As perhaps the most famous fantasy series of all time, The Lord of the Rings trilogy is known for spawning some of cinema’s most breathtaking battle scenes. Amidst the chaos of a battlefield, there are also smaller fights between individuals, many of which determine the larger tides of the battle.
This also comes with the understanding that these fights worth mentioning were surprisingly sparse throughout the movie. It makes sense in a way. If potentially world-altering duels happened on the regular then what would be the point of the epic battles? This still leaves fans with the hard task of figuring out which fights were the best in the franchise. Fortunately, the following list takes into account the importance, and most importantly, the epicness of the fight to make those choices a little easier.
10 Legolas Takes Down a Colossal War Elephant by Himself
The Return of the King
Legolas’ takedown of a Mumakil was more of a takedown than a fight, but it was certainly one of Legolas’ most epic moments. The character had made a name for himself by basically ignoring the laws of physics to do impossibly cool moves in the middle of a fight. An early example was effortlessly swinging onto a horse moving at full speed. By the time of the Battle of Pelennor Fields, he tops this by climbing to the top of the rampaging war beast known as the Mumakil.
During this trek, Legolas not only disconnected and killed its Haradrim riders but also brought down the Mumakil by himself. The legendary member of the Fellowship of the Ring climbed the elephant, detached its harness and then shot the beast down with as many arrows as it took. The moment was so awesome that even Gimli took a moment to recompose himself before humorously retorting to Legolas that the Mumakil only counted as one kill in their ongoing kill tally game.
9 The Warg Attack Gave Everyone a Chance to Shine
The Two Towers
The Rohirim go through a lot in The Two Towers, between almost having lost their king to Grima Wormtongue’s influence and then being forced to evacuate their homes, the road to Helm’s Deep was not an easy one. So, of course, it would only be made all the more difficult by the presence of an orc attack mounted on wargs. The chaos that ensued was not a battle so much as a bloody struggle to keep civilians alive and take down all their enemies.
The cool thing about the battle against the Wargs is that it managed to give everyone the chance to show off what they could do. Aragorn led the charge to fight the orcs off and even seemingly sacrificed himself to do so, once again proving that he was worthy of being King of Gondor. Legolas once again got to perform several feats that defied the laws of physics. Even Gimli, who was relegated to the role of comic relief by having a warg, an orc, and a second warg fall on top of him, managed to impress by lifting most of that load when he wasn’t in immediate danger of dying.
8 Aragorn Forces the Nazgul Retreat From a Single Man
The Fellowship of the Ring
After spending a good portion of the movie telling the hobbits that the Nine Nazgul were to be feared and avoided, Aragorn made audiences completely forget how dangerous they are by taking them on with a sword and a torch. As it turned out, all it really took to level the playing field was the courage to stand against the Nazgul. Of course, Aragorn’s skill with a sword also came in handy to fend off their attacks, but the fact that he did so without suffering a single blow is a testament to his skill and courage.
Watching Aragorn defend the Hobbits and send the Nazgul running was impressive. Up until that point, it felt like Sauron’s forces were an insurmountable obstacle, only for the most legendary human of the Third Age to come in and remind everyone that it only takes the noble actions of a single individual to stand up to evil. The Nine left without their prize when they literally had them dead to rights, all because of a ranger with an old sword and a torch.
7 Merry and Pippin Step Up Against a Cave Troll
The Fellowship of the Ring
As amusing as the cause of the fight in the depths of Moria was, the buildup to it was actually quite chilling. Realizing that the same forces that had killed the dwarves of Moria were now coming for the Fellowship of the Rings was terrifying. Then the terror mounts when, on top of orcs, the Fellowship also has to contend with a cave troll, a massive beast whose strength outmatched them all. It also prompted one of Boromir’s iconic lines: «They have a cave troll!»
Still, the cave troll got more than he bargained for. After seemingly killing Frodo, unaware that the young hobbit had a mithril shirt, it so enraged Merry and Pippin that they promptly launched themselves onto the back of the cave troll. This distracted it enough that the beast was brought down by the coordinated efforts of the fellowship. The fact that it was one of their most physically imposing enemies that forced Merry and Pippin, who had largely been hindrances up to that point, to step up, was just the icing on the cake.
6 Gandalf and Saruman Test the Limits of Middle Earth's Magic
The Fellowship of the Ring
It might interest fans to know that Gandalf was actually prohibited from using his magic too much in times of war in order to that mortal beings forged their own path. That said, the few times Gandalf did use magic were incredible to behold. One such moment was when he realized that Saruman had joined forces with Sauron, upon which Gandalf called him out on it, only to be immediately attacked by Saruman.
What ensued was a wizard fight where the two used telekinetic magic to hurl each other around like ragdolls. Unfortunately for Gandalf, he loses this exchange of magical power and is imprisoned atop Saruman’s tower. It should be noted though, that Gandalf gave as good as he got, and the only reason Saruman won was that he stole Gandalf’s staff and used it against him.
