Characters / The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship

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

The Fellowship of the Ring

""The Company of the Ring shall be Nine; and the Nine Walkers shall be set against the Nine Riders that are evil."
—Elrond

Nine companions, including members of each of the free peoples (Men, Elves, Dwarves and Hobbits), who were united at the Council of Elrond. Though their paths diverge, they remain always bound together by friendship and by a vow to destroy the One Ring and rid the land of Sauron's corruption, no matter how difficult that may prove to be.

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Frodo Baggins

"I should like to save the Shire, if I could - though there have been times when I thought the inhabitants too stupid and dull for words, and have felt that an earthquake or an invasion of dragons might be good for them. But I don't feel like that now. I feel that as long as the Shire lies behind, safe and comfortable, I shall find wandering more bearable: I shall know that somewhere there is a firm foothold, even if my feet cannot stand there again."

Frodo Baggins is an adventurous hobbit of the Shire who inherits a seemingly-harmless magic ring from his eccentric cousin Bilbo after the latter's disappearance, only discovering what it actually is many years later. Despite his lack of experience and the dangers ahead, Frodo volunteers to carry the Ring to Mount Doom and there destroy it.

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• Achey Scars: Frodo's tend to ache on the anniversary of their infliction. His inability to bear the pain is one of the main reasons he ends up traveling to the Undying Lands to be healed.
• Actual Pacifist: Frodo is willing to use violence in self-defense early in the story (for instance, against the cave troll in Moria), but after his ordeal with the Ring, he is unwilling even to draw weapons in the scouring of the Shire.
• Asleep for Days: Frodo does this in Rivendell after being near-fatally wounded by the Nazgûl. It happens again to both him and Sam after getting rescued from Mount Doom, due to their near starving, wounded state.
• Armor Is Useless: Mostly averted, since Bilbo's mithril chainmail armor from The Hobbit saves his life several times, until Shelob stings him on the neck.
• Badass Adorable: Frodo is a Hobbit and is as small and cute as they tend to be, but a fighter in his own right, though to a lesser degree than the other hobbits (and even Bilbo who killed many giant spiders in The Hobbit). The most blood he ever draws "in hot blood" is by stabbing a cave-troll's foot and he clearly never kills anyone or anything unlike the others, even if he's the first of the hobbits to actually fight (in the Barrows). However, he shows a lot of courage and moral fortitude in situations other than fighting.
• Badass Pacifist: During the Scouring of the Shire, he is able to lead the hobbits to victory without ever drawing a weapon, and urges his friends not to hurt anyone. Mostly, it works.
• Battle Cry: Quite unusually for him and to his own surprise, he screams "The Shire!" when he stabs at a cave troll in Moria, driving it off.
• Beautiful Dreamer: In a platonic variant, both Sam and Gollum at different points pause to watch him sleeping peacefully, and the sight is beautiful enough to move both of them: Sam outwardly declares his love for Frodo, and Gollum briefly reconsiders feeding him to Shelob.
• Benevolent Boss: Technically he is Sam's employer (although Sam's duties were really more oriented toward weeding gardens and trimming hedges, not saving the world). Still, from the very start he's more of a friend, and the friendship only gets closer during their journey.
• Book Smart: As well-read as hobbits come. Frodo speaks a bit of elvish, which is unusual for a hobbit, and likes to meet up with elves and learn more. He uses phrases like "ayia Earendil elenion ancalime!" ^note Hail Earendil, the brigthest of stars! in appropriate situations. He's also implied to have personally written the majority of the text of The Lord of the Rings - which is a pretty complex work, to say the least.
• Break the Cutie: The story is largely an exercise in torturing him physically and mentally. He does not get better.
• The Chosen One: The trope is flip-flopped. This seems to be his role in the first part of the trilogy - Gandalf even says he was 'meant' to have the Ring - but The Corruption of the Ring is so strong that even a particularly steadfast, resilient Chosen One carrying it for the best of motives, with the fate of his homeland and all his friends at stake, may not have the strength to fulfill his destiny. In the end, after a long and horrible struggle, it breaks him.
• Classical Anti-Hero: As Return of the King progresses he fails to destroy the Ring, is tormented by his physical and emotional scars, and drifts into a more and more passive role, especially in "The Scouring of the Shire."
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Though he and Bilbo are both hobbits of the same family who are given the call to adventure by Gandalf, the actual structure of that journey ends up being almost inverted. Bilbo is a sedentary fellow by nature who has to practically get dragged out the door to go on his journey, while Frodo seems to have always wanted to follow in his uncle's footsteps and spends a lot of time actively planning his journey. Bilbo starts off as largely passive, but takes a much more active role in the proceedings as time goes on, while Frodo starts out as the most skilled and adventure-hungry of the hobbits but takes an increasing backseat to Sam and others when the Ring starts bearing down on him. And while Bilbo concludes the story as a far better person, craving another adventure and deeply enriched (both figuratively and literally) by his experiences, Frodo ends up scarred on both his body and soul, desperate to return to a home that no longer exists.
• Conveniently an Orphan: His parents drowned in the Brandywine River, his adoptive father, Bilbo, left just when Frodo turned legally adult, making sure he'll inherit enough for comfortable living. Frodo never marries, and while he has friends, he tends to live in his books. Hence, when Call to Adventure comes, he's free to take it.
• Cool Sword: First the Dúnedain blade from the Barrow Downs that Tom Bombadil gave him, which the Nazgûl shattered at the Ford of Bruinen. Later Sting, an ancient Elvish blade given to him by Bilbo (who found and used it on his adventure). Though both are really just knives or daggers, hobbits are just that small compared to Elves and Men.
• The Corruption: Linked to the Ring. It slowly wears away all his forms of resistance, even his memories of good things, in its effort to make him its slave. By the time Sam suggests that they carry it in relays to slow the terrible process, Frodo can no longer give it up.
• Cowardly Lion: Frodo is a little hobbit with no combat experience in a Quest filled with monsters and supernatural horrors, and he will readily admit how terrified he is of all of them. He wonders in his conversation with Gildor where he will find courage, and even claims to Gandalf that he hasn't any. Yet he never lets his fear stop him for long and ends up facing down trolls, Ringwraiths, Barrow-wights and giant spiders and making them retreat.
• Determinator: Despite the increasingly horrible things that happen to him, Frodo never stops trying to reach Mount Doom, and never gives in to the Ring's temptation until the very end.
• Determined Defeatist: Due to the Ring's crushing influence on his mind and his own self-awareness, Frodo toward the end of the story has no real hope that he can ever actually fulfill the quest, but presses on nonetheless. This is in contrast to Sam, who holds onto hope that they can fulfill the quest and survive it until the end. In an early draft, Gandalf even gave Frodo a name that meant "Endurance Beyond Hope."
• Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: When he is stabbed by the Lord of the Nazgûl, Frodo cries "O Elbereth! Gilthoniel!" It proves to be surprisingly effective as it ends up being one of several factors that drive the wraiths off. It's later even remarked that Frodo's invocation of the Valar Queen's name did more harm to the Nazgûl than his blade.
• Disney Death: He survives being bitten by Shelob. Of course, in this case, they actually give an explanation for why he survived via the Orcs when they discover him.^note To put it bluntly, biting him and thus injecting him with her venom was only the first part of the process of ingestion, and the venom acted more as a paralyzing agent than an actual fatal substance.
• Dub Name Change: "Frodon Sacquet" in French ("sac" meaning "bag"). Or "Frodo Bessac" in the new translation. "Frodo Bolsón" in Spanish ("Bolsón" meaning something like "Bigbag")
• Filching Food for Fun: When he was a child, he would on several occasions steal mushrooms from Farmer Maggot's farm, getting caught several times but coming back to do it again. It got so bad that the last time he did this, Maggot beat him and said he would set his dogs on him if he ever returned to his property. Since then, Frodo has had quite a fear of Maggot. Even when the Hobbits stumble on Maggot's property while on the run from the Nazgûl, Frodo is momentarily just as afraid to step foot inside the gate.
• Fingore: At the crux of his quest, Frodo succumbs to the One Ring's temptations and puts it on - at which point Gollum bites his ring finger off to reclaim the Ring for himself.
• Foreshadowing: In the second chapter, Frodo couldn't even throw the One Ring into his own fireplace. This foreshadowed his failure to throw the One Ring into the Cracks of Doom.
• Gentleman Adventurer: Despite enjoying a rather comfortable lifestyle in the Shire, he inherited his wanderlust and thirst for adventures from his uncle Bilbo.
• Good Is Not Soft: Frodo tells Gollum that he must obey him, because if not, Frodo will put on the Ring, and order Gollum to jump off a cliff or something like that. This astounds Sam, who had always assumed that Frodo's kindness must imply a fair measure of blindness, and reduces Gollum, who made the same mistake, to whimpering terror.
  Frodo: "In the last need, Sméagol, I should put on the Precious; and the Precious mastered you long ago. If I, wearing it, were to command you, you would obey, even if it were to leap from a precipice or to cast yourself into the fire. And such would be my command."
  • Expanded on with his penultimate confrontation with Gollum at the foot of Mount Doom. The One Ring turned Gollum into a pitiable figure, but to Sam's astonishment, Frodo uses the Ring's power to give himself strength and send Gollum away. If he had claimed the Ring, it's possible Frodo could have become a Dark Lord in his own right.
  Before it stood stern, untouchable now by pity, a figure robed in white, but at its breast it held a wheel of fire. Out of the fire there spoke a commanding voice. "Begone, and trouble me no more! If you touch me ever again, you shall be cast yourself into the Fire of Doom."
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold; Downplayed. He's not usually pictured as blond or blondish in visual depictions, and it is ambiguous if Gandalf's description of him being "fairer than some hobbits" refers to him being blonder and/or paler or simply more handsome, but if it is read as him being blondish then it certainly lines up with his nature.
• Heroic Vow: Frodo is the only member of the Fellowship who swears any such vow, accepting a solemn charge while departing on the Quest to Mount Doom, since Elrond advises the others not to. Frodo holds to his vow all the way to Mount Doom.
• The Hero's Journey: Frodo undergoes the tragic version of the trope at the same time that Aragorn is undertaking the triumphant version: He ultimately fails his final temptation and rather than bringing him enlightenment, the journey leaves him shell-shocked.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Sam.
• Hidden Depths: His willingness to sacrifice himself for his country (see the folder quote above) surprises even Gandalf.
  'My dear Frodo!' exclaimed Gandalf. 'Hobbits really are amazing creatures, as I have said before. You can learn all that there is to know about their ways in a month, and yet after a hundred years they can still surprise you at a pinch.…'
• Honor Before Reason: His decision to spare Gollum's life is at least partially this, as he understands perfectly the logical reasons Sam has for not wanting to keep him around, but ultimately chooses mercy because he thinks it's the right thing to do. It only occurs to him that Gollum can help them find Mordor later.
• Humble Hero: His humility is an essential trait in his resisting the Ring as long as he does. He is often seen Dismissing a Compliment when he receives one and giving others such as Sam or Aragorn the credit.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Laments that he wished the Ring had never come to him at one point (before he's anywhere near his darkest hour), and that he wished the conflict didn't have to happen in his time, prompting Gandalf to respond that all who live to see such times wish this, and that all he has to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to him.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Zigzagged with Frodo. He seems to be The Chosen One for this reason: ie, his humility, innocence, and moral fortitude (not to mention courage, wit, and stealth) making him the best man for the job of Ring-bearer. However, this gets Deconstructed when he finally breaks and gives in to the Ring's temptation in Mount Doom, showing he is corruptible after all. But it's also Played With in the fact that the Quest is still fulfilled after all of Frodo and Sam's efforts (with Word of God stating that pretty much nobody could have done better than him, and the 'Incorruptible' standard was literally impossible for any finite being) because of those same good qualities - in his long resistance to the ring, and his mercy to Gollum.
• In the Hood: Like most of the Fellowship, he wears a traveler's hooded cloak. Later, it's replaced by one of Elven make.
• I Should Write a Book About This: Frodo is the in-universe author of The Lord of the Rings (though based on recountings from his friends and comrades, and the final chapter is hinted to have been written by Sam).
• It Sucks to Be the Chosen One: Frodo inherits a seemingly innocuous ring as an heirloom of his eccentric uncle and feels called by fate to volunteer to take it to Mount Doom, with Elrond and Gandalf agreeing that he's right and the task has fallen to him. For his trouble, he endures months of physical and psychological torment by the Ring, gets stabbed by a Morgul-knife, gets wounded by an orc-captain's spear, gets stung by Shelob, gets kidnapped, stripped, interrogated and whipped by orcs, has his finger bitten off by Gollum, has to live with the guilt and shame of ultimately having his will broken by the Ring, and even after all that, his lingering wounds and trauma leave him unable to remain with his friends in Middle-earth, and needing to cross the Sea to the Undying Lands in order to know any kind of peace again.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: While he means in-universe, he says "...it is all too likely that some will say at this point: 'Shut the book now, dad; we don't want to read any more.'"
• The Load: A tragic and completely justified example. By the time he and Sam reach Mount Doom, the poor guy is just so beaten down from all the injuries he's taken and from carrying the ring that he begins to rely more and more on Sam just to get around. At one point Sam has to literally carry him.
• Memetic Badass: In-Universe. A rumor about the Quest told in Minas Tirith is that he fought Sauron all by himself and set fire to Barad-Dûr. Nooot quite...
• Messianic Archetype: Carries a great burden, dies and gets resurrected, and is generally a very sweet guy? Check. Wounded in the side by a spear, tempted, and scourged with whips? Triple-check. Though he differs from most in that he is flawed and fallible.
• Mind Rape: On the receiving end of it. For roughly seventeen years the Ring isn't really doing much, but as its creator wakes up and begins searching for it, the Ring is actively trying to get back to him. For the Ringbearer, this causes: bouts of losing control over his own hands (that reach for the Ring and try to put it on against Frodo's will), paranoia (attacks of an intense fear that someone he normally trusts is out to steal the Ring from him), generally hating the thought of parting with the Ring, (probably) hearing voices, especially while asleep, Silence of Sadness and all-around loss of energy, up to becoming downright lethargic for the last couple of days on the quest, perceiving the Ring as heavy, visions, fears, hopelessness and other emotional suffering. He never complains, just matter-of-factly tells Sam when he's too tired to move. Even after the Ring is destroyed, Frodo still has flashbacks and Achey Scars and is definitely changed.
• 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. He seems to gain awareness of this fact during the trip.
• More Hero than Thou: He attempts to abandon all the rest so he doesn't drag them into danger, and almost succeeds entirely; Sam is the only one who catches on in time. After he and Sam go off alone, he insists that carrying the Ring is his doom and Sam can't help him with it, probably at least partly because he doesn't want Sam to suffer the way he is.
• Music for Courage: He sings while being held prisoner in the Tower of Cirith Ungol, in response to Sam's Music for Courage singing. This is how Sam's able to find him.
• My God, What Have I Done?: After Sam finds him in the Tower of Cirith Ungol, he offers to 'share' carrying the Ring with him, which Frodo reacts very badly to, hallucinating Sam as a greedy orc, snapping at him and calling him a 'thief.' But when he comes to his senses and sees that he's made Sam cry, he has this reaction.
  'O Sam!' cried Frodo. 'What have I said? What have I done? Forgive me!'
• My Greatest Failure: Word of God is that he feels 'unreasoning self-reproach' for his failure to destroy the ring of his own free will and views himself as a 'broken failure' because of it, though this guilt is only obliquely referred to in the text.
• Named After the Injury: Becomes famous as "Frodo of the Nine Fingers" after losing the tenth to Gollum in the climax of the story.
• Named Weapons: The aforementioned Sting, named by Bilbo.
• Never Accepted in His Hometown: Sadly despite all his feats in the Outside, he gets very little respect from the Hobbits of the Shire for his deeds with Merry, Pippin and even Sam being more well-regarded for their victory against the ruffians, since Frodo played only a supporting role in that.
• Nice Guy: His kindness and compassion are Frodo's most notable traits. Per Word of God this is what saves him from a Fate Worse than Death, i.e. becoming a ringwraith. With his mercy to Saruman, he's bordering on becoming an All-Loving Hero by the end of the story.
• Older Than He Looks: Due to the Ring's power, Frodo looks like a thirty-three-year-old Hobbit (which is what he was when he initially received the Ring) until at least his fiftieth birthday. The Appendices reveal that he's actually ten years older than Boromir. Thus, in terms of age, he's exactly in the middle of the Fellowship (Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn are older; Boromir, Sam, Merry, and Pippin are younger).
• Plagued by Nightmares: Frodo is stated to have recurring nightmares throughout the quest, and they get increasingly worse as he approaches Mount Doom and the effect of the Ring increases.
• The Power of Friendship: Sam's unwavering commitment to helping him is ultimately what sees the quest through to Mount Doom.
• The Protagonist: As much as The Lord of the Rings has a single protagonist.
• Psychic Dreams for Everyone: Even before the Ring starts working its charms in earnest, Frodo has flashes of clairvoyance. For instance, while a guest at Tom Bombadil's house he dreams of Gandalf's imprisonment in Orthanc, but can only interpret the dream correctly when Gandalf tells him about it.
• The Quest: He volunteers to be the one to take the One Ring across the continent to its destruction in Mordor - not (solely) from a love of adventure but from a sense of responsibility.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: He's the calm, courteous, introspective blue to Sam's impulsive, emotional red. Most noticeable with Gollum: Frodo is always polite while Sam bristles at him.
• Resigned to the Call: Though he had an adventurous spirit and longed to follow in Bilbo's footsteps, he seemed to know from the beginning that bearing the Ring was not going to be pleasant. Yet beyond lamenting that he wished it had not fallen to him, he does not resist, and soberly accepts the very demanding Call he receives to be the Ring-bearer, and never backs down from that duty, no matter how harrowing it becomes.
• Ring on a Necklace: He wears the One Ring on a chain around his neck. This is fully justified, as putting the Ring on causes the wearer to become more vulnerable to both the Ring's powers and to detection by Sauron. Keeping it on a chain also decreases the chance of the Ring escaping by slipping out of a pocket, as it did with Gollum. It further symbolises how Frodo is literally and figuratively "chained" to the Ring and the burden it is to him.
• Shipper on Deck: He's a big supporter of Sam/Rosie. He even invites them to move into his house, since Sam can't decide to stop looking after him even for marriage.
• Stranger in a Familiar Land: Frodo realises after returning to Bag End that he cannot call the Shire his home anymore, nor indeed any place in Middle-Earth. He's been changed too much.
• Supporting Protagonist: Frodo is technically 'the hero' of the story as the story does centre around him, even though the Word of God has favored Sam as the more conventional hero of the story.
• Thou Shalt Not Kill: Already the least violent member of the Fellowship, he adopts this philosophy by the end of The Return of the King, even towards Saruman.
• Tragic Hero: Tolkien has said that Frodo cannot be called The Hero, as he failed and that he was doomed to fail from the start. Part of this is because he wanted to be a hero.
• True Companions: Sam brings Pippin and Merry into the group to help Frodo: as their adventure continues they gain and lose other companions, but Sam is with him the entire way.
• Turn the Other Cheek: He's merciful towards both Gollum/Sméagol and Saruman.
• Weapon-Based Characterization: A dagger wrought by Mannish hands, later replaced by an Elven-made knife named Sting. Both are large enough compared to him to serve as a sword, because he's just a hobbit and much smaller than elves or men. Sting is also Bilbo's old sword from The Hobbit, so Bilbo giving it to him is part of Passing the Torch.

