Characters / The Lord of the Rings - Other Characters

Setting-wide: Peoples and Races, Sauron The Silmarillion: Eru and the Ainur, Enemies, First-Generation Elven Royalty, the House of Fëanor, the House of Fingolfin The Hobbit The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Free Men, the Elves, the Forces of Sauron, Other Characters

Other characters

"Even the wise cannot see all ends."

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Hobbits

Bilbo Baggins

The main character of The Hobbit, who inadvertently sets The Lord of the Rings in motion with his discovery of the Ring. Frodo's "uncle" (really his older cousin) and father-figure, Bilbo's 111th (and Frodo's 33rd) birthday opens the story; Bilbo, feeling the Ring's effects on him, leaves the Ring to Frodo and sets out on his last adventure. Years later, Frodo meets Bilbo again in Rivendell, where he has retired.

See The Hobbit character sheet for tropes that apply to him in that work.

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• Age Without Youth: As a side-effect of possessing the One Ring. Bilbo starts to feel the effects of this in The Fellowship of the Ring, describing it as feeling like too little butter spread over too much bread. After giving up the Ring, his one hundred and eleven years really catch up with him.
• Batman Grabs a Gun: A clear sign that the Ring is exerting its influence on Bilbo is when he not only acts aggressive and suspicious of Gandalf when the time comes to relinquish it, but that "his hand stray[s] to the hilt of his sword" in fear and anger that his old friend will steal it for himself. Gandalf strongly advises him not to try that again, and the display shocks Bilbo back to his senses.
• Because Destiny Says So: Why he found the Ring in the first place, according to Gandalf.
• Benevolent Boss: To his gardener, "Gaffer" Gamgee (Sam's father).
• Cool Old Guy: He's 110 years old at the beginning of Fellowship, and fond of entertaining young hobbits with tales of his adventures and giving out gold as a party favor.
• Decoy Protagonist: Going solely by the first chapter, one could easily assume that Bilbo was the central character, until the focus shifts to Frodo in the second.
• Direct Line to the Author: He is the in-universe author of The Hobbit, and translated The Silmarillion out of Elvish.
• Dub Name Change: "Bilbon Sacquet" in French; became "Bilbo Bessac" in the newer translation of the books. Bilbo Bolsón in Spanish ("Bolsón" meaning something like Bigbag").
• Eccentric Mentor: He is this to his nephew Frodo, much to the despair of the majority of the respectable hobbits of the Shire.
• Family Theme Naming: An odd theme. Bilbo is the son of Bungo Baggins son of Mungo Baggins son of Balbo Baggins.
• Gentleman Adventurer: In contrast to his attitude in The Hobbit. He's a scion of the upper-class Took family, and by the time he retires from "adventures" he's had several.
• Heroic Willpower: The One Ring has been with Bilbo for decades by the time of The Fellowship of the Ring. Considering the fact that the Ring eternally tries to corrupt its owner and Bilbo only started feeling the effects of the Ring after that time before passing it to Frodo, it shows just how moral of a man he is. It helps that he didn't actually wear the Ring for a large majority of the time it was with him, which hastens the corruption process. Sparing Gollum when he first got the Ring might've also helped...
• Hero of Another Story: Of The Hobbit.
• Hidden Depths: During Frodo’s first meeting with Aragorn, Frodo receives a letter from Gandalf that mentions Aragorn and contains a few lines from a poem. (Aragorn’s referring to this poem, without seeing the letter, is a strong hint that he really is who he says he is.) Later, during the Council of Elrond, Bilbo reveals to Frodo (and the reader) that he wrote the poem — about Aragorn.
• Hobbits: Bilbo is the Ur-Example.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: He proves extremely resilient to the One Ring's corruption, holding on to it for sixty years before becoming the first and only known Ring-bearer to relinquish it voluntarily.
• In the Hood: When he leaves Bag End, he wears his old hooded Dwarven cloak from The Hobbit as he is "on the road" again.
• My Girl Back Home: He is this to Frodo during the Quest to Mount Doom, being his only relative.
• No Immortal Inertia: The Ring was starting to corrupt him as it had Gollum long ago, and when it is destroyed his 131 years catch up with him.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Gandalf tells Frodo that Bilbo withholding the truth about how he got the Ring was concerning, considering his usual honesty, and was an early sign of the Ring's influence.
• Older Than They Look: At the beginning of the story, he is 110 years old but looks only 50 due to the Ring's influence. After he gives up the Ring, age begins to rapidly catch up to him, until he looks his age (131) at the end. The Appendices reveal that he’s older than Aragorn's mom.
• Parental Substitute: To Frodo, after his parents drowned in a boating accident.
• Passing the Torch: When he disappears to go travelling again, he wills his house and most of his possessions, including his "lucky ring", to Frodo. Later, he gives Frodo his old sword and armor from The Hobbit, which he wore on the road, to protect Frodo on his own journeys.
• The Power of Friendship: Gandalf's friendship and concern is what ultimately helps him give up the Ring of his own free will.
• Scatterbrained Senior: After the Ring's destruction, he becomes far less focused and spends most of his time sleeping. He even forgets that the Ring was destroyed at one point, asking Frodo what happened to it.
• Still Wearing the Old Colors: Bilbo puts on his old gear from The Hobbit, down to his borrowed Dwarven cloak, when he leaves home again.
• Shrouded in Myth: After he came back from his journey to Erebor (and more so after vanishing from his birthday party), hobbits started telling tales of "Mad Baggins" who would "vanish with a bang and a flash and reappear with bags of jewels and gold."
• Spanner in the Works: The One Ring abandoned Gollum in one of the tunnels of the misty mountain goblins traveled through. It intended to be found by a goblin which it could easily control to bring it back to Sauron (as Gollum desired nothing but to hoard it). Instead Bilbo happened to fall in this tunnel, and find it. And thus the ring was picked up by someone resistant to its influence, and who happened to be close friends with Gandalf.
• Stranger in a Familiar Land: He still lives comfortable and happy for 60 years in the Shire, but it is clear that he constantly misses the people and places he has known in his adventures. There is also a resentment against his neighbors and relatives Hobbits, because they tried to take over his home and belongings during his absence, as well as the fact that most of them did not believe his stories. This is proved in his final speech before leaving the Shire again, this time forever.
• Supreme Chef: It's only mentioned a couple of times, but even by hobbit standards Bilbo is an amazing cook. By the time of his 111th birthday party he's been perfecting his cooking skills for decades and, his food is praised even by the hobbits who dislike him, such as the Sackville-Bagginses.
• Take Me Instead: Volunteers to be the one to take the Ring to Mt. Doom, not least because he guesses Frodo would have to do it otherwise. His age and the fact that the Ring already has a strong hold on him means he's turned down, though everyone honours him for the effort.
• This Is Your Brain on Evil: Due to the Ring's influence he became Gollum-like in his mannerisms, as pointed out by Gandalf. No, he has not begun to look Gollum-like just yet (well, if you've read the books, he thankfully never does reach that stage), but his hunger and his growing obsession over the Ring is certainly a stepping stone towards reaching the Gollum stage. When he sees the One Ring in Frodo's possession in Rivendell, he briefly falls under its power again, causing Frodo to perceive him as “a little wrinkled creature with a hungry face and bony groping hands.” However, Bilbo quickly comes to his senses again, and he immediately apologizes and requests that Frodo never show him the Ring again.
• Uncle Pennybags: His share of the treasure from The Hobbit (as well as coming from a wealthy family) kept him very well-off for the rest of his life, and he was very generous toward poorer hobbits.
• Unreliable Narrator: Bilbo's account of how he obtained the Ring is revealed to be this and it's stated he set the fake account down in his own memoirs, explaining In-Universe why this story initially appeared in the first version of The Hobbit. The prologue notes that Frodo and/or Sam wrote out the true account separately in the Red Book, as they hesitated to modify anything Bilbo himself wrote.
• Where There's a Will, There's a Sticky Note: When Bilbo leaves Hobbiton at the start of The Fellowship of the Ring, he's willed everything to Frodo (and when one of his cousins demands to see said will, it's proven that it's all in order), but also left several items specifically labeled as gifts for various people.

