History Characters / TheSilmarillionEnemies

* StupidEvil: This is one of Morgoth's biggest defects. While he is the greatest being in the entire universe, he is just incapable of thinking and making long-term plans, basically guiding himself by whims and ideas and leaving them in without finishing them because of his haste and malice. This ends up screwing him in the long term because he does not really think of the consequences of his actions (which leaves him extremely depowered and vulnerable). The only reason he manages to last that long is because he is still the most powerful being in Eä, and almost impossible to put down.

* TheSociopath: Morgoth is a classic sociopath defined by great hubris; because he was the best of the Maiar, he felt entitled about being the next in line for creation and took rejection very poorly. As he bore the fruits of all evil on Middle-earth, Morgoth carries with him both high and low-functioning traits of sociopaths; arrogant and boastful about his powers and influence, seeing himself as superior towards others, showing great enjoyment in spreading misery and defilement, showing extreme bloodthirst, unable to accept or take responsibility for his actions and consequences, having poor control over his emotions, and an inability to properly recognize or acknowledge others either as equals or someone worth more than just a pawn.

* AttemptedRape: Of Lúthien. When he heard her song, all his thought turned to dark and lustful thought, but he was knocked out cold before he could get up and act on it.

Melkor (He Who Arises in Might; later named Morgoth, the Black Enemy, by the Elves) is the originator of evil in Tolkien's universe. He is the most powerful of the Ainur. During the "Great Music" that is the creation process, he rebels against Eru by singing his own themes, corrupting many of the lesser Ainur to his side. When he and many other Ainur have entered the world, he tries to claim it for himself, and wars against his fellow Valar (the Powers) in an attempt to wrest it from them. Later, when Elves and Men come on the scene, he attempts to destroy them by using the massive armies of orcs, Balrogs, and dragons that he created. His pursuit of evil causes him to lose most of his original power, and he is eventually banished from the world by the Valar. Sauron was his greatest servant and takes over for his master upon his banishment.

* BerserkButton: Doesn't like being mocked, especially not if it involves reminding him of his previous jail time. Just ask Fëanor and Húrin what happened to their families...although in that first case he did push things too far and accidentally exposed his actual intended goal to Fëanor resulting in Fëanor's famous response of telling him to get off his doorstep, calling him "jail crow of Mandos" and slamming the door to Fornost in his face, effectively dismissing him without so much as a second thought!

* DropTheHammer: Grond, with which he battled Fingolfin. Sauron's followers later named a battering ram after it.

* EvilOverlord: The original Dark Lord of Arda. He has the look down pat, and he declares himself the King of Arda. Instead of merely ruling the world, he wants to unmake the universe completely, out of jealousy of ''God'' for creating it in the first place. This is more evident early on when he destroys the Great Lamps and the Isle of Almaren out of jealous spite before OrcusOnHisThrone set in. Most likely, once he realized that he can't actually destroy the universe([[VillainDecay anymore]]), he decided to simply rule over it.

* TheDreaded: As Sauron's predecessor & former boss, was a daunting and terrifying being whose campaigns left tens of thousands of elves and men dead. Challenging him was considered death for most elves, as King Thingol of Doriath, not wanting a human named Beren to marry his daughter Luthien, stated that the only way for Beren to earn his blessing was to go up to Angband, Morgoth's fortress, and take a Silmaril jewel, which was prized among the Elves. The thing is, he only said this because he hoped the terror brought about by such a challenge would scare Beren away, but the human was so in love with Luthien that he did it anyways. Morgoth was also feared for creating horrific beasts in his experiments, from vicious werewolves to firebreathing dragons. His top lieutenant Sauron feared the punishment for failing him, as he avoided returning to his master after being defeated by Huan the wolfhound whilst attacking Beren & Luthien (and this was when Morgoth was at his ''absolute weakest''). It was said that his orc minions, who were elves mutilated into their current form by means of horrific magical experiments, also loathed him for giving them lives of pain and misery, but they feared his wrath too much to rebel. Even the Valar, higher angels second only to Eru in terms of sheer power, only intervened to stop him when it was the only way to save the elves of Middle-Earth and the surviving Edain from absolute slaughter.

