The Lord of the Rings offers its fair share of evildoers, and Peter Jackson’s Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies just scratch the surface. Across three parts, the novel describes the Third Age rise to power of its titular tyrant, Sauron, the Lord of the Rings. Literature’s greatest villain and by far the most well-known in The Lord of the Rings, Sauron was actually following in the footsteps of an evil that may have been greater than him. The wider legendarium contains even more complex characters, raising the question of who the most evil characters in LotR actually are.
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Morgoth was Lord of the Rings’ original villain, and he gave way to a whole host of evil beings. Created by Middle-earth’s God, Eru Ilúvatar, along with the others of his species (the Ainur), Morgoth sought the Godly ability to create life and rapidly descended into full-blown rebellion. He took many of the Ainur with him. Some corrupted Ainur became Balrogs, while Morgoth saw to the creation of other violent breeds, including dragons and Orcs. But not all evil in Middle-earth sprang from Morgoth, as The Silmarillion revealed, with prejudice and jealousy possible in any heart.
10 The Witch-King Of Angmar
Ringwraith
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The Witch-king of Angmar was the leader of Sauron’s nine Ringwraiths and was one of the biggest threats to Middle-earth in the Third Age. His flying fell beast afforded him a lethal advantage and the touch of his Morgul-knife could erase beings from the Seen world. The Ringwraiths were the result of the Rings of Power, crafted by Sauron in Eregion with Celebrimbor and his smiths. After having worn their rings for so long, the Ringwraiths fell completely under Sauron’s control, since he held the One ruling Ring.
Not only did he lead Sauron’s forces during the War of the Ring, but he was instrumental in the breaking of Isildur’s line.
Although he was killed by Éowyn and Merry in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King movie and its source material, the Witch-king caused a lot of trouble in his time. Not only did he lead Sauron’s forces during the War of the Ring, but he was instrumental in the breaking of Isildur’s line. Gondorian royalty was a huge threat to Sauron, so the Witch-king strategically lured Isildur’s heir, Eärnur, to a duel he would never return from. Eärnur had no heir, leaving the Stewards of Gondor to take over, weakening the realm.
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9 Maeglin
Elf
Son of The Silmarillion’s cruel Dark Elf Eöl, Maeglin was a troubled soul born to a loveless marriage. This never bodes well in The Lord of the Rings. Maeglin was intrigued by his mother’s stories of Gondolin, and left his father, along with her, to seek its shelter, putting him on a villainous path and leading him toward a betrayal so legendary that it became the subject of “Thorn,” a song on Blind Guardian’s Silmarillion concept album.
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One of Lord of the Rings’ toughest strongholds, Gondolin was an Elvish city on a hill encircled by mountains and guarded by the Seven Gates. It was top secret and Maeglin and his mother only secured entry as she had come from there originally. But Maeglin followed in his father’s footsteps in his unrequited love. Falling for Idril, Maeglin succumbed to Morgoth’s corrupting temptation. Morgoth promised Maeglin Gondolin and Idril in exchange for the city’s location, so Maeglin betrayed the city, and it fell to Morgoth’s attack.
8 Eöl
Elf
The apple never falls far from the tree, as Maeglin demonstrated by being raised by Eöl – a rare example of one of The Lord of the Rings’ Elves who could be one of Middle-earth’s most evil characters. Eöl saw Aredhel wandering the woods near him, cast a spell so she would be lost forever, and coerced her into marriage. She was not “wholly unwilling,” although Tolkien’s earlier drafts were more brutal. Eöl was a tyrannical and controlling husband and father, foreshadowing worse acts.
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Blind Guardian released
Nightfall in Middle-earth,
a fantasy metal
Silmarillion
concept album, in 1998.
Eöl’s abuse reached its apex after Aredhel had escaped with Maeglin and Eöl followed them. Allowed into Gondolin, Eöl asked for his wife and son and was given the choice to die or stay and get to be with them, owing to the city’s secrecy. Eöl was a bigot and hated the Noldor, so he chose death, opting to take his son along with him. But Eöl’s poisoned spear hit Aredhel instead, killing her. Facing execution, Eöl used his final words to lay a powerful and effective curse on his son.
