| “ | The Dark Lord will have his prize, Ranger of Gondor. That fort is a tiny island surrounded by a sea of darkness. And the tide rises against you! | „ |
| ~ Helm Hammerhand to Talion. |
| “ | I have hunted every beast in Middle-earth. And none has ever escaped me! | „ |
| ~ Helm Hammerhand. |
Helm Hammerhand is a supporting antagonist in the video game Middle-earth: Shadow of War. While a legendary heroic figure in J.R.R. Tolkien's mythos who in fact created the structure Helm's Deep, he is recast as a fallen hero, who was one of the nine kings of Men corrupted by one of Sauron's rings and turned into one of the undead Nazgûl.
He was voiced by Fred Tatasciore, who also voiced Poseidon in God of War, Saren Arterius in Mass Effect, Typhon in God of War II, Atlas in God of War: Chains of Olympus, Nikolai Belinski in Treyarch's Call of Duty: Nazi Zombies, Bane and Solomon Grundy in the Batman: Arkham series, and Tony Alpert in Battlefield: Hardline.
History[]
Origin[]
| “ | Of all the Nazgul, his fall was most tragic. | „ |
| ~ Celebrimbor's spirit to Talion on Helm Hammerhand. |
Before becoming a Nazgûl, Helm Hammerhand was originally a great king of Rohan, and the man who would build the structure Helm's Deep. He was a physically imposing man who hunted animals in his spare time, but was ambushed and mortally wounded by a warlord named Siric who coveted Helm's daughter Bernwyn even after Helm had refused to give her up.
Now on his deathbed, and with his daughter seemingly beyond his reach, Helm Hammerhand was approached by Sauron in his fair form and Celebrimbor, who gave him one of the Rings of Power and duped him into thinking it could give him the means to get his daughter back.
Instead, it corrupted Helm, so that when he went to reclaim his daughter he instead accidentally killed her while going after Siric in a blind fury. Crushed and driven mad by this loss, Helm was lost fully to Sauron's dark influence and killed Siric and everyone else in the chamber, even his own men.
As a Nazgûl[]
In the Third Age, he serves Sauron dutifully as one of the nine Nazgûl, and attempts to kill the undead ranger Talion in the realm of Seregost. Having always been a good horse rider in life, Helm's "way with animals" has expanded to allow him to summon forth the wildlife of Mordor, including Caragors and Drakes. Helm nearly succeeds in killing Talion, but is stopped by Eltariel, and escapes. Talion and Eltariel eventually confront Helm Hammerhand after defeating his Drakes, and the Nazgul resurrects ghuls and drakes to assist him. After the battle, Talion dominates Helm, is granted the vision and banishes Helm away. Talion is enraged to learn that Celebrimbor allowed Sauron to corrupt the nine Men, and was also present at Sauron giving Helm one of the nine rings of power.
It's assumed that the destruction of the One Ring and Sauron, Helm Hammerhand and the other Nazgul were freed from their torment.
Quotes[]
| “ | My torment ends — yours is simply beginning! | „ |
| ~ Helm to Talion upon his defeat. |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- In both the books and the movies, Helm Hammerhand is a solidly heroic figure who is never said to have become one of the nine Nazgûl. His becoming so in Shadow of War is an invention of that game, albeit one that was done with Middle-Earth Enterprises' approval.
- Additionally, Helm Hammerhand is an ancestor of Theoden, Eomer and Eowyn, characters who appear in The Lord of the Rings series.
- His horned helmet and use of a warhammer bring to mind King Robert Baratheon from A Song of Ice and Fire, who like Helm Hammerhand is a villainous and brutal corrupted king consumed with hatred and a need for vengeance against those he feels have wronged him. The difference though, is that Robert started out as a vindictive person during his rebellion against the Targaryens, and then became more mellow and less vicious upon becoming king, whereas Helm started out as a good ruler who became evil later.