!![[center: [-'''Setting-wide:''' [[Characters/TolkiensLegendariumPeoples People and Races]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsSauron Sauron]]-]]] [[center:[-''Characters/TheSilmarillion:'' [[Characters/TheSilmarillionEruAndTheAinur Eru and the Ainur]], '''Enemies''', [[Characters/TheSilmarillionFirstGenerationElvenRoyalty First-Generation Elven Royalty]], [[Characters/TheSilmarillionHouseOfFeanor the House of Fëanor]], [[Characters/TheSilmarillionHouseOfFingolfin the House of Fingolfin]]-]]] [[center:[-''Characters/TheHobbit''-]]] [[center:[-''Characters/TheLordOfTheRings:'' [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowship The Fellowship of the Ring]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsFreeMen Free Men]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsTheElves the Elves]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsTheForcesOfSauron the Forces of Sauron]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsOtherCharacters Other Characters]]-]]]

* AmbiguousSituation: Whether or not Morgoth has the ability to interfere in the fate of Elves and Men. Generally, this is [[YouCantFightFate impossible in this universe]] as once something is prophesized, it comes to pass. But he cursed Húrin and his entire family to misfortune and it seems to have held up. [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane Although]] it's also indicated that Morgoth took special care to make sure his servants made sure the misfortune was inflicted.

** His own creator, Eru Ilúvatar. They are basically opposites the one of the other, and his hatred against his creator is an essential feature of Morgoth's being.
** His brother Manwë. Manwë is the true Elder King of Arda, and the closest Valar to Ilúvatar, while Morgoth tried to usurp his place. Their enmity comes from before the beginning of the universe when Manwë became the main instrument of Ilúvatar against Melkor's discord. They also stand as opposites.

** Túrin Turambar is destined to be the one who kills Morgoth (this is part of a prophecy of the unfinished tales). Morgoth cursed Túrin and all his family out of spite to their father, Húrin, for defying him.

* AttemptedRape: Of Lúthien. When he heard her song, all his thought turned to dark and lustful thought, but he was knocked out cold before he could get up and act on it.
* BatmanGambit: Morgoth pulls an epic one on Fëanor, arguing that Fingolfin was trying to usurp the throne and the Silmarils from him. Fëanor reacts exactly as Morgoth expected.

* BigBad: For ''The Silmarillion'', and for Eä in general, Morgoth is both the ultimate source of all evil and the originator and mover of most evil activities.

* BerserkButton: Doesn't like being mocked, especially not if it involves reminding him of his previous jail time. Just ask Fëanor and Húrin what happened to their families…although in that first case he did push things too far and accidentally exposed his actual intended goal to Fëanor resulting in Fëanor‘s famous response of telling him to get off his doorstep, calling him “jail crow of Mandos” and slamming the door to Fornost in his face, effectively dismissing him without so much as a second thought!
* BlatantLies: Claims to Húrin that he created Arda. [[ThatLiarLies Húrin doesn't believe him for a second.]]

* CreativeSterility: Despite his best efforts to create life, he cannot make, but only corrupt and mock Eru's creations. Orcs are a hollow imitation of Elves and Men, Trolls the same for Ents, and so on. The closest he comes to actual creation is the dragons, which are probably best described as imitations of the eagles of Manwë.
* CruelMercy: He used to effect this on many of his prisoners, sending them back to indirectly serve him as spies or to seed discord. He pulled this on Húrin, hoping he would carry the curse put upon him to the remaining free lands of Beleriand (which he effectively did). It also helped to plant the seeds of his own downfall. Also pulled this on the survivors on the Mouth of Sirion (this ended up directly contributing to his downfall).
* DarkIsEvil: He ''is'' the one who brought darkness into Middle-earth, after all.

* DestroyerDeity: Morgoth is unable to create, only corrupt and destroy. If the prophecy of Dagor Dagorath is to be believed, Morgoth will succeed in finally destroying the universe of Eä, starting with the Sun and Moon.

* DrivenByEnvy: He's motivated by jealousy of Eru's ability to create life which is ultimately extended to include Eru’s children the Elves and Men.

* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: The prophet Mandos spoke of Morgoth returning during the ''Dagor Dagorath'', or "Final Battle". The prophecy states Morgoth will free himself, regain his full power, resurrect all of his servants, and will destroy Eä, the Sun, and the Moon, but will finally be slain for the last time (by Túrin, of all people), after which Eru will recreate the universe in a pure form. According to Christopher Tolkien, his father never planned to expand on this concept but allusions to it, or at least something similar, are all over the Legendarium.

* EvilIsPetty: Once he was great, but over time became more and more like this. Morgoth became more and more focused on ruining the lives of Elves and Men and ruling over them as a tyrant. He made sure to thwart Túrin in even the most minor matters after putting a curse on him. As the page says, "He's not just evil on a large scale; he's evil on ''all'' the tiny little details of everyday life he might experience in any possible situation."
** Even his overall motivation is this. Despite his power and scale, and for all his might, abilities, and intelligence, Morgoth's actions are less those of an almost omnipotent god, and more those of an angry son lashing out against his father because he could not have what he wanted. The problem is that this "[[PsychopathicManchild child]]" is the most powerful being in Eä, by far, and his final objective is ruling the world (or if not, destroying the universe while ruining everyone's life out of spite and hatred, and marring all that he can put his hands on).

* FallenAngel: Melkor was one of the Valar which are the Middle-earth equivalent to archangels, and rebelled against the equivalent to God in the franchise, Eru Ilúvatar, so he's technically this.

* {{Foil}}: To both Manwë and Aulë. But to many other characters too;
** Manwë and Melkor were originally equal in the thought of Ilúvatar, and since Melkor had part of all the powers and knowledge of all the Valar, it’s possible that he was Ilúvatar’s original choice for the Elder King’s throne.
** Aulë is essentially a good version of Melkor in many ways (both enjoy imagining things that no one has thought of before, turning those ideas into created reality, and being praised by others for their creativity), to the point that Melkor is jealous of Aulë and makes a point of messing up his creations. It’s notable that Aulë is the only one of the faithful Valar who was scolded by Ilúvatar (for creating the Dwarves), and Aulë’s two most noteworthy Maiar were Mairon (Sauron) and Curumo (Saruman), both of whom [[FaceHeelTurn went bad]].
* AGodAmI: With power far greater than any of the other Ainur, his corruption began when he felt more powerful than Eru and more capable of creating the world. Eru's public scolding of him and the creation of Eä only served to intensify Melkor's malice and jealousy, and though Eru is [[InvincibleHero unkillable]] and by {{Word of God}} not even Melkor could truly harm him, this factor only pissed Melkor off further. By the time he achieved dominion over Middle-earth, Melkor began to proclaim himself as the true God of Arda and its creator, his cult lasting long after his eternal imprisonment.

* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Morgoth goes from the most powerful of all the Valar, second only to Ilúvatar, to a sniveling coward begging for mercy who gets beaten up and dragged back to Valinor by Eönwë, a mere Maia.

* MadeOfEvil: [[InvertedTrope Inverted.]] Evil is made of ''him''! All that is evil in the universe of Eä, save perhaps Ungoliant and her spawn, is due to Melkor causing discord in the song of the Ainur and him disseminating his essence into the world.

* MaliciousMisnaming: "Morgoth" was a name given to him by Fëanor after he destroyed the Two Trees and stole the Silmarils. He himself continues to call himself Melkor, but Elves and Men generally use Morgoth or Bauglir.
* ManipulativeBastard: While Morgoth is widely remembered as being rather shortsighted, especially in comparison to Sauron, his successful turning of the Noldor against the Valar and the other Elves is especially impressive. He started out by giving the Noldor advice that was genuine, and then by revealing the coming of Men, along with arguing that the Valar were trying to imprison the Noldor. His masterstroke is turning Fëanor against Fingolfin which results in Fëanor and the Silmarils being isolated and the oath Fëanor swears plays a major role in allowing Morgoth to almost win.

* MomentOfLucidity: In the round world version, he has one when he meets with Manwë in Utumno, and sees how much power he has lost and how far he has fallen. In that small moment, he genuinely considers repenting, but sadly does not go through it.

* TheOnlyWayTheyWillLearn: Despite outright warring against Eru and all of his creations, Eru himself makes it clear to Morgoth that all of his actions, and his very existence, occur because Eru allows it. Morgoth inadvertently becomes a "message", a lesson to those of the consequences and price of evil and hatred. This doesn't mean Morgoth doesn't leave a terrible impact on the Valar and Eä alike, but Eru was always ultimately in control, and even Morgoth served as an instrument for him.

