her? And there is not an ugly face in my entire Army."

— General Jinjur

An army of girls from all over the Land of Oz that Jinjur assembled to conquer the Emerald City, depose King Scarecrow, and run the government to suit themselves. They looted the city upon its capture, picking out the emeralds and other jewels which decorated the streets and buildings. Their uniforms include a green sash around the waist and a skirt in four colors; blue, yellow, red, and purple representing the four countries of Oz. Each of the four companies of girls wear their skirts so that the color of their country are to the front. Their weapons are two long, glittering knitting-needles stuck through the knot of their hair at the back of their head.

Exotic Weapon Supremacy: Knitting needles.
Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Exploited; the fact that most men wouldn't hit a woman means that they won't fight back against this all-female army.

Ozma of Oz

Billina

Billina, the Yellow Hen

A spunky, talkative chicken, Billina was originally named Bill because, she tells Dorothy, "No one could tell whether I was going to be a hen or a rooster." Dorothy insists on changing the hen's name to a feminine form. Billina endures several scares with the Kansas farm girl before they defeat the Nome King as only a hen can. At the end of the novel, Billina settles in the Emerald City.

Action Girl: She's an Action Hen. Despite being a hen, she is by no means a chicken.
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: When she isn't being blunt as a river stone. She has no patience whatsoever for fools.^note.
Gender-Blender Name: Her original name, when she was a little chick and her gender hadn't been determined, was 'Bill', and she still thinks 'Billina' is a bit lah-di-dah.
Lazily Gender-Flipped Name: Billina the hen was thought to be a male chicken and was named Bill. Dorothy adds the '-ina' when she finds out it's female. She comments that adding '-ina' at the end makes it a girl's name.
My God, What Have I Done?: Narrowly averted. Billina, upon finding a green grasshopper ornament, only notices that it isn't real in the process of swallowing it. She very nearly destroyed Ozma.
Non-Human Sidekick: She's a talking chicken and sidekick to Dorothy.
Talking Animal: She's no exception to the rule that all animals in Oz (and other fairylands such as Ev) can talk.
Team Pet: Acts as this for most of the novel, but she is the one that discovers the Nome King's little secret, and ends up freeing everyone he transformed, including the entire Royal Family of Ev.
Your Tomcat Is Pregnant: Dorothy's pet chicken was originally named 'Bill' by her original owner because he thought she was male until she laid an egg. Then Dorothy renames her 'Billina'.

Tik-Tok

"Extra-Responsive, Thought-Creating, Perfect-Talking Mechanical Man ...Thinks, Speaks, Acts, and Does Everything but Live."

Tik-Tok^note is an incredible copper mechanical man. He has a wind-up clock mechanism for thinking, speaking, walking, and other movements. He was made by Smith & Tinker at their Works in Evna. He was purchased by King Evoldo and named Tik-Tok because of the sound he makes when wound up. Dorothy finds him in the rock chamber where he had been placed by Evoldo. He proves to be quite invaluable to her in the challenges she faces in this adventure which carries them deep into the Nome King's underground domains. Tik-Tok becomes an honored member of Ozma's retinue in the Emerald City, joining in many other adventures in the Land of Oz.

And I Must Scream: Tik-Tok has mechanisms for thought, speech, and action. At one point "action" and "speech" ran down and Tik-Tok had nothing to do but stand still and think and think until slowly, gradually, his thoughts ran down to nothing.
Battle Butler: Subservient, yet surprisingly combat-ready.
Breakout Character: Not nearly to the extent of the Woggle-Bug, but he did have a film based on him, thus being one of the first movie robots in history.
Cannot Tell a Lie: "Tik-Tok has spoken truly, for his machinery will not allow him to lie, nor will it allow his thoughts to think falsely. Therefore, these people are not our enemies."
Clock Punk: He was a bit of a trend-setter.
Clockwork Creature: Operates via key-wound clockwork.
Contrasting Sequel Main Character: The Tin Woodman was originally a Munchkin who slowly had his parts replaced with tin as he kept losing them. Tik-Tok is completely mechanical, was manufactured, and has to be re-wound in order to think, speak, and move. He's also short and round in comparison to the lanky Tin Woodman.
Literal-Minded: He sometimes understands metaphor. Other times... not.
Betsy: How shall we go to the Nome King's cavern, Tik-Tok?
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.
Logical Weakness: Tik-Tok is incapable of winding up his own keys. Someone else needs to do it for him periodically, or he will eventually run down and cease to function.
Robo Speak: The oldest version of this trope.
Robot Buddy: Quite possibly the Ur-Example; Tik-Tok was around before the term "robot" was coined — Ozma of Oz was published in 1907, Rossum's Universal Robots in 1920.
The Spock: Not the brightest thinker in Oz, but he's always rational and reasonable.
Three Laws-Compliant: Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics were partly inspired by the interaction between Tik-Tok and Dorothy in Ozma of Oz.
Tin-Can Robot: He's spherical rather than literally can-shaped, but otherwise matches the trope well.
Tin Man: It's emphatically mentioned that Tik-Tok is not alive and has no capacity for emotion. However, he's still capable of becoming bored, has a great deal of self-assurance and pride (to the point of vanity), and can even bit rather snarky. He's also explicitly called a fairy machine: he would not function in our world. It's clear there's more to the copper man than meets the eye.

The Hungry Tiger

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hungry_tiger_2.jpg

The Hungry Tiger is a good friend of the Cowardly Lion who left the forest and joined the Lion because he realized that he did not fit in. As his name implies, the Tiger is always hungry and lusts longingly to devour the many tender creatures that he encounters (or a fat baby, an example often brought up), but he has a powerful conscience and is so driven by his sense of right and wrong that he cannot bring himself to eat any of them — and so he stays hungry all the time. With the Lion, he is one of Ozma's bodyguards.

And That's Terrible: It's a little worrying to have the enormous carnivore pointing out, persistently, that eating babies would be very, very wrong.
Big Eater: Once in the series, he eats enough that he isn't hungry anymore, and finds the situation bizarre.
Big Guy: He is big, and tough, and unlike the Cowardly Lion he isn't afraid to be big and tough.
Carnivore Confusion: He spends a lot of time telling smaller animals, even people, how much he'd like to eat them, and then goes on to assure them that he won't, because that would be wrong.
Eats Babies: He'd love to! He bets they'd be delicious. Unluckily for him (but luckily for babies) he has a conscience, which makes it clear to him that would be bad and wrong. Hence why he's always hungry, you see.
Gentle Giant: Since his Conscience prevents him from eating anyone, he is this in practice.
Early-Bird Cameo: Possibly — it's a popular fan theory that the unnamed tiger that appears in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and acts as spokesman for the animals of the forest is the Hungry Tiger (based on the fact that this tiger is described as the "largest of the tigers in the forest," a description that was later also used on the Hungry Tiger), though this was never officially confirmed.
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... unless you threaten or attack his friends.
Talking Animal: Like all animals in Oz.
Trademark Favorite Food: Fat babies. Though he never actually eats any.

The Nome King

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gnomeking.jpg

"Now, the Nome King had never tried to be good, so he was very bad indeed."

Although the Wicked Witch of the West is the most famous of Oz's villains (thanks to the popular 1939 film), the Nome King is the closest the book series has to a primary Big Bad. He appears again and again to cause trouble for the Land of Oz. He's described as looking like a demented Santa Claus. Originally his name was Roquat the Red, but in The Emerald City of Oz he was reformed after a dunking in the Water of Oblivion; he soon returned to his evil ways, but forgot his name, and started calling himself Ruggedo.

