Before Sauron cast darkness across Middle-earth in Lord of the Rings and Rings of Power, another villain struck fear into the hearts of men, Elves, and Dwarves alike: Morgoth.
Morgoth’s shadow still looms over Rings of Power Season 2. He’s mentioned, but never seen. While the show hasn’t revealed much, there are whispers. And there’s much more to be found in the book canon.
While Sauron is The Lord of the Rings‘ big bad, Rings of Power makes a point of bringing up Morgoth’s name. Every time it does, chills run down spines, and for good reason.
Evil in LOTR is felt as an omnipresent force, watching over the lands and waiting to return at any moment of weakness – Morgoth’s history is a dark chapter of the lore worth knowing.
Morgoth explained
Morgoth is a fallen Vala who became the Dark Lord during the First Age and wanted to conquer Middle-earth, destroying civilizations. In the context of Rings of Power, he’s Sauron’s master.
First known as Melkor, Sauron became his successor after his defeat. Sauron’s ultimate goal is to fulfill Morgoth’s vision for Middle-earth.
He was at one point one of the Valar (immortal, divine spirits who serve the creator, Eru Ilúvatar) but fell from grace when he was corrupted by darkness. He became the Dark Lord of the First Age after turning against his creator.
Much was lost during his rise to power, but the Elves and other races rose to defeat and imprison him. Additionally, his armies and right hand, Sauron (in the form of Halbrand), lived on in the corners of Middle Earth.
Origins
The Rings of Power hasn’t clarified Morgoth’s origin but in Tolkien’s books, he became jealous of the other Valar and resented his creation.
He began meddling in dark magic and was also known as incredibly intelligent and powerful. Needless to say, he had an ego. He longed to be a creator himself, not the plaything of one. He was able to create armies by gathering and creating orcs, trolls, dragons, and other creatures he perverted.
His actions eventually led to the War of Wrath, which was a battle that destroyed the land of Beleriand.
This history is recounted in The Silmarillion, the book Rings of Power is based on. However, the series has taken detours from established canon so it could go in another direction for some finer details.
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How he was defeated in the books
The Valar unexpectedly aided the Ñoldor, assaulting Morgoth from Aman and eventually winning the battle.
Morgoth’s balrogs and orcs were slaughtered, and then Morgoth deployed one last weapon: winged dragons. Battles in the air between Morgoth’s remaining forces and winged beasts on his enemies’ side ensued, with the latter ultimately prevailing.
Morgoth was driven deep into his mines before the Valar bound him with Angainor – Morgoth’s Iron Crown was reshaped into a collar, and he was banished to a void outside of time and space (the ‘timeless void’).
Where is Morgoth during The Rings of Power?
Morgoth has already been defeated and imprisoned when The Rings of Power’s story begins. We only saw Morgoth in a brief, gloomy, flashback.
That doesn’t mean his presence isn’t felt. Season 1 opened with Galadriel suspicious about whether evil had actually been stomped out or if it was just patiently waiting on the sidelines. Her mission was to destroy Sauron, his successor.
The series confirmed Morgoth’s absence during Sauron’s introduction, “In the end, Morgoth would be defeated. But not before much sorrow, for his orcs had spread to every corner of Middle-earth. Multiplying ever greater under the command of his most devoted servant, the cruel and cunning sorcerer. They called him Sauron.”
Now that Sauron’s identity has been revealed, the new Dark Lord is here and has assumed control of the remains of Morgoth’s army.
Morgoth’s powers
Though only his dark magic and shapeshifting have been alluded to in The Rings of Power, Morgoth’s powers made him one of the most fearsome creatures in history.
His abilities were second only to his creator, Eru.
- Immortality/enhanced longevity
- Vast physical strength
- Cursing
- Shapeshifting
- Pyrokinesis
Keep up to date with our recaps of Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, and Episode 5, and check out our breakdown of Tom Bombadil and our predictions for the Dark Wizard. You can also read our guides on the three Elven rings, the Undying Lands, and Forodwaith.