Samwise "Sam" Gamgee

"'Don't you leave him!' they said to me. 'Leave him!' I said. 'I never mean to. I am going with him, if he climbs to the Moon, and if any of those Black Riders try to stop him, they'll have Sam Gamgee to reckon with.'"

Sam is Frodo's gardener and loyal friend, and the only working-class hobbit in the Fellowship. Even when uninvited, Sam is determined to follow his master wherever he goes and make sure he's taken care of, no matter how dark the situation. His practicality, devotion, and culinary skills make him a very big help as the quest goes on.

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• Act of True Love: The entirety of the book is one of these for Samwise. He followed Frodo into Mordor, being his keeper for the whole trip.
• All There in the Manual: You may know that Sam eventually built a ship and headed to the Undying Lands, but did you know that he changed his family name to Gardner? Or that he was elected Mayor of the Shire for seven consecutive terms? Or that he, his wife, and his oldest daughter lived in Gondor for a year? And that his older daughter was named handmaiden of Queen Arwen?
• Author Avatar: In some ways inspired by the personal assistants assigned to British officers (i.e. Battle Butlers) during World War I, who were known as "batmen".
• Babies Ever After: Revealed in one of the appendices to have eventually had thirteen children with Rosie Cotton, many of whom are named after his friends.
• Badass Bookworm: Bilbo taught Sam to read and write, abilities that are relatively rare in the Shire outside uppercrust families like the Bagginses. (Sam's dad hopes that "no harm will come of it.") Sam proceeds to surprise his fellow hobbits with his book-lore, and Frodo winds up leaving the Red Book to him to finish.
• Badass Normal: Like all the other hobbits in the Fellowship, Sam has no magical powers, ancient superhuman lineages, or combat training. He's just a random Hobbit. In fact even among hobbits he's this: Frodo is the heir of Bilbo, carries the Ring with him, and is decked out with a magical sword and armor. Merry and Pippin are Frodo's kin, and members of two of the Shire's most important and influential families (the Brandybucks and Tooks, respectively). This makes the three as close to aristocracy as can be found in the Shire. Merry and Pippin also became bigger and stronger after drinking the Ent-draughts. Sam, however, starts the story as a humble gardener from a common family, is not the heir of any great house even among the reckoning of hobbits, and gains no supernatural boon. Despite this, he demonstrates more raw fearlessness and grit than any of the four hobbits, if not all the Nine Walkers.
• Badass on Paper: Samwise may be the guy who fought Shelob to a standstill, and stormed Cirith Ungol alone and came out with the man he went in there to get, but at heart he's a gardener with little stomach for violence and adventure.
• Battle Butler: He's Frodo's groundskeeper. Not the most skilled fighter in the Fellowship, but dauntless.
• Berserk Button: Don't hurt Frodo in his presence. You're going to regret it, even if you are an Eldritch Abomination like Shelob.
• Call to Agriculture: After the War of the Ring Sam returns to his old gardener's life, also helping restore the Shire's trees, and marries a farmer's daughter. But he prospers enough to become Mayor. The Ring even tries to tempt him with it at one point, promising him to give him the power to turn Mordor into a beautiful garden. Sam rejects this, as he doesn't hold any desire to rule over others, and coming to the obvious, but logical conclusion that tending to such a large garden simply wouldn't be practical in any sense.
• The Caretaker: By the time they reach Mordor, and Frodo has been weakened enough in mind and body by the Ring and all his injuries, Sam picks up a lot of slack in taking care of him.
• Caring Gardener: Sam starts the story as the Baggins family's manservant, who takes care of the gardens and grounds among other things and he seems to enjoy it, given the Ring's temptation to him. He becomes Frodo's caretaker and protector while he's on the quest to destroy the Ring.
• The Champion: Sam probably wouldn't have left the Shire at all (and certainly wouldn't have gone further on past Rivendell) if not for the sole motivation of staying true to Frodo - serving, protecting, and increasingly caring for him as the weight of the Ring wears him down.
• Conflicting Loyalty: When he returns to the Shire after the completion of the Quest, and he has to decide between staying by Frodo's side or moving on with his life and marrying Rosie: he feels "torn in two." Frodo neatly solves these conflicts for him, first by inviting him and Rosie to live in Bag End with him and then by removing himself from the equation.
• Cool Sword: Like Frodo, he got a cool sword/dagger from the Barrow Downs courtesy of Tom Bombadil. Later he also wields Sting in Frodo's defense.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Not that Sam's an idiot, but among the hobbits, he's got the least amount of education or learning, initially shows the least inclination towards violence, and doesn't get any really powerful items himself apart from borrowing things of Frodo's when the Ring-bearer's incapacitated. If he's ever backed into using any of those items however, Sam becomes a force to be reckoned with and nothing will stand in his way of reuniting with or avenging his Master, and displays a surprising amount of cunning and wit in addition to his bravery.
• Deadpan Snarker: Usually he's rather friendly, but when he gets angry, annoyed or impatient with someone, he displays a surprising creativity in thinking up biting comments. Unsurprisingly, he's at his snarkiest when dealing with Gollum, often mimicking his speech patterns in mocking fashion.
• Determinator: By the time they reach Mount Doom, Frodo is too weak to climb. Sam is little better, but he still carries Frodo up the punishing slopes on his shoulders. The text could say it little better:
  His will was set, and only death could break it.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Did a hobbit just kick the crap out of a half-demonic Giant Spider? Oh yes.
• The Dreaded: Sam accidentally makes some of the Cirith Ungol orcs respectful or even terrified of him before they even see him, because they see the aftermath of his Roaring Rampage of Rescue against Shelob (who even they won't try to fight) and assume only a great warrior could manage to win a battle with her.
• The Everyman: Just a normal hobbit of the Shire, not even a gentlehobbit. Lampshaded by Faramir.
  Faramir: Your land must be a realm of peace and content, and there must gardeners be in high honour.
• The Final Temptation: At the pass of Cirith Ungol, when he takes up the Ring and then puts it down. All he wants is to be a gardener; which the Ring attempts to latch on to, telling him that he can use its power to enslave the Orcs and the Free Men, and through their labor turn Mordor into a giant, beautiful flowerbed. When Sam counters that he has no desire to lord over others, and really just wants to tend and enjoy a garden of his own, the Ring attempts to moderate its offer, telling him that it will still be within his power to turn all of Mordor into a such garden alone. This also fails to work on Sam, as he comes to the simple, but completely logical conclusion that he couldn't possibly tend to such a large place all by himself and therefore has no interest in it, and with this he is able to reject the Ring's offer completely. It's implied that throughout all this, the Ring is grasping at straws to stay alive but still bellies the fact that in the case of Sam, it only had straws left to grasp in the first place.
• Heavy Sleeper: Definitely.
  As far as he could remember, Sam slept through the night in deep content, if logs are contented.
  • Averted when he and Frodo are travelling with Gollum in The Two Towers. You start to wonder how he isn't suffering from severe sleep deprivation, there are so many nights when he hardly sleeps at all or only dozes, waking often to check nobody's being throttled and/or eaten.
• The Hero: Is Sam the "real" hero of The Lord of the Rings? While Tolkien's "Letters" certainly favored Sam as the "chief hero", he obviously started out with Frodo in mind for the role. It's probably safest to say that the story is so big that it contains a willingly-martyred Byronic hero and a plucky Horatio Alger hero.
• Heroic Resolve: All summed up with one line on the slopes of Mount Doom: "Come, Mr. Frodo!...I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you and it as well."
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Frodo. There's no question that Sam is unfailingly... maybe even obsessively... devoted to Frodo. Their parting at the end of the book is a moment of terrible grief. However, according to Tolkien, the relationship isn't sexual and Sam later marries his crush Rosie Cotton, with Frodo's hearty approval.
• Hidden Depths: Starts off as a Book Dumb gardener but shows signs of this just four chapters later when he starts philosophizing about Elves and the future of the quest. Even Frodo is surprised, and it comes back to bite Gollum after his treachery at Cirith Ungol when he underestimates the sheer depths of Sam's Heroic Resolve where Frodo is concerned.
• Hilariously Abusive Childhood: Downplayed and probably in a case of Values Dissonance, but Sam often recalls various 'hard names' (such as 'ninnyhammer') and unkind prediction and observations his father the Gaffer made about him, and they're usually Played for Laughs as simply a part of Sam's comic style of speech. Nonetheless this is shown to make Sam doubt himself, and Frodo encourages him not to be so hard on himself and not to think of the Gaffer's 'hard names.'
• Hot-Blooded: The contrast between Sam and his more reserved master is pretty clear, especially during the talk with Faramir. Sam is more likely to speak and act without thinking, is prone to Loose Lips, and quicker to strike out at threats.
• Human Pack Mule: Sam inflicts this on himself whenever he can get away with it, trying to carry more of the party's gear than his fair share. Early on Frodo insists on checking and redistributing more fairly when he suspects Sam has secretly done this.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: The Ring tries to tempt him by showing him a vision of Mordor as a garden. It doesn't work because Sam only wants his own, small garden that he can tend by himself. This trope is also the reason that a giant garden is the only straw the Ring can grasp at in the first place.
  The one small garden of a free gardener was all his need and due, not a garden swollen to a realm; his own hands to use, not the hands of others to command.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: He's tempted by the Ring to become a great lord, but he rejects it since he doesn't want to boss others around — even when the Ring plays on his love for gardening by telling him he could transform Mordor into a giant beautiful flower bed if he so wished. He's the only one it's exposed to other than Faramir to not fall to it, and the only one other than Bilbo to give it up willingly after possessing it.
• In the Hood: Like most of the Fellowship, he wears a traveler's hooded cloak. Later, it's replaced by one of Elven make.
• Jerkass to One: Though Sam is mostly a Nice Guy and unfailingly kind, gentle, and devoted to Frodo, he has a huge blind spot when it comes to Gollum, and nearly always treats him harshly. This ends up almost being his Fatal Flaw, as his harsh words harden Gollum's heart just when he was considering changing his ways and not feeding Frodo and Sam to Shelob.
• Jumped at the Call: Indeed, Gandalf gave him the call seeing how eager he was.
• Kissing Cousins: (Downplayed) His Love Interest and eventual wife, Rosie Cotton, is his third cousin.
• Meaningful Name: As Tolkien states in the Appendices, it's Old English (Anglo-Saxon) for "some-wise", that is "halfwit", given ironically because he appears to be Book Dumb but is full of Hidden Depths.
• Music for Courage: He sings while searching for Frodo in Cirith Ungol.
• Nice Guy: Nothing but an amazing friend who is supportive, kind and loyal.
• No-Sell: While several characters are able to resist the temptation of the Ring, only Sam shrugs it off entirely. Because his ambitions are very modest and he has no desire whatsoever to rule over others, it can't offer him anything he wants.
• The Not-Love Interest: To Frodo. There's obviously strong affection and emotion between the two, and incredible devotion, especially on Sam's side. However, Sam is also passionately in love with local farmer's daughter Rosie Cotton; he regrets that he won't get to marry her when it looks like they're trapped on Mount Doom and when they get back, he does. He and Rosie have a long, happy marriage (and thirteen children).
