Gollum

Villainous Benchmark

Full Name

Sméagol

Alias

Gollum

Trahald
Slinker
Stinker
Shelob's Sneak

Origin

The Lord of the Rings

Allies

Frodo Baggins (formerly)

Shelob

Powers / Skills

High intelligence

Minor knowledge about the Rings
Combat prowess
Vast knowledge of the paths to Mordor
Trickery
Strength
Manipulation
Agility
Fishing

Goals

Kill his cousin Déagol in order to gain the One Ring (succeeded).

Become a ring-bearer (briefly succeeded).
Regain the One Ring once again (indirectly succeeded).
Kill anyone who stands in the way between him and the Ring including Frodo and Sam (failed).

MEH or Worst Act

Murdering his cousin Déagol for the One Ring.
Luring Frodo and Sam to Shelob to kill them so he can reclaim the Ring.

Kill Count

Several

Crimes

Murder

Serial infantcide (book only)
Cannibalism
Theft
Terrorism
Incrimination
Stalking
Mutilation
Psychological abuse
Parricide

Type of Villain

Obsessed Trickster

“	My… precious.	„
	~ Gollum's catchphrase (about his doomed obsession with the One Ring), and one of the most famous quotes in cinema history. noicon

Gollum, originally known as Sméagol or Trahald, is a major antagonist in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, as well as Peter Jackson's Middle-Earth film series.

He is a former Hobbit who is corrupted and transformed into a slimy, monstrous creature by the One Ring, which he calls "my precious". After losing the Ring to Bilbo Baggins, he hunts it for decades, eventually becoming part of the quest to destroy it when he is tamed by Bilbo's nephew Frodo. His all-consuming need for the Ring eventually leads him to betray Frodo and unintentionally destroy the Ring and himself.

In Sir Peter Jackson's adaptations of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, he was portrayed in motion capture by Andy Serkis. In Rankin/Bass' animated adaptations of The Hobbit and Return of the King, he was voiced by the late "Brother" Theodore Gottlieb. In Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated adaptation of Lord of the Rings, he was voiced by the late Peter Woodthorpe. In the 2003 Sierra Entertainment video game, he was voiced by Daran Norris.

His Evil Ranking[]

His Villainous Deeds[]

He murdered his own cousin, Déagol, for the One Ring.
He killed and devoured Goblins that fell down into his lair, enacting this upon one Goblin on-screen.
He wanted to devour Bilbo and when challenged to a game of riddles, intended on eating Bilbo should he lose.
- He broke his honor as after Bilbo won, Gollum planned on killing and devouring Bilbo anyway by using the One Ring.
He hunted down and tried to kill Bilbo after the latter stole the Ring, before setting out on a neverending quest to be reunited with the Ring.
It’s heavily implied that he started eating infants in their cribs while hunting Bilbo.
He tried to kill both Frodo and Sam in their sleep to take the Ring from them and after they awoke and fought him, he nearly strangled Sam to death.
He plotted to lead Frodo and Sam to Shelob's lair so that Shelob could kill them both and leave the Ring for him to reclaim.
He framed Sam of eating the last of the lamas bread and manipulated Frodo into believing Sam wanted to keep the Ring for himself, breaking them apart.
He lured Frodo into Shelob's lair where he was attacked by Shelob as planned and took gleeful joy as he watched Frodo try to flee from Shelob.
After Frodo escaped Shelob's lair, Gollum attacked him to get the Ring and when Frodo got the upper hand, Gollum pretended to be remorseful and blaming it on the Ring, causing Frodo to feel sympathy for him and let his guard down and vow to destroy it for both of them, only for Gollum to attack him again.
He attacked Frodo and Sam on the cliffs of Mouth Doom, almost chocking Frodo to death.
He bit Frodo's finger off to finally reclaim the One Ring.
While he has several comedic moments, not only is he not taken any less seriously, but they actually make him worse by emphasizing just how far gone he is psychologically, in turn making him an even more unnerving enemy.

Why He Doesn't Stand Out?[]

Despite passing the general standards due to the personal villainy he enacts against his cousin as well as Frodo and Sam, he still fails the vastly high in-story standards of the Middle-Earth franchise. While villains like Sauron, Peter Jackson's version of Azog and Morgoth are unfair comparisons due to them being more powerful than him, there are other villains who do worse than him with similar resources. The only thing that makes him stand out is his infanticide, and that is reliant on Fridge Horror due to it only coming from rumours.
He is extremely tragic, due to having been corrupted by the One Ring as it had driven him mad and ultimately destroyed his life. This caused both Frodo and Bilbo to feel pity for him by showing Gollum some sympathy.
He has moral agency issues as he was corrupted by the Ring and driven insane, giving him a split-personality and a darker half, with his good half being more kind and only acting evil due to his other personality’s influence.
He's on & off, as he is dissociative and seen trying to break away from his darker half, wanting to be a loyal friend to Frodo while continuing to lead the two hobbits to Mordor.

Trivia[]

It is theorized by some that Gollum killed Frodo's parents, due to knowing the Ring was stolen by Bilbo but only having "Shire" and "Baggins" to go off of, so he would go to the Shire, come across the two Baggins' and kill them both for revenge. If this was confirmed, it would make Gollum even worse.
Ironically his last villainous action saves all of Middle Earth from Sauron's reign in breaking the trance Frodo was in, resulting in Gollum to fall to his death while holding the ring.