Gollum (Sméagol)

Gandalf: He hates and loves the Ring, as he hates and loves himself. He will never be rid of his need for it. Sméagol's life is a sad story. Yes, Sméagol he was once called... before the Ring found him. Before it drove him mad.
Frodo: It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill him when he had the chance!
Gandalf: Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play yet, for good or ill before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many.

A seemingly minor character from The Hobbit who played a key role in the series. Sméagol, once a member of a clan of Stoor Hobbits that lived alongside the Anduin river, was fishing with his cousin Déagol when Déagol found the One Ring. They both immediately coveted it and Sméagol murdered Déagol for it. Eventually banished from his homeland, he retreated for over 600 years deep into the mountains and became a degenerate creature named Gollum (after a horrible noise he makes in his throat), feared by the goblins and driven insane due to solitude and the Ring's influence over him. The Ring, having a mind of its own, slipped from Gollum's fingers intending to be found by a goblin, but it was instead found by Bilbo, who used it to confound Sméagol and escape his current danger. When Bilbo had the chance to strike down Gollum, he pitied him and let him live.

In the time since then, Gollum has been hunting for the Ring, travelling to his old home on the Anduin and then to Mordor, where he was captured and personally interrogated by Sauron himself, who released him. Gollum eventually catches up with the Fellowship in Moria, stalking them until Frodo left most of his companions behind. At this point, Gollum attempts to reacquire the Ring, but failing and being taken prisoner, he serves as a guide for Frodo and Sam, earning the fleeting hope of redemption before ultimately betraying his new masters. He nevertheless plays a key role in the completion of the quest.

