Harry Potter‘s wizarding world franchise has hosted two major villains, Voldemort and Grindelwald — here are seven ways that Voldemort is more powerful, and eight ways that Grindelwald is. Voldemort was first introduced as Harry Potter‘s supreme villain, who was initially “dead” at the beginning of the series, thanks to The Boy Who Lived, but faced resurrection in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. As such, Voldemort had two reigns of terror in series, focusing on the destruction of muggles and those not of pure blood. Ruthless, terrifying, and outrageously powerful, Voldemort’s mere name struck fear into the hearts of witches and wizards, even after his first death.
Fantastic Beasts then introduced Grindelwald. While Voldemort and Grindelwald have essentially the same aims in their hostile takeover of the wizarding world, they couldn’t have gone about it in more different ways. In Grindelwald, the wizarding world saw a more subtle, but no less powerful, force. Known as the silver-tongued manipulator, Grindelwald was able to keep his movement much more in the open than Voldemort was, thanks to his cunning. With the Harry Potter reboot TV show headed to HBO Max, there’s no better time to examine how the two villains differ, and who is the stronger dark wizard.
Why Voldemort Is Stronger Than Grindelwald
Voldemort Killed Grindelwald
Between Voldemort and Grindelwald, Voldemort technically came out on top in this particular area. Perhaps one of the most significant ways Voldemort triumphed over Grindelwald is that he was the one who killed the other dark wizard in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. That said, Grindelwald wasn’t at the height of his power, so it wasn’t a fair fight.
Voldemort only killed him while he rotted in a cell in the prison Nurmengard because he was frustrated, in a rush to go after Harry, and realized that Grindelwald wasn’t going to give him the location of the Elder Wand. Without Voldemort, Grindelwald would potentially still be alive. However, he also said he was aware Voldemort would eventually come for him, knowing it was how he would meet his death.
Voldemort Was A Parselmouth
Voldemort and Grindelwald both had special abilities, but Tom Riddle’s ability to speak to snakes, a power he inadvertently gave to Harry Potter, turned out to be dead useful. Voldemort was a renowned Parselmouth, which aided him in his devious schemes, given his control over all things serpent. Voldemort had a powerful ally known as Nagini. While there is some backstory about Nagini divulged in the Fantastic Beasts series — including the controversial reveal that Nagini is a Maledictus — she was never a servant of Grindelwald.
Without Nagini, it’s possible that Voldemort would not have been able to return to full power. She, along with Peter Pettigrew, were the only living beings that Voldemort kept with him while in his weakened state, and they helped get him back to his most potent capacity. His Parseltongue abilities were also how his horcrux was able to control the basilisk in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Voldemort Had Horcruxes
Voldemort and Grindelwald both had certain aspirations to master death. While Grindelwald’s quest involved finding items that would make him a master of death, Voldemort had seemingly found a way to become immortal in the form of Horcruxes. Splitting his soul into seven pieces, Voldemort was nearly invincible. Each Horcrux had a way of defending itself. The Horcruxes threatened Harry and his friends on multiple occasions, and one even managed to cause the inevitable death of Albus Dumbledore.
Even if someone were to destroy all the Horcruxes, they would still have to duel Voldemort himself, who was more than a capable wizard. The Horcruxes made destroying Voldemort an impossible task, and the knowledge of their whereabouts was difficult to decipher for Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Only the most determined of wizards attempted it.
Voldemort’s Death Eaters Were Powerful
Voldemort and Grindelwald each had followers, but Voldemort’s were arguably a more powerful bunch. Voldemort was effective in both Wizarding Wars because he had his numerous Death Eaters at his side. The powerful Death Eaters were not only vast in number, but they had a host of magical abilities that most wizards couldn’t possess. The Death Eaters call on Voldemort at any time, who would be little more than seconds away.
They could also transform into clouds of smoke that allowed them to travel at fast distances or even fight quicker than most wizards could. The Death Eaters were also loyal to Voldemort whether by fear or true belief in his ideal world. Whatever the reason, they were deadly.
