There’s no denying the fact thatSauron was one of the most fearsome beingsto ever appear inThe Lord Of The Ringsuniverse. Throughout the trilogy, Sauron is poised as this mythical figure of evil that none in Middle Earth could ever hope to stand against. While that may mostly be true, many believe that Aragorn could have stood against the dark lord with relative ease.
While it’s easy to come to the conclusion that Aragorn likely could have beaten Sauron in a one-on-one fight, that might change if Sauron actually managed to retrieve the One Ring. There’s really no telling just how powerfulThe Lord Of The Rings’ lord of evil could have become once again with control of the ring.
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How Powerful Was Sauron With The One Ring?
Even before Sauron has the One Ring in his possession, he was one of the most powerful beings in Middle Earth’s history. The man was literally undyingthanks to his tie to the One Ringand was so strong that he could continuously reconstitute a physical form even after being destroyed time and time again. With the One Ring, Sauron would have been so powerful that no one could have stood against him. That’s especially true if Sauron has got his hands on the ring in the closing moments of the film trilogy.
If Sauron had gotten the ringfrom Frodo as he approached Mount Doom, both Aragorn and Gandalf would have already been wiped out by his forces, leaving Middle Earth with meager forces to be snuffed out whenever Sauron felt like it. He would have been able to take total control of Middle Earth with the snap of his fingers. With nothing but a weakened and low-morale army of Men to stand against Sauron, everything that lived would have been his unless the higher powers of Middle Earth decided to intervene in some way.
SinceSauron was already strikingly powerful, and the One Ring was intended to make him all the more powerful, his true strength would be god-like. He would have been capable of warping the minds and controlling the will of others, meaning he potentially might not need to war with the realm of Men, although he might want to just to inspire fear and demonstrate his power. With the One Ring, few would have been able to stand against him.
Could Aragorn Have Defeated Full-Strength Sauron?
The Short answer here is absolutely not, with a tiny caveat that it’s possible if Aragorn gotincredibly lucky as Isildur had. It’s important to always have that small caveat in case Sauron’s power once again returned to a similar arrogance. If it can be understood that Sauron would likely be much more cautious and less arrogant against a foe like Aragorn, there probably wouldn’t ever be an opportunity for Aragorn to cut down Sauron. In a one-on-one fight, Aragorn would have been toyed with, if not outright killed. The situation might be different if Aragorn stood with his allies against Sauron, but even if they squeaked out a win, the casualties would still have been high.
It’s probably fair to assume thatAragorn would have been a much more skilled combatantthan Sauron was, especially if his previous track record in battle is any indication. This means that Aragorn would still pose a threat to a full-strength Sauron, but it’s that very thing that would lead to the dark lord wanting to cut him down as quickly as possible. There would truly be nothing Aragorn could do except for relying on his skill, something that could fail him if Sauron proved so powerful that he was able to dominate the mind and will of Aragorn.
Could Aragorn Have Beaten Sauron If He Used The One Ring?
This question is a lot more tricky to find a true answer to. The actual answer is that it probably depends on the situation in whichAragorn was wielding the One Ring. Based on some information directly from Tolkien, the answer seems to be no, at least in the context of the situations Aragorn finds himself in withinThe Lord Of The Ringstrilogy. If things had played out differently, it does seem to be possible that Aragorn could have defeated Sauron, although things would have ended up just as badly as if Sauron had simply claimed the ring himself.
Once again, Aragorn seems to be a more skilled fighter than Sauron, which does give him the edge against a weakened Sauron. With the ring, Aragorn likely could have led a massive offensive against Sauron’s forces, crushing the evil of the land and taking the fight to the dark lord. Unfortunately, if Aragorn defeated Sauron, he would ultimately be doomed to fall tothe corruption of the ring, becoming a lord of darkness in his own right.
Without the destruction of the ring, this means that Sauron wouldonce again be able to reconstitute and build his power back up. If Aragorn had been corrupted by the ring, he’d eventually become so corrupted that Sauron would likely manage to gain control over her will, and have the ring hand delivered by Aragorn. So while a ring-wielding Aragorn likely could defeat Sauron under the right circumstances, he would ultimately end up losing thanks to the nature of the ring and how unstoppably evil Sauron is.
If this question is being asked specifically for Aragorn’s final assault on Sauron’s forces inThe Return Of The King, Aragorn would have lost outright. It’s important to remember that Aragorn’s forces were meant to be a final distraction for Sauron. The group never truly believed they were going to defeat his armies or even the dark lord himself.The gamble itself was that Sauron believed Aragorn may be wielding the ring, and under its influence, foolish enough to believe a small force would be powerful enough to stand against Sauron. Aragorn would have lost without Sauron ever taking the battlefield, and Sauron would have risen to power once more.
The Lord Of The Ringsis available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
