Durin's Bane, also known as the Nameless Terror, is a major antagonist in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings fantasy novel series as well as its film adaptations.
He was a Balrog of Morgoth, who fought during the First Age. However, he survived and went into hiding in Moria. He later encountered the Fellowship of the Ring and was eventually slain by Gandalf.
His Evil Ranking[]
His Villainous Deeds[]
- He served Morgoth a long time before the War of the Ring.
- He drove out the Dwarves of Moria, killing an untold amount of them.
- When Thorin Oakenshield and Dain Ironfoot manage to win the war for Moria, they are hesitant to go inside because of their fear of Balrog.
- When the Fellowship of the Ring manages to enter Moria, he appears and forces them to fight him.
- While Gandalf is able to drop him down in a pit, he still drags him away with his whip. Later, they renew their fight and Balrog temporarily manages to kill Gandalf costing his own life.
Why He Doesn't Stand Out?[]
- He fails the heinous standards to other Middle Earth villains too much, not to mention that he has higher resources in powerscaling than a vast majority of the villains in the franchise that are also vastly weaker than him.
- He is insufficiently characterized and doesn't have any proper motivations or goals, making him a Generic Doomsday Villain.
- His crimes rely on the Fridge Horror, as we don't know how many killed victims he has specifically, and his only shown victim (i.e. Gandalf) was subsequently brought back to life.
External Links[]
- Durin's Bane on the Villains Wiki
- Durin's Bane on the Lord of the Rings Wiki
- Durin's Bane on the Tolkien Gateway