Balrogs

[TMA_1]

I am starting on a concept sketch of what I think a balrog looks like, and I must say it is pretty neat looking! Ill scani t when I am finished.

anyways I would like some input from what you guys think about it. What do you guys think a balrog looks like exactly? I see it as a lot different than the movie. See, the movie made it look powerful, no getting around that, but it was just so darn cliche that it was not scary at all. I wasent afraid when I saw it, and it gave me no creepy feeling which is good when you have monsters or villians in a film or in a graphic novel. It has to be terrifying when it comes to this kind of stuff.

I took into account every reference in the Silmarillion and in the Fellowship of the Ring. What I got about a balrog is NOT what the movie showed.

In the books it is largely pure darkness, not wriethed in flames. It is so dark that it darkens the environment around it, and has an almost shadowed aura to it. It looks in stature like a siluette of a man, a blacker than black siluette. It has a mane of fire and brandishes a flame whip with one arm that is almost like a flame sword. I picture it with large horns, almost like a ram. (that is my addition). It has no bodily characteristics though to me because from what I read it is just pitch black. When you see it you can feel the ancient power and dark wisdom it holds.

Now these are only the balrogs that melkor twisted, not the good maiar that have bodies composed of fire elementals. A lot of what I listed above are my own interpritations from the book, but still much of it is what I got from reading. I know lots about the Tolkien universe now and I just love it a heck of a lot, so I try to interprit it as best I can, and show the true evil of the Balrog.

I just think they are one of the coolest villains ever created, and it is one of a few things that disappointed me about the movie, I could list more but thati snt what this post was about (and dont get me wrong the movies were WONDERFUL! I am just ssaying from my own interpritations from the books).

anyways I would like all of your input. also what you guys thought a balrog looked like from the books.

[Mahdi]

Wow, that title sure mislead me.

[TMA_1]

lol... ookay, you weirdo ;)

If it is kinda confusing, think I should change it? want to get the maximum input I can possible on this.

[EWS]

When I imagine a balrog, i imagined a big beast that wasnt entirely of bodily shape.  As in it wasnt really there, just smoke and fire.  I will re-read the description though and then see what I think.  Unless you can post it?

[Tezcatlipoca]

Do not give it wings. Whatever you do, do not give it wings. It's one of the biggest misinterpretations of his works that float around, and is still hotly contended by people that.. contend about it hotly...

But basically, what the pro-wingers push as evidence, is simply another instance of his use of metaphors, which he uses heavily anywhere and everywhere.

[SurlyPIG]

What the Devil is a Balrog? ???  I think the only time I've heard of it was as a sword in Diablo II...

[ordos45]

LOTR Monster.

[Caid Ivik]

by the best LotR artist, Howe

http://people.via.ecp.fr/~jm/musee/howe/balrog.jpg

http://www.mythologicalmovieclub.org/images/t-balrog.jpg

What the Devil is a Balrog? ???  I think the only time I've heard of it was as a sword in Diablo II...

actually, Balrog Skin was an armor...

[Vanguard3000]

The LOTR Balrog I think is one of those things that is impossible to describe or depict adequately.  I think it is more a mindset to the beholder, than an actual being.  It's a bit hard to describe, but I always pictured it as something like a void, which exists more in the mind's eye than in the... eye's eye.  As TMA said, it was described as absorbing light from around it.  Like when you see a shadow in the corner of your eye, and you turn to look directly at it, and it's not there.

I never pictured it as having skin, like in thsoe two sketches, or being in a state of perpetual immolation, like in the film.

[TMA_1]

yeah I tend to agree with you vanguard, and no I dont picture it as having wings.

I picture it too as not exactly overtly evil. Like argh i will kill you and eat you! argh! lol that seems too silly to me, and not in accordance with the description.

The description shows it as very careful, and very intelligent. Also it seems to be extremely "magical", which is a bad word to use because it is a Maiar, in a sense a demi-god in equivilancy. I guess the best way to describe it is semi-godlike in powers. You also get a sense of how ancient it is.

of course if you read the silmarillion then you REALLY get an idea of how old it is.lol thanks for the info guys helps a lot :)

I guess a good description of what it would look like are similar to a creature in babylon 5.

Remember that episode when it talks about solders stationed on a planet during the earther-minbari wars? and there was this demonic creature that would feed off the solders of the planet? Remember what it looks like? I guess it is kinda like that, yet not so flashy, or kinda like a shadow ship in a way, but not really... hmm that doesnt help.lol

[ordos45]

Remember that episode, I've got a basic idea now.