“	Sorry to disappoint you, but I can't even do that trick where it looks like your thumb comes apart; but if I ever have a party, you guys are definitely the entertainment!	”
—Will, It Begins

Wilhelmina (or Wilma) "Will" Vandom is a fictional character and protagonist of the W.I.T.C.H. comics who first appeared in the first issue: Halloween, which was released in April 2001. Will is the leader of the Guardians (known as W.I.T.C.H.), a group of magical girls who guard the Veil and Kandrakar, the center of the magical universe. As the leader, she is the Keeper of the Heart of Kandrakar and her individual power is Energy, but in the TV series, it is Quintessence. In the TV series, the full name of the character might have been changed to "Wilma", and her voice is provided by Kelly Stables in the English version.

Appearance

Will is a teenage girl with a very slender build. Will has bright red, short hair in a bob cut. The Guardian leader's eyes are brown, and big, and she appears to be Caucasian. Usually, Will is dressed in practical clothes, like wide, not-too-saggy pants and hoodies with zippers.

Will's Guardian outfit consists of a purple midriff-bearing cropped top with long, poet sleeves, a teal mini-skirt, turquoise and green-striped tights, and purple high-heeled, shin-high boots. In the New Power arc, her skirt changes into a pair of tight shorts, which connect with her top and form swirls on the mid-thigh. The sleeves of her outfit become three-quarters in length. Additionally, she wears black finger-less elbow-length gloves and her boots have buckles. Will's hair stays in a bob, but two strands of her hair in the front have grown longer. The symbol of her element is displayed across her chest and her wings are now usable and expand out to an enormous size.

Personality

Will is a tomboy, and is also sensitive towards other people's feelings. She is known to have a fiery, and unstable, temper, just like her mom, but she has the personality of a great leader.^{[citation needed]}

Will has issues with trusting people because she is scared of being let down or rejected, like with her old friends in Fadden Hills.^[1] Will also struggles with jealousy issues, such as when she believed that Matt and Mandy were dating after her astral drop saw them hugging (as old friends).^[2]

Will's favorite subject is science, especially biology, and her hobby is swimming, thus she is in Sheffield Institute's competitive team.^{[citation needed]}

Will loves animals in general, but she is especially crazy about frogs. She collects anything that's frog related, except the amphibian itself. Instead, she has a dormouse which in the TV series is named is Mr. Huggles. In the comic, it has no name. Will had a crush on Matt Olsen, which leads her to work at his grandfather's pet shop for a while. Matt, later in the series, becomes her boyfriend. Matt also encouraged her to adopt a pet dormouse that had been hurt by Uriah.^{[citation needed]}

In season 2, Will developed a habit of blowing her bangs out of her eyes when she was annoyed, flustered or embarrassed. Starting with D is for Danger, this was always accompanied by an electrical surge.

Plot

Before W.I.T.C.H.

Comics

Before she became a Guardian, Will was a normal girl who was born on January 19, thus bearing the Capricorn sign, and was raised in Fadden Hills. When she was still young, her father left her and her mother.^{[citation needed]} When she reached junior high school, she found out that she was able to read people's minds. The more she read her friends' minds, the more she realized the fact that they didn't enjoy her company. Will returned home crushed by this rejection. Her mother suggested that perhaps Fadden Hills held too many painful memories of the past for both of them, and it was time to find a new life in a new city. At that moment, an announcement on the radio advertised the sunny town of Heatherfield. Her mother decided that Heatherfield would probably be the best place for them to move to.^[1]

TV series

Likewise, before she was made a Guardian, Will was a normal girl with divorced parents who lived in Fadden Hills with her mother. Unlike in the comic, however, Will cannot read minds. It is unknown how the other kids in Fadden Hills felt about her. Also, unlike in the comic, her mother's job moved them to Heatherfield.^[3] Will's birthday in the TV series is somewhere in the fall.^[4] Little else is known about Will's life before the series except that her Father left quite suddenly.

Forming W.I.T.C.H.

