Wise Old Man

The Wise Old Man is an archetype as described by Carl Gustav Jung. It is also a classic literary figure, and may be seen as a stock character.

In works of fiction, this kind of character is typically represented by an kind and wise, older father-type figure who uses personal knowledge of people and the world, to help tell stories and offer guidance, that in a mystical way illuminate to his audience a sense of who they are and who they might become.

The Wise Old Man is often in some way "foreign," that is, from a different culture or nation than those he advises.

Examples of notable wise old men in popular fiction

• Merlin from the Matter of Britain and the legends of King Arthur
• Gandalf from J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth series
• Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn from Star Wars
• Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid
• Shinyuki from American Ninja
• Hoo-Lan from Bruce Coville's My Teacher is an Alien series
• Albus Dumbledore from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series
• Professor X from the X-Men
• Uncle Ben from Spider-Man
• Rafiki from The Lion King
• Morpheus from The Matrix
• Gorion from the first Baldur's Gate RPG game
• Dr. Ochanomizu from Astro Boy
• Dr. Light from the Mega Man and Mega Man X game series
• Gen from the Street Fighter game series
• Hyrum Graff from Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game series
• Splinter from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Chef from the South Park cartoon series
• Auron from Final Fantasy X
• Hatake Kakashi from Naruto
• Red-Haired Shanks from One Piece
• Happosai from Ranma ½ (rather a spoof)
• Adalard, Petrus and Bélibaste from Pilgrim adventure game