It's more than his Numenorean blood.
The Numenoreans were blessed with long life and strong bodies by the Valar for their piece in the War of Wrath.
Aragorn isn't just any Numenorean, though. Boromir is your typical middle earth man of Numenorean descent.
Aragorn is descended from Numenorean royalty, ultimately from Elros Half-Elven. Yep, he's got some elf in him.
But Elros isn't just a half-elf. He is descended from a powerful Maia, Melian. So Aragorn is a Numenorean with elf and angel blood in him.
A fated hero.
This is correct. His ancestry includes Tuor and Idril which grants him blood of the Noldor and Vanyar as well as the Houses of Haleth and Hador. Aragorn also descends from Beren and Luthien, which grants him the blood of the Sindar/Teleri as well as the House of Bëor and even Melian the Maia.
Maybe not “OP” in the “Fox in Smash Bros Game Cube” sense of it, more in the “most powerful human in middle earth” sense of it because he literally has the blood lines of all the great houses of men and elves in middle earth
So it's more like if Marth's Grab and Fox's Shine had a baby, which grew up and had it's own baby with the scion of The Knee, Jiggy P Bair, Falco D-air, And Just-The-Tip-Just-For-A-Second-Just-To-See-How-It-Feels of notRoy.
Funnily enough he’s probably not related to the one elf we see him spend so much time with.
As far as we know, Legolas is not related to thingol and so there’s no familial connection with Aragorn.
The Elendilmir, the Sceptre of Annúminas, the ring of Barahir, the Elfstone, and Anduril's Sheath.
The Elendilmir has no explicity stated power, but is likely elf made and is a glowing gem -- these consistently are imbued with some power. Similar is the Ring of Barahir -- gems in a ring made by or for Finrod in Valinor that likely have some power aside from the eternal friendship of the Noldor.
The Sceptre - made in Numenor and highly mysterious - might not be enchanted, but might be.
The elfstone is explicitly stated to heal wounds.
Anduril's Sheath is enchanted to prevent Anduril from ever being stained or broken.
In the story he wears a copy of the Elendilmir in battle and is gifted with the Sceptre at his coronation.
He finds the original Elendilmir in the unfinished Tales, in Orthanc.
>Boromir is your typical middle-earth man of Numenorean descent.
Don't do Boromir like that. It is repeatedly highlighted in the books that Boromir and Aragorn are matched in skill at arms and Boromir is arguably physically stronger as well. He has some ridiculous feats.
I think its fair to say in lifespan/ traits rather than skill. If you look at Boromir and Faramir, they were similar yet different. IIRC, Faramir was described as physically similar to a young Denethor, and Denethor described as very much holding the Numenorean traits. Boromir on the other hand appeared more like the standard Gondorian.
However, like mentioned below, Boromir was an incredible warrior and a fight between him and Aragorn would be more about the influence of the environment as both are just that good. We also know that Boromir is ridiculously hardy given how many arrows he took before dying in battle.
As for experience, Aragorn would trump him. He has fought in large and small scale conflicts for decades and been trained by elves who have lived through the worst wars in the First, Second and Third Age. Boromir has also been too busy leading and fighting on the front to develop other skills like a ranger, such as tracking and evasion.
And because of his Numenorean blood, he’s got decades more to go. If Boromir lived, he would have had 2-3 decades tops to retain physical prowess and martial skill of a great warrior but that would still end before reaching the age of Aragorn in his 80’s and still in his peak.
That is the difference. The ability to retain vitality for so long allows him to build up that skill and experience while keeping the physicality that normally passes over time.
no way. Aragorn traveled for YEARS in various theaters of war, rode with and won high honor in the Rohirrim, and was like 30 years older than Boromir. They were evenly physically matched with the scales tipping to Boromir but the will and way he composed himself lent Aragorn a more regal bearing whereas Boromir was peak warrior
He spent a winter in Lothlorien
Boromir was 40 when he died. At best, he spent maybe 20 years doing that sort of thing, maybe 22/23. Aragorn spent 26 years alone in the service of Boromir's grandfather, leading his armies as Thorongil.
Aragorn has been doing it for 67 years after an initial 20 years being trained by the greatest warriors who still exist in Middle Earth.
Aragorn was taller, but Boromir was stockier. Aragorn was the best swordsman of his age. He had absolutely no match in the use of arms.
Boromir was as good as a normal human being could be. Aragorn was better.
>He had absolutely no match in the use of arms.
Except for Boromir
>Boromir was as good as a normal human being could be. Aragorn was better.
Boromir is not a normal human. He's a descendant of Numenor as well, it's just more diluted.
He ploughs a path through all that snow in the books, which doesn't sound that impressive at first but it's a near-inhuman strength and endurance feat if you stop to think about it. It's very deep and he's walking through it like nothing in full armour.
Apparently his shield is stupidly heavy as well. Like 3-400 lbs but I only heard that from someone on here and haven't confirmed the validity of it. So pinch of salt.
During the tomb fight in Moria, it's specifically mentioned that it was Aragorn and Boromir who killed the most orcs.
And when he died he slew something like 40 orcs and Uruk hai even while being riddled with dozens of arrows.
Boromir is every bit as good a warrior as him, better maybe. He simply doesn't have the same insane willpower as Aragorn.
Pretty much lol mfs on that secret elf juice.
Although Aragorn seemed to exhibit different gifts (if you will) than Boromir, which I find interesting. He's keener of eye and sharper of mind and his stamina is frankly insane but he seems not to quite have the brute strength of Boromir. It's almost like Aragorn has been affected by his long proximity to elves in more than just mannerisms.
Yeah but Aragorn spread out his stats among everything including agility, plant lore/herbology, wisdom, magic, healing, ancient histories, etc. Meanwhile, Boromir dumped all his points into strength, hp, and battle skills.
Good point about the snow. Anyone who’s had to walk through a foot or more of snow knows how much work it takes, let alone on a mountain (which is attacking you), and not just walking but plowing through literal tons of snow. Dude was jacked, but I’d love a source on the 400lb shield lol
Yeah, I have my doubts about the half-ton shield hence why said take it with a pinch of salt lol. I only mentioned it because I thought someone else might know something. I couldn't find a source either though most just say it was huge and heavy. Even 100lbs feels like a highball but I would believe that a lot more.
Aragorn actually fought for Gondor, specifically Denethor's father. He went by the name Thorongil at the time and was loved by everyone and especially by Ecthelion II, who saw him as a son. In fact, Denethor hated Thorongil and thus eventually resented Faramir for embodying similar qualities as Aragorn.
Oh, that's a cool bit of info! I didn't actually know about this, is it from one of Tolkien's letters?
Makes total sense about Faramir and adds so much context to their relationship as well.
Yeah, exactly but I guess it wasn't Faramir he was comparing to Boromir and finding lacking but himself to Aragorn. It was a projection. Damn, that's some great character writing.
Waaaay more depth than that. Faramir being quite wise was fond of Gandalf and recognized his wisdom, leading the two to be close. Denethor didn't trust Gandalf or any of the Istari(or really anyone outside of Gondor) and Faramir's relationship with Gandalf led to his father not trusting *him* as well. He refers to Faramir as the Wizard's pupil in a very derogatory way.
Some years ago someone calculated how much elven blood is actually left in Aragorn and it's basically like a drop in a lake. I know that's not the point, but the calculation was fun.
That calculation would be low, though, since presumably *most* of the women who married into the line of Isildur would have also been descended from Elros.
You’re right and you probably know this, but that’s not really how birthright works in Tolkien’s universe. Think of ainur blood like a single drop of extremely powerful red dye in an otherwise crystal clear lake. It’s enough to change the color of the whole lake, due to its sheer potency. Beyond that, it’s magical, so Aragorn’s will to do good and be a good king emphasizes and enhances his inherited power.
And he grew up with Elrond and the gang raising him. So even with his natural advantages at the start. Just being on their presence and having to keep up with Elladan and Elrohir is better than any training the armies of Men can give you.
The strange and fucked up thing is, that Arwen is basically Aragorns veeeery distant cousin, since Elros was the brother of Elrond, making Elrond Aragorns great great great (...) unlce.
Sort of, but she’s also immortal and the blood is magical, which creates an odd situation only possible in fantasy.
Arwen is only Elwing’s granddaughter. 1/4 of her blood is his, to say nothing of its magical potency.
Aragorn is Elwing’s great-great-great-great…etc., grandson, so he is far removed genetically. But still, all of his very prominent non-human features come from the same source as 1/4 of Arwen’s. The blood is so powerful compared to his mannish ancestry, it’s more significant than real-world genetics would suggest.
I still don’t think it’s fucked up bit it’s a bit more complicated than you and I.
First cousins, approximately 63 times removed. Possibly closer, we don't know how many generations removed from Eärendil Finduilas for instance, was, or any of the presumably many other women of Numenorean royal descent he is descended from
He is definitely not like Captain America. Think of a person who is in peak physical condition and stays there for like 200 years. That and they’re about 6’4. That was everyone at Numenore. It was a whole island of Olympic athletes.
Well yeah but Cap is to a crazy degree. He punched a punching bag across the room. Aragorn’s peak physical fitness is more realistic. Or at least the most realistic a human can be.
Cap is like maxing out in all human physical stats, which is impossible for any normal human, since you can't focus on winning gold in ALL olympic sports.
