🕷️Ungoliant vs. a Balrog

[Maeglin]

If a Balrog and Ungoliant were to fight, who would win the battle? They are both powerful maia, corrupted by Melkor, and you may jump to the conclusion that Balrogs are more powerful, BUT:
From "Of the Darkening of Valinor":

But so soon as any came up with the Cloud of Ungoliant the riders of the Valar were blinded and dismayed, and they were scattered, and went they knew not whither; and the sound of the Valaroma faltered and failed.

From "Of the Flight of the Noldor":

But Ungoliant had grown great, and he less by the power that had gone out of him; and she rose against him, and her cloud closed about him, and she enmeshed him in a web of clinging thongs to strangle him. Then Morgoth sent forth a terrible cry, that echoed in the mountains.

There's a lot more to that quote about how bad the cry was and how the Balrogs came and saved Melkor and everything.

But anyway, I don't think any other creature could make Morgoth scream in pain like that, definitely not a balrog, and it took several of them to save Morgoth, so I think she could take on one of them.

 

[Anamatar IV]

Yes Ungoliant was more powerful than a balrog alone....but remember that several balrogs together scared Ungoliant away from the Silmarillion.

 

[redline2200]

I would say there's no doubt Ungoliant would win. I think a better question would be: who would win between Ungoliant and a dragon. In the War of Wrath it says that when Morgoth sent forth his dragons, that none of the Valar could withstand them so they temporarily retreated, so I would say they are a force to be reckoned with also.

 

[Ithrynluin]

Ungoliant's power is different than a Balrog's. She desires to consume light, she weaves webs of darkness and is terrible to behold. She is no fighting machine, like the Balrog. In a one on one, a Balrog would have better agility than her, and she would cower from its whips of fire. She couldn't come close to it.

 

[Grond]

Originally posted by ithrynluin
Ungoliant's power is different than a Balrog's. She desires to consume light, she weaves webs of darkness and is terrible to behold. She is no fighting machine, like the Balrog. In a one on one, a Balrog would have better agility than her, and she would cower from its whips of fire. She couldn't come close to it.

I believe that Ungoliant had Melkor totally lost in webs of darkness. Had he not called for his balrogs (note the plural), he would likely still be hanging upside down and being finely aged in her cave. I don't think a single Balrog would have stood a chance. She would have woven her webs of darkenss and swallowed him/her up.

 

[Maeglin]

Thank you Grond, thats exactly what I was trying to prove with my quotes.

 

[Beleg]

Ungoliant will definately win and i dont think even a dragon can withstand her, for alone Even Morgoth was afraid of her. but here we would also need to see the circumstances.
Ungoliant feeds on light and when Morgoth tried to fight with her, she had just sucked the light out of many feanorian jewels. If Balrogs and Dragon fight with her in a dark and dreadful valley then i daresay the fight might be intersting. And Redline, they were a lot of Dragons and not a singular one and the Birds of Valinor under the command of Earendil fought them and The Valar were afraid, for nowhere is it mentioned that any Vala went with the host to Middle Earth?

 

[Ithrynluin]

Originally posted by Grond
I believe that Ungoliant had Melkor totally lost in webs of darkness. Had he not called for his balrogs (note the plural), he would likely still be hanging upside down and being finely aged in her cave. I don't think a single Balrog would have stood a chance. She would have woven her webs of darkenss and swallowed him/her up.

LOL Grond, now there is one crucial question that would decide the outcome of a Balrog vs Ungoliant battle... Did balrogs have *****?
Balrogs are still my weapon of choice.

 

[Gil-Galad]

Balrogs seem to be stronger cause they take part in all battes in Iages,while Ungoliant is fogotten somewhere.....
But the fact that Melkor was scared by her,not by the Balrogs shows which Morgoth considered to be more powerful.What is more,Ungoliant was not his servant but Balrogs were.Why?Because she was really strong,stronger than Balrogs.

 

[jimmyboy]

Ungoliant grew to her great power because she sucked the power out of Morgoth and the Two Trees. Before this time, who knows. But before this time, when she attacked Morgoth, she was no threat to him. He over-looked the possibility that she would gain enough power to resist him, and so ended up making a monster he couldn't control.

Reminds me of Darth Sidious in "Star Wars". He was extremely powerful and dangerous, became the Emperor of the whole galaxy, created a before-unheard-of galactic army, managed to practically wipe out the thousands of his arch-enemy the Jedi, yet his over-confidence ended up blinding him to danger, and he was destroyed by his closest servant and helper.

 

[Inderjit S]

Ungoliant. When the Balrogs drove them off, there were a group of them. Do you really think that one Balrog could've defeated Ungoliant?

 

[Ithrynluin]

Originally posted by Inderjit S
Ungoliant. When the Balrogs drove them off, there were a group of them. Do you really think that one Balrog could've defeated Ungoliant?

Maybe. Are you talking about a winged or wingless Balrog?

 

[Hadhafang]

Melkor was deemed "mightiest" among the Valar. Since Ungoliant made such easy work out of Morgoth, are we to assume that Ungoliant could have destroyed any of the Valar or Maiar in a one-on-one encounter? I would argue no. There are plenty of other examples in Tolkien's works where weaker beings defeated more powerful ones. i.e. Sam and Shelob, Huan and Sauron. Simply because Ungoliant defeated Melkor doesn't mean that she couldn't be defeated by an entity less mighty than her. That said, I still think that she would defeat a Balrog one on one.

 

[Celebithil]

Ungoliant definately as it takes an number of Balrogs AND Melkor to scare her off.

 

[Sangahyando]

Perhaps, Ungoliant was merely without fear as whether or not she died, it wouldn't matter as her daughters would devour Melko.

The very light emanating from the flames of a Balrog would boost her power, methinks.

She would be only able to be destroyed by several Valar or Illuvatar himself if she consumed the light of the Silmarilli. For it is not darkness or an absence of light she wields it is Unlight. It is an opposite to light it is not shadow.

Sangahyando, great-grandson of Castamir the Usurper