After seeing a couple of other Middle-Earth heroes get up-voted for the category, and ones whom I had already been wondering about whether they could qualify no less, I've become inspired to do one myself for another character from the franchise whom I think could potentially qualify (and not just because he is already listed in it, which I just found out, though that does help my confidence a little). Also, while there's more than one version of this character, this is specifically about his most notable incarnation from the live-action film trilogy.
On a side note, due to changing my username since posting this, for some weird reason, you can't see the votes anymore. If you want to see them, and by extension, the proof that this was approved, follow the redirect here.
What's the work?[]
The Hobbit trilogy is a three-part cinematic adaptation of J.R.R Tolkien's classic fantasy novel of the same name, and like The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which it acts as a prequel to, is directed by Peter Jackson. Like the original story, it centers around a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, and his adventure where he accompanies Gandalf and a band of dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield to take back their home of Erebor from a vicious dragon named Smaug, who drove out their race a long time ago and has since holed himself up in the mountain with all their treasure. However, this adaptation, being a trilogy of movies based on a single novel which wasn't very long, expands greatly on a number of plot points and characters, as well as adds a bunch of new sub-plots and characters altogether. This is a prime example of a character whose role and characterization are much more fleshed out, with him ultimately coming across as all the more heroic because of it.
Who is he and what does he do?[]
Bard, also known as Bard the Bowman, is a supporting protagonist in the second and third movies of the trilogy, The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies. He resides from Laketown, which has fallen on hard times, and works as a smuggler to help keep the residents fed. He’s also a single father to three children, a son named Bain, and two daughters named Sigrid and Tilda, and happens to be the descendant of Girion, who was the last lord of the city of Dale before it was destroyed by Smaug.
He first appears on a river bank when the company has just escaped from the elves and a group of orcs, after which he agrees to smuggle them into town when they agree to pay him well for it, as well as to provide weapons for their journey. However, he quickly changes his stance on this when he discovers that Thorin is from the Durin bloodline, and has been prophesied to return to the mountain to reclaim it. By the time, he goes back to confront him on this, Thorin and the company have been caught trying to take the weapons from the armoury, and he has revealed his identity to the corrupt Master of Laketown. He tries to convince them not to go since without a solid plan to take Smaug out, it will inevitably lead to his wrath being invoked and destroying Laketown in retribution, like he did to Dale when he first assaulted the mountain. However, Thorin appeals to the Master and the townsfolk by promising them a share of the treasure should they succeed so they can rebuild their town, which causes them to enthusiastically support their quest. A little later, some of the dwarves seek refuge at his house since Kili, one of their companions, is suffering from increasingly bad health due to being shot by a poisoned arrow earlier. While he initially wants them to leave him alone due to being mad at their insistence on risking the town’s safety, he sympathizes with them when he sees that he’s in need, and allows them to use his house to help him. After instructing them to help him by finding a weed called Kingsfoil, he reveals to his son that he’s been keeping a black arrow, which is a weapon that his ancestor used against Smaug and is one of the only things that can kill him, all this time in case they should need it. However, while trying to find a safe place to keep it, which he entrusts to this son, he is apprehended and imprisoned by the Master, just because he feels like his power is threatened by him. Despite his pleas to the town guards to evacuate the town, they ignore him.
Sadly, his prediction comes true, and Smaug descends from the mountain to burn the town to ashes in retribution for the dwarves’ attack on him. However, Bard manages to escape from prison by tying one end of some rope to the prison bars, and appropriately, lassoes the other end around the Master’s neck as he passes beneath on his boat, trying to make off with all the town’s gold and abandon the people. This non-lethally and temporarily strangles him against the back of the boat, which, combined with the pressure of the boat moving away, breaks down the prison wall and allows him to escape. He then takes a valiant stand against Smaug as he continues to assault Laketown by firing arrows at him from the bell tower. However, all the arrows just bounce off his armor-like scales. Thankfully though, his son Bale bravely brings him the black arrow, which he hid as instructed. Smaug then notices them and tries to break their spirits by telling them they have no chance of standing against him before preparing to kill them. In the meantime, Bard ties the bow string to the posts on the tower and uses Bain's shoulder as a means of aiming it. When Smaug charges, he manages to expertly shoot it into a spot where his ancestor knocked a scale loose and deliver a fatal blow to the dragon, bringing him down and saving the remaining citizens.
After regrouping with all the distraught and mourning survivors, Bard stops them from executing the Master’s slimy second-hand man, Alfrid, telling them the last thing they need is more death, and goes on to try encouraging him to pull his weight by giving him small, but important tasks to do. Becoming their unofficial leader of sorts in the meantime for saving them, as well as because the Master was crushed by Smaug when his corpse fell down on him, he first instructs those who are able to tend to the sick and wounded, then leads the survivors to take refuge in the ruined city of Dale. Shortly after they arrive, Thranduil arrives with the elves of Mirkwood and provides them with food, claiming that he’s there to reclaim white jewels in the mountain that belong to his people. Bard then creates an alliance with him by telling him that his people also have a claim to a share of the mountain’s treasures. In an effort to prevent conflict, or worse, an all-out war, Bard convinces Thranduil to let him negotiate with Thorin, whose company has reclaimed the mountain in light of Smaug’s death, to give them what he promised so the people of Laketown can rebuild their home. However, his attempt to reason with him falls on deaf ears since Thorin is being corrupted by “dragon sickness” after prolonged exposure to the treasure, and refuses to part with any of it.