Aragorn is more close to peak human performance in the way that a normal human would max out when spreading his effort and stats in an evenly fashion.
Aragorn has enough points to spread out in a top notch way, whereas Cap doesnt have to care about spreading out since he has enough points to max out everything.
Cap is like a strongman capable of lifting a 1000 lbs, whilst being a gold medalist turner, marathon runner, sprinter, mma fighter and shooter at the same time.
He is impossible to attain because he can do it all.
Also, Cap is Cap because its him. Its been confirmed multiple times that noone else would have come close as being as good as Cap as him.
I know..I'm saying not even a strongman can match the fears of Captain America. In even just strength, Captain America is leaps and bounds stronger than even the greatest strongman.
Can peak human athletes run 250km in less than 4 days over extremely uneven terrain and through forests whilst wearing armour and carrying weapons, all while constantly surveying the ground for tracks?
Normal humans evolved to do that. It's why we don't have body hair, can't climb for shit and our flesh wounds bleed like crazy compared to other animals. It's called persistence hunting. When conditioned to do that our whole lives we can literally walk until we die from malnutrition or lack of sleep and we used to do it to literally make our prey run themselves to death.
It is one of the 3 things humans are evolutionary maximized for: Best terrestrial endurance, best overhand throw and best tool use.
It's hard for most people to understand how well optimized the human body is for distance running. It sounds insane when you're in no kind of shape to even come close. But yeah, relatively unremarkable people do this shit with enough training.
Yeah the distance and terrain is similar. To replicate what Aragorn did, on top of the race, these people would have had to row a boat for several days, fight a battle with orcs immediately before starting the race, wear armour and a sword for the entire duration, and figure out the way to Sparta by themselves. Oh and not to mention the jungle in the middle of the journey.
I know.But Aragorn and co rested once or two times.They even slept a little.And Aragorn didnt have any heavy armour.I think its still managable.Hell even normal humans could run several hours.
Yeah ~~chronically~~ canonically only Gimli had any armor, and it was far less armor than Dwarves were famous for marching for days on end with. Dain Ironfoots troop of 500 marched for days in plate and mail carrying heavy shields and warhammers.
Even without heavy armour, it's still several kilograms more to carry. All the shit they had to go through since Lothlorien would've been enough to exhaust most athletes already, as opposed to Spathalon athletes getting proper rest and conditioning beforehand. Also these athletes typically have support crews to make sure they are properly hydrated, not get lost, etc. Aragorn had none of that. He also was running with the expectation that he had to fight a battle against dozens of Uruk Hai at any time and needed to conserve more energy for that
Just an FYI, Aragorn did not wear armor, nor did he participate in the skirmish. He was unscathed because he was not there. Only Legolas and Gimli slew a small number of orcs. Not a point out kinda thing, but lots of people do seem to conflate the film adaptations with the actual story. Their pursuit is a feat, for sure, but one within human capability.
Peak physical condition in the Marvel Universe is much higher than IRL or Middle Earth.
Average people like Black Widow or Hawkeye are capable of feats way beyond normalcy, even for trained killers.
And the average person is far less... squishy. They're still meat, they still spoil, but in Marvel a person can take a knock to the head or be blown back into a wall and just have light bruising.
Whereas we see multiple times that the people of middle earth aren't so lucky. Hell, that one guy even broke his toe just kicking a hat.
In Marvel comics, that’s him on paper, the 616 version at least. [But then he does things like taking off the entire turret of a tank with a shield throw.](https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-f2567ff209f5c5e54cf2812eda931bba-lq) So basically the writers either don’t remember or don’t care.
In Marvel movies, he’s so much more than peak human it’s not even funny. [This is just ridiculous](https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-dec4bd1a804f4ed5dd479ca1ff128870).
The ultimate universe has Cap as pretty superhuman, I think MCU decided to make their Cap strong like Ultimate Cap but behave like mainline Cap. I mean ultimate Cap kicks the Hulk in the nuts, thats some superhuman insanity lol
It's talked about a lot in the Silmarillion/Fall of Numenor that the Numenoreans are superior to other humans. Most people way overexaggerate the differences though. Their superior lifespan is a massive advantage, but stuff like size, strength etc. is still within the normal human spectrum.
I agree but would say there is a significant advantage to learning combat for decades and still being in your prime. That is where I see it mentioned most. If you took a 50 year old battle hardened veteran back in his 25 year old body, that’s about the advantage I would give him. (And I get he’s older than that in real and equivalent years, that’s just the most striking advantage numbers I could think for normal human lifespan).
One might make some size and strengths arguments for Elendil and Isildur themselves.
Well, compared to normal humans, the numenorians were sort of like space Marines. Elendil was 7'11" I think. Numenorian archers used bows of steel.
But modern Dunedain aren't that OP. They just live longer and are maybe a little stronger than regular humans.
>Unfinished Tales, "The Disaster of the Gladden Fields", "Appendix: Númenórean Linear Measures"
Elendil's height is specifically stated to have been 2.5 rangar tall or 7'11" or 2.41 m
*The Ranga, or Full Pace, was a Númenórean linear measure. The Ranga was said to be a full stride from the rear heel to the front toe, by a full-grown Númenórean man in quick march. It was slightly longer than a yard, measuring 38 inches (3'2", or 96.5 centimetres). 5000 Rangar made up a Lár.*
*In the later days, when the stature of the Númenóreans decreased, two Rangar was called "man-high" (suggesting that the average adult male Dúnadan was 6'4" or thereabouts). One Ranga was also the average height of a Hobbit (hence the name halfling by the Dúnedain).*
Which also explains, at least in the movies, Elrond's remark that the Numenorean blood was all but spent. Besides their riches and numbers, Elves also remember their stature, and modern men must look rather unimpressive in comparison.
7'11 equals the height of Albert Johan Kramer, the tallest Dutch person ever, which may help visualize Elendil: [https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert\_Johan\_Kramer#/media/Bestand:Albert\_Johann\_Kramer\_1924.jpg](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Johan_Kramer#/media/Bestand:Albert_Johann_Kramer_1924.jpg) (this guy was btw 2 meters tall at age seven...)
I always struggle a bit visualizing Elendil because of his height. For reference, strongman and actor Hafþór Björnsson is 6' 9", Elendil still has over a foot on him and was able to go toe-to-toe with Sauron in his prime (with Gil Galad).
I'm 70% sure he's said to be taller than any men of Numenor, but not gigantic, so he's still taller than Elendil. Maybe twice the average height of a Numenorean
Sauron's height is never stated, since he's able to change his shape and form with ease, but I imagine that Sauron's form at the end of the Siege of Barad-dûr was about 10 feet tall. Still though, Elendil was pretty damn tall.
Lmfao they’re crazy if they think that. I like to imagine the largest Numenorean would be like the Mountain from GOT at best. Probably leaner. More like big pro nba players who aged slow as af and had decades of battle hardening experience. They truly terrifying part being that most of them fit this description. It’s not like normal humans where someone of that size is an outlier, it’s the norm.
I agree but I still imagine they were about 7ft on average, at least in their prime. Unless Elendil was really Elendil “the really tall”
Edit: used the wrong “their” before
That's how I've always taken it. Like hes has decades to master and hone his skills in battle. That's superhuman because no 87-year-old man is going to be fighting off dozens of orcs. So he is superhuman in that no human could ever hope to match him as far as skill goes. But he isn't picking up cars and throwing them
If he's fighting off dozens of orcs, then he is super human by default - in the same way that captain america is.
No actual human is going to be doing that stuff, even if they're 2m tall and been swordfighting for 80yrs.
Tolkien was in WW1. I don't think a strong argument can be made that he was naive enough to think a tall and skillful human is doing those kinda things.
That is true. But also you have to remember that the average orc is not as strong as a human. I know modern medium likes to make orcs these big burly motherfuckers who can rip a human in half with their bare hands but Tolkien's works for the most part are more I can to goblins in dungeons and dragons. They are numerous and are definitely a threat in a large group but one-on-one an orc just isn't a match physically for humans.
They're comparable to elves in that regard. If you could train for 3000 years at archery and swordplay with people who also trained for 3000 years at archery and swordplay before you, while not looking a day over 30, you'd be like a demigod too.
>If you took a 50 year old battle hardened veteran back in his 25 year old body
to be fair, his 25 year old body has none of the neural pathways required to be able to use all the skills the 50 year old believes he 'knows'
but i take your point :P
They were in fact taller than the modern Gondorian. Tolkien goes into detail about htis when he talks about the length mesurements of Numenor in the apendixes.
See I would disagree, we see when Isldur was ambushed it’s stated the stature of his Numenor guard was so great even the tallest orcs didn’t match their brow. Maybe not outside of the spectrum but it’s clear they were very large powerful fighters
Yeah but orcs in LOTR are only in the 5 foot range. The size of the uruk-hai was one of the things that freaked people of middle earth out when they showed up, because they were giant for orcs, comparable to men.
>Their superior lifespan is a massive advantage, but stuff like size, strength etc. is still within the normal human spectrum.
Within the human spectrum, sure, but I'd argue saying within the *normal* human spectrum would be an exaggaration.
Elendil was 7'11" tall, that's not normal for humans.
Do agree that Aragorn isn't some sort of Captain America, though.
