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{{Headlined|'''Date''' = '''April, 2017'''}}
[[Image:Sauron.jpg|right|thumb|Sauron in his physical body and the One Ring]]
 
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{{PE Approved}}
[[Image:Eye of Sauron.jpg|right|thumb|Sauron as he later appeared as an eye]]
 
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{{CTan
Sauron is the main villain in the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy. He ruled over the land of Mordor and had an army of orcs to do his bidding. He also gave nine of the Great Rings to men, who were turned into the [[Nazgûl]], his nine most powerful servants. 
 
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|tab1 = Villain Overview
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|tab2 = Synopsis
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|tab3 = Gallery}}
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{{Villain Infobox
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|image = <gallery>
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Sauron (Lord of The Rings).jpg|Cinematic
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Sauron Tolkien illustration.jpg|Books
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Rotk-2-3400-eye-sauron.jpg|Animated
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Middle Earth Shadow of War Sauron Wallpaper.jpg|Video Games
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LordSauroneye.jpg|Eye of Sauron
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Big 1431289913 image.jpg|Necromancer
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</gallery>
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|size = 200
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|fullname = Mairon
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|alias = {{Scroll box|Sauron<br>
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Annatar<br>
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Artano<br>
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Gorthaur<br>
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Lord Sauron<br>
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Dark Lord Sauron<br>
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Dark Lord of Mordor<br>
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The Ring-Maker<br>
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Thauron<br>
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Thauron the Cruel<br>
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The Enemy<br>
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The Dark One<br>
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The Dark Power<br>
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The Great Eye<br>
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Eye of Mordor<br>
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The Necromancer of Dol-Guldur<br>
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The Necromancer<br>
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The Sorcerer<br>
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The Black Hand<br>
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The Nameless One<br>
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The Nameless Enemy<br>
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Great Enemy of Middle-earth<br>
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Thû<br>
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The Dark Lord<br>
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The Deceiver<br>
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The Great<br>
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Servant of Morgoth<br>
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Lord of Mordor<br>
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Lord of Gifts<br>
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Lord of Barad-Dûr<br>
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Lord of the Black Land<br>
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Lord of the Earth<br>
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The Lord of the Rings<br>
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Eye of Sauron<br>
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The One Ring<br>
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The Ring}}
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|origin = ''The Lord of the Rings''
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|occupation = Lieutenant of Morgoth <small>(1st Age)</small><br>
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Dark Lord of Mordor <small>(2nd and 3rd Age)</small>
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|skills = {{Scroll box|Powers of the Ainur<br>
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Dark magic<br>
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Control over The One Ring<br>
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Command over the armies of Mordor and it's allies<br>
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His Great Mace<br>
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Swordsmanship<br>
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Immortality<br>
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Leadership<br>
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Umbrakinesis<br>
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Incredible strength<br>
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Incredible stamina<br>
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Necromancy<br>
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Telekinesis<br>
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Pyrokinesis<br>
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Telepathy<br>
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Mind control<br>
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Matter control<br>
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High intelligence<br>
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Corruption<br>
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Manipulation<br>
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Corruptive influence<br>
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Deception<br>
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Divine powers<br>
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Elemental abilities<br>
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Illusions<br>
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Shapeshifting <small>(formerly; 1st Age-2nd Mid-Age)</small><br>
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Reality-warping<br>
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Nigh-omnimalevolence}}
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|hobby = Gaining power.<br>
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Corrupting the world.<br>
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Torturing and tormenting his victims.<br>
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Slaughtering the innocent.<br>
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Destroying other kingdoms.
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|goals = {{Scroll box|Serve his master Morgoth and bring "order" to Middle-earth <small>(1st Age)</small>.<br>
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Destroy Númenor and its heirs <small>(2nd Age)</small>.<br>
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Corrupt and rule over Middle-earth through the Rings of Power <small>(2nd Age)</small>.<br>
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Find and reclaim the lost One Ring to regain his former power <small>(3rd Age)</small>.<br>
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Wipe out the races of Men and Elves <small>(3rd Age)</small>.<br>
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Conquer and rule all of Middle-earth forever in eternal darkness and have dominion over all life <small>(3rd Age; all failed)</small>.}}
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|crimes = Mass murder<br>
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Several populicide attempts<br>
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Genocide<br>
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Terrorism<br>
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Ecocide<br>
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Usurpation<br>
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Psychological torment<br>
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Torture<br>
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Conspiracy<br>
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Brainwashing<br>
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Spiritual corruption<br>
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Enslavement<br>
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Grand theft animarum
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|type of villain = Tyrannical Warlord}} {{Quote|You cannot hide. I see you. There is no life in the Void. Only '''death'''.|Sauron to Frodo when he puts the One Ring on.[[File:DeathEvil.ogg|noicon]]}} {{Quote|Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,<br>Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,<br>Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,<br>One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne<br>In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.<br>One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,<br>One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them<br>In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.|The Poem of the One Ring.}}
   
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'''Sauron''', once a noble Maia known as '''Mairon''', is the main antagonist of the {{w|Tolkein's legendarium|''Middle-earth'' legendarium}} of {{w|J.R.R. Tolkien}} (with [[Morgoth]] as the overarching antagonist). He is the titular main antagonist of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic high fantasy epic novel, ''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}''. He also serves as the secondary antagonist of mythopoeic novel, ''{{w|The Silmarillion}}'', a major antagonist in ''{{w|The Children of Húrin}}'', the overarching antagonist of ''{{w|The Hobbit}}'', and the secondary antagonist of ''{{w|The History of Middle-earth}}''.
He made the [[One Ring]] in Mount Doom with [[Dark Magic|dark magic]] to use for his takeover of the world. The Last Alliance of Men and Elves fought against him in&nbsp;the land of&nbsp;Mordor. His army of orcs was easily defeated, but when Sauron stepped up, he killed a large number of men and elves, including the king,&nbsp;Elendil. Elendil's son,&nbsp;Isildur, grabbed his father's sword, but&nbsp;Sauron stepped on it, breaking it.&nbsp;Isildur cut off Sauron's fingers, including the one with the One Ring on it, destroying Sauron's body, but he survived as a spirit, unable to&nbsp;die unless the One&nbsp;Ring was destroyed, which could only be done if it was thrown into the fires of Mount Doom where it was forged.&nbsp;
 
   
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He is the main antagonist of the ''Middle-earth'' film saga, first appearing as the titular main antagonist of Peter Jackson's ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy. He is also the overarching antagonist of Peter Jackson's ''The Hobbit'' film trilogy since he was the one behind [[Azog|Azog's]] crimes and even made a pact with [[Smaug]], serving as a flashback antagonist in ''The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'', the secondary antagonist of ''The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug'', and a minor yet pivotal antagonist in ''The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies''.
His spirit went into hiding for an age. He returned as a red flaming eye.&nbsp;He soon captured&nbsp;Gollum and, after torturing him, discovered that Bilbo Baggins of the Shire had the ring. So he sent the&nbsp;Nazgûl to find Frodo&nbsp;(who&nbsp;now had the ring), kill him, and&nbsp;take the ring back to&nbsp;Sauron so he could&nbsp;take physical form once again.&nbsp;[[Saruman]]&nbsp;also&nbsp;joined forces with&nbsp;Sauron, who commanded him to build him an army for Mordor. Saruman crossed orcs with goblin men to make an army of Uruk-hai, but all of them were killed, some of them by Aragorn and the Riders of Rohan, and the rest were killed in the Battle of Helm's Deep.
 
