History Characters / MiddleEarthFilmTheFellowship

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: 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.

** While still badass, he's less assertive than his book counterpart and his leadership is also less firm and more delegative, sometimes dubitative. In the film, The Witch-king surprises Gandalf in upper Minas Tirith, shatters the wizard's staff and knocks him off Shadowfax, and was suggested to have had the upper hand before flying off after the arrival of the Rohirrim, whereas in the books Gandalf is expecting the Nazgûl, holds his ground at the breached doors, and while they [[TheUnfought don't fight]], he is clearly ready for the challenge. Actually, the power gap between the two is rather vast; Gandalf is second only to Sauron, a Maia (essentially a demi-god) prone to {{Badass Boast}}s who killed another incredibly strong Maia (the Balrog of Moria) in his weaker form, while the Witch-king is just a Black Numenorean wraith (a corrupted Man) with a Ring, and who was fended off at Weathertop by Gandalf the Grey in a clash where several other Nazgûl were also present. Even then, it would have taken all the Nine ''together'' to have seriously threatened him at that time. This is significant because it was Gandalf the ''White'' he was facing at Minas Tirith, reembodied with even ''more'' power. Additionally, Gandalf also carries Narya, one of the Three, each of which are greater than the Nine wielded by the Nazgûl.
** Peter Jackson voiced repeatedly a dislike of wizards slinging fireballs and lightning, preferring magic to be displayed more subtly and rarely in an overt fashion. This leads to Gandalf for the most part only ever fighting with sword and staff. In the book, Gandalf made more use of magic in combat, throwing the occasional fireball or lightning bolt against groups of enemies in both Moria, and in the Misty Mountains during the Hobbit.

* OffscreenTeleportation: He somehow manages to move from Bilbo's party to Bag End in ''Fellowship'' before Bilbo himself gets there, even though he is seen sitting in the audience while Bilbo is running home, made invisible by the Ring. All without crossing paths with him, either. He ''is'' a wizard, but not even the most powerful beings in Middle-earth can manage actual teleportation, so this is left strangely unexplained.

* OlderThanTheyLook: While he looks like a frail 70-year-old, he's actually a Maia (god-like entity) who has ''been around since the creation of the universe''. He's been in Middle-earth for about 2000 years, and was the *last* of the Five Wizards to arrive. So Saruman and Radagast are older in that respect.

* SleepsWithBothEyesOpen: Only shown during the extended cut of ''Return of the King''. Pippin attempts to take the Palantir from him whilst everyone is asleep and is briefly shocked when Gandalf appears to be awake.

!!! '''Voiced by:''' Creator/EnzoFortuny (Latin American Spanish dub), Creator/DaisukeNamikawa (Japanese dub), Óscar Muñoz (Spanish dub), Alexandre Gillet (French dub)

* AngerBornOfWorry: Given his [[RatedMForManly personality,]] Gimli often displays his affection for the other members of the Fellowship through gruff insults.

* BoisterousBruiser: See TheBigGuy and RatedMForManly for more info.

* RatedMForManly: Gimli's personality in the film is very much the gung-ho burly fighting man. This is in contrast to his [[WarriorPoet more scholarly persona in the book]].

* TheJuggernaut: Gimili's fighting can best be described as "jump in an keep hacking until everything is dead."

* RatedMForManly: Gimli's personality in the film as [[WarriorPoet opposed to the book]].

* ViolentGlaswegian: In the film.

* TheHero: He has his own [[TheHerosJourney hero's journey]] in the trilogy, separate from Frodo's quest to destroy the Ring. His duty is uniting the race of Men and leading them to fight against Sauron. While he is not the protagonist of the story, he is a more traditional kind of hero and unlike Frodo, Aragorn ends up happier and wiser at the end of his adventure, having married Arwen, united the kingdoms of Men, and helped save the world from Sauron's tyranny.

* TheHero: Alongside Aragorn and Sam. He is the protagonist chosen to destroy the One Ring, as he has enough willpower to do it. He even wields a [[HeroesPreferSwords sword]] which can warn its wielder of nearby orcs by [[BlueIsHeroic glowing blue!]]

* TheHero: He eventually takes up this role not only to protect Frodo, but to encourage him in his Quest as well. Tolkien has seemed to favor him as this, [[HumbleHero though Sam himself may disagree]].

-->'''Gandalf''': We've been blind. And in our blindness, our enemy has returned.

* BadassBaritone: Considering he's played by ''the'' Creator/IanMcKellen, he has a deep, melodious voice.