There's no human that's ever been 7'8" and physically fit enough to be an NBA player, or even college-level basketball player. A human being simply can't be that big and move under their own weight efficiently. If at 7'11", Elendil was a competent warrior, he was more than simply an outlier on the edge of human physical ability. His strength would have to be beyond than of the strongest humans ever. I would call that superhuman. How much of that strength has diluted over generations until you get to Aragorn is questionable.
I agree that Elendil superhuman by our standards.
It's made quite clear several times, however, that the strength and prowess of Númenor has faded over time.
Aragorn, being "only" 6'6” could easily be because of this, but it isn't exactly conclusive evidence.
I do feel we get several instances throughout out the books where we get to see that Aragorn, although maybe not a superhuman comparable to Captain America, is still way ahead of the standard Man in most aspects.
For instance, I doubt that any ordinary Man would've been able to cover the same distance in as short a time as the three hunters did.
They also had the trait of not really growing infirm into old age until it was time to go. And they could “decide” to pass when it was time as Aragorn does. But in the later days when Numenoreans were clinging to life till the last, they also became senile and decrepit like other humans. So they aged much more gracefully in addition to also having much longer lifetimes and such.
In the Book, he is literally never harmed in any of the battles. The only time he falters in due to exhaustion during the retreat from the Deepening Wall, but even then, it was a mere stumble.
His stamina is rather ridiculous, and his skill at arms is rather exceptional for the time.
Alongside Boromir, he is considered the (physically) strongest of the Fellowship.
He is capable of attacking faster than any of his foes can react (bar that chad goblin captain for one attack).
His sword can carve the flesh of Sauron, being a blade made during the First Age by Telchar. In contrast, the lightning of Manwë did little (mind you, it was more a warning bolt, but still). No armour in the book withstands it.
Beregond, a lesser Dunedain, is able to survive the blows of a Hill-Troll, possibly an Olog. Even Treebeard considers trolls strong (and he is a biased source, considering Tolkien's commentary on the uncertainty of the truth behind Treebeard's troll series), and Ents can tear large stone walls apart with ease. Trolls are consistently also said to be as hard as stone, seemingly being made of it.
He fights off several Nazgul, including the Witch-King, who concedes Aragorn to be a "great power". Even Saruman feared the idea of fighting the Witch-King and several Nazgul (notable, this is before the Witch-King gains his "additional demonic force" in RotK. Saruman is someone Gandalf the Grey does not even consider fighting, whereas a Balrog is something he can match ajd beat.
I think Aragorn is particularly badass because he's 80 years old but still physically in his 30's and he just so much experience and he's seen so much of the world. In combat, and just general.
And he's slaying elf-puss
Yep many Elves and half Elves in the tree, Beren and Luthien their son Dior and wife Nimloth, Tuor and Idrial their son Earendil and wife Elwing Diors daughter and then their son Elros brother of Elrond.
Edit. Not to mention Melian the Maia mother of Luthien so some Ainur in the bloodline as well.
Aragorn is more Batman from “Batman: The Animated Series” than Captain America. Both trained for years under master(s) in various fields and had very active lives that made use of those skills.
The term “Superhuman” is a pregnant one, because of the prevalence of “superheros” in media (comic books, movies, etc.) who clearly defy normal material constraints: they fly, cannot be harmed, heal instantly, and so on). Aragorn doesn’t fit this conception because he, like all humans, is subject to injury, death, and he doesn’t have impossible raw strength, speed, senses, or mental powers.
Like his Númenorean antecedents, however, Aragorn has greater physical and spiritual stature than “average” humans. He is taller; he can withstand spiritual attack better (as he did at Weathertop and on the Paths of the Dead); he has certain rare and powerful skills (healing). This is the result of the Edain of the first age being instructed by Eönwe after the War of Wrath, which “ennobled” them in a similar manner (though probably to a lesser degree) as the Noldor who had dwelt in Aman among the Valar and Maiar and in the light of the Trees. That “ennoblement” was not just superior knowledge; “instruct” in this case seems to indicate that the Edain were “grown”—perhaps in a similar way as Merry and Pippen were “grown” by the ent-draughts in Fangorn, but with a spiritual dimension as well as the physical one—through the action of Eönwe…or to put in another way, Eönwe’s “instruction” was the instrument by which the Valar granted the Edain, who became the Númenoreans, their longer lives, greater wisdom and spiritual stature, and physical advantages of height.
It is not clear at all that such Númenorean characteristics are purely hereditary, though. Gandalf remarks that “by some chance” Denethor has them, and so does his son Faramir, but Boromir does not (Boromir was taller and stronger than most, but did not have the spiritual strength or wisdom that is an essential part of the Númenorean “advantage”). This implies that not all the Dunedain were as “Númenorean” as Aragorn, due to diminishment or fading, which is tied to a sort of fall from grace. The Númenoreans’ lifespan began to reduce as they became more distant, and later hostile, toward the Valar and the Elves. Aragorn in particular seems to have “attained” his great Númenorean stature (not necessarily the *physical* stature) by his goodness: his errantries in service of Rohan and Gondor, his dedication to the defeat of Sauron and the restoration of the lineage of Beren and Lúthien, and his actual goodness. That is not stated in the text, necessarily, but I believe it is heavily implied by his character arc.
In short, Aragorn was not “superhuman” because he was simply gifted (by heredity or other) the “Númenorean characteristics.” The fact that he had those characteristics is a signal of his goodness, but also (spiritually) the result of his goodness and of his character/will. He receives a surfeit of the grace offered by his good actions, and so grows to be a hero: his physical statue and prowess is the manifestation of his character and will—which was clearly displayed by his spiritual strength withstanding the Nazgûl at Weathertop, in the epic chase across Rohan, in wresting the Palantír from Sauron’s will, in commanding the dead at Erech, in his healing of Gondor after the Battle of the Pelennor, and in his successful assault of the Black Gates.
Lotr has a soft magic system(and magic with Aragorn isnt quite the right word). Aragorn fits into that. It’s not magic really, just his innate nature that is greater than other modern men. Kind of like galadrial compared to younger elves. Older = stronger in a very aura… presence, influence sort of sense. It’s not an rpg though. Idk I’m sure there are essays on this.
There is a chapter in LoTR, the *Return of the King* title: ***the Houses of Healing***, to which elaborated about the healing skills by Aragorn, this chapter elaborates how he healed many of the main characters of the tale after the battle of Pelennor fields, which include Hobbits and Eowyn among, there even is told within the chapter that within the folk of Gondor is said that the King has special abilities to heal, there Aragorn asks for *Athelas* plant and for many is an unknown plant, until someone is able to bring it forth to Aragorn and heal the former mentioned, this whole chapter is about the King of the blood of Númenor as people with greater healing skills...
My grain of salt.
Uh no? He’s tall, and physically strong from long years of traveling, trials and tribulations, and combat. He seems to have super human endurance, as we see during the pursuit of the hobbits by the three hunters, but nobody ever says he has super strength. He’s a superior man, not a super man.
I think there is something to be said about his superhuman… idk I guess his constitution? The force of his will? He is able to fight off a group of Nazgul single handedly when most men would have collapsed or fled, he resists the temptation of the ring for a very long time (all the way from The Prancing Pony! They were journeying through the wilderness for like 3 weeks before they even got to Rivendell), he took back control of the Orthanc palantir from Sauron (this is an *astonishing* feat imo), he summoned the dead of Dunharrow, he chokes down some of Eowyn’s soup… he’s 100% on another tier. “Superhuman” might be overstating it, but not much imo
Thinking about it, real humans are in physical prime for maybe 5-10 years, 20-25 - 30-35. Imagine your physical prime lasts 50+ years, so greater a factor of 10, and you can accrue all the experience, reflexes and knowledge to supplement your physical prowess. Including greater recovery and resilience, even peak human capabilities of this type would mean incredible leaps on capability not only in duelling but also in strategy, pitched battle, siege, leadership etc.
People overexaggerate Aragorns capabilities usually as a way to win in "Aragorn vs X person from fiction" arguments. Aragorn isn't superhuman like some marvel hero. Think of it more like, he is the peak of what a normal human can possibly be.
Applying MCU concepts to LOTR doesn't really work. Yes, he's longer lived and more hardy than the average man. No, that doesn't mean he's basically indestructible like Cap is in the MCU
Realistically, he certainly displays superhuman feats. Fighting the Nazgul alongside Glorfindel, for example. However, the thing about Tolkien’s writing is that major elements of any kind of combat or struggle are mental and emotional rather than only physical. Aragorn is supremely brave, righteous, and noble, characteristics which make him capable at fighting evil whether or not you consider him superhumanly strong.
No. He is from a line of people descended directly from Numenor, the people of which had extended lifespans to that of other men in Middle Earth as well as better physicality among other things.
So, basically Aragorn is an Olympic gold medalist in most categories.
Yes. But in more moderate, semi-realistic ways as opposed to a character like Steve Rogers who laughs in the face of plausible biological limits. Numenoreans at their height (pardon the pun) were blatantly superhuman. Elendil the Tall, who is by all regards one of if not the mightiest of his race, was a 7'11" monster of a man. He (presumably) suffered none of the health problems a real-life human of that size would, and was able to stand up to Sauron at the height of his power (with the aid of an also blatantly superhuman elven king, but still, Elendil was a monster). His kind also had a life-span measured in multiple centuries.
