All 10 Sauron forms in The Lord of the Rings explained

Called Sauron the Deceiver by many, it is not surprising that the Dark Lord took many forms The Lord of the Rings. Peter Jackson The Hobbit And Lord of the Rings trilogy featured a version of Sauron that many fans have come to associate with the towering antagonist in JRR Tolkien’s high fantasy saga, but Sauron’s “Lord of the Rings” movie appearance is very different from Tolkien’s description (or lack thereof) in The books. His shape-shifting abilities are one of the reasons Sauron has lasted for several ages in Middle-earth moving in the shadows of almost every important conflict between the races of men. Elves, Dwarves and Hobbits.

Sauron operated as a high-ranking lieutenant of Morgoth, a successor to his empire, and a destroyer of despondent cities like Gondor with his hordes. One of the reasons Sauron was so successful in avoiding defeat throughout the ages was his ability to hide his true form and earn the trust of his enemies. like The rings of power also showed, Even when he is not yet at full strength, his most devastating form is the one hidden in plain sight.

10

Myron

The original Sauron created by Ilúvatar

JRR Tolkien was a devout Christian, and there are many biblical themes that filter through his works. The story of Sauron is rife with biblical imagery, as his story parallels that of Lucifer Morningstar, the fallen angel who became Satan, in many ways. This is most evident when analyzing Sauron’s first form – Myron, the Maiar. Before Sauron was a Dark Lord and embodiment of evil, Its original form was a Maiar associated with Owl the Smith.

Like the rest of the near-angelic Maiar, Mairon was created by Ilúvatar as a force for goodness, peace and order in the world that would eventually become Middle-earth. Before his betrayal, fall and becoming Sauron, Mairon was fair and handsome, with a preference for order and symmetry. However, it was his inherent disdain for chaos and anything out of place that would shape his future and subsequent service to Morgoth, whom he felt shared the same perspective.. Sauron would later take similar forms to Mairon during his wanderings in Middle-earth, especially to gain the confidence and trust of elves.

9

Sauron

The great evil that forged the ring of power

After being servant of Morgoth, Sauron can no longer appear as Mairon or any truly pure form, and instead resembles Tolkien’s description as greater than a man. “But not gigantic.” Sauron and Morgoth were both powerful but at this time, Sauron’s ability to shift shift was constricted, and while his eyes burned and his presence radiated malice, There was no misconstruing his evil intent to subject Middle-earth to Morgoth’s sense of order.

At this point, Tolkien does not give an extensive description of Sauron as an individual, but more as a manifestation of evil. He has already begun to move into the forces of evil that will eventually become the Eye of Mordor. However, it is likely that he can still take a physical form of sorts, and the body is probably not too different to the version of Sauron seen in the opening of The Fellowship of the Ring.

8

The wolf

Sauron’s bestial form for combat

Myron was forever changed when he entered the service of Morgoth and betrayed Ilúvatar, Although the power he gained came with challenges. He was still unable to maintain a physical presence in the traditional sense as he eventually would, and what’s more, his moral decline meant that he could never become Myron again (at least not outside of visions planted in the eyes of others). Although he may not have been able to make himself beautiful again, Sauron could transform into a terrifying werewolf.

Before forging the One Ring and taking the terrible physical form seen in the war at the end of the second age of the prologue of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Sauron can still make himself dangerous in combat. In the early years, he entered many direct confrontations in the form of a giant, snarling wolf. Only the high elves and the dwarves have the courage to face him when he appears in this form, and the determination to try to best him in combat. As a last line of defense, the Valar used their own wolf to best Sauron – Huan, the wolf of Orome the Hunter.

7

The snake

Sauron’s secondary animal form

Judging from JRR Tolkien’s writings on the earliest centuries of Sauron still entering Morgoth’s service (detailed in books like The Silmarillion), Sauron’s favored form for direct confrontation was the wolf. However, this is not the only animal form Sauron can take. The future great evil is cunning, and his physical form was malleable. He knew that keeping his enemies on their devices would sow confusion and discord – Powerful weapons in a prolonged conflict – and with a variety of different forms was one of many ways he achieved this.

During the many conflicts between Morgoth and the united armies of men, elves, and even the Valar, Sauron began to change his appearance to win battles. The wolf may have been the most common form taken by Sauron and the one that the first elves and dwarves to oppose him saw most, but he became other nightmarishly large animals as well. Before Morgoth’s defeat during the First Age, one of the many other forms Sauron took was a giant serpent. The form of Sauron is not mentioned by Tolkien as the Great Wolf, however, so it is likely that it is not so common.

6

The vampire

A form of Sauron that showed his relationship with evil

First, it should be noted that Sauron is not a vampire. He took the form of one on several occasions, but the Lord of Mardor only imitated their appearance, and at no point in the history of Middle-earth was he a blood-sucking creature of the night. Vampires exist in JRR Tolkien’s mythos, But not in the same sense as Dracula, Nosferatu, or other pop culture vampires.