Affably Evil: When his Hair-Trigger Temper isn't getting the best of him. In some books he comes closer to Faux Affably Evil.
- In his first appearance in the books, he plays this trope pretty straight for a few chapters. He doesn't just resemble Santa Claus but actually quotes 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and laughs along with it. He also makes a reasonable point that the King of Ev is the real one to blame for selling his family into slavery and the Nome King upheld his part of the bargain. He even lets the Cowardly Lion try to attack him and doesn't bat an eye or punish him when it fails. It's not until Ozma fails his test and gets turned into an ornament that the others consider him a villain.
Amnesiac Dissonance: Attempted many times. It never stuck.
Bad Boss: Which is why he's not a popular ruler even among the Nomes; he's dangerous when in a bad mood and often threatens death, violence or Forced Transformation on his subjects. Often he even follows through on the threats.
Beneath the Earth: He is the ruler of a vast underground kingdom — and possibly of everything beneath the earth, as he claims ownership of all precious metals and stones found there.
Big Bad: He's the one major villain who keeps returning, again and again, and the number of other villains that have been tricked, manipulated, charmed or outright bullied into working for him over the course of the books is considerable.
Card-Carrying Villain: He is a sadistic old bastich who enjoys being angry because it makes everyone around him miserable.
Chronic Villainy: He may reform at the end of a book, either voluntarily or through having lost his memory, but he'll inevitably return to his old ways soon enough.
Forced Transformation: Frequently transforms the heroes against their will, usually into ornaments for his palace.
Gondor Calls for Aid: Inverted in The Emerald City of Oz. He sends his General to persuade the Whimsies to help him to attack Oz. The General goes beyond his orders to recruit the Growleywogs and Phanfasms as well. (The Nome King is not pleased.)
I Have Many Names: From "Roquat the Red" to "Ruggedo."
Improbable Hairstyle: His hair sticks up in a long tuft.
It's Personal: In later books, after he loses his kingdom and right to rule, he's partly driven by the desire to become king again, and partly by the desire for revenge — he blames the Oz inhabitants in general (and Ozma and Dorothy in particular) for his misfortune and wants them to suffer.
Joker Immunity: Poisoned by eggs, several times made to lose all his memories, dethroned and robbed of his kingdom, turned into an ornament... no matter how many times the heroes think they're finally rid of him for good, he just keeps coming back.
The Magnificent: Alternates between "of the Rocks" and "the Red".
Non-Human Sidekick: Sometimes plays this role as means of manipulating some other villain into doing what he wants — when he's not able to make them his Sidekicks, that is.
Villain Has a Point: In "Ozma of Oz," he argues that he bought the royal family of Ev from the king fair and square in exchange for long life, and is under no obligation to release them just because the king killed himself (since the king chose to die). Dorothy agrees with his logic.
Weaksauce Weakness: Eggs. (Possibly symbolic of the matriarchy present in Oz.)
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Dorothy so completely dominated him in Ozma of Oz that his first panicked reaction in Tik-Tok of Oz, upon learning that one of the approaching surfacers is a little girl, is, "Is it Dorothy?"

Kaliko

The Nome King's Chief Steward.

Anti-Villain: In Rinkitink in Oz, where he's at his most villainous, he still comes off as a lot nicer than Ruggedo/Roquat. (He isn't a villain at all in Tik-Tok of Oz, where he becomes the new King, but apparently later books required a villainous Nome King anyway. Some of the later authors may have forgotten that there were, in fact, differences between his personality and Ruggedo's.)
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.
Everyone Has Standards: Makes a point to treat the King and Queen of Pingaree well and rebuffs Queen Cor's suggestion that they be put to hard labor.
Flanderization: In Rinkitink in Oz while antagonistic, he's nowhere as bad as King Gos and Queen Cor but books by latter authors turn him a clone of his predecessor who harbors ambitions to conquer Oz.
Gadgeteer Genius: While he never invents anything, one short story had him reassembling a smashed Tik-Tok — implied to be almost impossible due to how complicated the machinery was — for fun. (This trait of his is never mentioned elsewhere.)
The Good Chancellor: Runs the Nome King's kingdom very well, and is stated to be better liked than the monarch.
I Gave My Word: The main reason he refuses to return Inga's parents, feeling himself bound by the promise he made King Gos and Queen Cor.
Improbable Hairstyle: Even more so than his boss, if you go by the illustrations. Part of it goes down to his shoulders, while the rest goes up in a great big tuft.
No Name Given: Not actually named in this book, but the Kaliko who appears later acts enough like the original Chief Steward that they're probably the same character.
Nothing Personal: As he notes to the King of Pingaree, he does privately sympathize with him but as a matter of policy feels he should side with the stronger Gos and Cor.
Offered the Crown: In Tik-Tok of Oz, when Ruggedo is deposed by Quox. He accepts.
Pet the Dog: In Tik-Tok, he rescues Betsy from being thrown into the Slimy Cave. (While being in the Slimy Cave would probably have not been too bad on its own, Ruggedo was in the process of throwing a huge tantrum, turning people into musical instruments and calling for torturers. Since Betsy was a Tagalong Kid, Kaliko presumably thought that she was safer waiting out the situation in his house.) This functions to set him up as a good replacement King later in the book, since his role before that point consisted of following his boss's orders and advising him against foolishness.
Pragmatic Villainy: Kaliko thinks the way his king does things is foolish and doesn't hide this opinion. He may not be one of the good guys, but at least he's got enough sense to leave the people of Oz alone when he becomes the new king, rather than actively looking for trouble like Ruggedo did.
Redeeming Replacement: He's generally much more decent compared to Ruggedo.
Servile Snarker: Threws some barbs at Ruggedo from time to time, including calling him out on make the people of OZ green ornaments.
Ultimate Job Security: Gets away with calling his extremely short-tempered monarch an idiot, more than once, because the Nome King can't find a competent replacement. For comparison, the Nome King "throws away" his generals at the drop of a hat — but he while threatens Kaliko periodically, he keeps him as his steward for as long as he remains the king.

Princess Langwidere

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/langwidere.jpg

The niece of the late King Evoldo of Ev; she is stuck being ruler of the Land of Ev while Evoldo's wife and children are prisoners of the Nome King. Langwidere has thirty beautiful interchangeable heads and spends most of her time admiring them in her mirror and only ten minutes each day actually ruling. After getting off to a bad start with Dorothy, she ultimately agrees to support Ozma, Dorothy and their party in the mission to rescue Ev's royal family so that she can spend those ten minutes admiring herself as well.

Face Stealer: She can change her head at will, and at one point wants to trade Dorothy's head for one of her own. Her multiple heads appear to be natural for her, though, and not stolen.
God Save Us from the Queen!: She makes little trouble for her subjects, preferring to spend her time in admiring her appearance rather than ruling. But she can be nasty when someone defies her (at least when she's wearing her most beautiful head, No. 17, which comes with a terrible temper), and her negligence is probably not good for the kingdom.
Lazy Bum: Her name and demeanor paint her as idle and useless, with Langwidere being far more interested in lying about and admiring her appearance with different heads rather than doing anything in the service of Ev, which she was the only ruling force of.
LEGO Body Parts: She switches heads like clothing, putting on a different head every day. In contrast, she has no interest in changing her dress and always wears a simple white gown that goes well with all her heads, with a ruby key around her neck that opens her magical cabinets.
Princesses Rule: She is only acting ruler until the return of the Royal Family.
Swiss-Army Appendage: She hot-swaps heads depending on her desired appearance.