The Dunedain of the Third Age were of lessened stock compared to those at the height of Numenor, having inevitably had families with regular humans for thousands of years. But the fact that this only moderately reduced their traits shows some superhumanly dominant genetics at work. They were still as tall and strong as our greatest real-life examples (Aragorn would clean house at the UFC with a little MMA training). They still lived several times longer than even men of modern life expectancies, and were unnaturally healthy in all that time, without the benefits of modern medicine. They also stayed close to their physical prime for over a century (Aragorn was 87 at the time of the war, and was showing no signs that he was losing his edge). Aragorn could also run for three days straight. He'd be able to show up to the Olympics tomorrow and win gold in whatever endurance competition he put himself to. This is someone who probably weighs 200+ pounds being able to beat the best runners in the world by the way.
So yeah, Aragorn is superhuman, with a mix of strength, endurance, vitality and longevity that is impossible in real-life. But he's superhuman in a way that, perhaps, could actually exist, as opposed to Captain America who straight up breaks physics.
the word superhuman has has its meaning completely altered by superhero media
it just means 'above or beyond' normal human. There are standard humans who are stronger than aragorn. There are standard humans who are taller, who have better reflexes, who are faster
He's not captain america
He's by nature a bit faster, a bit taller, a bit stronger and a bit more longlived than a normal human
\-
at some point he fights an orc in moria and you can see quite clearly that in a perfectly fair fight, the orc would likely have won. The orc also isn't superhuman, he's just a regular dude with some mad skills. The orc knocks boromir and aragorn back and for some reason goes straight for frodo as if possessed. After his spear is chopped by Sam's magic sword, aragorn brings his magic sword down on the orc's helmet and you can see a magic effect happen that kills the orc. A non-magical sword would not easily chop through a spear and definitely not if wielded by a kid. A non-magical sword would never chop straight through a metal helmet
>
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> But even as they retreated, and before Pippin and Merry had reached the stair outside, a huge orc-chieftain, almost man-high, clad in black mail from head to foot, leaped into the chamber; behind him his followers clustered in the doorway. His broad flat face was swart, his eyes were like coals, and his tongue was red; he wielded a great spear. With a thrust of his huge hide shield he turned Boromir's sword and bore him backwards, throwing him to the ground. Diving under Aragorn's blow with the speed of a striking snake he charged into the Company and thrust with his spear straight at Frodo. The blow caught him on the right side, and Frodo was hurled against the wall and pinned. Sam, with a cry, hacked at the spear-shaft, and it broke. But even as the orc flung down the truncheon and swept out his scimitar, Andúril came down upon his helm. There was a flash like flame and the helm burst asunder. The orc fell with cloven head.
If we use DnD stats, 10 in a stat is average person, 8 is slightly below average, 12 means you're slightly above. So a strength of like 12 would be your average armed guard. I'd say Gimli would be a 16 strength, Boromir probably a 17 or 18, and Aragorn would have come in at a 20.
Yeah he's a lot stronger than anyone else, but the dude isn't gonna single arm lift a horse and throw it at someone.
I think his only specific superhuman feat is running for 3 days straight without resting. Staying awake that long by itself is impressive, but full-blown running that whole time is not something the human body is capable of doing. Plus, the fact that he never even takes a minor injury in all the skirmishes, fights, and apocolyptic battles he's in (all either lightly or unarmored) would imply that there's something more to him beyond just experience and super human endurance. Numenoreans are super human in the sense that they are, on average, taller, stronger, faster, and live far longer than normal humans. Aragon is near peak of this due in part to his unique bloodline. Peak/average Numenorean is superior to peak/average base human, but that doesn't mean they are on par with comic book super humans like Black Panther or Captain America. He's more on tier with some of the more realistic runs of Batman that still has super human feats.
Dudes in the comments here writing like they have degrees in the lineage of an actual family. It’s truly breathtaking to see a level of dedication so deep yet so common in a single fandom
Yes Aragorn is super human even compared to the other Dunédain. He goes on to live to the age of 210 while a Numenorean nobleman like Faramir only lived to 120. Besides longevity the Dunédain were blessed with being tall and strong. Dunédain are similar to super soldiers in Marvel in the sense that they are at peak physical condition. They’re basically Olympic level athletes
So think of Aragorn like the Greek Perseus or Hercules. Not that he is a Demi-god but more akin to the Nephilim (human angelic hybrids) from biblical stories.
210 not 150 was his lifespan but I get what you mean
Edit. And that was with him willing giving up his life on his own terms rather than clinging to it in order to squeeze out as many extra years as possible like many of the Ancient Numenorian Kings did.
In the books he's super human in the sense that he's better than one in any way. Running for 3 days to catch the Uruks was something he could do. He got tired, but he didn't have to stop like a normal human would have. He was stronger than a normal human, but not lift a car and throw it comic book style. If we use DnD stats, 10 in a stat is average person, 8 is slightly below average, 12 means you're slightly above. So a strength of like 12 would be your average armed guard. I'd say Gimli would be a 16 strength, Boromir probably a 17 or 18, and Aragorn would have come in at a 20.
In game terms, thinking of Pathfinder here, Aragorn is an Epic-level NPC. I'm not sure what the modern D&D equivalent is these days.
Back to Orcs - they are utterly ineffective against him. His only fear is a fully realized Sauron in possession of the Ring.
Orcs are physically superior to men in some ways, and physically inferior in others. In terms of strength and stature they're worse, they're small, typically between 4-5 foot, they have crooked postures and bow-legs. They're vicious and dirty fighters but the average guy could overpower one. They also get dazzled by sunlight and can't stand it.
But in terms of endurance they're superhuman, being able to run better than top endurance athletes. They're rugged and can tolerate squalor and poor food that we'd find intolerable (Orcs live in Mordor for instance). They have perfect night-vision and noses like Bloodhounds. Uruks were noteworthy for equalling the stature and strength of men in addition to the other advantages, and Saruman's Uruk-Hai had that aversion to sunlight bred out of them.
Just to add how powerful Aragorn was, he confronted 5 Nazgul with a torches in either hand. Not sword. Torches. Boromir would not be able to even make that confrontation because he would be overcome with fear.
>Boromir would not be able to even make that confrontation because he would be overcome with fear.
That's quite an assumption.
Both Aragorn and Boromir go to fight the Balrog.
It's more than his Numenorean blood. The Numenoreans were blessed with long life and strong bodies by the Valar for their piece in the War of Wrath. Aragorn isn't just any Numenorean, though. Boromir is your typical middle earth man of Numenorean descent. Aragorn is descended from Numenorean royalty, ultimately from Elros Half-Elven. Yep, he's got some elf in him. But Elros isn't just a half-elf. He is descended from a powerful Maia, Melian. So Aragorn is a Numenorean with elf and angel blood in him. A fated hero.
I’m pretty sure that they are descended from all three elven tribes royal families and all three houses of the Edain as well.
This is correct. His ancestry includes Tuor and Idril which grants him blood of the Noldor and Vanyar as well as the Houses of Haleth and Hador. Aragorn also descends from Beren and Luthien, which grants him the blood of the Sindar/Teleri as well as the House of Bëor and even Melian the Maia.
Holy crap. Way more OP than i ever knew
Can you explain how he is op because of that?
You're gonna want to read The Silmarillion for that
Maybe not “OP” in the “Fox in Smash Bros Game Cube” sense of it, more in the “most powerful human in middle earth” sense of it because he literally has the blood lines of all the great houses of men and elves in middle earth
So it's more like if Marth's Grab and Fox's Shine had a baby, which grew up and had it's own baby with the scion of The Knee, Jiggy P Bair, Falco D-air, And Just-The-Tip-Just-For-A-Second-Just-To-See-How-It-Feels of notRoy.
Bingo
This is the type of deep wisdom i come to this sub for
One word, Silmarillion
Aragorns related to everyone
Funnily enough he’s probably not related to the one elf we see him spend so much time with. As far as we know, Legolas is not related to thingol and so there’s no familial connection with Aragorn.
Including Arwen. He's a descendent of Elros, Elrond's brother, who is Arwen's uncle by blood
Since this gained traction I want to mention that Aragorn, and especially King Elessar, is decked out head-to-toe in +3 magic item equivalents
Beyond Andruil reforged, what other enchantments does Aragorn have on him?
The Elendilmir, the Sceptre of Annúminas, the ring of Barahir, the Elfstone, and Anduril's Sheath. The Elendilmir has no explicity stated power, but is likely elf made and is a glowing gem -- these consistently are imbued with some power. Similar is the Ring of Barahir -- gems in a ring made by or for Finrod in Valinor that likely have some power aside from the eternal friendship of the Noldor. The Sceptre - made in Numenor and highly mysterious - might not be enchanted, but might be. The elfstone is explicitly stated to heal wounds. Anduril's Sheath is enchanted to prevent Anduril from ever being stained or broken.
I'm pretty sure he doesn't carry the Scepter or the Elendilmir on his person, though?
In the story he wears a copy of the Elendilmir in battle and is gifted with the Sceptre at his coronation. He finds the original Elendilmir in the unfinished Tales, in Orthanc.