Voldemort’s Name Inspired Fear Even After His Death
Voldemort and Grindelwald differ in one major way: Voldemort’s reign was so heinous that wizards wouldn’t even utter his real name after his first death. Lord Voldemort wasn’t even his real name. However, it inspired fear in the hearts of so many wizards that nobody dared speak it. Few people knew his actual name as well. What’s so dangerous about the fear of the name is that it only made the wizards fear Voldemort even more.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione weren’t afraid to use the name because they knew that would only dissuade them from fighting him. Many wizards chose not to partake in the Wizarding War simply because of how scared they were of the Dark Lord. One of his greatest weapons was psychological fear created through random and excessive violence.
Voldemort Was More Ruthless
Voldemort and Grindelwald were both dark wizards who led a lot of people in their time. However, Voldemort never played the long game. He was concerned with who stood in his way and exhausted all possible resources to get rid of them. Voldemort would persuade people to join him only to kill them moments later. Voldemort laid waste to his Death Eaters a few times. He had no regard for human life and no regard for wizard life. All he saw was his ultimate goal, and he was going to get rid of anyone he needed to along the way.
Voldemort Enjoyed Killing
Voldemort and Grindelwald were both murderers, but it was clear that Voldemort enjoyed killing. Voldemort celebrated the ending of life when it had nothing to do with his own. He destroyed lives because it was fun and sent his Death Eaters to torment both wizards and Muggles. Voldemort/Tom Riddle’s true pleasures in torture and murder were revealed through Dumbledore’s memories in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and the heinous acts he committed to make his Horcruxes.
Likewise, some of his Death Eaters shared his love for death, such as Bellatrix Lestrange, and went wild when it came to the battle at Hogwarts. This love of death made Voldemort a loose cannon than Grindelwald, who mainly used murder as a means to an end rather than a sport to be enjoyed. There was no telling what he was going to do next because the sky was the limit with him. It didn’t matter who anyone was. If they got in his way, they were going to die.
Why Voldemort Is Weaker Than Grindelwald
Grindelwald Didn’t Fear Death
One of the defining facts of Voldemort’s character is that he feared death, a major difference between Voldemort and Grindelwald, despite his quest for the mysterious Deathly Hallows. That’s why he went to such great extremes to prevent it, i.e., the creation of his Horcruxes. Grindelwald, on the other hand, did not fear death, which made him more powerful in many ways. He wasn’t limited by anything. He also did not fear Dumbledore the same way that Voldemort did.
There is an excellent chance that Grindelwald knew how to create Horcruxes, given his in-depth studies of the Dark Arts, but he never felt the need to make them, leaving his soul intact. He embraced death when Voldemort eventually came calling, and Grindelwald was capable of playing the long game while Voldemort was rash and guided by his obsessive fear of leaving the mortal realm.
Grindelwald Was Able To Resist The Most Powerful Legilimens Of All Time
Both Voldemort and Grindelwald are highly proficient in the mind arts, Legilimency and Occlumency. However, Grindelwald was able to throw off Voldemort’s attempts at Legilimency. After Grindelwald was arrested and thrown into a jail cell, he became susceptible to Voldemort, who was desperate to find the Elder Wand. However, Grindelwald was able to resist Voldemort — who is considered the most powerful Legilimens of all time.
He did not divulge the location of the wand, as his final act of redemption. He even taunted Voldemort and showed no fear in the face of his potential death, again, another thing he had over Voldemort. The only other people known to resist Voldemort’s Legilimency were Severus Snape and, surprisingly, Narcissa Malfoy. Either way, the fact that Grindelwald was able to keep his mind away from Voldemort’s probing powers was a testament to his strength.
Grindelwald’s Followers Were More Loyal
Voldemort and Grindelwald had a steady stream of followers, but many defected after Voldemort’s first fall, whereas Grindelwald’s seemed to be much more loyal. While Voldemort had his Death Eaters, Grindelwald had his Acolytes. In some ways, the Acolytes were a more loyal group than the Death Eaters because of a clever test set forth by the dark wizard.