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

Eureka

Eureka, the Pink/Purple Kitten

She is Dorothy's kitten, and accompanies Dorothy in a great adventure in the Land of Oz. Originally her fur was white, but in later adventures, after Dorothy has returned permanently to the Land of Oz, Eureka inexplicably becomes the Pink Kitten — except in Glinda of Oz, where she just as inexplicably has become the Purple Kitten. The cause of this color change is one of the mysteries of Oz.^note

Cats Are Mean: L. Frank Baum even apologizes for her lack of good behavior in the forward to Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, adding that "perhaps she wasn't brought up properly." When she is accused of eating one of the now-sentient, talking piglets near the end of the novel, she refuses to defend herself and treats the trial for her life like a clown show. It turns out that she had intended to, but an accident robbed her of the chance. As a result, her execution is stayed (she knew she could clear her name at any point, but let the show go on because she was amused by it), but she is shunned by the other residents of Oz and begs to be taken home. As noted above, that doesn't last.
Carnivore Confusion: Explicitly avoided with Eureka: she eats living things every chance she gets and revels in it. It's to the point that she can't understand why prey doesn't just stand still and be reasonable enough to let her eat them comfortably. This forms a major plot point at the end (see Cats Are Mean, above).
Deadpan Snarker: Hoo boy, is she ever — in a land full of Deadpan Snarkers, she gives them all a major run for their money.
Fearless Fool: Since she has nine lives, she's not afraid of anything, even when she should be.
Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Possibly. Illustrations often depict her as this (most famously, John R. Neill always drew wearing ridiculous clothes), but she's never mentioned as wearing clothes in the text.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: In her debut novel she comes across as more of a Jerkass (once again, see Cats Are Mean above), but in later appearances she has enough Pet the Dog moments to qualify as a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
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."
Snarky Non-Human Sidekick: A rare female example.
Team Pet: For the company in the fourth book.

Zeb

Zebediah "Zeb" Hugson

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zeb.jpg

A distant cousin of Dorothy's (his uncle is married to Aunt Em's sister) who works and lives on his uncle Bill's ranch, Hugson's Ranch, in California. Along with his uncle's horse, Jim, he ends up unwillingly accompanying Dorothy on her third journey to Oz.

Cowardly Sidekick: Of all the people (and cats, horses and pigs) who end up on the journey, Zeb is the only one who's genuinely scared of the dangers they find themselves in, and is close to freaking out several times.
Embarrassing First Name: He doesn't really like being called "Zebediah" and prefers going by his nickname, "Zeb."
Only Sane Man: Has traces of this, especially in his own eyes, and spends some time early in the book pointing out how wrong the strange adventures he's encountered are, or how unnatural it is that animals can talk. He becomes more accepting of such things as the book goes on, but in the end he's still glad to leave Oz, telling the others that he really doesn't belong in a fairy country.
Put on a Bus: He only appears in one book, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, after which he returns back home to his uncle's ranch and is barely even mentioned again.

Jim

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jim_0.jpg

One of the horses on Hugson's Ranch; he was born in Kentucky and in his youth he was a proud and undefeated race-horse. In his later years, he pulled a cab in Chicago, before finally retiring to Hugson's Ranch in California. He accompanies Zeb and Dorothy on their trip to Oz.

Break the Haughty: Being a previously-undefeated race-horse, he's pretty arrogant and conceited, and this only gets worse when he learns he's the only actual horse in Oz. Losing a race to the Sawhorse, however, punctures his illusions about being unbeatable, and he is further cowed when he loses his temper and kicks the Sawhorse, and the Cowardly Lion and Hungry Tiger make it very clear to him that they don't like it when their friends are kicked around. In the end, Jim becomes one of the only animals in the Oz books who begs to leave the place because he can't stand being just an ordinary horse in a fairy country.
The Eeyore: He has traces of this, when he's not being arrogant.
I Just Want to Be Special: Invoked after he loses the race with the Sawhorse and realizes that in a fairy world a normal horse like him Can't Catch Up, so he wants to go back to California, where he is special.
Put on a Bus: Along with Zeb, he returns to California and is never seen in the series again.
Small Name, Big Ego: He has a high opinion of himself, which proves to not be very justified — see Break the Haughty above.
Talking Animal: Like all animals, he gains the ability to talk when entering a fairy land.

Road to Oz

Shaggy Man

"Don't you love me?"

A kindly old wanderer, dressed all in rags. His basic philosophy of life centers on love and an aversion to money and material possessions. His one possession of value is the Love Magnet. He first meets Dorothy on her Uncle Henry's farm in Kansas. They become lost and have a series of adventures, culminating at a grand birthday party for Ozma in the Emerald City of Oz. In later stories we learn that the Shaggy Man becomes a full time resident of Oz, where Ozma appoints him Governor of the Royal Storehouses.

Forced Transformation: He is temporarily transformed into a donkey (though just his head, which may be a Shout-Out to A Midsummer Night's Dream)
Medium Awareness: He's the one person in the series to ever actually acknowledge that he's a character in a book series — thanks to Baum's tendency to treat Oz as a real place and his books as recounting of actual events, as told to him later by Dorothy herself other characters (like Trot or Betsy) might make references to having read previous Oz books, but don't acknowledge they're in a book themselves. The Shaggy Man, however, makes at least one extremely blatant reference to being in a fictional story, when in Tik-Tok of Oz telling Betsy that nobody knows the future, "except the person who's writing this story."
Only Known by Their Nickname: He's never given any name other than "The Shaggy Man" or occasionally "Shaggy." Even his brother doesn't address him by any other name.
Power Perversion Potential: The Love Magnet, which makes everyone unconditionally love the carrier. (It only works on people who have hearts, though, and as the Shaggy Man discovers, just because someone loves you doesn't necessarily mean they won't hurt you.)
Vague Age: At least in the books written by Baum, the narrative never gives the slightest indication how old he is. The illustrations generally depict him as a bearded old man, but going by the text alone he could be young or old or anything in between.

Button-Bright

"Don't know."

A little boy from Philadelphia who accompanies Dorothy and the Shaggy Man on their adventures in the Land of Oz. They find him lost on the road while they are hunting for Butterfield. He has blue eyes, pretty curls, a chubby round face, and always wears a sailor suit. Button-Bright appears to be 2 or 3 years younger than Dorothy. To almost every question his answer is "Don`t know," or similar words. In later appearances he is older and more verbose, but has gained a knack for getting lost. In the adventure recounted in Sky Island, we learn he comes from Philadelphia and his real name is Saladin Paracelsus de Lambertine Evagne von Smith.

Catchphrase: "Don't know". Only applies to his first appearance, though.
Cheerful Child: In later stories he becomes a weird mix of this and The Stoic; he'll calmly go along with whatever is happening to him at the time, never losing his good humor.
Demoted to Extra: He's a prominent character in Baum's books, but almost completely vanishes after Ruth Plumly Thompson takes over the series.
Crossover: He is one of two established Oz characters who appear in the non-Oz book Sky Island.
Forced Transformation: He is temporarily transformed into a Fox (though just his head).
Ironic Nickname: "My father once said I was bright as a button, an' it made ever'body laugh. So they always call me Button-Bright."
Involuntary Shapeshifting: Spends some time in The Road to Oz with the head of a fox, which he really doesn't like.
Non-Indicative Name: Comes off as pretty dim, although as Scarecrow notes, some buttons are covered in cloth. In Sky Island he's older and smarter, but reverts to something more closely resembling his original characterization when he becomes a permanent resident of Oz. (Presumably because Sky Island tanked.)
Only Known by Their Nickname: Mostly because his real name is so long. When Trot learns that his real first name is "Saladin Paracelsus," she agrees to call him "Button-Bright" because the only other nickname she can think of is "Salad" — and she doesn't like salads.
Overly Long Name: "Saladin Paracelsus de Lambertine Evagne von Smith" isn't even his full name, it's just the parts of it that he can actually remember.
Platonic Life-Partners: Develops this dynamic with Trot pretty early on.
Upgrade Artifact: His Magic Umbrella.
Verbal Tic: "Don't know" in his first appearance. He grows out of it in later appearances.