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• Accidental Hero: Stealing the One Ring from Frodo was for his own selfishness and corruption, but then he slipped and fell into the lava, ultimately helping fulfill the Quest that Frodo almost failed.
• Adaptational Ugliness: Not that Gollum is exactly a stud, but in the Rankin-Bass adaptation, he better resembles a fish-man than a heavily degraded humanoid. He's got reptile-esque skin, glassy eyes, grotesque lips, the whole package.
• Animal Motifs: He's compared to a dog unusually often, especially in "The Taming of Smeagol"; he moves on all fours, has eyeshine, tracks by smell, and at one point he's effectively put on a leash. He's also referred to as doglike when working with Sam and Frodo, given his tendency to beg and whine and his eagerness to please.
• Anti-Hero:
  • Briefly sides with Frodo in The Two Towers before slipping back to his old ways.
  • An alternate ending scenario talked about by Tolkien in letter 246 makes it clear that he would have still remained this, had the Heel–Face Door-Slam not happened as Gollum would have been in constant turmoil between his need for the Ring and his newfound repentance (to the point of trying to satisfy both). The chance of him taking the Ring by violence (like he does in the story itself) is even brought up.
• Anti-Villain: Most characters believe him to be this, as they're under the impression that Gollum was an innocent twisted by the Ring's power. However, Gollum was a rather nasty character even before he fell under the influence of the Ring: "Gollum was pitiable but ended in persistent wickedness. His last act worked good but of no credit to him... The Ring was too strong for Sméagol but he would never have had to endure it if he had not already been a mean sort of thief. His dawning love for Frodo was too easily withered by jealousy of Sam before Shelob's lair and he was lost."
• Arch-Enemy: He holds a grudge against the Bagginses for tricking him. Since Frodo and Sam spend most of their journey away from the rest of the characters, Gollum serves as his main antagonist and foil.
• Ascended Extra: In the first edition of The Hobbit, he was a pretty unimportant side-character. Then Tolkien realized that Ring was much more than it seemed, and his role expanded hugely.
• Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: As Frodo fails his quest and succumbs to the Ring's temptation in Mount Doom, the destruction of the Ring wouldn't have never happened without Gollum taking it away from Frodo only to fall into the lava just a moment later.
• Beyond Redemption: Averted. According to Tolkien, had things turned out better, Gollum would have redeemed himself and wasn't simply doomed, no matter what.
• Big Bad Ensemble: Sauron is still the overall Big Bad to Middle-earth but Gollum is the main threat to Frodo and Sam on their journey.
• By the Lights of Their Eyes: Frodo and Sam wake up in the night and immediately see two little lights that turn off suddenly.
• Cain and Abel: Murders his friend Déagol to steal the Ring from him.
• Can't Live Without You: Without the One Ring, Gollum's five-ish centuries of existence would catch up to him and he'd age into dust.
• Cargo Ship: Canon in-universe with the One Ring. Though seeing as how the Ring is the ultimate corrupter and Really Gets Around, it's not really his fault.
• Catchphrase: "My Precioussss", and "Gollum, gollum!"
• Chronic Villainy: Skulking, treacherous, murderous, depraved. He'll behave as long as you watch him like a hawk and make it clear that punishment will be swift and terrible.
• Comically Small Demand: At one point, he starts talking to himself about what he'd do if he had the Ring back, now that he's more aware of its power, claiming he'd set himself up as a new Dark Lord. What would he do if he had all that power? Why, he'd be able to get fresh fish, every day, straight from the sea! This is a heavy contrast from the other people we've seen who showed signs of desiring the Ring, who wanted to do things like build huge armies or force the world to bow to their will or save all of Arda, suggesting that despite everything, Smeagol's hobbit humility and contentment that gives the Ring such a hard time with them is still somewhat intact.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: To Smaug. Sméagol is pitiable due to his tragic story and the inner conflict he undergoes due to his split personalities, while the shamelessly malignant Smaug hasn't such redeeming aspects. Also, Sméagol is a small and pitiful creature with a tragic Backstory, who relies mostly on trickery or cowardice to get away from larger threats, whereas Smaug is a One-Man Army.
• The Corruption: He wasn't a nice guy to begin with, but the Ring ate away what decency and humanity he had and really, really messed him up.
• Creepy Long Fingers: Is described as having long, bony, unnaturally strong fingers.
• Day Hurts Dark-Adjusted Eyes: He got that way thanks to living for centuries underground (probably exacerbated by the Ring to give him glowing eyes). And apparently can't adjust back.
• Delinquents: When the Ring got fished out of the river by two familial disappointments, it was a stroke of luck for it. They really weren't good boys, so were not hard to snare. But, it was a very mixed kind of luck: neither of pair were cut out to be high achievers in World Conquering Villainy™. Even the more corruptible, highly jealous murderer learned far more about surviving the Ring's various attempts to leave or kill him than most ever could.
• Determinator:
  • Drawn irresistably to the Ring, he follows Frodo from Moria to the Cracks of Doom. He will climb up and down cliffs (head first!), wade through the Dead Marshes, whatever it takes to get the thing back.
  • Taken up to eleven by Gandalf’s exposition and Unfinished Tales. Gollum has racked up an incredible travel log: sneaked through Mirkwood and back without getting caught by the Wood-elves? Check. Tracked Bilbo to Esgaroth (Lake-town), and then to Dale (at the feet of the Lonely Mountain)? Check. Discovered a way through the supposedly impassable Dead Marshes? Check. Went to Mordor and discovered the secret stairs to Cirith Ungol? Check (although that didn’t go so well for him). Entered Moria through the East-gate, managed to survive the Orcs infesting the eastern area, and somehow made it all the way through to the West-gate? Yup, check that too.
  • Ironically, his escapades come to a complete halt when he can’t figure out how to open the West-gate of Moria (and even if he had figured out that the gate could be opened from the inside simply by pushing it, he wouldn't have the strength to do so). In fact, he’s said to be starving, as all the food (along with all of the aforementioned Orcs) is in east Moria — and then a certain Fellowship comes blundering in...
  • And, lest we forget, by the time the story takes place, Gollum is several-hundred years old. Holding onto the One Ring extends its bearer's life by "stretching them out," as the narrative sometimes refers to it. However, once the bearer loses (or relinquishes) the Ring, all that extra time catches up to them fairly quickly, as it did with Bilbo. However, note that all of Gollum's travels listed above took place after he lost the Ring, which he'd been holding onto for centuries. Yet none of that slows him down in the slightest. He just keeps chugging along, all for the sake of reclaiming his Precious.
• Disney Villain Death: At the Cracks of Doom he falls into the fires along with the One Ring.
• Eats Babies: In Fellowship, he's hinted to have done this in Gandalf's account of his period of wandering between leaving Mordor and following Frodo, where he is mentioned as a shadow that, among other things, "clambered through windows to find cradles." Don't put it past him.
• The Exile: Was cast out of his community for his trickery and murdering his cousin.
• Evil Counterpart: He was a formerly a hobbit himself, and shows what could happen to Frodo if he allowed himself to be corrupted by the ring which it eventually does.
• Family Theme Naming: Sméagol and Déagol.
• Fangs Are Evil: He sharpened his six remaining teeth into fangs.
• Fatal Flaw: Envy. His jealousy towards Sam overcomes his love of Frodo and eventually prevents his redemption.
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: His eyes are described as luminous and lamp-like, with their color changing depending on which personality is in control: Green is for Gollum, yellow is for Sméagol. They give him Innate Night Vision.
• Gollum Made Me Do It: Trope Namer. Gollum (Split Personality of Sméagol) often asserts his influence to force Sméagol to do his bidding.
• Good Eyes, Evil Eyes: In the movie, you can tell which personality is in control by looking the irises of his eyes (wide and open for Smeagol, shrink for Gollum).
• A Good Way to Die: He seems to believe so in the movie. With the ring once again in his possession at last, he can only cradle it with an elated smile on his face as he falls into the lava of Mount Doom.
• Hobbits: Originally, he was a Stoor Hobbit (or at the very least, a very close relative).
• Handy Feet: During the Council of Elrond, Legolas notes that Gollum has demonstrated the ability to hang from trees by his feet as well as by his hands.
• Heel–Face Door-Slam: Was about to repent after seeing Frodo sleeping, when Sam shouted at him. This caused a green glint of malice to return to Gollum's eye and any thought of repentance was gone. By the time he fights the Hobbits at Mount Doom, what good that still lingered in him is completely gone.
• Hidden Depths: Arguably, all Hobbits possess (to some extent) an extraordinary resistance to the evil of the Ring, but it’s particularly notable in Gollum: Gandalf notes that, even after 500 years of mental enslavement, Gollum still controls a tiny portion of his mind. Unfinished Tales takes it up to eleven by revealing that, while personally torturing Gollum, Sauron himself noticed this trait.
• I'm a Humanitarian: Intended to eat Bilbo if he won (and even if he lost) the riddle game in The Hobbit. Worth noting that as Sméagol was originally a Stoor hobbit this technically qualifies as in-species cannibalism, not just eating another sapient species.
• Lean and Mean: He's thoroughly nasty, and spends most of the story underfed or outright starving, but surprisingly strong because of his drive.
• Lost Food Grievance: Any time his raw meat gets cooked.
• Man Bites Man: Chomps off Frodo's finger to get the One Ring back.
• Madness-Induced Omnivore: As Sméagol's mind is twisted by the One Ring, his behaviour becomes similar to that of a wild animal. He develops a taste for raw flesh, and is later shown to be disgusted by the Hobbit food he used to eat.
• Madness Makeover: Went from a Hobbit to a shrivelled skeletal creature with fangs and Glowing Eyes of Doom thanks to the One Ring. Though at the least the fangs came from deliberately sharpening his remaining teeth not as a side effect of having the One Ring.
• Mercy Rewarded: A repeated theme of his story arc is the fact that the heroes keep showing him pity and mercy, and it keeps paying off in unexpected ways. Bilbo spares him in the Misty Mountains, which helps him resist the One Ring's corruption. Then Frodo refuses to kill him in the Emyn Muil, which ensures that he and Sam have a guide throughout Mordor. Finally, Sam leaves him alive on the slopes of Mount Doom, ensuring that when the One Ring finally breaks Frodo, Gollum is able to retake it by force and falls into the lava with the One Ring in hand in his excitement.
• Mirror Character: Frodo and Gollum, both hobbits who fell to the power of the ring but managed its influence very differently. If Frodo had not had his friends, he likely would have ended up a ring wraith as well.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Gandalf remarks that the murder of Déagol haunted Gollum, prompting Gollum to make excuses for it.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: In the climax of Return of the King, Gollum seizes the Ring from Frodo, before falling into the lava in Mount Doom.
• No Immortal Inertia: Pleads with Frodo not to destroy the Ring because without it he would crumble to dust.
• Odd Friendship: With Frodo. As Frodo becomes increasingly aware of the terrible nature of the Ring, he can empathize with Gollum's tortured mind; while Gollum, wicked and hopelessly addicted, clings to Frodo's kindness with a pathetic desperation.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: How exactly did he manage to get pass the orcs and Balrog in Moria and follow the Fellowship even though the bridge was destroyed? We don't know.
• Prefers Raw Meat: Started eating raw fish after he was cast from his home, partly because the deep, dark caverns he inhabited had plenty of fish but nothing to cook them with, but also because The Corruption from the One Ring caused him to sink into savagery. He even accuses Samwise Gamgee of "spoilin'" meat by cooking it.
• Pre-Insanity Reveal: Originally a hobbit named Sméagol, he was corrupted mentally and physically by the Ring by the time Bilbo meets him in The Hobbit.
• Primal Stance: He moves on all fours.
• Psychopathic Manchild: Gollum and Sméagol (particularly Sméagol) are both rather childlike creatures despite being utterly insane.
• Pyrrhic Victory: In the end, he is finally able to reunite with his Precious. A moment later, he falls to his death into the fires of Mount Doom, thanks to Iluvatar's interference.
• Raised by Grandparents: Sméagol was raised by his grandmother.
• Reformed, but Rejected: Sam never completely trusts Smeagol, even after he starts having doubts about betraying them. But Sam was right to have doubts.
• Redemption Equals Death: According to one of Tolkien's letters (letter 246), if Gollum hadn't ultimately given into the Ring's influence, his only possible future was to still be destroyed alongside it, but this time voluntarily.
  Tolkien: For me perhaps the most tragic moment in the Tale comes in II 323 ff. when Sam fails to note the complete change in Gollum's tone and aspect. 'Nothing, nothing', said Gollum softly. 'Nice master!'. His repentance is blighted and all Frodo's pity is (in a sense) wasted. Shelob's lair became inevitable. This is due of course to the 'logic of the story'. Sam could hardly have acted differently. (He did reach the point of pity at last (III 221-222) but for the good of Gollum too late.) If he had, what could then have happened? The course of the entry into Mordor and the struggle to reach Mount Doom would have been different, and so would the ending. The interest would have shifted to Gollum, I think, and the battle that would have gone on between his repentance and his new love on one side and the Ring. Though the love would have been strengthened daily it could not have wrested the mastery from the Ring. I think that in some queer twisted and pitiable way Gollum would have tried (not maybe with conscious design) to satisfy both. Certainly at some point not long before the end he would have stolen the Ring or taken it by violence (as he does in the actual Tale). But 'possession' satisfied, I think he would then have sacrificed himself for Frodo's sake and have voluntarily cast himself into the fiery abyss. I think that an effect of his partial regeneration by love would have been a clearer vision when he claimed the Ring. He would have perceived the evil of Sauron, and suddenly realized that he could not use the Ring and had not the strength or stature to keep it in Sauron's despite: the only way to keep it and hurt Sauron was to destroy it and himself together – and in a flash he may have seen that this would also be the greatest service to Frodo. Frodo in the tale actually takes the Ring and claims it, and certainly he too would have had a clear vision – but he was not given any time: he was immediately attacked by Gollum.
• Sanity Slippage: The ring slowly drove him mad over 500 years in the Misty Mountains. He may have gotten slightly better in The Two Towers, but then got even crazier at the very end.
• Shadow Archetype: Gollum is a shadow to both Bilbo and Frodo. He is the Foil to Sam.
• Sssssnake Talk: Among his other speech peculiarities is a habit of hissing like this.
• Sole Survivor: Of the clan of Stoor Hobbits living beside the Anduin river.
• Spanner in the Works: "Even Gollum may have something yet to do..."
• Split Personality: Less so than in the movie, where the Sméagol/Gollum schism is greatly played up, but still present. Sam even names the “duo” Slinker and Stinker.
• Stalker without a Crush: Gollum kills little creatures to feed himself, has great strength for his size, and he is The Determinator. Frodo and Sam know all those features, is it any wonder they end Properly Paranoid whenever they see those two little lights when they awake?
• Stronger Than They Look: He can kill creatures bigger than himself, and even hungry and weak you cannot beat him easily. Slightly subverted that it isn't his strength that is the main issue, but his aggression combined with his agility. You can hit him away and, like a cat, land gently and charge in for more.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To Smaug in The Hobbit. Sméagol and Smaug both murdered to get a treasure that they covet above all else, and both then resided for centuries in isolation inside a mountain; with the turning point marked by the arrival of Bilbo Baggins with whom they play a game of riddles. Both characters are independent villains not aligned with Sauron, who are ultimately out to serve themselves and their own interests. They both are also hypocritical, reacting with outrage and vindictiveness when someone tries to take away the treasures they stole for themselves in the first place. Sméagol turned into Gollum under the One Ring's influence, but it's the other way round with Smaug who infected Erebor's treasure with "dragon sickness".
• Sympathetic Murderer: Possibly. He murdered his best friend, but only because of the Ring. Its corrupting effect on him was terribly swift, but maybe after twenty-five hundred years corrupting nothing more than fish, it seized hard on the first two people it found.
• Sympathy for the Devil: The reason why Frodo (and, later, Sam) decide to spare his life. While he was never an extremely good person his life has been abject suffering for centuries.
  Frodo: Now that I see him, I do pity him.
• Talking to Themself: He is constantly talking to himself, which is really a conversation between his Sméagol personality (which represents his good conscience) and Gollum personality (which represents his dark side).
• This Is Your Brain on Evil: This is your Hobbit on Ring of Power.
• Token Evil Teammate: Of the trio he forms with Frodo and Sam. The hobbits are undergoing the journey to destroy the Ring. Gollum is an insane individual who's being dragged along as their not-always-willing guide and who frequently goes back-and-forth on deciding whether he wants to reclaim the Ring or stay loyal to Frodo. In the end, he chooses the Ring.
• Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth: The reason why he was able to negotiate with Shelob: He's so bony and withered that even she considers him unappetizing, so she was willing to let him go in the hopes that he would bring tastier prey to her webs.
• Torture Always Works:
  • When Sauron realized the "Precious" Gollum was talking about was the One Ring, he interrogated Sméagol personally, learning of the existence of Hobbits and the Shire in the process.
  • Subverted in Unfinished Tales: Gollum doesn’t know where the Shire is, but he pretends that it's near the Gladden Fields where he grew up, causing Sauron to send the Nazgûl on a wild Baggins chase.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Raw "fisssh."
• Tragic Villain: For all that he started out as a murderer, it was the Ring that made him the horrible person he became, while mentally torturing him and destroying his identity. His near-repentence in The Two Towers is particularly tragic.
• Verbal Tic: "My Precioussss", and "Gollum, Gollum!"
• Verbal Tic Name: Gollum is the noise he habitually makes in his throat.
• Wall Crawl: He climbs head-first down a sheer cliff face, though exactly how isn't addressed, but it could be due to the same warping effects of the Ring that let him hang upside down by his feet.
• Was Once a Man: Smeagol was once a Hobbit before the One Ring corrupted him.
• We Will Meet Again: Once Bilbo escaped him, Gollum swore he would find the hobbit and get the ring back. While the two never saw each other again, Gollum did end up meeting one of his relatives.
• Who Wants to Live Forever?: Although there are many Time Abyss characters who are older than Sméagol, he's not meant to be immortal. Though his relentless addiction drives him onward, there are signs that the 'real' Sméagol is weary beyond imagination.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: After centuries of misery and torment, he nearly destroys the quest (dooming Middle Earth to tyranny) because of a Heel–Face Door-Slam. Ironically, Frodo knowingly claims the ring after suffering months of psychological torment because of it. Fortunately, the quest would have failed without his attempt to prevent it. Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam taking pity on Gollum was necessary for the Ring's destruction; and expressly choosing not to attack and kill him on four separate occasions, even on the slopes of Mount Doom...
  Frodo: But do you remember Gandalf's words: "Even Gollum may have something yet to do?" But for him, Sam, I could not have destroyed the Ring. The Quest would have been in vain, even at the bitter end. So let us forgive him! For the Quest is achieved and now all is over. I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things, Sam.
• Yandere: He 'both loves and hates the Ring': which turned into a real hurdle for it. Arguably, nobody knows the way "the Precious" operates and behaves day-to-day better than Gollum does. Not even Sauron.
  Smeagol: My one... my own... my Precioussss...