• Odd Name, Normal Nickname: While seemingly one of the only hobbits with a human name, Sam is actually short for Samwise.^note In the original Westron, Sam's full name is Banazîr (meaning "halfwise, simple"), shortened to Ban.
• Odd Name Out: "Sam" is a normal name in our world, so it stands out a little among Frodo, Gandalf, Aragorn, etc... even if it is short for "Samwise". It should be noted that it's a case of Translation Convention, and his name, in Westron, would be Banazîr Galbasi. Samwise Gamgee is just the English translation of Banazîr Galbasi...sort of^note Tolkien says the strict English translation would be Samwís Gamwich, with Samwise Gamgee being what it would evolve into in Modern English. Fun fact, Tolkien was a philologist.
• Papa Wolf: When Frodo is attacked by Shelob, Sam fights tooth and nail to save him, and when he is kidnapped by orcs and taken to Cirith Ungol, Sam goes beyond all rationality to save him. Upon hearing the crack of the whip with which an orc is beating Frodo, Sam goes berserk (see Berserk Button), chopping the orc's hand off before it falls down a ladder to its doom. Through the final stage of their journey, Sam becomes more of a parent figure to Frodo in addition to a valiant protector, tenderly leading him through their hard road, sacrificing his own comfort for Frodo's and mediating his friend as the Ringbearer grows ever more vulnerable and childlike.
• The Power of Friendship: Sam loves Frodo somewhat like a brother, and his unwavering commitment to that friendship is ultimately what gets Frodo through all the horrors of Mordor to the Cracks of Doom.
• Protectorate: Go ahead, try and hurt Frodo. But you'll regret it. If you live long enough.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: He's the passionate red to Frodo's introverted blue. Sam's temper often gets the best of him, while Frodo is almost always calm.
• The Reliable One: For Frodo, all the way. Won't let him go to Mordor on his own, won't let him give up.
• Sidekick: He remains by Frodo's side for the entire story, in which Frodo is clearly the important guy as he bears the greatest burden and is bound for the worst place. Then he stops being the sidekick and becomes The Hero.
• Simpleminded Wisdom: Sam is protected by the power of just a little hobbit common-sense.
• The Soft-Hearted Warrior: Samwise Gamgee, despite beginning as a gardener in the overwhelmingly peaceful Arcadia that is the Shire, adjusts to combat well, most famously driving off Shelob with a pair of swords, an Elvish lantern, and courage and luck. While he's passionate and can be somewhat vindictive, he's also incredibly gentle, serving as Frodo's caretaker and champion with equal aplomb. Once the quest is over, he's happy to return to gardening and to settle down with his crush Rosie Cotton to raise a family.
• Spanner in the Works: Sam's presence averts the failure of the quest. Yet he was not part of anybody's plan. Even Frodo had no intention of taking Sam with him.
• Supreme Chef: All hobbits can cook, and they're such gourmands one imagines that most hobbits are good cooks, but Sam is a good cook even by hobbit-reckoning — able to whip up a good meal with just a brace of coneys (that is, a couple of rabbits) and herbs of Ithilien.
• Team Chef: It's genuinely sad when he finally has to abandon his cooking equipment in Mordor.
• Tender Tears: Though pretty macho by hobbit standards, Sam's prone to Manly Tears.
• The Mole: Frodo, already astonished to learn that his friends have been spying on him, is even more bewildered to learn that his gardener has been feeding them information all along.
• Took a Level in Badass: Went from a timid gardener who had never wandered further than a few miles from home to outfighting giant demon-spiders and beating orcs in a fight. He's the first of the hobbits to kill an enemy.
• Undying Loyalty: Sam almost defines this trope. He will follow and serve Frodo into Hell or to the ends of the Earth. His motivation is his simple loyalty, more than a desire to save the world (though that's part of it).
• Warrior Poet: He's not particularly good at either side of the equation, but he comes closer to the ideal than any other member of the Fellowship. His fearless nature and Undying Loyalty are more than enough to make up the "warrior" part, and the "poet" comes into play when he uses songs and stories to make sense of the senseless things surrounding him, and he is the one who attempts (without much success, but still), to compose eulogies for his fallen comrades.
• Weapon-Based Characterization: A short sword/knife. To be precise, a mere knife by the measure of Elves and Men, but large enough compared to him to serve as a sword, because he's a hobbit.
• What a Senseless Waste of Human Life: Sam feels this way when he sees men killing men (Rangers of Ithilien vs. the Haradrim) for the first time. He wonders about a dead Southron's name and family, and whether he was really an evil man or if Sauron tricked him or drafted him against his will.
• Working-Class Hero: Out of the four main hobbits, two are the sons of chieftains (Merry and Pippin) and the other is a very wealthy heir (Frodo); Sam is the only one who is not a "gentlehobbit." One way this is indicated is through his skin sometimes being described as browner than Frodo's, which is partly due to him being a working-class manual laborer (i.e., a gardener) and partly due to his and Frodo's ancestry. Among the three hobbit "ethnic groups", the Harfoots, Stoors, and Fallohides, the last tended to be the ancestors of aristocracy, often leading clans of the other groups, and they were fairer of skin and hair compared to the others. Harfoots were the most numerous, and thus more likely tended to be the ancestors of the average hobbit, and they had relatively browner skin and hair. Sam thus likely has more Harfoot ancestry than the other three.

Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck

"You can trust us to stick to you through thick and thin - to the bitter end. And you can trust us to keep any secret of yours - closer than you keep it yourself. But you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word. We are your friends, Frodo."

Meriadoc Brandybuck is a sensible, take-charge hobbit and one of Frodo's closest friends. Concerned about Frodo's safety, he joins the quest early on and organizes some conspiracies and shortcuts, some of which go better than others. Plagued by feelings of self-doubt, he nevertheless goes on to become a knight of Rohan and participates in the War of the Ring.

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• Badass Bookworm: Authored a number of books, including a history of pipe-weed (Herblore of the Shire). In one version of the posthumously published epilogue, Sam remarks that he needs Merry's help to finish writing the Red Book.
• Badass Normal: Merry, just a normal hobbit, is the one who defeats the Witch-King alongside Éowyn, out of all the trained soldiers, Proud Warrior Race Guys and other larger-than-life figures present at the Battle.
• Blow That Horn: Of the Summoning variety. He was gifted the Horn of the Mark by Éowyn for his deeds on the Pelennor Fields, and uses it during the Scouring of the Shire to rally the Hobbits against Saruman and his Ruffians, leading to the Battle of Bywater.
• Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: He, along with Éowyn (who also literally breaks her arm), nearly dies from contact with the Witch-King.
• Chekhov's Gun: Unlike the identical Cool Swords that the other three hobbits received from Tom Bombadil at the Barrow Downs, Merry's sword ends up being crucial to taking down the Witch-King, because of the enchantment placed on it by its makers.
• Cool Sword: One he receives from Tom Bombadil at the Barrow Downs.
• Deadpan Snarker: By far the snarkiest of the four Hobbits in the story; he's got a smart comment for every occasion.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: The Witch-King of Angmar vs a Hobbit. Merry (teamed up with Éowyn) won.
• Going Native: Merry embraced Rohan's culture, swore fealty to King Theoden and received a name among the Men of the Mark, Holdwine. (The pun in English was probably intentional.)
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has a scar on his forehead from injuries sustained at Parth Galen.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Pippin, inseparable friends that they are.
• I Just Want to Be Badass: He feels left out and useless when the Grey Company and the Riders of Rohan leave him behind because of his physical weakness, until Éowyn sneaks him into the cavalry with her.
• Intergenerational Friendship: He and the aged King Theoden become close friends over the space of a few days, and Merry refers to him as a second father.
• In the Hood: Like most of the Fellowship, he wears a traveler's hooded cloak. Later, it's replaced by one of Elven make.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: Most notably at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, against the Witch-King.
• Letter Motif: Meriadoc is the son of Saradoc Brandybuck, and in a letter to a fan Tolkien said his son is named Periadoc.
• The Magnificent: Later named Meriadoc the Magnificent as Master of Buckland.
• Mouthy Kid: He's Frodo's younger cousin, so has been underage at the latter's coming-of-age birthday party:
  "It was a compliment," said Merry Brandybuck, "and so, of course, not true."

He remains good-naturedly snarky as a grown-up, at least against his friends.

• Odd Name, Normal Nickname: While seemingly one of the only Hobbits with a human name, Merry is actually short for Meriadoc.^note In the original Westron, Merry's full name is Kalimac, shortened to Kali (meaning "jolly").
• Prophecy Twist: The Witch-king brags that no living man could stop him. Éowyn is not a living man but a woman, and also Merry is a Hobbit not a "Man" (though strictly speaking, this is incorrect as Hobbits are part of the race of Men). Éowyn deals the killing blow after Merry inadvertently makes him vulnerable to it with his specially enchanted dagger, and this last part only becomes clear after the fact - which makes it even more of a Fridge Brilliance, since killing the witch-king took: a woman (not a man, gender-wise), a hobbit (not a man, species-wise) and the unnamed blacksmith who forged Merry's sword ages ago (most likely a man in both senses, but definitely not a living man at the time the witch-king is killed).
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Pippin is impulsive and readily distracted: Merry shares his adventurous, fun-loving nature but is more of a planner.
• The Reliable One: Look at his character quote. Other than that, Merry tends to be that guy who thinks ahead about what the group is going to need. He's also literally the only character shown to stick around and help Frodo tidy up after that fateful birthday party.
• Secret Secret-Keeper: He worked out Bilbo's secret (that he has a ring of invisibility) but sat on it until it became obvious that Frodo's thinking of leaving Shire.
• The Smart Guy: Of the hobbit foursome, Merry has the most common sense and is the most likely to think of what didn't occur to the others. Until they meet up with Aragorn, he's the planner (and the only one with much experience at traveling). He's also just as curious as Pippin, if more sensible about it, and the only one who took time in Rivendell to study maps before leaving.
• The Straight Man: He's far more levelheaded than Pippin.
• Those Two Guys: Merry and Pippin appear together most of the time. Merry feels quite lost and alone when they're separated.
• Took a Level in Badass: At the start of the story, he's very perceptive and capable, but not much good in a fight. By the second book, when the orcs try to capture him and Pippin he's the one who puts up a fight, at least wounding many (it's ambiguous if fatally). By the third book, he helps take down the Witch-King and alongside Pippin leads the Shire's forces against Saruman's Ruffians at the Battle of Bywater, and kills the Ruffian leader himself.
• Weapon-Based Characterization: A leaf-shaped dagger wrought by the Men of Arnor long ago, large enough in his hands to qualify as a short sword, because he's a hobbit. Destroyed on the Pelennor Fields.

Peregrin "Pippin" Took

"You must go - and therefore we must too. Merry and I are coming with you. Sam is an excellent fellow, and would jump down a dragon's throat to save you, if he did not trip over his own feet; but you will need more than one companion in your dangerous adventure."

Pippin, the youngest of the hobbits, is a cheerful tweenager and a bit of a rascal. His curiosity gets him into trouble at times, but his buoyant spirit helps carry him and his companions through the darkest parts of the War. He grows up quickly during the quest and later becomes a knight of Gondor.

