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The film does not show Saruman as a loyal servant at all. In the film, just like in the books, Saruman wants the hobbits captured and taken back to Isengard because he wants the one ring for himself. Saruman wants to be the dark lord. He only sided with Sauron because at best, he wanted to eventually overthrow Sauron with possession of the one ring, or at worst, he would retain a level of power in Middle Earth after Sauron's victory over the free peoples. The thing is that Saruman doesn't realize that he actually is Sauron's disposable puppet, and Sauron doesn't trust him. Saruman thinks he is playing Sauron for a fool, but in truth Saruman is the one being deceived. That's true from both the books and the films, it's just portrayed a little less obviously because it's not stated with text.
I so agree. there are many places with in films where Saruman duplicity is depicted, you named the obvious one. Another was Gandalf telling Saruman "There is only one Lord of the Rings, only one who can bend it to his will, and he does not share power". This shows that the prior and hidden part of the conversation, Saruman revealed his plan to claim it.
I think you're giving PJ too much credit for keeping the nuance of Saruman and Sauron's alliance intact for the films. In the books, Saruman is clearly working in his own best interests and allied with Sauron to get clues on where the one ring was. Sauron never trusted Saruman and found out early on that Saruman already lied to him about the shire which is why Sauron sent the Witch King of Angmar to Isengard. Both of them knew the alliance was temporary, meant to keep tabs on each other, and a race to find the ring before the other. In the film that was never shown. What was shown was that Saruman completely threw his lot in with Sauron and was loyally working for him. He intended to take the ring from the hobbits to give to Sauron. It's also pretty obvious that Saruman was loyal to Sauron by the words of his monologue during the montage in the Two Towers film where he says "Together my lord Sauron, we shall rule this Middle Earth". Peter Jackson completely stripped the villains of the story of any layers and essentially made them mustache twirling villains with simple motivations. Denethor was another who fell victim to this.
@@platinum_ruler3264 Sauron lost to both Huan and Luthien, Sauron's power in the first age was not as great as at the end of the second age. And Fingolfin was an absolute beast. I would give Sauron a slight edge, but it's really, really close IMO.
@@fightingfalcon777 If the situation was the same (Fingolfin being so furious and bloodlusted) and just swap Sauron with Melkor I would say that they would both fall. Sauron would fall just because Fingolfin at that time was above anything Sauron ever faced (trying very hard not to look at Huan), and Fingolfin would also die from his wounds or something similar, vanquishing a great foe always comes with a great price in Tolkien's stories.
It would be a lot closer but I actually think Sauron would walk out of that fight in far better shape than Morgoth did (ironically given the gap in power between the two). My reasoning for this is that at that time Sauron was far more disassociated with a single form than his master so Fingolfin would never have given Sauron the un-healable wounds he gave Morgoth (because he was fully Incarnated into the form of a tyrant). The fight would have lasted a lot longer and it would be a contest of monstrous skill (Fingolfin) vs. raw power and sorcery (Sauron).
My favourite scene in The Battle of the Five Arnies is where the White Council attacks Dol Guldur. I could never imagine what Saruman would look like in battle. Of course we know what Gandalf the Grey/White looks like in combat and how he fights, but I could just never wrap my head around seeing Saruman in action. And at Dol Guldur we do. Awesome fighting style.
Gandalf held back alot due to his limited power plus his direction by Manwe instructing him to not abuse what little powers he had. Saruman did not play by those rules and truth be told, I think Aule is a dubious character as his Maiar both fell into darkness. It would make sense him for him not to instruct Saruman to limit his power but allow him to abuse it.
@@TheHunnyBeee That is not how it works.... The Istari were put in such bodies that they could NOT use their full Maiar powers even if they had WANTED to. Heck the Istari upon reaching Middle Earth actually forgot a lot of the lore that they knew as Maiar so they don't even remember all the spells and stuff that they used to know.
I know it's just a typo but when I read "The Battle Of The Five Arnies" the first thing that popped into my mind was 5 Arnold Schwarzeneggers battling it out against each other.
What-if video idea for you to do: What if Gandalf never fell at the Bridge of Khazad-dum and continued with the fellowship to Lothlorien and on forward?
