Line #40 Monster/TolkiensLegendarium


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2	%% NOTE: Due to the controversial nature of this trope, any changes (additions, removals, edits) should be discussed [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16706336400A42573900 here]] or [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16738556630A78599000 here]].
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4	%% NOTE 2: A Complete Monster is an individual character, not a collective. Therefore a faction cannot be listed as one. A faction can attract Complete Monsters and can have them among its members, but cannot be one in and of itself.
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6	%% Please avoid natter on the article. If an entry doesn't fit, take it to the forum to discuss why, not here.
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9	[[quoteright:350:[[Film/TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sketch_1609967415521.jpg]]]]
10	[[caption-width-right:350:"Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs led by the most vile of their race…Azog the Defiler. The giant Gundabad orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began…by beheading the king."]]
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12	->''"Yet it is held true by the wise of Eressëa, that all those of the Quendi who came into the hands of Melkor, ere Utumno was broken, were put there in prison, and by slow arts of cruelty were corrupted and enslaved; and thus did Melkor breed the hideous race of the Orcs in envy and mockery of the Elves, of whom they were afterwards the bitterest foes. For the Orcs had life and multiplied after the manner of the Children of Ilúvatar; and naught that had life of its own, nor the semblance of life, could ever Melkor make since his rebellion in the Ainulindalë before the Beginning: so say the wise. And deep in their dark hearts the Orcs loathed the Master whom they served in fear, the maker only of their misery. This it may be was the vilest deed of Melkor, and the most hateful to Ilúvatar."''
13	-->-- A description of how '''Melkor''' created the Orcs, ''Literature/TheSilmarillion''
14
15	[[Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium The works]] of Creator/JRRTolkien set in the world of Arda/Middle-earth are the TropeMaker for the HighFantasy genre. It's only fitting then that his battle between good and evil contains some [[CompleteMonster particularly vile foes]].
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17	Entries for each group are by approximate release/publication date.
18
19	![[Administrivia/SpoilersOff All spoilers are unmarked]]. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!
20	----
21	[[foldercontrol]]
22
23	!!Literature
24
25	[[AC:''Literature/TheSilmarillion'']]
26	[[folder:Examples]]
27	* [[SorcerousOverlord Melkor]], later known as [[GodOfEvil Morgoth Bauglir]], began life as one of the Valar, but his spite and arrogance precipitated his steady downfall into evil. Beginning by destroying the great lamps of Valinor and creating the pits of Utumno, Morgoth takes as many races as he can and personally enacts [[ColdBloodedTorture hideous, unspeakable tortures]] upon them until all that remains are grotesque perversions that he can use as his servants. Following his first defeat, Morgoth repays mercy with treachery by destroying the world trees, killing the King of the Ñoldor Elves, and stealing their treasures--leading to the deaths of thousands of Elves when they pursue him--before setting up his base of operations in Middle-earth. He delights in [[TheCorrupter corrupting Men into darkness]], manufacturing and playing off corruption in their hearts to set them against each other and their allies. His "crowning achievement" is tricking and beguiling the first Men into swearing an oath of eternal fealty to him, meant to enslave the race forever in body and spirit; mortality is considered a gift for Men, as normally souls of Men leave Arda and Morgoth's grasp. Morgoth launches brutal campaigns of slavery and genocide, including the destruction of Gondolin, the most beautiful and proud Elven city, whose citizens are saved solely by the heroism of the city's warriors. He also [[AttemptedRape tries to rape]] the Elven princess Lúthien out of nothing more than cruel lust. At one point, he condemns a man to horrible torture and then enacts a curse to see his children grow, suffer horribly, and be rejected by both life and death, solely because the man dared to defy him.
