The elf king Fingolfin. He took on MORGOTH and almost won at one point.

Were he still alive, Gil-Galad. He didn't get any credit in the films, but he helped defeat Sauron in the books. If you're putting Aragorn, Isildur and Elendil on this list, Gil-Galad is a definite winner in a matchup against a Balrog. I'd go so far as saying he has a better chance coming out alive than a mere mortal, but were he to be at peace with his own death, that Balrog is as good as dead.

Tom Bombadill enters the chat! cant belive he was forgotten! Others from the third age only Smaug,Beorn,Treebeard,Helm Hammerhand(doubtful)Witchking,from second age Elendil,Ar,Phazaron,Gil Galad, A few great Dragons were probably alive in second age,First Age to many!

Some first age warriors would have a good chance i think. Fëanor, Fingolfin, Beren and Turin should be capable of 'trading' their lives at least. Considering that Fëanor held his ground against multiple balrogs before he was slain i think he would survive the fight with durins bane easily

I think Elrond is more a trader than a hail Mary but the sentiment i agree with, one you didn't add which I think is a contender as well, is Gil-Galad

What about Ecthelion of the Fountain. Dude personally killed two Dragons and three Balrogs while defending the South Gate during the fall of Gondolin. He was the last elf standing in Gondolin and, unarmed, sacrificed himself to slay Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs, High Captain of Angband, Melkior's right hand, high daddy of the armies of Hell and eater of Durin's Bane for Breakfast. He was also probably the original wielder of Orcrist (later wielded by Thorin Oakenshield's ), with which he cleaved and butchered so many orcs and goblins during the Fall of Gondolin that the sword was still remembered and dreaded by goblins 7000 years later.

In the 6 books...Gandalf the white, Saruman, Glorfindel. Noteable characters from the history, Glorfindel, Azaghal, Feanor and Fingolfin.

Sauron would rather turn Durin’s Bane to his service, excellent distinction there. I think Tolkien magic is a type of lifeforce, like physical strength. Depleting your magical power will exhaust and even kill you just as tangible efforts. Either way, Tolkien wasn’t interested in creating a DnD like explanation for the mechanics so…🤷🏻 I can’t see Aragorn defeating a Balrog, but one of his Numenorean forebears presumably could, at the cost of their own life-ditto for Turin, in fact he’s the most likely of any mortal to slay a minion of Morgoth. For a real Hail Mary, I’d suggest a tag team of Beren and Luthien (goodest boi Huan unfortunately wouldn’t be of much help); their strategy against Morgoth would likely work even better against a lesser Maiar.

If Elrond is a Hail Mary pick (which I agree with) then I would probably want to give at least that to his dear old dad Earendil. Granted it wasn't solo and he had his "ship" to help but he did manage the killing blow on Ancalagon the Black, i.e. the dragon that makes Smaug look like a cute little pet by comparison. As for elves who could at least pull a mutual, I gotta think that Feanor has a shot. IT took several of them including Gothmog to take down a tired Feanor the first time and he survived for a bit after the right. Facing down a single Balrog, while fresh, I think he could pull it off. And then there is Fingolfin. I mean the dude threw hands with Morgoth and actually hurt the big bad. As in permanently hurt him. So if we acknowledge Morgoth is winning vs the Balrog then I am betting on Fingolfin. Honestly I would think he has a good shot as mightiest of all elves ever.

Another great video thanks for the shoutout!

One character I didn’t hear that I’m curious about is the witch King

Speaking of Ungoliant, it was actually the balrogs that drove her off in the end

Honorary mention to Feanor and Fingolfin. Feanor died after a battle where he single handedly fought against all of the balrogs, including Gothmog. Its not so wild to speculate that he would do much better in a 1vs1 duel than Glorfindel ever could. And Fingolfin fought a 1vs1 duel against Morgoth - the strongest being that is physically present in the universe (maybe aside from Ungolianth), and held his own for a long time, ultimately causing a serious wound to his opponent. He was also significantly more powerful than Glorfindel. Those two may not be Maiar or Valar, but I´d say that they should still be able to walk all over Durin´s bane and leave the battlefield without dying or maybe even suffering from a serious injury.