Thank you for good and inspiring telling. A thought on the varying force on the witch king; he seems enforced by Sauron just about the attack of Gondor (both in book and film), further on at the smashed gates with the encounter with Gandalf who also is enforced as the white. So my point is that is dependent in which stage of a character we are to reflect upon. This calls also for Saruman, who certainly is pretty weakened as a magic character after the fall of Ortanc.
When you said "completely divested of his body" (the WItch King) it prompted a thought: In the movie, before the attack of Gondor, it shows TWK putting on his helmet. If he has no physical body, why would he ever take it Off? Ceilings in Mordor too low? Phantom neck pains?
This is hilarious. But the helmet is more for the fear it instills. When we first encounter him he's on more of a secret mission and not trying to draw attention to himself.
He only got the helmet because he stabbed Frodo and somehow Frodo survives. Think of the nemesis system in shadow of Mordor. He went from Witch King of Angmar to Witch King of Hobbit Slayer real quick
In the books, he never has one, and when he takes his hood off : " The Black Rider flung back his hood, and behold! he had a kingly crown; and yet upon no head visible was it set. The red fires shone between it and the mantled shoulders vast and dark. From a mouth unseen there came a deadly laughter." In the movie, I think it is because he is relying on stealth most of the time (at least when scouting for intel about the Ring), not brute power, not until the War
@@paulbarbat1926 I'm pretty sure in the movies its stated that the witch king of Angmar became saurons lieutenant after stabbing Frodo. Effectively killing him (needs resuscitation from the elves) otherwise Frodo would be dead from the blade of morgoths poison.
one thing that bothers me is that you allude that sauron or saruman hindered the fellowship when they tried to cross the karadras, but when i read it i always thought that gandalf makes it pretty clear that it is the mountain itself that does not wants them to be on it, he talks about it like the mountain was a living thing or even a spirit.
@@sigmasquadleader it was Sauron with his willpower who cast that snow storm upon Charadras. Only Sauron had ability of manipulating the weather in the third age
As a long-time fan of the books (the first Jackson film didn't come out until I was a freshman in college), I agree with your assessment of who would most likely win that fight, allowing that it could go either way depending on circumstances. As far as the question of other matchups, it's tricky to think of a potentially even one that doesn't include Saruman or the Witch King as one of the contenders, but I did manage to come up with a few. How about Galadriel vs Durin's Bane? Elrond vs the Mouth of Sauron? Smaug vs Glorfindel?
Yeah I think elrond would easily beat the mouth of sauron. The book does state that sauron taught him some sorcery, but I think elrond has learned more because of his much longer life as well as he carries on of the elven rings. Even though they agreed not to use them so sauron can not watch them, elrond basically has that ace in the hole to amplify his power. If the mouth was directly connected to the ring, if sauron gave him a ring ( which we don't know if he did), maybe sauron could amplify the mouths power like he did with the witchking to be able to face gandalf. But I never found anything about what sauron did with the dwarf rings. Only that he reclaimed them over time. Maybe if somebody scooped up the witchkings ring, the mouth could be offered that as a gift from sauron.
I have a question thats haunted me for 20 yrs, why did Saruman seem as if he was in pain after his first contact with Salron ? The scene "What does the eye command my Lord, We have work to do". LOTR Fellowship of the rings.
Makes sense, didn't know if maybe it was a behind the scenes scolding from the "gods that be there " do to a fall from grace thing he looked emotionaly damaged somehow. Thanks for the quick response man.
@Jessica Roberts I like your thought better. I think sarumans official decent from grace is why he is curled up. It kinda reminded me of Iago from Othello as things are getting more out if hand he is sick with himself, but for his desires, he refuses to quit he still has "work to do".
I always interpreted it as Saruman contemplating his actions. He knows full well what he’s done, and he just crossed the line. Talking to Sauron and pledging his allegiance meant there was no going back.
@@jessicaroberts5956 Maybe because it is then that Saruman officialy joined the dark side and then Eru Iluvatar abandoned him! And that is not only emotional abandoning but power abandoning since Saruman's powers as a maia came from Eru. And it is then that he ceased as Saruman the white and went to Saruman of many colours (weaker version) And imagine the pain when the one who created you abandon you.
appendix says when the Nazgul stopped by Orthanc to ask Saruman some questions, he used his voice-power to send them on their way, but he was nonetheless freaked out by getting that taste of service to Mordor, so he went up to try to make nice with prisoner-Gandalf, only to find that G had escaped, at which point Saruman was even more freaked out.