!!! '''Voiced by:''' Sergio Gutiérrez Coto (Latin American Spanish dub), Creator/HochuOtsuka (Japanese dub), Juan Antonio Bernal (Spanish dub), Creator/BernardGabay (French dub)

* BreakTheCutie: Getting stabbed by the Witch-King curses Frodo with lifelong pain, which was considered the best-case scenario considering he would have become a wraith if not for the healing powers of the elves in Rivendell. The ring's CorruptingInfluence also starts to take effect the closer he gets to Mordor and leaves him wracked with guilt when he starts alienating Sam. [[spoiler:He does not get better until he leaves for the Undying Lands with Gandalf in hopes of finding a better life there.]]

** In the books, it was written that they set sail for the Undying Lands together, with Gimli--thanks to his friendship with Legolas and Galadriel probably putting in a good word for him before they arrived--being the ''only'' Dwarf to set foot in Valinor in the entire history of Middle-Earth.

* ButNowIMustGo: Ultimately, unable to recover from the ordeal of his time as a Ringbearer, Frodo leaves Middle-Earth alongside Gandalf and Bilbo to the Undying lands.

* {{Determinator}}: Poor Frodo goes through absolute hell (with Sam at his side) to destroy the Ring and kick Sauron out of Middle-Earth for good.

[[caption-width-right:254:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fellowship_gandalf.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:254:''"I am Gandalf the White. And I come back to you now, at the turn of the tide."'']]

A wizard who assisted both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins in their quests across Middle-Earth. Gandalf is a member of the Istari, a group of Maiar that were specially chosen by the Valar to aid the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth in the fight against evil. The Istari, who are often called wizards by various races, take the form of elderly but hale Men, but possess much greater physical, mental, and magical power (though the Valar prevent them from confronting Sauron with the full force of their power). For over 2,000 years, Gandalf worked faithfully against the rising powers of evil in Middle-Earth.

* TheChessmaster: He has been playing chess with Sauron over Middle-Earth for ''centuries''.

* HeroWithBadPublicity: [[DownplayedTrope Several areas of Middle-Earth think poorly of him]], seeing him as something that causes trouble. Frodo, for instance, says that he has been officially declared a "disrupter of the peace" in the Shire and Wormtongue dubs him 'Láthspell'; "ill news is an ill guest." However, hobbit children adore him and even an adult has an ActuallyPrettyFunny reaction to him until his wife gives him a stare, and just as many people respect him.

* OffscreenTeleportation: He somehow manages to move from Bilbo's party to Bag End in ''Fellowship'' before Bilbo himself gets there, even though he is seen sitting in the audience while Bilbo is running home, made invisible by the Ring. All without crossing paths with him, either. He ''is'' a wizard, but not even the most powerful beings in Middle-Earth can manage actual teleportation, so this is left strangely unexplained.

* OlderThanTheyLook: While he looks like a frail 70-year-old, he's actually a Maia (god-like entity) who has ''been around since the creation of the universe''. He's been in Middle Earth for about 2000 years, and was the *last* of the Five Wizards to arrive. So Saruman and Radagast are older in that respect.

** Also [[InsecureLoveInterest his relationship with Arwen]]. He's deeply in love with her, but believes she should go to the Undying Lands with the elves instead of forsaking her immortality and staying in Middle-Earth

* MessianicArchetype: He shares this role along with Frodo. Also, he inspired Rohan and the rest of Middle-Earth to fight for their freedom, plus he has gained more followers as he continued his journey. Being destined to be King of Gondor and being a descendant of Isildur, will make you this.

* AdaptationDyeJob: Tolkien's Middle-Earth books and histories strongly suggest that the Elves of Mirkwood--very much including Legolas and Thranduil--had dark hair. But here, his hair is a very light blond, probably for the sake of differentiating him from both Aragorn and Boromir, and the fact that Thranduil was once described in ''The Hobbit'' as having golden blond hair.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: The only time he ''ever'' appears [[https://i.ibb.co/T8V9dBx/vlcsnap-2021-03-29-22h58m53s832.png frightened]] in the trilogy is at the mention of the [[HeroKiller Balrog.]] With good reason: [[AllThereInTheManual any and all military encounters between elf and balrog]] end with the death of the elf, and [[TakingYouWithMe in ONE case, the death of the balrog as well]]. Glorfindel was one of only two elves to successfully slay a balrog (the other was Ecthelion, Second-in-Command of Turgon, High King of the Noldor), and for this deed, he was actually allowed to return to Middle-Earth after his resurrection in Aman.

