The world of Middle-Earth has its fair share of vile villains.

One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them.
Literature[]
- The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion have two very, very evil beings.
- The first and foremost is Melkor, who later becomes known as Morgoth (The Enemy), who screws the world over twice, creates all the evil races just by twisting anything beautiful he gets his hands on. He begins by destroying the great lamps of Valinor and creating the pits of Utumno, where he takes as many races as he can and personally enacts hideous, unspeakable tortures upon them until all that remains are grotesque perversions that he can use as his servants, ruined terrible forms of life. After his first defeat, Morgoth repays mercy with treachery. He proceeds to destroy the world trees, betrays and murders the king of the Noldor elves and steals their treasures from petty greed, leading to the deaths of many thousands of elves when they pursue him. Once he sets up his base of operations in Middle-Earth, Morgoth gets back to his old business. He delights in corrupting men into darkness, manufacturing and playing off corruption in their hearts to set them against each other and their allies. His "crowning achievement" is tricking and beguiling the first men into swearing an oath of eternal fealty to him, meant to enslave the entire race forever in body and spirit, which is the reason why mortality is considered a gift for Man (souls of Men leave Arda and Morgoth's grasp). Morgoth launches brutal campaigns of slavery and genocide, with just one of the examples being the destruction of Gondolin, the most beautiful and proud elven city, with full orders to exterminate civilians, who are saved solely by the heroism of the city's warriors. Entire regions cease to exist with their inhabitants enslaved, wiped out or taken for horrible deaths. Morgoth also has a distinction of being an attempted rapist, trying to rape the elven princess Luthien out of nothing more than cruel lust. Morgoth ends with no redeeming features whatsoever. An evil god, genocidal conqueror, brutal overlord, corrupter, Morgoth fits it all. At one point, he condemns a man to horrible torture and then enacts a curse to see his children grow, suffer horribly and be rejected by both life and death, solely because the man dared to defy him. There is no act too evil or petty for Morgoth. He commits atrocities on the petty personal and the grand, worldly scale.
- Morgoth's Bastard Understudy Sauron is a demonstration of how those who were once noble can fall to great evil. Sauron was once noble Maiar who was swayed to Morgoth's side. Over time, Sauron's noble intentions for the world were replaced with vanity and lust for power. In the First Age, Sauron convinced a man to betray his comrades, showing him a vision of his beloved wife...once the man did what Sauron asked, Sauron revealed she was already dead and had his hapless pawn tortured to death as he had promised to reunite them. Upon capturing the hero Beren and his companions, Sauron placed them in his dungeons where he allowed his werewolves to slowly pick the group off, one by one, to torment the survivors. After the defeat of his master, Sauron fled to Numenor, assuming the fair form of Annatar, the Bringer of Gifts and seduced Numenor towards darkness and evil until it was a Morgoth-worshiping theocracy that practiced human sacrifice. This was an act so unholy, Eru Illuvatar, the equivalent of God, stepped in to destroy Numenor. Even then, Sauron was not done, and tricked the other races with the Rings of Power, forging his master ring to enslave all that lived. In the Third age, he embarked on a genocidal war for conquest, seeking only to feed his lust for domination and megalomania.
- Glaurung, Father of Dragons, is one of Morgoth's prize commanders who slaughter and burn entire regions while battling the Noldor. After devastating the Noldor host, Glaurung leads the utter slaughter of the realm of Nargothrond, meeting Turin Turambar for the first time and manipulating him so he may have the elven princess Finduilas murdered to hurt the son of Hurin more. Later erasing the memories of Turin's sister Nienor, Glaurung manipulates the situation so the two fall in love and marry, using his dying moments to spitefully taunt Nienor about carrying her own brother's child thanks to his cruel machinations.
- Ar-Pharazôn the Golden was the final King of Numenor. Forcibly marrying and raping his own cousin even before he fell under the sway of Sauron, Ar-Pharazôn became a monstrous tyrant in his alliance with the fallen Maia. Conducting Human Sacrifice in huge numbers to Morgoth, Ar-Pharazôn committed unspeakable atrocities on human kingdoms so terrible that even in the Third Age their descendants willingly sign with Sauron to revenge themselves upon Numenor's descendants, eventually attempting to invade Valinor to massacre the elves there and declare himself the ultimate ruler above even Eru Ilúvatar.
Films[]
- The Lord of the Nazgul, Sauron's right-hand, is a supernatural phantom leading Sauron's armies on the field to overrun Middle-earth. Overseeing the attempted slaughter of countless innocents, the Nazgul Lord personally leads the charge to Minas Tirith and the collapse of the gates to have everyone within killed, before personally confronting Gandalf and causing the death of King Theoden.
