Why are wargs scary

We actually see this happen to the Wargs in The Hobbit. The men from the south are many and well-armed, the wargs, despite their size and speed dare not attack them if there are many together [1]. With a typical animal if you have the strength to beat it in an open fight you have nothing to fear, but this is not the case with wargs. The men from the south have proven that they can outmatch the wargs in plain combat, but the wargs adapt. They have alliances with the goblins and plan a night-raid on the human settlement [1].

Even with the strength of a standing army is no guarantee against their threat. Wargs and their orc allies were a devastating force for the riders of Rohan, a trained army [3]. It is this cunning and strategy which makes wargs fearsome. You never know when you have beaten them. You can have success but then, through their intelligence, the wargs will change strategy. The only way to be sure that they are not a threat is to be sure that they don't exist. Thus, we can always be afraid of wargs.

The intelligence of wargs makes them more fearsome not only in the narrative but also as a narrative. One striking thing about most of Tolkien's villains is that they do not start evil. They are not only scary for the characters they are also scary in that the reader sees how anyone can become evil.

As soon as you give the wargs speech and decision making they can be vessels for sin and virtue. The wargs are wrathful, killing and eating victims with fury [1]. They seek war not peace with the men from the south [1]. Faenoriel and I were merely discussing the perils of grafting the natural history of our primary world onto Tolkien's secondary world, a sidebar conversation, if you will.

Per my first comment to your OP: Quote I may bemoan certain aspects of PJ's vision of Tolkien's legendarium primarily character assassination of a few players and Sauron-as-Lighthouse The design could have been better, but I attribute that in part to the CGI of the time, e.

More mobility would have helped just as it does in CGI'ed human faces, the uncanny valley and all that and at least in part might have alleviated some of the machine-like qualities.

As pointed out above, the gait was odd, too. With all that in mind, I'm not convinced a more lupine-like creature would have been an improvement given the technology at the time. I am sure we would have found something to carp about even if the critters were more wolf-like. On a semi-related note, the CGI'ed dire wolves of HBO's Game of Thrones are decent renditions to my eyes: realistic, but with a fluid, almost otherworldly quality, very fitting for the atmosphere.

They come across as beautiful, graceful predators, but I surely would not want one snarling in my face. So perhaps the latter might be improved, too, in the pending Hobbit? My guess is that the wargs will not be identical to those we saw in The Lord of the Rings. AinurOlorin Half-elven May 26 , am Views: What of the Wargs?

The problem with wolves Reminds me of a simpson episode. Faenoriel Tol Eressea May 26 , am Views: Wolves being beautiful is in keeping with the visuals of other M-E baddies. Arandir Gondor May 26 , am Views: Dances with Wargs?

Predatory behaviour. They could belong to different species. Xanaseb Tol Eressea May 26 , am Views: Really really really wish they re-design.

This is one of those areas where complete conitinuity will fail IMO. Why not have them look beautiful then?? If they make them look nice, it wouldn't be bad!

In a 'gothic sense'. Landon December 6, at PM. Anonymous May 22, at AM. Newer Post Older Post Home. Subscribe to: Post Comments Atom. Tol-in-Gaurhoth by Htogrom. A "vampire" and "werewolf" by Ted Nasmith. Mountain Warg by beastofoblivion. Warg and Goblin Rider by Justin Gerard. Goblins soon appeared, and set the trees on fire soon before Eagles arrived and rescued the Company.

A Warg eyeing Gimli in Peter Jackson's films. Decades later, on January 13 of TA , the Fellowship of the Ring was attacked by a group of Wargs, presumably sent by Saruman to waylay them after the failed attempt to cross the Redhorn Pass.

The Wargs fled after their first assault, but returned with reinforcements. Eventually, this second assault also failed, and by morning the Fellowship noticed that the carcasses of the slain had vanished. Aragorn knew them to be from "the mountains". The word warg comes from Old Norse vargr , meaning "wolf". In the Hobbit the Gandalf, Bilbo, and the Dwarves are being chased by Wolves Wargs and like the book, are chased up a tree. Gandalf defends the group from the wolfs, using magic infused pinecones, until Goblins riding the wolves begin to burn the tree.

However, they are soon rescued by Gwahir and his Eagles.