A great match, but the Witch-king would only have a chance if it was his "reinforced" version by Sauron. Witch king Powers: - Create and break ice (according to the men of Forodwaith); - Control of the wind (which destroyed Arvedui's boat); - The black breath capable of leaving in torpor and even killing its victims; - Created the Barrow Wight; - Broke Frodo's sword and left him unconscious on the flight to Rivendell; - The flame sword in the "fight" against Gandalf; - And the explosion of Grond, activating the destruction spells. Saruman had his voice as his main weapon, capable of even convincing the Witch-king when the Nazgûl arrived in Isengard (Unfinished Tales version). Another not so talked about power is that the Istari could use telekinesis. Gandalf the White used it on two occasions: dropping Gimli's hammer in Fangorn Wood, and dropping the sword of Denethor when he tried to kill Faramir; Another power is a kind of "astral projection" in which an image of Saruman walked Rohan. This image that frightened the horses used by Aragorn, Legolar and Gimli in the Two Towers.
Good shot,, both from you and the comments you set some good points, moji for scenario,, saw the one pointed to using role in dol gardur for , moji-inspiration? for your work, i especially liked comparison to Gandalf's moment inArda, to seeing the years apart Saruman stiil carried,, hinted at, well(?) There was a point I thought I'd add, yet really, is there a part two?? Ehh, well, I considered there maybe a point in Saruman's 'all or nothing', notice? If he coulsn't get the ring? sort of direction. Thanks for the emoji - moment dwelling? Again, good one .
It saddens me that all of this ended when Tolkien passed away which followed by the birth of fourth age of middle earth. Magic faded away, eleves left, dwarves died out and then the age of man started.
Gandalf fought 5? Nazgul to a standstill in the fellowship- as a grey wizard. The Witch King was more powerful than the rest, but he was still no white wizard. In fact, I recall Tolkien mentioning that a mortal man almost killed the witch king (a steward of Gondor if memory serves), but the witch king got away. Later, the witch king tricked and ambushed the man and killed him. But the white wizard was far too crafty and powerful for the witch king to do the same to him.
I'm inclined to agree with this. These are both beings whom it can be hard to gauge their power; it only took a knife to kill Saruman, but the Witch-King fled from Glorfindel, and Gandalf both battled several Wraiths, and defeated the Balrog. Without just wanting to crap on WK, this is sort of my personal bar. We are told that the Istari were embodied in the form of old men, and labored eith all of their shortcomings, yet Gandalf dueled Durin's Bane foe days, using magic and much stamina, and won. The Balrog might also be a bit hard to gauge the might of, but it had scale, elemental power, and was an experienced combatant that Gandalf still somehow bested. That Gandalf could do this, and before that run off the Nazgul, revealing that he had power that could hurt them, and thus they were not invulnerable, leads me to think a stronger at that same time Saruman could do so, too. I'm not saying the Lord of the Nine would have no chance, but a Wizard is a bit of a special case, and I think Saruman would best him.
Note Saruman's power of voice and persuasion works best in one-to-one, and less effective when speaking to many. So, I will say Saruman is capable of bamboozling even the witch king alone. Against the nine assembled is a different, in which it is a matter of how independent minded they are. All the Nazgul were once great men of power and wisdom, but would they speak up when WK is leading? Gandalf withstood five of the Nazgul. When Elrond learned the Nazgul were hunting for Frodo, per discussion between Gandalf and Frodo afterwards, works along the lines of: few even in Rivendell can ride openly against the nine. such as there were, were sent. Glorfindel was west, the most likely to meet the nine, hence dangerous direction.
My Theory on who of the Witch King of Angmar and Istari Sauruman the wise wizard in a Maia's body. The Witch-king is one of the Nasguls and the Nine Wraiths of the One Ruling Ring. The white Saruman failed in his own mission in Middle Earth. And used the black glass ball and asked the evil eye what to do. Sauron's voice answered: Give me an army worthy of Mordor. And then orcs came to the Iron Tower and asked: Master what shall we do? Saruman replied: We have a lot of work ahead of us. Cut down all trees. Sauruman's plan was also in the works. Armor, helmets and weapons were forged. And an Orc army was made the size of a human, only stronger and more violent. "Uruk Hai". These had the ability to mash in broad daylight. I think Saruman would have won. Because he had his wand and that he was also white.