- Peter Jackson's Middle-earth film saga (also includes the Extended Editions):
- Pictured above: Sauron, the titular Lord of the Rings, is the Overarching Villain of the saga. The Dark Lord of Middle-earth, Sauron manipulated the Elves, Dwarves, and nine kings of Men with the Rings of Power thousands of years ago, claiming that they can use their rings to govern each race, but in reality, they were created so he could control them with his later creation, the One Ring to Rule Them All, which he also uses to instigate numerous war campaigns across Middle-earth, resulting in the deaths of thousands and him conquering the land. At some point, he also used the One Ring to corrupt the nine kings of Men and turn them into his undead slaves, the Nazgûl. When King Elendil and Lord Elrond led the Men and Elves against Sauron, the latter used his mace to slaughter many of them, including Elendil. After his physical form was destroyed by Isildur, Sauron retreated to Dol Guldur, where he became known as the Necromancer. There, he lured many evil creatures to his hideout, including Azog the Defiler and his Gundabad Orcs; poisoned Greenwood into Mirkwood; and made an alliance with the dragon Smaug and planned to use him as a weapon of war. At one point, he taunts Gandalf and later Galadriel about being unable to defeat him, even killing Thráin when Gandalf tries to rescue him and imprisoning him so he is Forced to Watch Azog wipe out the Elves, Dwarves, and Men as a Final Solution. After Sauron is banished back to Mordor, he has his servants put Gollum through Cold-Blooded Torture, sending the Nazgûl after Frodo to reclaim the Ring to use it to his own advantage. The extent of his power eventually convinces the once-noble Saruman to join him so he can win the war alongside him, enabling Sauron to use Saruman as a pawn to exterminate Rohan, deciding to burn down Minas Tirith what that fails. Sauron also torment others for very small reasons, such as when he Mind Rapes Pippin when the latter doesn't speak his name and showing Aragorn the death of Arwen when he threatens him with the sword Narsil. A sadistic and self-serving despot who is motivated by Fantastic Racism against Elves and Men and defined by It's All About Me, Sauron is willing to annihilate thousands in his way to conquer Middle-earth, and eventually the entire world of Arda.
- The Hobbit trilogy: Azog the Defiler is the Orc leader and the chief antagonist for much of trilogy. A sadist even by the standards of the Orcs, Azog pledged to wipe out the line of Durin even though they had done nothing to him. In the battle, Azog murdered King Thror and beheaded him, and then severed Thrain's finger and took him to Dol Guldur to torture him. When Thorin Oakenshield cut off his arm, Azog vowed to gain revenge on the Dwarf by any means necessary, putting a bounty on his head. When one of his lieutenants fails to kill the Dwarves, Azog angrily murders him in a rage. After cornering Thorin, he gloats to Thorin that he killed his father, which Azog knew was false, to goad him into attacking him. Upon taking command of the Necromancer's armies, Azog decides to use a sadistic version of divide and conquer and sends his soldiers into the ruined city of Dale, knowing that the Allies will split their forces to protect the women and children, choosing to order the deaths of helpless civilians to gain the advantage. When Thorin rides to his command center to kill him, Azog has Thorin's nephew Fili brought to him and then kills him in front of Thorin, taking sadistic glee in the moment. Upon mortally wounding Thorin, Azog took immense glee in his rival's immediate death. A sadistic Blood Knight who will happily kill anyone for his own amusement, and very willing to resort to Revenge by Proxy, Azog is an Orc who acts mostly independently and therefore shows that an Orc can be evil on their own decision with no goading from a superior.
- The Lord of the Rings trilogy:
- Saruman the White is a former Istari who, upon believing Sauron cannot be stopped, joins the forces of evil and embraces darkness entirely. When the Dark Lord invades the rest of Middle-earth, Saruman acts as his right hand, securing an alliance with barbarian tribes and sending them with his orcs to sack the kingdom of the Rohan. Attacking the Westfold, Saruman orders the extermination of every village and the deaths of everyone therein as his servant Grima Wormtongue keeps King Theoden too enfeebled to come to their defense. Upon Theoden being freed, Saruman tries to have the refugees massacred during a flight to the fortress of Helm's Deep, dispatching his army there to slaughter every soldier and civilian within the walls. In one of his darkest crimes, Saruman orders the forest of Fangorn burned, knowing the trees are sentient, living things with their own wills, all to feed the industrial flames of his war machine.
- The Return of the King: Gothmog is the hulking, deformed Dragon to the Witch-king of Angmar, and one of the cruelest members of his entire species. Gothmog captures Osgiliath, kills everyone who can fight back, then decides to execute the prisoners he's taken from Faramir's brigade and rain their severed heads down onto Minas Tirith as a form of horrific psychological torture. In the battle of Pelennor Fields, Gothmog attempts to slay every living soul within Minas Tirith, and throws away the lives of hundreds of his own Orcs by refusing to let them break formation during the retaliatory attacks.
Video Games[]
- The Lord of the Rings Online:
- Sauron is a Maia who became the servant of the Dark Lord Morgoth. In the First Age, he and Morgoth attempted to wipe out the dwarves by supporting a rebellious faction that fought against Durin I and then turned against their allies when victory was imminent, resulting in the deaths of many. After Morgoth was defeated, Sauron became the new Dark Lord and waged a brutal war to conquer all of Middle-earth. Seemingly killed at the end of the war, Sauron went into hiding and slowly regained his strength over the course of several centuries. On his order, the Great Plague was created and devastated the continent, severely weakening the human nations of the East and allowing Sauron's armies to conquer and subjugate them. Eventually, Sauron would emerge from the shadows again to begin another war against the Free People of Middle-earth.
