A Balrog of Morgoth. Those words of Gandalf’s terrorized even Legolas, an eternal being who did not fear much. In the movie, the vision of the smoking, flaming Balrog with bat-like wings emerging from the shadows of Moria revealed a true match for our favorite wizard.
With those huge wings, however, comes question: does the Balrog fly?
Interestingly there is no mention in any of Tolkien’s books of a Balrog flying. During their fight, the beast fell when Gandalf struck the bridge.Additional information can be found at http://epicbrew.net/2011/09/18/geek-speak-weekly-balrogs/. They then climbed the stairs to the top of the mountain. From there Gandalf threw him down from the peak and broke the mountainside when he hit.
If the Balrog could fly, would he have fallen from the bridge or been thrown from the mountainside? The key is found in a description from the book:
“His enemy halted again, facing him, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings.”
In the book, the wings are a representation of the depths of his evil and menace. From this description the movie designers chose to show the creature with physical wings. However, the Balrog never uses them to fly, but rather to intimidate Gandalf at their confrontation.
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