I see this is about Saruman of Many Colours. The important point is whether they fight at Orthanc or not. The Nazgul would all be at a disadvantage trying to take Orthanc.
Witch King was no match for the depowered Saruman which is why Jackson's deleted scene of the Witch King breaking Gandalf's Staff was a so stupid. Especially for book readers. While Gandalf the White was nowhere near his Olorin level of power, he's still much more powerful than the Witch King and Sauron himself. The Witch King's power is borrowed from Sauron who's already depowered without his ring.
It took the white council to remove sauron from dol guldor. Arguably not one individual could have done it...maybe 2 or 3 could and bringing 5 was for reassurance. So I think sauron could 1 v 1 any "body" on middle earth even without the ring at the 3rd age time.
@Hunny Bee from the silmarillion....of rings of power and the third age. "Therfore for the last time, he (saruman) aided the council, and THEY put forth their strength; and THEY assailed dol guldor, and drove sauron from his hold, and mirkwood for a brief while was made holesome again". I do believe saruman was the best of the white council but it doesn't say sauron was bested by saruman, it says the white council did it. And the white council was gandalf, saruman, galadriel, and Elrond.
@@danielsilva-ds2u “Saruman has long studied the arts of the Enemy himself, and thus we have often been able to forestall him. It was by the devices of Saruman that we drove him from Dol Guldur.” - Gandalf (Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring)
@Hunny Bee saruman has long studied the arts of the Enemy himself and thus HE has often been able to forestall him. It was the devices of Saruman that HE drove him from dol guldor. That's what it needs to say for me to not believe it was a team effort. I am not saying saruman is not the reason the white council did it but he didn't do it alone. He( saruman) was the MVP of the the team and the team couldn't do it without him. But saruman could not have done it alone. If say sauron diminished was powered at lvl 60. Saruman would have been 40...while the combined efforts without him...the whitecouncil is 40. When saruman joins white council in the campaign, they become 80 and its largely because of saruman that they overpower sauron. I guess we will never know for sure though. Gandalf went to dol guldor and sauron fake fleeing. Then gandalf brings Elrond but I don't think sauron fled again. I think this suggests that sauron is not worried about confrontation, but I also don't think gandalf was looking for one. He just wanted elrond to believe him. What would sauron do is saruman walked in alone? I think sauron would fight back. And sauron only left for good because saruman came with a squad of pretty powerful allies. That's all we do know for sure is that the group was there and even if saruman was the one doing the expelling ( a problem I hate with the movie bc galadriel was over powered). It was the white council that drove sauron out, not saruman. But credit for MVP goes to saruman. That's what gandalf is saying.
In the movies it might be pretty close as the Witch King broke Gandalf’s staff after he ascended to GtW. In the books however, they wouldn’t even dare come into Bree and their entire company were stopped single-handedly by Aragorn at Weathertop, even if they did land a blow on Frodo before they were driven off.
They made that choice in the movie because they didn't had enough screen time to show how mighty the witch king is supposed to be. In the books, the first level of Minas Tirith doesn't fall until the Witch King shows up with Ghrond to force Imrahil and his knights to move back.
the thing is, that the movies didnt Show us who is really stronger. In the books, the nazgul were strong, but the istari(maiar) are way more powerfull. So your argument is, that because gandalf the white lost against the witchking in the third movie, saruman would not have a Chance... right? The thing is, if you Look at this Topic like that, then pls explain why and how Aragorn won against many nazgul to defend the Hobbits (he fuked the witchking aswell), and he is someone wothout any real magical powers Its like star wars, how could anakin have won against Count dooku, when dooku fuked kenobi(even while he fought anakin aswell there, so it was 1vs2) when obiwan won against anakin? Its the same Situation... I would say (to answer your question about the fight between gandalf and the witchking, what doesnt break the lore rules from the books) is that the witchking suprised gandalf with an unexpected kind of attack, what i mean is that gandalf didnt expect that the witchking would have and use this Kind of ability, so when he used this ablility, gandalf couldnt realy recognize what kind of spell the witchking is using and so he couldnt defend himself against it. That would be the only idea i can give you about this Topic which makes sense, because it doesnt break the fact from the books that gandalf is stronger than the witchking (about the pure strength of their powers) So because gandalf didnt expect this kind of attack from him he lost. If gandalf would have been expecting this he would have won because gandalf > witchking (powerwise). So if you Look at that in that way, saruman would have won against the witchking (only if he didnt expect this attack aswell, he may have lost the fight) BUT for the movies, The Real reason why the witchking "won" against gandalf Was that the movie would have been less interesting if gandalf fuks everyone without any Problems, because the more powerful a villian is, the more interesting a Story gets. (Like darkseid/thanos for example) and they only did that, because sauron never fought against someone in the third movie. They needed a villian who is realy fighting and a big threat aswell.