In Crimes of Grindelwald, he used a circle of protective fire to test the loyalty of those who claimed to pledge themselves to him, something that Voldemort should have considered. Many of the Death Eaters defected from Voldemort or betrayed them, including the once steadfast Malfoy family. Grindelwald weeded out those who were unsure with his fire test that killed anyone with second thoughts.
Grindelwald Was The Master Of The Elder Wand
Voldemort and Grindelwald both wielded the Elder Wand at certain times, but there was a big difference in how each used it, and only one of them technically mastered it. Voldemort was an extraordinary wizard, but the Elder Wand never obeyed him. It answered to Harry the entire time. Grindelwald, on the other hand, was the master of the Elder Wand at the time.
In Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, he was shown to conjure spells that most wizards would never even dream of achieving. It took multiple Aurors and sorcerers to fight off his deadly fire spell at the end of the film. In Secrets of Dumbledore, Grindelwald is seen performing similar feats, such as reanimating a dead Qilin and his legendary duel with Dumbledore at the end. Voldemort had power, but not the power of the Elder Wand.
Grindelwald Was More Persuasive
Grindelwald was a master of speech. Voldemort and Grindelwald both had their talents, but Grindelwald was by far more persuasive. When he was imprisoned by the Ministry of Magic, they cut out his tongue because of how persuasive he was. When Grindelwald got out and began amassing followers across Europe, that silver tongue became evident. He had charismatic speeches about the true rights of both wizards and muggles.
In Secrets of Dumbledore he has become so powerful that he was almost elected Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, if not for the efforts of Newt, Dumbledore, and company. While Voldemort has proven to be persuasive to gain all sorts of followers, there were people who knew he was evil and joined him anyway. Those that fought alongside Grindelwald felt that they were fighting for the greater good, thus, he was able to keep his movement very public. That made his followers potentially more threatening.
Grindelwald Was A Master Duelist
Voldemort and Grindelwald were both great at dueling, but Grindelwald surpasses the Dark Lord. Voldemort dueled Dumbledore, but Dumbledore always had the upper hand. It wasn’t until Dumbledore’s death that Voldemort launched a siege on Hogwarts. However, Grindelwald managed to duel Dumbledore when he was much younger and more vibrant.
Their duel was so epic that it became the stuff of legend, and in Secrets of Dumbledore, Grindelwald was clearly able to hold his own exceedingly well against his former lover. While Dumbledore came out on top in the end, even he admitted to Harry that Grindelwald was very close to him in skill. Voldemort wouldn’t stand a chance in a duel against Grindelwald. He was much too skilled.
Grindelwald Was More Intelligent
Voldemort was a tricky wizard, but Grindelwald has him beat by a mile. Voldemort and Grindelwald both had a measure of cunning, but Grindelwald was much more intelligent, often seeing the long-term effects of his actions and hatching plans to achieve them. The Crimes of Grindelwald was solely focused on him finding a way to get through to Credence just so he could add him to his ranks.
Secrets of Dumbledore also saw Grindelwald use his intelligence to rig the Supreme Mugwump election in his favor, simultaneously gaining powerful allies like Anton Vogel. Grindelwald targeted the most useful and powerful wizards of his time in an effort to bring them to his team. If he were faced with a serious opponent, Grindelwald would probably try to win them over before fighting them, whereas Voldemort would just throw a killing curse.
Grindelwald Was An Expert Strategist
It seems that Grindelwald’s strategies paid off more than Voldemort’s, despite being thwarted in his goal of becoming Supreme Mugwump. In just six years, he managed to conquer just about all of Europe, which lead to a Global Wizarding War where wizards from every corner had to get involved and fight. Voldemort conquered a good chunk of Europe, but it took him 14 years to get anywhere close to Grindelwald’s territory.
Furthermore, Voldemort didn’t have the entire world gunning for him, only a portion of it. The only way Grindelwald was stopped, and the war ended was by Dumbledore. Secrets of Dumbledore showcased the depths and successes of Grindelwald’s various reaching schemes, as well as the sheer amount of power he had amassed. Voldemort from Harry Potter was stopped by none other than Harry Potter, a mere boy of 17.
