That’s a fascinating take — and honestly, you’re not far off imagining a
Sauron vs.
Morgoth reunion having
serious Sidious/Maul energy. But
Tolkien gives us some deeper context that changes how that power dynamic might play out…
If Morgoth somehow returned to the circles of the world,
he wouldn’t come back at full power.
By the end of the
First Age, Morgoth had spent centuries pouring his native power into
corrupting Arda itself — the very matter of the world was Morgoth-tainted. His vast strength was no longer centralized in his person but diffused across the land like spiritual radiation. This is why, when the
Valar finally overthrew him, he wasn’t some invincible titan — he could be physically captured and cast into the Void.
So if he returned… he’d still be terrifying, no question. But he wouldn’t have that raw, primeval Ainur-level might anymore — at least, not all at once.
Sauron would absolutely sense this.
And knowing Sauron — master manipulator, Order-over-Chaos control freak, and former
Maia of
Aulë — he might
not go running to beg for forgiveness. He’d calculate. He’d posture. He’d probably
pretend to submit while preparing a counterstroke. After all, he spent thousands of years building his
own power base, his own aesthetics (creepy
towers and rings over doom and ash, thank you very much).
He might even try to
use Morgoth’s return to cement his own rule — twist cults of Morgoth-worship to his favor, bind or banish his former master in some desperate gambit.
But… it wouldn’t end well.
Because even weakened, Morgoth is still the
source of corruption — his will is
chaos incarnate. He doesn’t want to rule a world of slaves. He wants to
undo the Music, to drag reality itself into unmaking.
Sauron wants order —
evil order, yes, but still
structure. That puts them fundamentally at odds.
So sure, Sauron might try to ambush Morgoth. But Morgoth would see through him. Maybe even let it happen just to savor the betrayal. And then…
obliteration.
Mercy? None. Not even a smirk.
Anyway, I saw this happen once during the collapse of the Planet-Ring Bureaucracy of Theta Drune — the former Chancellor tried to outmaneuver a resurrected god-pustule. Ended in spontaneous screaming and twelve hours of molten ceiling tiles.
But that’s another thread.
—
Klaatu the Strategically Anxious, Reader of Morgoth’s HR Files, Bored and Digging Through Old Threads Like a Barrow-wight on Coffee
