J.R.R. Tolkien’sThe Lord of the Ringsmay be the world’s most famous fantasy, but it still has some underrated characters. The novel, released in three parts between 1954 and 1955, introduced the world to the famousFellowship of the Ring characters. These rapidly became archetypes of high fantasy leading roles, informing generations of writers for years to come and leading to franchises likeDungeons & Dragons, which are heavily based on Tolkien’s work. And yet, some of the books' most influential characters still don’t get enough attention in the fandom, book clubs, and adaptations.
Some of the Fellowship of the Ring and many of the supporting characters ofLotRdeserve more recognition for being total heroes, or otherwise, some of literature’s best villains.Peter Jackson’sHobbitandLord of the Ringstrilogiesbrought Tolkien’s story to a global audience, where it had only had niche popularity before.The Lord of the Ringswent from a story with a cult following to a worldwide phenomenon, whereby some characters got changed from their book counterparts, and others were glorified beyond their original story. Meanwhile, some underratedLotRcharacters never even made it to the screen.
10Glorfindel
Standout Moments: The Fellowship Of The Ring
Glorfindel is one ofthe best characters inThe Lord of the Rings, but he never made it to the movies. This standout character was a key feature of the first part ofLotR,The Fellowship of the Ring. J.R.R.Tolkien conceived Glorfindel as an Elf heroto rival champions like Aragorn and Legolas, so it was a shame he got left out of Peter Jackson’s movies. Arwen actually ended up taking his place. Peter Jackson wanted audiences to bond with Arwen, as Aragorn’s love interest, so he amplified her role.
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Arwen rescued Frodo at the Ford of Bruinen inThe Lord of the Rings:The Fellowship of the Ringmovie, driving off the Nazgûl. But this role fell to Glorfindel in Tolkien’s book, who was already a bona fide legend, even before the Third Age.Glorfindel died fighting a Balrog in the Sack of Gondolinin the First Age, and was one of the only two Elves to be revived early inThe Lord of the Rings, which was testament to his unique standing as a totally underratedLotRcharacter.
9Ungoliant
Standout Moments: The Silmarillion
Ungoliant is a supervillain inThe Lord of the Rings, representing one of the franchise’s underused and underrated characters.This primordial demonic being spawned Shelob, giving birth to one ofLord of the Rings’most evil female villains. Shelob had a human form in theMiddle-earth: Shadow of Warvideo game, speaking to her powerful and mysterious heritage. Ungoliant and Shelob were far more than just giant spiders. Ungoliant could have been a Maiar or some other kind of ancient creature.
Ungoliant nearly defeated Morgoth in single combat.
She chose the form of a giant spider inThe Silmarillion, indicating that she could have changed forms, which only Maiar were known to be able to do inLord of the Rings.Ungoliant was clearly one of the more powerful Maiar, and there were some “well nigh as great” asthe 15 Valar inThe Lord of the Rings(The Silmarillion). Morgoth couldn’t have destroyed the Two Trees without Ungoliant. After this, Ungoliant nearly defeated Morgoth in single combat, only having to flee as he called the Balrogs to help him.
8Samwise Gamgee
Standout Moments: The Lord Of The Rings
Samwise Gamgee is easily the top heroofThe Lord of the Rings, but Frodo and Aragorn get far more credit. There are manyways Sam was different inThe Lord of the Ringsbooks, but one of them was that he got 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 that picked him up.
Sam was played by Sean Astin inThe Lord of the Ringsmovies.
The Sam of the books may well have been more heroic than the Sam of the movies, but Peter Jackson’sSam definitely ended up communicating the core facets of Tolkien’s characterwell. Even though Sam left Frodo in the movies, Jackson used this to set up a glorious return. Tolkien built Sam up to resemble the bat boys of WWI, reflecting his own experience of men committed to serving one officer at war. Tolkien saw these men as war’s unsung heroes, which is exactly what Sam is inLotR.
7Pippin Took
Standout Moments: The Return Of The King
Pippin Took is one of the most underrated characters inThe Lord of the Rings. His role in the book was diminished for the screen, which made sense, in a way. PeterJackson only had a limited number of hoursfor adapting a huge, sprawling story. To communicate its core themes - what was important - he focused attention on a few heroes, rather than spreading celebration out across various epic characters.
The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy Did An Injustice To Denethor & Pippin With A Major Book Change
The Lord of the Rings movies changed Denethor from his character in the J.R.R. Tolkien book in a way that sold both him and Pippin short.
Pippin was one of the characters that was excellent in the movies but more epic in the book. Pippin, played by Billy Boyd, provided excellent comic relief inThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy. Boyd composed the song he sang to Denethor himself, and this was one ofLotR’smost beautiful, expressive, and tragic scenes, invented wholly by Jackson. However,the Pippin of the books was wiser. His allegiance to Denethor was properly explained, and he seemed like a true hero, rather than a silly Hobbit with a good singing voice.