Comics

On her first day at her new school in Heatherfield, Will bumped into Taranee Cook, a girl who had also just moved to Heatherfield a few days before.The two of them became fast, and later, best friends. And it was not long before Taranee and Will become friends with Irma Lair, Cornelia Hale, Hay Lin, and Elyon Brown. Taranee is now Will's best friend in the series. As luck would have it, that night was the school's Halloween dance and the four girls urged Will, and Taranee, to come with them. They agreed, Will a bit reluctantly. That night at the dance, a dangerous prank by Uriah and his less-than-intelligent gang, involving firecrackers put the girls and everyone at the party in harm's way. But with Taranee's quick thinking, and a brief and instinctive use of her inherent elemental abilities of fire, they managed to escape without a scratch.^[5]

The next day, the girls gathered at Hay Lin's house to recall the strange dream three of them had. It was there that Yan Lin, Hay Lin's grandmother, told them the legend of the Guardians of Kandrakar. The group of five female warriors that the girls were supposed to become. And she then entrusted Will with the Heart of Kandrakar. The girls were naturally in disbelief of these so-called powers, and decided to go on with their lives. It wasn't until later that night when two shadowy figures ambushed Will, Irma, and Hay Lin that their powers reached their peak. And they were able to transform into their Guardian forms to fight the evil duo off.^[5] From that moment on, the group known as W.I.T.C.H. was born. And their task at protecting, and keeping order in, the universe began.

TV series

Just a few days after Will's first day at school Yan Lin, Hay Lin's paternal grandmother, felt the Heart of Kandrakar struggling to be set free from where she kept it locked up in a Chinese box inside her closet. Following orders from the Oracle, Yan Lin used her weak mind-influencing powers to make Hay Lin invite her three best friends Taranee, Cornelia, and Irma for tea and cookies after school. She also had her invite the new girl Will. While eating, Yan Lin explained about the Veil, Meridian, the Heart of Kandrakar, and also Prince Phobos. She also explained about the elemental powers and abilities of water, fire, earth, and air, each girl was given. Although nothing was mentioned about Kandrakar, she then entrusted the Heart of Kandrakar to Will. The other girls' newfound connection to Will drew them closer, and made them fast friends with her. After Will was kidnapped, and her new friends rescued her, she realized that they were her real friends and that they wouldn't let her down.^[6]

Powers and abilities

Will is the Keeper, of the Heart of Kandrakar, a pink glowing jewel sphere that converts the five elements into pure energy, allowing the girls to transform and magnify their powers, and she possesses the power of Quintessence, the fifth element of pure life energy, and lightning/electricity. In the series this power resembles pure whitish-blue lighting, and electricity, which contain pure life energy within. She is the strongest out of the five Guardians, and one of the most powerful characters in the series.

Will's theme color is hot pink and her symbol is pink and resembles curved equal sign and a Yin Yang symbol.

Comics

In the comic books, Will wields the power of absolute energy since she became a Guardian of the Veil. This power, and ability, manifested itself in hot-pink energy blasts which Will later learned to use as a barrier, or shield.^{[citation needed]} In addition, her powers allow her to talk to inanimate objects and electrical appliances and even give them names which is how she discovered all of them have a personality of their own.^[7]

Will also possesses other Guardian powers such as glamouring,^{[citation needed]} teleporting,^{[citation needed]} sensing magical phenomena,^{[citation needed]} and empathy towards animals. Will also is the first one to learn how to make herself invisible,^[8] and has special abilities due to her status as Keeper of the Heart of Kandrakar that her four fellow Guardians do not possess. For instance: she can contact the Heart's past Keepers,^[9] and transform the girls between their Guardian and human forms. During the time of the Veil, Will could open portals.^{[citation needed]} When she is in a desperate situation, Will can sometimes allow the Heart to improvise and help her out.^{[citation needed]}

Animals are empathic to Will, and react to her mood - when Will is happy, the animals around her are happy. Animals can also read Will's mind. This is noticed by Matt, and his grandfather, at the pet shop.^[10]

With the Heart of Kandrakar, Will can also create Astral Drops that are exact physical copies of the girls.