   
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He is also the main antagonist of the animated movie series, serving as the main antagonist in ''The Lord of the Rings'' (which is also the name of the original novel) and in ''Return of the King'' (also the name of Part III of the novel ''The Lord of the Rings''). He does not appear in ''The Hobbit'' film in 1977 at all.
After his defeat at Helm's Deep,&nbsp;Sauron decided to attack&nbsp;Gondor, and sent an army of orcs over to&nbsp;Minas Tirith to destroy it.&nbsp;The soldiers of Gondor fought against the army, which also had several trolls and Oliphaunts in it.&nbsp;When the&nbsp;Riders of&nbsp;Rohan and the Dead arrived with Aragorn,&nbsp;Legolas, and&nbsp;Gimli, though, Sauron's army was defeated.
 
   
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He was the right-hand of the 1st Dark Lord, Morgoth, who was cast into the Timeless Void by the Valar at the end of the First Age. During the Second Age, Sauron became the 2nd Dark Lord of Middle-earth who resided in Mordor and created the One Ring, which he lost long ago. His goal was to reclaim the One Ring and rule Middle-earth in darkness, but the Ring's destruction would ultimately be his downfall. He was the archenemy of Aragorn, the King of Gondor, and Frodo, the Ring Bearer.
Meanwhile, Frodo and&nbsp;Sam entered Mordor through the secret passage of Cirith Ungol, where an orc named [[Shagrat]]&nbsp;escaped with&nbsp;Frodo's mithril coat and took it to&nbsp;Sauron.&nbsp;It has been suggested by some that Sauron killed Shagrat. Sauron nearly discovered Frodo and&nbsp;Sam, but his attention was diverted away from them when Gandalf,&nbsp;Aragorn,&nbsp;Legolas, Gimli, Merry, Pippin,&nbsp;and the remaining fighters of Rohan and Gondor came to draw out his forces to give Frodo and&nbsp;Sam a chance to get to Mount Doom. Eventually they reached Mount&nbsp;Doom, but Frodo decided to take the ring for himself at the last second.&nbsp;Gollum attacked and bit Frodo's finger off, taking the ring back.&nbsp;Frodo and&nbsp;Gollum fought each other, resulting in both of them falling over the edge. Frodo survived, but&nbsp;Gollum and the ring fell into the lava, completely destroying Sauron as he exploded in a shockwave explosion that killed most of the orcs and collapsed the foundations of Mordor.
 
   
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In the live-action adaptations by Sir Peter Jackson, he was portrayed by {{w|Sala Baker}}, who also played an adult [[Firefist (X-Men Movies)|Firefist]] in ''Deadpool 2'' and voiced by the late {{w|Alan Howard}} in ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy. In ''The Hobbit'' trilogy, he was portrayed by {{w|Benedict Cumberbatch}}, who also portrayed [[Smaug]] in the same trilogy, [[Dormammu (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Dormammu]] in ''Doctor Strange'', [[Shere Khan (2018)|Shere Khan]] in ''Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle'', [[The Grinch (2018)|The Grinch]] in the 2018 film of the same name, [[William Ford]] in ''12 Years a Slave'' and [[Khan Noonien Singh (Alternate Timeline)|Khan Noonien Singh]] in ''Star Trek: Into Darkness''.
   
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==Description==
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===Appearance===
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[[File:Main-qimg-40f655a340cedb75d5728341c4fc6e29.png|left|thumb|220x220px|Sauron as The Eye.]]
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Despite being the title character of ''The Lord of the Rings'', Sauron is notable in that he never directly appears during the events of the novel. Nowhere is any detailed description given of what he looks like, other than in vague terms.
   
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However, in ''The Silmarillion'', Sauron is described as being a shapeshifter, and took many forms, including that of a serpent, a vampire, and a great wolf. After Morgoth's fall, Sauron appeared in fair form as "Annatar", the Lord of Gifts, and maintained this appearance until the Fall of Numenor, in which he was unable to ever take fair form ever again. ''The History of Middle-earth'' include a passage describing (again, vaguely) how the Numenoreans saw him: "Upon that ship which was cast highest and stood dry upon a hill there was a man, but greater than any even of the race of Numenor in stature… And it seemed to men that Sauron was great; though they feared the light of his eyes. To many he appeared fair, to others terrible; but to some evil.".
== Cameo Appearances ==
 
*Sauron appeared in a Family Guy episode as the Eye of Sauron, having lost his contact lens.
 
   
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A few clues are given as to Sauron's appearance as the Dark Lord, after he lost his ability to take a fair form: Tolkien described Sauron in one of his letters as having the form of a man of more than human stature, but not gigantic, and as an image of malice and hatred made visible. He apparently gave off great heat, to the point that the Elf king Gil-Galad was burned to death by his mere touch of him, and Isildur described Sauron's hand as black, yet burning like fire, suggesting that his entire body was blackened from fire and heat.
&nbsp;
 
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[[Category:Dark Lord]]
 
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Gollum (having apparently seen Sauron directly) described him as having only four fingers on his black hand, suggesting that Sauron was unable to regenerate the finger from which Isildur took the One Ring, similar to how the wounds Morgoth took from Fingolfin never healed.
[[Category:Lord of the Rings Villains]]
 