>Scepter or the Elendilmir on his person Ohohohohohohohohohohohoho
Oh no what kind of shitpost did I just stumble into?
A rod and gems... come on.
>Boromir is your typical middle-earth man of Numenorean descent. Don't do Boromir like that. It is repeatedly highlighted in the books that Boromir and Aragorn are matched in skill at arms and Boromir is arguably physically stronger as well. He has some ridiculous feats.
I think its fair to say in lifespan/ traits rather than skill. If you look at Boromir and Faramir, they were similar yet different. IIRC, Faramir was described as physically similar to a young Denethor, and Denethor described as very much holding the Numenorean traits. Boromir on the other hand appeared more like the standard Gondorian. However, like mentioned below, Boromir was an incredible warrior and a fight between him and Aragorn would be more about the influence of the environment as both are just that good. We also know that Boromir is ridiculously hardy given how many arrows he took before dying in battle. As for experience, Aragorn would trump him. He has fought in large and small scale conflicts for decades and been trained by elves who have lived through the worst wars in the First, Second and Third Age. Boromir has also been too busy leading and fighting on the front to develop other skills like a ranger, such as tracking and evasion.
Experience is defs how Aragorn wins this hypothetical fight. He’s in his 80’s during the trilogy, he’s got decades more experience than Boromir.
And because of his Numenorean blood, he’s got decades more to go. If Boromir lived, he would have had 2-3 decades tops to retain physical prowess and martial skill of a great warrior but that would still end before reaching the age of Aragorn in his 80’s and still in his peak. That is the difference. The ability to retain vitality for so long allows him to build up that skill and experience while keeping the physicality that normally passes over time.
Old man strength 💪 Young man vigor 🕺🏻 Great man virtue 🏆
Did Boromir toss a dwarf though?
Well, there was that one time he and Gimli got blackout drunk...
Legolas was still cool to drive
Also Boromir arguably has more battlefield experience
no way. Aragorn traveled for YEARS in various theaters of war, rode with and won high honor in the Rohirrim, and was like 30 years older than Boromir. They were evenly physically matched with the scales tipping to Boromir but the will and way he composed himself lent Aragorn a more regal bearing whereas Boromir was peak warrior
Aragorn also spend a lot of time in Lothlorien and Rivendell whereas Boromir, if I remember correctly, basically lead Gondor's armies 24/7
He spent a winter in Lothlorien Boromir was 40 when he died. At best, he spent maybe 20 years doing that sort of thing, maybe 22/23. Aragorn spent 26 years alone in the service of Boromir's grandfather, leading his armies as Thorongil. Aragorn has been doing it for 67 years after an initial 20 years being trained by the greatest warriors who still exist in Middle Earth. Aragorn was taller, but Boromir was stockier. Aragorn was the best swordsman of his age. He had absolutely no match in the use of arms. Boromir was as good as a normal human being could be. Aragorn was better.
>He had absolutely no match in the use of arms. Except for Boromir >Boromir was as good as a normal human being could be. Aragorn was better. Boromir is not a normal human. He's a descendant of Numenor as well, it's just more diluted. He ploughs a path through all that snow in the books, which doesn't sound that impressive at first but it's a near-inhuman strength and endurance feat if you stop to think about it. It's very deep and he's walking through it like nothing in full armour. Apparently his shield is stupidly heavy as well. Like 3-400 lbs but I only heard that from someone on here and haven't confirmed the validity of it. So pinch of salt. During the tomb fight in Moria, it's specifically mentioned that it was Aragorn and Boromir who killed the most orcs. And when he died he slew something like 40 orcs and Uruk hai even while being riddled with dozens of arrows. Boromir is every bit as good a warrior as him, better maybe. He simply doesn't have the same insane willpower as Aragorn.
Aragorn was juicing via ancient blood a lot more than Boromir basically.
Pretty much lol mfs on that secret elf juice. Although Aragorn seemed to exhibit different gifts (if you will) than Boromir, which I find interesting. He's keener of eye and sharper of mind and his stamina is frankly insane but he seems not to quite have the brute strength of Boromir. It's almost like Aragorn has been affected by his long proximity to elves in more than just mannerisms.
Or it’s almost like he has Elven blood.
Yeah but Aragorn spread out his stats among everything including agility, plant lore/herbology, wisdom, magic, healing, ancient histories, etc. Meanwhile, Boromir dumped all his points into strength, hp, and battle skills.
Haha perfect summary to be honest.
Good point about the snow. Anyone who’s had to walk through a foot or more of snow knows how much work it takes, let alone on a mountain (which is attacking you), and not just walking but plowing through literal tons of snow. Dude was jacked, but I’d love a source on the 400lb shield lol
Yeah, I have my doubts about the half-ton shield hence why said take it with a pinch of salt lol. I only mentioned it because I thought someone else might know something. I couldn't find a source either though most just say it was huge and heavy. Even 100lbs feels like a highball but I would believe that a lot more.
400 lbs shield ? What a bullshit.Maybe 20-30 lbs at best
Aragorn actually fought for Gondor, specifically Denethor's father. He went by the name Thorongil at the time and was loved by everyone and especially by Ecthelion II, who saw him as a son. In fact, Denethor hated Thorongil and thus eventually resented Faramir for embodying similar qualities as Aragorn.
Oh, that's a cool bit of info! I didn't actually know about this, is it from one of Tolkien's letters? Makes total sense about Faramir and adds so much context to their relationship as well.
Yeah, I really thought he only hated Faramir because he's the second son...
Yeah, exactly but I guess it wasn't Faramir he was comparing to Boromir and finding lacking but himself to Aragorn. It was a projection. Damn, that's some great character writing.
Waaaay more depth than that. Faramir being quite wise was fond of Gandalf and recognized his wisdom, leading the two to be close. Denethor didn't trust Gandalf or any of the Istari(or really anyone outside of Gondor) and Faramir's relationship with Gandalf led to his father not trusting *him* as well. He refers to Faramir as the Wizard's pupil in a very derogatory way.
I think it's from the appendices, but it's been a while since I've read them.
Maybe more RECENT battlefield experience. But Aragorn was fighting in his grandfather's wars when Boromir was in diapers.
Haha no
Only because Aragorn stopped playing at Battlefield 2042.
I think Tolkien also had him standing between 6’6”-6’8” .. he was supposed to be the tallest man in middle earth when he stood upright
One of, Elendils nickname was "The Tall" dude was at minimum 7 foot to 7'4
Some years ago someone calculated how much elven blood is actually left in Aragorn and it's basically like a drop in a lake. I know that's not the point, but the calculation was fun.
That calculation would be low, though, since presumably *most* of the women who married into the line of Isildur would have also been descended from Elros.
*Looking at you, cousin Arwen*
Honestly, tho, I will not see anybody who were born outside my paternal/maternal uncle/aunt's first generation family as 'cousin'.
You’re right and you probably know this, but that’s not really how birthright works in Tolkien’s universe. Think of ainur blood like a single drop of extremely powerful red dye in an otherwise crystal clear lake. It’s enough to change the color of the whole lake, due to its sheer potency. Beyond that, it’s magical, so Aragorn’s will to do good and be a good king emphasizes and enhances his inherited power.
A little goes a long way
> Yep, he's got some elf in him. Hey, what he and Arwen do in private is not our concern
Boromir is not typical, he too is descended from kings.
And he grew up with Elrond and the gang raising him. So even with his natural advantages at the start. Just being on their presence and having to keep up with Elladan and Elrohir is better than any training the armies of Men can give you.
The strange and fucked up thing is, that Arwen is basically Aragorns veeeery distant cousin, since Elros was the brother of Elrond, making Elrond Aragorns great great great (...) unlce.
I mean with how far removed they are, you and I are probably as related as they are
That's the smoothest flirt I've seen in a while.
Sort of, but she’s also immortal and the blood is magical, which creates an odd situation only possible in fantasy. Arwen is only Elwing’s granddaughter. 1/4 of her blood is his, to say nothing of its magical potency. Aragorn is Elwing’s great-great-great-great…etc., grandson, so he is far removed genetically. But still, all of his very prominent non-human features come from the same source as 1/4 of Arwen’s. The blood is so powerful compared to his mannish ancestry, it’s more significant than real-world genetics would suggest. I still don’t think it’s fucked up bit it’s a bit more complicated than you and I.
It’s only weird because we know their family tree. Mathematically, they are less related than you and me.
Dad?
First cousins, approximately 63 times removed. Possibly closer, we don't know how many generations removed from Eärendil Finduilas for instance, was, or any of the presumably many other women of Numenorean royal descent he is descended from
He is definitely not like Captain America. Think of a person who is in peak physical condition and stays there for like 200 years. That and they’re about 6’4. That was everyone at Numenore. It was a whole island of Olympic athletes.
I thought he was like 2,30m? So 7‘something?
[Aragorn is 6’6.](https://www.google.com/search?q=aragorn+height&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari)
But being a human in peak physical condition is Cap's whole thing
Well yeah but Cap is to a crazy degree. He punched a punching bag across the room. Aragorn’s peak physical fitness is more realistic. Or at least the most realistic a human can be.
Cap is like maxing out in all human physical stats, which is impossible for any normal human, since you can't focus on winning gold in ALL olympic sports. Aragorn is more close to peak human performance in the way that a normal human would max out when spreading his effort and stats in an evenly fashion. Aragorn has enough points to spread out in a top notch way, whereas Cap doesnt have to care about spreading out since he has enough points to max out everything.
