Witch-king of Angmar

NOTE: This page is only for the Witch-king of Angmar's characterization in the legendarium and live-action film franchise, considering the animated counterpart was not voted Near Pure Evil. Therefore, only the novel and live-action counterparts' info and crimes should be listed here.

Near Pure Evil

Novel (Eyed)
Novel (Enflamed)
Novel (Hooded)
Novel (True Form)
Films (War Armor)
Films (Spectral Armor)
Films (Hooded)
Films (Shadow of War)
Films (Shade)

Full Name

Unknown

Alias

Witch-king of Angmar

El-Murazor (possibly)
Lord of the Nazgûl
The Witch-king
The Black Captain
The Dread Lord
Lord of Despair
Leader of the Nazgûl

Origin

Middle-earth

Allies

Sau ron †

Gothmog

Powers / Skills

Magic/Sorcery

Necromancy
Swordsmanship
Morgul blades
Strength
Flail
Fellbeast riding
Intimidation

Goals

Destroy Arnor (formerly).

Recover the lost One Ring and bring it to Sau ron.
Destroy Gondor and wipe out the race of Men.
Help Sauron conquer and rule Middle-earth (all failed).

Moral Event Horizon

Nearly wiping out Arnor for good.

Nearly turning Frodo Baggins into a Ringwraith and marring him for the rest of his life.
Leading an attack on Minas Tirith with the goal of slaughtering the entire population.
Killing King Théoden.

Kill Count

Thousands (indirectly)

Millions (attempted)

Crimes

Aiding in genocide

Aiding in populicide
Attempted spiritual corruption
Conspiracy
Invasion
Mass murder
Mutilation
Stalking
Terrorism
Attempted torture
Usage of dark magic

Type of Villain

Noncorporeal Monarch

“	Come not between the Nazgûl and his prey! Or he will not slay thee in thy turn. He will bear thee away to the houses of lamentation, beyond all darkness, where thy flesh shall be devoured, and thy shriveled mind be left naked to the Lidless Eye.	„
	~ Witch-king of Angmar to Éowyn.

The Witch-king of Angmar, also known in the novel as the Lord of the Nazgûl is a major antagonist in J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings and Peter Jackson's Middle-earth film franchise.

In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, he was portrayed by Brent McIntyre. In The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, he was portrayed by Lawrence Makoare who also played Bolg in the same franchise and was voiced by Andy Serkis who also played Supreme Leader Snoke in the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

His Evil Ranking[]

What Makes Him Close to Being Pure Evil?[]

Both Versions[]

He joined the side of the Dark Lord Sauron, making him complacent in Sauron’s crimes, eventually resulting in him losing his agency and sanity thanks to his greed.
He led a campaign to destroy the kingdom of Arnor, which nearly led to the extinction of the Arnorian people.
- He then created the Barrow-wights by taking the dead bodies of former Arnorian kings and infusing them with spirits, he then trapped them.
- In a dream Merry has, an Arnorian soldier is killed by the Witch King’s army, suggesting that he took the souls of Arnorian soldiers.
He also declared war on Armor's sibling realm of Gondor, taking the city of Minis Ithil, which he subsequently renamed to Minas Morgul, and filling the city with so much evil that even after he and Sauron were gone, King Aragorn would be forced to destroy it, forever robbing Gondor of what was once its third most important city.
While he did spare Gríma Wormtongue, he did so only because he predicted he would cause Saruman's fall.
He stabbed Frodo Baggins on Weathertop with his sword, almost transforming him into a Wraith like him.
He mortally wounded King Théoden of Rohan in the Battle of the Pelinnor Fields.
When Éowyn put herself between him and the dying Théoden, the Witch-king threatened the young girl with psychological torture, and broke her left arm to imply he wasn't bluffing. He then attempted to kill her despite the high number of casualties on the battlefield. This ironically led to his undoing because it distracted him from Merry, who attacked him with his Barrow-Blade, allowing Éowyn to finish him off once and for all.
Although he went through 3,000 years of being a wraith, which Tolkien stated was a fate worse than death, it's not mitigating since he chose to join Sauron, who turned him into the monster he became; thus, he brought this fate upon himself due to his own greed.
While Sauron technically does worse, he has more power due to being a Maia as well as the Dark Lord of Middle-earth, having command over vast dark armies, which the Witch-king is among the ranks of.

Exclusive to the Film Franchise[]

He tried to dishonorably sneak up on Radagast the Brown and stab him in the head. Even if Radagast was trespassing, it was only because his animals were dying from the black magic that the Witch-king's master Sauron had been causing.
He tried alongside the other Ringwraiths to wipe out the White Council, only for Galadriel to dissipate and banish them with her phial.
He desired to exterminate the entire race of Men and establish an Orc age, simply to further establish Sauron's rule over Middle-earth.
He ordered Gothmog of Morgul to capture Osgiliath and slaughter everyone there, leading to the Orc personally killing Madril in cold blood while he was beaten and completely defenseless.
He ordered Gothmog to attack Minas Tirith and slaughter its whole population.

What Prevents Him from Being Pure Evil?[]

Despite being a calculating sadist, what remained of his moral agency was sapped away thousands of years ago by Sauron, who forcibly corrupted and twisted his mind as he turned him into a Ringwraith. But even this is a minor prevention, since he was greedy and over-trusting of the Dark Lord in the first place.
He is loyal and trustful of Sauron as his closest servant.

Trivia[]

While the Witch-king is Near Pure Evil, his downfall was caused by a little Hobbit named Merry, who is, ironically, a Near Pure Good. Another ironic thing is that Théoden, whose murder is a moral event horizon for Witch-king, is also Near Pure Good.