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• Alliterative Family: Peregrin is the son of Paladin and the of brother Pearl, Pimpernel and Pervinca.
• A Day in the Limelight: Book Three Chapter III "The Uruk-Hai" and Book Five Chapter I "Minas Tirith" are entirely from Pippin's perspective. The first because he's separated from Merry but trying to rescue him before they're taken to Isengard or Mordor, the second because he and Gandalf go to Minas Tirith to reason with Denethor but most of his meetings even then include Pippin sobering up after mistakenly / foolishly touching the Palantir.
• Badass Boast: When Saruman's lackeys mock Frodo and company when they return to the Shire, Pippin lets them know whom they're dealing with.
  "I am a messenger of the King. You are speaking to the King's friend, and one of the most renowned in all the lands of the West. You are a ruffian and a fool. Down on your knees in the road and ask pardon, or I'll set this troll's bane in you!"
• Badass Normal: He takes down a troll in the final battle, and he's just a hobbit.
• Big Eater: Even more than most hobbits are. To the point that after nearly dying his first question isn't for medical aid or rest, but just food.
• Constantly Curious: Pippin is the one who drops a rock into an empty well in Moria just to hear how deep it is... with catastrophic consequences. He's also the one first drawn to the Palantír of Orthanc, although to be fair Sauron had made it almost irresistible to anyone who looked at it or handled it for too long.
  Gandalf: Mercy! If the giving of knowledge is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more should you like to know?
  Pippin: The names of all the stars, and of all living things, and the whole history of Middle-Earth and Over-heaven and of the Sundering Seas! (laughs) Of course! What less?
• Cool Sword: The dagger from the Barrow Downs that Tom Bombadil gave him. He uses it to kill an Olog-hai super troll at the battle of the Black Gate, saving his friend Beregond.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He's the youngest and most immature of the bunch, but even early on he gets smart when things get ugly. He leaves his broach for Aragorn and company to follow when captured, and he tricks the Uruk-Hai by sawing his bindings when they're arguing amongst themselves then pretending he's still bound until he and Merry can escape.
• Deadpan Snarker: Not as much Merry, or even Sam, but he can snark with the best of them when the mood takes him.
• Disney Death: A troll falls on him in the battle at the Black Gate after he mortally wounds it, and the narration from his POV has him thinking about the fact that he is dying. Gimli finds him and gets him out in time, but after Pippin has blacked out. Tolkien actually did consider killing off Pippin at that moment, but ultimately decided against it.
• The Fool: Pippin tends to act without thinking, and this can cause a lot of trouble (see Constantly Curious), but he's lucky and likeable, both qualities of the classic Fool.
• Going Native: To repay the debt he and Merry owe to the deceased Boromir, Pippin enters the service of the steward Denethor. He doesn't fit in as well as Merry does in Rohan, but makes many friends in Gondor. And as King Elessar reminds him when he's headed back to the Shire, "You are going home now on leave... but I may recall you."
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Merry, friends since childhood who are never apart.
• In the Hood: Like most of the Fellowship, he wears a traveler's hooded cloak. Later, it's replaced by one of Elven make.
• Jumped at the Call: Pippin is naively eager to follow Frodo's quest, and very unhappy at the thought that he won't "get" to follow him to Mordor.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: Like Merry, Pippin discovers his inner courage when he saves Beregond by killing a massive troll at the Battle of the Black Gates.
• Odd Friendship: He seems to have a particular gift for entering these. He develops a very close friendship with Gandalf, and once he's brought to Gondor, he befriends Faramir, Beregond, and Bergil, Beregond's young son.
• Plucky Comic Relief: By far the most bumbling and comical of the main characters. He becomes less so as the story progresses, though his cheerfulness and eternal optimism remain.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: He and Merry are both fun-loving and adventurous, but Merry is of the thoughtful plan-making sort, while Pippin is impulsive.
• Shout-Out: His name is an allusion to the Frankish king Pepin the Short (known as Pippin in English), father of the more famous Charlemagne (who was famed in legend for his twelve Paladins, including Roland who Boromir evokes, see below; Pippin's father is also named Paladin). He ends up as one of the tallest Hobbits ever.
• Those Two Guys: He and Merry almost always appear together.
• Took a Level in Badass: From foolish young Took to a hero who killed an Olog-hai at the Black Gate, and being knighted by King Elessar himself. Later, he and Merry lead the Shire's forces against Saruman's Ruffians at the Battle of Bywater.
• Weapon-Based Characterization: A knife from Arnor, large enough in his hands to qualify as a sword, because he's a hobbit.

Gandalf

Gandalf! If you had heard only a quarter of what I have heard about him, and I have only heard very little of all there is to hear, you would be prepared for any sort of remarkable tale. Tales and adventures sprouted up all over the place wherever he went, in the most extraordinary fashion.

—The Hobbit

The modern archetypal wizard in appearance and style, he also is the Ur-Example of the Magic Knight. In the Third Age, the Valar (Celestial Paragons and Archangels) sent five Maiar (rank-and-file angels) to Middle-Earth to aid the struggle against Sauron, clothed in the forms of men and forbidden from using their power directly or trying to rule over Men and elves. Of these, two travelled far into the East: their tales are unknown. Of the remainder, Gandalf embodied wisdom, Saruman knowledge, and Radagast nature. Though Saruman is the head of the Council of the Wise, Gandalf was a wiser and greater Maia, but declined the position of leadership. The wise elf Círdan entrusted him with Narya, the Ring of Fire (one of the three mightiest Rings of Power created by the elves).

Known as the Grey Pilgrim, throughout both The Hobbit and this book (along with the prior thousand years), Gandalf went from place to place in the world, giving counsel and guidance, but never calling one place home. He ends up being a chessmaster of sorts, motivating many of the key players to their purposes while keeping his plays close to hand. This also serves as a justification for separating Gandalf from the other heroes time and again so that they don't have access to his storybreaking abilities.