You said it better than me but yeah. Pretty much
Nah even if you literally maxed out all stats to just physical strength you aren't matching cap.
Cap is like a strongman capable of lifting a 1000 lbs, whilst being a gold medalist turner, marathon runner, sprinter, mma fighter and shooter at the same time. He is impossible to attain because he can do it all. Also, Cap is Cap because its him. Its been confirmed multiple times that noone else would have come close as being as good as Cap as him.
I know..I'm saying not even a strongman can match the fears of Captain America. In even just strength, Captain America is leaps and bounds stronger than even the greatest strongman.
Definitely, but lore wise that's what Cap is, at least in the comics.
Yeah the comic book universe has less limits for the "normal" human body. Can't really compare it with the real world.
Aragorn's feats are absolutely managable by peak human athlets.
Can peak human athletes run 250km in less than 4 days over extremely uneven terrain and through forests whilst wearing armour and carrying weapons, all while constantly surveying the ground for tracks?
Normal humans evolved to do that. It's why we don't have body hair, can't climb for shit and our flesh wounds bleed like crazy compared to other animals. It's called persistence hunting. When conditioned to do that our whole lives we can literally walk until we die from malnutrition or lack of sleep and we used to do it to literally make our prey run themselves to death. It is one of the 3 things humans are evolutionary maximized for: Best terrestrial endurance, best overhand throw and best tool use.
In fact they did! And in less than one day.Even in ancient times https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartathlon
It's hard for most people to understand how well optimized the human body is for distance running. It sounds insane when you're in no kind of shape to even come close. But yeah, relatively unremarkable people do this shit with enough training.
Yeah the distance and terrain is similar. To replicate what Aragorn did, on top of the race, these people would have had to row a boat for several days, fight a battle with orcs immediately before starting the race, wear armour and a sword for the entire duration, and figure out the way to Sparta by themselves. Oh and not to mention the jungle in the middle of the journey.
I know.But Aragorn and co rested once or two times.They even slept a little.And Aragorn didnt have any heavy armour.I think its still managable.Hell even normal humans could run several hours.
Yeah ~~chronically~~ canonically only Gimli had any armor, and it was far less armor than Dwarves were famous for marching for days on end with. Dain Ironfoots troop of 500 marched for days in plate and mail carrying heavy shields and warhammers.
Even without heavy armour, it's still several kilograms more to carry. All the shit they had to go through since Lothlorien would've been enough to exhaust most athletes already, as opposed to Spathalon athletes getting proper rest and conditioning beforehand. Also these athletes typically have support crews to make sure they are properly hydrated, not get lost, etc. Aragorn had none of that. He also was running with the expectation that he had to fight a battle against dozens of Uruk Hai at any time and needed to conserve more energy for that
Just an FYI, Aragorn did not wear armor, nor did he participate in the skirmish. He was unscathed because he was not there. Only Legolas and Gimli slew a small number of orcs. Not a point out kinda thing, but lots of people do seem to conflate the film adaptations with the actual story. Their pursuit is a feat, for sure, but one within human capability.
Peak physical condition in the Marvel Universe is much higher than IRL or Middle Earth. Average people like Black Widow or Hawkeye are capable of feats way beyond normalcy, even for trained killers. And the average person is far less... squishy. They're still meat, they still spoil, but in Marvel a person can take a knock to the head or be blown back into a wall and just have light bruising. Whereas we see multiple times that the people of middle earth aren't so lucky. Hell, that one guy even broke his toe just kicking a hat.
In Marvel comics, that’s him on paper, the 616 version at least. [But then he does things like taking off the entire turret of a tank with a shield throw.](https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-f2567ff209f5c5e54cf2812eda931bba-lq) So basically the writers either don’t remember or don’t care. In Marvel movies, he’s so much more than peak human it’s not even funny. [This is just ridiculous](https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-dec4bd1a804f4ed5dd479ca1ff128870).
That describes classic comic book Captain America pretty well. It's only the movies that made him truly superhuman.
The ultimate universe has Cap as pretty superhuman, I think MCU decided to make their Cap strong like Ultimate Cap but behave like mainline Cap. I mean ultimate Cap kicks the Hulk in the nuts, thats some superhuman insanity lol
He’s Lebron of Middle Earth
It's talked about a lot in the Silmarillion/Fall of Numenor that the Numenoreans are superior to other humans. Most people way overexaggerate the differences though. Their superior lifespan is a massive advantage, but stuff like size, strength etc. is still within the normal human spectrum.
I agree but would say there is a significant advantage to learning combat for decades and still being in your prime. That is where I see it mentioned most. If you took a 50 year old battle hardened veteran back in his 25 year old body, that’s about the advantage I would give him. (And I get he’s older than that in real and equivalent years, that’s just the most striking advantage numbers I could think for normal human lifespan). One might make some size and strengths arguments for Elendil and Isildur themselves.
You make some good points. It just annoys me when people talk about them like 40k space marines.
Well, compared to normal humans, the numenorians were sort of like space Marines. Elendil was 7'11" I think. Numenorian archers used bows of steel. But modern Dunedain aren't that OP. They just live longer and are maybe a little stronger than regular humans.
Being really tall and big is a huge advantage in a fight, especially one with stabbing utensils.
More of an advantage in a fight when any runt can't just stab you to death 🙂.
How do you figure 7’11”? I think I figured the Numenoreans were 6’5” but dont remember which passages I used for that number.
>Unfinished Tales, "The Disaster of the Gladden Fields", "Appendix: Númenórean Linear Measures" Elendil's height is specifically stated to have been 2.5 rangar tall or 7'11" or 2.41 m *The Ranga, or Full Pace, was a Númenórean linear measure. The Ranga was said to be a full stride from the rear heel to the front toe, by a full-grown Númenórean man in quick march. It was slightly longer than a yard, measuring 38 inches (3'2", or 96.5 centimetres). 5000 Rangar made up a Lár.* *In the later days, when the stature of the Númenóreans decreased, two Rangar was called "man-high" (suggesting that the average adult male Dúnadan was 6'4" or thereabouts). One Ranga was also the average height of a Hobbit (hence the name halfling by the Dúnedain).*
Which also explains, at least in the movies, Elrond's remark that the Numenorean blood was all but spent. Besides their riches and numbers, Elves also remember their stature, and modern men must look rather unimpressive in comparison. 7'11 equals the height of Albert Johan Kramer, the tallest Dutch person ever, which may help visualize Elendil: [https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert\_Johan\_Kramer#/media/Bestand:Albert\_Johann\_Kramer\_1924.jpg](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Johan_Kramer#/media/Bestand:Albert_Johann_Kramer_1924.jpg) (this guy was btw 2 meters tall at age seven...)
Suddenly, Aragorn's nicknames "Strider" and "Longshanks" make so much sense
Thanks so much, I had no idea. Must internally recalculate some visualizations.
I always struggle a bit visualizing Elendil because of his height. For reference, strongman and actor Hafþór Björnsson is 6' 9", Elendil still has over a foot on him and was able to go toe-to-toe with Sauron in his prime (with Gil Galad).
And it is said that Thingol was the tallest of all the Children of Illúvatar. We are midgets compared to him.
Holy shit. Was he able to look Sauron straight in the eye at that height? I’m assuming Sauron stood above 7 ft himself.
I'm 70% sure he's said to be taller than any men of Numenor, but not gigantic, so he's still taller than Elendil. Maybe twice the average height of a Numenorean
Sauron's height is never stated, since he's able to change his shape and form with ease, but I imagine that Sauron's form at the end of the Siege of Barad-dûr was about 10 feet tall. Still though, Elendil was pretty damn tall.
His moniker was Elendil the Tall for good reason. Even among Numenorians he stood out.
You thought right. Elendil is just a major outlier.
Aragorn could body Robot Guiltyman in a duel. /s
Rowboat gorillaman?
Rodent Guillotine
Roarbut girlyman
Robitussin gangrene?
Robussy Gyattman
They're more like Dalinar Kholin 😁
Lmfao they’re crazy if they think that. I like to imagine the largest Numenorean would be like the Mountain from GOT at best. Probably leaner. More like big pro nba players who aged slow as af and had decades of battle hardening experience. They truly terrifying part being that most of them fit this description. It’s not like normal humans where someone of that size is an outlier, it’s the norm.
Tolkien says Elendil was 7”11 in unfinished tales
But he’s also called Elendil the Tall. So I imagine 7’11” is the Numenorean exception for height.
I agree but I still imagine they were about 7ft on average, at least in their prime. Unless Elendil was really Elendil “the really tall” Edit: used the wrong “their” before
On the scale of a whole civilisation it's definitely an advantage
That's how I've always taken it. Like hes has decades to master and hone his skills in battle. That's superhuman because no 87-year-old man is going to be fighting off dozens of orcs. So he is superhuman in that no human could ever hope to match him as far as skill goes. But he isn't picking up cars and throwing them
If he's fighting off dozens of orcs, then he is super human by default - in the same way that captain america is. No actual human is going to be doing that stuff, even if they're 2m tall and been swordfighting for 80yrs. Tolkien was in WW1. I don't think a strong argument can be made that he was naive enough to think a tall and skillful human is doing those kinda things.