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In addition to his physical appearance, Sauron also apparently had an aura of incredible malevolence. A passage in ''The Silmarillion'' describes him as having a "dreadful presence", and daunting eyes. Furthermore, his mere presence could bend all but the strongest wills.
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===Personality===
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{{Quote|In my story Sauron represents as near an approach to the wholly evil will as is possible. He had gone the way of all tyrants: beginning well, at least on the level that while desiring to order all things according to his own wisdom he still at first considered the (economic) well-being of other inhabitants of the Earth. But he went further than human tyrants in pride and the lust for domination, being in origin an immortal (angelic) spirit. Sauron desired to be a God-King, and was held to be this by his servants, by a triple treachery:
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# Because of his admiration of Strength he had become a follower of Morgoth and fell with him down into the depths of evil, becoming his chief agent in Middle Earth.
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# When Morgoth was defeated by the Valar finally he forsook his allegiance; but out of fear only; he did not present himself to the Valar or sue for pardon, and remained in Middle Earth.
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# When he found how greatly his knowledge was admired by all other rational creatures and how easy it was to influence them, his pride became boundless.|J.R.R. Tolkien regarding Sauron's personality in his letters.}}
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[[File:Dark Lord Sauron 1.jpg|left|thumb|220x220px|Sauron forging The Ring.]]
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Sauron was utterly malicious and cruel. He was so merciless and unsympathetic for human life, thus making him extremely wrathful and aggressive and happy to slaughter as many as he wished. He had the will to dominate all life, meaning he wanted to rule Arda. Tolkien even writes about Sauron not being a normal tyrant, and desiring "to be a God-King", making the latter a God Wannabe as well (even though, the only true god in Middle-earth was Eru Ilúvatar). Because he was pure evil, he had to be destroyed once and for all by the One Ring being cast into Mount Doom.
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He was a master of deception, taking advantage of the greed and corruptibility of others, such as the Nazgul whom he corrupted with the Rings of Power, and Gollum, who through the Ring was corrupted.
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Sauron despised the race of Men most out of all races, waging war against the free kingdoms of Rohan and Gondor, wishing to destroy the world of Men. In addition to this, he greatly feared Aragorn, knowing that he would become the king of Gondor. He was also a true enemy of the Elves, with his presence alone in the third age leading them to leave Middle-earth out of fear of him. He would have also destroyed the Shire and all the Hobbits.
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===Powers and Abilities===
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Sauron was among the mightiest of the Maiar, possibly the greatest. However, the extent, nature, and specifics of Sauron's power are largely left to the imagination.
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====Powers====
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*'''Necromancy''': Sauron was able to deceive the Númenóreans and steer them directly to their own destruction under promises of eternal life. Such destruction is a testament to Sauron's manipulative nature and ability to twist the perceptions of his enemies.
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*'''Pyrokinesis''': Sauron also seemed primarily linked to the use of fire, and as Morgoth's chief lieutenant, his ability to tap into the fires in the earth was of great value. Like his master Morgoth, he was capable of altering the physical substance of the world around him by mere effort of will. He could will the elements in the weathers surrounding his domain and will volcano of Mount Doom to do the same.
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*'''Vast "Scientific" Knowledge''': Originally of Aulë's people, he acquired great "scientific" knowledge of the world's substances and how to use them. He would retain this knowledge throughout his tenure as the Dark Lord in Middle-earth, using it to forge the One Ring and construct his fortress of Barad-dûr. Sauron was literally instructing the Elves to make artifacts that while capable of great good, were ultimately purposed for his own domination and were imbued with power to arrest the natural order of the world. The Elves were unaware of who they were dealing with until the eleventh hour, and only narrowly escaped his trap.
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*'''Immortality/Enhanced Longevity''': As one of the Ainur, Mairon/Sauron was functionally immortal; failing that, seemingly very long lived having existed with and without a physical form for the better part of several thousand years, Sauron was created before the physical realm of Arda and Middle-earth was established thus his age is unquantifiable. Assuming a consecutive lifespan, he is at least 50,000 years old.
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*'''Vast Physical Strength''': Sauron was very physically strong with the One Ring on, able to kill multiple soldiers in a single hit. In The Bestiary under the section "Wolfhounds", it is said Huan "took the greatest of the Maiar by the throat", referring to his fight with Sauron. However in the section Maiar it says "the mightiest of the Maiar is Eönwë."
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====Abilities====
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*'''Shape-shifting''': Among Sauron's chief abilities were shape-shifting, thus allowing him to easily engage in deception and disguise: In the First Age Sauron took on many forms. His battle against Luthien and Huan in ''The Silmarillion'' has him taking on no less than four separate shapes: his "normal" shape, presumed to be that of some kind of terrible dark sorcerer, a great wolf, a serpent, and finally a vampire "dripping blood from his throat upon the trees" ("Of Beren and Lúthien", ''The Silmarillion''). At the end of the First Age, Sauron took on a fair form to appeal to the Captain of the Hosts of the Valar and ask for pardon. In the Second Age, Sauron took up that fair form again and used it under the alias "Annatar" to deceive the Elves into creating the Rings of Power. The level of deception required to fool the Elves of Eregion must have gone beyond simply taking on a fair form. An interesting dichotomy is set up between his deceptive nature and his symbol. While rarely appearing personally and deceiving all but the most wary, he represented himself as an all seeing eye that could pierce all disguises. Sauron himself had the ability of disguise by changing shape and taking a fair form. But after the Fall of Númenor he was incapable of taking physical form for many years, and then later became a horrific Dark Lord. After losing the Ring it took even longer for him to regain physical form, although by the War of the Ring he had regained it.
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====Weaknesses====
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Sauron's chief vulnerability was his ring. Having invested the majority of the energies and will of his personal being into his ring (in order to exert maximum influence over the other rings he created) the destruction of the ring led to the disillusion of his form. While the ring was for all intents and purposes indestructable by conventional means; it could be destroyed by it's means of creation.
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==In video-games==
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===''The Lord of the Rings: Conquest''===
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Sauron appears as the main antagonist in ''The Lord of the Rings: Conquest'' in the Good campaign, and the main [[:Category:Protagonists|protagonist]] of the same game in the Evil campaign.
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===Lego Game ''The Lord of the Rings''===
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Sauron also appeared in the new 2012 Lego Game: ''Lego The Lord of the Rings''.
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How to unlock Sauron as a playable character in the game, there will be a bonus level where the player gets to play as Sauron and his messenger, the [[Mouth of Sauron]].
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After getting 1,000,000 studs (which is the only way to finish the bonus level), the level will be completed and then your reward will be to unlock the playable characters: Mouth of Sauron and Sauron.
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===Lego Game ''The Hobbit''===
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Sauron is also featured in the 2014 Lego video game of ''The Hobbit'' as well, appearing as a collectible mini figure in both fiery form and necromancer form.
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===''Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor''===
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Sauron appears as one of two main antagonists, along with [[Black Hand of Sauron|the Black Hand]], in ''Middle-earth: Shadows of Mordor''.
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===''Middle-earth: Shadow of War''===
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Sauron appears as one of two main antagonists, along with the [[Witch-King of Angmar]], in ''Middle-earth: Shadows of War''.
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==''In Sir's Peter Jackson's films''==
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In the Jackson trilogy, Sauron is originally portrayed as a black armored knight carrying a huge black mass. He's represented there in human form when the Ring is forged and so until it loses the latter, then it is represented in the limited form of an eye dissociated from any body in the rest of history. Sauron loses this body after Isildur cuts his fingers with a piece of Narsil. In this version, the Dark Lord seems to be more or less unharmed until he loses his ring since at that moment, his body disintegrates by exploding. After its defeat, it is represented in the form of an eye, acting as a body. Later in the first film, Saruman points out to Gandalf that Sauron cannot yet take physical form, implying that Sauron's fiery Eye is his bodyless mind. This eye dominates Barad-dues. In the book, Sauron is inside the tower, spying through "the window of the Eye in his shadowy fortress." The humanoid form of Sauron appears one last time when Aragorn looks in the palantír in the long version of the Return of the king. Pippin makes a brief and terrifying encounter with the Eye after looking into the palantír of Orthanc.
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==Servants of Sauron==
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===Sauron's Commanders===
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*[[Witch-King of Angmar|The Witch-King of Angmar]]
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*[[Gothmog (Lieutenant of Morgul)]]
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*[[Mouth of Sauron|The Mouth of Sauron]]
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*[[Grishnákh]]
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*[[Khamûl]]
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*[[Azog]]
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*[[Bolg]]
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===Allies and Armies===
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*[[Saruman|Saruman the White]]
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*[[Smaug]]
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*[[Orcs (Middle-earth)|Orcs]]
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*[[Nazgûl]]
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*[[Barrow Wights (Middle-earth)|Barrow-wights]]
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*[[Black Hand of Sauron|Hand of Sauron]]
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*[[The Haradrim]]
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*[[Bill Ferny]]
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*[[Gríma Wormtongue]]
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*[[Uruk-hai|Uruks]]
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*[[Easterlings]]
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*[[Black Númenóreans]]
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*[[Watcher in the Water]]
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*[[Fellbeasts]]
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*[[Trolls (Middle-earth)|Trolls]]
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*[[Great Spiders]]
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*[[Dunlendings]]
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*[[Corsairs of Umbar]]
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*[[Werewolves (Middle-earth)|Werewolves]]
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*[[Wolves (folklore)|Wargs]]
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*[[Dragons (Middle-earth)|Dragons]]
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*[[Scatha]]
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*Snaga
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*Morgoth's Army
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*Army of Angmar
