Sauron Was Only The Third Most Powerful Villain In The Lord Of The Rings

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You know, when you really dig into the history of Middle-earth, it’s fascinating to realize Sauron, the big bad of The Lord of the Rings, wasn’t always the top dog. He was essentially a lieutenant to an even more powerful evil being named Morgoth. In fact, for a long time – we’re talking the First Age – Sauron was just Morgoth’s right-hand man, running the show at Angband, raiding elven towns, and, believe it or not, even getting defeated by… dogs! It wasn’t until Morgoth was locked up that Sauron started climbing the ladder and finally took the reins as the main villain. And we all know how that ended, thanks to a couple of unlikely hobbit heroes.

As a huge Tolkien fan, it’s easy to think of Sauron as the biggest bad after Morgoth, right? He was Morgoth’s top lieutenant, so it makes sense. But honestly, Morgoth had another ally who was seriously powerful – powerful enough to easily defeat Sauron. It kind of puts Sauron in perspective, realizing he wasn’t even Morgoth’s most valuable associate. It’s fascinating to think about the power dynamics at play in Middle-earth!

Ungoliant Joined Forces With Morgoth Long Before The Lord Of The Rings

Throughout the history of Middle-earth, the Valar repeatedly captured Morgoth. One of the first times this happened was shortly after the elves arrived. Concerned for the elves’ safety, the Valar took Morgoth back to Valinor as a prisoner, though his servant Sauron stayed behind to continue Morgoth’s evil work in Middle-earth.

As a total movie buff, I’ve always been fascinated by epic villains, and Morgoth is definitely one of the greats. Even while the Valar were keeping an eye on him, he was up to no good, eventually heading south into the Undying Lands. That’s where things get really dark – he stumbled upon Ungoliant, this incredibly creepy being made of pure darkness who literally ate light. It was a match made in, well, somewhere awful. Morgoth, seeing a chance to destroy everything the Valar cherished, somehow talked Ungoliant into helping him. Together, they carried out this terrifying plan: Morgoth stabbed the Two Trees of Valinor, and Ungoliant just…drank all their light. It’s a genuinely chilling bit of world-building, and it sets the stage for so much of the conflict to come.

Realizing the Valar would be furious, Morgoth stole the Silmarils and escaped back to Middle-earth with Ungoliant. However, their partnership dissolved as soon as Morgoth had what he wanted. While Morgoth began planning his next wave of destruction, Ungoliant retreated to a secluded part of Middle-earth to reproduce, eventually disappearing far south. By the time of Frodo’s journey, Shelob was the last of Ungoliant’s line.

How We Know Ungoliant Was More Powerful Than Sauron

J.R.R. Tolkien didn’t clearly define the limits of power in his stories, but evidence suggests Ungoliant was actually more powerful than Sauron. The clearest sign of this is that even Morgoth, a supremely powerful being, was afraid of her.

As a huge Tolkien fan, I always found the bit about Ungoliant fascinating. Apparently, after she drained the light from the Two Trees of Valinor, even Morgoth was genuinely scared of her power – it really struck me that he was trying to escape her! She wouldn’t let him, though, and relentlessly pursued him all the way to Middle-earth. It’s telling, isn’t it, that he didn’t seem nearly as worried about what Sauron could do – Ungoliant clearly intimidated him on a whole other level.

When Morgoth and Ungoliant’s partnership ended, it resulted in a physical fight where Ungoliant initially dominated, until Balrogs intervened to defend Morgoth. This suggests Sauron could have easily defeated Morgoth with a similar attack. Ungoliant also demonstrated impressive power by using her ability to create darkness to fend off the Valar and escape the Undying Lands. In contrast, Sauron usually responded to the Valar by either pleading for mercy or going into hiding.

While Ungoliant was more powerful than Sauron, there are a couple of important things to remember. First, this massive spider-like creature seemed to need light to survive. Tolkien wrote that when Ungoliant was hungry, she was incredibly weak, and only regained her strength after consuming the light of the Two Trees. This is when Morgoth witnessed her full, terrifying power.

Ungoliant acted like a wild animal, motivated only by hunger and without any real planning or strategy. If Sauron attacked her when she was truly hungry, he might have been able to weaken her permanently.

What Is Ungoliant In The Lord Of The Rings Mythology?

Similar to Tom Bombadil, Ungoliant is a character Tolkien intentionally made mysterious. However, Tolkien gave us a bit more information about Ungoliant than he did about Old Tom.

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s world, Morgoth is the original source of all evil and darkness. Ungoliant is a being of pure darkness, and Tolkien implies she was created by Morgoth’s intense resentment towards the world. As stated in The Silmarillion, Ungoliant emerged from the darkness surrounding the world when Morgoth first felt envy towards the realm of Manwë.

It’s possible Ungoliant came into being because of Morgoth’s intense anger and envy, or that she existed elsewhere and was drawn to Arda by his wickedness. Another idea is that, similar to Sauron, Ungoliant was originally a powerful spirit who Morgoth twisted into a creature of pure darkness.

If we consider Ungoliant to be an ancient being, or a creation born directly from Morgoth’s malice, it would help explain the immense power she possesses within the world of The Lord of the Rings.

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2026-01-20 22:29