Jinn in popular culture

Genies frequently occur as characters or plot elements in a variety of fictional works.

Books

 * Jinnicky the Red Jinn is one of Ruth Plumly Thompson's most popular original Oz characters. His most notable appearances are in Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz, The Purple Prince of Oz and The Silver Princess in Oz.
 * Christopher Moore’s book Practical Demonkeeping describes the pre-human origin of the Djinn and God’s favor for humans.
 * The “Djinn in charge of All Deserts” gives the lazy camel his hump in the story "How the Camel Got His Hump" from Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories.
 * Several references to djinn occur in the final short story, entitled “Ramadan”, of Neil Gaiman’s sixth The Sandman collection, Fables and Reflections. In Gaiman’s novel, American Gods, an ifrit drives a taxicab in New York.
 * In the Bartimaeus Trilogy books by Jonathan Stroud, a djinni is one of five major spirits, the others being afrits (a form of Ifrit), marids, foliots, and imps.
 * Djinn appear frequently in Rachel Caine’s Weather Warden series. The Wardens who control fire, weather and earth capture the Djinn in bottles, and use them to channel their powers.
 * Dragon Rider, a novel by Cornelia Funke features a djinn named Asif, huge, omnipotent and with a thousand eyes.
 * In the book series Children of the Lamp, the protagonists discover that they are members of a djinn "tribe" named Marid.
 * In Jinn a book by Matthew B.J. Delaney, the creature which is being hunted is a Jinn.
 * There are several passing references to djinn in Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses.
 * “The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye” is a short story by noted British writer A. S. Byatt published in a short anthology of the same name.
 * In the supernatural drama The Jinniyah by Maria Aragon, an Englishman during the reign of Henry the Eighth opens a gift decanter and gains unwanted immortality when he releases the female Jinn inside.
 * In the Doctor Who novel The Stone Rose, the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler encounter an artificial life form called a GENIE- Genetically Engineered Neural Imagination Engines- which is described as the inspiration for the genies of Earth.
 * In the novel Proven Guilty in the book series The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, Lucius Glau, Madrigal Raith's lawyer, is a jann- a scion of a djinn and a mortal.
 * Djinn is the title of the 1981 novel by French author Alain Robbe-Grillet.
 * In Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's Rose of the Prophet trilogy, djinn are created by the gods to handle the day to day woes of humanity, thereby freeing the gods from having to deal with it.
 * Djinn are primary power found in Tim Powers book Declare.

Comics

 * In the anime and manga series Dragon Ball Z, the character Mr. Popo is a djinn that protects Kami’s Lookout and the final and most powerful villain faced by the heroes was a stylistically-Arabic demon called Majin Boo. “Majin” is the Japanese word for “Magical Being” or “Genie.” Befitting the genie that he is, Boo is a spirit formed from smoke and clouds that utilizes horrific transmutation sorcery which transforms living beings into candy to sate his monstrous appetite, as well as possessing incredible power that quite literally rivalled that of the most powerful gods in the Dragon Ball universe.
 * In the Image comic book series Amazing Joy Buzzards, El Campeon is a mexican wrestler genie that can be summoned by the rock group by use of a magical amulet and saying the magic words "GO EL CAMPEON GO!".
 * In the Vertigo comic Fables, a Djinn is released. In this comic, they are considered armong the most powerful creatures in existence.
 * In the comic Jesi The Genie, a former milk goddess is cursed with becoming a genie, and then released during the time of the Arabian Nights by a young man. Jesi also appears in the webcomic Gaijin Hi.
 * ClanDestine, a comic book series by Alan Davis and Mark Farmer and published by Marvel Comics, is about a family of British superheroes in the Marvel Universe, children of a human and a female djinn.
 * Comic fiction author Tom Holt titled one of his novels Djinn Rummy, combining the word Djinn with the popular card game Gin Rummy. The novel is in fact about a number of djinns in the human world, many of whom have corporate sponsoring. Djinns appear frequently in a number of Tom Holt’s books, though it is normally taken for granted that the reader knows some of the fictional background of these characters. (I.e. the books are somewhat chronological).
 * The DC Comic’s characters Johnny Thunder and Jakeem Thunder are masters of the djinn from the 5th dimension named Thunderbolt. Genies in the DCU are summoned by their masters by saying their name backwards. Thunderbolt's true name is Yz, which when said backwards sounds like "say you". Disgraced superhero Triumph was later manipulated by the evil djinn named Lkz, which when said backwards sounds like "so cool". After a conflict involving both the Justice League of America and the Justice Society of America the two genies were merged together changing the Thunderbolt's summoning word to "so cool". The 5th dimension is also home to Superman's enemy, Mister Mxyzptlk. In the pages of JSA it was revealed that imps, like Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite, are seen as something akin to children. Thunderbolt's son, Shocko and Shocko's wife Peachy Pet are also djinn.
 * Although not an actual genie, the wish-granting Id, created by the higher dimension beings known as the Cathexis from the JLA storyline Divided We Fall bore many similarities to genies, in that it granted wishes that gave the wisher exactly what was asked for without giving them exactly what was desired, occasionally responding simply to casual comments; the first sign of its presence occurred when it latched on to Superman's comment about how he wished heroes with dual identities sometimes didn't have to deal with the pressures of such a role and thus split six of the Justice League between their civilian and superheroic identity
 * In the anime and manga series Magic Knight Rayearth the princesses from Chizeta, Tarta and Tatra have two djinn guardians.
 * In the anime and manga Aladdin and the Magic Lamp (Aladdin to Mahou no Lamp)from Toei Animation alladin have two djinn the Ring Servant and the Djinni of the lamp
 * In the Lebanon-published book Malaak (2007, first of a series), an angel with the appearance of a young girl fights evil jinns, which only she can see as they really are, who are involved in maintaining an ever-going civil war in an alternate reality Lebanon
 * In the comic book Re:Gex there is a character named Genie.