* PlayingWithFire: Both this ''and'' AnIcePerson. While most of the Valar have various elemental attributes such as Manwë's affinity with the air and Ulmo's with the sea, Melkor's power rests in the unrestrained extremes of heat and cold. Which explains why Thangorodrim was both GrimUpNorth and a VolcanoLair.

* PsychopathicManchild: Type C. Despite his power and scale, and for all his might, abilities, and intelligence, Morgoth's actions are less those of an almost omnipotent god, and more those of an angry son lashing out against his father because he could not have what he wanted. The problem is that this "child" is the most powerful being in Eä, by far, and his final objective is ruling the world (or if not, destroying the universe while ruining everyone's life out of spite and hatred, and marring all that he can put his hands on).

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: What he does to the Maia of the Sun, Arien, in ''Morgoth's Ring''. He wanted her for a wife and didn't want to take no for an answer, and it was because of this assault that Arien ended up leaving Arda, never to return. In ''Beren and Lúthien'', he tries to do this to the beautiful elven maiden Lúthien, considered to be the vilest thought he could ever have imagined (she is luckily able to lull him to sleep with her singing).

* SatanicArchetype: Along with God/Eru, this is the closest JRRT comes to identifying one of his characters with a biblical figure, though it's still not explicit in most texts.
* SealedEvilInACan: The Valar kept him imprisoned in the Halls of Mandos for a long time, but later released him. His unsealing was actually intentional, as it was promised to him by Manwë, who cannot go back on his word.

* StrategyVersusTactics: The Tactician to Sauron's Strategist. While Morgoth is very good in the short term, he is genuinely incapable of following long-term plans and objectives (besides his great goal of creating life and destroying Eä). Meanwhile, Sauron is capable of making thousand-year-long plans and has the patience and intelligence to pull them off almost without a hitch. Indeed, he's generally only beaten by unforeseen or unexpected events. It's notable that of the two, Sauron is the one who required Eru's direct intervention (explicit with the sinking of Numenor and bending of the Earth, implicit with the alteration of the Ring's path to find Bilbo).
* StupidEvil: This is one of Morgoth's biggest defects. While he is the greatest being in the entire universe, he is just incapable of thinking and making long-term plans, basically guiding himself by whims and ideas and leaving them in without finishing them because of his haste and malice. This ends up screwing him in the long term because he does not really think of the consequences of his actions (which leaves him extremely depowered and vulnerable). The only reason he manages to last that long is because he is still the most powerful being in Eä, and almost impossible to put down.

* UnreliableNarrator: In-universe. Húrin would be ForcedToWatch the fates of his children to play out the same way that Morgoth would be seeing them, warped and twisted as to fit Morgoth's point of view.

A powerful Maia, formerly of Aulë, corrupted to Morgoth's service. He was Morgoth's right-hand man. Ruled Tol-in-Gaurhoth in Morgoth's name, where he caused the death of Finrod Felagund before being driven off by Lúthien. Took over his master's position as the pre-eminent force of evil following his defeat. Sauron is the direct cause of the fall of Númenor, whose king and people he corrupted with promises of {{immortality}}. He is most well-known as the BigBad of ''The Lord of the Rings'' -- for all tropes relating to Sauron, see [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsSauron his character sheet]].

* HeroKiller: Gothmog killed Fëanor and Fingon, and later killed and was killed by Ecthelion in the sack of Gondolin.

Called the Father of Dragons, Glaurung was one of the greatest of Morgoth's servants in addition to being the first and progenitor of the great worms. He took over as Morgoth's NumberTwo after Lúthien put Sauron out of commission. He fought at the Dagor Bragollach and the Nírnaeth Arnoediad, and commanded the force that sacked Nargothrond. He was also the primary enforcer of the curse of the House of Húrin, which he executed with tremendous skill and cruelty, only for this to result in his end when Túrin son of Húrin killed him.

* ArcVillain: He is the main antagonist of most of the ''Children of Húrin'' arc of ''The Silmarillion''.

* {{Archenemy}}: Of Túrin, whose life he went out of his way to ruin on orders from Melkor. Túrin returned Glaurung's loathing and dedicated much of his life to ridding the world of the Great Worm.