28	* [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsSauron Sauron]], Morgoth's DragonWithAnAgenda, is a demonstration of how [[FaceHeelTurn those who were once noble can fall to great evil]]. Sauron was once a noble Maia who was swayed to Morgoth's side. Over time, Sauron's noble intentions for the world were replaced with vanity and lust for power. In the First Age, Sauron convinced a man to betray his comrades, showing him a vision of his beloved wife. Once the man did what Sauron asked, Sauron revealed she was already dead and had his hapless pawn tortured to death as [[ExactWords he had promised to reunite them]]. Upon capturing the hero Literature/{{Beren\|AndLuthien}} and his companions, Sauron placed them in his dungeons where he allowed his werewolves to slowly pick the group off, one by one, to torment the survivors. After the defeat of his master, Sauron fled to Númenor, assuming the fair form of Annatar, the Bringer of Gifts, and seduced Númenor towards darkness and evil until it was a Morgoth-worshipping theocracy that practiced HumanSacrifice. This was an act so unholy that Eru Ilúvatar, the equivalent of {{God}}, stepped in to destroy Númenor. Even then, Sauron was not done, and tricked the other races with the [[RingOfPower Rings of Power]], forging his [[ArtifactOfDoom One Ring]] to enslave all that lived. In the Third Age, he embarked on a genocidal war for conquest, seeking only to feed his lust for domination and megalomania.
29	* [[ManipulativeBastard Glaurung]], [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Father of Dragons]], is one of Morgoth's prize commanders who slaughter and burn entire regions while battling the Ñoldor. After devastating the Ñoldor host, Glaurung leads the utter slaughter of the realm of Nargothrond, meeting Túrin Turambar for the first time and manipulating him so he may have the Elven princess Finduilas murdered to hurt the son of Húrin more. Later erasing the memories of Túrin's sister Niënor, Glaurung [[Literature/TheChildrenOfHurin manipulates the situation]] so the two [[SurpriseIncest fall in love and marry]], using his dying moments to spitefully taunt Niënor about carrying her own brother's child thanks to his cruel machinations.
30	* [[ImmortalityImmorality Ar-Pharazôn the Golden]] was the final King of Númenor. Forcibly marrying and [[VillainousIncest raping his own cousin]] even before he fell under the sway of Sauron, Ar-Pharazôn became [[TheCaligula a monstrous tyrant]] in his alliance with the fallen Maia. Conducting HumanSacrifice in huge numbers to Morgoth, Ar-Pharazôn committed unspeakable atrocities on human kingdoms so terrible that even in the Third Age their descendants willingly sign with Sauron to revenge themselves upon Númenor's descendants, eventually attempting to invade Valinor to massacre the Elves there and declare himself the ultimate ruler above even [[{{God}} Eru Ilúvatar]].
31	[[/folder]]
32
33	[[AC:Others]]
34	* ''Literature/TheTwoTowers'': [[AnimalisticAbomination Shelob]] is "an evil thing in [[GiantSpider spider-form]]" and the last child of Ungoliant. A self-serving [[VillainousGlutton glutton]] whose only concern is to feast on as much life as possible, Shelob has haunted Cirith Ungol for thousands of years, targeting Elves, Men, Orcs and anyone else who comes near her lair; her capacity for death lead her to become [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsTheForcesOfSauron Sauron's unofficial executioner]], regularly given Sauron's prisoners to "play with" then consume at her leisure. Shelob injects a paralyzing venom into her victims, then strings them up for sometimes days to stew in their fear before she drinks their blood and rends them with her claws. The progenitor of other giant spiders that terrorize Middle-Earth, like the ones in Mirkwood, Shelob makes a habit of [[VillainousIncest breeding with her offspring]], then [[OffingTheOffspring killing and eating them]] just as she would any other prey. Shelob's only desire is the consumption of all living beings in Middle-Earth, and she is one of the most evil entities that Frodo and Sam confront on their quest.