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• Ambiguously Human: He's initially presented as a very old and learned man with magical powers, but it becomes increasingly clear (starting with the fact that he's still alive 77 years after the events of The Hobbit) that he and the other wizards are not human, nor do they match up with any of the other major sapient races of Middle-earth (most people lean towards them being really weird elves). Though the truth is never fully elaborated upon in the main text, the appendices drop the statement that they came across the sea from the Undying Lands, and Saruman's death implies them to be somehow related to Sauron. It's only in The Silmarillion that it's made entirely clear what they are.
• Angel Unaware: He's actually a Maia from the Uttermost West.
• Back from the Dead: He was properly dead from the fight with the Balrog, but his boss dropped him back on top of the mountain where he died 'cause he's not allowed to stay dead until he's finished the job with Sauron.
• Badass Boast: He has several of these throughout the story, where he makes it quite clear that he is one of the most powerful people active in Middle-Earth.
  "It will be my turn to get angry soon. If you say that again, I shall. Then you will see Gandalf the Grey uncloaked."
  "I have written Gandalf is here in signs that all can read from Rivendell to the mouths of Anduin."^note While it's a lamentation as he had to use his powers to create a fire so the Fellowship doesn't freeze to death, menaced by a blizzard in the Misty Mountains, revealing their position, it still comes off as Calling Card boast somewhat
  "You cannot pass. I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass."
  "I am dangerous... far more dangerous than anyone you are likely to meet, unless you are brought before the feet of the Dark Lord himself."
  "Trapped! Why did I delay? Here we are, caught, just as they were before. But I was not here then."
  "My friends, none of you have any weapon that could hurt me."
  "I did not pass through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a self-serving man."
• Badass Bookworm: Renowned to be one of the wisest Maiar, if not the wisest. He's also a very capable Magic Knight, who's far stronger, tougher, and more mobile than he appears.
• Bearer of Bad News: The Rohirrim gave him the name Stormcrow, for his habit of appearing out of nowhere to announce some calamity. Wormtongue names him 'Láthspell'; "ill news is an ill guest."
• Big Good: Gandalf is the main "power behind the scenes" manipulating and directing events to help people resist Sauron, and make sure that they have the information and allies they need, as much as he can.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows: That stick out past the wide brim of his hat, somehow. It's like a superpower.
• Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: He dies from the ordeal of fighting a Balrog. (Don't worry, he gets better.)
• But Now I Must Go: In The Hobbit he leaves the dwarves and Bilbo to try to persuade the White Council to attack Dol Guldur and destroy Sauron while he was still weak. He does this in the Fellowship of the Ring, not that he planned to be missing for so many chapters — that was Saruman's fault. Finally, he leaves the world, itself, likely for good, after Sauron's defeat, sailing back to Valinor and leaving Middle Earth's fate in the hands of men.
• Came Back Strong: He dies after defeating the Balrog. As he hasn't yet completed his task of aiding the free peoples of Middle Earth in defeating Sauron, he is sent back as Gandalf the White. He is far more powerful, as the restrictions previously placed on his power (to prevent over-reliance or corruption) are relaxed.
• The Chessmaster: He has been playing chess with Sauron over Middle-Earth for centuries.
• Cool Horse: Gandalf rides Shadowfax, the lord of all horses, who rides as fast as the wind, understands human speech, and will let none but the old wizard ride him.
• Cool Old Guy: An old man noted for his skill in creating fireworks, smoke-rings and sarcastic comments. There are hints that he'd prefer Becoming the Mask rather than racing around the continent trying to thwart evil, but his time is not his own to spend.
• Cool Sword: Glamdring, which he found in a troll-cave during The Hobbit. This is the sword that once belonged to the king of Gondolin, one of the famous Hidden Elf Villages of the First Age. It breaks the Balrog's own flaming sword.
• Deadpan Snarker: Gandalf's temper is usually expressed through fairly harmless but snappy lines, such as telling Pippin to knock the Gate of Moria open with his head if he can't shut up long enough for Gandalf to figure out the password. His calmer, wit deadpan side is used more when dealing with authority figures.
  (insulted on arrival in Edoras): The courtesy of your hall is somewhat lessened of late, Théoden son of Thengel.
• Determinator: He fought the Balrog for ten days straight. Ten days. Heck, his entire story is an example of this trope. By the end of the books, he's the only Wizard who remained fully committed to the purpose of opposing Sauron (although Word of God has waffled on whether or not Radagast abandoned his mission or not, suggesting that his mission may or may not have been more nature related than the others). Saruman ended up being made into Sauron's lackey and The Starscream, and no one really knows what happened to the Blue Wizards - again, Word of God was ambiguous, suggesting that either they lost their way and inspired magical cults in the East, or that they didn't, and were the Hero of Another Story, inciting revolts against Sauron and limiting the strength he could bring to bear. Either way, there's no doubt that for centuries, Gandalf wandered all across Middle Earth by himself, working to bring about Sauron's downfall. Also remember that he managed to convince Bilbo to give up the One Ring and walk away. This took months, he never let up, he constantly reminded Bilbo that the Ring brought him nothing and that he didn't really need it. Even Bilbo came to understand this, saying that it would be nice to be free of it and not have it always on his mind and worrying about it. This was probably a sign that Gandalf had helped Bilbo reach deep inside himself and start to resist the Ring's influence. Gandalf is probably the only person who could have convinced Bilbo to give the Ring up.
• Deus ex Machina. Thanks to one of the very few direct interventions of Eru, after the indirect help from the Maiar sent by the Valar fails, Gandalf is returned back to the earth 19 days after his death.
• Deus Exit Machina: Like Bilbo before him, Frodo and most other characters are under Gandalf's powerful umbrella only during limited periods of time, before and after the formation of Fellowship, either because the Grey Pilgrim is busy elsewhere or actually dead (briefly).
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: He sacrificed himself to defeat the Balrog, although being that they are both the same class of being - Maiar - it's a lot closer of a match than is immediately obvious.
• Doting Parent: Towards Frodo, mostly, whom he always tries to protect and help. He does the same for most Hobbits, but Frodo seems to be his most beloved Hobbit.
• Dying Moment of Awesome: You Shall Not Pass!, where he goes up against a Balrog for ten days straight.
• Eccentric Mentor: To Bilbo and Frodo. Aragorn even lampshades that he's "always speaking in riddles."
• Elemental Baggage: "I cannot burn snow.". So says Gandalf when asked to burn away a snowstorm.
• Elemental Personalities: Gandalf's powers usually manifest themselves in the form of fire, light, and explosions, and he is also known for his quick temper and fierceness.
• Elemental Powers: Fire, possibly thanks to Narya, The Ring of Fire (though its fire might be only metaphorical).
• Elves vs. Dwarves: Lampshades the conflict during the Council of Elrond:
  Gandalf: If all the grievances that stand between Elves and Dwarves are to be brought up here, we may as well abandon this Council.
• Establishing Character Moment: Has a new one as Gandalf the White in the forest of Fangorn, where he surprises the Three Hunters, disarming Gimli and setting Anduril stiff and in flames, taking a time to remember his old name before telling them he has returned and the quest continues.
  'Yes,.. I was Gandalf [...] Get up, my good Gimli! No blame to you, and no harm done to me. Indeed my friends, none of you have any weapon that could hurt me.... We meet again. At the turn of the tide. The great storm is coming, but the tide has turned.'.
• Fiery Stoic: Bearer of Narya, the Red Ring of Fire, which may account for his skill with fireworks and flames in general (e.g. what he did to the wargs outside Moria). He's an archetypal wizard with all the calm and wisdom that entails (although he does have a temper occasionally — subtle and quick to anger and all that).
  Gandalf: I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass.
• A Form You Are Comfortable With: Like the other wizards, Gandalf is a celestial being that only appears as an old man to the denizens of Middle-Earth.
• Four-Star Badass: Shows this off in the Siege of Minas Tirith, as he effectively leads Gondor in defense of the city, and they hold out the entire night against the overwhelming Mordor host until the Rohirrim show up at dawn.
• Freudian Trio: With Saruman and Radagast; is the Ego in the group.
• Good Is Not Nice: He's described as cantankerous and grouchy, is a Manipulative Bastard, and whilst his bark is worse than his bite, he is not above emitting a few growls from time to time and letting his reputation do the rest.
• Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Definitely Good Smoking. When he's relaxing he'll usually get out his pipe and start making smoke rings.
• Good Wears White: After he returns as Gandalf the White.
• Grumpy Old Man: It's an affectation, he's not really as grumpy as he acts. Even at best of times, Gandalf tends to be a grumpy old man, but he likes to encourage people's perception of him as unpredictable and even dangerous person. Frodo, who has known him for decades and considers him a friend is at one point briefly convinced that he roasted poor Barliman Butterbur for failing to deliver (a vitally important) letter - as it happens, he didn't, but he did give him a scare. He also clearly enjoys scaring the crap out of Sam (who's afraid Gandalf will turn him into something "unnatural") when he catches him eavesdropping on his conversation with Frodo about the Ring.
• Guile Hero: He's expressly forbidden from using his own raw power against Sauron, or to dominate the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth. Everything that he accomplishes is done via wits and persuasion. Given a bit more latitude with his powers when he's sent back as The White.
• Harbinger of Impending Doom: Implied by his critics to be this, hence the unflattering epithets "Láthspell" and "Stormcrow". It really isn't fair, though — as he points out, he just wants to warn people when something bad is coming their way. Unfortunately, however, that's pretty much the only time he shows up to most people (visits to the Shire excepted), so the association isn't entirely without reason.
• Heart Is an Awesome Power: This is one of his main abilities as the weilder of Narya, the Ring of Fire. The power to inspire hope and counter fear and despair can prove vital when one of your enemy's own abilities is to inspire supernatural dread.
• Heroic Sacrifice: In Moria, to save the rest of the Fellowship from the Balrog.
• Hidden Depths: Particularly to the Hobbits of the Shire.
  ...[Gandalf's] fame in the Shire was due mainly to his skill with fires, smokes, and lights. His real business was far more difficult and dangerous, but the Shire-folk knew nothing about it. To them he was just one of the 'attractions' at [Bilbo Baggins's 111th birthday] Party.
• I Have Many Names: "Many are my names in many countries. Mithrandir among the Elves, Tharkûn to the Dwarves; Olórin I was in my youth in the West that is forgotten, in the South Incánus, in the North Gandalf; to the east I go not." Then there's these names too, Gandalf Greyhame, Gandalf the Grey, Gandalf the White, Grey Pilgrim, Grey Wanderer, Greybeard, White Rider, and The Enemy of Sauron. Plus the insults; Grey Fool, Láthspell, and Stormcrow.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Resisted the temptation of the One Ring at Bag End. Notably, he is a Physical God (more accurately, angel-like being) just like Sauron.
• Knight Templar: Wearing the One Ring would make him far worse than Sauron, while being convinced of his own righteousness, which is why he puts it in Frodo's care instead.
  "Understand. I would use this ring out of a desire to do good. But through me, it would wield a power too great and terrible to imagine!"
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: A few moments seem to imply that Gandalf is fully aware he's in a work of fiction. He's able to perceive events and gather information that wouldn't be possible under conventional circumstances, such as figuring out that Gollum's name was originally Smeagol when Gollum himself had forgotten it. He also claims that events are playing out in such a way as to lead to Sauron's downfall, despite the odds of victory being highly uncertain if not improbable for most of the story.
• Magic Knight: With a magic staff and his magic sword Glamdring.
• Meaningful Name: Old Norse for "wand-elf". Was given that name by Men since he carries a staff (being a wizard and all) but was often mistaken for an Elf due to his long life and magic powers.
• The Mentor: He serves as a mentor figure for Frodo - and Bilbo before him - and is killed by the Balrog.
• Mentor Occupational Hazard: Though he gets better.
• Messianic Archetype: Although Tolkien himself said that this was not intended, nobody listens because Gandalf dies and then gets sent back to finish his work.
• Mind over Matter: He disarms Denethor of his sword and sends it flying away with just a hand gesture.
• Missed Him by That Much: Happens to (or at least involves) him fairly often, per the Appendices:
  • He returns to Bag End after escaping Isengard, only to find that Frodo had left six days earlier.
  • He then proceeds to travel to Bree, arriving somewhere around twelve hours after Frodo and co.'s departure.
  • He rides to Weathertop, gets ambushed by the Nazgûl, and drives them off — three days before Frodo and co. arrive.
  • After his resurrection, Gwaihir flies him to Lothlórien, and he arrives the day after the Fellowship left.
• Mistaken Identity: Briefly, when he reappears in the story on Fangorn as Gandalf the White, the Three Hunters take him for Saruman and get ready to attack him.
  I am Saruman, or rather Saruman as he should have been
• Mr. Exposition: Unlike other Big Goods who withhold crucial information until after it would have been useful to know, Gandalf tells Frodo absolutely all he knows about the Ring and its history once he's done enough research to be sure of what it is, around the second or third chapter of Fellowship.
• Named Weapons: Glamdring, meaning "foe-hammer" in Sindarin.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: He reminds many of the Council participants in Rivendell of the sheer magnitude of the threat they face when he recites the inscription on the One Ring in Black Speech. Given how just speaking the language shook the ground beneath their feet and his voice dropped so low it terrified everyone present, and its inventor being Sauron, it's little wonder why he completely detests the language and refused to speak it when he and Frodo were back at Bag End.
• Offered the Crown: Frodo offers him the ring, Gandalf refuses it, knowing he would become too powerful, and despite his good intentions he would inevitably be corrupted like Sauron himself, becoming a new Dark Lord.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Gandalf is always taking care of far and away threats which are usually given indirect or passing mentions. His incursions against the Necromancer of Dol Guldur and his fending off of the Nazgûl at Weathertop are prominent examples.
• Older Than They Look: He looks like he's about 80, but he's been in Middle-Earth for upwards of 2000 years and is in fact older than the universe.
• Our Angels Are Different: The Wizards are really angels disguised as humans.
• Personality Powers: Specializes in fire magic and has a quick temper.
• The Plan: He and Aragorn (and sometimes Frodo) are the chief planners of the Fellowship's route. Subverted when Aragorn suggests that even Gandalf wasn't sure of what path the Fellowship should take after Lothlórien.
• Psychic Powers: After his resurrection, he strives with the will of Sauron from Lothlorien to get Frodo to take off the Ring on Amon Hen, though it exhausts him. He also communicates without speaking with Galadriel, Celeborn and Elrond using Telepathy at the end of the book.
• Rasputinian Death: Like the Balrog with whom he struggled, it took a lot to kill Gandalf. And even then, he came back.
• Really 700 Years Old: While he looks like an old man, he's actually thousands of years old. Precisely how old is unknown. Estimates range from 2,000 (if you only count his time as "Gandalf") to somewhere in the neighborhood of 55,000.
• Ring of Power: He reveals he wields the elven Ring of Fire, explaining his proficiency with flame magic. It was given to him by Círdan the Shipwright when the Wizards first came to Middle Earth, and one of the reasons Saruman was jealous of him.
• Robe and Wizard Hat: His wide-brimmed, conical hat is iconic to the character and appears in virtually all artwork and, of course, the films; it's likely the Trope Codifier for giving that sort of hat to wizards.
• Rule of Cool: He's not above adding a little flash to magical workings just for the sake of it, such as making the floodwaters of Bruinen take the form of horses.
• Shrouded in Myth: Only a few people in Middle-earth are aware of his true nature: the other wizards, the bearers of the elven rings of power, and possibly Sauron. Everyone else believes him to be "merely" one of the most well-learned and experienced beings on the planet (probably an elf, which is where one of his names comes from).
• Story-Breaker Power:
  • He's a Maia, an angelic being of the same order as Sauron, but he's actually forbidden from using his full power by the Valar. The victory over Sauron must come from ordinary people; Gandalf and the other Istari are only permitted to act as their guides and advisors. There is good reason for this; last time the Valar and Maiar used their full strength against the forces of evil, they shattered the subcontinent of Beleriand and it sank into the sea. (More on that in The Silmarillion.)
  • Even with the limited power he's given, Gandalf is still very noticeably held back for a lot of the story. In The Hobbit, he separates from the group to handle the Necromancer and doesn't return until the negotiations over Smaug's treasure are spiralling out of control. In Fellowship of the Ring, he gets imprisoned in Isengard, forcing Frodo and company to make the journey alone, and after reuniting with them, he is killed in Moria shortly after and doesn't return until a good ways into Two Towers (and even then, Frodo and Sam are on their own). And in Return of the King, he leaves the hobbits behind when right on the cusp of the Scouring of the Shire. Gandalf's magical power, physical prowess, and great knowledge and experience in the ways of the world mean that he'd completely overshadow a lot of characters if he were around for the whole adventure.
• The Strategist: He's not allowed to use his powers (the last time the Maia did so, they broke a continent), so instead he's been carefully searching and manipulating for... ever.
• Taking You with Me: He and the Balrog both die in their fight, but only he returns to life.
• Team Dad: He's the leader of the Fellowship (until he dies and Aragorn takes over) and the oldest member, and despite his gruffness, he cares deeply for the others and has a particular soft spot for the hobbits.
• The Three Faces of Adam: Aragorn is The Hunter, seeking a place for himself in this world and to prove himself worthy to get what he wants, Elrond is The Lord, well-established, striving to maintain a balance and preserve what he has, Gandalf is The Prophet, the guide who tries to impress his wisdom on the young ones.
• Time Abyss: He's older than time itself. Doesn't stop Treebeard from calling him "young Gandalf".
• Token Super: Downplayed. Gandalf is an angelic spirit in human form, traveling with the otherwise non-magical Fellowship. His exalted origins are largely unknown to the party and his displays of power are minimal, since his Valar masters require that the victory over Sauron be won by the people of Middle-Earth.
• Too Clever by Half: It took him longer than one might expect to figure out how to open the Doors of Durin. "I had only to speak the Elvish word for friend and the doors opened. Quite simple. Too simple for a learned loremaster in these suspicious days."
• Took a Level in Badass: After becoming Gandalf the White. Downplayed, however, as it's less he got stronger and more his boss took off some of his Power Limiters and he's now allowed to use more of his true power as a Maia.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Again, after becoming Gandalf the White, most evident in his interactions with Pippin, who remarks that Gandalf laughs more often and is more willing to indulge his curiosity.
• Walking the Earth: He's not called "The Grey Wanderer" for nothing, being possibly even more well-traveled than Aragorn is.
• Wandering Wizard: Whenever he's not engaged in some worldsaving adventure, he spends his time traveling around Middle-Earth as a sage, only occasionally settling down for a few years here and there to provide his services where needed. Several of his nicknames even reference this, most notably "The Grey Wanderer." Hobbits mostly know him as a wizard who stops by and causes ruckus every now and then.
• Weapon-Based Characterization: He's a Wizard Classic so he has a staff, though he doesn't strictly need it. He destroys it in Moria as a side effect of using his powers, and later shows up with a new one with no comment made. More significantly, it's a sign of his office, as shown when he casts Saruman out of their Order - he decrees that Saruman's staff is broken, and it breaks in the latter's hands. He also uses a sword decently since he is not a Squishy Wizard, especially since that and related fantasy conventions like magic-users being contrasted with physical fighters were codified by stuff which postdates his creation. His being a physical fighter as required (and stuff like a sudden burst of speed and strength to save Faramir) despite looking like a very old man also hints at his true nature as an angelic being, which is only made clear in The Silmarillion and elsewhere. Since Heroes Prefer Swords, his use of a sword at all reflects his Wizard's role as the main unsung hero of the West in a sense, but again this is only made clear in writings outside LOTR, and developed gradually. In The Hobbit, he and Thorin get to use the two swords they recovered from trolls because they're in charge of their group, while at the same time Bilbo gets the knife/sword that he would later rename Sting because he's the protagonist.
• Willfully Weak: He's actually far, far more powerful than he appears, being a Maia. He never uses even close to his full strength because victory must came from mortals with him helping. Gandalf the White is technically just him being allowed to use more of his true power than before.
• Wizard Beard: Being a wizard. Gandalf has rather impressive facial hair, with his beard reaching below his waist.
• Wizard Classic: One of the most iconic modern examples and a Trope Codifier.
• You Shall Not Pass!: Trope Namer. In the book it's "You ''cannot'' pass."

Aragorn

Aragorn is the chief of the remaining Dúnedain of the North, known as the Rangers of the North. One of the dying breed of Númenóreans, Aragorn is raised in secret by Elrond in Rivendell, unaware of his true identity as the Heir of Isildur. When he comes of age Elrond reveals all to him, and he meets and falls in love with Elrond's daughter Arwen. After she reciprocates, some 30 years later, Elrond tells Aragorn that he can only have her hand in marriage if he becomes the King of Gondor and Arnor. Aragorn spends the next few decades battling orcs and aiding Gandalf in tracking and opposing the agents of Sauron, particularly Gollum. In his youth he also travels far and wide, notably as a captain of Gondor and Rohan (under a pseudonym, Thorongil), to be the best he can in order to pursue his destiny.

As a ranger, Aragorn takes the alias of "Strider" and seems a rough, coarse man but can shed this facade to unleash a great lordly presence which is part of his heritage as the last heir to the Númenórean kingdoms, and that stems in part from his people's trace of Elvish blood. As is mentioned elsewhere, in a normal epic, Aragorn would be The Hero and would defeat Sauron himself; Tolkien's decision to focus on the lowly and boot Aragorn to a supporting role was a conscious and deliberate subversion of that longstanding trope.