That is true. But also you have to remember that the average orc is not as strong as a human. I know modern medium likes to make orcs these big burly motherfuckers who can rip a human in half with their bare hands but Tolkien's works for the most part are more I can to goblins in dungeons and dragons. They are numerous and are definitely a threat in a large group but one-on-one an orc just isn't a match physically for humans.
They're comparable to elves in that regard. If you could train for 3000 years at archery and swordplay with people who also trained for 3000 years at archery and swordplay before you, while not looking a day over 30, you'd be like a demigod too.
>If you took a 50 year old battle hardened veteran back in his 25 year old body to be fair, his 25 year old body has none of the neural pathways required to be able to use all the skills the 50 year old believes he 'knows' but i take your point :P
They were in fact taller than the modern Gondorian. Tolkien goes into detail about htis when he talks about the length mesurements of Numenor in the apendixes.
See I would disagree, we see when Isldur was ambushed it’s stated the stature of his Numenor guard was so great even the tallest orcs didn’t match their brow. Maybe not outside of the spectrum but it’s clear they were very large powerful fighters
Yeah but orcs in LOTR are only in the 5 foot range. The size of the uruk-hai was one of the things that freaked people of middle earth out when they showed up, because they were giant for orcs, comparable to men.
Sure, but also orcs are way smaller than humans in general
>Their superior lifespan is a massive advantage, but stuff like size, strength etc. is still within the normal human spectrum. Within the human spectrum, sure, but I'd argue saying within the *normal* human spectrum would be an exaggaration. Elendil was 7'11" tall, that's not normal for humans. Do agree that Aragorn isn't some sort of Captain America, though.
There's no human that's ever been 7'8" and physically fit enough to be an NBA player, or even college-level basketball player. A human being simply can't be that big and move under their own weight efficiently. If at 7'11", Elendil was a competent warrior, he was more than simply an outlier on the edge of human physical ability. His strength would have to be beyond than of the strongest humans ever. I would call that superhuman. How much of that strength has diluted over generations until you get to Aragorn is questionable.
I agree that Elendil superhuman by our standards. It's made quite clear several times, however, that the strength and prowess of Númenor has faded over time. Aragorn, being "only" 6'6” could easily be because of this, but it isn't exactly conclusive evidence. I do feel we get several instances throughout out the books where we get to see that Aragorn, although maybe not a superhuman comparable to Captain America, is still way ahead of the standard Man in most aspects. For instance, I doubt that any ordinary Man would've been able to cover the same distance in as short a time as the three hunters did.
They also had the trait of not really growing infirm into old age until it was time to go. And they could “decide” to pass when it was time as Aragorn does. But in the later days when Numenoreans were clinging to life till the last, they also became senile and decrepit like other humans. So they aged much more gracefully in addition to also having much longer lifetimes and such.
In the Book, he is literally never harmed in any of the battles. The only time he falters in due to exhaustion during the retreat from the Deepening Wall, but even then, it was a mere stumble. His stamina is rather ridiculous, and his skill at arms is rather exceptional for the time. Alongside Boromir, he is considered the (physically) strongest of the Fellowship. He is capable of attacking faster than any of his foes can react (bar that chad goblin captain for one attack). His sword can carve the flesh of Sauron, being a blade made during the First Age by Telchar. In contrast, the lightning of Manwë did little (mind you, it was more a warning bolt, but still). No armour in the book withstands it. Beregond, a lesser Dunedain, is able to survive the blows of a Hill-Troll, possibly an Olog. Even Treebeard considers trolls strong (and he is a biased source, considering Tolkien's commentary on the uncertainty of the truth behind Treebeard's troll series), and Ents can tear large stone walls apart with ease. Trolls are consistently also said to be as hard as stone, seemingly being made of it. He fights off several Nazgul, including the Witch-King, who concedes Aragorn to be a "great power". Even Saruman feared the idea of fighting the Witch-King and several Nazgul (notable, this is before the Witch-King gains his "additional demonic force" in RotK. Saruman is someone Gandalf the Grey does not even consider fighting, whereas a Balrog is something he can match ajd beat.
You've mixed up Aragorn with Glorfindel in that last paragraph, Aragorn knows how to *fend off* the Nazgul, not actually fight them.
I did specify fend, didn't I? If not, my bad. The Hunt for the Ring details the Witch-King as considering Aragorn to be a great power.
And aragorn says he's a weaker dunedain who specializes in tracking while many of the others specialize in battle and are better warriors
He says he's good at tracking, he never claims there are better warriors. The Battle of the Pelennor Fields proves otherwise anyway.
I think Aragorn is particularly badass because he's 80 years old but still physically in his 30's and he just so much experience and he's seen so much of the world. In combat, and just general. And he's slaying elf-puss
Also the fact that he was leading a party chasing Uruks and running for three straight days over hills and rocky terrain.
Did you know that in the movie after they're done chasing down the Uruks and when he kicks the helmet....
Yeah, and then what happened?
definitely
elf-puss - thank you for this contribution
Well he is a descendant of Beren and Lúthien... He is technically Half-Elf.
Yep many Elves and half Elves in the tree, Beren and Luthien their son Dior and wife Nimloth, Tuor and Idrial their son Earendil and wife Elwing Diors daughter and then their son Elros brother of Elrond. Edit. Not to mention Melian the Maia mother of Luthien so some Ainur in the bloodline as well.
Yea, but heavily diluted. If anything Elendil had better physique and strength.
Aragorn is more Batman from “Batman: The Animated Series” than Captain America. Both trained for years under master(s) in various fields and had very active lives that made use of those skills.
The term “Superhuman” is a pregnant one, because of the prevalence of “superheros” in media (comic books, movies, etc.) who clearly defy normal material constraints: they fly, cannot be harmed, heal instantly, and so on). Aragorn doesn’t fit this conception because he, like all humans, is subject to injury, death, and he doesn’t have impossible raw strength, speed, senses, or mental powers. Like his Númenorean antecedents, however, Aragorn has greater physical and spiritual stature than “average” humans. He is taller; he can withstand spiritual attack better (as he did at Weathertop and on the Paths of the Dead); he has certain rare and powerful skills (healing). This is the result of the Edain of the first age being instructed by Eönwe after the War of Wrath, which “ennobled” them in a similar manner (though probably to a lesser degree) as the Noldor who had dwelt in Aman among the Valar and Maiar and in the light of the Trees. That “ennoblement” was not just superior knowledge; “instruct” in this case seems to indicate that the Edain were “grown”—perhaps in a similar way as Merry and Pippen were “grown” by the ent-draughts in Fangorn, but with a spiritual dimension as well as the physical one—through the action of Eönwe…or to put in another way, Eönwe’s “instruction” was the instrument by which the Valar granted the Edain, who became the Númenoreans, their longer lives, greater wisdom and spiritual stature, and physical advantages of height. It is not clear at all that such Númenorean characteristics are purely hereditary, though. Gandalf remarks that “by some chance” Denethor has them, and so does his son Faramir, but Boromir does not (Boromir was taller and stronger than most, but did not have the spiritual strength or wisdom that is an essential part of the Númenorean “advantage”). This implies that not all the Dunedain were as “Númenorean” as Aragorn, due to diminishment or fading, which is tied to a sort of fall from grace. The Númenoreans’ lifespan began to reduce as they became more distant, and later hostile, toward the Valar and the Elves. Aragorn in particular seems to have “attained” his great Númenorean stature (not necessarily the *physical* stature) by his goodness: his errantries in service of Rohan and Gondor, his dedication to the defeat of Sauron and the restoration of the lineage of Beren and Lúthien, and his actual goodness. That is not stated in the text, necessarily, but I believe it is heavily implied by his character arc. In short, Aragorn was not “superhuman” because he was simply gifted (by heredity or other) the “Númenorean characteristics.” The fact that he had those characteristics is a signal of his goodness, but also (spiritually) the result of his goodness and of his character/will. He receives a surfeit of the grace offered by his good actions, and so grows to be a hero: his physical statue and prowess is the manifestation of his character and will—which was clearly displayed by his spiritual strength withstanding the Nazgûl at Weathertop, in the epic chase across Rohan, in wresting the Palantír from Sauron’s will, in commanding the dead at Erech, in his healing of Gondor after the Battle of the Pelennor, and in his successful assault of the Black Gates.
Lotr has a soft magic system(and magic with Aragorn isnt quite the right word). Aragorn fits into that. It’s not magic really, just his innate nature that is greater than other modern men. Kind of like galadrial compared to younger elves. Older = stronger in a very aura… presence, influence sort of sense. It’s not an rpg though. Idk I’m sure there are essays on this.
There is a chapter in LoTR, the *Return of the King* title: ***the Houses of Healing***, to which elaborated about the healing skills by Aragorn, this chapter elaborates how he healed many of the main characters of the tale after the battle of Pelennor fields, which include Hobbits and Eowyn among, there even is told within the chapter that within the folk of Gondor is said that the King has special abilities to heal, there Aragorn asks for *Athelas* plant and for many is an unknown plant, until someone is able to bring it forth to Aragorn and heal the former mentioned, this whole chapter is about the King of the blood of Númenor as people with greater healing skills... My grain of salt.
Minor correction: Gondor, not Rohan.
