As one of The Lord of the Rings' Istari, Gandalf was tasked with rallying the free peoples of Middle-earth against the evils of Sauron. But there was a catch. Because of the damage done during the War of Wrath, the Valar had barred Gandalf, Saruman and the other wizards from using their full Maiaric powers. However, Gandalf made an exception when he fought the Balrog known as Durin's Bane.
As Gandalf and the Fellowship traveled through Moria, they discovered that Durin's Bane had made its home in the ancient Dwarven kingdom. The Balrog, one of Morgoth's ancient demons, posed a real threat to the Fellowship's quest. So, Gandalf went to battle to protect Frodo. The fight required all of his strength, but in the end, Gandalf defeated the Balrog. However, some LOTR fans might not know that the Balrog fight wasn't the only time that Gandalf unveiled his Maiaric power. He also fought the Nazgûl at Weathertop, which would have made an epic scene.
How Gandalf Fought the Nazgûl in The Lord of the Rings
After Gandalf sent Frodo to Bree, things happened fast. He went to seek counsel with Saruman, but he was taken captive by the traitorous wizard. That's why Aragorn met the Hobbits at the Prancing Pony and took them toward Rivendell. After Gandalf escaped, he went to Bree. There, he rested for one night, and then he went to hunt some Nazgûl. He knew that the wraiths were hunting Frodo, so he thought it would be good to be as big a distraction as possible.
Gandalf caught up to the Nazgûl at Weathertop, and there, they did battle. According to this Quora thread, it's debatable how many Nazgûl were present. Some fans believe that Gandalf fought all nine, while others think that he only took on six of them. Regardless, the fight would have been cataclysmic. During the Council of Elrond, Gandalf described the fight like this: "But they closed round at night, and I was besieged on the hill-top, in the old ring of Amon Suˆl. I was hard put to it indeed: such light and flame cannot have been seen on Weathertop since the war-beacons of old. At sunrise I escaped and fled towards the north."
The LOTR Movies Should Have Included Gandalf's Nazgûl Fight
Unfortunately, Tolkien didn't describe Gandalf's Nazgûl fight, but he did give a hint about its scale. As Aragon and the Hobbits were traveling along, Frodo saw flashing lights in the wilderness. That was the "light and flame" that Gandalf used against them. So, it wasn't some simple encounter. Gandalf clearly unleashed his Maiaric powers to keep the wraiths (whether it was six or nine of them) at bay. And even when morning came, Gandalf chose to escape rather than stay to continue the fight.
Seeing Gandalf at full power was something that LOTR fans only got to see with the Balrog fight, but the Nazgûl fight would have given the wizard another chance to show off. Not to mention, Peter Jackson did a great job designing the Balrog confrontation, so having him and his team design a Gandalf versus Nazgûl fight would have been epic. And from a lore perspective, seeing how Jackson navigated the six versus nine Nazgûl debate could have been pretty interesting.