Summary

• Sauron's physical appearance in The Lord of the Rings and The Rings of Power is different, leaving fans with more questions.
• Sauron was originally a shape-shifting fallen angel and could take on various forms, including a vampire and a werewolf.
• Sauron's final form was terrifying and demonic, reflecting his own hate and evil, and he did not wear armor in the books.

While Sauron's most notable form in The Lord of the Rings was the Great Eye that hovered over Barad-dûr, his most noteworthy appearance came during the dramatic introduction to The Fellowship of the Ring. The intro depicted the War of the Last Alliance as Men and Elves warred with Sauron's forces on the planes of Mordor. When defeat seemed imminent, Sauron emerged from his tower to do battle, wearing a terrifying set of armor. Wielding a great mace, he was indomitable until he met his match in Elendil the Tall and the High Elven King Gil-galad. Together, they cast the Dark Lord down and — at least temporarily — ended his reign of terror.

With the Dark Lord playing a major role in Amazon's The Rings of Power series, some Lord of the Rings fans were excited to finally see what Sauron's face looked like under his armor. After Halbrand's true identity was revealed, however, it only seemed to raise more questions. For starters, the scene where he lost the One Ring was definitely memorable, but it wasn't exactly book-accurate. Sauron's physical appearance in The Rings of Power and what he looked like beneath his armor in The Fellowship of the Ring are very different from one another.

Updated by Robert Vaux on January 10, 2024: This article has been updated to include information about a painting that Tolkien drew depicting his infamous villain. Its formatting has also been altered to adhere to CBR's current standards.

Sauron Was a Shape-Shifting Fallen Angel

J.R.R. Tolkien himself remained deliberately vague about Sauron's appearance, making him more of a spiritual entity than a physical one. He even painted a picture of the character in watercolor that retains the mystery. Sauron's features are hidden, and he's seemingly composed of living shadow, with a gout of flame emerging from his form. Despite his ephemeral shape, his wicked intentions are clear: reaching out across an entire landscape to grasp at something (presumably the One Ring).

That's well in keeping with Tolkien's origins of the character. Before time began, Eru Ilúvatar created the Valar and the Maiar — the greater and the lesser angels — who participated in the creation of Middle-earth through song. But while it should have been a time of unhindered wonder and harmony, the reality was much darker. The Valar Melkor began singing a song of discord in order to create things apart from the other Valar, but he was unsuccessful. Nevertheless, his creation of discord resulted in evil, and it wasn't long before he departed the company of the Valar and claimed Middle-earth as his own. When he left, he convinced many of the Maiar to follow after him.

While many of the Maiar became Balrogs, one Maiar stood out from the rest. His name was Mairon, but he soon became known as Sauron. He was Morgoth's top lieutenant, and like many of the Maiar, he could change forms and hide his true nature. At various points in the First Age, he even took on the appearance of a vampire and a werewolf.

Sauron Once Wore an Attractive Disguise

While looking like a vampire or werewolf might be beneficial at times, it wasn't helpful for subterfuge. After Morgoth's defeat in the War of the Powers, Sauron laid low for a while and crafted a new type of plan. Posing as a messenger from the Valar, Sauron took the form of Annatar and hid his evil nature. It was during this time that he befriended Celebrimbor, and they made the Rings of Power.

Eventually, though, Sauron was discovered, and so commenced the War of the Elves and Sauron. The ending of that war saw Sauron taken to Númenor in chains. Yet, that was part of his plans because he succeeded in guiling the Númenóreans as he did the Elves. In response to their evil, the Valar drowned the island of Númenor beneath the oceans, and Sauron's physical form was destroyed in the process.

In The Rings of Power, Halbrand joined Galadriel on her journey, hiding his identity behind an emblem alluding to him being the lost King of the Southlands. Halbrand's handsome appearance, coupled with his deception, actually foiled Galadriel for a time, but when she later discovered the last King of the Southlands died thousands of years earlier and left no heir, she confronted him about his true identity. In essence, this confrontation reflects Frodo's observation in the Fellowship of the Ring that "...a servant of the enemy would look fairer and feel fouler."

Sauron's Final Form Was Utterly Terrifying

Thanks to the power of the One Ring, Sauron's spirit escaped the ruin of Númenor, but his power was diminished. After that, he could no longer hide his awful, demon-like appearance. When he created a new body for himself, he could only rely on the power and malice that was stored up in his One Ring. Thus, when Sauron returned, he was the incarnation of his own hate and evil. That was why none could stand to look upon him and why Gil-galad was burned by his touch.

J.R.R. Tolkien never described Sauron as wearing armor of any kind. That was entirely created for the film trilogy and was likely done with the thought that it would be difficult to portray Elendil and Gil-galad in combat with a spirit. However, that wouldn't have been accurate either. At the end of the day, Sauron was a demonic spirit, but Tolkien made it clear that he did have a physical form at this point in history. Essentially, Sauron's armor was an invention, but if he had been wearing armor, it wasn't like a disembodied spirit would have been animating the suit — it would have been something far more terrifying.

The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy and The Hobbit movie trilogy are currently streaming on Max. The Rings of Power is streaming on Prime Video.