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• Animal Motifs: Eagles. During his campaigns in Gondor, Aragorn went by the name, Thorongil, which means 'the Eagle of the Star'. During the events of the Fellowship of the Ring, Aragorn is given a brooch that is shaped like an eagle. It also fits Aragorn's status as royalty since eagles are often a symbol as such as well as the resurrection of Christ.
• Badass Boast: "I am Aragorn son of Arathorn, and am called Elessar, Dúnadan, the heir of Isildur Elendil's son of Gondor. Here is the Sword that was Broken and is forged again! Will you aid me or thwart me? Choose swiftly!"
• Battle Cry:
  • He shouts "Elendil!" when he tries to go to Gandalf's aid against the Balrog.
  • "Andúril for the Dúnedain!", in Rohan fashion (to echo Éomer invoking his own sword and culture).
• Bash Brothers: He becomes this with Éomer.
• Big Damn Heroes: When he arrives with an army behind him on the Enemy's own ships to save the day, just as Éomer and his Rohirrim were getting in a really bad position.
• The Captain: Of the Rangers of the North, and of the Fellowship after Gandalf's passage. Also serves as one to the army and navy of Gondor as "Thorongil."
• Combat Medic: A lot heavier on the combat side of things than most examples, but as is said in Gondorian legend, "the hands of the king are the hands of a healer, and so shall the rightful king be known."
• Cool Sword: Andúril, reforged from the two pieces or shards of Narsil, an ancient heirloom of his line. Once reforged it glows or shines brightly like it did as Narsil, red during the day and white at night, akin to the light of the sun and moon (hence Narsil's name.)
• Death Glare: He didn't need to move a muscle to reduce the Mouth of Sauron to panic.
  Aragorn said naught in answer, but he took the other's eye and held it, and for a moment they strove thus; but soon, though Aragorn did not stir nor move hand to weapon, the other quailed and gave back as if menaced with a blow.
• The Dulcinea Effect: For Éowyn, though he doesn't reciprocate her feelings.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: After Sauron's defeat, Aragorn is at long last crowned king of Gondor and marries Arwen.
• Engagement Challenge: To win Elrond's permission to marry Arwen, he first needs to help make sure Middle-Earth is a safe place for her to stay after her father leaves.
• Family Theme Naming: The names of the chieftains of the Dúnedain of the North and of the kings of Arthedain following Argeleb I (his ancestors from father to son) all starts with the prefix "Ar(a)-" (meaning high or royal in Sindarin) until Aragorn.
• Fisher King: His return to Gondor is supposed to bring healing to land, as symbolized by the old dead White Tree of Minas Tirith being replaced by a young sapling that will grow and bloom.
• The Gadfly: His sense of humor takes the form of screwing around with his friends.
  • Like the time when he agrees that Sam should be suspicions of whether he really is Gandalf's friend mentioned as "Strider" in his letter to Frodo. He says basically, "If I killed the real Strider I could certainly kill all of you." He then draws himself up, throws back his cloak, and puts his hand on his sword, saying, "If I was after the Ring, I could have it - NOW!" After a moment of fear from the hobbits he says, "But I am the real Strider, fortunately."
  • Or, when Merry asks for a pipe in the Houses of Healing, Aragorn tells him that he didn't come all this way to find Merry's pack, and all the learned things the herbmaster would say about pipeweed and that there is not any in keeping. All the while the pipeweed is in Merry's own pack at the foot of his bed, clearly visible to Aragorn.
  • When Beregond awaits his sentence for killing the door warden in the Hallows of Minas Tirith, which was forbidden on pain of death, Aragorn says that his deed is pardoned because he did it defending Faramir. "Nonetheless you must leave the Guard of the Citadel, and you must go forth from the City of Minas Tirith." Beregond goes white and bows his head, thinking he's been banished, then Aragorn tells him he has to leave because he's been appointed as one of Faramir's personal guard, and Faramir is going to Ithilien to rule there. Beregond is delighted.
• Good Is Not Nice: The first time he appears, he berates and frightens Frodo. As he puts it himself, 'I look foul and feel fair'.
• The Good King: Of Gondor, once he claims the throne.
• Healing Hands: As Ioreth, a wise-woman of Gondor says, "The hands of the King are the hands of a healer and so shall the rightful king be found." It's ambiguous as to whether he has supernatural healing powers from his distant Elvish ancestry or if it's because he's the only guy in Middle-earth who knows what kingsfoil is for.
• He Cleans Up Nicely: After spending weeks with him in the wild, Frodo is surprised at the sight of him cleaned up and dressed like a lord while chatting with Arwen. Though he changes back into his Ranger clothes at the Council later.
• Heroic Lineage: Going back through umpteen heroic Rangers of Arnor, Kings of Arnor, Isildur, Elendil, the Lords of Andúnië, the early (good) kings of Númenor, Elrond's brother Elros, Eärendil the Morning Star, Dior, Beren and Lúthien, Tuor and Idril, Turgon, Fingolfin, and Thingol and Melian, and to generations of heroic Edain of the Houses of Bëor, Hador, and Haleth.
• Homage: Aragorn is a Shout-Out to both King Arthur and Charlemagne.
• I Have Many Names: Aragorn has been called the Dúnadan ("Man of the West/Númenórean"), Longshanks, Strider, Wingfoot, Elessar Telcontar ("Elfstone Strider"), Envinyatar ("the renewer"), Estel (Hope), and Thorongil ("Eagle of the Star"), among other things.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Like Faramir, Aragorn rejects the One Ring out of principle without needing to see it.
• In the Hood: Like most of the Fellowship, he wears a traveler's hooded cloak. Later, it's replaced by one of Elven make. In his first appearance it's used to play up his mysterious nature, as he has the hood pulled up even when inside.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He can be a bit of an asshole at times, sometimes playing The Gadfly and sometimes being needlessly harsh with people who hadn't deserved it — but he is nevertheless a true hero: brave, selfless, kind-hearted and noble, and always working to help people out even when he knows he's not going to get any thanks for it.
• The Juggernaut: During the Battle of the Pelennor Fields he (along with two others) was unstoppable, didn't even get wounded, and the enemy was literally running away from his wrath.
• King Incognito: Way incognito, to the point where he's considered a rather shabby and disreputable character, and living in the wilderness.
• Kissing Cousins: Although he married a first cousin -Arwen-, the fact that she's a first cousin sixty-seven times removed makes it something of a moot point from a genetic standpoint.
• The Lancer: When Gandalf's leading, Aragorn tends to be the practically minded and cautious second-in-command. He was particularly worried about Gandalf's personal safety when the decision was made to enter Moria.
• Large and in Charge: He's 6'6" and becomes King of Gondor.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Borrows a shield for pitched battles but otherwise goes without one.
• Meaningful Name: His name is translated from Sindarin as "kingly valour".
• The Medic: He has Healing Hands and other special healing abilities due to his lineage and training by Elrond.
• Memento MacGuffin: The Ring of Barahir, over six thousand years old, originally given to Aragorn's very distant ancestor by Finrod Felagund, Elvenking of Nargothrond; it had many bearers, always leaders of the Dúnedain, and of the 'faithful' factions who never listened to Sauron (like Ar-Pharazôn did), and it was given to Aragorn by Elrond when the former was told his real name and ancestry.
• Manly Tears: He weeps openly whenever there's something to justify it. He was crying so hard over Boromir's death that Legolas thought he was mortally wounded himself.
• Mysterious Stranger: The first time the reader meets him as Strider he's hooded and lurking in the shadows of the Prancing Pony (before that kind of thing became a cliche).
• Named Weapons: Andúril, "Flame of the West", previously Narsil, "Sun-Moon".
• Nature Versus Nurture: Touched on when he displays kingly abilities like commanding the shades of the dead and healing people. He alone can do this because of his Númenórean royal bloodline, but he acts the way he does because he was raised to be a good and noble man. Many kings of Númenor and Gondor, no less royal, fell into evil.
• Nothing Left to Do but Die: The appendix reveals that after just over 120 years of successful rule, Aragorn finally began to feel his age. He figured he had done all that could be expected of him, his son was ready to take his place as king, and he had nothing to look forward to except increasing decrepitude and senility. Since his Númenórean ancestry allowed him to die at will, he said his goodbyes and willingly laid down in his tomb.
• Older Than They Look: Thanks to Númenórean descent, he is at his prime at 87.
• Older Sidekick: He's older than most of the rest of the Fellowship, and largely serves a supporting role until they escape Moria.
• Psychic Powers: Not an actual telepath (unless one counts the example under Death Glare above), but when channeling through a device like a palantir his will is unconquerable. His special gifts in healing may also be an example. He openly demonstrates prescience - he's frequently able to accurately predict that something will happen in the future.
  'Thus we meet again, though all the hosts of Mordor lay between us,' said Aragorn. 'Did I not say so at the Hornburg?'
  ‘So you spoke,' said Éomer, 'but hope oft deceives, and I knew not then that you were a man foresighted.'
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: He's the Heir of Isildur and rightful King of the Dúnedain. He's a better tracker and woodsman than the Wood-elf Legolas, a deadly warrior, a skilled battlefield medic, strong-willed enough to use a Palantír and even wrench it out of Sauron's control, and wise enough to know he can't and must not use the One Ring.
• Requisite Royal Regalia: He starts with the Ring of Barahir, a remnant of the North-Kingdom's regalia, and the shards of Narsil, the (royal) Sword that was Broken. He later receives the scepter of Annúminas, the winged crown of Gondor, and (in the Unfinished Tales) the Elendilmir of Valandil and of Isildur.
• Rightful King Returns: The best-known one in literature, except possibly King Arthur. Gondor's been waiting hundreds of years for The Return of the King. It's worth noting however, that although it is his birthright to do so, he refuses to enter Gondor as a king and just take the throne, believing that doing so would be the act of a tyrant. He only sets foot in the city when he is willingly invited and welcomed by the people.
• Royal Blood: The purest now left, at least for the Dúnedain. The narration sometimes points out Aragorn's kingly bearing that makes him seem taller and the other man smaller. But he can switch this on and off, appearing like a "mere" Ranger again by wrapping himself in his cloak, putting up his hood and smoking his pipe. Once, Legolas sees something like a "white flame" appearing over his brow (i.e. the shadow of a crown) with his Elven second-sight.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: A Warrior Prince, healer, and tracker, and entirely willing to sacrifice his own life if necessary to help defeat Sauron.
• Scarily Competent Tracker: To the point of being able to read individual blades of grass. Though it's a remark by Gimli, he isn't exaggerating that much.
• Standard Hero Reward: The throne of Gondor and Arnor and Arwen's hand in marriage, for defeating Sauron.
• Supporting Leader: Former Trope Namer. Aragorn may be more impressive than the Hobbits, but he's really mostly there to back up the Mannish kingdoms and distract Sauron long enough for Frodo to destroy the Ring.
• The Three Faces of Adam: Aragorn is The Hunter, seeking a place for himself in this world and to prove himself worthy to get what he wants, Elrond is The Lord, well-established, striving to maintain a balance and preserve what he has, Gandalf is The Prophet, the guide who tries to impress his wisdom on the young ones.
• Troll: Gets Merry pretty good after the Battle of the Pelennor Fields; Merry doesn't know where his pack is and thus doesn't have any pipe-weed. Aragorn tells him if his pack isn't found then there's no pipe-weed to be had(also taking a few shots at the chief Healer in the process); as Pippin points out after Merry apologizes for causing offense, his pack was at his bedside the whole time, as Aragorn could easily see.
• Uneven Hybrid: Aragorn has some elven ancestry a few thousand years prior to the events in the story due to him being the last heir of Gondor. He's also part-Maiar via Lúthien's mother.
• Walking the Earth: As a Ranger he's patrolled the old regions of Arnor with the purpose of staying hidden until the right time and protecting their inhabitants, including those in Bree and the Shire. He's also served in Gondor and Rohan under an alias and journeyed as far as Harad, the south lands controlled by Sauron.
• Warrior Prince: Like most princes of the Men, Elves, and Dwarves.
• Weapon-Based Characterization: When the Fellowship first sets out, he carries his ancestral royal sword Andúril, reforged from its original form Narsil, and "no other weapon". This is because he has been playing the role of The Hero for basically his entire life consciously or not, and of course Heroes Prefer Swords. Yet he is not "the" hero of the narrative.
• Wrecked Weapon: The Shards of Narsil before they were reforged, as the sword was broken in two pieces when Elendil was killed fighting Sauron and its light or glow was extinguished.
• Young and in Charge: Of the Three Hunters, per the Appendices: compared to Legolas's hundreds of years and Gimli’s age of 139^note Appendix A lists Gimli's birth year as 2879, and the Hunters were active in 3019, making Gimli's age at the time either 139 or 140., Aragorn is a relative tyke at the tender young age of 87. Justified in-universe due to Aragorn's extensive travels and superior tracking abilities.

Legolas

Legolas is the son of King Thranduil of Mirkwood (the Elvenking in The Hobbit), and is sent by his father to Rivendell to deliver news of Gollum's escape. There he becomes one of the Nine Walkers of the Fellowship. Compared to the rest of the Fellowship, he is rather lighthearted as is shown by his dialogue. He and Gimli initially do not get along well due to the longstanding animosity between dwarves and elves, but over the course of the Fellowship's travels, they become close friends. After the breakup of the Fellowship, Legolas is warned by Galadriel that if he hears the cry of a gull, he will be drawn to the sea. True to Galadriel's prediction, he hears the cry of a gull and becomes overwhelmed with a desire to sail West. It is not until many years after the War of the Ring ends, however, that Legolas builds a ship and sails to Valinor with Gimli.