Farmer Maggot

Farmer Maggot was a Hobbit who at the time of the War of the Ring owned a farm called Bamfurlong and helps Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin in his journey.

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• Angry Guard Dog: He has three of them: Grip, Fang and Wolf. He sends them to scare off the Black Rider and when Frodo was younger and used to steal mushrooms from Maggot's farm they scared him off.
• Badass Normal/Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: He doesn't do much, but you have to applaud his gall considering that he stood up to Khamûl the Easterling, Second-in-Command of the Nazgûl. Khamûl apparently even found this amusing.
• Canon Immigrant: He was a part of Tolkein's stories about Tom Bombadil before The Hobbit had been published.
• Hidden Depths: Frodo used to think that Farmer Maggot was a scary old man because he used to steal mushrooms from his farm, but eventually discovers that he's a very nice guy. Additionally, he's smart enough to suss out an explanation for why the Black Riders are after Frodo that comes very close to the truth. He's also the only Hobbit who regularly sees Tom Bombadil, as he'd appeared in previous stories written by Tolkien.

Lobelia Sackville-Baggins

Lobelia Sackville-Baggins is an old hobbit from the Shire and known to be a covetous and grasping hobbit, the wife of Bilbo's greedy cousin Otho, and mother of Lotho Sackville-Baggins.

