Who would be most powerful with the one ring?

Which, in your opinion would have been the most powerful, had they taken the One Ring and why:

Galadriel
Elrond
Cirdan
Gandalf
Saruman
Thranduil
Celeborn
Balrog of Morgoth
Shelob
The Witch King of Angmar


pleeze send replkys and reasoins y. i love to argue.

thnx


Telpecair

[lord of dor-lomin]

Not sure what order they'd be in, but I'd definitely go with Gandalf, Saruman, or the balrog.

I just don't think that non-angelic beings would be powerful enough to fully harness the power. In the books some of the characters thought they could, such as Galadriel, but that was merely her opinion. I think I saw someone recently post on another thread that Tolkien didn't believe that an elf or man could control the ring and use its full power.

[Jurion]

Morgoth of course, but he's not in your list. After him it's Sauron.

From your list, I'd say Gandalf or Saruman. They are both stronger than a balrog, Gandalf destroyed one, so Saruman probably could do the same thing.

[Naldoriathil]

It's between Gandalf and Saruman for me. I think before Saruman became a traitor he would have been more powerful than Gandalf. However, when Gandalf became Gandalf the White, he became so much more powerful than anyone would have imagined. Plus I think he would have used it in different ways than the rest of your list because he is kinder than them. Just a thought..... [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

[the witch king]

I think the Balrog, the ring wouldnt be twisting all he did to evil coz well he'd be doing evil.

[Neferchoirwen]

I'd say Galadriel. If the ring were on her finger, then elves and men will be enslaved to her, as well as the orcs.

I know there's another angle to that idea, but I can't point it out just yet. Anyone can try to rebut my idea.

[eleanor_niphredil]

The balrog? I know that he is a maiar, but does he have enough free will? When he chased the fellowship, was it the ring he wanted?

I would say sauron, as if gandalf had the ring, surley sauron would eventualy corrupt him to? The ring and sauron are one, so gandalf with the ring could not destroy sauron without destroying the ring, and we all know that no one with the ring can destroy it. Therefor Sauron would live on, and eventualy, Gandalf(or whoever) would bend to his will.

[ February 13, 2003: Message edited by: eleanor_niphredil ]

[the witch king]

Who knows, id love to think of a Balrog with the ring Nasty! I thort we were only picking from the list given.

[lathspell]

If this is at the End of the third age, after the fall of Sauron, I'd go for Gandalf. Galadriel also would be powerful. They'de both be too strong to oppose or fight.

[Peri]

Well, I can't really think of that many people...but the first person that came to mind was Galadriel. For starters, she is the oldest elf who still remains in M.E. And she is very wise and her powers are very strong. I think that if anybody could have controlled the ring, it would have been her.

[Laialthriel]

Of course: Galadriel. She's a woman. Of course she's going to dominate! No, I'm just joking. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

On the serious side now...I really think that Gandalf would have been the most dangerous. With Saruman and Galadriel in a close second. I had some deep, theological thoughts as to why I think this, but they have eluded me for the moment. [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] Drat...


Laialthriel

[lord of dor-lomin]

It's great that you guys like Galadriel and all, but an elf, man, or dwarf is no match for a Maia. In a physical battle the lines are more blurred (eg Glorfindel & Ecthelion killed balrogs), but when it comes to sheer power of spirit, elves and men were not as great (except maybe Feanor, and Luthien too- but she was part Maia).

However, I completely agree with eleanor_niphredil, and believe that it wouldn't really matter who took the ring. They'd eventually be overcome by Sauron. They could perhaps destroy his armies and all using the ring, but as long as they don't destroy the ring itself, Sauron would live on, and they'd eventually bend to his will.

[Meela]

celeborn. its always the quiet ones [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

[balrogman]

I'll have to say the balrog, just because hes so damn cool!!! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Seriously, I think Gandalf would be the strongest because the dudes a wizard!!

[Legolas]

Gandalf, undoubtedly. Tolkien said so.

He spells it out in Letter No. 246:

Of the others only Gandalf might be expected to master him – being an emissary of the Powers and a creature of the same order, an immortal spirit taking a visible physical form. In the 'Mirror of Galadriel', 1381, it appears that Galadriel conceived of herself as capable of wielding the Ring and supplanting the Dark Lord. If so, so also were the other guardians of the Three, especially Elrond. But this is another matter. It was part of the essential deceit of the Ring to fill minds with imaginations of supreme power. But this the Great had well considered and had rejected, as is seen in Elrond's words at the Council. Galadriel's rejection of the temptation was founded upon previous thought and resolve. In any case Elrond or Galadriel would have proceeded in the policy now adopted by Sauron: they would have built up an empire with great and absolutely subservient generals and armies and engines of war, until they could challenge Sauron and destroy him by force. Confrontation of Sauron alone, unaided, self to self was not contemplated. One can imagine the scene in which Gandalf, say, was placed in such a position. It would be a delicate balance. On one side the true allegiance of the Ring to Sauron; on the other superior strength because Sauron was not actually in possession, and perhaps also because he was weakened by long corruption and expenditure of will in dominating inferiors. If Gandalf proved the victor, the result would have been for Sauron the same as the destruction of the Ring; for him it would have been destroyed, taken from him for ever. But the Ring and all its works would have endured. It would have been the master in the end.

Gandalf as Ring-Lord would have been far worse than Sauron. He would have remained 'righteous', but self-righteous. He would have continued to rule and order things for 'good', and the benefit of his subjects according to his wisdom (which was and would have remained great).

[The draft ends here. In the margin Tolkien wrote: 'Thus while Sauron multiplied [illegible word] evil, he left "good" clearly distinguishable from it. Gandalf would have made good detestable and seem evil.']

[Yavanna Kementari]

I'm not sure any of them would be as terrible as Melkor if it were possible for him to get ahold of it!! IMHO -(~<~> Yavanna

[MLD-Grounds-Keeper-Willie]

There are some good guesses, however, I think that maybe an orc would actually be pretty powerful. Maybe Ugluk or Shagrat. The reason I think so is because there were so many orcs, and most, if not all, were ruled by Sauron. If a great orc warrior were to obtain the ring so powerful, then he would become much more powerful himself. But, mainly I think that it would be sort of pride. A war he waged would be an orc war, not Sauron's war. Most likely every orc would be fighting together with pride for teh gains of their race. Do you see what I'm getting at? I'll explain further if anyone wants me to.

But, there are others that would be more powerful than an orc. Just to name a few (and in no particular order): Gandalf, Morgoth, the Balrog....

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Well, Sauron is more powerful than anyone on the original list so of course it wouldn't have mattered who had the Ring; Sauron would have won them over.

But Gandalf was the most powerful in the list, especially after Saruman's downfall.

[the witch king]

I dont think the ring would have made Morgoth more powerful after all he's way way more powerful than Sauron, in the 3rd age he would have no bother in crushing the free peoples of m/e.

[the guy who be short]

sauron and gandalf thw white would be equal in my opinion. then saruman and the balrog. then all the elves. then the men.

[Balin999]

In my opinion it's obvious that Sauron would be the strongest with the ring, well, because it is his power that's in the ring. If Isildur wouldn't have cut the ring off his hand, Sauron would have kicked the Last Alliance's a**.
Sauron is the only one who can control the ring, he is the one with the greatest power in middle earth, he would have destroyed middle earth with the ring. Sauron rocks! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

[Aragorn2002]

I think it would be Gandalf because according to himself in the first book that would be like the dark lord himself. Sauroman too though.
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