In Tolkien’s Middle-earth, vampires are large bat-like creatures in service to Morgoth and Sauron, with one in particular, Thuringwethil, being referenced in the Annals of Arda. During the journey of Beren and Luthian recorded in The SilmarillionIt is said that Sauron himself took the form of a vampire on at least one important occasion. However, despite Sauron’s propensity to engage in psychological warfare with his enemies, his vampire form was not to strike fear but to escape Huan.

5

Annotator / Halbrand

Sauron the Deceiver at his most seductive

Sauron was an incredibly dangerous presence on the battlefield, though that wasn’t the only reason he was so feared or rose to power so quickly. There are many reasons he earned the moniker Sauron the Deceiver, and this is most evidenced by him taking the form of the human king named Halbrand, or (depending on the occasion) the elf named Annatar. In order to gain the trust of Celebrimbor in the city of the elven smiths and trick him into forging the rings of power, Sauron needed a disguise that would not only fool others but be pleasing to the eye.

To do this, he became known as “Lord of Gifts”. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Changes the timeline a little when it comes to this form, and instead has Sauron takes the form of Halfrand (played by Charlie Vickers) And pose as a displaced king of the Southlands and deceive Galadriel and the Numenoreans in season 1. By giving the elves the “gift” of how to bind mithril with other ore, he convinces them to help their own impending doom.

4

Sauron’s physical form

The hulking armored form that destroys Númenor

Sauron’s physical form that emerged towards the end of the Second Age of Middle-earth was The first glimpse of cinema audiences of the character in The Lord of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring. It is somewhat surprising to many to learn that, of all Sauron’s forms, it is one of the shapes taken by the Deceiver that JRR Tolkien wrote about the least (and, considering he is an author who famously wrote at least one page describing A single tree at a time, that says a lot).

Tolkien does not go into great depth about what Sauron looked like under his armor after he destroyed Númenor. however, LotR Director Peter Jackson has a visual approach to the form of Sauron. Visually, Jackson wanted Sauron to look impressive and intimidating, and his fearsome appearance seen on the battlefield in front of Mount Doom made him an iconic cinematic villain. At this point, Sauron’s physical form resembled pure evil and darkness beneath the intimidating armor he wore in battle when he was defeated in the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, When Isildur could cut off the one ring from his finger.

3

The Necromancer

Sauron’s disguise while rebuilding his power in the Third Age

The Necromancer is one of the most intriguing forms of Sauron, as JRR Tolkien did not initially envision the primary antagonist of The Hobbit To be the same villain that has plagued Middle-earth since the First Age. It was not until writing The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and integrating The Hobbit With his broader myth that Tolkien wove the necromancer into the canon as a form of Sauron the Deceiver.

After laying dormant for years, Sauron began his restoration in the Third Age, taking a form known simply as the Necromancer. Gandalf began to suspect that the Dark Lord had taken up residence in Dol Guldur, known to many as the Hill of Dark Sorcery but the White Council did not listen to him about Sauron’s return and the sudden concentration of dark energy. The fortress was not only Sauron’s base of ​​operations but Gandalf’s eventual prison, and even Galadriel, Elrond and Saruman could weaken the necromancer enough to prevent him from becoming more powerful.

2

Sauron’s restored form

The hidden physical form of the Great Eye

When Sauron is partially restored in the Third Age, he does not appear in the sharp, drawn armor of the beginning of Jackson’s films, and sends messengers as the Mouth of Sauron to speak for him. It is easy to assume that, at this point, Sauron is only capable of manifesting in Middle-earth as the Great Eye that sits on Barad-deur. However, this is not technically the case. Sauron can still take physical form when he needs to at this time, but seems to choose not to.

He is only briefly described by those who interacted with him, such as when he personally tortured Gollum in 3017, who stated that “He only has four [fingers] On the black hand, but they are enough.” Sauron was significantly weakened after being defeated by Isildur, So it is entirely possible that he would be vulnerable in a physical body without possession of the One Ring when Frodo came to possess it. It is recommended in The return of the king Novel that Sauron would have appeared to claim victory after the War of the Ring if he triumphed, implies that at some point, the Great Eye may have taken a more corporeal form.

1

The Eye of Sauron

The Great Eye that watches over Mordur

Of all the forms of Sauron, it is the Great Eye that most viewers are familiar with due to its iconic presence in The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. For most of Jackson Lord of the Rings movies, Sauron appeared as the great, silent, fiery eye whose gaze could penetrate every inch of the ashen volcanic fields of Mordor and see far beyond their borders. Known as the Eye of Sauron, the form of Sauron sat above Barad-dûr, the stronghold of Mordor, tracking the movements of anyone who crossed the Shadowlands.

Samwise and Frodo had to be especially careful moving through Mordor on their way to Mount Doom because the closer they got to the Eye of Sauron, the more it could sense their presence, and if Frodo ever used the Ring that close to the Dark Lord, he would have sent his Nazgul after them, and in their weakened condition, they would not have survived. Sauron took many forms before the events of The Lord of the Rings, But his final one remains the most iconic.