Great job, love to see new things

Pippin with a 12 gauge shotgun

Isildur and Elendil were both vastly more powerful than Aragorn.

I think you are underrating certain characters. Elrond’s grandfather Tuor, a mortal man, went on a balrog killing spree during the fall of Gondolin. Elrond also has the blood of a very powerful Maia on his mother’s side. At the very least he kills it, and quite possibly he could survive, as definitely would Galadriel who has just sick power. Aragorn is hard because yes his line has lost a bit in the years since Elendil, let alone Elros, brother of Elrond, but his lifespan exceeded that of recent descendants suggesting that the power of his line was somewhat restored him, making him more than a long shot. Elendil I think does kill the balrog at the cost of his life, as he and Gil-galad faced and threw down Sauron at his peak. No lucky Isildur finger cutting as was shown in the movie. They actually took down Sauron. I also think the Witch King could put up a good fight. There MAY also be a few other elves in middle earth of high enough lineage and power to kill the balrog and die in the effort, but the few named have nonexistent or conflicting lineage.

Problem with the Balrogs is that they are quite different from what they were in Silmarillion, where there were several dozens of them and only surpassed in Morgoths armies by the dragons. And back then it was a case of only the mightiest of heroes being able to beat one in a duel... with Ecthelion of Gondolin managing at the cost of his own life. But the idea of the Balrogs evolved when it came to LotR where there had really never been more than a handful or two of them and had functioned more like Morgoths generals the same way Sauron did rather than line breakers... possibly to differentiate them from trolls. And the idea evolved once more for the movie where they are a titanic demonic force with wings, rather than the shady creatures not much bigger than a man that they are in the books. While I will give that due to Tolkien favouring the underdogs, everyone on the list are within a shot of defeating the Balrog from the movies... I would say however that its more plausible it just steps on anyone that isn't Smaug or a physical Sauron. Smaug could do it with physical force, the dragons were supposed to be mightier than the Balrogs. Sauron on the other hand will have to resort to some form of magic, even that mace of his likely only bruises the Balrog and basically they are the same creatures under the skin... the Wizards just happened to pick very fragile forms and actually weren't meant to swing the tides of battle with their magics.

Great video

6.8 likes and 2.5k views? How is that possible lol. You deserve a lot more views that disparity aside

Elendiel (isildur father) was JACKED I think he was like 8ft Some other mentions What about the Witch king he was an insane sorcerer and Sauron second in command How bout Smaug?

Tom Bombadil. Bright Blue his Jacket is, and his boots are yellow. Could have done it easily, not even a contest.

Elrond is a full elf, despite being born from the lineage of man. Same as how Elros is a full human, but was blessed by Eru with a long lifespan. Take note that this distinction is important, because the soul of Elros will depart Arda, whereas Elrond will remain. The change they underwent was soul deep. His powers are that of an elf, and it can be agreed on that Eru does not make everyone equal. It is clear that Elrond was destined for greatness, and his life positioned in such a way as to guarantee the role he ends up fulfilling in the end. Ultimately, he was a cut above the rest. Having the most powerful ring (thematic with how Manwe embodies wind, so too does Vilea) definitely helps for something. Although power scaling is different in LotR than with video games, the concept of power remains true, and whatever benefit that could be gotten from the ring would be greater for Elrond. Other than this oversight, I liked your video.

I was going to say Smaug, but looking into it apparently in the Silmarillion Balrogs literally herded dragons around like sheep.

GENERAL QUESTION: In the video, you mentioned power being spent like currency, which i understand where you are coming from. You commented that Galadriel could do the same thing. I thought only Maiar and Valor like entities had this ability?