35	* ''[[Literature/TheHistoryOfMiddleEarth The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two]]'''s "[[http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/The_Fall_of_Gondolin_(chapter) The Fall of Gondolin]]": [[TheQuisling Meglin]], the original iteration of [[Literature/TheFallOfGondolin Maeglin]], lacks his [[Literature/TheSilmarillion future counterpart]]'s redeeming features to instead be a selfish, cowardly brute. A [[OurGnomesAreWeirder Gnome]] who pines after his own royal cousin Idril as much for lust as for the power she has, Meglin harbors vile thoughts of taking Idril as his own and [[MurderTheHypotenuse murdering her lover Tuor]]. Meglin turns the tables on his captors when he is taken by the evil Melko's forces, becoming a spy for Melko and serving the entire city of Gondolin to his army on a platter to be utterly decimated and its population wiped out, all in exchange for Idril and a position in Melko's empire. To bring in his victory as Gondolin burns around him thanks to his machinations, Meglin tries to [[ForcedToWatch force Idril to watch]] as he burns her young son alive, planning to then [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil force himself on her]] to consummate his lifelong desire to have Idril as his wife.
36
37	!!Animated Works & Associated Comics
38	[[folder:Examples]]
39	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLordOfTheRings''
40	** Creator/RalphBakshi's film: [[EvilSorcerer Saruman]]/[[InconsistentSpelling Aruman]] the White joins [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsTheForcesOfSauron forces]] with [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsSauron Sauron]] in order to rule Middle-earth as "Saruman of Many Colors". Imprisoning Gandalf on Orthanc, Saruman later sends his forces after the Fellowship to kidnap Frodo, resulting in Boromir's death. With his servant Gríma Wormtongue caught and exiled from Rohan, Saruman sends his forces to Helm's Deep to [[RapePillageAndBurn destroy the entirety of Rohan]], while proclaiming that the rest of Middle-earth is to follow.
41	** [[ComicBook/TheLordOfTheRings Comic book]]: [[TheHeavy Saruman]] forsakes [[FallenHero his previous heroism]] for [[IFightForTheStrongestSide cowardly villainy]] when he believes [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsSauron Sauron]] cannot be defeated. Attempting to imprison Gandalf to ensure Man's defeat, Saruman sends Ringwraiths after the Fellowship to capture Frodo Baggins and deliver the Ring to Sauron, causing Boromir's death. After his spy Grima Wormtongue is outed, Saruman leads the Orcs across Middle-earth, killing and destroying everything in their way to Rohan. Saruman intends for the complete destruction of Rohan to [[RapePillageAndBurn begin a crusade of destruction]] across the planet, willing to destroy everything just to ensure his own survival.
42	* Creator/RankinBassProductions:
43	** ''WesternAnimation/TheHobbit'': [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Smaug]] is a mighty dragon defined by {{greed}} and savagery. Ages ago, after immolating the entire civilizations of Dale and Erebor to claim their treasures, Smaug laid in wait until someone dared to trespass on his hoarded gold. Smaug, enraged by Bilbo's presence, vows to destroy the nearby city of Laketown and all its inhabitants [[MakeAnExampleOfThem as an example]] of what happens to those who dare to oppose him.
44	** ''WesternAnimation/TheReturnOfTheKing'': [[TheHeavy The Lord of the Nazgûl]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsSauron Sauron]]'s right-hand, is a supernatural phantom leading Sauron's armies on the field to overrun Middle-earth. Overseeing the attempted slaughter of countless innocents, the Nazgûl Lord personally leads the charge to Minas Tirith and the collapse of the gates to have everyone within killed, before personally confronting Gandalf and [[TheKingslayer causing the death of King Théoden]].
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	!!Live-Action Works
48	[[AC:Creator/PeterJackson's trilogies]]
49	[[folder:Examples]]
50	* [[Characters/MiddleEarthFilmSauronsEvilForces Sauron himself]] is the dark "[[EvilOverlord Lord of the Rings]]", an ancient, power-hungry being who seeks nothing less than the subjugation of all life on Middle-earth and the annihilation of everyone and everything that doesn't yield to his rule. Ages ago, Sauron created the "[[ArtifactOfDoom One Ring]]", using it to hollow out and corrupt the nine Kings of Men into his Nazgûl and wage war on the kingdoms of Elves and Men. Though his destructive march was halted and the One Ring was stolen, Sauron continues to plague Middle-earth as "the {{Necromancer}}", unleashing monstrous beasts onto the land, dictating Azog in his war on Erebor, and tormenting Gandalf the Grey by murdering Thráin before his eyes. Sauron later sways Saruman to his side and uses him to carry out slaughters of all kinds against Rohan, hoping to eventually annihilate Minas Tirith and countless innocent lives to bring in his reign of darkness. Throughout the Third Age, Sauron uses his influence over the One Ring to [[TheCorrupter corrupt]] and turn the wielders against their friends in an attempt to restore the One Ring to himself, Sauron often reaching out and [[MindRape mentally tormenting]] any who make direct contact with him, his evil so strong as to agonize those who he turns his gaze upon.