At the beginning of the New Power Arc, Matt acting on the orders of the Oracle, stole all of Will's original powers and abilities and the Heart of Kandrakar.^[11] This is so that she, and the other Guardians, would be able to receive the immense powers of the five elements in their purest form, giving them the strength to defeat the Dark Mother.^[12]The Heart of Kandrakar reappeared at the end of this story arc, and was presented to Yan Lin when she became the new Oracle of Kandrakar.^[13]

TV series

Main article: Will Vandom/Power development (TV series)

In Season 1, Will is shown not having any power other than flight, closing portals in the Veil and the ability to unite, and transform herself and her fellow Guardians by holding out the Heart and calling out "Guardians Unite!". She does not gain the ability to open portals in the Veil until after the Heart absorbs the Seal of Phobos.^{[citation needed]}

It is unknown as to why she had no elemental power, although it can be debated that she either had not known that she had any power, or her powers are not fully developed. Yan Lin had not specified that Will had the power of Quintessence or Energy: As she has said "One of the five binds the others. And, with the Heart of Kandrakar, unites them. Summoning, and magnifying, their powers.".^[6] However, she can improvise by summoning flashes of pink light from the Heart of Kandrakar. ^[14][15] She can also shoot out powerful blasts of energy from the Heart of Kandrakar.^[16]

In Season 2, Will discovered her own elemental ability of Quintessence. Quintessence manifests itself in whitish blue lightning, which she can use to animate inanimate objects and to fire offensive lightning bolts, produce a full body pulse, shockwave, or discharge of electrical power and energy. In addition, her powers grant her the ability to talk to electrical appliances.^{[citation needed]}

It's also possible for Will to literally become one with her element, as well as becoming one with the nymph Xin Jing, the original possessor of Quintessence, thus becoming a being of pure electric energy, greatly increasing, and strengthening, all of her powers and abilities to their zenith. However this is risky, and dangerous, as it costs Will her humanity - both her human form, heritage, and memory, which she managed to literally find with Matt, and the other's, help. This happened only once, as a last resort when the Guardians found no other way to defeat the enhanced Lord Cedric.^[17]

As the Keeper of the Heart of Kandrakar, Will has the power to channel the magic of the Aurameres into the Heart and therefore enter the Guardians greatly strengthening and amplifying all of their powers and abilities and transforming them into their Guardian form with colorful blue-and-pink costumes, different hairstyles, and pixie-like wings which they can all use to fly.

Will can use the power of the Heart to close, and, as the series progresses, open portals in the Veil, releasing a blinding pink light from the Heart, project a force field of pink energy, create numerous fake copies that would disappear in a flash of light, reveal the true form of another,^{[citation needed]} locate other Guardians using their Aurameres^{[citation needed]} and show images of places and people.^{[citation needed]} The Heart of Kandrakar, has a telepathic connection with Will able to instinctively respond and act on its own will when the Guardians are in danger and can absorb, activate, and merge with other magical items.^{[citation needed]} When the Veil was taken down, Will learned how to open folds in space and time to traverse different dimensions.^{[citation needed]} Unlike the comics, Will does not keep the heart fused inside of her actual heart, but in her backpack or around her neck, unless she is transformed.

Will has a sensitivity to magic and supernatural writing and phenomena. She has empathic abilities with animals as they seem to reflect her mood and has a natural affinity for tele-transportation, being the one to wield this universal Guardian ability.^{[citation needed]}

Quintessence powers

Customarily, the Guardian of Quintessence is selected as the keeper of the Heart of Kandrakar (unless they become corrupt, like Nerissa), thus enhancing or adding to their elemental abilities, such as:

The following is a list of Will's powers, abilities, and other talents she possesses:

• Wield Absolute Energy with the Heart of Kandrakar.
• Flyrokinesis: Project a force-field of pink energy.
• Energy Blasts: Fire destructive blasts of pink energy from her hands.
• Light Projection: Release a blinding pink light from the Heart.
• Energy Projection: Produce a full body pulse, shockwave, or discharge of electrical power and energy.
• Enhanced Strength: She can infuse her limbs with energy to strengthen her physical attacks. Will has displayed the power of superhuman strength and toughness on several scales, able to use a tree like a baseball bat, catch a falling catapult like it was a football. She is even strong enough to break through steel or rock with a single punch as well as being able to easily destroy sturdy surfaces such as metal, stone, etc. with a single punch or kick. Also, she took down several of Takeda's robots on her own in a matter of seconds.
• Channel the magic of the Aurameres into the Heart and enter the Guardians.
• Portal Generation: Open and close portals in the Veil after absorbing the Seal of Phobos
• Tracking: She has the power to track down the other Guardians via the Aurameres.
• Superhuman Durability: Will has shown to be invulnerable. She can withstand vast amounts of physical harm without sustaining any injuries, such as being struck with a steel beam in "M is for Mercy". She was able to resist the black rose' magic in the graphic novel "Between Light and Dark" and thus survived without being turned into a black rose herself.
• Astral Duplication: She can use the Heart of Kandrakar to create astral drops, but they are mindless copies.
• Hearth of Kandrakar Replication: Create multiple powerless copies of the Heart itself.
• Reality Warping: She can warp reality and bring her fantasies to life.
• Superhuman Stamina: She can exert herself for long periods of time before fatigue begins to impede her.
• Technokinesis: Move and physically control technology of any kind.
• Technopathy: Talk to and mentally control technology of any kind.
• Intangibility: She can phase through solid objects.
• Electrokinesis: She has the ability to manipulate, control, and create electrical energy. This power allows her to control all forms of electrical power, be it static electricity, thunder and lightning, magnetic force, or electrical pressure. She can use this power for other many feats such as:
  • Electric Energy Blasts and Balls: She has the ability to conjure concentrated bolts of lightning into a straightforward attack, such as beams, rays, bursts, balls or blasts of lightning. She can also shoot lightning bolts from her eyes and hair, and physically capture lightning bolts and use them as weapons.
  • Electric Shields and Barriers: She has the ability to use electrical energy to act as a defense mechanism, such as a shield, force field, or a standard wall of energy.
  • Atmokinesis: She is able to summon lightning storms.
  • Electric Embodiment: She has the ability to become a being made purely out of electricity.
• Animation: Bring electrical appliances and inanimate objects to life through the vocal summoning of Quintessence.
• Resurrection: (via Quintessence).
• Force of Life: (via Quintessence).
• Quintekinesis: The newest ability to use quintessence energy and the power of the power-light level in the energy, the static shock or wave of the light.
• Quintemancy: She can see vivid visions and scenes through energy.
• Aura Energy: The new power of the human body is absorbing the energy of the people. Created by the power of human relationship and the "chakra" call "Body Electric".

Will's powers as her status as a Guardian and Leader:

• Unite the Guardians with the command "Guardians Unite!".
• Flight (only in the TV series and Arc 7 onwards).
• Glamouring.
• Teleportation.
• Open folds in time and space.
• Close portals in the veil.
• Ability to change the girls and herself back into human form.
• Invisbility (Comics only)

Weaknesses

The Star of Threbe: Will, as well as the rest of the Guardians, was rendered powerless due to the power of the Star of Threbe, used to find Elyon. The star renders powerless anyone who might prevent her from returning home. Ironically the star was created with the Heart of Kandrakar.^[18]

Relationships

Matt Olsen

Comics

In both the comics and TV series, Will's crush is and always has been Matt Olsen, a boy from her school who plays in a band, though their relationship has not been easy. When Will's Astral Drop kissed him as a mistake and then slapped him across the face later^[19] he finds it difficult to understand Will, even finding the situation annoying. However he does mention that this makes her "special".^{[citation needed]}

Due to Will's insecurity, she can become quickly jealous of seeing Matt with another girl and always suspects that they're dating. She even once thought Matt was flirting with Hay Lin when in truth they were just talking and making jokes.^{[citation needed]}