* BreathWeapon: He was an ''Urulókë'', which literally means "fire-serpent", and was thus among the Dragons capable of breathing fire.

* TheChessmaster: Possibly. While he was the enforcer of the curse of the House of Húrin, it's unclear how much of this was his own machinations and how much was him following Morgoth's orders. He goes his way out to inflict psychological torture in which he delights, so he definitely had personal input.

* TheHeavy: Melkor's in back of him, but it's Glaurung who drives the plot of ''The Children of Húrin''.

* ManipulativeBastard: The way he screws with Túrin is horrifically brilliant. Playing off the latter's pride, he manipulates him into [[spoiler:abandoning Finduilas, wasting time running off to Hithlum, and marrying his sister.]]

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: For one thing, he's a wingless ''Urulókë'' rather than a winged dragon, therefore resembling those from Norse mythology. For another, he's a ManipulativeBastard in the same vein as Sauron, who enforces a curse with skill and panache; for a third, he was the first Dragon ever created and the progenitor of all of Arda's future Drake's and serpents.

The largest of all winged dragons, Ancalagon was unleashed during the final storming of Angband and was killed by Eärendil after a battle that lasted all night.

* BackFromTheDead: He will be resurrected in the Last Battle, where Túrin will slay him before taking down his master Morgoth.

* DragonWithAnAgenda: Initially, she served [[BigBad Melkor]] after the creation of Eä, but attempted to abandon his service at some point prior to his capture by the Valar in order to become "mistress of her own lust." She ends up working with him again during the Darkening of Valinor, but the motives for her actions still differ from those of her master to the point where she even becomes TheStarscream, and turns on him later on when he refuses to give her the Silmarils.

* KarmaHoudini: Despite poisoning the Two Trees, contributing as much harm as Melkor himself during the Darkening of Valinor, and becoming quite possibly one of the most powerful villains in the entire Tolkien legendarium by the time she last appears in the story, she never receives her comeuppance by the Noldor nor the Valar for her evil deeds, nor by Melkor for her treachery. The final text states that some believe she ended devouring herself due to her uncontrolled hunger, but if that was her final fate, it hardly counts as retribution for all her victims. It's also worth noting that [[Literature/TheHistoryOfMiddleEarth she was originally meant]] to be killed by Eärendil in the South as part of his voyage into the West, but Tolkien never finished that part of the story.

** Just as Morgoth's evil corrupted Eä, he may have also unwittingly corrupted the Void that exists outside the Timeless Halls, thus Ungoliant and her Unlight are of the void itself and even the Valar [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm have trouble standing against her]].

The ruler and father of werewolves. He is sent by Sauron after Lúthien but killed by Huan.

* TheGhost: As said, never appears onscreen. All we know about her is contained in an offhand mention about Lúthien taking her shape after ruining Tol-in-Gaurhoth. We don't even know if she is alive or dead at that moment, or where she is in the former case.

* MuggedForDisguise: Lúthien wears her form to travel through Morgoth's lands.

* PosthumousCharacter: Her status during the time of the story is never revealed, but the most popular speculations are that she was killed or slain before or during the events, possibly in Tol-in-Gaurhoth before Lúthien impersonated her. Lúthien and Beren certainly act as if there was no risk the real Thuringwethil could be in Angband by chance and crash their mission.

* AngryGuardDog: He was the guardian of the gates of Angband. Lúthien was able to enchant him to allow her and Beren to get in. Pity he woke up when they came out…

* BadassBoast: Several, particularly his curse upon Hurin.

* ItsAllAboutMe: His StartOfDarkness. When Eru initiates the "Great Music" to form the universe, everyone was meant to be a player, to contribute and make creation, glorious. Melkor had other ideas and wanted to exert his power over the Ainur. Some bent to his will, others were dismayed and fell silent from the discord he deliberately had woven. Eru was NOT impressed and admonished Melkor on the path [[LookOnMyWorksYeMightyAndDespair he was taking]]. Pride further wounded the angelic being desired to steal the 'power to create' from Eru, but failed, and could only corrupt and twist what the deity alone could make.