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*Vampires
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*Sauron's army
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*Saruman's army
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*Half-orcs
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*Giant Bats
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*Bill Ferny Sr.
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*Orcobal
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*Balcmeg
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*Army of the Dead
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*Boldog
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*Variags
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*Men of Carn Dûm
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*Berúthiel
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*Squint-eyed Southerner
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*Hobgoblin
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*King's Men
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*King of the Dead
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*Thuringwethil
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*Guritz
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*Narzug
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*Murgash
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*Shagrat
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*Gorbag
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*The Squint
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*Wicked Dwarves
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*Wraiths
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*Were-worms
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*Muzgash
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*Mumakil
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*Minas Morgul Cavalry
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*Lagduf
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*Giants
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*Crebain
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*Black Steeds
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*Queen Berúthiel's cats
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*Draugluin
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*Fuinur
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*Radbug
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*Great Beasts
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*Ufthak
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==Quotes==
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===In J.R.R. Tolkien's books===
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====Said by Sauron====
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{{Scroll box|{{Quote|I hear now that thou wouldst barter with me. What is thy price?|Sauron interrogating a man named Gorlim and asking him what his price is.}}
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{{Quote|That is a small price for so great a treachery. So shall it surely be. Say on!|Sauron after discovering Gorlim's price.}}
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{{Quote|Nonetheless I will grant thy prayer, and thou shalt go to Eilinel, and be set free of my service.|Sauron before cruelly putting Gorlim to death.}}
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{{Quote|(Ar-Pharazôn: Who is the Lord of the Darkness?) It is he whose name is not now spoken; for the Valar have deceived you concerning him, putting forward the name of Eru, a phantom devised in the folly of their hearts, seeking to enchain Men in servitude to themselves. For they are the oracle of this Eru, which speaks only what they will. But he that is their master shall yet prevail, and he will deliver you from this phantom; and his name is Melkor, Lord of All, Giver of Freedom, and he shall make you stronger than they.|Sauron deceiving Ar-Pharazôn by lying that Eru Ilúvatar is evil and Morgoth is good.}}}}
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====Pertaining to Sauron====
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{{Scroll box|{{Quote|Now the Elves made many rings; but secretly Sauron made One Ring to rule all the others, and their power was bound up with it, to be subject wholly to it and to last only so long as it too should last. And much of the strength and will of Sauron passed into that One Ring; for the power of the Elven-rings was very great, and that which should govern them must be a thing of surpassing potency; and Sauron forged it in the Mountain of Fire in the Land of Shadow. And while he wore the One Ring he could perceive all the things that were done by means of the lesser rings, and he could see and govern the very thoughts of those that wore them.|J.R.R. Tolkien on Sauron forging the One Ring in ''The Silmarillion''.}}
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{{Quote|Upon that ship which was cast highest and stood dry upon a hill there was a man, but greater than any even of the race of Numenor in stature… And it seemed to men that Sauron was great; though they feared the light of his eyes. To many he appeared fair, to others terrible; but to some evil.|J.R.R. Tolkien about how the Númenóreans saw Sauron in ''The History of Middle-earth''.}}}}
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===In Sir Peter Jackson's films===
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{{Scroll box|{{Quote|Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone…|Sauron chanting the One Ring Poem.}}
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{{Quote|We grow in number. We grow in strength. You will lead my armies.|Sauron to Azog.}}
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{{Quote|War is Coming. Death will come to all!|Sauron dismisses Azog as he discusses Thorin Oakenshield.}}
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{{Quote|There is no light Wizard, that can defeat darkness.|Sauron to Gandalf (while speaking in Black Speech).}}
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{{Quote|You cannot fight the shadow. Even now you fade. One light…alone in the darkness.|Sauron to Galadriel.}}
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{{Quote|It has begun. The East will fall. So shall the Kingdom of Angmar rise. The time of the Elves is over. The Age of the Orc has come.|Sauron (speaking in Black Speech).}}
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{{Quote|Build me an army worthy of Mordor!|Sauron orders Saruman to bring forth a Great Army of Orcs.}}
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{{Quote|Ash nazg durbatulûk. Ash nazg gimbatul. Ash nazg thrakatulûk. Agh burzum-ishi krimpatul!|Sauron speaking the One Ring's inscription in Black Speech in the Extended Edition of ''The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring''. (Gandalf speaks the same thing at the same time.)}}
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{{Quote|Aragorn Elessar!|Sauron as he faces Aragorn.}}}}
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==Reception==
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Sauron is often ranked as one of the greatest and most iconic villains, in movies, in literature and of all. He was ranked as #12 on Wizard's "Top 100 Greatest Villains" list. Complex ranked Sauron as #37 on their "50 Best Villains in Movie History" list, saying "Without him, there'd be no long-### trek to a get rid of a piece of jewelry." WatchMojo ranked him, alongside Saruman, as #7 on their "Top 10 Iconic Movie Villains" list and, individually, #1 on their "Top 10 Fantasy Villains" list. The Telegraph ranked Sauron as #25 on their "50 greatest villains in literature" list. Shortlist listed Sauron as one of the "40 Greatest Villains Of Literature". IGN ranked Sauron as #22 on their "Top 100 Villains" list. MTV ranked Sauron as #31 on their "Top 50 Villains Of All Time" list. Stylist ranked him as one of the "Top 30 Villains in Literature".
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==Allusions in other works==
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*Sauron appeared in a ''Family Guy'' episode as the Eye of Sauron, having lost his contact lens.
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*Sauron is the main character of Legendary Frog's parody series of flash videos, ''One Ring to Rule them All''. He is portrayed as extremely stupid and often says “The One Ring… TO RULE THEM ALL!”
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**In the first video, he hires Wayne the goblin as his evil henchman, receives some evil pizza he ordered, and hears from Wayne that the union of orcs are on strike.
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**The second video follows the plot of Frodo and Sam going to Mordor to destroy the One Ring, but Sauron stupidly attempts to lower them into the fires of Mount Doom with the ring, oblivious to the fact that the ring will be destroyed, and it eventually is during the battle with Gollum, who spits the ring into the lava, but Sauron and Wayne survive.
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**In the third video, Sauron receives a visit from his old master (or college roommate) Melkor, who steals his spices and seasonings for Legolas, who ironically is hired by Sauron to steal Wayne's girlfriend, a hippie elf chick, back from him.
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*In an episode of ''Supernatural'', Season 7, a character refers to [[Dick Roman]] as the Eye of Sauron.
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*Sauron is confirmed to have inspired ''My Little Pony'' antagonist [[King Sombra]], who looks slightly similar in appearance and is stripped of his physical form by Celestia and Luna, leaving him in shadow form. Meghan McCarthy said he is meant to be a "dark presence". Ironically, his horn looks similar to Sauron's spikes in Legendary Frog's videos.
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*[[Lord Darkar]], the main villain of Season 2 of ''Winx Club'', shares some similarities to Sauron before he lost his power, and may have been inspired by him.
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*The Ore Club from the ''Kid Icarus'' series (also featured in ''Super Smash Bros. for Wii U'') resembles the Eye of Sauron.
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*The Eye of Sauron has a cameo appearance in ''Gravity Falls''.
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*In ''A Study In Fear'', Atmos insults Sauron and similar villains, as they are the cause of him being overworked to study the secretly dark and macabre in film. Sauron sends down the [[Black Hand of Sauron|Hand of Sauron]], a basic minion of darkness, to threaten him with a wooden sword. After Atmos apologises, Sauron knocks him unconscious and takes over his body.
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*X-Men villain [[Sauron (Marvel)]] is named after the titular lord of the rings.
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*Sauron appeared as a supporting antagonist in ''The LEGO Batman Movie'', where he was voiced by Jemaine Clement. His goal here is to kill Batman and his gang, which he failed.
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==Trivia==
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*Despite being the main antagonist and having the novel and film trilogy named after him, Sauron doesn't have many appearances, and only appears in the novel three times (two appearances in his Eye form, though he still has a physical form, and one appearance in his shadow form).
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**However, his presence is there throughout the entire story, and in the film trilogy, his Eye form is constantly seen. In the film trilogy, his shadow form is never seen after the One Ring is destroyed, and he remains in his Eye form.
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*He was originally intended to somehow return to physical form and fight Aragorn at the tail end of the Battle of the Black Gate, but the filmmakers decided against it and replaced Sauron with a powerful troll. Sketches of the intended battle were shown in a bonus feature on one of the disks of the Extended Edition, under "Abandoned Concept: Aragorn vs. Sauron."
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**The reason why the scene was cut was because it was not in the novel, and Peter Jackson felt it would take the focus away from Frodo and Sam. Furthermore, he believed that it would take away from Aragorn's act of sacrifice.
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*Another difference from the original novel is that while Sauron takes the form of a great eye in the film, unable to take physical form without the ring, Gollum implies in the books that he still has a physical form and the Eye is only his battle symbol; he says Sauron has only four fingers on one hand.
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**Interestingly, Sauron never appears in physical form in the novel, and only appears twice in the form of his own insignia, the Eye. However, he is still able to take physical form.
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*The character is spoofed in ''My Life As A Teenage Robot'' as the eye villain [[Infrared Ivan]].
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==External links==
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*{{wiki|Sauron|Sauron|lotr|''Lord of the Rings''}}.
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*{{wiki|Sauron|Sauron|black-knight|Black Knights}}.
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*{{wiki|Annatar|Annatar|knight-in-shining-armor|Knights In Shining Armor}}.
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Revision as of 21:16, 11 February 2020