When Matt introduced Will to his friend, Mandy, she believed she must be his girlfriend due to the fact that her Astral Drop saw them hugging. She became cruel to Mandy even using her powers to make her lose a swimming contest. She also behaved cruelly towards Matt, saying how much of a coward he is of not telling the truth. When Mandy finally found out the reason why Will was rude to her, she told her that she used to date Matt when they were in kindergarten but they remained just friends after they became older. The reason why they hugged was because Mandy heard that night that her parents were going to have a divorce and Matt was comforting her.^[2]

Another situation which upset Will was when she thought Matt liked Orube. Will screamed to him to tell her the truth and how he did not understand her going as far as saying she believed he was her friend. This caused Matt to become a bit annoyed by her dramatic behavior.^{[citation needed]}

However, Matt also has become jealous: Due to a misunderstanding, he believed Will dated Eric (Hay Lin's boyfriend), and ignored her because of this. This caused Will to be very confused as they had a romantic date weeks ago. Nevertheless, the two started dating again.^[20]

During a date they were attacked by Cedric, who was trying to steal the Heart, which Will used to save Matt from a deadly fall. Before Cedric could steal it away, Matt saved Will and stopped Cedric. Because of these events Will was forced to tell Matt everything. The two of them become closer but Matt finds the responsibility of even knowing all this about Will too much to bear and he remains distant with her. Will also becomes distant with the rest of W.I.T.C.H., who believed Will made a huge mistake and she should never have told him. Matt and Will find each other again soon afterward, and become closer.^{[citation needed]}

In the New Power Arc Matt became more and more involved with their adventures. He started behaving very seriously and was cold towards Will, making her question if he truly loves her.^[21] Yet, she finally confronted Matt with the question: "Do you love me... still?" and with a somewhat poetic speech, he assured Will that he's still in love with her. After that, they shared a romantic night in the W.I.T.C.H. headquarters.^[22]

They have a huge argument and Matt finally ended the relationship.^[23] Later they return to being boyfriend and girlfriend.^[24]

A possible future was shown, in which Matt had broken up with Will.^[25]

TV series

In the TV series, Will started to date Matt, but once Matt found out of Will's "other life", their relationship got more complicated.^{[citation needed]} In season 2 episode V is for Victory,

Will met Mandy Anderson, Matt's friend from summer camp. Will sees her and Matt talking after she lost the race to Mandy (Mandy is first place and Will is second place). Will quickly became jealous. She used her powers to beat Mandy in the second race and immediately regretted it.^[26]

Danny Nova

In the Adventure book, When Lightning Strikes, Will fells in love with her new neighbor, Danny Nova, a cute boy who is talented in dancing. However he turned out to be an alien and steals the Heart of Kandrakar from her. Will, Matt and her friends went to his planet to get it back.

Appearances

TV series appearances
Season 1 appearances		Season 2 appearances
1. "It Begins":	Appears	27. "A is for Anonymous":	Appears
2. "It Resumes":	Appears	28. "B is for Betrayal":	Appears
3. "The Key":	Appears	29. "C is for Changes":	Appears
4. "Happy Birthday Will":	Appears	30. "D is for Dangerous":	Appears
5. "A Service to The Community":	Appears	31. "E is for Enemy":	Appears
6. "The Labyrinth":	Appears	32. "F is for Facades":	Appears
7. "Divide and Conquer":	Appears	33. "G is for Garbage":	Appears
8. "Ambush At Torus Filney":	Appears	34. "H is for Hunted":	Appears
9. "Return of The Tracker":	Appears	35. "I is for Illusion":	Appears
10. "Framed":	Appears	36. "J is for Jewel":	Appears
11. "The Stone of Threbe":	Appears	37. "K is for Knowledge":	Appears
12. "The Princess Revealed":	Appears	38. "L is for Loser":	Appears
13. "Stop the Presses":	Appears	39. "M is for Mercy":	Appears
14. "Parent's Night":	Appears	40. "N is for Narcissist":	Appears
15. "The Mudslugs":	Appears	41. "O is for Obedience":	Appears
16. "Walk This Way":	Appears	42. "P is for Protectors":	Appears
17. "Ghosts of Elyon":	Appears	43. "Q is for Quarry":	Appears
18. "The Mogriffs":	Appears	44. "R is for Relentless":	Appears
19. "The Underwater Mines":	Appears	45. "S is for Self":	Appears
20. "The Seal of Phobos":	Appears	46. "T is for Trauma":	Appears
21. "Escape from Cavigor":	Appears	47. "U is for Undivided":	Appears
22. "Caleb's Challenge":	Appears	48. "V is for Victory":	Appears
23. "The Battle of The Meridian Plains":	Appears	49. "W is for Witch":	Appears
24. "The Rebel Rescue":	Appears	50. "X is for Xanadu":	Appears
25. "The Stolen Heart":	Appears	51. "Y is for Yield":	Appears
26. "The Final Battle":	Appears	52. "Z is for Zenith":	Appears