First thought, I’d say Saruman destroys the witch king in single combat. But even if that/the Nazgûl aren’t immune to the Wizard’s tongue, I think if he killed one or two, Sauron would send them all
The Witch King's power was tied to that of Sauron and the Ring so that he was at his most powerful (in the third age) at the time of the War of the Ring. At this point however, much of Saruman's power had already dissipated because of the breeding of the Uruk-Hai and the construction of machines (like with Melkor and Sauron; that's what the quote of Merry is about) which is why he was so weak after Isengard had been destroyed. So both of them would never actually face each other at the height of their powers
Just to clarify we’re comparing the OmegaChad who destroyed Arnor and cast his shadow over Gondor for nearly a thousand years from the taunt to them that was Minas Morgul to the old fogie who failed to take a single castle before being killed by the weakest dwarf knock offs this side of gnomes?
Given it took Gil-Galand AND Elendil (at the cost of their own lives) to defeat 2nd age Sauron I suspect that version wipes the floor with Galadriel. In the third age it also took the White Council to remove him from Dol Goldur so I’d give Sauron the nod there as well, but by a lesser margin than 2nd age Sauron
Everyone knows that Saurumon has that wicked Lightsaber. He fought Kenobi and Yoka pretty well with it. He also has that lightning Sith spell to use....
I always get a little annoyed that people misinterpret the line about the Witch King - Glorfindel never said that he could not be killed by man or mortals…his prophecy was that it was not by the hand of man that he would die.
In a war? The Witch King uses the armies of Mordor to tear down Orthanc. In a one on one battle: if this is a mix of the movie version's for The Witch King of Angmar and Sauron has the One Ring and he is buffing The Witch King then I would bet on The Witch King. The Witch King (Book 3 demonic force) vs Saruman one on one? It would go either way.
Ok so basic powerscaling, even tho Tolkien's lore is not basic at all, and power in his world doesn't always mean fighting ability, destructive capabilities ECT. Gandalf = or > the 9 nazgul at once as the grey on weathertop and dares not challenge saruman. As the white Gandalf is shown to be above Saruman both in the movies and in the books. The added demonic power to the Witch king in return of the king has made him more powerful than Gandalf in the moves since they needed a villain for that movie that wasn't Sauron, but in the books its implied Gandalf was above him still, as the witch king was alone, loosing this "team buff" when with the other nazgul implying he was on the same level as the Gandalf the grey on weathertop, acting cocky against Gandalf, not knowing he got a power buff, and is later somehow implied again that he died because he was so cocky because of that added demonic power, which wasnt actually as much of a buff as he thought it was, so he should be bellow Gandalf the white and Saruman.
saruman wins. i'm calling it yes the confrontation could have happened very easily considering both were in contact with sauron and had his ear, and both had their own standing armies loyal to them. 8 other lieutenants and the morgul, cirith ungol, barad dur legions with witchking and the special uruk hai army, warg riding tribes, isengard goblin men and scout legions under saruman (he won most of them by himself not from fear and being given them by sauron). saruman not only is a scientist, but a warrior, strategist, and a being in possession of such unseen, mystifying magic and powers that a thousand year old trapped man's spirit in a black robe would be simply unaccustomed to. its not like the witchking has spent all that time researching and learning new tricks and furthering any complicated, crazy powers to conjure dangerous spells and persuade entire armies to join him, he just bulldozes and breaks through others. saruman is a little more thoughtful than that.
According to the book, the Witch King was no match for Galfalf the White, so while Saruman was the White, he would have also outmatched the Witch King, especially considering that the Nazgûl were less powerful at that point in time. After Gandalf became the White and Saruman had “fallen”, of course no.
Why was there no mention of the scene where the Witchking shatters Gandalf's staff ? Surely that could serve as a reference point for strength comparison
It’s tricky. At their peaks Curumo would obliterate the Witch King: I cannot stress enough the huge difference there is between an undead sorcerer and a fully revealed Maia. No contest there… _However_ in the War of the Ring, the Witch King in his final moments was augmented by the dark power of Sauron and Saruman lied paranoid and delusional at Orthanc as Saruman of Many Colours. In these states, I think Saruman no longer has the nobility and stature to repel the Witch King as Gandalf the White could.
