Voldemort: The Dark Wizard Who Should Just Give Up and Go Home
When it comes to villains, they do not come much viler than Voldemort from the Harry Potter series.
Even most people who have not read the books or seen the films know who he is. He who should not be named has become such an integral part of pop culture, a symbol for all that is dark and evil. But some ultra-perceptive Potterheads have noticed that the noseless one is actually not that scary. That he has been punching above his weight ever since he decided to travel down the dark wizarding path.
Here are some of their observations.
Firstly, back when Voldemort was Tom Riddle, he had no friends. Sure, he had people he spoke to and tried to manipulate, such as Professor Slughorn, but nobody actually liked him. Even before he turned properly evil, he was shunned by most of his peers and teachers. So, it seems from the outset, he was a lonely loser who was destined for misery.
Hagrid, We Still Love You, But Let’s Face It: You Were Kind Of A Liability
Second, he was not nearly as powerful as his reputation suggested.
Voldemort was built up to be an immortal, immensely skilled wizard who had mastery over the darkest magic. Yet, despite his ruthless ambition, he failed to kill a helpless baby, was bested at every turn by allegedly far less experienced and powerful witches and wizards, and was ultimately defeated by that baby at the tender age of 17.
By the time his stunning failure occurred, he had also amassed an entire army of Death Eaters, and that still did not sway the final battle in his favour.
But perhaps the most crushing blow to Voldemort's ego comes when he is compared to two other dark wizards from the same universe. Namely, Ekrizdis and Grindelwald. Yes, both were revealed in films and novelisations after Voldemort's death, but they both existed before he did, in prequels. Surely, the Wizarding World would consider Voldemort pale in comparison to these two terrifying villains.
To review, Ekrizdis was a dark wizard who lived sometime in the 15th century. He was so evil that he built an isolated island fortress for the sole purpose of luring muggle sailors to their brutal torture and deaths. This continued until he eventually died and the concealment charms he placed around the island faded. That island fortress would later become Azkaban, the singularly most terrifying locale in the entire Wizarding World, presided over by the dreaded Dementors. It is rumoured that Ekrizdis himself created those foul creatures, to assist him in his torture of muggles.
Gellert Grindelwald was born in the late 1800s and died at the ripe old age of 115. Yes, he was murdered by Voldemort. But that does not mean that Voldemort was more powerful. Grindelwald was old, wandless, and welcomed death by that stage. During his life, he was as close to Hitler as the Wizarding World ever came. He was brutal, ruthless, highly intelligent, and almost brought the entire world to its knees. Not just the magical world, but the muggle world as well. While he did later regret his vile actions, that does not erase the fact that millions of innocents perished by his doing. By contrast, Voldemort's body count is modest at best.
There is no argument that Voldemort was a dark wizard. But it is also hard to disagree with the fans who have pointed out his shortcomings and how he is actually rather weak compared to his predecessor villains, Ekrizdis and Grindelwald. Perhaps he should have abandoned his evil endeavours and sought fulfillment elsewhere.