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Villain Overview

You cannot hide. I see you. There is no life in the Void. Only death.
~ Sauron to Frodo when he puts the One Ring on.
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
~ The Poem of the One Ring.

Sauron, once a noble Maia known as Mairon, is the main antagonist of the Middle-earth legendarium of J.R.R. Tolkien (with Morgoth as the overarching antagonist). He is the titular main antagonist of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic high fantasy epic novel, The Lord of the Rings. He also serves as the secondary antagonist of mythopoeic novel, The Silmarillion, a major antagonist in The Children of Húrin, the overarching antagonist of The Hobbit, and the secondary antagonist of The History of Middle-earth.

He is the main antagonist of the Middle-earth film saga, first appearing as the titular main antagonist of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. He is also the overarching antagonist of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit film trilogy since he was the one behind Azog's crimes and even made a pact with Smaug, serving as a flashback antagonist in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the secondary antagonist of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and a minor yet pivotal antagonist in The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies.

He is also the main antagonist of the animated movie series, serving as the main antagonist in The Lord of the Rings (which is also the name of the original novel) and in Return of the King (also the name of Part III of the novel The Lord of the Rings). He does not appear in The Hobbit film in 1977 at all.

He was the right-hand of the 1st Dark Lord, Morgoth, who was cast into the Timeless Void by the Valar at the end of the First Age. During the Second Age, Sauron became the 2nd Dark Lord of Middle-earth who resided in Mordor and created the One Ring, which he lost long ago. His goal was to reclaim the One Ring and rule Middle-earth in darkness, but the Ring's destruction would ultimately be his downfall. He was the archenemy of Aragorn, the King of Gondor, and Frodo, the Ring Bearer.