* TheDreaded: As Sauron's predecessor & former boss, Morgoth was a daunting and terrifying entity whose campaigns left tens of thousands of elves and men dead. Challenging him was considered death for most elves, as King Thingol of Doriath, not wanting a human named Beren to marry his daughter Luthien, stated that the only way for Beren to earn his blessing was to go up to Angband, Morgoth's fortress, and take a Silmaril jewel, which was prized among the Elves. The thing is, he only said this because he hoped the terror brought about by such a challenge would scare Beren away, but the human was so in love with Luthien that he did it anyways. Morgoth was also feared for creating horrific beasts in his experiments, from vicious werewolves to firebreathing dragons. His top lieutenant, Sauron, feared the punishment for failure, as he avoided returning to his master after being defeated by Huan the wolfhound whilst attacking Beren & Luthien (and this was when Morgoth was at his ''absolute weakest''). It was said that his orc minions also loathed him, but they feared his wrath too much to rebel. Even the Valar, higher angels second only to [[{{God}} Eru]] in terms of sheer power, only intervened to stop him when it was the only way to save the elves of Middle-Earth and the surviving Edain from absolute slaughter.

* NobodyCallsMeChicken: How Fingolfin suckers him into a duel. Interestingly, he's not angry being called a coward; he just knows that if an uppity little elf walks to his front door, calls him a wuss in front of everyone, and gets away with it, his evil minions will never respect or fear him again.

* TheCorrupter: To all his minions, most of whom started off as well-meaning and benevolent creatures but, like him, became eviler as their vices got the better of them. There is even a line about how he used his influence from Utumno to corrupt regular flora and fauna, making out "monsters of horn and ivory" of them. The rest are either AlwaysChaoticEvil or a result of BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil. Later, he subverted the Noldor in Valinor with cunning deception, lies, and rumors until they rebelled against the Valar. He also corrupted Men shortly after their awakening, which was disastrous because Men were supposed to fix the Marring of Arda.

* BerserkButton: Doesn't like being mocked, especially not if it involves reminding him of his previous jail time. Just ask Fëanor and Húrin what happened to their families…

* TheDreaded: As Sauron's predecessor & former boss, Morgoth was a daunting and terrifying entity whose campaigns left tens of thousands of elves and men dead. Challenging him was considered death for most elves, as King Thingol of Doriath, not wanting a human named Beren to marry his daughter Luthien, stated that the only way for Beren to earn his blessing was to go up to Angband, Morgoth's fortress, and take a Silmaril jewel, which was prized among the Elves. The thing is, he only said this because he hoped the terror brought about by such a challenge would scare Beren away, but the human was so in love with Luthien that he did it anyways. Morgoth was also feared for creating horrific beasts in his experiments, from vicious werewolves to firebreathing dragons. His top lieutenant, Sauron, feared the punishment for failure, as he avoided returning to his master after being defeated by Huan the wolfhound whilst attacking Beren & Luthien (and this was when Morgoth was at his ''absolute weakest''). It was said that his orc minions also loathed him, but they feared his wrath too much to rebel. Even the Valar, higher angels second only to [[{{God}} Eru]] in terms of sheer power, only intervened to stop him when it was the only way to save the elves of Middle-Earth from absolute slaughter.
* DrivenByEnvy: He's motivated by jealousy of Eru's ability to create life.

* EvilCripple: Walks with a limp due to a serious injury sustained in his duel with Fingolfin.

* EvilGenius: Not as much as Sauron who is clearly the brains of the operation but still a brilliant manipulator and trickster.

* TheCorrupter: To all his minions, most of whom started off as well-meaning and benevolent creatures but, like him, became eviler as their vices got the better of them. The rest are either AlwaysChaoticEvil or a result of BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil. Later, he subverted the Noldor in Valinor with cunning deception, lies, and rumors until they rebelled against the Valar. He also corrupted Men shortly after their awakening, which was disastrous because Men were supposed to fix the Marring of Arda.

* AchillesHeel: His own corruptive power. Mightier than everything else in existence combined, save for Eru himself, Melkor's strength was unmatchable, but as he used this power to corrupt and influence the physical world, he rapidly weakened to the point where even mortals could potentially harm him. By the end of the First Age, he was a shadow of his former self, reduced to a being that was more or less a mighty but fallible and fearful sorcerer.