* BraveScot: Gimli may be from Middle-Earth, but he comes across as this with his thick Scottish accent, red hair, and habit of calling everyone "laddie".

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething / WarriorPrince: While the son of the Steward, Boromir is one of Middle-Earth's fiercest fighters, which is why his father favors him over Faramir. He firmly believes that it's his duty to protect and save Gondor from the continued expansion of Mordor's influence.

* AgeLift: Retroactively. The films change Gandalf leaving the Ring with Frodo from 17 years to a few months at most. In ''The Hobbit'' films, it is mentioned that Aragorn is already a ranger of some notoriety. The lack of this gap means that the events of the prequel happens when Aragorn is about 27 while in the books, he was only 10. Note that the ''extended cut'' of Two Towers, Aragon confirms he's 87, like in the book, so him retroactively being of age to be a Ranger in the prequels is preserved from the first film trilogy.

** When Aragorn comes back after being thought dead he shoves his way through a crowd while roaring: "Where is he? Where is he?! Get out of my way! I'M GONNA KILL HIM!!! ''[finally sees Aragorn]'' You are the luckiest, canniest, and ''the'' most reckless man I ever knew! ''({{Beat}}, then he goes over to give Aragorn a bear hug)'' Bless you, laddie!"

-->'''Gimli''': Good!

** When Aragorn comes back after being thought dead: "Where is he? Where is he?! Get out of my way! I'M GONNA KILL HIM!!! You are the luckiest, canniest, and ''the'' most reckless man I ever knew! ''({{Beat}}, then he goes over to give Aragorn a bear hug)]] Bless you, laddie!"

* WizardBeard: He is a wizard, after all.* TimePassageBeard: His beard grows with age, as does his badassery.

* RichIdiotWithNoDayJob: As Merry points out, he's never done a day's work in his life.

!!! '''Voiced by:''' Sergio Gutiérrez Coto (Latin American Spanish dub), Creator/HochuOtsuka (Japanese dub), Juan Antonio Bernal (Spanish dub), Bernard Gabay (French dub)

* ProgressivelyPrettier: Gandalf the Grey is scruffy and unkempt, with well-worn traveling robes and tangled up hairs on his head and in his beard that all reflect how frequently on the road he is and give him a more humble appearance. When he becomes Gandalf the White, his robes are cleaner, his beard is well trimmed, he frequently has a white glow around him that gives him an angelic aura and he carries a more dignified and authoritative presence everywhere he goes to reflect his new station.

* TheCorruptible: While he is the most susceptible of the Fellowship to the Ring's corruption due to being a mortal Man, he is good and honorable. In fact, it's even implied that the main reason the Ring got him in the first place was because he was ''too'' good and honorable. After succumbing to the Ring's influence, he becomes horrified enough that he [[TheAtoner atones for his actions]] by defending Merry and Pippin from the Uruk-hai [[RedemptionEqualsDeath to his death]].

* DyingMomentOfAwesome: No matter how many [[spoiler:arrows are shot into him, he does ''not give up''.]]

* FantasticRacism: Coming from Gondor who had to fend for themselves, he holds great disregard for both Elves and Dwarves while also considering Aragorn unworthy of leadership. He eventually comes around by the end of the first film.

* HeroesPreferSwords: Wields a sword, and [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe shield]].

* TheLancer: To Aragorn. The fact that he's been a jerk to him in the first film doesn't help, either. His fighting style's also a bit clunkier compared to Aragorn's more elegant swordplay.
* MadeOfIron: During the fight with the cave-troll in Moria, he and Aragorn grab its chain to force it away from Sam. However, the troll soon realizes this, yanks its own chain while Boromir is still holding onto it, and whips him into the opposite wall. This is an action that would've killed most men or at least broken a few bones, yet Boromir is only disoriented by the blow and the most danger he's in is not being able to react in time to an opportunistic orc that Aragorn has to save him via ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks.

* CompositeCharacter: [[spoiler:He's the one who kills Bolg instead of Beorn in Film/TheHobbitTheBattleOfTheFiveArmies.]]

* TheMentor: He serves as a mentor figure for Frodo - and Bilbo before him - and is killed by the Balrog.
* MentorOccupationalHazard: Though he [[BackFromTheDead gets better]].

* ElvesVsDwarves: Initially, but subverted when he becomes friendly with Legolas and starts to admire Galadriel's beauty and kindness.

* HarbingerOfImpendingDoom: Implied by [[ShootTheMessenger his critics]] to be this.
* HeroicSacrifice: In Moria to save the rest of the Fellowship.