Polychrome

Polychrome, the Rainbow's daughter

"I'm always getting scolded for my mad pranks, as they are called. My sisters are so sweet and lovely and proper that they never dance off our Rainbow, and so they never have any adventures."

— Polychrome

The sweetest and merriest, but most reckless of the Rainbow's daughters. She wears soft flowing robes that look like cobwebs and are tinted violet, rose, topaz, olive, azure, and white, and her hair is like spun gold. She slides off her father's Rainbow and falls to the ground, becomes lost, and joins Dorothy and her friends in their search for the Emerald City. In a later adventure she becomes trapped on earth for the second time when the Rainbow returns to the sky without her. She joins Betsy Bobbin and her friends in their quest to rescue the Shaggy Man's brother. Polychrome's uncle is the Rain King.

Aesop Amnesia: You'd think she'd have learned her lesson about staying on the Rainbow after the first time she got stranded, but no. Then again, every time she has gotten stranded on Earth she's ended up on all sorts of adventures and made many great friends, so maybe she really doesn't mind. Weirdly enough, in Tik-tok of Oz she does seem to suffer from some kind of real amnesia, since she has completely forgotten the Shaggy Man, whom she met in The Road to Oz. This is never explained by the narrative, but may simply be an unintentional carry-over from the stage play the book was based on.
Age Is Relative: In The Road to Oz she's implied to be about Dorothy's age. In later books, she acts (and is reacted to) as if she's considerably older.
Crossover: Along with Button-Bright, she is one of two established Oz characters who appear in the non-Oz book Sky Island.
Cute Witch: Develops into one over the course of her appearances. In her first appearance, in Road to Oz, she very explicitly says she doesn't know any magic. In her fourth appearance (third if we only count Oz books) in The Tin Woodman of Oz, she's flinging magic spells left and right.
Fish out of Water: In her first appearance she is completely out of her element and doesn't cope too well with being stuck on the ground. In later appearances she's more experienced and better able to cope.
Flash Step: Displays this when everyone else gets captured by the Nome King and his minions in Tik-Tok of Oz — the Nomes can't hold her because she's instantly somewhere else. You know... like a rainbow.
Forced Transformation: In The Tin Woodman of Oz, she is turned into a canary bird by Mrs. Yoop.
Guest-Star Party Member: On several occasions.
In-Series Nickname: Dorothy and Betsy call her "Polly."
Meaningful Name: Her name is Greek for "multicolored" 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.
Non-Human Sidekick: She's a fairy.
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, 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 Woodman of Oz, she has become a rather accomplished magic-user and, despite spending much of the book 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.
  - Even in The Road To Oz, she slaps a monster (on The Shaggy Man's instructions) to get him to overreact. Thus making her one of the few female character in Baum's Oz stories to commit an act of violence.

The Patchwork Girl of Oz

Ojo

Ojo the (Un)Lucky

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ojo.jpg

"I'm Ojo the Unlucky. I might have known I would fail in anything I tried to do."

— Ojo

A poor Munchkin boy who lives with his uncle Unc Nunkie in the Northern part of Oz, and is first thought to be a common Munchkin, but in later books is revealed to be the lost prince of Seebania. He's the primary protagonist of The Patchwork Girl of Oz and the later Ojo in Oz.

13 Is Unlucky: One of the reasons he's called "Ojo the Unlucky" is that he was born on Friday the 13th. He doesn't explain it correctly, though. When he tries to explain it, he treats "Friday" and "the thirteenth" as separate reasons — or the Tin Woodman misunderstands it as separate reasons.
Catchphrase: 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.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: He interferes in the creation of Scraps, giving her a lot more, and more chaotic, brains than she was supposed to have, which is what gives the Patchwork Girl her chaotic and eccentric personality — which in turn is a major driving factor in the accident that turns both Unc Nunkie and Margolotte to stone.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: The Tin Woodman believes Ojo's "The Unlucky" nickname to be this and changes it to "Ojo the Lucky," which he is known as in all subsequent books.

Dr. Pipt

Dr. Pipt, the Crooked Magician

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pipt.jpg

A literally "crooked" magician; his body bends in all sorts of strange ways, which makes him unable to stand up straight but does give him some advantages in other ways, such as his legs and feet being as dextrious as his arms and hands. Living in a desolated place in Munchkinland with his wife Margolotte, he is the creator of the Powder of Life, the magical powder that brought both Jack Pumpkinhead, the Sawhorse, the Gump, the Glass Cat and Scraps the Patchwork Girl to life.

Absent-Minded Professor: Not quite a Mad Scientist, and very amiable, but not completely trustworthy in his scatterbrained approach to things like security, or who he chooses to do business with.
Destined Bystander: He's actually introduced and name-dropped already in the second Oz book, as the crooked magician Mombi was doing business with, and his Powder of Life played an important part in the plot. It's not until the seventh book, however, that he gets a full speaking role.
Ditzy Genius: He's a very talented magician and inventor, and most of his magical inventions are very useful, but he's a little short on common sense.
Happily Married: One of the few examples of this in Baum's children's books (he usually avoided romance altogether, believing that it would bore the children), Pipt and his wife Margolotte seem to have a very happy relationship — when she hasn't accidentally been turned into a marble statue, that is.
Loophole Abuse: Thinks he's doing this with Ozma's law against working magic, believing that he's technically within the law if he works magic purely for his own amusement and comfort and doesn't work it on or for anyone else. Turns out the loophole doesn't even exist and he's most definitely breaking the law even by doing that much.

Bungle

Bungle The Glass Cat

"You made me pretty—very pretty, indeed—and I love to watch my pink brains roll around when they're working, and to see my precious red heart beat."

— Bungle

Bungle's body is made entirely of clear glass, with a blood-red ruby stone in her chest for a heart, two emeralds for eyes, and several bright pink marbles in her head for brains. She was made and brought to life by Dr. Pipt and his Powder of Life, for the specific purpose of catching mice for his wife. But the Glass Cat turned out to be exceptionally vain, and unwilling to do any work.

Catchphrase: Her feline vanity is always evident: "I have pink brains. You can see 'em work."
Embarrassing First Name: She was named "Bungle" by Dr. Pipt because he considered her a failed experiment. She doesn't like the name at all.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While pridefull, she does care for her companions.
Pride: She's extremely proud of her pink brains, to the point that her conceit makes her very trying to be around.
Retcon: Had her pink brains replaced with clears at the end of her debut book, but all later appearances has her with her original pink brains.
Tin Man: She seems to realize that she might be this when her friends are in danger in The Magic of Oz and she feels genuine concern. Her ruby heart may be hard as nails, but it's still a heart.
Tomboy and Girly Girl: Girly Girl to Scraps's Tomboy.

Scraps

Scraps, the Patchwork Girl

"Horrid? Why, I'm thoroughly delightful. I'm an Original, if you please, and therefore incomparable. Of all the comic, absurd, rare and amusing creatures the world contains, I must be the supreme freak... But I'm glad—I'm awfully glad!—that I'm just what I am, and nothing else."

— Scraps

A living doll made out of a patchwork quilt and — thanks to Ojo interfering in her creation — given "too many marbles", she's eccentric (read: insane) even by Ozian standards, yet is quite friendly. She has an enduring crush on the Scarecrow.