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• Filching Food for Fun: Her petty revenge for not inheriting Bag End is stealing Bilbo's silver spoons.
• Green-Eyed Monster: She envied the Bag End during almost all her life, believing that Bilbo was richer than he would admit.
• Hypocrite: When acquiring Bag End, she has a complete list of the inventory to make sure nothing is missing, and thinks the Gamgees will rob her blind because they have a copy of the house keys. This, after trying to steal valuable items during Bilbo's 111th birthday party.
• Never Mess with Granny: She redeems herself in his eyes of Frodo and the Shire by attacking one of the Sharkey's Men with her umbrella when they try to arrest her. Keep in mind, she's over 100 at this point.
• Outliving One's Offspring: She outlives her son, Lotho, which breaks her pretty hard.
• Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: In the early, comical part of the story before things get serious and the true evils are revealed, she's the biggest antagonist to Bilbo and Frodo, and has been a nuisance to them for years. Both are tempted to put on the Ring just to get away from her!
• Took a Level in Kindness: After Lotho's death, her attitude towards Frodo softens greatly. She returns Bag End to him and, after her death, leaves him the rest of her family's money to help the hobbits made homeless by Sharkey's men.

Lotho Sackville-Baggins

Bilbo and Frodo's cousin and Lobelia's son. Lotho Sackville-Baggins allies himself with the Sharkey's Men, the Ruffians and Grima Wormtongue, to take over the Shire.

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• Embarrassing Nickname: Everyone calls him Pimple, because his face is covered by them.
• Evil Is Not a Toy: He willingly seeks the assistance of "Sharkey" and his ruffians in taking over the Shire. They turn out to be far more dangerous and brutal than he ever could be, and he ends up dead.
• Fun-Hating Villain: Outlaws alcohol and shutters the taverns, stops people from sharing food with each other, and generally quashes all the good parts of hobbit life as much as he can with his Rules.
• The Ghost: Lotho never actually appears in the story; he is only spoken of by other characters.
• I Am a Humanitarian: Not him, but In The Return of the King, Saruman suggests that Gríma may have eaten Lotho Sackville-Baggins ("Buried him, I hope; though Worm has been very hungry lately.").
• The Starscream: He wants to be the Shire's leader. He is undone by his own hubris as his takeover leads to his death at Wormtongue's hands.
• Tyrant Takes the Helm: While Frodo is away, Lotho gets rich by selling pipeweed to Saruman, hires a bunch of ruffian Men, and sets himself up as "Chief" of the Shire.

Rose Cotton

Rosie was the daughter of Tolman Cotton Senior and Lily Brown. She married Samwise Gamgee at the end of the Third Age, and bore him a record thirteen children.

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• Babies Ever After
• Dramatic Irony: She asks Sam why he wants to leave Frodo alone now "as soon as things look dangerous" - not knowing all the danger Sam has endured for Frodo's sake. And later she seemed to consider that Sam 'wasted' the year he was on the Quest, when he could have married her earlier. It's mostly Played for Laughs because she hasn't heard the story the reader has, and simply doesn't know any better, so her comments come off as comically absurd, but it also highlights how difficult it is for the Shire as a whole to fully understand and appreciate what the returning hobbits have done and been through and why it was important.
• Floral Theme Naming: Like many female hobbits, is named after a flower. Four of her daughters have flower-names as well; fittingly for the children of a great gardener.
• Love Interest: For Sam.
• Massive Numbered Siblings: She not only had five siblings but also gave Sam thirteen children.
• My Girl Back Home: She wanted to marry Sam and hoped he would propose even before he left the Shire, implying they had some kind of relationship already. For Sam's part, he finds himself dreaming of returning to the Shire and seeing Rosie again while suffering through the misery and deprivation of Mordor.
• Satellite Love Interest: She remains in the Shire while Sam and the others are off adventuring, and doesn't have an impact until the very end of the novel.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: She very readily marries the loyal and heroic Sam, and gives him his well-deserved happy ending.

Istari

Radagast the Brown

The third wizard mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, though he only appears second-hand, through Gandalf's account. Radagast is of the same order as Gandalf and Saruman, though he has mostly retreated from the world of Men and Elves to look after the birds and beasts of Middle-Earth. He lives in Mirkwood, in a dwelling called Rhosgobel. Saruman uses him as an unwitting dupe to lure Gandalf to Isengard, but Radagast also unwittingly rescues him by sending an eagle to report news to Saruman.

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• Ambiguous Situation: Where does Radagast go after his brief encounters with Gandalf and Gwaihir? This question is addressed in-universe, as Elrond even tries actively to locate him, but no answer is ever given; whether Radagast must be considered dead, missing in action or engaged in any other venture is left unknown for the reader. Even although Tolkien stated that Radagast was still alive and guarding his beloved wildlife after the war, the reason that had him away from the main story of The Lord of the Rings is a Riddle for the Ages.
• Cryptic Background Reference: In The Hobbit, Gandalf only briefly mentions him as an old friend and "cousin" (not literally, as it turns out), with whom Beorn is also acquainted.
• Friend to All Living Things: In the Backstory, he was chosen by Yavanna, the Vala of all plants and animals.
• The Ghost: In The Hobbit he only receives an off-hand mention, and in The Lord of the Rings he appears only in a flashback, both told by Gandalf. Messengers are sent to recruit him for the council, but he is absent from his home, and as a result, the reader never gets to see Radagast on page.
• Going Native: According to Tolkien, Radagast failed at his mission as an Istari because he became too obsessed with animals and plants to involve himself in the important matters.
• The Hermit: He lives isolated at his home Rhosgobel, somewhere in Mirkwood, and doesn't seem to get involved in much of anything unless called upon by another Wizard or due to some dire need.
• Hero of Another Story: Implied by the combination of his mysterious absence from Rhosgobel and Gandalf's statement about how the Brown Wizard is "never a traveller, unless driven by great need." This hints that, whatever the reason Radagast is away is, it is surely not a trivial one. Christopher Tolkien followed this route by interpreting that Radagast was chosen as a guardian of nature and that this task was not always directly connected to his mission as an Istari.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Gandalf surmises that this is why Saruman had to trick Radagast instead of enlisting him:
  Gandalf: It would have been useless in any case to try and win over the honest Radagast to treachery.
• Minor Major Character: Radagast is one of the Istari, which are counted among the most powerful and active beings in the war against Sauron, but he has barely any presence in the books even although he's strongly implied to be busy with something important.
• Our Angels Are Different: The Wizards are really angels disguised as humans.
• Spanner in the Works: Radagast was sent by Saruman to ask Gandalf to rush to Isengard. (This was a Spanner for Gandalf's plans.) Then he was sent by Gandalf to ask Gwaihir the Eagle to rush to Isengard as well. (This was a Spanner for Saruman's plans.)
• Speaks Fluent Animal: He can communicate with birds.
• Time Abyss: Like all Wizards, he's technically older than the whole universe.
• Unknown Character: To a point. His interventions in the story help both Gandalf and Saruman in their pursues, but Radagast himself is absent from the text, appearing only in Gandalf's narration. That said, the latter still gives Radagast a fair bit of characterization, describing him as a friend of nature and a master of strange arts.
• Unwitting Pawn: To Saruman’s plot to get Gandalf into Isengard. In a delicious twist of irony, he winds up unwittingly foiling the plot as well.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: According to Gandalf, Radagast is "a master of shapes and changes of hue." That's pretty vague, but definitely sounds like some power of shapeshifting, glamour or both.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: The last we hear of him was that he wasn't at home. Tolkien wrote that he went native among the flora and fauna and neglected the affairs of the Free People, and his son Christopher later speculated Radagast may have been specifically assigned to protect the flora and fauna of Middle-earth even after the War of the Ring.

