| “ | Murderers and elf-friends! Slash them! Beat them! Bite them! Gnash them! Take them away to dark holes full of snakes, and never let them see the light again! | „ |
| ~ The Great Goblin sentencing Thorin and Company to death. |
The Great Goblin, also known as the Goblin King, is a supporting antagonist in J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Hobbit and one of the two secondary antagonists (alongside Yazneg) in Peter Jackson's 2012 film adaptation The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. He is a goblin leader who lived within the Misty Mountains in Middle-earth during the Third Age.
In Peter Jackson's The Hobbit film trilogy, he was portrayed by the late Barry Humphries. In Rankin-Bass' 1977 animated adaptation of The Hobbit, he was voiced by the late John Stephenson, who also played Black Knight Ghost, the Mummy of Ankha, the Caveman, and Redbeard in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, and Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse in the mid-1970s run of the Tom & Jerry franchise.
Biography[]
The Hobbit[]
In the original novel, the Goblin King's followers captured Thorin Oakenshield, Bilbo and company during the Quest of Erebor, the Lonely Mountain, and took them to their underground stronghold, Goblin-town. When he found the group was carrying an Elf-made blade which had killed many Goblins, he gave orders for them to be imprisoned and tortured. He tried to attack Thorin, but was slain by Gandalf. His death incites the Goblins to go after the company.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey[]
| “ | Well, well, well... look who it is! Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, King Under the Mountain! Oh, but I'm forgetting - you don't have a mountain, and you're not a king... which makes you nobody, really. | „ |
| ~ The Goblin King mocking Thorin Oakenshield. |
In the film, he attempted to collect the reward Azog the Defiler put on Thorin's head when he, the other dwarves, and the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins stumbled into Goblin Town through a trap door. Bilbo managed to slip away, but during a sword fight with one of the Goblins, he and the Goblin both fell down into the Goblin tunnels, where the creature Gollum resided. Bilbo eventually managed to escape after finding and taking the One Ring.
Meanwhile, the Dwarves were brought before the Goblin King. When Thorin stepped up and revealed himself, the Goblin King revealed his intention to sell him out to Azog the Defiler for the "pretty price for his unattached head". He sent his messenger to inform Azog that he had found his prize.
Later, while sadistically singing about brutally torturing and killing the Dwarves, the goblin lieutenant Grinnah searching Thorin discovered the sword that was recognized as the "Goblin cleaver". Enraged, the Goblin King ordered the execution of the Dwarves, but before they could kill them, Gandalf the Grey reappeared and scattered the goblins into disarray. He encouraged the Dwarves to fight and escape. Thorin's company proceeds to fight their way through Goblin Town, only to be confronted by the Goblin King as he bursts up from the bridge allowing their escape. He jeers at Gandalf, saying "you thought you could escape me" and asking him "what will you do now wizard?" Gandalf swiftly retaliates by ramming his staff into the Goblin King's left eye and slashing his stomach with his sword.
The Goblin King, now at the mercy of Gandalf, utters "that'll do it" before the latter slices his neck, killing him.
Personality[]
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey[]
The Great Goblin was a vile and sadistic individual. Taking pleasure in watching others suffer. Even his own people. He was very sarcastic and enjoyed talking down to people.
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