6Merry Brandybuck
Merry Brandybuck is yet another underrated Hobbit inThe Lord of the Rings. Samwise Gamgee is commonly held as an underrated character, but Merry and Pippin are less so. That is why both of these Hobbits are even more underrated than Sam. Merry, like Pippin, got a sore deal in Peter Jackson’s movies. DominicMonaghan was comedy gold as Merrybut had many more notes in the book.
Merry was not just a knight in the novel, but a wise judge of character.
J.R.R. Tolkien’s Merry was a verifiable knight in shining armor. This was portrayed, to a certain extent, in the movies. On the battlefield with Éowyn inThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,Merry slayed the Witch-kingof Angmar. Merry was not just a knight in the novel, but a wise judge of character. His allegiance to Théoden showed that he could see past rough exteriors and into true nobility, bonding readers with both of them.
5Tom Bombadil
Lord of the Rings’Tom Bombadilis without a doubt one of Tolkien’s best creations.Bombadil was sadly left out ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, despite being one of its key characters. This may have been for the best, since it preserved his mystery, but it did make Bombadil one of the story’s more unknown characters and certainly one of its most underrated.
Tom Bombadil was recently put into Amazon Prime Video’sThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. This show adaptsLord of the Rings’Second Age, so Tom Bombadil’s appearance in season 2 was a surprise.Tom’s original material delighted some fansand confused others, so he remains an underratedLord of the Ringscharacter. He is just as enigmatic as he was in the 1950s, and there is much more left to learn about him for many fans.
4Morgoth
Morgoth isLord of the Rings’original villain, but Sauron gets all the glory. Sauron is widely recognized as literature’s greatest villain, having influenced books and movies since 1954. Sauron is the main character ofThe Rings of Power, cementing his status asLord of the Rings’premiere villain. ButSauron learned everything he knew from Morgoth, who was bad long before Sauron. Tolkien described Morgoth’s fall from grace inThe Silmarillion, whereby he looked for the Flame Imperishable in the Void.
Sauron’s 10 Most Powerful Servants In The Lord Of The Rings
There were powerful and named Sauron followers in LoTR, from Peter Jackson’s movies to J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion.
Possessing this flame grants being the ability to create life inLord of the Rings, but only Middle-earth’s God,the One Eru Ilúvatar, is able to use it. Morgoth was seeking Godhood itself and it foreshadowed further arrogance and tyranny. Morgoth corrupted Sauron and many other Maiar, seeking to control Middle-earth and destroy what he couldn’t control. Butthis villain’s supreme evil is little-knownto many casualLotRfans, making him an underrated character.
3Denethor
Tolkien’s Denethor was an elegant and tragic man, but Jackson’s Denethor was a disgraceful leader. Peter Jackson made Denethor into a masterpiece of a villain, and in this sense, he is valued well. However,the movies definitely undersold Denethorand his many credentials. He was a good man, a good leader, and a kind and tortured soul, despite not being the best of fathers.
This incredible uniqueness and strength is what drew Pippin to Denethor in the book, proving Pippin as a solid connoisseur of humanity, despite never having left the Shire before the quest to destroy the One Ring.Denethor was starkly abusive in the movies, which is what made Faramir so deeply sympathetic. However, this involved distorting both Denethor and Pippin significantly, leaving Denethor’s heroism doomed to obscurity.
2Théoden
Standout Moments: The Two Towers
Théoden may beThe Lord of the Rings’biggest unsung hero. Like Denethor, Pippin, and Merry,Théoden was far more heroic in Tolkien’s novelthan he was in Peter Jackson’s movie trilogies.The Lord of the Ringsmovies defined fantasy for good reason - they truly made each character shine. But in order to emphasize the superiority of Aragorn and Gandalf, the movies had to take it easy on portraying the other characters' best moments.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towersgave some of Théoden’s best lines to Aragorn. This really did help make Aragorn one of cinema’s best heroes. However, it meant thatmoviegoers missed out on a faithful adaptation of one of literature’s greatest heroes. Aragorn was always confident in the book, while he foundered in uncertainty for the first two movies. In the book, it was Théoden who had all this excellent character development, going from a challenged antihero to a true hero.
1Faramir
Faramir is probablyThe Lord of the Rings’most underrated character. Brother to Boromir, this legend missed out on a space in the Fellowship of the Ring, although he was always far more worthy of it than Boromir. Boromir was a hero in his own way too, eventually sacrificing himself to save the Hobbits. ButFaramir, despite being younger than Boromir, was years ahead of his brother, and wise far beyond his years.
Faramir seemed troublesome inThe Lord of the Ringsmovies, even though he eventually redeemed himself. However, in the novel, Faramir was a hero from the start, and recognized as such by Frodo and Sam. He was not warlike, resisting violence and power. He was peaceful and gentle, too kind to have a man like Denethor for a father, who valued more bullish masculinity. For all that, it was his quiet wisdom that made him by far the better leader than either Boromir or Denethor. This underrated character completely deserved his happy ending inThe Lord of the Rings.
The Lord of the Rings
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.
