Who is the most powerful man in Lord of the Rings?
The strongest character in The Lord of the Rings is easily the Dark Lord, Sauron. Even in defeat, he was still one of the strongest magic users in Lord of the Rings. Sauron commanded a host of armies and led more than one conquest to take control of Middle-earth.
When he couldn't accomplish that, he began to war against the other Valar and rule over Middle-earth with his fires and evil creations. With this turn to darkness, Melkor became known as Morgoth. While at war, Morgoth lured many beings to his cause.
Though Aragorn was far younger than Legolas, he had much more experience as a soldier before The Lord of the Rings. Aragorn grew up in Rivendell, where he likely learned how to fight from the Elves.
Glorfindel is probably the best swordsman alive while Aragorn is living. Of course, as others have said Turin, Hurin, Ecthelion, Fingolfin and even Fingon (who held his own for a while against Gothmog until another one lashed him with a whip from behind) and likely many such others would far surpass Aragorn's prowess.
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.
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.
Finally Sauron came out to fight Elendil and Gil-galad face to face. When Elendil fell, his sword Narsil broke beneath him. Isildur took up the hilt-shard of Narsil and cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand, vanquishing Sauron.
"He was tall as a young tree, lithe, immensely strong, able swiftly to draw a great war-bow and shoot down a Nazgûl, endowed with the tremendous vitality of Elvish bodies, so hard and resistant to hurt that he went only in light shoes over rock or through snow, the most tireless of all the fellowship."
This article refers to the race itself. For other namesakes, see Uruk-hai (disambiguation). Uruk-hai (for short, Uruks) were brutal warriors of Middle-earth, and the strongest breed of Orc.
Galadriel's powers were so vast that it's said that other powerful beings like Saruman or even Elrond could not fully comprehend them. The powers she did have were used for good, of course, such as protecting Lothlórien and even toppling Dol Guldur, a fortress that was enhanced by Sauron's magic.
Ultimately, the only being more powerful than Morgoth in his prime was Eru Ilúvatar. Only the combined effort of the Valar could stop Morgoth, and only after countless battles. Sauron might have bested his mentor under certain circumstances, but Morgoth is the greater Dark Lord by every metric.
Without question, Dracule Mihawk has earned his reputation as the World's Strongest Swordsman. None question his strength or skill, and he has yet to be legitimately bested in a single moment of on-screen combat.
1. Miyamoto Musashi—Japan's Sword Saint. Miyamoto Musashi in the Duelling Hall. The life of Japanese samurai Miyamoto Musashi is obscured by myth and legend, but this “sword saint” reportedly survived 60 duels—the first of which was fought when he was just 13 years old.
The truth is that they both have very different strengths when it comes to battles, so it's like comparing apples to oranges. Gimli really represents the best of dwarven warriors while Legolas represents the strength and skill of the elves.
Throughout The Hobbit, Thorin Oakenshield evidences himself to be the finest warrior in his company, and during the Battle of Azanulbizar, he bests the strongest Orc of his time — Azog the Defiler.
While the actor portraying Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings movies appears as a normal man, Middle-earth lore makes it clear that the men of Númenor are far stronger than the average human. And so, no matter how skilled Jaime is, Aragorn could likely tire him out before even breaking a sweat.
In a one-on-one battle, Galadriel would likely lose to Sauron. Even though she's an Elf, both powerful and intelligent, Sauron is Maiar. Odds are, Sauron didn't fear a physical defeat — only a fellow Maia ring-bearer could physically oppose him and win, after all — but Galadriel is threatening in other ways.
Rather than cast magic at Sauron, Galadriel opts to challenge him on the spiritual plane; she resorts to her Wrath form to penetrate Sauron's mind and break his will. She obviously succeeds, as Sauron audibly cries aloud as he flees.
Why didn't Galadriel face Sauron in Lord of the Rings if she was powerful enough to fight him? Because she was not. She could never win in a one on one fight against a prepared Sauron.