When I 1st saw the Balrog, omg I was in total awe.! I beleive only beings who can use magic could defeat the Balrogs.

Gandalf was only able to defeat the Balrog because he possessed Narya the Ring of Fire, the Red Ring) which granted him some resistance to fatigue. Maybe Narya also granted Gandalf some resistance to fire, but Tolkien never stated, and I only theorize.

Echtelion of Gondolin, Fingolfin (who wounded Melkor 7 times), Huan (that's cheating), Ancalagon the Black (dude literally might've been the size of a mountain), Glaurung, and perhaps Turin though i am not sure about that last one

Is Talion and Celibrmbor from the video game an option?

3:05 I laughed too.

Good know we can cross Durin off the list. One down a countless about of more characters to go.

Tom Bombadil would just keep a Balrog as a living stove...

Possibly a controversial choice, but: The Witch King of Angmar Thoughts everyone?

I think witch king of angmar might be able to win

7:33 equal to Feanor 😂😂😂😂 yeah that’s a f#*k no. 😂

It really does come down to whether you expect the fighter to survive or just kill the enemy before they die. This being a Balrog it seems to me just killing the damn thing is a victory even if you die. I would also point out we are operating here in a world where Sam, a simple Hobbit farmer, defeated Shelob the daughter of Ungoliant so the underdog does very much have a chance and the pound for pound fighter rule really does not apply the way it does in GOT. For instance I think Aragorn could certainly have the strength of will to kill the Balrog even if he almost certainly would die in the process.

Turgon king of gondolin killed the commander of the Balrogs at the cost of his life

sauron may not have good physical combat history, but i think he would actually be able to convince the balrog into servitude - perhaps with cunning words or just sheer might of presence. he was presumably higher ranked under morgoth, after all. i think the balrog would end up serving him if they ever came into contact when sauron was strong. ecthelion traded for a presumably significantly stronger balrog in gothmog, so i would speculate he could perhaps survive an encounter with this one. its very hard to say because not only is Tolkein vague about power levels like you say, our sources also arent necessarily aligned. the silmarillion was published after his death and he kept going back and changing his mind on many things over the decades of developing his legendarium. so its really hard to compare a first age legend like feanor to characters from LOTR, but if you were expanding to characters outside of LOTR, then you'd have to at least give mention to the likes of feanor (who took on a bunch of them and survived for a while, and was called the "greatest in body and mind" of all of the elves and men) and fingolfin (took on and wounded morgoth, not at his full power of course). other great elven warriors probably deserve mention too, i think thingol was very mighty. turin deserves mention for his dragon slaying and hurin for his prowess against orcs and the fact that he was called the mightiest man iirc. eardendil with a silmaril perhaps too. also gotta note that luthien played a song that put the entire fortress (or at least anyone in her path) of angband to sleep, including morgoth.

It's weird to stop and think of the actual relationship between Gandalf and the Balrog. The two of them come from the same divine stock, albeit ones which massively diverged from one another very early on. So it's kind of neat to think of there once being a time, very far back and before either of them entered the world, when the two were legit on the same team 🤔

What about the dude that killed Gothmog during the fall of Gondolin?

Gandalf, Glorfindel, and Ecthelion were the only characters to actually kill a balrog right?

Wait, didn't Glorfindel traded his life to defeat a Balrog, and then came back to middle earth STRONGER? wouldn't that mean that he could theoretically have a shot at killing Durin's Bane maybe at a great cost but not necessarily at the cost of his life?

Any thoughts on Tom Bombadil?

What if Balrog turned good? Instead of a red fire its a blue fire and Gandalf manage to talk some maia sense to it and giving wisdom. Give it a purpose to live in a good way and defeat Sauron. Coz Sauron would only treat Balrog as a useful tool and not as a friend like Gandalf. Balrog and Gandalf got pretty much in common too both wielding power of flames and fire.

Glaurong and Grond.