Cloudcuckoolander: As a result of Ojo's interference in her creation process, her brains are rather jumbled because he didn't organize them properly when placing them in her head. She considers herself better off.
Cuckoo Snarker: She's hyper and eccentric to the point of insanity, but she's also highly intelligent and has a sarcastic quip for every occasion.
Genki Girl: If you're wondering what character could have inspired Pinkie Pie, you are looking at a contender. Highly intelligent, easily bored, slightly insane in a good-natured way.
Non-Human Sidekick: A humanoid rag doll, rather than a human.
Rhymes on a Dime: She makes up little songs and poems on the spot; some of the later books have 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).
Ship Tease: With the Scarecrow.
Tomboy and Girly Girl: Tomboy to Bungle's Girly Girl.

The Woozy

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/woozy_1.jpg

"My eyes can flash fire, and I have a ferocious growl — that is sometimes."''

A strange, yet friendly creature made up of only squares and flat surfaces, and who therefore prides himself on "being square." He's good-natured and helpful, but insists that he can be very ferocious when he gets angry; because then fire flashes from his eyes, and he has the most terrifying growl of any animal. The part about the fire turns out to be true, the part about the roar turns out to be very, very false.

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
Fearless Fool: He's not afraid of anything and will cheerfully leap headfirst into danger. Luckily for him, he's also extremely tough and durable, and almost impossible to hurt or injure.
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 use his fire gaze to break out himself until Ojo and pals came along. (Then again, these was nobody around to say "Krizzle-Kroo" to him.)
Slow Lasers: Fire-beams, actually, but close enough. It only works, however, if he gets angry — which he seldom does, unless someone says "Krizzle-Kroo."
Trademark Favorite Food: Honey bees. He got into quite a bit of trouble with the Munchkin beekeepers because of this.

Tik-Tok of Oz

Betsy

Betsy Bobbin

"How could anyone be safe when she's going about sixty miles a minute?"

A little girl from Oklahoma who was shipwrecked along with her donkey, Hank, Betsy is another American country girl left to wander. She's more or less another Dorothy, and Princess Dorothy takes a great interest in her welfare.

Cheerful Child: She very seldom lets anything get her down for very long.
Country Mouse: Just like Dorothy, right down to the Funetik Aksent.
The Everyman: As a stand-in for Dorothy and even more as a stand-in for the children in the audience, she never really develops much of a personality.
Expy: Originally, she was this for Dorothy. Tik-Tok of Oz began as a stage musical, and to avoid arguments over stage rights, Betsy Bobbin and Hank were created specifically to take the place of Dorothy and Toto.
Expy Coexistence: Became a case of this when she was written into the series.
The Generic Girl: As Dorothy's Suspiciously Similar Substitute, Betsy never developed an identity of her own, and is an extremely minor character in the rest of Baum's books. Ruth Plumly Thompson used her as a main character in a couple of books, but she never really grew out of her Generic Girl status.
Informed Attribute: The sole character trait she's mentioned to have by the narrative is shyness — a trait she never actually displays when on-page.
Out of Focus: Majorly compared to Dorothy and Trot. She never does anything significant after her first appearance in Baum's books. Even when she's the main character in Ruth Plumly Thompson's works she's overshadowed by the supporting cast.
Plucky Girl: As benefits a kid heroine in an Oz book.
Tagalong Kid: The main difference between Dorothy and Betsy is that Betsy plays this trope straight.

Hank

Betsy's trusty companion; for most of the book he's just a normal mule (who's occasionally and wrongly referred to as a donkey), but he of course becomes a Talking Animal once in Oz.

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 — aside from one or two books where he gets a supporting role and gets to engage in the odd Seinfeldian Conversation with the other animals, he usually only gets an occasional, very brief, passing mention.
The Eeyore: He has traces of this.
Expy: For Toto, originally, and even more so for Imogene the Cow, whore replaced Toto in the 1902 Wizard of Oz musical.
Non-Human Sidekick: He's a mule and Betsy's traveling companion.
Stubborn Mule: Not towards Betsy, to whom he's very agreeable and affectionate, but he can get surly and quarrelsome with others, especially other animals.
Talking Animal: Once he's in Oz, anyway.

Ann

Queen Ann Soforth

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/queenann.jpg

"I won't!" cried Ann; "I won't sweep the floor. It is beneath my dignity."

Queen of Oogaboo, a tiny kingdom within the greater Oz, Ann is bored of her quiet life, where all she really does is watch over her kingdom and fight with her sister, Salye. While Anne is 'old enough to make jelly,' it's explained that she's only Queen since her father wandered off, and her mother followed him, leaving Ann to 'rule.' As a result, she's convinced that the world outside of Oogaboo is infinitely more interesting and worth ruling over. She orders the men of Oogaboo to form an army, with only one, Jo Files, agreeing to be the lone Private. While she doesn't want to shed any blood (she might faint at the sight, after all), she determines to conquer the rest of Oz, knowing that Ozma doesn't even keep a Private Soldier anymore. What she doesn't know is that Glinda's been paying attention to her Book of Records, and magically diverted the mountain pass that leads from Oogaboo into the rest of Oz, instead dropping Ann and her army out in the desert...

Ambition Is Evil: Or, in Ann's case, at least very foolish. Crosses into Too Dumb to Live territory when she actually muses trying to conquer the Great Jinjin. The Shaggy Man gives that idea exactly the respect it deserves — none.
Establishing Character Moment: Ann wastes no time in providing one. The very first scene in the book — arguably the very first line in the book, as quoted above, sums her character up perfectly: She loudly and angrily refuses to sweep the floor because it's "beneath her dignity", even though, as her younger sister Salye points out, there's nobody else around to do it for them.
God Save Us from the Queen!: She would qualify if she had any success with the whole conquering the world thing; she certainly has the temper and the willingness to be cruel... but in Oogaboo, she barely seems to be able to get anyone to obey her — she has to bribe all the men in the kingdom with fancy officer titles in order to even join her army — and outside Oogaboo, nobody takes her very seriously.
Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: She tries to set herself up as the Villain Protagonist of Tik-Tok of Oz, but it's quickly established that's she's not even remotely a threat to anyone and she's more foolish than evil.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: Subverted. She very much wants to be a conquering Queen and win glory in battle, but she and her army are both pretty useless.

Jo Files

"I have read in my books that it is always the private soldiers who do the fighting, for no officer is ever brave enough to face the foe. Also, it stands to reason that your officers must have some one to command and to issue their orders to; therefore I'll be the one. I long to slash and slay the enemy and become a hero."

The sole private of Queen Ann's army, Jo Files is intelligent, well-read and brave — which is why he declines to be an officer like the others. For all his talk about battle and conquest, though, he's a polite and friendly person who always apologizes if he thinks he's hurt someone, and when commanded to conquer pretty young ladies, he immediately resigns from the army because that would be "impolite." He grows very close to Princess Ozga over the course of the story.

Ambition Is Evil: Looks like it will be played straight at the beginning, as he is noted to be the most ambitious of Queen Ann's men and speaks quite enthusiastically of how he wants to "slash and slay the enemy" and how he'll steal the marbles of all the children to make a marble statue of himself — but it's ultimately subverted, as he turns out to be far less ruthless than he brags.
Genius Ditz: He has tons of book-smarts and is probably the most intelligent man in Oogaboo, though perhaps not so much in the common sense department.
Honor Before Reason: He has his moments where he follows this, though in the long run Reason tends to win out.
Interspecies Romance: With Princess Ozga.

