| “ | The age of Men is over. The time of the Orc has come. | „ |
| ~ Gothmog's most famous quote in the film after killing Madril. |
Gothmog is a minor antagonist in The Return of the King, the third book in J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy novel trilogy The Lord of the Rings, and a major antagonist in the Peter Jackson film adaptation The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
He was the Orc second-in-command of the Witch-king of Angmar and the ground leader of Sauron's forces during the Battle of Pelennor Fields.
He was played by Lawrence Makoare (who also played the Witch-king of Angmar, Lurtz, and Bolg) and voiced by Craig Parker who also voiced Blue Face, Mad Magnet and Motodrone in Power Rangers Ninja Storm the same year.
Biography[]
Book[]
| “ | And if the Rohirrim at their onset were thrice outnumbered by the Haradrim alone, soon their case became worse; for new strength came now streaming to the field out of Osgiliath. There they had been mustered for the sack of the City and the rape of Gondor, waiting on the call of their Captain. He now was destroyed; but Gothmog the lieutenant of Morgul had flung them into the fray.. | „ |
| ~ The only mention of Gothmog in the book. |
Gothmog was the lieutenant of the Mina Morgul army under Sauron and took command of armies of Mordor in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields after the death of the Witch King, thus he is assumed to be the Witch King's second in command. In response to the arrival of the Rohirrim, Gothmog calls his army's reserve out of Osgiliath and into the main battle and brings in Easterlings, Southrons, Variags, and troll-men "into the fray."
As Gothmog is only mentioned once, his fate is unknown as he could've been killed in the battle or been among the forces that fled to Rammas at the battle's end. Due to the lack of mention, Gothmog's race is unknown and different adaptations of the book have taken different ideas as to what he was, though he is usually depicted as some sort of non-human being.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King[]
Gothmog with his army.
After the death of Saruman and the loss of Isengard, the Witch-king dons his armor and leads his army to Middle Earth's former capital; Gondor. Gothmog is his direct deputy and is first seen commanding the Orcs crossing the Anduin river to the western half of Osgiliath which is still held by Men. Gothmog orders the first shot fired in the Battle of Osgiliath and sends the boat-legion of orcs across the Anduin river by boat while, after Faramir's retreat, a second legion enters the city from Minas Morgul via the bridge over the Anduin in Osgiliath which the Orcs dominating the eastern half of the city rebuilt. The troops of Gondor retreat, leaving behind their wounded; one of whom is Madril (the badly-wounded captain of the Ithilien Rangers). Gothmog kills Madril with another orc's spear, proclaiming to his troops triumphantly that now Orcs will rise to dominance over Men.
Gothmog during the siege on Minas Tirith.
The Witch-king, arrives from Minas Morgul and instructs him to assault Minas Tirith using all four legions there at his disposal. Gothmog asks about Gandalf but the Witch-king replies that he will break him. When Faramir rides out with a small band of Gondor Knights on horseback, attempting to retake the city, Gothmog orders his archers to fire a volley from the ruins of Osgiliath which kills all the knights save Faramir. Once his forces arrive on the Pelennor Fields, he orders the heads of the dead soldiers in Osgiliath to be launched off the catapults, to instill fear into the hearts of Gondor's soldiers and to lower their morale. Gothmog then begins directing the main ground operations, from catapults to siege towers but becomes enraged when the doors into the city won't budge, ordering Grond to be brought forth to smash it down. Gothmog is almost hit at one point by a huge rock fired at him by one of Gondor's many trebuchets but it misses him by about a foot, prompting him to mock his opponents by spitting on it. His lieutenants are Guritz, who seems to be the siege commander, and Murgash the Black Uruk.
Gothmog's death in the extended edition of The Return of the King.
In the normal theatrical release, Gothmog is last seen backing away from the charging Rohirrim and is presumed dead when they clash with the Orcs. In the extended edition, he is shown to have survived the onslaught and duels Éowyn, who gains the upper hand and wounds his leg. Gothmog collapses in pain moments before the Witch-king arrives on the scene of the battle. Éowyn succeeds in destroying the Witch-king, but is injured in the process and crawls to Merry. At this point, Gothmog rises and uses an axe for support as he limps towards her. As he approaches, he discards the axe and picks up a mace, preparing to kill Éowyn once and for all. Aragorn, unaware that he is saving anyone (or who Gothmog even is) rushes in and chops off Gothmog's arm. Gimli rushes in from behind and strikes Gothmog in the torso with his axe before Aragorn delivers the final blow to his back, finishing him off. With Gothmog's death, Madril and the other Gondor Knights whom Gothmog previously killed are avenged.