What about Gothmog the Lord of Balrogs? And what about the Witch King? If we're playing Saurumon could win because he was Saurumon the White and Gandalf the White could beat the Balrog, wouldnt the Witch King be able to win under the pretense that he broke Gandalf the Whites Staff? (Whats a wizard without his staff in Tolkiens world?)

Where does Tolkien say the Balrogs "were created from the lesser of these beings"?

Always had Sauron pegged as more of a builder than a fighter and would put him in the trading deaths at full power and squashed by the Balrog if weakened, his influence does more than his fists the others stand a good chance but would also place the watcher in the water as a strong contender along with Legolas as a might since he's very ranged then Tom bombadil can sing the balrog to sleep

Durin's Bane, and Sauron himself have nothing on the Master Chief, or should I say Spartan 117. Isaac Clark is a close second.

I certainly wonder what the witch king might be capable of. He was able to semi challenge gandalf with the help of sauron most likely, and was clearly a great warrior, let alone his cunning in sticking around and taking out arnor while sauron was still unable to take any form. He may have a shot.. Other characters would be smaug, gandalf had no interest in taking him on one on one, and though yes, killed by an arrow, would be set up well against a balrog.In addition gil galad, likely could have, being around galadriel, but greater then elrond.

Sauron technically is a Balrog

The show that will not be named? What show? Anyway let’s continue 😂😂😂

What about Smaug?

I have a question, who could take down a Mumakil by itself? So far only Legolas and army of the dead can take down Mumakil easily and another mumakil but Legolas single handling a mumakil all by himself very skilled but what if it was Aragorn standing there and facing The mumakil? Could Aragorn do the same thing or could Gimli? Maybe not but that would be interesting topic.

Witch King with luck maybe. Smaug, Tom Bombadil, from Silmarillion obviously many characters like Feanor who did nothing wrong and Fingolfin.

I think that Thorin Oakenshield with a dwarvish ring of power, uncurritpted by dragon sickness and with his elf sword might be able to do the job and kill a belrog. He took on a flipping dragon. And bard the bowman actually killed a dragon. These two, at the cost of their lived could kill the belr og

Thranduil had reseved a dragon fire and i bet draon fire is way hotter than bal rog flaming whip strike. And thranduil is totally fine. I think these high caliber elfs like elrond, thranduil, glorfindel could take on bal rog.

I’m not that big into LOTR, but would a Dragon like Smaug stand a chance?

Next I think you should do a video of people who EASILY beat the Balrog bc as soon as you start talking about Fingolfin or Feanor, Durins Bane is DUST.

Tom Bombadil?

Smaug?

Gandalf defeating the Balrog was a plot device only. He should have lost the fight 100/2. The Balrog realistically should only be defeatable by Smaug, a Mountain Giant, and maybe one of the Great Eagles.

shelob smaug giant eagles not mentioned .. i suppose tom bombadil;s wife goldberry was a mair there's also cardin tharandruil and celeberian ... but l the balrog was just a killing drone that would overpower anyone that wasn't tom bombadil

But Gandalf beating the Nazgul (regular human kings that were giving essentially immortality, if they served Sauron) isn't really anything. It would be the same as a Valar beating a couple of trolls, doesn't really take anything for them to do, the power deferential is way to vast.

Tom bombadil

I find it very "Tom!" jarring in your narration "Tom!" when you keep shouting out "Tom!"

Gothmog could take Durin's bane. Gothmog literally the big brother.

Samwise Gamgee > Balrog

I don't want to be that guy... But Balrogs were designed to be the apex of lethality. (until dragons came along) No other maiar could really just easily beat them. ((Sauron/Gandalf the White/Saruman the White wouldn't be able to kill a Balrog without also dying))

Gimli could ez pz

The show was fine, and Galadreil's representation in it was fine. The issue comes with people believing that they can accurately track her character progression through 3000 years of her history. She was what she was, then she changed.