Which Names Were Worth "1,000 Mail-Clad Knights?

[Boromir88]

Originally Posted by Mumriken

I find it kinda silly how Sauron is looked up at to the extent that he is by so many. While he is a great enemy he is not as powerful as some think. There are many creatures in middle earth more dangerous and more powerful than him. Even many of the good guys could defeat him in the condition he is at the end of the third age. Remember we aren't talking about Sauron in the old days under morgoth or when he had his ring.

Don't blame us, blame Mr. Tolkien:

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', 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.~Letter 246

In the 3rd Age, it can be argued Gandalf may have been able to overthrow Sauron (only if Gandalf attempted to master the Ring), but as is clear, it is only Gandalf who "might be expected to master him." Your list of others is a ton and ton of speculation.

Power and peril is a vague and general term in LOTR. It doesn't have clearly defined boundaries and meaning "since Gandalf is more powerful than Aragorn, Gandalf would beat Aragorn in a fight." Many times there are certain circumstances and situations which require specific "powers" (or magic, you might say) which allow for events to play out the way they do. For example, The Witch-King was a far more powerful and dangerous foe then Eowyn and Merry. But Merry carried an enchanted blade, wound with spells specifically designed to be the bane of the Witch-King, and when Merry snuck in a wound with the blade, this broke the Witch-King's power, allowing Eowyn to defeat him.

Or we see Gandalf struggling with opening the door in Moria. He tries every opening spell he knows...and he knows a ton of spells. Yet, as powerful as the spells might be, the door wouldn't open. All Gandalf had to do was follow the directions haha..."speak friend and enter." Anyway, Moria's door could not be opened by sheer power or Gandalf's knowledge of spells, but simply by knowing the answer to a riddle. Sauron rightfully feared Aragorn, a descendant of his most hated enemy, if Aragorn had the Ring. This however does not equate to Aragorn having a greater innate power to Sauron.

As far as Sauron's battle in the Last Alliance and defeat there...it's actually not Isildur who overthrows Sauron. The Eldar and Edain had been laying siege to Barad-dur for 7 years and Barad-dur was not going to be conquered until the Ring was destroyed. Sauron decides to come out and challenge both Elendil and Gil-galad in combat. And it is Elendil and Gil-Galad (together) who overthrow Sauron. Elendil and Gil-galad also die in this battle, and while Sauron is laying beaten on the ground, Isildur cuts the Ring off to claim as weregild for the death of his father and brother.