In other adaptations[]
In the 1977 board game War of the Ring, Gothmog is depicted as one of the Nazgûl. In the Middle-earth role-playing tabletop game from 1986, Gothmog is a half-human and half-troll hybrid.
Gothmog is a major antagonist in Lord of the Rings Online where he is a Nazgul, once known as Eärnur.
Gothmog is a playable commander for Mordor in the mobile video game Lord of the Rings: Rise to War, and is one of several characters to be based on their appearance in the Peter Jackson films.
Peter Jackson game adaptations[]
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II, a strategy video game adaptation of the films, features Gothmog as a playable commander in the Special Extended Edition and Rise of the Witch-king expansion. Similarly, Gothmog is a playable character in the strategy video games The Lord of the Rings: Tactics and The Lord of the Rings: Game Boy Advance Third Age.
Gothmog appears in LEGO The Lord of the Rings: The Video Game , where he can be unlocked as a playable character. Lego Gothmog reappears in Lego Dimensions as a non-playable NPC, though he is only credited as Orc Commander.
Personality[]
Gothmog was incredibly vile and cruel, even for an Orc. Like all Mordor Orcs, Gothmog despised the race of Men, wishing to wipe them out and have Orcs reign supreme instead. He was merciless, planning on killing the entire population of Minas Tirith and murdering Madril while defenseless, as well as sadistic; laughing callously when Minas Tirith is desolated and catapulting the heads of dead Gondor soldiers onto the city as a horrific form of psychological torture. He was even cruel to his own men, not allowing them to evade catapulted rubble and pushing one away when trying to help him. He was also hypocritical as he himself dodged rubble to save himself despite not allowing his fellow orcs to do so. Gothmog was loyal to Sauron and the Witch-king of Angmar though this is due to them promising him a world ruled by Orcs. However, he did show fear when the Rohirrim charged at him and managed to decimate and break through the lines of his forces and route many of them in the process.
Gothmog was also shown to be vengeful as he was angered by Madril staring at his deformities and killed him in retaliation and attempted to kill Éowyn after the latter wounded him. When angered, he would stop speaking and communicate only in angry grunts.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Reflexes: Gothmog was able to dodge an enormous boulder being flung at him at the last second by sidestepping.
- Skilled Leader: Gothmog was capable of managing battles and employing tactics effectively such as enacting psychological torture in battle, calling for Grond to destroy the gate of Minas Tirith and using the river to take Osgiliath by surprise; all of which were successful.
- Excellent Strategist: Gothmog was also a skilled strategist as seen when he told the Orgs to have pikes in the front lines and the archers behind and used severed heads to demoralize his opponents.
- Skilled Fighter: Gothmog proved to be a capable fighter as he fought Éowyn very well.
Arsenal[]
- Spear: Gothmog used another Orc's spear to kill Madril.
- Sword: After his supposed death during the Rohirim charge, Gothmog used a sword to try and kill Merry with.
- Axe: Before his death, Gothmog tried to kill Eowyn with a massive axe.
Quotes[]
| “ | Kill him. | „ |
| ~ Gothmog's first words in the extended cut of the film after a guard in Osgiliath saw their boat lanterns. His first in the theatrical cut was his "age of men, age of Orcs" line. |
| “ | *inhales deeply* Fear! The city is ranked with it. Let us ease their pain. Release the prisoners! | „ |
| ~ Gothmog upon arriving at Minas Tirith. |
| “ | Stay where you are. | „ |
| ~ Gothmog when Gondor started flinging boulders from trebuchets. |
| “ | What are you doing, you useless scum?! Get down there and smash it down! Grond will breach it. Bring up the wolf's head! | „ |
| ~ Gothmog to Murgash when the gates of Gondor wouldn't open. |
| “ | Move into the city! Kill all in your path! | „ |
| ~ Gothmog after they breached Gondor. |
| “ | Form ranks, you maggots! Form ranks! Pikes in front! Archers behind! | „ |
| ~ Gothmog when the Riders of Rohan arrived. |
| “ | Fire! Fire at will! | „ |
| ~ Gothmog immediately before the Riders of Rohan charged into the Orc army and his last words. |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Although his name was not spoken in the film, officially licensed merchandise confirmed that this character is meant to represent the same Gothmog mentioned in the novel.
- His name is sindarin for "Dread Oppressor".
- While he is portrayed as an Orc in most media, some speculate he was a Black Númenórean, Nazgul or a Maia spirit in orc form in the books.
- According to an interview with Elijah Wood, the appearance of an orc mask used in the films was based on former film producer Harvey Weinstein who worked as the executive producer on The Lord of the Rings films. This orc mask is speculated to be Gothmog.
- According to reports on the The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II, Gothmog was one of the most requested characters on the official forum for the game.
External Links[]
- Gothmog on the Lord of the Rings Wiki
