Well, let’s see. Not Sauron. He was just the personification of evil, or would have been, had he had a person. I like my villains interesting, and this eye’s a bore. Nothing but blah blah blah about how great a goldsmith he used to be.
Saruman’s a bit more interesting. He’s your basic politician: starts out possibly wanting to do good, get’s a taste of power, ends up wanting it all. In the end though, he’s just Sauron’s toady.
Denethor’s just nuts, and not too good as a villain, since a) he’s on the good guy’s side, and b) he’s amazingly ineffectual.
I’d go with Grima. Nasty little conflicted bastard who manages to choose being a bad person every time he has any choice in the matter. Obviously not management material, but I know little creeps like him.
I never thought that Denethor was a villain at all in the book. Rather, I thought he was a good (if proud) Man whose mind was poisoned by Sauron… kind of like Theoden, except that Theoden ended up being cured by Gandalf. (With Theoden, Gandalf had only Saruman’s power to contend with.) I think Denethor came off as much more villainous in the movie. (One thing that kind of bothered me about the movies was that all the main Mannish characters came off as weaker, more venal, etc., than in the book.)
I’m a bit surprised no one has mentioned the Lord of the Nazgul. He wouldn’t top the list of villains, but he’s way up there.
That Grey Meddler gleefully manipulated the races of Middle Earth to do his bidding and stopped at nothing to wrest the lordship of Arda (yet again, I might add) from its rightful owner Sauron. (The previous owner having demonstrated a complete inability to maintain the levels of professionalism and competence necessary to successful world management, and the only other parties making any pathetic claim to dominion being apparently committed to spending all their time dicking around doing nothing behind some stupid mountains on the edge of the world.)
Gandalf’s underlings (and I mean that very literally) then published a completely fictitious and frankly slanderous chronicle of the events of the Third Age, the accounts in which have regrettably persisted to the present day relatively unchallenged.
Seriously, you guys need to read Sauron’s Blog. Get your facts straight.
In the novels (separate from the movies), one major point is that they’re all the same, at least at a thematic/philosophical level. Sauron and Saruman seem to be magnificently evil, powerful and possibly admirable, but at the end, they turn out to be just Gollum and Wormtongue (or Sharky, as you prefer) – nasty, petty, spiteful.
Denethor in the books isn’t evil per se, he’s just over-extended himself (looked in the palatir) and been snared into despair by Sauron. And Shelob… well, one can argue whether she’s really evil or just hungry.
“A most horrible treasure, this great ring,” said Frito.
“And a horrible burden for he who bears it,” said Goodgulf, “For some unlucky one must carry it from Sorhead’s grasp into danger and certain doom. Someone must take this ring to the Zazu pits of Fordor, under the evil nose of the wrathful Sorhead, yet appear so unsuited to his task that he will not be soon found out.”
Frito shivered in sympathy for such an unfortunate. “Then the bearer should be a complete and utter dunce,” he laughed nervously.
Goodgulf glanced at Dildo, who nodded and casually flipped a small, shining object into Frito’s lap. It was a ring.
“Congratulations,” said Dildo somberly. “You’ve just won the booby prize.”
Oh, the Uruks sing of a Nazgul king
Lived many years ago
He ruled as king with a magic ring
Which he got from Arnor’s foe
He covered his shape with a sable cape
But that was all you’d see
'Cause one of the things you get with rings
Is invisibility
He was vicious and mean and real low down
And he had no face beneath his crown
Sauron bless the Nazgul King of Angmar!
My vote goes to the Balrog. I mean, the thing’s a fucking *Demon *of the Ancient World. Nothing is more villainous than Chaotic Evil. Both Saruman and Sauron are the LE type. They don’t get a look in - the Balrog just breaks shit because it can.
Now, if we were including The Hobbit, Smaug would get my vote.
Well, technically, Sauron was a balrog. He was simply the most powerful servant of Melkor the Morgoth. Also Saruman and Sauron did break things just because they could. Only, the things they broke were much bigger, like a forest and The Shire, and Numenore.
No, Sauron was not a Balrog. The Valaraukar were (literally) spirits of fire, possibly Maia of Melkor even before Ainulindalë. Sauron was a Maia of Aulë, and not a spirit of fire.
Arien was a spirit of fire, but she was not suborned by Melkor. Instead she carried the final fruit of Laurelin around the sky after the Trees were slain. Melkor feared her. I expect the Balrogs did too. She was much closer akin to the Balrogs than Sauron was.