- Volume 3: Lheu Brenin is the treacherous chieftain of the Falcon Clan of Dunland and the greatest threat faced by the Grey Company in their journey to find Aragorn. Starting out as a reasonable man, the Brenin quickly shows his true colors when he sells out the Rangers to Saruman as trophies and slaves. When the player and the Rangers escaped, Lheu, in order to flee from them, sends his loyal clansmen, including his only daughter, on a suicide mission to distract the Rangers. During their exile, Lheu has anyone that questions his decisions and any he deems weak thrown into pits to be devoured by monsters in the mountains. Finally confronting the player, Brenin reveals his true plans of sneaking into the Glittering Caves and murdering the defenseless women and children of Rohan as a tribute to Saruman.
- Volume 4: Burudagath the Bloodletter is the ruler of Faltor-shík, the Fane of Screaming. Under his oversight, countless prisoners of war and slaves were tortured and then sacrificed on an altar in the middle of the camp. When the player character attacked Faltor-shík and slayed most his of orcs, Burudagath personally killed his remaining men for failing to stop him. Defeating the player character and strapping him onto his altar, he gleefully claims that Sauron is going to defeat Aragorn's army at the Black Gate and that he will slowly end the lives of any survivors "one by one".
- The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II' (Evil Campaign): The Mouth of Sauron is one of the chief commanders of Sauron's army, who aggressively expands the Dark Lord's influence across Middle-earth. Starting off by gathering an army of goblins and Mountain Giants, the Mouth commands them to destroy the Elven city of Lorien, murdering nearly all the Elves there. Later conquering Mirkwood, annihilating the Elven Kingdom in the process and slaughtering countless Elves and their ruler, the Mouth leads Sauron's army in convincing Drogoth the Dragon Lord to join his cause, murdering hundreds of Dwarves to appease him. Afterwards, destroying the city of Dale and laying waste upon the Dwarven Kingdom, killing thousands of Men and Dwarves, including Dwarven King Dain, the Mouth assists the other generals of Sauron's army in slaughtering the remaining opposition at Rivendell, killing off the Fellowship of heroes and helping to spread Sauron's tyrannical rule across the world.
- The Lord of the Rings: Conquest ("Rise of Sauron" campaign only): The Dark Lord Sauron sends the Nazgul to Mount Doom to kill Frodo and deal with Orc rebels wanting to take the One Ring for themselves. Upon killing the Orc rebels, Sauron uses their blood to resurrect the Witch King of Angmar, who kills Frodo and retrieves the One Ring for Sauron. Upon regaining the One Ring, Sauron overruns Gondor, destroying Minas Tirith and forcing Aragorn to flee to Weathertop; the population of Gondor being cannibalized by his Orc armies. He then resurrects Durin's Bane in Moria and sics it on Gimli. After conquering Moria, Sauron attacks Weathertop and Rivendell, killing Aragorn and Legolas and taking Elrond's ring for himself. With all of Middle-earth under his control, Sauron attacks the Shire, with his forces and Durin's Bane killing a large number of Hobbits to lure out Gandalf and Treebeard so he can kill them, the corpse of the latter being set on fire and used to burn any Hobbit that dares resist Sauron's rule.
- War in the North: Agandaur is a powerful Black Numenorean sorcerer and self-proclaimed right hand of Sauron. Building an army for his master to assist him in his conquest of Middle-earth in exchange for the lands of the North, Agandaur intends to make Sauron's Forces more deadly and destructive by trying to make a Stone Giant and the dragon Urgost join him, so that they could slaughter and subjugate the Free Men of Middle-earth. Ordering a Spider Queen to devour a heroic wizard Radagast, Agandaur moves his forces to attack the Dwarven Kingdom of Nordinbad, slaughtering most of the Dwarves there. Reducing his prisoners—who were driven mad by the study of the dark sorcery, which Agandaur actively spreads through the world—to barely-sapient husks, Agandaur intends on wiping out all of the Elves and enslaving all the survivors of the ensuing war.
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor & Shadow of War: The Dark Lord Sauron leads campaigns of terror and brutality that kill countless innocent beings, beginning in the Second Age when he personally murdered Celebrimbor after murdering the Elf Lord's wife and daughter. Ingratiating himself to great kings of men, Sauron also presented them with rings of power that slowly corrupted and destroyed them, making them his undead slaves, the Nazgul. In present, Sauron, in the guise of the Black Hand, murders the ranger Talion and his family to enslave the soul of Celebrimbor, which backfires when the wraith fuses with Talion. Sauron sends his forces to slaughter the population of Gondor, conquering the city of Minas Ithil before intending to move on to all of Middle-earth until everything that lives is destroyed or kneels before him as his slave.