* TheOmnipotent: Downplayed. Morgoth was powerful - very, ''very'' powerful. According to Tolkien, at the beginning of creation Melkor was mightier than all other beings (besides Eru) ''combined'', forming the greatest part of Eru's mind given form. After he ''singlehandedly'' smacked down every other Valar and forced them to retreat from the world, they had to leave him alone for ages, as fighting him was seen as tantamount to suicide. Those who could face him only did so long after he'd dispersed his power into the physical world - see AchillesHeel above. Even after becoming weakened, he could still warp the physical world around him, and the essence of his will persisted throughout existence forever after he was banished from it.

* AttemptedRape: Of Lúthien.

* EvilOverlord: The original Dark Lord of Arda. He has the look down pat, and he declares himself the King of Arda. Instead of merely ruling the world, he wants to unmake the universe completely, out of jealousy of ''God'' for creating it in the first place. This is more evident early on when he destroys the Great Lamps and the Isle of Almaren out of jealous spite before OrcusOnHisThrone set in.

* TheOmnipotent: Morgoth was powerful - very, ''very'' powerful. According to Tolkien, at the beginning of creation Melkor was mightier than all other beings (besides Eru) ''combined'', forming the greatest part of Eru's mind given form. After he ''singlehandedly'' smacked down every other Valar and forced them to retreat from the world, they had to leave him alone for ages, as fighting him was seen as tantamount to suicide. Those who could face him only did so long after he'd dispersed his power into the physical world - see AchillesHeel above. Even after becoming weakened, he could still warp the physical world around him, and the essence of his will persisted throughout existence forever after he was banished from it.

* ThePowerOfHate: Since he can't create, Morgoth's only ultimate goal is to wipe out everything in creation. This hatred lets him suffuse his will into the entirety of Arda.

* WoundThatWillNotHeal: There are multiple injuries he sustains and never recovers from: the burns on his hands from the Silmarils, the seven wounds he sustained in his duel with Fingolfin, and the scratches inflicted on his face by the great eagle Thorondor.

* TheDreaded: As Sauron's predecessor & former boss, Morgoth was a daunting and terrifying entity whose campaigns left tens of thousands of elves and men dead. Challenging him was considered death for most elves, as King Thingol of Doriath, not wanting a human named Beren to marry his daughter Luthien, stated that the only way for Beren to earn his blessing was to go up to Angband, Morgoth's fortress, and take a Silmaril jewel, which was prized among the Elves. The thing is, he only said this because he hoped the terror brought about by such a challenge would scare Beren away, but the human was so in love with Luthien that he did it anyways. Morgoth was also feared for creating horrific beasts in his experiments, from vicious werewolves to firebreathing dragons. His top lieutenant, Sauron, feared the punishment for failure, as he avoided returning to his master after being defeated by Huan the wolfhound whilst attacking Beren & Luthien (and this was when Morgoth was at his ''absolute weakest''). Even the Valar, higher angels second only to [[{{God}} Eru]] in terms of sheer power, only intervened to stop him when it was the only way to save the elves of Middle-Earth from absolute slaughter.

* TheDreaded: As Sauron's predecessor & former boss, Morgoth was a daunting and terrifying entity whose campaigns left tens of thousands of elves and men dead. Challenging him was considered death for most elves, as [[OverprotectiveDad King Thingol of Doriath]], not wanting a human named Beren to marry his daughter Luthien, stated that the only way for Beren to earn his blessing was to go up to Angband, Morgoth's fortress, and take a Silmaril jewel, which was prized among the Elves. The thing is, he only said this because he hoped the terror brought about by such a challenge would scare Beren away, but the human was so in love with Luthien that he did it anyways. Morgoth was also feared for creating horrific beasts in his experiments, from vicious werewolves to firebreathing dragons. His top lieutenant, Sauron, feared the punishment for failure, as he avoided returning to his master after being defeated by Huan the wolfhound whilst attacking Beren & Luthien (and this was when Morgoth was at his ''absolute weakest''). Even the Valar, higher angels second only to [[{{God}} Eru]] in terms of sheer power, only intervened to stop him when it was the only way to save the elves of Middle-Earth from absolute slaughter.

* DualWielding: Both an axe and a {{whip|ItGood}}.