In the live-action adaptations by Sir Peter Jackson, he was portrayed by Sala Baker, who also played an adult Firefist in Deadpool 2 and voiced by the late Alan Howard in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. In The Hobbit trilogy, he was portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch, who also portrayed Smaug in the same trilogy, Dormammu in Doctor Strange, Shere Khan in Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, The Grinch in the 2018 film of the same name, William Ford in 12 Years a Slave and Khan Noonien Singh in Star Trek: Into Darkness.

Description

Appearance

Main-qimg-40f655a340cedb75d5728341c4fc6e29

Sauron as The Eye.

Despite being the title character of The Lord of the Rings, Sauron is notable in that he never directly appears during the events of the novel. Nowhere is any detailed description given of what he looks like, other than in vague terms.

However, in The Silmarillion, Sauron is described as being a shapeshifter, and took many forms, including that of a serpent, a vampire, and a great wolf. After Morgoth's fall, Sauron appeared in fair form as "Annatar", the Lord of Gifts, and maintained this appearance until the Fall of Numenor, in which he was unable to ever take fair form ever again. The History of Middle-earth include a passage describing (again, vaguely) how the Numenoreans saw him: "Upon that ship which was cast highest and stood dry upon a hill there was a man, but greater than any even of the race of Numenor in stature… And it seemed to men that Sauron was great; though they feared the light of his eyes. To many he appeared fair, to others terrible; but to some evil.".

A few clues are given as to Sauron's appearance as the Dark Lord, after he lost his ability to take a fair form: Tolkien described Sauron in one of his letters as having the form of a man of more than human stature, but not gigantic, and as an image of malice and hatred made visible. He apparently gave off great heat, to the point that the Elf king Gil-Galad was burned to death by his mere touch of him, and Isildur described Sauron's hand as black, yet burning like fire, suggesting that his entire body was blackened from fire and heat.

Gollum (having apparently seen Sauron directly) described him as having only four fingers on his black hand, suggesting that Sauron was unable to regenerate the finger from which Isildur took the One Ring, similar to how the wounds Morgoth took from Fingolfin never healed.

In addition to his physical appearance, Sauron also apparently had an aura of incredible malevolence. A passage in The Silmarillion describes him as having a "dreadful presence", and daunting eyes. Furthermore, his mere presence could bend all but the strongest wills.

Personality

In my story Sauron represents as near an approach to the wholly evil will as is possible. He had gone the way of all tyrants: beginning well, at least on the level that while desiring to order all things according to his own wisdom he still at first considered the (economic) well-being of other inhabitants of the Earth. But he went further than human tyrants in pride and the lust for domination, being in origin an immortal (angelic) spirit. Sauron desired to be a God-King, and was held to be this by his servants, by a triple treachery:
  1. Because of his admiration of Strength he had become a follower of Morgoth and fell with him down into the depths of evil, becoming his chief agent in Middle Earth.
  2. When Morgoth was defeated by the Valar finally he forsook his allegiance; but out of fear only; he did not present himself to the Valar or sue for pardon, and remained in Middle Earth.
  3. When he found how greatly his knowledge was admired by all other rational creatures and how easy it was to influence them, his pride became boundless.
~ J.R.R. Tolkien regarding Sauron's personality in his letters.
Dark Lord Sauron 1

Sauron forging The Ring.

Sauron was utterly malicious and cruel. He was so merciless and unsympathetic for human life, thus making him extremely wrathful and aggressive and happy to slaughter as many as he wished. He had the will to dominate all life, meaning he wanted to rule Arda. Tolkien even writes about Sauron not being a normal tyrant, and desiring "to be a God-King", making the latter a God Wannabe as well (even though, the only true god in Middle-earth was Eru Ilúvatar). Because he was pure evil, he had to be destroyed once and for all by the One Ring being cast into Mount Doom.

He was a master of deception, taking advantage of the greed and corruptibility of others, such as the Nazgul whom he corrupted with the Rings of Power, and Gollum, who through the Ring was corrupted.

Sauron despised the race of Men most out of all races, waging war against the free kingdoms of Rohan and Gondor, wishing to destroy the world of Men. In addition to this, he greatly feared Aragorn, knowing that he would become the king of Gondor. He was also a true enemy of the Elves, with his presence alone in the third age leading them to leave Middle-earth out of fear of him. He would have also destroyed the Shire and all the Hobbits.

Powers and Abilities

Sauron was among the mightiest of the Maiar, possibly the greatest. However, the extent, nature, and specifics of Sauron's power are largely left to the imagination.

Powers

  • Necromancy: Sauron was able to deceive the Númenóreans and steer them directly to their own destruction under promises of eternal life. Such destruction is a testament to Sauron's manipulative nature and ability to twist the perceptions of his enemies.
  • Pyrokinesis: Sauron also seemed primarily linked to the use of fire, and as Morgoth's chief lieutenant, his ability to tap into the fires in the earth was of great value. Like his master Morgoth, he was capable of altering the physical substance of the world around him by mere effort of will. He could will the elements in the weathers surrounding his domain and will volcano of Mount Doom to do the same.
  • Vast "Scientific" Knowledge: Originally of Aulë's people, he acquired great "scientific" knowledge of the world's substances and how to use them. He would retain this knowledge throughout his tenure as the Dark Lord in Middle-earth, using it to forge the One Ring and construct his fortress of Barad-dûr. Sauron was literally instructing the Elves to make artifacts that while capable of great good, were ultimately purposed for his own domination and were imbued with power to arrest the natural order of the world. The Elves were unaware of who they were dealing with until the eleventh hour, and only narrowly escaped his trap.
  • Immortality/Enhanced Longevity: As one of the Ainur, Mairon/Sauron was functionally immortal; failing that, seemingly very long lived having existed with and without a physical form for the better part of several thousand years, Sauron was created before the physical realm of Arda and Middle-earth was established thus his age is unquantifiable. Assuming a consecutive lifespan, he is at least 50,000 years old.
  • Vast Physical Strength: Sauron was very physically strong with the One Ring on, able to kill multiple soldiers in a single hit. In The Bestiary under the section "Wolfhounds", it is said Huan "took the greatest of the Maiar by the throat", referring to his fight with Sauron. However in the section Maiar it says "the mightiest of the Maiar is Eönwë."