51	* ''Film/TheHobbit'' trilogy:
52	** [[GeniusBruiser Azog the Defiler]], leader of the [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Orcs]], is pledged to [[FamilyExtermination wipe out]] the [[FamilialFoe line of Durin]]. To this end, he beheaded King Thrór, and then severed Thráin's finger. After Thorin Oakenshield cut off his arm, Azog vowed to gain revenge on the Dwarf by any means necessary, putting a bounty on his head. It's revealed that Azog slaughtered the Skinchangers by raiding their lands, then caging and torturing them for his own amusement, leaving Beorn as the LastOfHisKind. Upon taking command of Sauron's armies, Azog decides to target innocent civilians in order to distract his enemies and gain an advantage, intending to exterminate the peoples of Lake-town, Mirkwood, Erebor and the Iron Hills all at once. When Thorin rides to Azog's command center to kill him, Azog has Thorin's nephew Fíli brought to him and then kills him in front of Thorin, taking sadistic glee at the moment.
53	** Extended editions: [[TheDreaded Smaug the Golden]] is an {{ancient\|Evil}}, powerful [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragon]] and the LastOfHisKind in Middle-earth. A brutal monster who exterminated the entire kingdoms of Erebor and Dale, with countless humans and Dwarves dead, Smaug is secretly in alliance with the Dark Lord Sauron with full intent to ravage Middle-earth with his [[KillItWithFire flames]] from one corner to the next. Upon his awakening and battle with the Dwarves, Smaug opts to assault the peaceful Laketown out of sheer spite, even telling its defender Bard the Bowman that he will [[WouldHurtAChild burn Bard's son alive]] in front of him before killing every last thing in the town.
54	* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' trilogy:
55	** [[EvilSorcerer Saruman the White]] is a [[FallenAngel former Istari]] who, [[IFightForTheStrongestSide upon believing Sauron cannot be stopped, joins the forces of evil and embraces darkness entirely]]. When the Dark Lord invades the rest of Middle-earth, Saruman acts as his right hand, securing an alliance with barbarian tribes and sending them with his Orcs to [[RapePillageAndBurn sack]] the kingdom of Rohan. Attacking the Westfold, Saruman orders the [[FinalSolution extermination of every village]] and the deaths of everyone therein as his servant Gríma Wormtongue keeps King Théoden too enfeebled to come to their defense. Upon Théoden being freed, Saruman tries to have the refugees massacred during a flight to the fortress of Helm's Deep, dispatching his army there to slaughter every soldier and civilian within the walls. In one of his darkest crimes, Saruman orders the forest of Fangorn burned, knowing the trees are sapient, living things with their own wills, all to feed the industrial flames of his war machine.
56	** ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing The Return of the King]]'': [[EvilCripple Gothmog]] is the hulking, deformed [[TheDragon Dragon]] to the Witch-king of Angmar, and one of the cruelest members of his entire AlwaysChaoticEvil species. Gothmog captures Osgiliath, kills everyone who can fight back, then decides to execute the prisoners he's taken from Faramir's brigade and rain their severed heads down onto Minas Tirith as a form of [[MindRape horrific psychological torture]]. In the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, Gothmog attempts to slay every living soul within Minas Tirith, and [[BadBoss throws away the lives of hundreds of his own Orcs]] by refusing to let them break formation during the retaliatory attacks.
