IPTAT: Elven Prince

Arrowsmiths - Part Four

I’m putting together a team… multiple teams, in fact.

Team 7: Arrowsmiths

Archers assembled

Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Marvel comics)

Green Arrow/Oliver Queen (DC Comics)

Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games)

Legolas (The Lord of the Rings)

The bow and arrow is a classic weapon used in mythology, containing its use to this day across fantasy, sci-fi, action, adventure, and just about every setting you can imagine where it’d be effective to shoot something pointy from a springy string tool thing. These are technical terms.

4. Legolas (The Lord of the Rings)

First appearance: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien, published 1954

Popular entertainment of 1954:

Dial M for Murder - film starring Ray Milland and Grace Kelly

Father Knows Best - television series starring Robert Young

The Horse and His Boy - novel written by C. S. Lewis

Summarizing any of J. R. R. Tolkien’s characters isn’t a small task, but here goes. Legolas Greenleaf (not to be confused with that *other* Legolas, an elf of Gondolin), the Elven prince of the Woodland Realm of Mirkwood, is introduced as the son of King Thranduil and a representative of his people at the Council of Elrond. A master archer and warrior of great agility, Legolas joins the Fellowship to help Frodo destroy the One Ring. Throughout the journey, he forms an unlikely but deep friendship with the Dwarf Gimli—bridging the long-standing animosity between their races—and fights bravely in key battles such as Helm’s Deep and Pelennor Fields. After the War of the Ring, Legolas helps rebuild Middle-earth’s harmony, later sailing across the sea to the Undying Lands, with Gimli accompanying him as a rare exception for a Dwarf.

In Tolkien’s writings, Legolas’s age and hair color are never explicitly stated—despite popular belief, he’s never described as blonde. Peter Jackson’s film trilogy cemented that image, however, thanks to Orlando Bloom’s portrayal. Bloom famously did many of his own stunts, including standing on a shield while “surfing” down stairs in 2002’s The Two Towers—-a scene that became a fan-favorite meme.

Legolas has proven he can form unexpected alliances and fight in deadly forms of combat, and this unique team of fellow archers will need all of his skills in order to advance to the next round.

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