There are so many characters in Middle Earth that I think it would take you a long while to count them all, and the villains are some of the most interesting characters out of the lot. They’re just straight up evil and hate all the good people. You might be asking who they are, and what it is that they do. Fear not everybody, here are the [Top Ten] villains of Middle Earth!

10. Morgoth

Morgoth is the god-equivalent of a nuke!

Have you ever thought about what the worst kind of evil is? Well, here’s Morgoth. He is actually one of the gods in Middle Earth, and an extremely powerful one. 

Morgoth really wanted the ability to create new things. To do this, he would need something called The Secret Fire. This was a special power that only the true god of Middle Earth had, and he was called Eru Illuvitar.

Poor Morgoth, right? Well, instead he decided to torture elves and turn them into orcs. And that, folks, is where orcs were born. Yeah, I don’t feel sorry for him either. 

You might be wondering if Morgoth was in any fights, and the answer is yes! He killed one of the elf kings called Fingolfn. However, Morgoth was defeated by the elves after and thrown into The Timeless Void. Sounds like a pretty bad punishment, don’t you think? 

9. Ungoliant 

What in the arachnophobia is that?!

For those who have arachnaphobia, you should probably miss this entry. This in Ungoliant, a very powerful giant spider. I would say this evil creature is almost as bad as Morgoth. 

Ungoliant teamed up with Morgoth to destroy the light of the two trees. For those of you who are wondering, this light was basically like the sun. Ungoliant brought darkness back into Middle Earth, literally. 

Did you know that Ungoliant almost killed Morgoth? She only failed because Morgoth called for help from his demon servants called Balrogs. I know Ungoliant is super evil and all, but its  disappointing that we don’t hear anything about her again.

You will be interested to know that Ungoliant is the one who  gave birth to Shelob. You know, that giant spider in The Lord of the Rings movies? Middle Earth definitely has its fair share of spiders, lets put it that way. 

8. Ancalagon the Black

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, its just a massive evil dragon.

Ancalagon is such an epic character! Who doesn’t love giant dragons? His fire breathing was the hottest of any dragon in Middle Earth, which I think is an epic flex.   

This great black dragon was released by Morgoth in The War of Wrath. Did you really think that he’d be alone though? Oh no, he definitely brought other dragons with him to burn entire armies of elves.

Its really hard to believe that Ancalagon the Black was actually killed. After all, how can you kill a dragon that big? Well, this is what a elf called Earendil did while riding his flying ship. 

I wish Ancalagon had more of a story to him. He’s this massive black dragon for Pete’s sake! Oh well, at least he won’t burn anymore elves right? 

7. Sauron

Wait, weren't you dead already? Oh wait, that was Morgoth.

Tons of people will know who Sauron is from Lord of the Rings movies. In fact, I’m sure you’d agree with me that he is more well known than Morgoth. The only thing is, he is not nearly as powerful. 

Sauron was fighting in The War of Wrath, but he ran away when his master Morgoth was defeated. I bet you can’t hide for very long at hide and seek, but Sauron hid away for 1000 years! He sure had a lot more patience than any of us, am I right guys? 

Everything was peaceful until, oh dear, Sauron came back for vengeance! He tried to control everyone in the world with his One Ring. So, Sauron was Lord of the Ring eh? Does that sound famiiar to you? 

Well, Sauron didn’t get to control many people, which is probably for the best. He did manage to make 9 human kings his slaves though. When the kings were wearing their rings of power, they slowly turned into bad guys called Ring Wraiths. 

Want to see a cool deleted scene of Sauron in the Lord of the Rings films? Look no further than this YouTube Video!

Finally, you've shown yourself after all this time hiding in your tower!
 

6. Gothmog

Why would a giant demon like you need an axe? You've got wings and a fiery whip already!

You know that huge demon called a Balrog in the first Lord of the Rings film? Well, this guy is the biggest and baddest of them all. In fact, he is the Lord of all Balrogs.

Morgoth had loads of servants, and Gothmog was one of his most powerful. Unfortunately for our elf good-guy friends, he fought against them in the War of Wrath. Gothmog even managed to kill two elven kings, who were Feanor and Fingon!