5 Boromir's Sacrifice Proved That Mankind Could Defeat Sauron
The Fellowship of the Ring
Boromir is the subject of one of the fastest redemption arcs in The Lord of the Rings. After briefly giving into the tempting power of the One Ring, the warrior attempted to steal it from Frodo, causing the young hobbit to run away and just narrowly avoiding an attack by the orcs. However, rather than accepting this failure, Boromir chooses to redeem himself by buying time for his friends to escape. He takes multiple arrows to the chest, but not before taking down several orcs along with him.
Boromir’s final stand is significant because it proves Gandalf’s belief that Man could be strong enough to defy Sauron is correct. Boromir had succumbed to the influence of the One Ring, but he also chose to resist the temptation to do the right thing. This willingness to sacrifice himself bought his allies time to flee and would later become one of many key events that would later enable the destruction of Sauron and his forces.
4 Sam Does the UnthinkableBy Defeating Shelob
The Return of the King
As one of the most terrifying entities on Middle-Earth, Shelob frightens even the forces of Mordor. No one who has ever entered her lair has survived; at least, that is until Frodo and Sam showed up. While Frodo was captured, Sam managed to track his friend down and save him from becoming Shelob’s dinner. One wouldn’t expect a hobbit to be capable of fighting a child of Ungoliant, but Sam did it. Using the various resources at his disposal, from Frodo’s sword, Sting, to the Phial of Galadriel’s light, Sam dealt more injuries to Shelob than she had ever taken before.
It is unknown what became of Shelob after her fight with Sam, with it being possible that she is still alive somewhere.
It was enough to drive her away, earning Sam a one-of-a-kind victory. It was also indicative of how far Sam would go for someone he cares for. In this case, diving into the lair of a giant spider where death was basically a guarantee on the off chance of saving Frodo from Gollum’s poisonous influence. If he hadn’t been brave enough to do that, the war would have been lost.
3 Eowyn Brings an End to the Witch-King of Angmar's Prophecy
The Return of the King
The Witch-King of Angmar, the leader of the Nazgul, was considered often considered Sauron’s greatest weapon — not just because he was a deadly warrior and terrifying presence on the battlefield, but because of a prophecy that gave him literal plot armor. It was said that no man could kill him, preventing his death in battle at the hands of the often male soldiers sent to fight him. A clever workaround came in the form of Eowyn, a woman of Rohan who didn’t want to hide behind walls while others fought on her behalf.
Disguising herself as a man, Eowyn managed to partake in the Battle of Pelennor Fields. There, she encountered the Witch-King, who had just dealt her uncle, King Theoden, a mortal wound. In her attempt to protect him, she learned that the Witch-King could not be killed by a man. To this, she revealed she was a woman before promptly stabbing him in the face, ending the threat he posed to Middle-Earth once and for all.
2 Gandalf's Stand-Off With the Balrog Cemented the Wizard's Place in History
The Fellowship of the Ring
As perhaps the most iconic scene in the entire Lord of the Rings franchise, Gandalf’s standi against the Balrog in the depths of Moria was a truly awe-inspiring moment. This act of sacrifice would later make him worthy of being reincarnated as Gandalf the White, but it might interest fans to learn that this fight went on for much longer than depicted in the movies.
Yes, the two did fall for a time, but the reality is that after they reached the bottom, the two engaged in a days long game of cat and mouse where they chased one another through the dark tunnels, encountering things too terrible to mention in the light of day. Once they emerged from the caverns though, they resumed their battle, with Gandalf eventually killing the balrog singlehandedly. One can only imagine what such a fight looked like, but Gandalf was in no memory to remember the details of his own death.
1 Frodo and Gollum's Duel Decides the Fate of Middle Earth
The Return of the King
Despite all the epic battles between Men, Orcs, Elves and Dwarves, the fate of The Lord of the Rings all came down to a bare-knuckle, rage-fueled brawl between two Hobbits. After traveling together throughout the trilogy, Frodo and Gollum fight for the fate of the One Ring near the fires of Mount Doom, both of them overcome by the influence of the One Ring.
The fight between Frodo and Gollum is one of the goriest in The Lord of the Rings. Watching two bearers of the One Ring beat and mutilate each other is absolutely brutal and much, much grittier than most fights from Peter Jackson’s films. This is exactly why their duel was the perfect conclusion to the franchise’s conflict, showing how even the strongest souls can be worn down by evil.
Summary
The Lord of the Rings is a long-running fantasy franchise created by J.R.R. Tolkien. The core series consists of four primary books: The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, the Two Towers, and The Return of the King, all of which have been adapted into films. The Lord of the Rings core franchise centers around Frodo Baggins, a living being known as a hobbit, and a group of heroes from the various kingdoms such as the kingdom of man, the kingdom of dwarves, and the kingdom of elves. Together with the great wizard Gandalf, the group will embark on a perilous quest across Middle Earth to take The One Ring to Mount Doom to destroy it, before it can corrupt anyone and return to the hands of the evil entity known as Sauron, hellbent on conquering all of Middle Earth. The original novel/prequel films, The Hobbit, stars Frodo’s uncle Bilbo Baggins as he embarks on a quest from the comfort of his home and seeks the treasure of a dragon known as Smaug. Bilbo stumbles upon The One Ring on his quest, and finds himself amidst a great war. The most recent media for the franchise is the currently airing The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, airing exclusively on Prime Video.