The Blue Wizards

The fourth and fifth wizards, only mentioned indirectly in The Lord of the Rings when speaking about the five members of the Istari. Their role in the story remains unknown, although Tolkien later revealed they travelled East and South.

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• Ambiguous Situation: Practially everything about them - what they did, or whether they failed in their mission or actually succeeded, is not well understood as Tolkien changed his thoughts on them in later years. As these statements are often neither clear nor necessarily mutually exclusive, the truth remains elusive.
  • He first decided they abandoned or failed in their mission (though explicitly not in the way Saruman did), but started their own magical cults and traditions among Men which even outlasted Sauron. But he later decided that they might have basically and ultimately saved the day for the forces of good by disarraying Sauron's eastern allies, ensuring that he had less support than he otherwise might have had, and so they succeeded in some measure.
  • When did they arrive? In his early writing he assumed they arrived with the other three in the year 1000 of the Third Age. In some of his last writing on Middle-earth, he instead decided they had arrived a whole 2,400 years earlier, with Glorfindel around 1600 of the Second Age.
• Cryptic Background Reference: Saruman mentions them by talking about the Five Wizards, which might puzzle the reader given that only three of them are shown in the story. Their story is only expanded in Tolkien's letters and writings.
• The Dividual: In Tolkien's writings, they are referred as the Blue Wizards, sharing a symbolic color while the rest of the Wizards had one each, and also travelled together.
• The Ghost: Even more than Radagast, they are never seen.
• Hero of Another Story: By what is known, they were sent as emissaries to enemy-occupied lands East and South, where they apparently stirred up rebellion against the Melkor worship brought by Sauron. They seemingly had "great influence on the history of the Second Age and Third Age in weakening and disarraying the forces of East, who would both in the Second Age and Third Age otherwise have outnumbered the West". They may even have been sent much earlier than the other three, hence the mention of the Second Age.
• I Have Many Names: Zig-zagged as well. One of Tolkien's writings, an "essay" about the Istari, says that their names were unknown to the West and they were only known as the Blue Wizards. But then he also wrote a narrative about the Istari's recruitment where the Blue Wizards' names before becoming Istari were Alatar and Pallando, but with no etymologies provided. Later he wrote that they were called Morinehtar and Rómestámo, meaning "Darkness-slayer" and "East-helper" respectively. And in a very late text, he decided that the six Guardians the Valar sent to protect the Elves at Cuiviénen shortly after their awakening were Melian and the spirits who would one day become the Istari... probably. While Saruman, Gandalf and Radagast are there^note Under the names Tarindor, Olórin and Hrávandil, he mentions two more names - Palacendo ("Far-sighted one") and Haimenar ("Far-farer") - but does not explicitly say they are the future Blue Wizards. He also never clarified how any of the previous names correlated to the newer ones.
• Minor Major Character: Possibly the greatest case in the story. Apparently, if it had not been for the Blue Wizards, Sauron would have downright won the war, or conquered everyone much earlier, so the story happening at all like it did might be ultimately thanks to them.
• Our Angels Are Different: As with the other Istari they are actually Maiar clothed in the bodies of men.
• Time Abyss: Like all Wizards, they are technically older than the whole universe.
• True Companions: Quite possibly - the singular note of actual characterisation they receive is that Oromë chose Alatar to go to Middle-earth, and Alatar decided to bring Pallando along as a friend and companion.
• Unknown Character: The only information that can be inferred from books is that there are two more Wizards working against Sauron, nothing more. Even Tolkien's thoughts about them lack certainty.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Their fate after the events of the story are unknown.

Ents

Treebeard

An old Ent, and master (and namesake) of Fangorn Forest.

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• Beware the Nice Ones: Under all ordinary circumstances, Treebeard is a Gentle Giant. When he realizes that his forest's survival is at stake, he turns his (enormous) strength and patience against Saruman.
• Constantly Curious: Downplayed. Treebeard thinks he's Seen It All, so when anything genuinely new comes along (such as hobbits), he's fascinated.
• Green Aesop: Treebeard's message (both in and out of universe) is very clear: Don't mess with the forest or the forest will absolutely destroy you. Tolkien was, after all, a dedicated environmentalist.
• Heroic Neutral: He regards the rest of the world as "none of my business," and only worries about Fangorn.
  Treebeard: I am not altogether on anybody's side, because nobody is altogether on my side, if you understand me; nobody cares for the woods as I care for them, not even Elves nowadays.
• Hidden Depths: At first the hobbits take him for some strange monster. Then they discover that he's kindly, if rather long-winded and indolent. And after persuading him that Saruman is a threat, they discover that his wrath is fearsome.
• Horrible Judge of Character: He admits that already in their last encounters Saruman seemed secretive and untrustworthy, but Treebeard still took too much time to act against him, which has dire consequences (although this may be simply because Ents are literally slow-minded). Treebeard also seems to be unaware that Saruman is a Maia, as he calls him young, when Maiar are older than any living thing and the world itself.
• Neutral No Longer: After seeing the devastation Saruman has wrought, Fangorn leads the Ents and their trees to war. Stone walls are ripped to fragments. Armies disappear into the trees and are never seen again.
• Name That Unfolds Like A Lotus Blossom: A major Entish cultural trait. Taken up to eleven, as Ent names are lengthy summaries of their whole lives.
• Outside-Context Problem: Treebeard and his Ents were left out of Saruman's calculations when he decided to Take Over the World. Even if Saruman knew about their existence, as he and Treebeard knew each other, he clearly didn't count on them to act against him.
  • The same applied to Sauron's forces, who, according to Treebeard, clearly were not informed that they might run into Ents in Rohan:
    Treebeard: And these same foul creatures were more than surprised to meet us out on the Wold, for they had not heard of us before, though that might be said also of better folk. And not many will remember us, for not many escaped alive...
• Overly Long Name: His real name is the story of his life, according to him. Like most Ents, he is therefore Only Known By His Nickname. One of which is his Sindarin name, Fangorn. Yes, the whole forest is named after one guy.
• Time Abyss: Perhaps the second- or third-oldest physical creature (Maiar don't count) in Middle-Earth. Círdan, having possibly awoken with the first generation of Elves at Cuivienen way back in the Years of the Trees, or at least having been born within the first few hundred years after the Elves woke up, might be older still, and Tom Bombadil is as old as or older than the world. If Treebeard was one of the original generation of Ents, he came into being shortly after the Awakening of the Elves and is therefore over 13,000 years old when he comes into the story.
• Treants: As the primary Ent character in the books, he has one of the stronger claims for being the Trope Maker. The books mostly depict him as a giant but otherwise fairly standard humanoid whose anatomy and appearance are reminiscent of plant life (unless one goes for the interpretation of the first Ents having originated as spirits that fused with living trees).
• Verbal Tic: Hoom, hmm, don't be hasty, now...
• When Trees Attack: He destroys Saruman's war effort and quest for the Ring.

Quickbeam

A younger ent who shelters Merry and Pippin during the entmoot.