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: What he does to the Maia of the Sun, Arien, in ''Morgoth's Ring''. He wanted her for a wife and didn't want to take no for an answer, and it was because of this assault that Arien ended up leaving Arda, never to return. In ''Beren and Luthien'', he tries to do this to the beautiful elven maiden Luthien, considered to be the vilest thought he could ever have imagined (she is luckily able to lull him to sleep with her singing).

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: What he does to the Maia of the Sun, Arien, in ''Morgoth's Ring''. He wanted her for a wife and didn't want to take no for an answer, and it was because of this assault that Arien ended up leaving Arda, never to return.

* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: The prophet Mandos spoke of Morgoth returning during the ''Dagor Dagorath'', or "Final Battle". The prophecy states Morgoth will free himself, regain his full power, resurrect all of his servants, and will destroy Eä, the Sun, and the Moon, but will finally be slain for the last time (by Túrin, of all people), after which Eru will recreate the universe in a pure form. According to Christopher Tolkien, his father never planned to expand on this concept.

* TheDreaded: As Sauron's predecessor & former boss, Morgoth was a daunting and terrifying entity whose campaigns left tens of thousands of elves and men dead. Challenging him was considered death for most elves, as [[OverprotectiveDad King Thingol of Doriath]], not wanting a human named Beren to marry his daughter Luthien, stated that the only way for Beren to earn his blessing was to go up to Angband, Morgoth's fortress, and take a Silmaril jewel, which was prized among the Elves. The thing is, he only said this because he hoped the terror brought about by such a challenge would scare Beren away, but the human was so in love with Luthien that he did it anyways. Morgoth was also feared for creating horrific beasts in his experiments, from vicious werewolves to firebreathing dragons. Even his top lieutenant Sauron feared his wrath, as he avoided returning to his master after being defeated by Huan the wolfhound whilst attacking Beren & Luthien (and this was when Morgoth was at his ''absolute weakest''). Even the Valar, higher angels second only to [[{{God}} Eru]] in terms of sheer power, only intervened to stop him when it was the only way to save the elves of Middle-Earth from absolute slaughter.

* TheDreaded: As Sauron's predecessor & former boss, Morgoth was a daunting and terrifying entity whose campaigns left tens of thousands of elves and men dead. Challenging him was considered death for most elves, as [[OverprotectiveDad King Thingol of Doriath]], not wanting a human named Beren to marry his daughter Luthien, stated that the only way for Beren to earn his blessing was to go up to Angband, Morgoth's fortress, and take a Silmaril jewel, which was prized among the Elves. The thing is, he only said this because he hoped the terror brought about by such a challenge would scare Beren away, but the human was so in love with Luthien that he did it anyways. Morgoth was also feared for creating horrific beasts in his experiments, from vicious werewolves to firebreathing dragons. Even his top lieutenant Sauron feared his wrath, as he avoided returning to his master after being defeated by Huan the wolfhound whilst attacking Beren & Luthien (and this was when Morgoth was at his ''absolute weakest''). Even the Valar, higher angels second only to [[Main/God Eru]] in terms of sheer power, only intervened to stop him when it was the only way to save the elves of Middle-Earth from absolute slaughter.

* TheDreaded: ** As Sauron's predecessor & former boss, Morgoth was a daunting and terrifying being whose campaigns left tens of thousands of elves and men dead. Challenging him was considered death for most elves, as [[OverprotectiveDad King Thingol of Doriath]], not wanting a human named Beren to marry his daughter Luthien, stated that the only way for Beren to earn his blessing was to go up to Angband, Morgoth's fortress, and take a Silmaril jewel, which was prized among the Elves. The thing is, he only said this because he hoped the terror brought about by such a challenge would scare Beren away, but the human was so in love with Luthien that he did it anyways. Morgoth was also feared for creating horrific beasts in his experiments, from vicious werewolves to firebreathing dragons. Even his top lieutenant Sauron feared his wrath, as he avoided returning to his master after being defeated by Huan the wolfhound whilst attacking Beren & Luthien (and this was when Morgoth was at his ''absolute weakest''). Even the Valar, higher angels second only to [[God Eru]] in terms of sheer power, only intervened to stop him when it was the only way to save the elves of Middle-Earth from absolute slaughter.