Abilities

  • Shape-shifting: Among Sauron's chief abilities were shape-shifting, thus allowing him to easily engage in deception and disguise: In the First Age Sauron took on many forms. His battle against Luthien and Huan in The Silmarillion has him taking on no less than four separate shapes: his "normal" shape, presumed to be that of some kind of terrible dark sorcerer, a great wolf, a serpent, and finally a vampire "dripping blood from his throat upon the trees" ("Of Beren and Lúthien", The Silmarillion). At the end of the First Age, Sauron took on a fair form to appeal to the Captain of the Hosts of the Valar and ask for pardon. In the Second Age, Sauron took up that fair form again and used it under the alias "Annatar" to deceive the Elves into creating the Rings of Power. The level of deception required to fool the Elves of Eregion must have gone beyond simply taking on a fair form. An interesting dichotomy is set up between his deceptive nature and his symbol. While rarely appearing personally and deceiving all but the most wary, he represented himself as an all seeing eye that could pierce all disguises. Sauron himself had the ability of disguise by changing shape and taking a fair form. But after the Fall of Númenor he was incapable of taking physical form for many years, and then later became a horrific Dark Lord. After losing the Ring it took even longer for him to regain physical form, although by the War of the Ring he had regained it.

Weaknesses

Sauron's chief vulnerability was his ring. Having invested the majority of the energies and will of his personal being into his ring (in order to exert maximum influence over the other rings he created) the destruction of the ring led to the disillusion of his form. While the ring was for all intents and purposes indestructable by conventional means; it could be destroyed by it's means of creation.

In video-games

The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

Sauron appears as the main antagonist in The Lord of the Rings: Conquest in the Good campaign, and the main protagonist of the same game in the Evil campaign.

Lego Game The Lord of the Rings

Sauron also appeared in the new 2012 Lego Game: Lego The Lord of the Rings.

How to unlock Sauron as a playable character in the game, there will be a bonus level where the player gets to play as Sauron and his messenger, the Mouth of Sauron.

After getting 1,000,000 studs (which is the only way to finish the bonus level), the level will be completed and then your reward will be to unlock the playable characters: Mouth of Sauron and Sauron.

Lego Game The Hobbit

Sauron is also featured in the 2014 Lego video game of The Hobbit as well, appearing as a collectible mini figure in both fiery form and necromancer form.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Sauron appears as one of two main antagonists, along with the Black Hand, in Middle-earth: Shadows of Mordor.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War

Sauron appears as one of two main antagonists, along with the Witch-King of Angmar, in Middle-earth: Shadows of War.

In Sir's Peter Jackson's films

In the Jackson trilogy, Sauron is originally portrayed as a black armored knight carrying a huge black mass. He's represented there in human form when the Ring is forged and so until it loses the latter, then it is represented in the limited form of an eye dissociated from any body in the rest of history. Sauron loses this body after Isildur cuts his fingers with a piece of Narsil. In this version, the Dark Lord seems to be more or less unharmed until he loses his ring since at that moment, his body disintegrates by exploding. After its defeat, it is represented in the form of an eye, acting as a body. Later in the first film, Saruman points out to Gandalf that Sauron cannot yet take physical form, implying that Sauron's fiery Eye is his bodyless mind. This eye dominates Barad-dues. In the book, Sauron is inside the tower, spying through "the window of the Eye in his shadowy fortress." The humanoid form of Sauron appears one last time when Aragorn looks in the palantír in the long version of the Return of the king. Pippin makes a brief and terrifying encounter with the Eye after looking into the palantír of Orthanc.

Servants of Sauron

Sauron's Commanders

Allies and Armies

Quotes

In J.R.R. Tolkien's books

Said by Sauron

I hear now that thou wouldst barter with me. What is thy price?
~ Sauron interrogating a man named Gorlim and asking him what his price is.
That is a small price for so great a treachery. So shall it surely be. Say on!
~ Sauron after discovering Gorlim's price.
Nonetheless I will grant thy prayer, and thou shalt go to Eilinel, and be set free of my service.
~ Sauron before cruelly putting Gorlim to death.
(Ar-Pharazôn: Who is the Lord of the Darkness?) It is he whose name is not now spoken; for the Valar have deceived you concerning him, putting forward the name of Eru, a phantom devised in the folly of their hearts, seeking to enchain Men in servitude to themselves. For they are the oracle of this Eru, which speaks only what they will. But he that is their master shall yet prevail, and he will deliver you from this phantom; and his name is Melkor, Lord of All, Giver of Freedom, and he shall make you stronger than they.
~ Sauron deceiving Ar-Pharazôn by lying that Eru Ilúvatar is evil and Morgoth is good.

Pertaining to Sauron

Now the Elves made many rings; but secretly Sauron made One Ring to rule all the others, and their power was bound up with it, to be subject wholly to it and to last only so long as it too should last. And much of the strength and will of Sauron passed into that One Ring; for the power of the Elven-rings was very great, and that which should govern them must be a thing of surpassing potency; and Sauron forged it in the Mountain of Fire in the Land of Shadow. And while he wore the One Ring he could perceive all the things that were done by means of the lesser rings, and he could see and govern the very thoughts of those that wore them.
~ J.R.R. Tolkien on Sauron forging the One Ring in The Silmarillion.
Upon that ship which was cast highest and stood dry upon a hill there was a man, but greater than any even of the race of Numenor in stature… And it seemed to men that Sauron was great; though they feared the light of his eyes. To many he appeared fair, to others terrible; but to some evil.
~ J.R.R. Tolkien about how the Númenóreans saw Sauron in The History of Middle-earth.

In Sir Peter Jackson's films

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone…
~ Sauron chanting the One Ring Poem.
We grow in number. We grow in strength. You will lead my armies.
~ Sauron to Azog.
War is Coming. Death will come to all!
~ Sauron dismisses Azog as he discusses Thorin Oakenshield.
There is no light Wizard, that can defeat darkness.
~ Sauron to Gandalf (while speaking in Black Speech).
You cannot fight the shadow. Even now you fade. One light…alone in the darkness.
~ Sauron to Galadriel.
It has begun. The East will fall. So shall the Kingdom of Angmar rise. The time of the Elves is over. The Age of the Orc has come.
~ Sauron (speaking in Black Speech).
Build me an army worthy of Mordor!
~ Sauron orders Saruman to bring forth a Great Army of Orcs.
Ash nazg durbatulûk. Ash nazg gimbatul. Ash nazg thrakatulûk. Agh burzum-ishi krimpatul!
~ Sauron speaking the One Ring's inscription in Black Speech in the Extended Edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. (Gandalf speaks the same thing at the same time.)
Aragorn Elessar!
~ Sauron as he faces Aragorn.

Reception

Sauron is often ranked as one of the greatest and most iconic villains, in movies, in literature and of all. He was ranked as #12 on Wizard's "Top 100 Greatest Villains" list. Complex ranked Sauron as #37 on their "50 Best Villains in Movie History" list, saying "Without him, there'd be no long-### trek to a get rid of a piece of jewelry." WatchMojo ranked him, alongside Saruman, as #7 on their "Top 10 Iconic Movie Villains" list and, individually, #1 on their "Top 10 Fantasy Villains" list. The Telegraph ranked Sauron as #25 on their "50 greatest villains in literature" list. Shortlist listed Sauron as one of the "40 Greatest Villains Of Literature". IGN ranked Sauron as #22 on their "Top 100 Villains" list. MTV ranked Sauron as #31 on their "Top 50 Villains Of All Time" list. Stylist ranked him as one of the "Top 30 Villains in Literature".