Differences between the comics and the TV series

In the TV series Will became fast friends with the other girls of the W.I.T.C.H. team, and she is also very strong minded and relaxed. In the comics however, she is very insecure, only becoming quick friends with Taranee at first.

While she is also brave like in the TV series, she sometimes feels that she is a "failure" in the comics. Will is very sensitive and becomes easily hurt. Will is also very insecure about her friendship with the other girls (this could be because of her history with her former friends who backstabbed her and talked about her behind her back) she often feels guilty of letting them down. It was also shown by a "fake future dream" that Will's biggest fear is being dumped by Matt and her friends ignoring her. This was not the real future, but a fake one made by Phobos to break Will mentally, however he fails as Will has shown not to give up, and was very relieved when the Oracle told her it was a nightmare made by Phobos.^{[citation needed]}

Trivia

• Her favorite color is pink^[27]
• Her favorite subjects in school are Biology and Chemistry.
• She is in the same class 8A as Cornelia Hale.
• Her hobbies are collecting frog-like items and swimming in the school team.
• She likes good swimming practices, a Cobalt Blue concert, and romance, even having romantic nights with Matt Olsen.
• Will has the closest relationship with her sibling out of any of the Guardians except perhaps Taranee.
• She hates quizzes, fighting with her mom, and being clumsy.
• The 2007 Annual describes Will as being shy but also stubborn and sensitive
• She absolutely hates when things don't go as planned.
• Her favorite band is Cobalt Blue, or 'Wreck 55' as it is called in the TV series.
• Wilhelmina is a name originating from the German language, meaning "willing to protect".
  • In the TV series, Will might be short for Wilma instead of Wilhelmina, as Uriah calls her that in It Begins.
  • Since her name has a German origin, it's possible that her father's side of her family is of German descent.
• Will is the only one not to have hair down to her lower back in her new Guardian form from the New Power Arc.
• When in zenith power level, Will bears the least resemblance to her normal human form besides Cornelia.
• In the TV series, the episode "Happy Birthday Will" says she turns 13.
• She's allergic to nettles.
• She is ticklish.
• She is the only Guardian who's boots are different to her predecessor. She wears knee high boots while Nerissa wears ankle high boots.
• Her birthday is given as January 19th in the comics but it is changed to the fall, possibly somewhere in November, in the TV series.
  • In the comics, her star sign is Capricorn. In the TV series it is unknown.
• Will's name during the early production of W.I.T.C.H. was "Dee". ^[28]

Gallery

Main article: Will Vandom/Gallery

Images of Will Vandom.

References

Guardians
W.I.T.C.H.			Will Vandom · Irma Lair · Taranee Cook · Cornelia Hale · Hay Lin · Orube
C.H.Y.K.N.			Cassidy · Halinor · Yan Lin · Kadma · Nerissa
Guardian elements			Quintessence · Water · Fire · Earth · Air
Items			Heart of Kandrakar · Aurameres
Background			Xin Jing · Four Dragons · Nymphs · Oracle · Kandrakar