No, they actually are different in Tolkien. In Tolkien, the universe was created by Ainur (supernatural beings) by singing a song in response to Eru (the "One

No, they actually are different in Tolkien. In Tolkien, the universe was created by Ainur (supernatural beings) by singing a song in response to Eru (the "One God"). The Ainur who felt responsibility for the creation and wanted to help it form entered into it. Those Ainur are called Valar or Maiar. The Valar are more powerful, but are not able to manifest themselves into the world as humans or elves or anything. Maiar are less powerful, but are able to manifest into the physical world as humans or elves or whatever. Both are immortal, though Maiar's "bodies" can be killed (what happens then is unclear, but they are clear that this does not "kill" the supernatural being). There are both good and bad Valar and Maiar. The 5 Wizards (Gandalf, Radagast, Saruman, and 2 unnamed blue wizards) are Maiar manifested to help the Ring make it to Mt Doom. They are literally the beings that helped create the universe, manifested in physical form. And they have the backing of even more powerful beings (the Valar). That's why Gandalf scares the shit out of everything, and seems to know everything. He has existed in one form or another since the dawn of time, there are very few beings with even a glimmer of the power he has, and he's immortal to boot. One thing that gives this idea a bit more credence is that Aragorn is also not tempted by the ring in the same way the other humans are. Aragorn descends from Luthien, who is the child of Thingol (an elf) and Melien (a Maia). The whole Numenorian royal bloodline descends from them. Also telling is that the Numenorian royalty lived significantly longer than normal Numenorians, similar to Maiar. Of course, elves also can't die of old age, so it's hard to attribute that directly to the Maiar. Gandalf not being totally immune isn't surprising. Sauron poured his Maia powers into the ring, so it's of a roughly equal power level to Gandalf. Perhaps higher since Sauron sacrificed his ability to manifest in the physical world. Gandalf's power is the ability to recognize the ring's corrupting influence. It doesn't sound like much, but the rest of the cast is practically tripping over themselves to get the ring even after being explicitly warned it will drive them mad. Gandalf is able to keep his sanity whilst near the ring, and that was enough to accomplish his goals.