Will Vandom
| Will Vandom | |
|---|---|
| File:Willtransformed.jpg Will questioning her future after Nerissa has stolen The Heart of Kandrakar (W.I.T.C.H. 21: Shadows of Tomorrow) | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Disney |
| First appearance | W.I.T.C.H. #1 (April, 2001) |
| Created by | Elisabetta Gnone |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Wilhelmina "Will" Vandom |
| Team affiliations | W.I.T.C.H. |
| Notable aliases | Wilma (her real name in the Philippines version) |
| Abilities | Is an electrokinetic who controls the power of absolute energy allowing her to fire energy blasts, create energy shields, and imbue inanimate objects with life energy. As the keeper of the Heart of Kandrakar she is able to open rifts to teleport between world to world and different locations within worlds. |
Wilhelmina "Will" Vandom, known in original Italian and other non-English versions as Wilma "Will" Vandom, is a fictional character who first appeared in W.I.T.C.H. #1 in April 2001. She is the leader of the Guardians (Known as W.I.T.C.H.), a group of teenage girls who guard Kandrakar, the center of the universe. Will is voiced by Kelly Stables.
Will is a bit of a tomboy, but is also sensitive towards other people's feelings. She is a whiz at science and absolutely loves to swim, especially when Guardianship and school are stressing her out. Will also mentioned once that she likes to ride her bike. She loves animals in general, but she is especially crazy about frogs and tries to collect anything and everything frog related except for the actual amphibian itself. She also comes up with extremely good ideas in the face of danger, as shown when she allows Cedric to capture her and her friends to bring them to Taranee, and when she tricks Cedric into wearing the Crown of Light to defeat him. According to her crush's (Matt) grandfather, she seems like a smart girl. She also seems to be allergic to nettles.
As a regular girl, she is good-looking, but is plagued by insecurity because she doesn't feel pretty enough. When transformed, she looks more like she'd like to look as an ordinary girl.
Chronology
Before W.I.T.C.H.
Comics: Before she was a Guardian, Will was a normal girl who was born on January 19, thus bearing the Capricorn sign (she's double signed too), and raised in the small town of Fadden Hills. When she was still young, her parents divorced and her father left her and her mother. She went to school like every other child in the town, and had a handful of people she considered her friends. When she reached junior high school, she found out that she was able to read people's minds. What followed was a revelation to her that, thanks to her new-found powers, the group of people she once called her friends did not enjoy her company at all. In fact, the only reason they befriended her was because they felt sorry for her. This year, however, they decided they didn't even want to put up the facade anymore and simply began ignoring and avoiding her. Will returned home crushed by this discovery and her mother noticed her pain. 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.
Animated Series: Likewise, before she was made a guardian, Will was a normal girl with divorced parents who lived in Fadden Hills with her mother. At one point in their lives, her mother's job moved them to Heatherfield. Her birthday in the animated series is somewhere in the fall and her star sign is Capricorn. Little else is known about Will's life before W.I.T.C.H. Will is also said to be very likeable as she isn't snobbish.
Forming W.I.T.C.H.
Comics: Trains on her first day at her new school in Heatherfield, Will bumped into Taranee Cook, a girl who had also just moved to Heatherfield. 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 girls urged Will and Taranee to come with them; they agreed, Will a bit reluctantly. That night at the dance, a prank by Uriah, a schoolyard bully, and his gang involving firecrackers put the girls in harm's way, but with Taranee's quick thinking (and a brief use of her powers) they managed to escape without a scratch.
The next day, the girls gathered at Hay Lin's house to recall the strange dreams each 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 warriors that the girls were supposed to become, and 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 them off. 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.
Animated Series: Just a few days after Will's first day at school, Yan Lin ( Hay Lin's grandmother) felt the Heart of Kandrakar, which she kept locked up in a box inside her closet, struggle to be set free. 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 ) and the new girl Will for tea and cookies after school. While eating, Yan Lin explains about the Veil, Meridian, the Heart and the elemental powers each girl was given, although nothing is mentioned about Kandrakar. She then entrusts the Heart to Will. The other girl's newfound connection to Will draws them close and makes them fast friends with her.
Profile
Will is 14 years old, has red hair and brown eyes. She has a crush on Matt Olsen, who later becomes her boyfriend. Will has a pet dormouse, who has various names and appearances depending on the country.
Will loves caring for animals, and also enjoys swimming. She is very good at swimming, and is even on Institute Sheffield's competitive team. Because of her love of animals, Will is good at science, specifically biology. Will's full name shifts between Wilhemina and Wilma. Her birthday is given as January 19th in the comics but is changed to the fall in the animated series. In the comics, her star sign in Capricorn. Will collects frog items, and loves frogs.
Will is known to have a fiery and unstable temper but has the personality of a great leader. She is a bit of a tomboy, but is also sensitive towards other people's feelings and also her own. Will has issues with trusting people because she is scared of being let down. At first she didn't trust the other girls either, as her other friends talked negatively about her behind her back, but she came to understand that they were really her friends.
Will is the leader of the Guardians and holds the Heart of Kandrakar or Candracar, a mystical jewel that converts the five elements into mystical energy, allowing the girls to transform and magnify their powers. She has the power of Quintessence and Absolute Energy. Her theme color is pink and her symbol is a pink equal sign.
Powers
Will is the keeper of the talisman known as the Heart of Kandrakar and she possesses the power of Quintessence and Absolute Energy.
Comic books
In the comic book, Will could wield the power of Absolute Energy ever since she became a Guardian. This power manifested itself in energy blasts, which Will later learned to use as a shield. In addition, her powers allowed her to talk to objects and electrical appliances and give them a name. That's how she discovered all of them have a personality of their own.
Will also possesses other powers such as glamouring, teletransporting, sensing magical phenomena and empathy towards animals. Will also is the first one to learn how to make herself invisible and has special powers do to her status as keeper of the Heart of Kandrakar. For instance, she can contact the Heart's past keepers and transform the girls between their guardian and human forms. During the time of the Wall, Will could open portals. When she is in a desperate situation, Will can sometimes allow the Heart to improvise and help her out.
Will's empathy towards animals works this way : Animals are empathic to Will, and react to her mood; for example, when Will is happy, the animals around her are happy. Animals can also read Will's mind, as seen in one issue.
Will suffers from hay fever, but it's never been noticed yet.
Animated series
In the first season of the animated series, Will had no elemental powers at all, instead announcing her powers as "Heart" of "Universe". Her abilities were limited to the Heart's powers. She could transform the girls, close and later open portals, reveal the true form of a being and create astral drops. In one episode she used an energy spin. Will could also emit bright light that confuses enemies from the Heart and was once able to create numerous fake copies of it to confuse Cedric.
During the second season, Will developed other powers. After the Veil was lifted, the energy it used up was transferred to the Aurameres, increasing the girls' powers. For Will, this increase allowed her to channel her power of Quintessence. It manifested itself in rays of electricity and also allowed her to give life to appliances as well as talk to them. She later learned to open folds with the Heart of Kandrakar as well as teletransport.
All through the series, Will demonstrated a "sixth sense" for magical phenomena. She could sense magical writing, portals and was once able to locate Nerissa by feeling a "Charge" of electricity.