Movies and television

 * The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) features Baronni, a child Genie, who is freed and becomes Sinbad's cabin boy.
 * The original Twilight Zone features two episodes with genies in them: "The Man in the Bottle" and "I Dream of Genie".
 * The sitcom I Dream of Jeannie, which began in 1965 and ran for five seasons, featured Barbara Eden as a 2,000 year-old beautiful blonde Persian genie completely infatuated with the American astronaut master who had found her bottle and set her free in modern America. It was spun off into the animated series Jeannie in 1973.
 * The horror film Wishmaster features a hateful and evil Djinn as its villain. The film has spawned three sequels.
 * In the 1996 film Kazaam, Shaquille O'Neal played a rapping genie who lived in a boombox.
 * In the animated series Martin Mystery, episodes called “Curse of the Djini” and “Return of the Djini” featured an evil djinn trapped in a skull that could read peoples' mind’s and make them say their wishes. If the djinn died then the wishes would be undone.
 * In the episode "The Wish" of the UPN horror/comedy series Special Unit 2, Special Unit 2 encountered an evil genie-like link who needed to grant 3,000 wishes in order to gain free will. Unlike traditional djinn, this genie did not have supernatural powers other than the ability to transform between gas and solid states. As a result, the genie had to carry out wishes physically. So for example if someone wished for a million dollars the genie had to break into a bank and steal a million dollars for them. If someone wished for a relationship with a beautiful model the genie would have to kidnap the model. These wishes almost always ended in disaster for the genie's masters. After 3,000 wishes had been granted the genie would no longer have to live in bottles or grant wishes.
 * The 1964 comedy The Brass Bottle features a genie (Burl Ives) who causes more problems than he solves for his master (Tony Randall) and his fiance, Barbara Eden (who herself would enter the bottle the very next year in I Dream of Jeannie.)
 * The 2005 Japanese tokusatsu TV series Mahou Sentai Magiranger introduced a genie character in the middle of the series named Smoky, the Magical Cat. He resided in a lamp, which also acted as a gun to assist his master (Hikaru/MagiShine) in battle. His American counterpart is that of Jenji in Power Rangers Mystic Force.
 * An episode of the TV series Charmed called "I Dream of Phoebe" has the Charmed Ones confronting a trickster Genie that is trying to gain its freedom by granting three wishes; another, previous wish featured another genie whose wishes unintentionally caused disaster for the sisters despite his efforts to help when his lamp fell into the wrong hands before the sisters managed to undo his wishes.
 * An episode of the CW paranormal drama Supernatural called “What Is And What Should Never Be” has Sam hunting a Djinn (which has Dean) which did not actually grant wishes.  Instead, it would cause the victim to enter a dream state where their greatest wish was granted while the Djinn fed off their life.
 * Some episodes of TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer featured the introduction of vengeance demons, a race of demons who granted wishes for humans seeking revenge; like genies, these wishes commonly featured the exact wording of the wish being obeyed while not giving the wish-maker what they wanted, such as when Cordelia Chase's wish that Buffy Summers never came to Sunnydale created a world where vampires were in control, or when Dawn Summers's wish that nobody would leave her resulted in the guests to Buffy's 21st birthday party being unable to leave her house.
 * In a Season 7 episode of The X-Files called "Je Souhaite", Mulder and Scully find a man and his dim-bulbed, wheelchair-bound brother who chooses three wishes which backfire increasingly. The cause of which is an indifferent genie whose willingness to grant wishes belies a deeper motive.
 * Desiree from the animated series Danny Phantom is a genie-like ghost who grants any wishes she hears, gaining power from the wishes that she grants.
 * In the film Long Time Dead the characters do a ouija board, which brings out a vengeful spirit named Djinn.
 * In Fairly Oddparents there's a genie named Norm (voiced by Norm MacDonald) who, like traditional malevolent genies, grants the wish precisely without giving the wisher exactly what he wanted; although Timmy Turner- the series' main character- initially attempted to use Norm for three rule-free wishes in his first appearance, he subsequently realised his mistake and, having gained three more wishes by trapping Norm in another lamp, subsequently wished for a lawyer to help him draw up another wish to ensure that there would be no way for Norm to 'cheat' his way out of the wish.
 * In the 1940 movie The Thief of Baghdad, Abu the thief frees a genie from a bottle who promptly tries to kill him, but after Sabu tricks the genie back into the bottle, the genie gives him three wishes. Abu asks first for sausages, second to be taken to king Ahmad, and third, in a fit of anger in an argument, for Ahmad to go to Baghdad, after which the genie abandons Sabu.  Fortunately, Abu destroys the All-Seeing Eye, which has freed good spirits that will help him defeat the evil Grand Vizier Jaffar.
 * In the 1945 film A Thousand And One Nights, Evelyn Keyes plays a voluptuous redheaded genie named Babs who is the Slave of the Lamp of Nador. She falls head-over-heels for her new master, Aladdin, and reluctantly helps him win the heart of a busty blonde princess.
 * In the episode "Justin's Little Sister" of Wizards of Waverly Place on Disney Channel, Alex calls upon a genie for wishes and in true fashion, the genie twists her wishes into their most extreme translations.
 * Disney's TV series Aladdin features a genie named  Eden who becomes the girlfriend of Aladdin's Genie.

