The Wicke Witch of the West (or simply The Wicked Witch) is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum in his children's book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The character also figures prominently in the classic 1939 movie based on Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In these works, The Wicked Witch poses the biggest threat to Dorothy Gale, because she covets the magical pair of silver shoes (ruby slippers in the movie) which previously belonged to the Wicked Witch of the East and are now worn by Dorothy. The Witch has often been used by editorial cartoonists to represent an evil force; for more details see Political interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In subsequent Oz books, it is the Nome King who is the principal villain; the Wicked Witch of the West does not appear after the first book, and is rarely referred to again. Despite this, she makes frequent appearances in modern works based on Oz, and as such has been both reimagined and expanded upon a number of times.