The Wicked Witch is one of the most recognizable Villains of movie history. She is one of only nine other females that appear on the AFI's Top 100 Villains list. She is the highest-ranking female villain, and she certainly deserves her rank.
Just by looking at her name, there is little question as to the nature of the Wicked Witch. She has become the archetype for wickedness and is an easily identifiable image of evil. She is cruel, manipulative, and cold – all the features that one would expect from one who is wicked. Most dictionaries defined wickedness as being synonymous with evil, and we can certainly see this reflected in the Witch's behavior in The Wizard of Oz.
In the Wizard of Oz, The Wicked Witch of the West has conquered the Winkies and treats them as slaves. She remains in power by using her army of flying monkeys that do her bidding. She uses the fear of her cruelty in order to stay in power – and prior to Dorothy arriving in Oz, the terrors of the Wicked Witch had simply been a part of life for the citizens of Oz.
But things begin to change when Dorothy arrives in Oz. We get our first taste of the Witch's wickedness when she fails to show any sort of remorse for her dead sister. Instead she simply appears angry to have been cheated out of the enchanted ruby red slippers. 
The Witch immediately comes up with a number of plans to steal the slippers and eliminate Dorothy in the process. However, she finds herself foiled time and time again as Dorothy makes friends on her way to see the Wizard. These series of events all reveal the inherent evil and true wickedness of the Witch who craves nothing but power. Greed is her primary motivation.
The Witch is unsuccessful at stopping Dorothy from reaching the Wizard, but in a twist of fate the Wizard charges Dorothy with disposing of the Witch. Dorothy is captured by the Flying Monkeys as she tries to sneak into the Witch's castle. The Witch tries to get the slippers by threatening to drown Toto, but it is soon obvious that the only way to obtain the slippers is to kill Dorothy. Again, this scene reflects the wickedness of the Witch as she uses the life of Toto as ransom to obtain what she wants.
The Wicked Witch doesn't know how best to dispose of Dorothy and take the Ruby Slippers for herself, so she locks Dorothy away instead. During this time, Dorothy's friends attempt a rescue, but they are cornered by the Wicked Witch's guards. The Witch decides that they all must die, but Dorothy will die last. She will watch her friends suffer and suffer in the process. She sets the Scarecrow on fire, and in an attempt to extinguish the flames, Dorothy throws water on the Witch which causes the Witch to melt. Upon realizing what has happened, the guards that had once been under the Witch's control rejoice – another reflection of the true evil of the Witch.
Throughout the film, there is no redeeming goodness in the Witch, as with many villains in film. She is illustrated as truly wicked, and never wavers from this characterization. Of course, for anyone who has seen the musical Wicked, the perception of the Wicked Witch changes entirely, but in the film itself there is no justification for the Witch's evil actions earning her the title of villain.
Then again, perhaps all the Wicked Witch needed was a friend, as illustrated in the video below.
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She and her flying monkeys gave me nightmares when I was little, definitely something that adds to her villainy in my book.
I love The Wizard of Oz! I think it is an amazing movie ! That being said, the Wicked Witch of the West was a great villain! Like Jack already said, she gave me nightmares as well, and I was always fearful that she was going to try to take my dog! Her voice especially I thought was extremely creepy and scary which only added to her villainy!
I was unaware that the Wicked Witch of the West is the highest ranking female villain in American cinema, but at the same time, I am really not that surprised. With her green skin, her stringy, black hair, and, her notorious pointed hat, she is easily one of the most recognizable villains. She is the epitome of evil and is a villain without the slightest intent of changing. To add to the above comments, the actual witch did not bother me as a child as much as did the image of Ms. Gulch, riding her bike through the tornado and transforming into the witch, accompanied by that infamously creepy music. Scary stuff – a true villain.
I agree with the above statements that the witch freaked me out. Have you seen or read Wicked? I haven’t but I hear that it tells about the Wicked Witch before Dorothy arrived. It would be interesting to see if that changes your views on the character. Based on just the Wizard of Oz it is fair to say that she is a great villain and a very scary one at that!
I’ve seen Wicked and it completely changes the prospective of the Wicked Witch and the Wizard of Oz as a whole! It’s one of my all time favorite musicals, and I really loved it. I’d definitely recommend seeing it – it certainly offers a whole new perspective.
But as far as the original film goes, the Wicked Witch was one scary lady and ever time I hear that cackle I swear I get chills…