Video games

 * The Game Genie cheat cartridge series was so named for its ability to change aspects of games at will.
 * In the videogames Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age, players encounter Djinn as small benevolent creatures who use their powers to aid the protagonists in battle. There are 18 Djinn for each element. Some are hostile and must be beaten in combat to earn them.
 * The strategy game series, Heroes of Might and Magic, features Genies as playable characters and units. A Genie named Solmyr is also a major protagonist in the series.
 * In the 1980s video game Archon, the Djinn is the champion of the light side, opposite the Dragon who is champion of the dark side.
 * In the video game Primal, the world of Volca is inhabited by evil creatures called Djinns, led by King Iblees and Queen Malikel. Those Djinn live dormant in a volcano, awakening only when the volcano is about to erupt.
 * In the video game Sonic and the Secret Rings, there are two djinn: Shahra the Ring Genie, a Genie of the Ring, who assists Sonic through the game and Erazor Djinn, the game’s main villain who is a Genie of the Lamp.
 * In the video game series Final Fantasy, one of the summoned creatures is named Ifrit and offers fire elemental magic. Also, in Final Fantasy III the player must defeat a Djinn who has turned an entire town into ghosts.
 * The Pokémon Jirachi is said to grant any wish once it is written on a tag and attached to its three star points on its head.
 * Genies are a major plot element in King's Quest VI as part of the Green Isles folklore.
 * Iblees, while not being the main villain of the story, is featured as a summoned entity by the game's antagonist in second of the Quest for Glory games. The protagonist (Hero) also has the opportunity to summon a lesser djinn who grants him three wishes near the game's end.
 * In the Game Boy game Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land the games main villain uses a Genie to attempt to defeat Wario during the final boss battle.
 * In The Sims 2: FreeTime your Sims that have been created by yourself will get a Genie lamp by a gypsy, it will only grant 3 wishes per sim, after you have finished your wishes, you cannot have more.
 * In the Game Boy Advance game Mega Man Battle Network 3 White Version one of the Navis you must fight is Mist Man, whose appearance is that of a Genie.
 * In the expansion Hordes of the Underdark for Neverwinter Nights, there is a djinn you can encounter which acts as a portable merchant.
 * In the PC Online MMRPG, tibia in Darshia there are djinn selling and buying items
 * In MMRPG Guild Wars, good and bad djinns are encountered. Good djinns protect treasures and people, and also grant wishes. Multiple bad djinns are seen as enemies through games.
 * In the N64 title, Diddy Kong Racing, an elephant genie named Taj can change your vehicle from Car, Plane or Hovercraft if you choose to do so.

Others

 * In the Dungeons & Dragons series of roleplaying games, genies are powerful elemental spirits from the Inner Planes, each of the four classical elements having its own subspecies of genie: Djinn for air, Dao for earth, Efreet for fire, Marids for water, and a fifth type known as the Jann, who draw their existence from all four elements. A six type, the Qorrash, has been added later and is linked to the pseudo-element of cold.
 * In the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering there are more than two dozen djinn-related cards, mostly larger-than-usual creatures with a drawback, and a dozen ifrit/efreet cards.
 * In Malaysia, all issues of the Economist dated December 19 2006 had the pages containing the article “Born of Fire” ripped out. The government's explanation was that “Muslims cannot believe in Jinns as this goes against Islam”.
 * The Ars Arabica supplement to the roleplaying game Ars Magica classifies genies into several tribes: Jinn, Jann, Marid, Ifrit, Shaitan, and Ghul.