Allusions in other works

  • Sauron appeared in a Family Guy episode as the Eye of Sauron, having lost his contact lens.
  • Sauron is the main character of Legendary Frog's parody series of flash videos, One Ring to Rule them All. He is portrayed as extremely stupid and often says “The One Ring… TO RULE THEM ALL!”
    • In the first video, he hires Wayne the goblin as his evil henchman, receives some evil pizza he ordered, and hears from Wayne that the union of orcs are on strike.
    • The second video follows the plot of Frodo and Sam going to Mordor to destroy the One Ring, but Sauron stupidly attempts to lower them into the fires of Mount Doom with the ring, oblivious to the fact that the ring will be destroyed, and it eventually is during the battle with Gollum, who spits the ring into the lava, but Sauron and Wayne survive.
    • In the third video, Sauron receives a visit from his old master (or college roommate) Melkor, who steals his spices and seasonings for Legolas, who ironically is hired by Sauron to steal Wayne's girlfriend, a hippie elf chick, back from him.
  • In an episode of Supernatural, Season 7, a character refers to Dick Roman as the Eye of Sauron.
  • Sauron is confirmed to have inspired My Little Pony antagonist King Sombra, who looks slightly similar in appearance and is stripped of his physical form by Celestia and Luna, leaving him in shadow form. Meghan McCarthy said he is meant to be a "dark presence". Ironically, his horn looks similar to Sauron's spikes in Legendary Frog's videos.
  • Lord Darkar, the main villain of Season 2 of Winx Club, shares some similarities to Sauron before he lost his power, and may have been inspired by him.
  • The Ore Club from the Kid Icarus series (also featured in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U) resembles the Eye of Sauron.
  • The Eye of Sauron has a cameo appearance in Gravity Falls.
  • In A Study In Fear, Atmos insults Sauron and similar villains, as they are the cause of him being overworked to study the secretly dark and macabre in film. Sauron sends down the Hand of Sauron, a basic minion of darkness, to threaten him with a wooden sword. After Atmos apologises, Sauron knocks him unconscious and takes over his body.
  • X-Men villain Sauron (Marvel) is named after the titular lord of the rings.
  • Sauron appeared as a supporting antagonist in The LEGO Batman Movie, where he was voiced by Jemaine Clement. His goal here is to kill Batman and his gang, which he failed.

Trivia

  • Despite being the main antagonist and having the novel and film trilogy named after him, Sauron doesn't have many appearances, and only appears in the novel three times (two appearances in his Eye form, though he still has a physical form, and one appearance in his shadow form).
    • However, his presence is there throughout the entire story, and in the film trilogy, his Eye form is constantly seen. In the film trilogy, his shadow form is never seen after the One Ring is destroyed, and he remains in his Eye form.
  • He was originally intended to somehow return to physical form and fight Aragorn at the tail end of the Battle of the Black Gate, but the filmmakers decided against it and replaced Sauron with a powerful troll. Sketches of the intended battle were shown in a bonus feature on one of the disks of the Extended Edition, under "Abandoned Concept: Aragorn vs. Sauron."
    • The reason why the scene was cut was because it was not in the novel, and Peter Jackson felt it would take the focus away from Frodo and Sam. Furthermore, he believed that it would take away from Aragorn's act of sacrifice.
  • Another difference from the original novel is that while Sauron takes the form of a great eye in the film, unable to take physical form without the ring, Gollum implies in the books that he still has a physical form and the Eye is only his battle symbol; he says Sauron has only four fingers on one hand.
    • Interestingly, Sauron never appears in physical form in the novel, and only appears twice in the form of his own insignia, the Eye. However, he is still able to take physical form.
  • The character is spoofed in My Life As A Teenage Robot as the eye villain Infrared Ivan.

External links

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           Middle earth sbg-1-1024x257 Villains

Ainur
Dark Lords
Morgoth | Sauron

Balrogs
Gothmog | Durin's Bane | Tar-Goroth

Others
Saruman

Men
Nazgûl
Witch-king of Angmar | Khamûl

Black Númenóreans
Mouth of Sauron | Queen Beruthiel | Agandaur | Black Hand of Sauron | Hammer of Sauron | Tower of Sauron

Others
Alfrid Lickspittle | Master of Laketown | Gríma Wormtongue | Bill Ferny | Ar-Pharazôn | Lheu Brenin | Hwaldar | Easterlings (Balcoth) | Corsairs of Umbar | Dunlendings | Haradrim | Karsh | Hill-men of Rhudaur

Elves
Orcs
Azog | Torturer of Dol Guldur | Bolg | Fimbul the Hunter | Lagdush | Brogg the Twin | Mogg the Other Twin | Gimub the Slaver | Yazneg | Morgash | Grishnákh | Gothmog | Guritz | Slugat | Luga | Gorbag | Rogash | Morun | Snaga | Narzug | Gartor | Sharku | Radluk | Gordmúl | Zog the Eternal | Gazmog | Grublik the Flogger | Goroth Caragor Tamer | The Blacksmith | Dark Tribe | Outlaw Tribe | Feral Tribe | Slaughter Tribe | Machine Tribe

Goblins
Gorkil the Goblin King | Great Goblin

Others
Fëanor | Celegorm | Caranthir | Curufin | Maeglin | Celebrimbor

Hobbits
Gollum | Lotho Sackville-Baggins | Ted Sandyman

Dragons
Smaug | Ancalagon | Scatha | Drogoth the Dragon Lord | Glaurung

Great Spiders
Shelob | Ungoliant

Werewolves
Carcharoth | Shade of the Wolf

Uruk-hai
Uglúk | Lurtz | Shagrat | Hodhvarz | Mauhúr | Dhar | Morflak | Mog | Daskila | Grimbosh | Mauhúr (Uruk Scout) | Vrasku | Talons of the Black Hand

Trolls
Olog-hai (Brûz the Chopper)

Others
Barrow Wights | Fellbeasts | Gûlavhar | Mountain Giants | Old Man Willow | Watcher in the Water | Wargs | Wyrms

Alternate Continuities
Peter Jackson
Sauron | Saruman | Smaug | Azog | Morgomir | Helm Hammerhand | Suladân | Isildur | Nazgûl Sisters | Rogash | Denethor

The Rings of Power
Morgoth | Sauron | Adar

Animated Films
Sauron | Witch-king of Angmar

Rankin/Bass
Smaug | Lord of the Lash

Ralph Bakshi
Saruman

Gene Deitch
Slag

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