7 Shelob
Primordial Spider
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Primordial spider monster Shelob was one of the best characters in The Lord of the Rings, even though she never said a word. Shelob was the bane of Frodo and Sam on their way to Mount Doom and was excellently portrayed in The Return of the King movie. This gigantic beast guarded the Cirith Ungol pass into Mordor in the Third Age, catching and digesting any who wandered too close.
|
Tolkienian Age |
Event Marking The Start |
Years |
Total Length In Solar Years |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Before time |
Indeterminate |
Indeterminate |
Indeterminate |
|
Days before Days |
Ainur entered Eä |
1 – 3,500 Valian Years |
33,537 |
|
Pre-First Age Years of the Trees (Y.T.) |
Yavanna created the Two Trees |
Y.T. 1 – 1050 |
10,061 |
|
First Age (F.A.) |
Elves awoke in Cuiviénen |
Y.T. 1050 – Y.T. 1500, F.A. 1 – 590 |
4,902 |
|
Second Age (S.A.) |
War of Wrath ended |
S.A. 1 – 3441 |
3,441 |
|
Third Age (T.A.) |
Last Alliance defeated Sauron |
T.A. 1 – 3021 |
3,021 |
|
Fourth Age (Fo.A) |
Elven-rings left Middle-earth |
Fo.A 1 – unknown |
Unknown |
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Inspiring fantasy creators like J.K. Rowling to write characters like Aragog, terrifying LotR spider Shelob is one influential evildoer. Far worse than an unthinking giant arachnid, Shelob was intelligent and proactively made deals with Gollum and Sauron to keep victims coming to her. She played with her food, torturing Orcs sent to her by Sauron, who liked to hear about her exploits from the Orcs who managed to return.
6 Ungoliant
Primordial Spider
Shelob’s spider mother, Ungoliant was the perpetrator of worse crimes than Shelob, which is saying something. Ungoliant mated with other spider monsters to make Shelob, so it wasn’t known exactly what Shelob’s species or powers were, but The Silmarillion implied that Ungoliant could shapeshift, so she was likely an evil Maia. This would also explain how she could have nearly overpowered the despicable Morgoth, who was originally one of the 15 Valar, Lord of the Rings’ most powerful Ainur.
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While Middle-earth: Shadow of War paired Shelob with Sauron, Ungoliant’s villainous partnership with Morgoth didn’t go half as well. Morgoth employed Ungoliant to help him destroy the beautiful, sacred Two Trees, and they were devastatingly effective. Ungoliant sucked the magic out of the trees, robbing the world of light. The two escaped to Middle-earth, where even Morgoth feared Ungoliant’s power and ruthlessness. Greedily unsatisfied with Morgoth’s offers of payment for her help, Ungoliant attacked him for his Silmarils and only failed because Balrogs came to his rescue.
5 Smaug
Dragon
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Smaug’s evil is legend in The Hobbit and, even within the context of the whole legendarium, this children’s book villain is still one of the worst in The Lord of the Rings. One of only four named dragons in The Lord of the Rings, Smaug drove Thrór I from Erebor, killing and ransacking to claim the Dwarven hoard. He guarded it aggressively from Bilbo, Thorin, and Thorin’s Company, destroying Lake-town in response to their intrusion. Benedict Cumberbatch’s motion capture Smaug in The Hobbit was suitably petrifying, embodying his cruel malevolence.
Smaug’s evil intelligence, selfishness, greed, and arrogance were evident in his every word, masterfully crafted by J.R.R. Tolkien to represent avarice in its purest form. Living for gold for no reason other than to possess it, Smaug was the embodiment of the worst impulses of the Dwarves. Delving too deep in their greed caused the Dwarves to unearth a Balrog in Moria, but Dwarves at their best were the staunchest enemies of Sauron, resisting him to the last. Smaug, on the other hand, was allied with no one, too greedy and hateful to share a single coin.
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4 Saruman
Wizard
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Second only to the Lord of the Rings himself in villainy throughout The Lord of the Rings, Saruman was increasingly revealed as the worst of the worst. Saruman had been sent to Middle-earth by the Valar to oppose Sauron, but instead, he joined him. Saruman discovered one of Lord of the Rings’ powerful palantíri at Orthanc, but unfortunately for him, Sauron held another and used it to manipulate him. Despite falling to Sauron’s corrupting influence, Saruman’s worst traits were really all him, and nothing to do with Sauron.
In his despotical way, Sauron wanted to heal Middle-earth. By contrast, Saruman had no noble goals – he was just a bitter, jealous, cynical old man seeking vengeful and petty control. He destroyed the nature of Isengard with extensive industry, bred an entire race of killing machines (the Uruk-hai), betrayed the White Council for Sauron, betrayed Sauron, instigated the Scouring of the Shire, and couldn’t even summon up a smile when forgiven. He even hated Frodo for forgiving him.
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3 Glaurung
Dragon
Glaurung was Nargothrond’s ruin and Turin’s undoing, a totally evil entity that destroyed two of Middle-earth’s bravest, greatest, and most noble families. Galadriel’s brother, Finrod, was the ruler of Nargothrond, a First Age Elvish stronghold almost as secret and powerful as Gondolin. Glaurung’s invasion left the citadel demolished, barren, and never to be used by Elves again.
Cold, calculating, and merciless, Glaurung delighted in causing suffering.
