The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 and the most significant antagonist in L. Frank Baum

L. Frank Baum

Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...

's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...

. In Baum's subsequent Oz books, it is the Nome King

Nome King

The Nome King is a fictional character in L. Frank Baum's Oz books. Although the Wicked Witch of the West is the most famous of Oz's villains , the Nome King is the closest the book series has to a main antagonist.-In the novels:The character called the Nome King is originally named Roquat the Red...

 who is the principal villain; the Wicked Witch of the West is rarely even referred to again after being destroyed in the first book.

The witch's most popular depiction was in the classic 1939 movie

The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)

The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...

 based on Baum's book. In that film adaptation, as in Gregory Maguire's revisionist Oz novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, is a parallel novel published in 1995 written by Gregory Maguire and illustrated by Douglas Smith. It is a revisionist look at the land and characters of Oz from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, its sequels, and the...

 and its musical adaptation Wicked

Wicked (musical)

Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...

, the Witch of the West is the sister of the Wicked Witch of the East

Wicked Witch of the East

The Wicked Witch of the East is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum in his Oz series of books....

, although this is neither stated nor implied in the original novel.
The Wicked Witch of the West leagued together with the Wicked Witch of the East

Wicked Witch of the East

The Wicked Witch of the East is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum in his Oz series of books....

, Mombi

Mombi

Mombi is a wicked old witch from L. Frank Baum Oz Books. She appears in the book The Marvelous Land of Oz and is alluded to in other works. Of all the wicked witches in L...

 and the Wicked Witch of the South, to conquer the Land of Oz and divide it among themselves, as recounted in L. Frank Baum

L. Frank Baum

Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...

's Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz: A Faithful Record of Their Amazing Adventures in an Underground World; and How with the Aid of Their Friends Zeb Hugson, Eureka the Kitten, and Jim the Cab-Horse, They Finally Reached the Wonderful Land of Oz is the fourth book set in the Land of Oz written by L....

.