Fingolfin, receiving false news, rode alone to Angband and challenged Morgoth to single combat. He wounded Morgoth several times, but grew weary and was killed by the immortal Vala. Fingolfin has inspired artists, musicians and video game designers to create depictions of his deeds.
A whistle-stop history lesson sequence then recounts how the evil villain Morgoth destroyed the trees Telperion and Laurelin, and the Elves waged a long war against him in Middle-earth before eventually claiming victory after heavy losses.
Fingolfin drew his sword, Ringil, and the duel began. Many times Morgoth attempted to smite Fingolfin, but the Elven King managed to dodge all of Morgoth's blows, and wounded the Dark Lord seven times.
Morgoth was taken to Aman and tried for his crimes. In the end, the Valar un-housed Morgoth by beheading him and "thrust him through the Door of Night", beyond the Walls of the World and into the Timeless Void. The Door is forever guarded by Eärendil.
Ëonwë herald of Manwë, one of the Lords of the Maiar and most likely the most powerful non-Vala being in Arda. For those who have read the Silmarillion, it seems that it were the Valar who defeated Morgoth.
However, near the end, Morgoth had dispersed so much of his own power into the world, that (Tolkien wrote in a private letter) he was actually weaker than Sauron. Sauron made torture a specialty. Morgoth tortured people too, but Sauron was really into it.
Morgoth, the first to reign terror upon Middle-earth, was more powerful than Sauron and commanded an army of dragons and Balrogs. While both Morgoth and Sauron were cunning, Morgoth's rule and terror lasted longer and his corruption spread further, making him more formidable in the Lord of the Rings universe.
Nevertheless, according to the Second Prophecy of Mandos, Morgoth will come back and attack Arda. He will fight in the Last Battle against the Valar and their allies, but will ultimately be slain by Túrin Turambar, the Man he cursed.
She had no role in the major wars of the First Age, believing that defeating Morgoth was beyond the power of the Eldar; when Morgoth was defeated by the coming of the Valar out of the West she, having played no part in the earlier Kinslaying, was offered safe return to Valinor.
Gandalf pursued the monster for eight days, until they climbed to the peak of Zirakzigil, where the Balrog was forced to turn and fight, its body erupting into new flame. Here they fought for two days and nights. In the end, the Balrog was defeated and cast down, breaking the mountainside where it fell "in ruin".
In Tolkien's stories, Celebrimbor was an elven-smith who was manipulated into forging the Rings of Power by the Dark Lord Sauron, in fair disguise and named Annatar ("Lord of Gifts").
The Balrogs, or Valaraukar (singular Valarauko, Quenya for "Demon of power"), were three to seven Maiar seduced and corrupted by Morgoth into his service, turning into dreadful Úmaiar and scourges of fire cloaked in shadow.
Eöl, known as the Dark Elf, was the great smith who dwelled within Nan Elmoth. He was akin to Thingol of the Teleri of the First Age. His face was noble yet grim, "and his eyes could see deep into shadows and dark places", being night-sighted. Eöl built up a friendship with the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains.
In fact, Morgoth waged war against the Dwarves, particularly those who inhabited the lands of Beleriand in the First Age. The Dwarves were fiercely independent and were able to resist Morgoth's forces due to their great strength and skill at arms.
Of course, Gandalf had already fallen prey to the Balrog of Morgoth during the events of The Fellowship of the Ring. Yet, this fight was surprisingly an even match, since the Balrog was once an angelic being as well, meaning that their level of power came close to that of a wizard.
Thus, Galadriel's dark form in Jackson's The Lord of the Rings personified what would have occurred had the Lady of Lothlorien given in to temptation and taken the One Ring for herself. She would have succumbed to evil because the Ring was indomitable, even with her power.
As previously stated, Gandalf is a Maia and is therefore superior to Elves regarding power. Still, this isn't to say that an elf couldn't develop enough skill and power to defeat a Maia. As a bearer of one of the Three Elven Rings (Nenya), Galadriel would have an edge against Maiar like Saruman and Radagast.
The majority of her powers come from her Ring of Power, Nenya, the Ring of Water. The ring, also known by the names the White Ring and the Ring of Adamant, is one of the three Rings of Power given to the Elves of Middle-earth in the Second Age.
While Morgoth doesn't appear in The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, he plays a significant role in The Silmarillion and Tolkien's other writings, and his reign of terror had a far bigger impact on Middle-earth history than Sauron's — as seen in Amazon's The Rings of Power series.
Defeated by the Host of Valinor in the War of Wrath, Morgoth was banished from Middle-earth into the Timeless Void, though it was prophesied that he would one day return.
The Valar exile him permanently from the world, thrusting him through the Door of Night into the void, excluding him from Arda until the prophesied Dagor Dagorath, when he will meet his final destruction. His evil remains, however, and his will influences all living creatures.
"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."
Gandalf's main reason for supporting Thorin's quest in The Hobbit was to eliminate the threat of the dragon Smaug, who would be a powerful ally for Sauron. Despite popular belief, the Balrog known as Durin's Bane was more powerful than Smaug in Middle-earth, being a literal, primordial demon.