Aragorn has his pants pulled down in that one. It cost Elendil and Gil Galad their lives to defeat him, and both of those are at least on Aragorn’s level.
Saruman the White I think would have faired well against the Witch King. He was the Head of his Order, powerful, learned, and would have not been intimidated by a man...no matter how powerful or transformed. . However, Saruman of Many Colors was a lesser, fear-filled being. He was no longer THE WHITE...lesser than Gandalf the White....but Id say more powerful, still, than Gandalf the Grey. So, in this sort of fight, Saruman would seek to bewilder or escape the Witch King...choosing the less brave course of action.
If it comes to just a straight up fight I can see the witch King actually winning but when it comes to using tactics strategy trickery and all of those other things then I can see Saruman winning against the witch King. Yes Gandalf the Gray technically fought off the Nazgul. Aragon fought off the Nazgul. Basic Elf Magic fought off the Nashville but we do have to remember the witch King on like the other nazguls was able to break Gandalf's staff. If he had the power to break Gandalf staff he would have the power to also break Saruman staff if given the opportunity and we also can't forget the witch King is imbued with magic and has its own type of sorcery and not only that the witch King will never go anywhere without the other eight Nazgul that's why I say he will only be able to win if he used trickery against the witch King and not just going to a straight out fight
I disagree, Gandalf was never the lesser. He was the reluctant, and humble. He did not flaunt oven wish to test the depth of his power and in fact feared being forced to confront Sauron, which as I read it, is exactly why he was chosen to go against his wishes. He was chosen to serve his role but also to learn and accept and have confidence in his own abilities. Isn’t that what Manwe meant when he told Olorin as much.
It is always great fun to entertain such thoughts and scenarios, I think perhaps Saroman could drive him off, but could he destroy him? I know he is not technically a man. So could he actually destroy the witch king? Or does this apply to another minor? Apology if I spelling is wrong😅
Glorfindel said to Earnur at the Battle of Fornost: "Do not pursue him, he will not return to this land. Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man will he fall." - so basically the Witch King *could* be killed by a man, but he was just destined not to
No question Saruman and Gandalf both would win. The Nazgûl had no power over them as their greatest threat was fear as Glorfindel pointed out in his case when he took Frodo from Aragorn.
The truth is, Gandalf was just caught by surprise by Saruman, he never expected it to happen. In fact, Gandalf has superior strength even in his grey form and Saruman knew this. Gandalf just hid his powers.
This question is easy. Saruman is a Mayar, same power level as Balrogs and Sauron itself... yeah, yeah, the Istari are living in the weakened bodies of old dudes... but Nazghuls are just men with magical trinkets haha
Yeah not saying Saruman isn't powerful but...he doesn't have "Back up" from The other Nazgul, The Mouth of Sauron and Sauron himself! I think The Witch King has this one!
Saruman would certainly have been able to defeat the Witch King. It’s unlikely that any of the Nazgul would have the power to defeat any but the least of the Maia. A wraith would have little power versus a true angelic being like a Maia.
yeah but didn't the witch king basically overwhelm Gandalf pretty easily? and Gandalf the white was supposed to be more powerful than Saruman I thought? I think the Witch king would win lol
That's an easy one. Gandalf was afraid of ALL NINE. Saruman was more powerful than Gandalf at that time, so obviously he'd wipe the floor with Witch King of Angmar.
Doesn't seem like a fair fight to me unless Sauron has the ring and is at full strength. But even then the Witch-King would only stand a chance at night imo
Saruman was foolish. Why did he build only one "Fire of Orthanc" device? He could have used them to mine the boarders of Isengard. The Ents wouldn't have had a chance
Saruman wouldn't be able kill The Witch King...he would be on en-par with him magically. But if Sauron got involved Saruman would be killed because realistically The Witch King isn't going to fight fair and 'No Mortal Man can Kill The Witch King' also alot of people underestimate The Witch King. He has a Ring of Power and a Morgul Blade and he is neither living nor dead.
You would think that in a world full of powerful sentient creatures that are categorically NOT men, the Witch King would be a little less overconfident.
