Nick Chopper was a Munchkinlander woodsman and later revolutionary who, before becoming a companion of Dorothy Gale, fell in love with a farm girl and consequently would become the "Tin Man", this being brought out by a nefarious deal between the farm girl’s mother and the Wicked Witch of the East.
In the Novels[]
Wicked[]
Nick is first mentioned when an old Munchkinlander farmwife comes to Nessarose Thropp, the newly established Eminence of Munchkinland, also known as the "Wicked Witch of the East", telling her that she does not approve of local woodsman Nick Chopper, her daughter's sweetheart, and asks her to enchant his ax so it would cut off all his limbs and kill him. Nessarose does this in exchange for two Sheep and a Cow; this is one of Nessarose's first steps to becoming wicked. Then, later it is learned that the Tin Man that is traveling with Dorothy Gale, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion is indeed Nick Chopper when he kills all of the Wicked Witch of the West's wolves.
After Dorothy had been sent home and the Wizard had abdicated, Nick Chopper was said to have left to cultivate the art of caring, however, by the time of A Lion Among Men and Out of Oz, he is mentioned to have become a labor agitator. More specifically being filled with the romance of labor rebellion, teaming up with dubious sorts, and hatching out schemes to organize the Tik-Tok workers and other mechanized servants of Oz.
A Lion Among Men[]
Nick makes a brief appearance when Brrr, the Cowardly Lion first encounters him on the yellow brick road when he is accompanied by the Scarecrow and Dorothy Gale. Nick then travels with Dorothy and the others to the Emerald City, and then to Kiamo Ko when the Wizard demands the group kill Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West.
In the Musical[]
Boq as the Tin Man in Wicked.
Nick Chopper technically does not appear in the musical. His role is replaced by Boq who instead becomes the Tin Woodman when Nessarose mispronounces a love spell and shrinks his heart. Then Elphaba turns his body into tin so that he can live.