JRR Tolkien The Lord of the Rings It may be the most famous fantasy in the world, but it still has some underrated characters. The novel, released in three parts between 1954 and 1955, introduced the world to the famous characters of the Fellowship of the Ring. These quickly became archetypes of high fantasy starring roles, informing generations of writers for years to come and leading to franchises like Dungeons and Dragonswhich are heavily based on Tolkien's work. And yet, some of the books' most influential characters still don't get enough attention in fans, book clubs, and adaptations.
Some members of the Fellowship of the Ring and many of the supporting characters from LOTR They deserve more recognition for being total heroes, or some of the best villains in literature. Peter Jackson Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogies have brought Tolkien's story to a global audience, where before it had only a niche popularity. The Lord of the Rings it went from a cult story to a worldwide phenomenon, in which some characters were changed from their book counterparts and others were glorified beyond their original story. Meanwhile, some underestimated LOTR the characters never made it to the screen.
10
Glorfindel
Standout Moments: The Fellowship Of The Ring
Glorfindel is one of the best characters in The Lord of the Ringsbut he never went to the cinema. This prominent character was a fundamental feature of the first part of the LOTR, The Fellowship of the Ring. J.R.R. Tolkien conceived of Glorfindel as an elven hero to rival champions like Aragorn and Legolas, so it was a shame he was left out of Peter Jackson's films. Arwen ended up taking her place. Peter Jackson wanted audiences to relate to Arwen, as Aragorn's love interest, so he expanded her role.
|
Tolkienian era |
Event marking the beginning |
Years |
Total length in solar years |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Ahead of time |
Undetermined |
Undetermined |
Undetermined |
|
Days before days |
Ainur entered Eä |
1 – 3,500 Valian years |
33,537 |
|
Pre-First Tree Years (YT) |
Yavanna created the Two Trees |
YT 1 – 1050 |
10,061 |
|
Early Age (FA) |
Elves woke up in Cuiviénen |
YT 1050 – YT 1500, FA 1 – 590 |
4,902 |
|
Second Age (SA) |
The War of Wrath is over |
SA 1 – 3441 |
3,441 |
|
Third Age (TA) |
Last Alliance defeated Sauron |
AT 1 – 3021 |
3,021 |
|
Fourth Era (Fo.A) |
The elven rings have left Middle-earth |
Fo.A 1 – unknown |
Unknown |
Arwen rescued Frodo at Bruinen's Ford in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring film, expelling the Nazgûl. But that role fell to Glorfindel in Tolkien's book, who was already a genuine legend even before the Third Age. Glorfindel died fighting a Balrog in the Bag of Gondolin in the First Age, and was one of only two Elves to be revived in the early The Lord of the Ringswhich was a testament to his unique position as a totally underrated LOTR character.
9
Ungoliant
Standout Moments: The Silmarillion
Ungoliant is a supervillain in The Lord of the Ringsrepresenting one of the franchise's underutilized and underappreciated characters. This primordial demonic being spawned Shelobgiving birth to one of Lord of the Rings' most evil villains. Shelob had a human form in Middle Earth: Shadow of War video game, talking about his powerful and mysterious heritage. Ungoliant and Shelob were much more than just giant spiders. Ungoliant could have been a Maiar or some other type of ancient creature.
Ungoliant nearly defeated Morgoth in single combat.
She chose the form of a giant spider in The Silmarillionindicating that she could have changed form, which only Maiar was capable of doing in Lord of the Rings. Ungoliant was clearly one of the most powerful Maiarand there were some”almost as great“like the 15 Valar in The Lord of the Rings (The Silmarillion). Morgoth could not have destroyed the Two Trees without Ungoliant. Afterwards, Ungoliant nearly defeated Morgoth in single combat, only having to flee while calling the Balrogs to help him.
8
Samwise Gamgee
Standout Moments: The Lord of the Rings
Samwise Gamgee is easily the main hero of The Lord of the Ringsbut Frodo and Aragorn get much more credit. There are many ways in which Sam was different in The Lord of the Rings books, but one of them was that he had more of a chance to show his full nature. The Sam of the books would never have left Frodo's side. Even when he thought Frodo was dead, he stuck to him like glue, following the Orcs who caught him.
The Sam of the books may well have been more heroic than the Sam of the movies, but Peter Jackson's Sam definitely ended up communicating the main facets of Tolkien's character good. Even though Sam left Frodo in the movies, Jackson used this to set up a glorious return. Tolkien constructed Sam to resemble the bat-boys of World War I, reflecting his own experience as men committed to serving as an officer in war. Tolkien saw these men as unsung heroes of war, which is exactly what Sam represents. LOTR.
7
Pippin got it
Standout moments: The return of the king
Pippin Took is one of the most underrated characters in The Lord of the Rings. His role in the book was diminished for the screen, which made sense, in a way. Peter Jackson only had a limited number of hours for adapting a huge, sprawling story. To communicate his central themes – which was important – he focused attention on a few heroes, rather than spreading the celebration across multiple epic characters.
