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“ | We shall be sealed together in death. | „ |
~ The Black Hand's famous quote. |
The Black Hand of Sauron is the secondary antagonist of the 2014 video game Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. He is one of the Black Númenóreans and a Black Captain who acts as an extension of Sauron's will. He is also Talion's arch-nemesis.
He was voiced by Nolan North, who would voice Zog the Eternal and Isildur in Middle-earth: Shadow of War, and also voiced Edward Richtofen in Call of Duty, Martin Walker in Spec Ops: The Line, Cyrille Le Paradox in the Sly Cooper series, The Penguin in the Arkhamverse, David in The Last of Us, and Modi in God of War.
Role[]
The Black Hand of Sauron is by far the most powerful and dreaded of all the enemies encountered in the game and is a direct nemesis of the protagonist, being responsible for the murder of his entire family (alongside countless other innocents).
The Black Hand of Sauron is served by an elite group of Uruks known as the Talons of the Black Hand, as well as another aspect of Sauron known as The Tower. There is also a lesser aspect of Sauron known as the Hammer that acts as one of his underlings.
In addition, he has a limitless army of orcs under the command of innumerable war chiefs and encourages them to battle not only enemies but themselves in bloody power struggles that continually shift the way Sauron's armies are structured.
Biography[]
Background[]
The past of the Black Hand is left in mystery, with a few spreading rumors that he was once a king who swore loyalty to Sauron by killing blue wizards, or the Black Hand being a servant of the dark lord since Númenor's fall. Despite the mystery of his past, he is the most loyal member of Sauron's army and is the embodiment of his manipulation.
Shadow of Mordor[]
The Black Hand would lead the Black Captains into sieging the Black Gate, and during the siege, decided to start a ritual to bring the spirit of Celebrimbor to him. He would task the Hammer and the Tower to capture the ranger Talion and his family to be sacrificed, but the Black Hand's ritual failed as the elf-lord decided to make Talion his vessel. Talion and Celebrimbor would start to fight against the forces of Mordor, gaining the attention of the Black Hand, who sent the Hammer to investigate the death of Uruks and enslaved men being freed. The Black Hand would see the potential threat of the Gravewalker after the death of the Hammer and decided to seek Talion and Celebrimbor in Núrnen. He would return to the Black Gate to be protected by the Talons, but this would indirectly result in the death of the Tower.
When confronted by Talion and Celebrimbor, the Black Hand would have the elf-lord relive his final memory before slitting his own throat. Upon doing so, the Black Hand allowed Sauron to take over his body to merge with Celebrimbor, allowing the Dark Lord to emerge in his armored form. Sauron would fail to kill Talion, as Celebrimbor assisted his ally, causing the dark lord to flee the Black Hand's body. The Black Hand died from his injuries, thus avenging the deaths of Talion's wife and son.
Quotes[]
“ | Come back to me, elf-lord! | „ |
~ The Black Hand during the ritual. |
“ | You cannot escape us. | „ |
~ The Black Hand. |
“ | Return to me, Ringmaker. | „ |
~ The Black Hand's last words. |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The Black Hand is a character that was made specifically for the game, and does not appear in any of J.R.R. Tolkien's stories.
- Nolan North would work with Troy Baker and Alistair Duncan again in God of War (2018).