Princess Ozga

The Rose Princess, Ozga

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ozga.jpg

Princess of the Rose Kingdom. When the Shaggy Man, Betsy, and Hank find themselves in a large Greenhouse that is also a sovereign Rose Kingdom, they demand the right to appeal to the local monarch. Only one rose from the royal bush is anywhere near blooming, and when they pick her, the Rose Princess is immediately banished, because no one wants a female monarch. Even if she is Princess Ozma's cousin. The Rose Princess tags along on the rest of the journey, as when she left the Rose Kingdom she also changed from a fairy to a 'mortal maid.' She becomes firm friends with both Polychrome and Jo Files, Queen Ann's Private.

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.
Forced Transformation: Forcibly turned into a fiddle by Ruggedo.
Good Counterpart: Is very similar to the Princess of the Mangaboos, but is far more pleasant.
Interspecies Romance: There's at least a hint of this in her relationship with Jo Files. "Mortal maid" or no, she was picked from a rose bush.

Quox

"I'm in disgrace just now, you know, and the only way to redeem my good name is to obey the orders of the Jinjin. If he makes me a beast of burden, it is only a part of my punishment, and I must bear it like a dragon."

A young dragon pressed into service of the Great Jinjin, as punishment for being disrespectful towards his elders. He takes it in good humor, though, serving as a beast of burden and companion for the party for part of the book, and comes to their rescue at a crucial moment.

Breath Weapon: As a dragon, of course he can breathe fire.
Gentle Giant: Quite a bit more so then most dragons. He's quite agreeable company to the party and readily helps them, even when not required to do so by the Jinjin.
Our Dragons Are Different: Especially when they've been made into "carryalls" and have rows of seats attatched to their backs and electric lights to their tails. He also has a distinctly more friendly attitude than most dragons in the books.
Really 700 Years Old: At three thousand and fifty-six years old, Quox is still considered a very young dragon. He is a little miffed that his current punishment means he'll miss his three thousand and fifty-sixth birthday party.

The Great Jinjin

Tititi-Hoochoo/The Great Jinjin

The ruler of a strange land at the other end of the Hollow Tube that cuts all the way through the Earth, where everybody is a King or a Queen save him, the Private Citizen. He's also an extremely powerful fairy whose reputation is known throughout Oz, and who Ruggedo tries to cross — despite being repeatedly warned — by literally dumping the protagonists on him through the Tube. For the Nome King, it was a really Bad idea.

Big Good: Decides this once to come down on this side of the scale. Otherwise, he's the most powerful of the fairies.
White-and-Grey Morality: He normally punishes people vigorously for intruding on his land, but shows mercy to the protagonists because they only end up there due to Ruggedo's perfidy. He instead treats them all as guests, and sends them back with Quox to punish Ruggedo.
Bizarro Universe: Everyone is a King or Queen at the opposite end of the Hollow Tube — except the Great Jinjin, the one Private Citizen and thus the ruler of them all.
The Fair Folk: Basically the most powerful of the fairies — even Polychrome sobers up and looks uneasy in his presence.
Living Legend: The moment Tik-Tok reveals Tititi-Hoochoo's name, everyone save Tik-Tok freaks out to one extent or another. Considering his speech just prior about torturing anyone coming through the tube for nine days then throwing them back in, it's little wonder his reputation precedes him.

The Scarecrow of Oz

Trot

Mayre "Trot" Griffiths

Mayre Griffiths, known to her friends as "Trot", was (together with her constant companion Cap'n Bill) originally the main character of the two non-Oz books The Sea Fairies and Sky Island, which L. Frank Baum wrote as an attempt to get away from the Oz series (even though Sky Island also featured Button-Bright and Polychrome in large roles). Trot was eventually brought over to the Oz series proper in The Scarecrow of Oz. Trot is a little Californian girl who is said to have been marked by fairies with invisible mystic signs when she was born, which may account for her tendency to constantly get into magical adventures.

A Child Shall Lead Them: Before coming to Oz, she becomes the ruler of both halves of Sky Island — one by a legal technicality and one by conquest.
Cheerful Child: Like Dorothy and Betsy before her, though Trot avoids Betsy's The Generic Girl status.
Deadpan Snarker: Not so much in her appearances in the Oz books, but in her two own books, Trot can get really sarcastic to the point of being mean.
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.
Innocently Insensitive: Partly as a result of being both Constantly Curious and a Deadpan Snarker, Trot can be really insensitive; she's often rude and dismissive towards people who have been nothing but kind and polite to her, and can say and do really hurtful things... but it's mostly because she's a little kid who doesn't know any better. She never means any real harm.
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."
Parental Abandonment: A strange version, possibly even an inversion, as both Trot's parents are alive and well, but simply fade out and are never mentioned again after she moves to Oz.
Platonic Life-Partners: Has this vibe with Button-Bright, especially in Sky Island and The Scarecrow of Oz. After a moment's initial suspicion, they very quickly become best friends — but there's never any hint that anything more is going on between them.
Plucky Girl: Very much in the vein of Dorothy, though unlike Betsy Bobbin, Trot was never an Expy and is different enough to avoid becoming a Suspiciously Similar Substitute.
The Watson: Occasionally plays this to Cap'n Bill, or when anyone else has backstory they need to convey to the reader.
Weirdness Magnet: Even before she gets to Oz, she has several weird and magical adventures quite by accident. This is hinted to be because she was marked by fairies at birth.

Cap'n Bill

"Cap'n" Bill Weedles

A kindly old sailor who had to retire from the sea after he lost his leg in an accident. He is much like a substitute father for Trot while her real father (Cap'n Bill's old first mate) is away at sea, and usually ends up going on adventures with her to keep her safe.

Demoted to Extra: In Ruth Plumly Thompson's books, Trot remains a major character, but Cap'n Bill almost vanishes. He makes a return in books by later authors, but he never really becomes the major character he once was.
Expy: Of Naboth Perkins from Baum's earlier Sam Steele books. Of course, Cap'n Bill, thanks to his role in a much more popular book series, is much more widely known than Naboth Perkins.
Funetik Aksent: He certainly talks like an old sailor — minus the swearing, that is.
Handicapped Badass: His wooden leg might have forced him to retire from the sea, but it doesn't stop him from going on all kinds of magical adventures. It does, however, give him some genuine trouble; with a wooden leg he can't run fast and has problems with uneven ground. The badass part is that he refuses to let this stop him.
Intergenerational Friendship: With Trot, of course.
Mr. Exposition: He's lived a long life and experienced much, and is always happy to answer Trot's many questions. Occasionally subverted, though, in that he often doesn't know any more than she does about the fairy-lands they end up visiting.
Parental Substitute: To Trot, even though both her parents are alive.

Flipper the Ork

Flipper the Ork^note

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flipper_9.jpg

A Mix-and-Match Critter with an ostrich-like body and neck, the head of a parrot, four paddle-shaped wings, four legs, and an organic propeller as a tail. To make it even weirder, he's entirely naked, save for topknot of crestfeathers. He's big enough to fly multiple people on his back, and proves invaluable to Capt'n Bill and Trot throughout the novel.

Big Damn Heroes: Comes back with no fewer then 50 of his compatriots to rescue the Scarecrow from being burned by King Krewl.
Curb-Stomp Battle: When Flipper and all his friends show up from Orkland, the first thing they do is absolutely flatten Krewl, his nasty majordomo and his soldiers, using their Super Mode.
Deadpan Snarker: Loyal as he is to his friends, he has a sarcastic streak wider than his wings.
Fantastic Racism: Deeply disdains birds as inferior to himself, but eventually leads a flock of them to help his friends.
Incredible Shrinking Ork: When he accidentally discovers berries that shrink anything that eats them. After he's restored, the shrinking berries come 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 — they don't even know how to use fire! — 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.
Non-Human Sidekick: One of many in the series.
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 defeat Krewl and his army. Individually, he manages to fly himself, Cap'n Bill and Trot out of a vertical shaft, with only his proptail for lift.
10-Minute Retirement: Before the Scarecrow, Cap'n Bill and Trot go into Jinxland, Flipper leaves the party to return to his homeland and look up his family. However, he returns with most of his clan in tow — just in time to save the Scarecrow.
Walking the Earth: Or flying it, in Flipper's case. His wanderlust gets him labeled a Cloudcuckoolander back in Orkland.

