Soldier with the Green Whiskers
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Captain-General Omby Amby, the Soldier with the Green Whiskers | |
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Oz character | |
W.W. Denslow | |
First appearance | The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) |
Created by | L. Frank Baum |
In-universe information | |
Alias | Wantowin Battles |
Species | human |
Gender | male |
Title | Captain-General |
Occupation | Body Guard to Princess Ozma and Police Force of the Emerald City |
Family | a Munchkin family named Battles (questionable) |
Spouse | unnamed wife with terrible temper Tollydiggle (possibly a mistake) |
Children | none |
Nationality | Munchkin (questionable) |
The Soldier with the Green Whiskers is a character from the fictional Land of Oz who appears in the classic children's series of Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum and his successors. He is introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900).[1] His name is Omby Amby, but this was so obliquely stated that he also became known briefly as Wantowin Battles.
Classic Oz books
In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Soldier with the Green Whiskers (real name not yet revealed) is the head guard of the Royal Army of Oz. His job is to protect the
The Soldier with the Green Whiskers appears to be the tallest citizen in the city, and is often described as being "very tall" with a very thick and long green beard that flows nearly to the ground. After the Wizard's departure from Oz, he leaves the Scarecrow to rule the city in his stead. The Soldier with the Green Whiskers is the one who tells the King Scarecrow that
In the second Oz book The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904), it is revealed his appearance is largely for show. When attacked by General Jinjur's all female Army of Revolt, he admits that his gun, which was usually drawn containing flowers, is not kept loaded for fear of accidents. He tells her to "wait right here" while he looks for the powder and shot that he has misplaced. After his ineffectual attempts to save the Emerald City from invasion, which the Scarecrow chastises, he vows to disguise himself by shaving his beard. However, he lets it grow back once Princess Ozma has been established on the throne as Oz's true ruler.
Omby Amby
In
When the Wizard returns, he recognizes Omby Amby, who greets him accompanied by Jellia Jamb, but wonders what happened to his "green whiskers." Omby Amby admits to have shaven them off.
As Omby Amby, he appears briefly in
In later books
When next we see him, in
While he continued to appear in most Oz books, his next major appearance was not until The Wishing Horse of Oz, in which his beard turning red was the first indication of the magic of Skamperoo in his bid to conquer the Emerald City. It is initially suspected to be the red magic of Jinnicky, but Gloma, the Witch of the Black Forest (implicitly the Good Witch of the West), assures Dorothy that it is green magic at work. With Ozma and many of her advisers, he is imprisoned at the bottom of Lake Lightning.
In Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz, author Ruth Plumly Thompson constructed an elaborate family history for him under the name Wantowin Battles. In this book, Thompson portrays Wantowin as a pompous coward with bad aim who loves to eat pickles. Jack Snow gave Wantowin, without a surname, his own entry in Who's Who in Oz as a result.[2] John R. Neill's editor picked up on the name and used it once in the rewritten portion of The Wonder City of Oz.
Snow also described him as Keeper of the Gates and Royal Army of Oz, and omitted an entry from Who's Who in Oz of the
James Haff did a major analysis of the character in The Baum Bugle.[4] He notes that he does not seem to have any real friends, although Haff does not note that he is shown playing checkers with Pastoria in The Yellow Knight of Oz, and in Neill's books he appears to be good friends with the Guardian of the Gates, and is even shown waltzing with him in The Scalawagons of Oz after getting up from a game of marbles when the music begins to play and having no one else around. Ironically, although Neill both wrote and illustrated, the Soldier is shown in illustration dancing with a woman in spite of the text.
Portrayals
The Soldier with the Green Whiskers appears in many adaptations, though he often lacks that description for a lack of green whiskers.
The following films have featured a version of the character:
- The Patchwork Girl of Oz(1914) - Frank Bristol as The Soldier with the Green Whiskers
- The Land of Oz, a Sequel to the 'Wizard of Oz' (1932) - Caryl Roberts as The Soldier with the Green Whiskers (also Glenna Vaughn as Jellia Jamb disguised as the Soldier)
- The Wizard of Oz (1939) - Frank Morganas "The Guard" (who allows Dorothy and her three companions into the Wizard's castle)
- Journey Back to Oz (1974) - Dallas McKennon as Omby Amby
- Mago de Oz Cuento de Frank Baum (1985) - Jorge Rosette as the Guard
The Guard also made a brief appearance in the musical