10 best fighters from The Lord of the Rings movies

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy sits comfortably above all modern fantasy with regards to influence and world-building. Countless stories have borrowed from, copied, or were inspired by its carefully written novels.

Tolkien also introduced us to characters who have become iconic, many whom had to grab a weapon when the danger became too great. While strength in Middle-earth primarily manifests itself internally, such as strength of will, both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings feature many skilled combatants who do not regularly use magic. The three principal races—Men, Elves, and Dwarves—produce talented fighters. While even the best of the Third Age cannot compete with the legends of the previous eras, their presence is instrumental to the fall of Sauron.

So who are the best fighters in all of Middle-earth? Let's take a closer look, with a focus on The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies from director Peter Jackson:

10. Éomer

Among the Rohirrim, Éomer best displays their ability to stand with the descendants of Númenor. For generations, the people of Rohan were overlooked while Gondor was viewed and acted as the shield that protected Middle-rarth. However, the final battles of the War of the Ring highlight just how important the Rohirrim were to saving the Free Peoples, with Éomer in particular reflecting their prowess.

As expected of a man of Rohan, Éomer is one of the greatest warriors to fight on horseback. He demonstrates this during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields in which he slays countless orcs and is skilled enough to throw a spear at a Mûmakil chief from far away, resulting in two of the colossal beasts collapsing. Éomer does not depend on his horse to fight alongside the best of Middle-earth, as seen by his participation in the final battle outside the black gate of Mordor.

9. Haldir

As one of the few named elves to see combat in the films, there is evidence of Haldir's talent in combat both on and offscreen. Unlike his counterpart from the books, Haldir in the movies leads a group of elves to defend Helm's Deep from the hordes of Isengard. He makes his final stand facing the brunt of the assault, slaying an unknown number of Uruk-hai before falling.

Perhaps more indicative of his power is his position, which he holds in both the books and films. Haldir is a march-warden, which is an elf who guards the borders of an elven domain. As the lead march-warden of Lothlórien in the movies, he has presumably defended its borders from the Orcs of the Misty Mountains to the west and Dol Guldur to the east for many years.

8. Thranduil

While he pales in comparison to the most famous elves, Thranduil emphasizes the value of immortality when it comes to combat. Since he was born in the First or Second Age, he has lived for thousands of years and subsequently honed his skills for far longer than most warriors. This is supported by his survival against the great serpents of the North, which were active centuries before he met Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit.

During the Battle of the Five Armies, Thranduil leads his forces against both the dwarves and the orcs. He is seen slaying many orcs while mounted and also on foot. After his mount is shot by arrows, he is surrounded by a dozen orcs, yet he single-handedly slays most of them without receiving a single blow.

7. Thorin Oakenshield

Among the dwarves who traveled to the Lonely Mountain to defeat Smaug, Thorin is presented as the greatest. Unlike in the book, Thorin is the dwarf who defeats the orc Azog in the final battle of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. Years later, he leads the company against many kinds of opponents in The Hobbit.

Throughout The Hobbit movies, Thorin demonstrates the ability to slay multiple creatures while on the move. While running through hordes of goblins underground and orcs on the field, he emerges mostly unscathed. Thorin's final fight against Azog in which he kills the giant beast for good cements his reputation as one of the greatest dwarven warriors.

6. Dáin II

Among the leaders of the Free Peoples in the Battle of the Five Armies, Dáin II is a force to be reckoned with. Although Thorin is given his feat of defeating Azog in the movies instead of him, Dáin still does more than enough to regain that fame with his limited screentime. His strength, weapon choice, and positioning indicate why he is so formidible.

In the last battle of The Hobbit movies, Dáin kills armored orcs just by head-butting them, which is unheard of. He also wields a warhammer and can swing it with a single hand, despite its extra weight compared to other weapons. Dáin repeatedly killing orcs in a single blow despite being completely surrounded many times over more than affirms his status as a great warrior.

5. Elrond

Few characters contributed more to the fall of Sauron than Elrond. Having fought against his forces several times in the Second and Third Ages, the founder of Rivendell acquired much experience against orcs and other minions of the Dark Lord. The War of the Last Alliance and the assault on Dol Guldur best represent his skill as a warrior.

In the final battle of the Second Age, Elrond fought alongside his old and experienced king Gil-galad and slew many orcs, culminating in an encounter with Sauron himself on the battlefield. Thousands of years later, he and the other members of the White Council face the Dark Lord's direct servants, the Nazgûl, in Dol Guldur. Elrond repeatedly defeats the Ringwraiths in personal combat despite their inability to be killed.

4. Gimli

In the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gimli is the only dwarf to regularly appear—and he may appear again in The Hunt for Gollum. Because of this, he alone has to represent how well dwarves can fight during the War of the Ring. Considering how many foes he faces and how strong they are compared to the villains in The Hobbit, Gimli more than adequately depicts the ferocity of the Dwarves.

As Gimli himself states, the Uruk-hai that he fights are more dangerous than other types of Orcs, and he fights many of them at Amon Hen and Helm's Deep. At the latter battle he kills more than Legolas—an archer—despite having to wait for the Uruk-hai to come to him. Perhaps his most impressive combative feat occurs when only he and Aragorn defend the gate into Helm's Deep against countless Uruk-hai.

3. Boromir

Worthy of his reputation as the leader of Gondor's forces, Boromir embodies the race of Men's perseverance and valor against the Dark Lord's hordes. Alongside the other members of the Fellowship of the Ring, he slays many goblins in Moria. His final stand at Amon Hen overshadows the rest of his accomplishments and failures.

With the members of the company scattered, Boromir alone must protect the untrained Pippin and Merry from countless Uruk-hai. Although the two hobbits get captured in the end, Boromir succeeds in slaying many of the powerful beasts single-handedly. He continues to do this even after taking multiple giant arrows to the chest, a feat that few of the race of Men could dream of accomplishing.

2. Aragorn

Across the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, Aragorn constantly proves he is the best among Men. He displays superhuman strength as well as superb skill in both one-on-one combat and fights against groups of enemies. These occur against all manner of opponents, ranging from Orcs and Uruk-hai to Trolls and Ringwraiths.

Aragorn fought off five of the Nazgûl while protecting the four hobbits, killed a considerable number of the Uruk-hai at Amon Hen on his own, and ran straight into the full might of Mordor—and survived with few injuries. He also defeated Lurtz, the leader of the Uruk-hai, in single combat. A feat that places Aragorn above countless heroes within and beyond Middle-earth is his ability to contend with a fully armored Olog-hai troll and trade blows with the unfathomably strong creature.

1. Legolas

In Peter Jackson's film universe, Legolas reigns supreme. His immortality allowed him to train for generations offscreen and gave him the rare opportunity to appear in both trilogies. Experience as well as elven agility and precision contribute to Legolas' many victories and the superhuman feats he often performs while securing them.

Unsurprisingly, Legolas is unmatched with a bow, as seen by him repeatedly landing perfect shots from far away, while moving, while standing on people's heads in a river, or while skating down stairs on a shield. He more than holds his own in close combat, slaying multiple enemies with his daggers and killing Bolg, the son of Azog, without using any arrows. The combination of these skills with the ability to climb arrows embedded in an Oliphaunt as well as run up a collapsing bridge by stepping from falling stone to falling stone results in a perfect fantasy warrior.

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