The Lost Princess of Oz

Cayke the Cookie Cook

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cayke.png

A baker from the Country of the Yips in the land of the Winkies, famous for her cookies. She owns a diamond-studded gold dishpan with magical powers, which the women of her family have possessed for generations, and to which (she believes) they owe their legendary cooking ability. The theft of this dishpan is what kicks off the plot of The Lost Princess of Oz, and drives Cayke to set out across Oz in search of it.

Exactly What It Says on the Tin: She's called the Cookie Cook and she bakes cookies.
Meaningful Name: A confectionary maker named Cayke (although technically she specializes in cookies rather than cakes).
Vague Age: Whether she's young or old is never stated by Baum. A couple of vague remarks in the narrative could be interpreted to imply old age ^note; however, the illustrations depict her as relatively young and attractive.

The Frogman

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/frogman.jpg

"...although I am a frog I am the Greatest and Wisest Frog in all the world. I may add that I possess much more wisdom than any Winkie—man or woman—in this land. Wherever I go, people fall on their knees before me and render homage to the Great Frogman! No one else knows so much as I; no one else is so grand—so magnificent!"

— The Frogman

Cannot Tell a Lie: Is permanently afflicted with this after inadvertently swimming in the Truth Pond.
The Dandy: Wears rich, beautiful clothes and is immensely proud of his appearance.
Small Name, Big Ego: Has a highly inflated sense of his own worth. He actually knows, deep down, that he's not nearly as wise as he pretends to be, but he still expects everyone he meets to hold him in awe; he is quite taken aback when they don't. He's eventually brought down to earth after swimming in the Truth Pond.

The Lavender King

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lavender_king_7.png

Ruler of Bear Center, a kingdom of stuffed bears, who joins Cayke and the Frogman on their search.

Beary Friendly: He's very helpful and friendly. He does sentence Cayke and the Frogman to be executed, but only as a formality.
Cassandra Truth: He and his magical Pink Bear repeatedly tell the party where Ozma is. Nobody ever believes him since she's been transformed, and thus her presence is not apparent.
Living Toys: Rules an entire kingdom of them.
Mr. Exposition: His main purpose is to give the characters information about what's really going on. When not providing the exposition directly, he uses a magical item, the Pink Bear, which basically has the power to reveal parts of the plot on demand.

Ugu the Shoemaker

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ugu.jpg

A selfish old shoemaker who hatches a plan to become the most powerful wizard in Oz, after discovering some magical books and artifacts left behind by his ancestors.

Badass Bookworm: By spending a year studying in secret, he not only manages to become a dangerous wizard, but also learns a lot of useful information about Oz which he then uses in his plans. The 'badass' part comes when the heroes finally confront him: he puts up a serious fight and is only beaten thanks to the Nome King's Magic belt — an item which does not originate from Oz and which his research therefore couldn't prepare him for.
Big Bad: Of this particular book. He arguably comes closer to succeeding in his goals than any other villain since the Nome King in Ozma of Oz.
The Chessmaster: Unlike other villains, he doesn't waste time preparing an invasion or recruiting minions. Instead, he makes a careful plan to seize all of the most powerful magic in Oz for himself while sabotaging his potential rivals, which he successfully executes in a single night. Unfortunately for him, he didn't know about the Magic Belt.
Forced Transformation: He uses this to incapacitate Ozma. In the end, he falls victim to it himself, courtesy of Dorothy and the Magic Belt.
Heel–Face Turn: He gets turned into a dove and, realizing all the damage he caused, decides to remain a dove and never harm anyone again.
Villain Teleportation: Thanks to a stolen magical artifact; most of his plans hinge on his ability to do this. He also (temporarily) escapes this way during the final battle.

The Tin Woodman of Oz

The Tin Soldier

The Tin Soldier / Captain Fyter

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fyter.jpg

A former soldier turned tin man, whose backstory strangely parallels that of the Tin Woodman – right down to having been engaged to the same girl. He became engaged to Nick Chopper's fiancée while she was mourning the latter's disappearance. Unfortunately, this once again angered the Wicked Witch of the East, who cursed him in the same way as the Tin Woodman by causing his sword to chop his various limbs off. He was rescued by the same tinsmith and ultimately converted into the Tin Soldier. He is described as a near-duplicate of the Tin Woodman, except that he wields a sword rather than an axe.

Cyborg: Just like the Tin Woodman.
Family-Unfriendly Violence: Also like the Tin Woodman, his origin story is full of this.
Meaningful Name: Captain "Fyter".
Replacement Goldfish: For the Tin Woodman to Nimmie Amee. She likes him more and more as his body becomes progressively tin, because he reminds her of her first love.
Steven Ulysses Perhero: A soldier named 'Fyter'.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: An odd in-universe example.
Tin Man: Unlike the Tin Woodman, he was given a tin heart by Ku-Klip. However, the end result was much the same, as the tin heart is incapable of feeling love.
We Can Rebuild Him: Once again, just like the Tin Woodman.

Chopfyt

A man made by Ku-Klip out of Nick Chopper and Captain Fyter's spare parts, using a bottle of Magic Glue found in the Witch's house. He has two legs, one 'normal' arm and one tin arm, and Captain Fyter's head. From what little we see of him he seems surly and bad-tempered.

Big Eater: According to Ku-Klip.
Meaningful Name: A portmanteau of "Chopper" and "Fyter", deliberately bestowed on him by the tinsmith who glued together their human parts to make him.
Mix-and-Match Man: Of the non-clone variety.
Nausea Fuel: His origin story. Fortunately you can't really tell by looking at him.
Nightmare Fuel: Again, his origin story.
Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Married to Nimmie Amee. She's renowned for her beauty. He's made out of other people's chopped-up body parts (although to be fair he is mostly normal-looking, if grouchy).

Ku-Klip

Ku-Klip the Tinsmith

...Ku-Klip had a gray beard that was almost as long as his apron, and his head was bald on top and his ears stuck out from his head like two fans. Over his eyes, which were bright and twinkling, he wore big spectacles. It was easy to see that the tinsmith was a kind hearted man, as well as a merry and agreeable one.

An old tinsmith who lives in Munchkin country. He effectively created both the Tin Woodman and the Tin Soldier, by replacing their various parts with tin. He later also creates Chopfyt out of their left-over human parts.

Mr. Exposition: His only real present-day function in the book is to fill in the heroes on parts of the backstory that they don't already know.
We Can Rebuild Him: He's the one who did the rebuilding.

Mrs Yoop

The good-natured Giantess was more terrible than they had imagined. She could smile and wear pretty clothes and at the same time be even more cruel than her wicked husband had been.

A magic-wielding giantess who specializes in transformations. She lives by herself (except for the occasional transformed captive) in a giant-sized castle in the Gillikin country. Her missing husband is the fierce giant Yoop who appeared briefly in The Patchwork Girl of Oz; she makes it quite clear that she's happier with him gone.