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• Bash Brothers: With Treebeard at Isengard.
• Beware the Nice Ones: A very friendly, gentle-hearted Ent, he goes completely berserk when he sees Saruman and comes very close to catching and killing him. Pippin comments that Quickbeam's very gentleness makes his wrath all the more terrible.
• Hot-Blooded: Only by Entish standards, which means still very slow and patient by mortals' standards. He made up his mind to attack Isengard after "only" one day of continuous debate, while the other Ents took two more to come to the same decision.
• It's Personal: Saruman was particularly cruel to the rowan trees under his guard. This feeds into his decision to go into battle.
• Leeroy Jenkins: By Entish standards, he is very quick to rush into battle with Saruman.
• Meaningful Name: He is called Quickbeam because he is unusually hasty for an ent. A scholarly pun on Tolkien's part, since quickbeam is an old name for his associated rowan or mountain-ash tree. ^note  although it actually incorporates the old meaning of "quick:" living (as in "the quick and the dead") rather than rapid, speedy.
• The Older Immortal: Inverted, he is the youngest of the ents.
• Treants: Like all the other Ents.

Tom Bombadil's household

Tom Bombadil

Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow;
Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow.
None has ever caught him yet, for Tom, he is the Master:
His songs are stronger songs, and his feet are faster.

A strange... person who lives in the Old Forest just outside the Shire. Tom is the forest's "Master" and nothing can harm him within its borders. His nature is a mystery — he was old even when the first Elves entered his part of the world. He lives in a little house with his wife, the river-spirit Goldberry. Tom was the first person the hobbits met after leaving the Shire and he provided them safe passage along the early part of their journey. He also gave them their swords after he rescued them in the Barrow-downs. He refuses to get involved in the War of the Ring and sits the whole thing out.

"Tom" was originally a doll which belonged to Tolkien, and later became the star of a humorous poem Tolkien wrote in 1934 that had no connection to Middle-Earth. He only appeared in The Lord of the Rings as a sort of guest-star. He later got his own spinoff in 1962, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, a book of poems presented as in-universe poems from the Shire.

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• Adapted Out: The three chapters where Tom appears were completely left out of the Peter Jackson adaptation, where his name isn't even mentioned (although a few of his lines were given to Treebeard in the extended cut of The Two Towers), and he doesn't show up in the Animated Adaptation done by Ralph Bakshi or the 1981 radio adaptation either. To date, only the 1991 Russian film, the 1993 miniseries and a few videogames have included Tom Bombadil at all. Admittedly, he is the kind of character who a) might perfectly be excised from the plot without changing anything major, b) it would be very hard to adapt in any kind of serious fashion, c) would weird out most modern audiences even in the best of the cases, and d) not many people know about in the first place.
• Almighty Idiot: It's telling that smuggling Hobbits into Mordor with only nine people who barely work together is considered better odds than convincing Bombadil to do something, even keeping the One Ring he is immune to until they sort things out.
• Ambiguously Human: He looks sort of like a short Man or a tall Dwarf, but whatever he is, he surely isn't either of those. Oddly, the admittedly weird 1991 Russian version chose to portray this the opposite way, by having Tom and Goldberry being twice the size of the human-sized Hobbits.
• Ambiguous Situation: He calls himself "the Eldest" and claims to remember "the first raindrop and the first acorn" and that he "knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless—before the Dark Lord came from Outside" (probably referring to Morgoth, the first enemy of Middle-earth, and not Sauron). Assuming he is telling the truth — and Elrond implies that he is — this is the only unambiguous thing about Tom, as well as the main obstacle when trying to fit him in any possible identity. Whether those words mean that he was there when the world was shaped or that he is somehow part of the world is never explained. Possibilities of just what Tom is include: a maia spirit, a manifestation of Nature or the World, Tolkien, and Eru Himself.
• Arcadian Interlude: The time the hobbits spend with him is a light-hearted happy sequence full of singing and eating in his idyllic patch of country.
• The Artifact: It could be argued that he is a holdover from when Lord of the Rings was suppose to a short children's book much like its predecessor The Hobbit. He certainly is the type of character children would like.
• Blue-and-Orange Morality: Gandalf notes that this is likely the reason the Ring doesn't work on Tom. The Ring has no power over him, and conversely he has no power over the Ring. He simply does not understand why the Ring would have any special value—whatever he is, he just doesn't think the same way as any other creature in Middle-earth.
• Call on Me: He instructs the Hobbits to call upon him with a silly rhyme if they need his help, which they most definitely do when confronted by the Barrow-Wights. He shows up almost immediately to save them.
• The Cameo: As mentioned above, Tom's presence in the book is a nod to one of Tolkien's older poems.
• Cloudcuckoolanguage: He is a carefree and mysterious something who often sings to himself and speaks almost exclusively in meter, liberally peppered with nonsense phrases like "hey dol! merry dol" and "ring a ding dillo".
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Well, "moron" is probably too strong a term, but Tom doesn't seem like any sort of warrior — he's a stout, jolly person who speaks in verse and wears a bright-blue jacket and yellow boots. His main hobbies are collecting flowers, riding his pony, and telling stories to travelers. And he's also (potentially) the most ancient and most powerful entity in the entirety of Middle-Earth, to the point where the One Ring can't affect him. Oh, and it turns out those rhymes have the ability to banish undead wights and possibly the Ringwraiths themselves. According to Gandalf, if Sauron regains the Ring and conquers the world, it's Bombadil, out of all of Middle Earth, who will hold out the longest.
• Domain Holder: The root of his power. It's limited to the area where he is "Master", however.
• Eccentric Mentor: Tells stories and gives weapons to the four Hobbits, and is rather bonkers.
• Foil: To Gandalf. Both of them are bearded humanoids with supernatural powers, but Gandalf is a man of action, while Tom is a man of inaction, to put it in few words. Interestingly, when the events of the story are over, Gandalf states he intends to have a long conversation with Tom about what to do since his job is basically over.
• Friend to All Living Things: Except badgers and Old Man Willow (and even then, he sounds more like a frustrated parent scolding a naughty child than actually enraged).
• Genre Refugee: He wandered into Tolkien's Legendarium from a series of poems that Tolkien wrote for his children. Wise characters like Elrond and Gandalf are aware of him and, despite not knowing what he is (Gandalf is implied to know, but he doesn't explain), they aren't afraid of him, but don't think he cares too much about the epic fantasy going on. This is played semi-seriously when Frodo suggests giving Tom the ring to hold onto, only to be gently shot down by Gandalf.
• Great Gazoo: A silly, oddly-dressed fellow who goes around singing nonsense... who can cow Old Man Willow and barrow-wights just by said singing, and can put on The One Ring as if it was just any piece of jewellery. Even Gandalf speculates that, were Sauron to triumph over the forces of good, Bombadil's territory would be the last place to fall.
• Happily Married: To Goldberry, daughter of the river.
• I Have Many Names: "Tom Bombadil" is just what the Hobbits and the Men of Bree call him, though he does call himself this way in front of the main characters, presumably for this reason. He has many other names, including Iarwain Ben-Adar ("Oldest and Fatherless") to the Elves, Orald ("very ancient") to the Northmen, and Forn (not explained, but probably a similar meaning, given that the same word does mean that in real life Old Norse) to the Dwarves. If he has a real name, we never get to hear it.
• Immune to Mind Control: The Ring does not strictly control minds, but it does have a strong ability to influence them, enhancing their greatest desire and, given enough time, warping whoever is wearing it so that they value only power and domination - an evil version of what they once were. But not Tom Bombadil. Tom is not impressed by the Ring. Tom, in fact, thinks the Ring is funny. It doesn't work on him at all and he casually plays with it, performing a couple of parlour tricks, before handing it back to Frodo. Indeed, it seems he can even see Frodo when he's wearing it.
• Inconspicuous Immortal: Was old even before the Elves arrived and may have even been there before the world itself was created. He can banish Barrow-Wights merely by song alone and The One Ring has absolutely no effect on him whatsoever. As it is, he is perfectly content with picking flowers, riding his pony, enjoying good food, singing, and entertaining travellers.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: More like Incorruptible Pure Neutrality. The Ring has no power over him — possibly because he has no ambition to speak of, even less than the Hobbits, or possibly because he is simply too alien for its corruption to work on him.
• Inexplicably Awesome: He can banish evil trees, barrow-wights, and it's implied even Nazgûl. Also, he can apparently teleport, the Ring has no effect over him, and has some damn catchy songs. It is notable that even the Elves seem unable to understand exactly what or who Tom is.
• Just Eat Gilligan: Subverted. Someone does suggest giving the Ring to Bombadil since it has no effect on him whatsoever, but Gandalf shoots him down because Tom would probably lose the damn thing specifically because it's no big deal to him. (Also, it's believed by the characters that even Tom's power couldn't keep out the entire host of Mordor indefinitely once Sauron learned its location.)
• Law of Conservation of Detail: Not even Tolkien himself looked sure what Tom is meant to be, but in a letter on the topic, he seems to indicate that the mystery of Tom's nature is the entire point, Tom being an embodiment of the fact that there are logically going to be far more people and things in any given setting than get to show up in the actual story.
• Magic Music: As he puts it, "his songs are stronger songs." He exorcises the Barrow-Wight with one.
• Music Soothes the Savage Beast: Rather, savage trees.
• Nature Spirit: This is more-or-less the closest we can come to a guess at what he's supposed to be, helped by a cryptic hint in Letters by J. R. R. Tolkien that he is "the spirit of the vanishing landscapes of Oxfordshire and Berkshire."
• No-Sell: The Ring holds absoutely no power over him, and Tom is merely amused by it when he holds it in his hand and briefly puts it on, regarding it as nothing but a harmless curiosity. It is also why Gandalf dismisses the suggestion to ask Tom to be the keeper of the Ring. Since Tom just sees the ring as a mere piece of unimportant jewelry, it is highly likely that he would either just forget about it, misplace it, or even throw it away without a second thought if he was asked to hold on to it.
• Offscreen Teleportation: He appears outside the barrow as soon as the hobbits sing his calling rhyme.
• Rhymes on a Dime: Is prone to breaking out into song. Even when not rhyming, he almost always speaks in poetic meter.
• Single Specimen Species: He's not a Man, not an Elf, not a Dwarf, and probably not a Vala or a Maia either. What he is is up for debate, but one thing's for sure: with the possible exception of Goldberry, he's the only one like him that we see.
• The Storyteller: He loves to tell tales. When the hobbits come to his care, they spend all day eagerly sitting in his living room and hearing him spin fantastic yarns. Even when he isn't directly telling a story, Tom has a sense of showmanship and grandeur in his language — especially when he boasts of his own power and strength.
• Team Dad: He briefly becomes one to the hobbits when they visit his house. He can sense that they're badly shaken up after their encounter with Old Man Willow and entertains them with stories and delicious food to help them feel better. Later, when Pippin and Merry begin having nightmares about the experience, Tom (without being told) enters their room and calms them down, much like a father would to a child after a bad dream.
• Time Abyss: Tom is Eldest and Fatherless. He is apparently as old as Arda, if he is not Arda itself as suggested above.
• Wacky Wayside Tribe: The time with Bombadil is an interesting and amusing interlude, and the possibility of leaving the Ring with him is discussed later at the Council of Elrond, but it doesn't really contribute much to the story besides world-building and giving the hobbits barrow-blades, and the tone is much lighter than the rest of the narrative. It is worth mentioning that Sam wishes he was present when they encountered Shelob, which leads him directly over to the memory of Galadriel's lamp.
• Wrong Context Magic: The Ring has absolutely no sway on Tom, this is explicitly impossible as no one can resist the ring. It's not a matter of might or willpower, it just keeps gnawing at you until you try and take it for yourself. Not for Tom, who just puts it on without a second thought and then starts doing little magic tricks on it instead for a quick laugh. Considering even Gandalf is tempted by the power of the Ring, this is just another reminder that whoever or whatever Tom Bombadil is, he is very out of place.