57	[[/folder]]
58
59	[[AC:Others]]
60	* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': [[PsychoSupporter Waldreg]] is introduced as a lowly barkeep, but is in truth a treacherous fanatic of [[Characters/RingsOfPowerSauron Sauron]]. Believing Adar to be the coming of Sauron, Waldreg convinces half of the population that came for shelter in Ostirith to betray their fellow [[Characters/RingsOfPowerMen men]] and ally with the Orcs. Waldreg later proves his loyalty to Adar by murdering the young Rowan. Having hidden the sword of Morgoth for years so as to one day use it in Sauron's service, Waldreg swears allegiance to Adar purely for his own [[AmbitionIsEvil ambitions]] and uses the sword to activate Mount Doom on Adar's command, decimating the Southlands' population and {{terraform}}ing the land into Mordor.
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62	!!Video Games
63
64	[[AC:''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline'']]
65	[[folder:Examples]]
66	* [[EvilOverlord Sauron]] is a Maia who became the servant of the [[PredecessorVillain Dark Lord Morgoth]]. In the First Age, Sauron and Morgoth attempted to wipe out the dwarves by supporting a rebellious faction that fought against Durin I, and then turned against their allies when victory was imminent, resulting in the deaths of many. After Morgoth was defeated, Sauron [[DragonAscendant became the new Dark Lord]] and waged a brutal war to conquer all of Middle-earth. Seemingly killed at the end of the war, Sauron went into hiding and slowly regained his strength over the course of several centuries. On his order, the Great Plague was created and devastated the continent, severely weakening the human nations of the East and allowing Sauron's armies to conquer and subjugate them. Eventually, Sauron would emerge from the shadows again to begin another war against the [[TheAlliance Free People of Middle-earth]].
67	* [[FallenHero The wizard Saruman]] was one of five Maiar initially sent to Middle-earth to aid the Free People against Sauron, but eventually came to the conclusion that the Dark Lord couldn't be defeated and [[IFightForTheStrongestSide joined him instead]]. Using false promises, lies, and their hatred of the neighboring Rohirrim, Saruman convinced several of Dunland's Clan to join him. When the Boar Clan and the Stag Clan refused his offer, Saruman had his forces attack them, resulting in both clans getting almost completely whipped out. After he had gathered a large enough army, Saruman attacked the nation of Rohan, causing the death of many people and the destruction of several settlements. Viewing even his own troops as nothing but useful tools, Saruman [[PlayingWithSyringes conducted cruel experiments]] on orcs, trolls, and Dunlendings, turning them into [[BodyHorror horribly disfigured abominations]]. Even his alliance with Sauron was one of convenience, and Saruman planed to [[TheStarscream betray him and rule over Middle-earth himself]].
68	* [[GiantSpider Shelob]] is an AncientEvil born in the First Age, who cares only about satisfying her [[HorrorHunger immense hunger]]. Establishing a lair inside the mountains of Mordor, the orcs of the nearby Cirith Ungol started to offer her some of their own in exchange for safe passage. While it worked sometimes, other times Shelob would just devour a whole company of unsuspecting orcs. After Sauron's death, Shelob broke the fragile peace and had her brood attack Cirith Ungol, killing most of the orcs inside. When the attack was repelled by Legolas and the PlayerCharacter, Shelob devoured one of her daughters after she tried to flee. Later, it was revealed that Shelob had also sent out a telepathic call that made her offspring from all over Middle-earth--as well as a cult of humans who could shapeshift into spiders--travel to her lair, so that she could feast on them. The destruction Shelob could cause if she ever would manage to leave her lair was so horrible that Legolas was even willing to [[EnemyMine aid the forces of Mordor]] in their battle against her.