Beauty Equals Goodness: Very much averted. She's described (and drawn) as attractive, well-dressed and well-spoken, but is utterly selfish and evil.
Call-Back: She was married to a giant named Yoop who appeared, imprisoned, in an earlier book. She describes how he was originally captured and taken away. She doesn't miss him in the slightest; given what we know of him, this is not really surprising.
Clothes Make the Superman: Both played straight and averted. Her transformation powers are apparently innate, but she imprisons her captives by using a magic apron. The necessity of stealing it away from her is a significant plot point.
Faux Affably Evil: She's calm, well-mannered and hospitable... at least as long as everything is going her way. She also likes to irreversibly transform guests into helpless playthings and imprison them for all eternity, purely for her own amusement.
Forced Transformation: What she does to trespassers, subsequently keeping them prisoner in her house to entertain her.
Insistent Terminology: She's not a witch, she's a "Yookoohoo, or Specialist in Transformations".
It Amused Me: Outwardly, this is her motivation, although we occasionally see hints of a vindictive streak as well.
Lack of Empathy: She doesn't care in the slightest about anyone else, and appears to be utterly devoid of conscience.
Magical Accessory: We don't actually see them used, but she is said to wear several of these, including magic rings, magic bracelets, and a magic hairpin.
Statuesque Stunner: She's a beautiful giantess. Assuming she's a similar height to her husband, that would put her at around 20 feet tall.

Nimmie Amee

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nimmie.png

A very pretty Munchkin girl who was once engaged to Nick Chopper (the Tin Woodman) and later to Captain Fyter (the Tin Soldier). Worked as a servant (or slave) for the Wicked Witch of the East. Now lives in a solitary cottage surrounded by an invisible barrier at the base of Mount Munch.

Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Implied. While she accepts Nick after he becomes tin, it's for reasons like how she won't need to cook for him, since he no longer needs to eat, and won't tire out, meaning he can take her dancing as much as she wants. Notably, by the time the Tin Woodman has reunited with her, she's shown to be something of a shrew, using Chopfyt for manual labor.
Broken Bird: Implied, at least as much as is possible in a generally-upbeat setting like Oz. After having her heart broken in an extraordinarily cruel and drawn-out way not once but twice, she left home to become The Hermit. Even after finding love, getting married and settling down, she (along with her husband) no longer wants anything to do with the rest of the world.
Retcon: In The Wizard of Oz, she was said to be the servant of an old woman who hired the Wicked Witch to get rid of her fiancé. In the more detailed backstory given here, the old woman is retconned out, and Nimmie Amee turns out to have been the Witch's own servant.
Small, Secluded World: Lives with her husband in a solitary cottage surrounded by an impenetrable barrier; it's implied that they never leave it. She's determined that nobody will ever interfere with her life or love again, and has consequently decided to magically shut the rest of the world out.
The Woobie: In her backstory. She did eventually get a happy ending, but still ended up wanting nothing to do with the rest of the world (besides her equally-antisocial husband).

Woot the Wanderer

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/woot.png

Vague Age: While normal for Oz characters to follow this trope, even illustrations of Woot are inconsistent; he looks like either a young child or an older teen, depending on the illustration.
The Watson: Basically his entire role in the story. He asks the Tin Woodman about his backstory, and inspires him to go searching for his long-lost fiancée, thus kicking off the plot. He continues to act as a convenient trigger for exposition throughout the rest of the book.

Glinda of Oz

The Su-dic

The Su-dic (Supreme Dictator)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/su_dic_7.jpg

The ruler of the Flatheads. Although supposedly an elected ruler, he always counts the votes himself and therefore is always "reelected".

Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Su-dic is his title (or a shortened form of it), not his name.
Evil Versus Evil: There isn't much to choose from between him and Coo-ee-oh; both are tyrants drag their people into a war that no one but them is interested in.
Forced Transformation: Forcibly turns Coo-ee-oh into the Diamond Swan.
Permanent Elected Official: He stays in his position because he always counts the votes himself.
Unholy Matrimony: Until Coo-ee-oh turned his wife into a golden pig.

Coo-ee-oh

The Queen of the Skeezers and a powerful Krumbic Witch.

A Taste of the Lash: How she is said to punish her subjects.
Big Brother Is Watching: Coo-ee-oh can hear any conversation on her island.
Evil Versus Evil: Her conflict with the Su-dic; both are tyrants who maintain their ranks through force and trickery.
Forced Transformation: Forcibly turned the Three Adepts into fishes and the Su-dic's wife into a Golden Pig; eventually, the Su-dic turns Coo-ee-oh into a Diamond Swan. Although she turns out to be perfectly happy about this.
God Save Us from the Queen!: She's a tyrant who has her subjects whipped if they displease her, and that's quite easy to do, given that she has the entire island under magical surveillance.
Magitek: Of her three most powerful spells, one raises and lowers the island by means of an expanding steel column, one extends a bridge between the island and the shore, and the last controls a fleet of submarines.
Meaningful Name: The three syllables of her name are the spoken parts of three of her important spells.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: Whatever her other faults, she does personally construct her city's defenses and leads her forces (such as they are) into battle.
Vain Sorceress: She's very vain when first introduced, and even more so after her transformation, although at that point she's no longer a sorceress.

Ervic

A young Skeezer who is stranded outside the city after Coo-ee-oh is transformed into a swan; he abruptly becomes the hero of the story for several chapters.

Badass Normal: He has no magic powers, no protective enchantments, and no powerful allies. Just courage, intelligence, and three talking fish to give him advice.
Guile Hero: While he is given general instructions by the three fish-Adepts, much of his success comes down to his own quick thinking.
Nerves of Steel: Doesn't so much as flinch when all of Reera's creepy monsters rush at him; nor does he bat an eye when she threatens to transform him. This impresses Reera greatly, and is a major factor in his ability to manipulate her.
Reverse Psychology: Employs this on Reera to get her to transform the Adepts back to their proper forms.

Reera the Red

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/reera_with_pets.jpg

The cottage is the home of a powerful Yookoohoo, named Reera the Red, who assumes all sorts of forms, sometimes changing her form several times in a day, according to her fancy... This strange creature cannot be bribed with treasure, or coaxed through friendship, or won by pity. She has never assisted anyone, or done wrong to anyone, that we know of.

A Yookoohoo — a magical being with great powers of transformation — Red Reera is characterized by her fondness for things other people dislike (such as lizards, huge spiders, and wolves) and her disdain for human company.

Bowdlerise / What Could Have Been: In the first draft, she initially appeared as a wired-together skeleton with flaming eyes. This was changed to an ape in a lace apron to avoid scaring any kids.
Distracted by the Sexy: Arguably (and very subtly) implied to be one of the reasons Reera warms up to Ervic so quickly (and is vulnerable to his manipulation). He's explicitly described as good-looking, and it's noticeable that she transforms herself into increasingly-attractive women throughout their time together.
Solitary Sorceress: She lives in a cottage in the woods, surrounded by her "pets" and isolated from humans. Ervic has to trick her into helping him, but otherwise she fits the trope exactly.
Voluntary Shapeshifting: Can transform herself and her pets into any form she desires. She can do it to others as well, but does not do so without their permission.

The Three Adepts at Magic

The Three Adepts at Magic (Aurah, Audah, and Aujah)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/glinda_adepts.jpg

Three magic users who used to rule the Flatheads. They originally gave the Flatheads their canned brains and taught Coo-ee-oh her magic, only for her to transform them into three fish.

Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Their signature colors remain similar when they're human and when they're turned into fish — gold/blond, silver/white, and bronze/brown.
Forced Transformation: Against their will, Coo-ee-oh turned them into gold, silver, and bronze fish.
Talking Animal: Luckily for them, they can still talk while transformed into fish.
Theme Naming: There's only one letter's difference between their names — they start with "Au", end in "ah", and have a varying middle letter.

Characters / Land of Oz

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