5 Lord of the Rings Characters Who Made Sauron Nearly Unstoppable

Sauron is the primary antagonist throughout The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, and for a significant portion of the universe that author J. R. R. Tolkien outlined. He is the eponymous Lord of the Rings, as he is responsible for distributing the rings of power to the elves, dwarves, and humans. Of course, everyone knows that Sauron lied to them all and secretly forged a ring of his own, one that was infinitely more powerful than the others. One Ring to rule them all.

It is this One Ring that Sauron uses to dominate Middle-Earth, and to wage war against its people, which is why the trilogy revolves around the ring being destroyed. Though Sauron is a powerful force that few could ever hope to stand against, he rarely works alone. Indeed, the Dark Lord of Mordor has had many servants and allies throughout his reign of terror. Many are clumsy and oafish, like the orcs and trolls, but others are much more dangerous. This list will discuss Sauron’s most powerful allies, but they won’t be ranked in any particular order.

The Witch-King of Angmar

The Witch-King of Angmar is the chief of the Nazgûl, also known as the Ringwraiths. The Ringwraiths were men once, who were given nine rings of power by Sauron himself, which warped them into phantom-like beings, neither living nor dead. The Witch-King, as his name implies, was once the ruler of the northern land of Angmar, a snowy, mountainous land full of antisocial people and misery.

In The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the Witch-King is played by Lawrence Makoare, who gives the character a deeply imposing presence that lets the viewer feel the evil coming from him. With powers of sorcery behind him, poisonous blades, immortality, and superhuman strength, the Witch-King was among the most feared of Sauron’s lieutenants, especially when he rode astride his flying fell beast. Eventually, the Witch King is famously killed by Éowyn (Miranda Otto), Shieldmaiden of Rohan, aided by the Hobbit Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck (Dominic Monaghan).

Shelob

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Shelob is one of the Great Spiders and a daughter of Ungoliant, one of the most powerful beings in Middle-earth. While Ungoliant initially worked with Morgoth, Sauron’s master, she eventually betrayed him, acting independently, driven by her insatiable hunger. Shelob is mostly in the same vein: she is primarily interested in herself rather than in serving the Dark Lord.

However, Shelob and Sauron have developed a minor alliance that is shaky at best. The agreement is that Shelob has to guard Cirith Ungol, the hidden mountain pass into Mordor for Sauron. In exchange, Sauron feeds her prisoners and lets her feast on his orcs should they stray into his territory. While not as powerful as her mother, who actually defeated Morgoth, Shelob is still an immensely powerful being, with very few able to stand against her. In fact, Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin) was the first living being to ever harm Shelob in centuries, possibly even millennia, though he was not able to kill her.

Saruman the White

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Saruman (Sir Christopher Lee) is the leader of the Istari, the five wizards of Middle-earth. He is the most powerful among them, and, like the others, is a Maia. The Maiar are sort of demigods, with both spiritual and human forms. In fact, Sauron is of this very same species. While the Istari are supposed to be dedicated to combating Sauron, Saruman eventually gave up his mission in favor of joining Sauron instead. However, their alliance is thin, and the two are always spying on each other.

Saruman actually plans to overthrow Sauron and rule Middle-earth himself, and Sauron is well aware of it. Still, their interests align enough that they are able to put their rivalry aside and focus on dominating the free people of Middle-earth. They communicate through the Palantir in their two towers, which is a crystal ball that serves as a direct line between them. Due to the fact that he is immortal and has the magic of the Istari behind him, Saruman is unquestionably one of Sauron’s most powerful allies.

Ancalagon the Black

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Ancalagon the Black has never been featured on screen, but his name is enough to strike fear in the hearts of many throughout Middle-earth. Ancalagon was an enormous dragon, the largest ever reported to have lived in Middle-earth. He wreaked havoc throughout the First Age, bringing low the hidden city of Gondolin and slaying countless with his fiery breath. Though he did not possess any magic, his sheer size was enough to make him the ultimate killing machine.

Ancalagon was eventually slain by Eärendil, the father of Elrond (Hugo Weaving), in the First Age. To get a real grasp of how massive Ancalagon truly was, it is said that when he fell from the sky, his corpse crushed an entire mountain range, reducing it to pebbles, which obviously means he was nearly impossible to kill in the first place — not a lot of Medieval-esque weapons can really damage something that big. For his sheer destructive power, Ancalagon is amongst Sauron’s most feared and powerful allies, though the two never interacted much. They were simply allies due to the fact that they both served the same master at the same time.

Morgoth

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Melkor, later known as Morgoth, is one of the Valar, a group of god-like beings that came into existence with the birth of Middle-earth. He is the only one to turn against the light, choosing instead to lead a path of darkness and death. He waged war against the other Valar and has been doing so for ages. When it comes to the villains of Middle-earth, Morgoth is actually the ultimate force of evil, not Sauron.

Put simply, Morgoth is a god, and Sauron is a demigod; thus, Morgoth is actually more powerful than Sauron, with the latter actually acting as a servant of the former rather than his own autonomous being. Sauron is always doing Morgoth’s bidding, even when Morgoth temporarily vanishes from Middle-earth. Because most of Arda’s problems are caused by Morgoth, if not all, he is obviously the most powerful ally Sauron has. While Sauron is more of a servant, being a servant and being an ally aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive, provided they have the same purpose.