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• Bearer of Bad News: Legolas went to Rivendell as an envoy of his father to inform the Council of Elrond that Gollum (their captive at Mirkwood) had escaped.
• Body-Count Competition: Ur-Example, with Gimli.
• Bow and Sword in Accord: He has both a bow and a long knife for combat, although he prefers the bow.
• Deadpan Snarker: In the books, as opposed to the films.
  Legolas: After that, I suppose, he turned his arms into wings and flew away singing into the trees. It should be easy to find him: we only need wings ourselves!
• Elves vs. Dwarves: To start with, but subverted as he and Gimli become close friends.
• Emergency Weapon: When he runs out of arrows, e.g. at Amon Hen and Helm's Deep, he uses his long knife.
• The Empath: Sort of. Not for people, but for plants and animals and the land in general. He can hear the "thoughts" of stones and trees and grass. He can talk to horses and can understand how they feel from their neighs. And a few days in to the chase in Rohan when Aragorn comments that it is almost as though there is some power working against them in the land, Legolas tells him that there is in fact, and he noticed it the very moment they set foot on the plains.
• Exposed to the Elements: The Fellowship has been crossing miles of wild terrain, as well as climbing a mountain, and instead of wearing boots like a normal person Legolas only has light shoes, and is just fine. And that snow storm that nearly killed everyone else? It "troubled him little".
• Fire-Forged Friends: With Gimli.
• Friend to All Living Things: Apparently elves in general are this, provided that animal itself is good. (Wood-elves, anyway. High Elves like Glorfindel apparently use saddles.)
  "A smaller and lighter horse, but restive and fiery, was brought to Legolas. Arod was his name. But Legolas asked them to take off saddle and rein. 'I need them not,' he said, and he leaped lightly up, and to their wonder Arod was tame and willing beneath him, moving here and there with but a spoken word: such was the elvish way with all good beasts."
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Becomes this with Gimli; when the fellowship disbands at the end, the pair do not part, but instead travel Middle-Earth together. Even later ^note  About a century after the War of the Ring they sail to Valinor together.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: Shoots down some kind of dread-bringing flying creature in the almost total darkness of night where only the stars could be seen. It's later revealed to be a Nazgul's winged steed.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Implied. When Galadriel is testing the fellowship, only Legolas and Aragorn could look her in the eye for long.
• In the Hood: Like most of the Fellowship, he wears an Elven hooded cloak given by the Lady Galadriel. Though it's not said if he had his own cloak before this, like the others.
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Legolas fits this trope in the same way seemingly ALL male elves do.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Borrows a shield for pitched battles, but otherwise goes without one. Using a long knife with a shield was not uncommon in real life, particularly in the Early Middle Ages context which inspired much of the setting (like the "langseaxes" of the Anglo-Saxons, and since "proper" swords, distinguished from knives often only by custom, were more expensive and less common).
• Nature Lover: When the Three Hunters come down from the rocky and barren Emyn Muil and step onto the plains of Rohan:
  "Legolas took a deep breath, like one that drinks a great draught after long thirst in barren places. 'Ah! the green smell!' he said. 'It is better than much sleep. Let us run!'"
• Odd Friendship: With Gimli, which probably weirds out both their fathers and countrymen.
• Oh, Crap!: He completely loses it when he sees the Balrog. Made all the more powerful by the fact that this is the only point of the series where he's afraid, and he is full on terrified.
  "Ai, Ai! A Balrog is come!"
• Older Than They Look: Calls Aragorn and Gimli, both of particularly long-lived races, "children." His exact age is never given, but it's more than 500.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The aforementioned Oh, Crap!. Legolas even laughed off an angry, sentient mountain trying to bury them in an avalanche, but not this. (And for good reason: Balrogs are well-known Hero Killers. Even those who defeat them always end up mortally injured.)
• Out of Focus: This tends to happen to him most among the Fellowship, especially during the first part of their journey. From the time they see crows in Hollin until the end of the storm on Caradhras he is not mentioned once. Partly justified as Legolas walked behind everyone else as the rearguard, so Frodo, the viewpoint character, would be much less likely to notice what he's doing.
• Pretty Boy: "Legolas was fair of face beyond the measure of Men."
• Prophecy Twist: Galadriel tells him in verse to "beware of the sea", as once he hears the cries of seagulls, "his heart" would no longer "rest in the forest". He thinks it means he's going to die, but the seagulls just awaken a desire to sail West and leave Middle-earth.
  • This is two-fold: he hears the gulls cry during the middle of "Return of the King" (as they're riding to help the Rohirrim) and immediately thinks about heading to Valinor when the War of the Ring is done. He actually spends a fair 100 YEARS wandering around with Gimli looking at important Elven and Dwarven sights before he heads off to Valinor.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something/Warrior Prince: He's the prince of Mirkwood, though he is never actually called by a noble title directly, just "son of Thranduil" etc.
• Super-Senses: This is common with elves. They have better sight and possibly hearing than mortals. Legolas can see much farther than anyone else in the fellowship. He can also hear the thoughts of trees and grass and stones... possibly. It might be figurative.
  "But the Elves of this land were of a race strange to us of the silvan folk, and the trees and the grass do not now remember them. Only I hear the stones lament them: deep they delved us, fair they wrought us, high they builded us, but they are gone. They are gone."
  • He can also walk on top of snow drifts leaving hardly an imprint in the snow, and walk on grass without bending the blades.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Gimli. The fact that Legolas's father kept Gimli's father captive in The Hobbit doesn't help.
• Weapon-Based Characterization: Bow and long knife, because he's a Wood-elf and thus a woodsman. He also walks behind everyone else as the rearguard, and so as the one with the ranged weapon, he's the one whom the others, all with melee weapons, can fall back to and form around. He's the reason why bows have become "the" Elf weapon of choice in later fantasy, akin to Dwarves and axes. In The Hobbit, the Wood-elves use bows, but so does everyone else, more or less. Galadriel gives him a new bow and arrows, and the Galadhrim bow is longer and stouter than his "small" Mirkwood bow, improving his range—such as when he uses it to shoot down a Nazgul.

Gimli

The token dwarf. Gimli son of Glóin attends the council at Rivendell and is chosen as the representative for his race within the Fellowship. After that he primarily runs around as a Boisterous Bruiser, forming an Odd Friendship with Legolas. Legolas even took him with him across the sea to Eressëa near the end of his life, making Gimli the only Dwarf to dwell in that land.

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• Achievements in Ignorance: For his request from Galadriel, he asks for a strand of her hair (and receives three.) He recognizes that this is a presumptious request, but doesn't have the history to understand its full significance or what it means for her to agree. ^ExplanationThe only other person to make a similar request was Fëanor, creator of the Silmarils, who wanted to use them in the Silmarils' creation. Galadriel, sensing the darkness in his nature, refused, even after he asked three times, and this refusal contributed to Fëanor's growing resentment; this means that Gimli was granted a request that was refused to one of the greatest elf-lords who ever lived and which played a part in one of the most important events in the entire history of the world.
• Alliterative Family: Gimli son of Glóin son of Gróin.
• Audience Surrogate: He tends to fill this role in the three hunters. Though he's certainly not as green as the hobbits, he's the most "normal" of the three in his mindset and has the least knowledge of the area south of the Misty Mountains, which means that many portions are told from his point of view and he frequently needs things explained to him.
• Badass Normal: Of the three hunters, he doesn't wield a legendary ancestral weapon like Aragorn or is an especially long lived warrior prince like Legolas, Gimli is just a burly dwarf with an axe, an axe he is really good wielding.
• Battle Cry: Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu! meaning "Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you!" It's the ancient Dwarven battle cry. Shortened to just Khazâd!
• Bash Brothers: With Legolas, once they get past the dwarf-elf rivalry.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: The dwarven envoy (including Gimli) attended the Council of Elrond seeking of news of what became of their kin that went to retake Khazad-dûm; Gimli would eventually learn of their fate firsthand once the Fellowship ventured into the depths of Moria.
• Beard of Barbarism: Downplayed since he's not exactly a "barbarian", but he is a Proud Warrior Race Guy, the only Fellowship member who goes openly armored while traveling, and the only one confirmed to have a beard and in fact any kind of facial hair besides Gandalf and his Wizard Beard. Even so, Gimli's beard is never detailed much and treated more like a given since all dwarves have beards, even the female ones as implied in the books' Appendices and per Word of God (as it's explicitly stated in drafts and other texts). He is also part of the Longbeard clan of dwarves, Durin's House.
• Berserk Button: Insults to Lady Galadriel.
• Big Damn Heroes: When Éomer is tripped up and ambushed in Helm's Deep, Gimli appears out of nowhere to chop up his attackers.
• The Big Guy: Despite being a dwarf. He's a very strong fighter with great endurance and a powerful weapon.
• Body-Count Competition: Ur-Example, with Legolas, over the number of Orcs killed at the Battle of the Hornburg. Gimli wins, 42-41.
• Boisterous Bruiser: As befits a dwarven Knight in Shining Armor, Gimli is loud, boisterous and jumps at any opportunity to introduce orcs to the business end of his collection of axes.
• Deadpan Snarker: Has his moments.
  "Well, (the horses) are gone," said Aragorn at last. "We cannot find them or catch them; so that if they do not return of their own will, we must do without. We started on our feet and we have those still.
  "Feet!" said Gimli. "But we cannot eat them as well as walk on them." He threw some fuel onto the fire and slumped down beside it.
  "Only a few hours ago you were unwilling to sit on a horse of Rohan," Legolas laughed."You will make a rider yet."
  "It seems unlikely I shall have the chance," said Gimli.
• Duel to the Death: When Éomer speaks ill of 'the Sorceress of the Golden Wood,' Gimli immediately challenges Eomer to such a duel. Events call for a postponement. The honorable Éomer's the one who reminds Gimli of this appointment after they've triumphed, but Gimli decides to call it off.
• The Dulcinea Effect: Galadriel has this impact on him, despite her being a completely different species; not solely for her appearance, but because she's the only Elf he's met to show an appreciation and respect for Dwarven culture. He has strong words with anyone who repeats the usual rumors of how dangerous and witchlike the Lady of Lorien is.
• Fire-Forged Friends:
  • With Legolas. It takes a while given they were at each other's throats at the Council of Elrond, but noticeably improves after their time in Lothlorien.
  • He also gets along much better with Éomer after they've fought alongside each other in Helm's Deep.
• Elves vs. Dwarves: Initially, but subverted when he becomes friendly with Legolas and admires Galadriel.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Legolas; they travel Middle Earth together after the War of the Ring, and Gimli even accompanies Legolas to the Isles of the Blessed about a century after the events of the story.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Though he often behaves in a fashion typical of dwarfs (that is to say, boisterous and standoffish), he frequently surprises others - especially elves - with his silver tongue and reverence for natural beauty. He does it often enough to qualify as a Running Gag, but the very best examples are with Éomer and Galadriel. He also manages to stun Legolas with his description of the caves behind the Hornburg and speaks of them so poetically that Legolas - a wood elf - agrees to go back and see them once the War of the Ring is over.
  • Among other instances, he's also got an iron will compared to some of the other members of both the Fellowship and their allies. The One Ring appears to have no effect on him and he suggests trying to destroy it as soon as he sees it, and Saruman's charms and silver tongue can't beguile him in the slightest.
• Hypocritical Humor: Gimli proudly declares that dwarves like him can out-endure the other races. After that day's trek, Boromir jests that they're all ready to drop except "our sturdy dwarf", who is nodding where he sits.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Seems to be the only one of the fellowship that doesn't even feel The One Ring's power. According to other works, Dwarves naturally are immune to the dominating effects of their seven Rings of Power as influenced by the One Ring, the only side effect they feel is greed, but Gimli is one of the only characters in the story where the temptation for the One Ring is never even alluded to.
• Implacable Man: Although it turns out that Gimli still has enough energy to battle the ambushing Uruk-Hai and follow Aragorn for four days in the hopes of rescuing or avenging Merry and Pippin.
• In the Hood: Like most of the Fellowship, he wears a traveler's hooded cloak just like the Dwarves in The Hobbit. Later, it's replaced by one of Elven make.
• Jumped at the Call: He wanted to join the original Quest for Erebor from The Hobbit, but at "only" 62, was thought to be too young.
• Knight in Shining Armor: Both literally, as Gimli is the only member of the fellowship that is always armoured in metal mail, and figuratively, due to his tendencies towards heroism and his relationship with Galadriel
• Lady and Knight: He essentially becomes Galadriel's knight, since she gives him a type of favour in the shape of three of her hairs, he's ready to defend her honour, and he nearly fights a duel with Éomer when he insults her.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Borrows a shield for pitched battles, but otherwise goes without one. Amusingly, his height means he's given a child-sized shield made for a young Theoden.
• Odd Friendship: With Legolas. Considering what went on between their fathers in The Hobbit, one wonders how Glóin's going to feel about this.
• Oh, Crap!: Unlike his companions (except perhaps Gandalf), Gimli knows the history of Moria. He's appalled when he learns "Durin's Bane" is approaching (though he didn't know exactly what it was).
• Our Dwarves Are All the Same: Gimli is the Trope Codifier for modern fiction. Dwarfs in older myths were not too different from earlier conceptions of elves as The Fair Folk, with an affinity for the earth and its underground riches, and thus a tendency toward mining, smithing and Greed. Thorin and Company in The Hobbit were often comic relief vs. Bilbo as the Straight Man for most of the story, but they established that Tolkien's 'dwarves' had a strong sense of personal and family loyalty and honor, an ancient hatred of and history of warfare with goblins i.e. orcs, and distrust and dislike of (some) elves. Gimli's characterization dialed the comic relief way down and established the dwarves' Proud Warrior Race Guy code, their tendency to go armed and armored in all situations, and their preference for axes.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Dwarves are very strong for their size. He's the only one to wear armor openly (a mail-shirt), while the others went light for stealth (except Frodo who wore his mail-shirt under his clothes).
• Plucky Comic Relief: As mentioned above, it's downplayed compared to Thorin's company from The Hobbit, and even more compared to his movie counterpart, who was very much Adaptational Comic Relief. But he's still one of the more comical characters, usually due to his stubbornness, his temper, or his exaggerated sense of dignity — or due to people dismissing him because he's a dwarf and appears less physically impressive than Aragorn or Legolas.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Marginally: Gimli is a cousin of Dáin II, King of Durin's Folk and King Under the Mountain, but he's not the heir to that title.
• The Team Normal: Downplayed, but of the three hunters, Gimli is by far the most 'average,' being only a brave and skilled Dwarf while Legolas is an immortal Elf prince and Aragorn a Númenórean King. Most clearly seen during the Paths of the Dead, where the other two are more or less unfazed while Gimli is barely able to stand for sheer terror.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Legolas.
• Warrior Poet: Especially when he's describing the Glittering Caves beneath Helm's Deep, or the beauty of Galadriel. When the Fellowship leaves Lothlórien to continue its quest, he is heartbroken:
  "Torment in the dark was the danger that I feared, and it did not hold me back. But I would have never come, had I known the danger of light and joy."
  • Late in the story Legolas even admits that Gimli is, at times, better at this than he is: the only known instance of a Dwarf besting an Elf in a battle of words.
• Weapon-Based Characterization: His weapon of choice is an axe. It's The Lord of the Rings that establishes axes as "the" Dwarf weapon in-universe largely because of him and his tidbits regarding Dwarven culture, as The Hobbit mentions Dwarves using swords, bows and even mattocks of their own making besides axes. As with mattocks, axes originated as tools for manual labour, reflecting the Dwarves being great builders and craftsmen (though Tolkien's Elves, specifically the High Elves and particularly the Noldor, are no slouches themselves in those fields either). Axes also give the Dwarves a touch of the barbarian compared to the Elves (though other writings of Tolkien have Elves using axes too), and this goes along with Gimli's Proud Warrior Race Guy tendencies.

