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.
Does Sauron appear in The Lord of the Rings books?
Sauron (pronounced [ˈsaʊrɔn]) is the title character and the primary antagonist, through the forging of the One Ring, of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, where he rules the land of Mordor and has the ambition of ruling the whole of Middle-earth.
Sauron is a character in both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. He appears in the first film of the original trilogy. Sauron is also the main antagonist of all six films.
Sauron is too terrifying and disturbing to be easily displayed. Scenes such as the death of Gorlim, the Necromancer, the torture and death of Finrod, the human sacrifices that Sauron made in Númenor for his master Lucifer Morgoth... are quite strong for even a youthful audience.
According to the Silmarillion Sauron was a Maiar. Maia are immortals but can fully incarnate into a human-like appearance when needed. Sauron did this several times most notably in Númenor and at the famous siege of Barad-dûr where Isildur cut the One Ring from the hand of Sauron's then-incarnated physical body.
Sauron was the most powerful of the Maiar—primordial spirits created to help the Valar first shape the World. His original name was Mairon, which means "the Admirable," and as an immortal spirit born before the world's creation, he was able to perceive the Creator Eru Ilúvatar directly.
Bloodlines are very important in Tolkien's stories, and it makes a lot of sense that Sauron would fear the great-grandson of the man who cut off his hand. Aragorn carried the blood of Numenor with him. His genetic connection to the heroes of the Second Age established him as a dangerous opponent of Sauron.
In Tolkien's The Return of the King, Sauron never fights Aragorn. In fact, Sauron's appearance is never properly described, perhaps because he's a notorious shapeshifter. As such, showing Aragorn fighting Sauron would be a disservice to the author.
Morgoth is the more powerful of the two. Morgoth was the mightiest of the Valar, a group whose weakest member would outpace Sauron. However, there are some circumstances and eras in which Sauron would win the day. Morgoth was born far beyond Sauron but lost and surrendered much of his power.
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.
Isildur used a broken sword to cut the Ruling Ring off Sauron's hand. Sauron was fatally wounded by Gil-galad and Elendil as Sauron killed them. Gandalf took the job of blocking the Balrog - and he was barely able to defeat the Balrog (in fact, he died in the process).
Since their will was not bound to Sauron now, it is more likely that they ran away in terror and scattered across Middle-earth. After Sauron's defeat, Aragorn and his army killed the remaining Orcs in Mordor.
After lying hidden and increasing his power in secret, in S.A. 1200 Sauron put on a fair visage, calling himself Annatar, the Lord of Gifts, an emissary from the Valar.
Although he is only mentioned and does not actually appear in The Hobbit, the Necromancer, Sauron, is still a significant character. The Necromancer in The Hobbit acts as a plot device, drawing Gandalf away from the party of dwarves (and Bilbo Baggins) as they travel to the Lonely Mountain.
The Extended Edition of The Desolation of Smaug confirms Gandalf the Grey's fears of Smaug being in league with Sauron as Thráin reveals in Dol Guldur. Should the Dragon have survived its attack upon Lake-town, then the Dark Lord would have used him to devastating effect against the Free Peoples in the North.
"So I think in his pitch to Galadriel, it cannot mean that he loves her or that there's any kind of romantic relationship. There should be no ambiguity around the fact that Sauron is evil — he's terrible, and he's using Galadriel to enhance his power."
The first Dark Lord was the rebel Vala first known as Melkor and then as Morgoth. Denied the demiurgic power he desired, he was consumed by a nihilistic purpose: the destruction of Middle-earth. The second Dark Lord was Morgoth's successor, the subversive Maia named Mairon, and later Sauron.
Though wizards are technically Maiar, they do not possess all the same abilities in their wizard forms. This is why, despite Balrogs and Sauron also being Maiar, Gandalf wasn't evenly matched in his wizarding form—especially as Gandalf the Grey.
He fought in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and at the Black Gate, and watched as Sauron was defeated and Barad-dûr collapsed. After the destruction of the One Ring, Legolas remained in Minas Tirith for Aragorn's coronation and marriage to Arwen.
Galadriel was very close to her brother Finrod, who could be seen in episode one of The Rings of Power, and when he was mortally wounded by a wolf of Sauron, Galadriel swore vengeance. She, like her Lord of the Ring's parallel, had a deep sense of right and wrong, of light and dark.
Aragorn and Legolas are long-time companions and best friends since Legolas' father Thranduil sent him to live among the Rangers of the North. Aragorn and Legolas grew close, up to the point where Aragorn revealed his true identity to Legolas. Throughout his journeys, Aragorn and Legolas are as close as brothers.