Pippin was one of the excellent characters in the movies, but more epic in the book. Pippin, played by Billy Boyd, provided excellent comic relief in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Boyd composed the song he sang to Denethor himself, and this was one of the LOTR most beautiful, expressive and tragic scenes, invented entirely by Jackson. However, Pippin in the books was wiser. His loyalty to Denethor was properly explained, and he seemed like a real hero, rather than a silly Hobbit with a good singing voice.
6
Happy Brandebuque
Standout moments: The return of the king
Merry Brandybuck is yet another underrated Hobbit in The Lord of the Rings. Samwise Gamgee is commonly considered an underrated character, but Merry and Pippin not so much. This is why these two Hobbits are even more underrated than Sam. Merry, like Pippin, had it rough in Peter Jackson's films. Sundays Monaghan was comedy gold as Merry but there were many more notes in the book.
Merry was not just a knight in the novel, but a wise judge of character.
JRR Tolkien's Merry was a verifiable knight in shining armor. This has been portrayed, to some extent, in the films. On the battlefield with Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Merry killed the Witch King from Angmar. Merry was not just a knight in the novel, but a wise judge of character. His loyalty to Théoden showed that he could see beyond rough exteriors and into true nobility, uniting readers with both.
5
Tom Bombadil
Standout Moments: The Fellowship Of The Ring
Lord of the Rings' Tom Bombadil is without a doubt one of Tolkien's best creations. Bombadil was unfortunately left out The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ringdespite being one of its main characters. This may have been better, as it preserved his mystery, but it made Bombadil one of the most unknown characters in history and certainly one of the most underrated.
Tom Bombadil was recently added to Amazon Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. This show adapts Lord of the Rings' Second Age, so Tom Bombadil's appearance in Season 2 was a surprise. Tom's original material delighted some fans and confused others, so he remains an underrated Lord of the Rings character. He's just as enigmatic as he was in the 1950s, and many fans still have a lot more to learn about him.
4
Morgoth
Standout Moments: The Silmarillion
Morgoth is Lord of the Rings' original villain, but Sauron gets all the glory. Sauron is widely recognized as the greatest villain in literature, having influenced books and films since 1954. Sauron is the main character of The Rings of Powerconsolidating its status as Lord of the Rings' debut villain. But Sauron learned everything he knew from Morgothwhich was evil long before Sauron. Tolkien described Morgoth's fall from grace in The Silmarillionwhere he searched for the Imperishable Flame in the Void.
Possessing this flame grants the ability to create life in Lord of the Ringsbut only the God of Middle Earth, the One Eru Ilúvatar, is able to use it. Morgoth was seeking his own divinity and this foreshadowed more arrogance and tyranny. Morgoth corrupted Sauron and many other Maiar, seeking to control Middle-earth and destroy what he could not control. But this villain's ultimate evil is little known for many casuals LOTR fans, making him an underrated character.
3
Denethor
Standout moments: The return of the king
Tolkien's Denethor was an elegant and tragic man, but Jackson's Denethor was a shameful leader. Peter Jackson made Denethor a masterpiece of a villain, and in that sense he is well valued. However, the films definitely sold less than Denethor and his many credentials. He was a good man, a good leader, and a gentle, tortured soul, despite not being the best of parents.
This incredible uniqueness and strength is what drew Pippin to Denethor in the book, proving that Pippin is a solid connoisseur of humanity despite never having left the Shire before the mission to destroy the One Ring. Denethor was totally abusive in the filmswhich was what made Faramir so deeply sympathetic. However, this involved significantly distorting Denethor and Pippin, leaving Denethor's heroism doomed to obscurity.
2
Théoden
Standout moments: the two towers
Théoden may be The Lord of the Rings' greatest unsung hero. Like Denethor, Pippin and Merry, Théoden was much more heroic in Tolkien's novel than in Peter Jackson's film trilogies. The Lord of the Rings The movies defined fantasy for good reason – they really made each character shine. But to emphasize the superiority of Aragorn and Gandalf, the films had to take it easy when portraying the other characters' best moments.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers gave some of Théoden's best lines to Aragorn. This really helped make Aragorn one of the best movie heroes. However, this meant that viewers missed out on a faithful adaptation of one of literature's greatest heroes. Aragorn was always confident in the book, whereas he was shipwrecked in uncertainty in the first two films. In the book, it was Théoden who had all this excellent character development, going from a challenged anti-hero to a true hero.
1
Faramir
Standout Moments: The Fellowship Of The Ring
Faramir is probably The Lord of the Rings' most underrated character. Brother of Boromir, this legend lost a place in the Fellowship of the Ring, although he was always much more worthy of it than Boromir. Boromir was also a hero in his own way, eventually sacrificing himself to save the Hobbits. But Faramir, despite being younger than Boromir, was years ahead of his brotherand wise far beyond his years.
Faramir seemed troubled in The Lord of the Rings films, although he eventually redeemed himself. However, in the novel, Faramir was a hero from the beginning, and recognized as such by Frodo and Sam. He was not a warrior, resisting violence and power. He was peaceful and gentle, too gentle to have had a man like Denethor for a father, who valued a more optimistic masculinity. Despite all this, it was his quiet wisdom that made him by far a better leader than Boromir or Denethor. This underrated character completely deserved his happy ending in The Lord of the Rings.