Boromir

The favorite son and heir of Denethor, the Steward of Gondor. Boromir is a mighty warrior of his people and their champion, more focused on feats of arms than his wiser and more bookish brother Faramir.

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• Ancestral Weapon: Rather, item - as Heir of the Steward, he carries the Horn of Gondor at all times. Becomes a Tragic Keepsake for his father after he dies.
• Annoying Arrows: Subverted. It takes a hell of a lot, but they do eventually kill him.
• Anti-Hero: The reason he tries to claim the One Ring is to bring glory to Gondor.
• Badass Long Hair: He's the only one in the Fellowship and the only Gondorian who gets his hair length described, being "shorn about his shoulders", and as one of the highest-ranking officers in Gondor's military he is certainly a badass.
• Battle Cry: He shouts "Gondor!" when he tries to stand with Gandalf against the Balrog.
• Big Brother Instinct: Loves his younger brother deeply, and tries to protect him from the harsh treatment of their father.
• The Big Guy: He's tall and broad enough to serve as a human snowplow when trying to cross Caradhras. Stated as the physically strongest member of the Fellowship.
• Blow That Horn: He carries the Great Horn of Gondor since he's the Steward of Gondor's eldest heir. He blows it out of habit when starting on journeys, as the people in Rivendell discover. Later he blows it in Moria as the Balrog and orcs charge upon them, and the blast stops them in their their tracks for a few moments. Still later he blows it at Amon Hen when he, Merry and Pippin encounter the Uruk-hai. According to Gondorian legend, the horn would always summon aid if blown, but in his case it was too late.
• Blue Blood: The Stewards have always been very powerful Blue Bloods in Gondor (which is why they managed to keep the title in the family at all, until it eventually became hereditary), without ever being "royalty". (Later writings clarify that the Stewards were in fact related to the kings of Gondor though not in the ruling line.)
• Boisterous Bruiser: He is quite fond of battle and boisterous about it, somewhat atypical for Gondorian culture but this meant he was well-liked by their allies in Rohan.
• Broken Ace: He is a proud, gallant warrior but the pressure put on him as the Steward's heir to protect his people and his despair of winning without using the power of the Ring eroded his common sense. This makes him a perfect target for the One Ring.
• The Chosen Wannabe: He wants to use the ring to save Gondor. The ring plays on these feelings until he finally assaults Frodo to take the ring.
• The Complainer Is Always Wrong:
  • He tends to raise objections, suggest alternate (and infeasible) plans, raise issues and generally grumble. He's brave and reliable, but he's not cheerful about it.
  • When he is right though (regarding firewood in the mountains), he probably saves the Fellowship's lives.
• The Determinator: You could pretty much rename this trope 'The Boromir' and it would still be accurate. Before the quest of the Ring even starts he goes to Rivendell, where he had never been to before, on foot after losing his horse on the way.
• Dying as Yourself: As soon as Frodo flees and takes the Ring with him, its effect on him wears off and he instantly repents his attempt to steal it. His Heroic Sacrifice trying to save Merry and Pippin is his atonement. In his final moments, he overcomes his evil side and fights selflessly to protect his friends. Later on, when Faramir found his brother's body, he noticed that "his face was more beautiful even than in life", as if he "died well, achieving some good thing".
• Dying Moment of Awesome: Slays dozens of orcs defending Merry and Pippin until he is riddled by arrows.
• Fallen Hero: He is a valiant warrior trying to save his country, his people's champion, but he cannot resist the temptation of the Ring.
• Family Theme Naming: Boromir and Faramir.
• Famous Ancestor: He bears the same name as one of his ancestors, a famous warrior who liberated Ithilien from the orcs some five centuries earlier.
• Fatal Flaw: His pride, which eventually drives him to folly and leads to his death.
• Foil: To Faramir, who's less militaristic and more studious. Also, Faramir is able to resist temptation.
• Four-Star Badass: A fearsome warrior and Gondor's Captain-General, who held out against superior forces under the Witch-King until the last bridge at Osgiliath could be destroyed, then escaped by swimming across the Anduin. His stand had the result of delaying Sauron's invasion of Gondor for the better part of a year while he built up his forces, buying time for the Fellowship to assemble and embark on the quest of Mount Doom.
• Glory Seeker: Unlike Faramir. Boromir loves Gondor and wants to save it for its own sake, but he also wants the renown of being its savior.
• Go Out with a Smile: After Aragorn promises that Minas Tirith will not fall, Boromir smiles and passes.
• Half-Human Hybrid: Several (dozen) generations removed on his mother's side. He and Faramir (as well as their maternal uncle, Prince Imrahil) actually are descended from elf maiden Mithrellas, the legendary handmaiden of Nimrodel who married a Prince of Dol Amroth. May explain why many characters think they appear noble and regal like the ancient Dúnadan kings. Later writings clarify that the Stewards are related to the kings of Gondor, though not directly enough to be considered in the succession. This meant that both the royal and Stewards' lines have very distant yet common Elven ancestors from the First Age, no less than Lúthien and Idril — which would be on Boromir's paternal side. Having Elven ancestors, no matter the distance, also manifested itself in his being beardless - unlike most men of Gondor, but like his brother, father, uncle, and Aragorn and all their common ancestors who descended from these Elves.
• Honor Before Reason: A twisted variation of it. What dooms Boromir in the end is his honorbound oath to protect Gondor, which the Ring uses to twist his mind until he tries to claim the Ring for itself.
• In the Hood: Like most of the Fellowship, he wears an Elven hooded cloak given by the Lady Galadriel.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Downplayed in that Boromir is still a good man, but he's clearly meant to be the most flawed member of the Fellowship. Nonetheless, though his advice is rarely treated as correct, he always has at least a very strong point. His main critique of the journey is that the Fellowship doesn't actually have a way into Mordor, as the two known paths inside are both heavily watched and guarded, and he's right. It's pretty clear that Aragorn doesn't have any idea how to get in, either, as he was planning to leave that job to Gandalf, and it's ambiguous whether Gandalf himself had any ideas. It was only by making peaceful contact with Gollum, something nobody in the Fellowship knew to be a possibility, that Frodo and Sam were able to find their way in, and even that path turned out to be a trap. Boromir's alternative suggestion is wrong, of course, but it's not for nothing that he thinks it's their best chance.
• Killed Off for Real: He is only member of the Fellowship that doesn't have a fake death, nor does he come back to life. He's the only one that dies permanently.
• The Lancer: He never tries to assert leadership, but he regularly suggests alternate courses of action - usually good, solid advice, but clearly centered on his own concern: saving Gondor.
• Large and in Charge: Tall and broad-shouldered, and though a bit shorter than Aragorn, he was broader and heavier. He often led the forces of Gondor in battle, and is slated to replace his father as Steward eventually.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: The only one in the Fellowship who has his own shield. It's wrecked in his final battle.
• My God, What Have I Done?: After realizing what he was doing after trying to take the Ring from Frodo.
• Manly Tears: As he lays dying, in remorse for attacking Frodo and then being unable to prevent Merry and Pippin's capture.
• Meaningful Name: His name means "faithful jewel" from Sindarin "bôr" and Quenya "mírë".
• Pride: One of his defining traits. And one which leads to his downfall.
• One-Man Army: He killed "twenty orcs, at least" in his Dying Moment of Awesome.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: Boromir is probably the greatest warrior that Gondor has. He is accompanied by two hobbits who can more or less no sell the power of the ring, a Lightning Bruiser Legolas, The Chosen One Aragorn and then you have Gandalf who is basically an angel.
• The Proud Elite: The Steward's heir, tall, fit, good-looking, his people's champion: men used to say he was the best in Gondor, and he agreed. When he first appears, he is described thus, through Frodo's eyes:
  "And seated a little apart was a tall man with a fair and noble face, dark-haired and grey-eyed, proud and stern of glance."
• Psychic Dreams for Everyone: His brother had a lot of those, and Boromir at least one: it drove him to seek Rivendell and the counsel of Elrond. The dream had a voice mentioning Isildur's Bane, a Halfling, and the Sword that was Broken, all of which he was to encounter there.
• Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: A Númenórean trait. Both he and his brother are said to be attractive.
• Redemption Equals Death: See Dying as Yourself. He atoned for his attack on Frodo by sacrificing himself trying to safe the other Hobbits. Also note that, unlike Isildur and Denethor, two other characters whose fatal flaw is pride and whose deaths are ignoble, Boromir's death is dignified, and he dies with a smile.
  • According to another interpretation, actually a subversion. His redemption begins when he returns back to the camp, confesses what he had done, and humbly accepts Aragorn's charge to guard Merry and Pippin. He masters his pride, and no longer fights for glory, but out of a genuine desire to protect his friends.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red to Faramir's Blue. He was the vivacious charismatic warrior while Faramir was the more reserved intellectual.
• The Resenter: Downplayed, as it's more of him having the potential to be one if not for his death.
  • Upon meeting Aragorn at the Council of Elrond, he doesn't hide his doubts about Aragorn truly being the heir of Elendil and thus the rightful king of Gondor (and Arnor) who bears Elendil's broken sword (and whose taking of the office would mean his father losing his current place as ruler). But he's diplomatic about it, saying that though he was not sent to seek any aid except for the meaning of his dream, he will not refuse Aragorn's assistance and is open to him going to Gondor (and implicitly pressing his royal claim). He and Aragorn thus join the Company of the Ring with plans of going to Gondor's capital Minas Tirith together at some point.
  • Under the influence of the Ring, he rants about the Council's decision to not use it against Sauron, since someone like Aragorn could do great things with it, and if Aragorn won't then why not him, who would thus form great alliances, overthrow Mordor and become a wise and benevolent king.
  • Later, it's revealed that as a boy Boromir was in fact greatly troubled that his father was not king himself, and had asked him how many hundreds of years it would take for a king's steward to become king if the king was absent. Denethor said that it would take only a few years in "other places of less royalty", but for Gondor "ten thousand years would not suffice." Reminiscing upon this, Faramir suspects that this unease never truly left Boromir, but Frodo acknowledges he still treated Aragorn, the direct royal heir, with respect. Though Faramir adds that whether this would have lasted if Boromir and Aragorn had gone together to Gondor as they originally planned, no one can say.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Ruling Stewards' firstborns, rather.
• Sanity Slippage: Happens gradually as his desire for the Ring slowly drives him mad until he finally snaps and attacks Frodo. He gets better though, for a short time.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Boromir is a warrior born, strong, proud, and a favorite of the Proud Warrior Race Guys of Rohan. This is in contrast to his equally brave, but more thoughtful and less prideful brother.
• Senseless Sacrifice: Tried to pulled off a Heroic Sacrifice to atone for trying to steal the One Ring, but it ended up being a Senseless Sacrifice to his despair, as he couldn't stop Merry and Pippin from being captured in the end. Pretty much everyone still gives him credit for trying, though.
• Shout-Out: His great horn and some aspects of his character is an homage to the medieval French epic The Song of Roland, where the paladin Roland, nephew of Charlemagne, bears the horn Olifant. Like Boromir, Roland blows his horn to summon help when surrounded by enemies, but still dies. Roland's fatal flaw is also pride, as he refused to sound his horn earlier thinking that he could defeat his foes by his own power. Boromir is convinced of his and Gondor's ability to defeat Sauron on their own if the Ring was allowed to be used.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: He's the opposite of his brother Faramir, though that doesn't spoil their close friendship.
• Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: His death occurs in the first chapter of the The Two Towers. The three-volume division was only done in the first place due to postwar budgetary reasons, so this is accidental.
• Take Up My Sword: His last words are to tell Aragorn to go to Minas Tirith and save his people, in his stead.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Both he and his brother.
• The Three Faces of Adam: The Hunter in the Steward family (Denethor and his sons). He used to dream of being King despite it not being an option. Now he is trying to find his place in the world and is ready to take risks to further his goals.
• Tragic Hero: He is desperate to save his homeland, but cannot see how it can be done. The One Ring seems to present a way to do it.
• Tragic Keepsake: His broken horn is kept by Denethor.
• Warrior Prince: Unlike his brother he's particularly enamoured of the warrior ethos and the "glory" of warfare, as he sees it. The Rohirrim, who knew him well, thought he was more like themselves than a man of Gondor (Boromir is also shown to hold the Rohirrim in high regard, and defends their reputation at the Council of Elrond).
• Weapon-Based Characterization: He has a sword and shield. His sword is similar in appearance to Aragorn's, but it doesn't have its ancient royal pedigree, which mirrors the two men themselves. He has a sword since he's spent most of his life being The Hero of Gondor, and Heroes Prefer Swords. He's the only one to bring his own shield while some of the others borrow shields at need, and this underscores his role as Gondor's defender.
• Wrecked Weapon: His sword, shield and horn were all smashed or broken by the end.