Goldberry

Tom Bombadil's wife, also known as the "River-woman's daughter", who lives in the Old Forest along with him. A figure as mysterious as him, if not more-so, she appeared for the first time in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, where he captures her into his bride.

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• Adapted Out: Just like Tom, she is absent from almost all adaptations. Ironically, one of the few piece of media in which she appears, The Lord of the Rings Online, gives her a bit of Adaptation Expansion, as it lists her race as "River-maid" and gives her a wicked sister named Naruhel.
• Ambiguously Human: She looks like a human and an Elf, but is clearly not any of them.
• Ambiguous Situation: Very much like Tom, the only safe notes about Goldberry are that she fits no established race in Middle-earth and that she is somehow related to nature, as well as that she is possibly very old: the rest is sheer speculation. It is also hinted, however, that whatever Tom is, she is not quite like him, or at least not as ancient.
• Duel of Seduction: A sort of lyric variation in their first meeting with Tom: she tried to lure Tom to the river, but it's him who lured her into his clutches at the end.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Has golden hair and is a helpful and good-natured character.
• Happily Married: Her marriage with Bombadil is described by authors quoted in The Other Wiki as "the only functioning one in The Lord of the Rings". Which is ironic, given that it started with Tom kidnapping her.
• Mathematician's Answer: When Frodo asks her who is really Tom, she answers "he is". The Spanish translation, where this particular pun would sound weird, changes her answer to a similarly witty "it's him".
• Nature Spirit: Tolkien considered her as "the seasonal changes in nature". Indeed, her "spring cleaning" involves a massive (possibly multi-day) rainstorm.
• Satellite Character: While Tolkien left Tom's nature open as a deliberate enigma, he bothered even less with Goldberry, whose main characterization is to be Bombadil's wife and seemingly a Nature Spirit on her own.
• Time Abyss: She is clearly very ancient. Apparently not as much as Tom, though: she notably avoids describing herself in the same terms of immeasurable age as him, and refers to him as oldest than any other being in Middle-Earth, implying she is counting herself among them.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: While Tom's not explicitly ugly, he still looks like a middle step between Men and Dwarves; meanwhile, Goldberry is described as an Elven-like beautiful human.

Eagles

Gwaihir

The greatest and the swiftest of the Eagles of Middle-earth at the time of the War of the Ring.

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• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: He leads the Eagles in battle because he is the greatest and swiftest among them.
• Big Damn Heroes: Makes a habit of this, in the First Age he rescues Beren and Luthien from Angband, and in the Third Age, he rescues Gandalf from Orthanc.
• Courier: This was initially the reason he was sent to Orthanc, to bring the news to Saruman that Gollum had escaped Mirkwood. This is in fact, the original purpose the Eagles were all to serve, as the messengers of Manwë.
• Guardian Angel: Manwë sent him and the other Eagles to Middle-Earth to watch over and protect the Noldor.
• Heroic Lineage: He's a descendant and vassal of Thorondor, the greatest Eagle in the First Age.
• Heroic Neutral: The Eagles do not involve themselves in the War of the Ring, but Gwaihir himself frequently aids Radagast and Gandalf.
• Meaningful Name: Gwaihir translates roughly to "Wind Lord." Fittingly, he is lord of a race of giant birds.
• Noble Bird of Prey: While he's not quite Thorondor, he is still large enough to carry a man, and noble enough to serve the Istari in their times of need.
• Really 700 Years Old: He was around in the First Age, and the Third.

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