[LotR] Toy Biz's Balrog toy revealed!

[Welverin]

Wait a minute... if it has wings, why didn't it fly out of the pit?...

Tolkien never actually said the Balrog had wings, he didn't say elves had pointy ears either.

Here's why people think the Balrog had wings: FotR page 344, second paragraph from the bottom, third sentence '...and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings."

So as you can see he didn't fly out of the pit because shadows don't provide enough lift, plus even if they did it's a REALLY big pit and his wings would get tired before he ever got back to the top and he'd just fall to the bottom again.

 

[Akunin]

But you didn't put the second quote in your message (from a little further down in the text):

...suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall...

This is what Tolkien fans call the "Great Debate" It's probably the most hotly-debated topic among fans, followed closely by the Elves and their ears. There is no clear answer as to whether the wings were physical or metaphorical, or whether the "shadow" is merely what we think of when we say a thing has a shadow or rather something more tangible.

To make matters worse, a quote from The History of Middle-earth is often brought up:

Swiftly they arose, and they passed with winged speed over Hithlum, and they came to Lammoth as a tempest of fire.

which is countered with Gandalf telling the Fellowship that he "threw down" the Balrog and the tale of Glorfindel's fight with a Balrog, in which both fell from a pinnacle of rock.

I don't think we'll ever see a definitive resolution to the question.

The Encyclopedia of Arda has an excellent entry on the Balrog that goes into much greater detail on the "Great Debate".

As for the Elves and their ears? In The Letters of JRR Tolkien and The Lost Road, Tolkien describes the elves as having ears shaped like mallorn leaves. In Tolkien's notes for his invented languages, the Elves' words for "Ear" and "Leaf" have the same root. He noted that it was possible that because of this etymology, their ears were pointed, but never directly says it in his books. (This was taken from a note in Chapter 8 of The Annotated Hobbit.)

 

[Bran Blackbyrd]

It didn't fly out of the pit because Luke Skywalker killed it by crushing it with the door. Oops, wrong creature, the face just looked familiar...

What I want to know is why there is always someone who pops up and says something like, "You're assuming normal physics apply." Of course we are, why shouldn't we? All things being equal, unless it's stated that normal physics aren't in affect, it's a pretty safe bet to assume they, indeed, are in affect.

 

[Harlequin]

...

Peguins ahve wings but they cant fly

Emu's have wings but they dont fly either...

But they sure run fast and can peck the livng crap
out of you!


Harlequin

 

[Horacio]

It didn't fly out of the pit because Luke Skywalker killed it by crushing it with the door. Oops, wrong creature, the face just looked familiar...

What I want to know is why there is always someone who pops up and says something like, "You're assuming normal physics apply." Of course we are, why shouldn't we? All things being equal, unless it's stated that normal physics aren't in affect, it's a pretty safe bet to assume they, indeed, are in affect.

If you take normal physics as a rule, Dragons couldn't never flight with their (rather heavy) weights and their (rather small) wings...

 

[Squire James]

Wings or not, it is obvious that the Balrog Gandalf met was either unwilling or unable to fly. There's nothing in particular to indicate which of these two options was the case. It's sorta like those questions about why Sauron wasn't invisible... it's kinda hard to tell if it were because he couldn't do it, or because he simply didn't want to do it.

 

[PenguinKing]

If you take normal physics as a rule, Dragons couldn't never flight with their (rather heavy) weights and their (rather small) wings...

We're not talking about dragons, are we? A specific example where normal physics don't apply doesn't invalidate the generalization.

To put it another way, the existance of the fireball spell doesn't repeal the law of gravity.

- Sir Bob.

P.S. Nih!

 

[Welverin]

But you didn't put the second quote in your message (from a little further down in the text):

Oops, didn't read far enough while getting the quote. Based on the later paragraph I'd have to say that the Balrog does have wings and I have no idea why it doens't fly. Also the quote I gave is just a comment on shadows.

At least I looked up the quote before posting, that counts for something doesn't it?

 

[Bran Blackbyrd]

If you take normal physics as a rule, Dragons couldn't never flight with their (rather heavy) weights and their (rather small) wings...

Bumblebees.




Having said that, I also agree with PenguinKing.

 

[Horacio]

Bumblebees.
Having said that, I also agree with PenguinKing.

Bumblebees?

If a normal fly grew to let's say horse size, and it weight grew up in the same proportion, it couldn't even stand on its legs... Insect can fly because they are really tiny, it they were bigger the weight of their chitinous exoskeleton would pin them on the ground...

That's one of the reasons why you don't see giant insects...