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Fulfilling Morgoth’s curse on Húrin and his children, Glaurung bewitched Húrin’s daughter, Nienor, so that she forgot her name and identity. She met the brother she had never known in adulthood, Túrin, and they fell both tragically in love and pregnant. Naturally, Glaurung decided it was then time to reveal Nienor’s identity to her, resulting in the double suicide of both her and her brother. Cold, calculating, and merciless, Glaurung delighted in causing suffering.
2 Sauron
Maia
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Corrupted by Morgoth in the beginning of Arda, Sauron became his greatest and most trusted servant throughout the Days before Days, the Years of the Trees, and the First Age. He had a part in all of Morgoth’s worst crimes, including the Battle of the Powers, the Battles of Beleriand, and the creation of Orcs. Sauron was “only less evil than his master in that for long he served another and not himself,” but Morgoth was defeated at the end of the First Age, leaving Sauron to take the reigns (The Silmarillion).
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Sauron and Elendil hit college in the zaniest possible Lord of the Rings adaptation yet, based on one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s little-known novels.
Sauron really came into his own after Morgoth’s First Age defeat. Sauron rose to power during the Second Age, as represented by Amazon Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Creating the Rings of Power in his ploy to rule the world resulted in the Ringwraiths, the One Ring, Sauron’s War Against the Elves, the War of the Last Alliance, and the War of the Ring. Not only did Sauron cause more trouble without Morgoth than with him, but he declared himself “Morgoth returned“, shrugging off the last remnants of serving any other than himself.
1 Morgoth
Vala
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Morgoth was defeated multiple times in Lord of the Rings, but it didn’t stop him from wreaking more havoc on Middle-earth than any other being. From Morgoth’s first rebellious thought, he promised to bring problems to Middle-earth. Seeking the Secret Fire in the Void, which was Eru’s alone, Morgoth suggested his prideful desire to reach Eru’s level of power. Morgoth introduced his own discordant ideas into the song that visualized the world and its future, disturbing it from the start. He then corrupted the world itself during its creation, pouring his essence into it as he went, creating an Arda Marred.
After marring Arda, Morgoth turned the Noldor against each other and the Valar, and stole Fëanor’s Silmarils, thereby starting the War of the Jewels.
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This cataclysmic act ensured that huge swathes of the whole world would contain Morgoth’s corrupt or corrupting influence until its very end. Substances like gold were particularly affected, while water remained more pure. In a sense, the gold that Sauron used for the One Ring contained Morgoth himself. After marring Arda, Morgoth turned the Noldor against each other and the Valar, and stole Fëanor’s Silmarils, thereby starting the War of the Jewels. This culminated in the War of Wrath, which sunk the whole realm of Beleriand, sealing Morgoth’s status as The Lord of the Rings‘ most evil being.
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The Lord of the Rings is a multimedia franchise consisting of several movies and a TV show released by Amazon titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The franchise is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book series that began in 1954 with The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings saw mainstream popularity with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
Movie(s) The Lord of the Rings (1978) , The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring , The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers , The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King , The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey , The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug , The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies , The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Created by J.R.R. Tolkien First Film The Lord of the Rings (1978) Cast Norman Bird , Anthony Daniels , Elijah Wood , Ian McKellen , Liv Tyler , Viggo Mortensen , Sean Astin , Cate Blanchett , John Rhys-Davies , Billy Boyd , Dominic Monaghan , Orlando Bloom , Christopher Lee , Hugo Weaving , Sean Bean , Ian Holm , Andy Serkis , Brad Dourif , Karl Urban , Martin Freeman , Richard Armitage , James Nesbitt , Ken Stott , Benedict Cumberbatch , Evangeline Lilly , Lee Pace , Luke Evans , Morfydd Clark , Mike Wood , Ismael Cruz Cordova , Charlie Vickers , Markella Kavenagh , Megan Richards , Sara Zwangobani , Daniel Weyman , Cynthia Addai-Robinson , Lenny Henry , Brian Cox , Shaun Dooley , Miranda Otto , Bilal Hasna , Benjamin Wainwright , Luke Pasqualino , Christopher Guard , William Squire , Michael Scholes , John Hurt TV Show(s) The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Character(s) Frodo Baggins , Gandalf , Legolas , Boromir , Sauron , Gollum , Samwise Gamgee , Pippin Took , Celeborn , Aragorn , Galadriel , Bilbo Baggins , Saruman , Aldor , Wormtongue , Thorin Oakenshield , Balin Dwalin , Bifur , Bofur , Bombur , Fili , Kili , Oin , Gloin , Nori , Dori , Ori , Tauriel , King Thranduil , Smaug , Radagast , Arondir , Nori Brandyfoot , Poppy Proudfellow , Marigold Brandyfoot , Queen Regent Míriel , Sadoc Burrows Video Game(s) The Lord of the Rings Online (dupe) , Middle-Earth: Shadow of War , The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum , The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria Expand