This article is part of a directory: Sauron's Lord of the Rings History, Powers, Relationships and Theories
Table of contents

The Lord of the Rings had plenty of perfectly awful characters during the Third Age of Middle-earth. Saruman was a backstabbing traitor who tried to steal the One Ring for himself. Meanwhile, the Nazgul were terrifying as they walked the border between the living and the dead. The Watcher in the Water, King of the Dead and the Durin's Bane Balrog were also of particular note. However, Sauron was the unquestioned worst of the worst.

If the Dark Lord had regained his One Ring, he would have covered all of Middle-earth in unending darkness. If that came to pass, no one would have stopped him because the Elves were fading, and hope was already in short supply. Thus, Frodo reaching his goal saved Middle-earth from sure doom. However, it's worth considering whether Sauron's reign would have been worse than Morgoth's.

RELATED: Saruman vs. Count Dooku: Which Christopher Lee Villain Is the Bigger Traitor?

Morgoth Wanted to Rule Middle-earth

Morgoth lurking in front of Mount Doom

When Eru Ilúvatar created Eä, he made 14 beings to rule over and order everything. They were called the Valar, and Melkor was chief among them. Yet, Melkor wasn’t satisfied with his ruling station. He wanted to create life like Ilúvatar, so he began to search for the Flame Imperishable. Unable to find it, he rebelled against the other Valar in the depths of time. Taking the name Morgoth, he waged a number of wars against his compatriots, and because of his strength, he was always a formidable foe.

At the end of the First Age, Morgoth lost the War of Wrath and got cast into the Void. While he ruled, though, the Dark Lord usually focused on brute strength. He used his immeasurable power as a Valar to corrupt beings and gave them vast quantities of his own strength. Orcs, Dragons and other fallen beasts were his creations and the recipients of his vile powers. Using those subjects, Morgoth set out to conquer Middle-earth by sheer force. And his distributed power and the brawn of his armies were enough to dominate everything in Middle-earth until the Valar intervened.

RELATED: Why Gollum Didn't Age Without the Ring but Bilbo Did in The Lord of the Rings

Sauron Wanted to Control Middle-earth

Sauron as The Necromance in The Hobbit standing before the fiery eye

Unlike Morgoth, Sauron was a Maiar, which meant that he was slightly less powerful but much eviler. Originally, Sauron was called Mairon and was one of Aulë's best smithing students. However, he was obsessed with perfection and imposed that belief on others. So, when Morgoth rebelled, Sauron joined him because he saw a way to force his perfection on other beings and the natural world.

Until the end of the First Age, Sauron served as Morgoth's chief lieutenant. When Morgoth was defeated, Sauron took over as the ruling Dark Lord, but his methods were different. While Morgoth ruled by force, Sauron ruled by guile. He wanted to achieve perfection in Middle-earth, but the only way to do that was by being in complete control. So, he created the One Ring and, using the inherent power of Mount Doom, planned to be able to control all the races of Middle-earth. Luckily, his plan didn't work out. Unlike his master, who wanted to rule over people, Sauron wanted to control people by removing all sense of being from his thralls. And for that reason, Sauron was worse than Morgoth.