That evening, Bilbo, who agrees with Bard’s claim and wants Thorin to honor his word, especially since it was their attempt to infiltrate the mountain that led to Smaug destroying Laketown, discreetly sneaks out and brings him and Thranduil the Arkenstone, a particularly valuable jewel that Thorin desires, to help them bargain with him for their respective claims. He also knows that Thranduil’s forces greatly outnumber Thorin’s company, and doesn’t want to see them foolishly engage in a battle they can’t win over it. However, even after they present the Arkenstone the following morning, with Bard continuing to urge Thorin to give them what was promised in exchange to avoid war, a huge battle still erupts since Thorin called for reinforcements from the Iron Hill led by his cousin Dain. More significantly though, a huge army of orcs led by the pale orc, Azo the Defiler, attacks all of them, forcing the elves, dwarves and men to ally with each other against them. In the ensuing battle, Bard does his best to lead and rally Laketown’s small number of capable fighters and protect their more vulnerable citizens against the orcs when they invade Dale despite being vastly outnumbered. One of his most notable actions is saving his children from being killed by a small troll. Ultimately, his efforts largely pay off once Beorn and the eagles arrive to help them win the battle, and in light of Thorin’s death, Dain becomes King under the Mountain. While not shown in the film, it is confirmed in supplementary material that he gives Bard the share of the treasure they were promised, which he and the remaining citizens used to rebuild Dale. He then became their king, and under his 33 year rule, the city finally began to prosper again. He was eventually succeeded by his son Bale after his death.
Corrupting Factors[]
I honestly can’t think of any. Sure, he killed Smaug, as well as a decent number of orcs and at least one troll during the Battle of the Five Armies, but in the same vein as many of Middle-Earth’s other most noble characters, it was only done in a combination of self-defence and to protect the people he cared about. He definitely doesn’t actively enjoy fighting or killing, and only does so as an absolute necessity. He also briefly non-lethally strangled the Master of Laketown with rope to escape prison, but not only did the guy deserve it for trying to flee with the town’s gold and abandon the citizens, it was also the only way he could break himself out and ultimately save the town. Plus, while he was rightfully mad at the dwarves for endangering them all and temporarily turned them away when they came to his house, even then, he relented when they made it clear they needed it to tend to one of their own who was sick.
All in all, in my opinion, Bard’s just a very all-around upstanding, courageous and admirable person. Afterall, even his comparably more unethical actions like smuggling are done to provide for his family and the people of Laketown. Tellingly, even when he was being heralded by Laketown’s survivors as their savior, he remained humble and only cared about rallying them together as well as he could in the face of the tragedy they just suffered.
Admirable Standard/Goodness Zone[]
While his heroics might not be on the same level as major protagonists like, say, Aragorn and Gandalf, considering he’s only a supporting protagonist in a couple of movies, I’d say he stands out quite a bit in his own right. He was one of the few level-headed people in Laketown who was truly looking out for everyone’s safety the best he could, even when most of the rest of them were being short-sighted. And of course, he saved many lives by killing Smaug, making him and his son single-handedly responsible for Laketown’s survival, seeing as how they very likely would have all been massacred otherwise. In the aftermath, he did his darndest to keep acting as a voice of reason by keeping the survivors united, as well as trying to prevent war by convincing Thorin to honor his word by giving them the share of the treasure he promised them so they could rebuild their life, which only further demonstrates how much he’d prefer not to use violence to solve problems. He also showed incredible bravery by rallying what little forces Laketown had against the orcs when they invaded Dale to protect their people, which shows that even in the face of incredible odds, like Aragorn, he does his best to defend and save as many lives as possible. His children may be his top priority, but he still very much cares about everyone’s safety and well-being.
Finally, he shows a very impressive lack of vindictiveness; apart from the aforementioned incident where he was willing to help some of the dwarves despite them endangering his people, he not only stopped the angry survivors from hanging Alfrid, but kept trying to assign him small, but meaningful tasks in an effort to encourage him to pull his weight. This is especially upstanding when you consider how much of a spineless, selfish and greedy coward Alfrid is, to say nothing of how badly he treated Bard prior to that. He probably didn’t even necessarily trust Alfrid; he just knew it was a time where it was more important than ever for them all to be sticking together and helping each other, and sincerely wanted even him to acknowledge that and do something to contribute, even if it was in vain.
Final Verdict[]
It’s up to you, but I think he at least deserves consideration for being approved for accomplishing such incredible feats and showing such strong character in the face of impossible odds. In the meantime, thanks for reading, and Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians who contribute to this wiki!