Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings

[Comic Book Guy]

I found this while going through TORN Green books. You can get the orignal here

There has been talk that Star Wars was based loosely (or inspired by) the great Tolkien trilogy, Lord of the Rings. As a fan of both, I’m going to list some of the instances where Star Wars might have been influenced by Lord of the Rings.

I’m just going to concentrate on the original three movies (ANH, TESB, ROTJ). Both are trilogies (of course), both are classic stories of good versus evil. The evil in the Lord of the Rings (the ring) is destroyed when it is thrown down a long chasm in the heart of the evil empire (Mount Doom in the Land of Mordor). The evil in Star Wars (the emperor) is destroyed when he is tossed down a large hole in his home base (the Death Star).

Now, the characters.

Luke Skywalker is loosely based on Frodo. Both are the central figures, both possess more power than either of them ever really thought. And both are under enormous pressure to “go to the Dark Side”. The power of the ring could give Frodo unlimited power, but, through tremendous will, he resists its evil offerings. Likewise with Luke, where the power of the Dark Side must be resisted or the resistance will fall.

Princess Leia is based, loosely, on Frodo’s sidekick Sam Gamgee. Of course, Leia starts off as a powerful Princess, while Sam is a simple gardener, but there paths become similar. Both discover they have access to the same power that Frodo and Luke have, yet both are loyal and pure of heart, and are easily able to resist it. This is a very loose basing.

Han Solo is based on the character of Strider or Aragorn. Both are loners, wanderers, who come off as scoundrels. As Luke first met Han at a cantina, Frodo first met Aragorn at the inn of the Prancing Pony (a bar). Like Luke, Frodo unwillingly took the mysterious stranger along. And, of course, in both instances a great friendship developed. Also, both Han Solo and Aragorn were not what they appeared, as Solo became the general and one of the leaders of the Rebel Alliance and Aragorn, of course, was revealed to be the king, leader of the resistance against Sauron.

Obi Wan Kenobi is based on Gandalf. This is the most obvious. As Obi-Wan was a spiritual advisor to Luke, Gandalf was one to Frodo. Both fell in the first episode of the trilogy while in enemy territory (Gandalf in Moria , Obi-Wan in the Death Star). Both returned in the second installment, Gandalf brought back to life, Obi-Wan returning as a ghost. Both were instrumental in keeping their protégés from going to the Dark Side. Both appeared as wise old men, in flowing robes, who were greater than they appeared to be.

C3PO and R2D2 were loosely based on the hobbits Merry and Pippen. Both sets provided comic relief, both were an (almost) inseperable duo, both spent the first half of the trilogy getting in the way, and both proved instrumental in the end.

There are others. Lando Calrissien (sp) could be based loosely on Faramir or Eomer. The Emperor is kind of a combination of Sauron and Saruman. Stormtroopers are like orcs, but the biggest, and most surprising, is this:

Darth Vader is based on Gollum. Seriously. The six-foot-seven, Dark Lord of the Sith, ever powerful is based on the little, slimy, wiggling worm Gollum. Both started out good, both with different names (Smeagol and Anakin). Both succumbed to the dark power that their counterparts (Luke and Frodo) were able to resist. Both were spared by their counterparts (Frodo spared Gollum on numerous occasions, Luke refused to kill Vader and tossed away his lightsaber at the end of ROTJ). And while Luke and Frodo were the heroes of the story, it was Vader and Gollum, respectively, that redeemed themselves by destroying the evil in the end. Vader, of course, tossed the Emperor into the shaft, costing him his life, while it was Gollum who lost his life by seizing the ring and falling into the Cracks of Doom. Also, don’t forget that while Vader was Luke’s father, Gollum was of a race that was ancestors of Frodo’s race.