Gothmog was a big reason why the elven city of Gondolin was destroyed in the first age. Want some good news? Well, Gothmog was actually killed by the elf lord called Ecthelion, who had ruled over Gondolin before it was ruined. 

5. Glaurung

Can I call him fat just because he can't fly? No? Ok.

Here’s the coolest fact about Glaurung: he was the first dragon servant created by Morgoth. Want to know another epic name for him? ‘Father of Dragons’. Wouldn’t we all want a title like that?

The weird thing you might notice about Glaurung is that he had no wings. Please dear reader, do not think that this makes him weak. He did lead to orcs to victory in a massive  elf slaughter called the Dagor Bragollach after all. 

Glaurung could still breath fire and even hypnotise people, so he’s no slouch. However, he was not invinceable. He died when a human called Turin shoved a sword into his belly.  

4. Durin’s Bane

You think you're tough Durin's Bane? Just wait until my old man Gandalf has a few words with you!

Durin’s Bane was one of the Balrogs of Morgoth, but he has an interesting story of his own. We know by now that Morgoth was defeated. Somehow though, Durin’s Bane survived and disappeared for a long, long time.

Lets fast forward to the Third Age. Imagine all the Dwarves of Moria mining, doing what they love to do. That is, until they dig too deep and awaken this fiery terror. 

Durin’s Bane is famous for making the Dwarves abandon their great kingdom of Moria. I have to admit, its also a little badass that he kills king Durin IV. Where’d you think this demon got his nickname from? 

This evil creature might ring a bell for some of you. That’s right, he is the reason Gandalf dies in Lord of the Rings. Sad, I know, but at least Gandalf comes back right? Here’s an epic video of their fight:

Come on Gandalf, get him!
 

3. Smaug

Don't be too arrogant Smaug, you might just meet Bard the Bowman.

Its fair to say that Smaug is how most of us first saw dragons in Middle Earth. With his love of fire-breathing and burning towns, I bet you’d all say he was one of the most entertaining villains in  all of film. 

Some would say he was the last great dragon in Middle Earth, and he certainly liked his gold. I mean, that was the reason he attacked the Dwarves in The Lonely Mountain. He just wanted their piles of shiny coins, which I think makes him disturbingly to how real-life humans behave. 

Smaug is a badass, and I bet he would agree with me. Middle Earth dragons are said to be very full of themselves. But I don’t think even he could have known he’d be killed by a single arrow by Bard the Bowman. Here’s a video showing his interesting death scene:

Go on Bard! Shoot him right where it hurts!
 

2. Saruman

Saruman looks a little bit like Emperor Palpatine in this image with his lightning hands and all!

Wait, you’ll be saying, isn’t Saruman a good guy? Hold fast, dear reader. I’m here to fill you in on the details. 

Wizards like Saruman were meant to help defeat Sauron - you had one job Saruman! But what did he go and do? That’s right, he betrayed his people and attacked them with an army of super strong orcs called Uruk-Hai. 

I found myself feeling so angry at what Saruman did. I mean, he captured Gandalf, and no-one does that to Gandalf in my books. Here’s a link showing him being cruel to his fellow wizard:

Who knew a fight between two old men could be so entertaining?

Saruman’s tower has a badass name: Isengard. This makes it the second great tower in Middle Earth, along with Sauron’s Barad-Dur. So, we have two towers. Does that sound familiar? I’m looking at you second Lord of the Rings movie! 

1. The Witch King

Get off your drake and fight me man to man, servant of Sauron!

So, if Morgoth had servants, surely Sauron had some as well? You’re absolutely right, and the Witch King was Sauron’s right-hand man.

The Witch King might be a mystery for some people. He doesn’t even have a face, so that doesn’t help. Well, normal people can’t see wraiths like him, because he’spart of what’s called the unseen world.. 

You probably saw this guy flying around during battles in the Lord of the Rings films. Its no wonder. Not only was he the leader of the Ring Wraiths, but also Sauron’s whole army. It’s a relief when he is killed by Eowyn in the third movie. Follow this link to see the Witch King in action:

Stab him right in the face Eowyn...that is, if your blade doesn't pass straight through him!

You may also be interested in:

• [Top Ten] Dwarves of Middle Earth (Ranked)
• [Top Ten] Lord of the Rings Spin-Offs
• [Top Ten] Famous Places in Middle Earth