69	* [[MalevolentMaskedMen Karazgar the Weeping Warrior]] is the self-proclaimed greatest of Sauron's [[TheAgeless Gúrzyul]]. In the past, Karazgar [[FalseFriend gained the trust of Fram]], the ruler of the Éothéod, and performed a ritual on him that made him distrustfully of his dwarven allies. When Fram became aware of Karazgar's manipulation and confronted him, Karazgar was awaiting him next to a group of dwarves he had killed and then murdered Fram as well to make it look like they had killed each other. Karazgar was also responsible for tricking the dragon Smaug into attacking Erebor and killing many dwarves when placed the heads of five dragon whelps with [[FalseFlagOperation dwarven axes stuck in their heads]] next to his lair. After Sauron's demise, Karazgar again manipulated a group of dragons into attacking Erebor and when the dragons lost, subdued their injured leader to gain control of his army. He then met with a dwarven expedition sent into the Grey Mountains to proclaim his rule over the North and told the dwarves that they could either leave Erebor and the Iron Hills or would be destroyed . When the dwarves refused, Karazgar had the expedition camp attacked by his dragons, killing most of them and only called his army back because [[JustToyingWithThem he had promissed them to return two more times]]. Even after he lost control of the dragons and was severely wounded, Karazgar proved to be a formidable foe, as shown when he attacked the expedition camp [[OneManArmy alone]] and killed over a dozen more dwarves before the wizard Gandalf stepped in and managed to chase him away.
70	* [[Recap/Volume3AlliesOfTheKing Vol. 3]]: [[FatBastard Lheu Brenin]] is the treacherous chieftain of the Falcon Clan of Dunland, and the greatest threat faced by the Grey Company in their journey to find Aragorn. Starting out as a reasonable man, the Brenin quickly [[IFightForTheStrongestSide shows his true colors]] when he [[FaceHeelTurn sells out the Rangers]] to Saruman as trophies and slaves. When the player character and the Rangers escape, Lheu, [[DirtyCoward seeking to flee their wrath]], sends his loyal clansmen, including his only daughter, on a suicide mission to distract the Rangers. During exile, [[BadBoss Lheu]] has anyone that questions his decisions and any he deems weak thrown into pits to be devoured by monsters in the mountains. Finally confronting the player character, the Brenin reveals his true plans of sneaking into the Glittering Caves and murdering the defenseless women and children of Rohan as a tribute to Saruman.
71	* [[Recap/Volume4TheStrengthOfSauron Vol. 4]]: [[TortureTechnician Burudagath the Bloodletter]] is the ruler of [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace Faltor-shík, the Fane of Screaming]]. Under his oversight, countless prisoners of war and slaves were tortured and then [[HumanSacrifice sacrificed]] on an altar in the middle of the camp. When the player character attacked Faltor-shík and slayed most of his orcs, Burudagath personally [[BadBoss killed his remaining men]] for [[YouHaveFailedMe failing to stop him]]. Defeating the player character and strapping him onto his altar, Burudagath gleefully claims that Sauron is going to defeat Aragorn's army at the Black Gate and that he will slowly end the lives of any survivors "one by one".
72	* ''Recap/TheBlackBookOfMordor'':
73	** [[WardensAreEvil Thraknûl]] is the orc in charge of [[HellholePrison Naerband]]--Direhold, literally "Dreadful Prison"--serving both as the warden and chief torturer. Under Sauron's order, Thraknûl had countless prisoners tortured, proudly proclaiming to have "[[CardCarryingVillain devised pains and torments uncalled in any of the Ages of the world]]". Obsessed with [[TortureTechnician perfecting his skills in torture]], Thraknûl continued with his work even after his master had perished, having his orcs imprison not only escaped human slaves but his fellow orcs as well. All inmates are then regularly tormented by Thraknûl and his minions, with no hope of ever escaping from Naerband.
74	** [[EvilSorcerer Rûkhor]] the [[UndeathlyPallor Pale Herald]] is a human servant of Sauron who became one of his [[TheAgeless Gúrzyul]]. After Sauron's death, Rûkhor planned to lure Shelob out of her lair and let her rampage through Mordor to kill all his potential rivals, not caring in the slightest about all the death and destruction this would cause. When his [[TheDragon strongest minion]] was defeated by a group of heroes opposing him, Rûkhor magically [[VampiricDraining drained all his blood]] to strengthen himself, despite the victim's pleas for mercy. Finally slain, Rûkhor used his last words to proclaim his victory by revealing that Shelob would soon wake up for her slumber and the whole world would feel her wrath.
