As if being a wizard wasn't already cool enough, Gandalf is actually two wizards in one. At the start of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings novels — and the Peter Jackson movie trilogy they inspired — he's the wise but aging Gandalf the Grey, a mentor to hobbits. But after battling a Balrog (yeah, look it up), he is transformed into the way more powerful, take-no-prisoners, all-around badass Gandalf the White. Bonus points: he's played by Sir Ian McKellen in the movie.