75	[[/folder]]
76
77	[[AC:Others]]
78	[[folder:Examples]]
79	* ''[[VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers The Two Towers]]'' & ''[[VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing The Return of the King]]'':
80	** The [[EvilOverlord Dark Lord Sauron]] forged the [[ArtifactOfDoom One Ring]] in an attempt to conquer Middle-earth, powering it with his own maliciousness. Though slain, Sauron spent many years commanding his Orc armies to slay all in their path in his search for the Ring. With many cities fallen and many lives taken in his quest for power, Sauron's cruelty belies a paranoid [[TheWarlord warlord]] who seeks domination over everything.
81	** [[EvilSorcerer Saruman]], having [[Characters/MiddleEarthFilmSauronsEvilForces aligned with Sauron]] in his [[AmbitionIsEvil vain pursuit of power]], commands Sauron's forces, the Uruk-hai, to acquire the Ring from [[Characters/MiddleEarthFilmTheFellowship the Fellowship]]. When the Uruk-hai attacks lead to the death of Boromir, Saruman has his men attack Rohan and Helm's Deep, even giving them the order to "[[LeaveNoSurvivors Leave none alive]]!"
82	* ''VideoGame/TheBattleForMiddleEarth II'''s Evil Campaign: The MouthOfSauron is one of the [[InsaneAdmiral chief commanders]] of Sauron's army, who aggressively expands the Dark Lord's influence across Middle-earth. Starting off by gathering an army of goblins and Mountain Giants, the Mouth commands them to destroy the Elven city of Lórien, [[CrushingThePopulace murdering nearly all the Elves there]]. Later conquering Mirkwood, annihilating the Elven Kingdom in the process and slaughtering countless Elves and their ruler, the Mouth leads Sauron's army in convincing Drogoth the Dragon Lord to join his cause, murdering hundreds of Dwarves to appease him. Afterward, destroying the city of Dale and laying waste to the Dwarven Kingdom, killing thousands of Men and Dwarves, including Dwarven King Dain, the Mouth assists the other generals of Sauron's army in slaughtering the remaining opposition at Rivendell, [[HeroKiller killing off the Fellowship of heroes]] and helping to [[TakeOverTheWorld spread Sauron's tyrannical rule across the world]].
83	* ''[[VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsConquest Conquest]]'' ("Rise of Sauron" campaign only): [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsSauron The Dark Lord Sauron]] sends the Nazgûl to Mount Doom to kill Frodo and deal with Orc rebels wanting to take the [[ArtifactOfDoom One Ring]] for themselves. Upon killing the Orc rebels, Sauron [[BloodMagic uses their blood]] to resurrect the Witch-king of Angmar, who kills Frodo and retrieves the One Ring for Sauron. Upon regaining the One Ring, Sauron overruns Gondor, destroying Minas Tirith and forcing Aragorn to flee to Weathertop; the population of Gondor being [[DevouredByTheHorde cannibalized by his Orc armies]]. He then resurrects [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Durin's Bane]] in Moria and sics it on Gimli. After conquering Moria, Sauron attacks Weathertop and Rivendell, killing Aragorn, Elrond, and Legolas and taking Elrond's ring for himself. With all of Middle-earth under his control, Sauron attacks the Shire, with his forces and Durin's Bane killing a large number of Hobbits to lure out Gandalf and Treebeard so he can kill them, the corpse of the latter being set on fire and used to burn any Hobbit that dares resist Sauron's rule.
84	* ''VideoGame/WarInTheNorth'': [[BigBad Agandaûr]] is a [[EvilSorcerer powerful Black Númenórean sorcerer]] and self-proclaimed right hand of Sauron. Building an army for his master to assist him in his conquest of Middle-earth in exchange for the lands of the North, Agandaûr intends to make Sauron's forces more deadly and destructive by trying to make a Stone Giant and the dragon Úrgost join him so that they could slaughter and subjugate the Free Men of Middle-earth. Ordering a Spider Queen to devour the heroic wizard Radagast, Agandaûr moves his forces to attack the Dwarven Kingdom of Nordinbad, slaughtering most of the Dwarves there. Reducing his prisoners--who were [[DrivenToMadness driven mad]] by the study of the dark sorcery, which Agandaûr actively spreads through the world--to [[EmptyShell barely-sapient husks]], Agandaûr intends on [[FinalSolution wiping out all of the Elves]] and enslaving all the survivors of the ensuing war.
85	* ''[[VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor Shadow of Mordor]]'' & ''[[VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfWar Shadow of War]]'': [[EvilOverlord The Dark Lord Sauron]] leads campaigns of terror and brutality that kill countless innocent beings, beginning in the Second Age when he personally murdered Celebrimbor after murdering the Elf Lord's wife and daughter. Ingratiating himself to great Kings of Men, Sauron also presented them with [[RingOfPower Rings of Power]] that slowly [[TheCorrupter corrupted and destroyed them]], making them his undead slaves, the Nazgûl. In the present, Sauron, in the guise of the Black Hand, murders the ranger [[PlayerCharacter Talion]] and his family to enslave the soul of Celebrimbor, which backfires when the wraith [[FusionDance fuses with Talion]]. Sauron sends his forces to slaughter the population of Gondor, conquering the city of Minas Ithil before intending to move on to all of Middle-earth until everything that lives is destroyed or kneels before him as his slave.
86	* ''[[VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsGollum Gollum]]'':
87	** [[EvilOverlord Sauron]] is the Dark Lord of Mordor, who rules over the land with an [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil exceptionally cruel system of slavery]]. Thousands of captured prisoners are subject to humiliating, backbreaking, and lethal labor on a daily basis, forced to wrangle ravenous beasts and go on suicide missions to set off explosives. Additionally, batches of dozens of prisoners are vaporized every hour, their bloody remains used to keep the "dark water" rivers of Mordor constantly flowing. Sauron's forces overthrew Lestor's kingdom and killed his people many years ago, and Sauron turned Lestor into one of his chief torturers, "the Candle Man", while poisoning his daughter against him. With a long history of waging war on all life of Middle-earth, Sauron [[ColdBloodedTorture tortures]] the broken creature [[PlayerCharacter Gollum]] at the start of the game, and later gives the Mouth free reign to order the decimation of Mirkwood and other kingdoms, all in his quest to reclaim his [[ArtifactOfDoom One Ring]].
88	** The MouthOfSauron, having willingly joined the Dark Lord's cause as his lieutenant of the Dark Tower, facilitates the Barad-dûr slave pits under the control of the Candle Man. Allowing thousands of prisoners to be enslaved and put under harsh conditions and punishments to increase Sauron's army for an eventual war, upon Gollum's escape, the Mouth orders the Candle Man to attack numerous Elven kingdoms to retrieve Gollum, which leads to the decimation of Mirkwood with few survivors.
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	!!Other Media
92	* Creator/JohnBoorman's ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' [[Script/JohnBoormanLordOfTheRings script]]: [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsSauron Sauron]] is the [[EvilOverlord Dark Lord of Mordor]] who created the [[ArtifactOfDoom One Ring]] to wield control over the Rings of Power and take over Middle-earth. Turning those loyal to him into his nine Black Riders, Sauron would transplant his soul into the Ring after his demise, corrupting those who possess it. Looking to conquer Middle-earth again, Sauron seduced the [[EvilSorcerer sorcerer Saruman of Many Colors]] to his side, having him act as his [[MouthOfSauron Mouth]] who gruesomely tortures those who stand in his way. Forcing the Orcs to fight for him as he allows them to lay waste to all of Middle-earth in their pursuit of the Ring, while allowing the Nazgul to slaughter whole towns to find it, Sauron's cruelty leaves many dead in his malicious quest for power.

Context Monster / TolkiensLegendarium