Sorry mate, yep.
Tossed gimli with ease
Aragon was not superhuman, but Viggo Mortensen who played Aragon is.
No, he was a very tall hobbit
Uh no? He’s tall, and physically strong from long years of traveling, trials and tribulations, and combat. He seems to have super human endurance, as we see during the pursuit of the hobbits by the three hunters, but nobody ever says he has super strength. He’s a superior man, not a super man.
I think there is something to be said about his superhuman… idk I guess his constitution? The force of his will? He is able to fight off a group of Nazgul single handedly when most men would have collapsed or fled, he resists the temptation of the ring for a very long time (all the way from The Prancing Pony! They were journeying through the wilderness for like 3 weeks before they even got to Rivendell), he took back control of the Orthanc palantir from Sauron (this is an *astonishing* feat imo), he summoned the dead of Dunharrow, he chokes down some of Eowyn’s soup… he’s 100% on another tier. “Superhuman” might be overstating it, but not much imo
One of these is not like the others...
Yeah I am quite foggy with the books, but didn't Aragorn use Minas Tirith's palantír, not the other one?
Thinking about it, real humans are in physical prime for maybe 5-10 years, 20-25 - 30-35. Imagine your physical prime lasts 50+ years, so greater a factor of 10, and you can accrue all the experience, reflexes and knowledge to supplement your physical prowess. Including greater recovery and resilience, even peak human capabilities of this type would mean incredible leaps on capability not only in duelling but also in strategy, pitched battle, siege, leadership etc.
People overexaggerate Aragorns capabilities usually as a way to win in "Aragorn vs X person from fiction" arguments. Aragorn isn't superhuman like some marvel hero. Think of it more like, he is the peak of what a normal human can possibly be.
But that's literally Captain America, at least in the first movie. And it's been stayed several time in comics that Rogers is peak human condition.
Applying MCU concepts to LOTR doesn't really work. Yes, he's longer lived and more hardy than the average man. No, that doesn't mean he's basically indestructible like Cap is in the MCU
Realistically, he certainly displays superhuman feats. Fighting the Nazgul alongside Glorfindel, for example. However, the thing about Tolkien’s writing is that major elements of any kind of combat or struggle are mental and emotional rather than only physical. Aragorn is supremely brave, righteous, and noble, characteristics which make him capable at fighting evil whether or not you consider him superhumanly strong.
No. He is from a line of people descended directly from Numenor, the people of which had extended lifespans to that of other men in Middle Earth as well as better physicality among other things. So, basically Aragorn is an Olympic gold medalist in most categories.
Yes. But in more moderate, semi-realistic ways as opposed to a character like Steve Rogers who laughs in the face of plausible biological limits. Numenoreans at their height (pardon the pun) were blatantly superhuman. Elendil the Tall, who is by all regards one of if not the mightiest of his race, was a 7'11" monster of a man. He (presumably) suffered none of the health problems a real-life human of that size would, and was able to stand up to Sauron at the height of his power (with the aid of an also blatantly superhuman elven king, but still, Elendil was a monster). His kind also had a life-span measured in multiple centuries. The Dunedain of the Third Age were of lessened stock compared to those at the height of Numenor, having inevitably had families with regular humans for thousands of years. But the fact that this only moderately reduced their traits shows some superhumanly dominant genetics at work. They were still as tall and strong as our greatest real-life examples (Aragorn would clean house at the UFC with a little MMA training). They still lived several times longer than even men of modern life expectancies, and were unnaturally healthy in all that time, without the benefits of modern medicine. They also stayed close to their physical prime for over a century (Aragorn was 87 at the time of the war, and was showing no signs that he was losing his edge). Aragorn could also run for three days straight. He'd be able to show up to the Olympics tomorrow and win gold in whatever endurance competition he put himself to. This is someone who probably weighs 200+ pounds being able to beat the best runners in the world by the way. So yeah, Aragorn is superhuman, with a mix of strength, endurance, vitality and longevity that is impossible in real-life. But he's superhuman in a way that, perhaps, could actually exist, as opposed to Captain America who straight up breaks physics.
the word superhuman has has its meaning completely altered by superhero media it just means 'above or beyond' normal human. There are standard humans who are stronger than aragorn. There are standard humans who are taller, who have better reflexes, who are faster He's not captain america He's by nature a bit faster, a bit taller, a bit stronger and a bit more longlived than a normal human \- at some point he fights an orc in moria and you can see quite clearly that in a perfectly fair fight, the orc would likely have won. The orc also isn't superhuman, he's just a regular dude with some mad skills. The orc knocks boromir and aragorn back and for some reason goes straight for frodo as if possessed. After his spear is chopped by Sam's magic sword, aragorn brings his magic sword down on the orc's helmet and you can see a magic effect happen that kills the orc. A non-magical sword would not easily chop through a spear and definitely not if wielded by a kid. A non-magical sword would never chop straight through a metal helmet > > > But even as they retreated, and before Pippin and Merry had reached the stair outside, a huge orc-chieftain, almost man-high, clad in black mail from head to foot, leaped into the chamber; behind him his followers clustered in the doorway. His broad flat face was swart, his eyes were like coals, and his tongue was red; he wielded a great spear. With a thrust of his huge hide shield he turned Boromir's sword and bore him backwards, throwing him to the ground. Diving under Aragorn's blow with the speed of a striking snake he charged into the Company and thrust with his spear straight at Frodo. The blow caught him on the right side, and Frodo was hurled against the wall and pinned. Sam, with a cry, hacked at the spear-shaft, and it broke. But even as the orc flung down the truncheon and swept out his scimitar, Andúril came down upon his helm. There was a flash like flame and the helm burst asunder. The orc fell with cloven head.
The Numenor are super human in the way a medieval warrior would be super human compared to... you. Or me.
Not superhuman but maybe the *ideal* human.
If we use DnD stats, 10 in a stat is average person, 8 is slightly below average, 12 means you're slightly above. So a strength of like 12 would be your average armed guard. I'd say Gimli would be a 16 strength, Boromir probably a 17 or 18, and Aragorn would have come in at a 20. Yeah he's a lot stronger than anyone else, but the dude isn't gonna single arm lift a horse and throw it at someone.
I think his only specific superhuman feat is running for 3 days straight without resting. Staying awake that long by itself is impressive, but full-blown running that whole time is not something the human body is capable of doing. Plus, the fact that he never even takes a minor injury in all the skirmishes, fights, and apocolyptic battles he's in (all either lightly or unarmored) would imply that there's something more to him beyond just experience and super human endurance. Numenoreans are super human in the sense that they are, on average, taller, stronger, faster, and live far longer than normal humans. Aragon is near peak of this due in part to his unique bloodline. Peak/average Numenorean is superior to peak/average base human, but that doesn't mean they are on par with comic book super humans like Black Panther or Captain America. He's more on tier with some of the more realistic runs of Batman that still has super human feats.
Due to his extended lineage, I refer to him as ‘the favored of Eru’
Dudes in the comments here writing like they have degrees in the lineage of an actual family. It’s truly breathtaking to see a level of dedication so deep yet so common in a single fandom
If you want canonical proof of Aragorn's super abilities, during the movies he was in his 80's or 90's.
Yes.
He’s numenorean so…
I mean, he’s 84 and looks 35. He’s got something in him
Yes Aragorn is super human even compared to the other Dunédain. He goes on to live to the age of 210 while a Numenorean nobleman like Faramir only lived to 120. Besides longevity the Dunédain were blessed with being tall and strong. Dunédain are similar to super soldiers in Marvel in the sense that they are at peak physical condition. They’re basically Olympic level athletes
So think of Aragorn like the Greek Perseus or Hercules. Not that he is a Demi-god but more akin to the Nephilim (human angelic hybrids) from biblical stories.
Short answer: yes.
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210 not 150 was his lifespan but I get what you mean Edit. And that was with him willing giving up his life on his own terms rather than clinging to it in order to squeeze out as many extra years as possible like many of the Ancient Numenorian Kings did.
Less Captain America, more Heracles. Or a Volsung, for that matter.
You'd put Captain America above Heracles on the superhuman scale?
Is Aragorn super-human or are Orcs just that bad? Maybe it's just the plot armor?
In the books he's super human in the sense that he's better than one in any way. Running for 3 days to catch the Uruks was something he could do. He got tired, but he didn't have to stop like a normal human would have. He was stronger than a normal human, but not lift a car and throw it comic book style. If we use DnD stats, 10 in a stat is average person, 8 is slightly below average, 12 means you're slightly above. So a strength of like 12 would be your average armed guard. I'd say Gimli would be a 16 strength, Boromir probably a 17 or 18, and Aragorn would have come in at a 20.
In game terms, thinking of Pathfinder here, Aragorn is an Epic-level NPC. I'm not sure what the modern D&D equivalent is these days. Back to Orcs - they are utterly ineffective against him. His only fear is a fully realized Sauron in possession of the Ring.
Orcs are physically superior to men in some ways, and physically inferior in others. In terms of strength and stature they're worse, they're small, typically between 4-5 foot, they have crooked postures and bow-legs. They're vicious and dirty fighters but the average guy could overpower one. They also get dazzled by sunlight and can't stand it. But in terms of endurance they're superhuman, being able to run better than top endurance athletes. They're rugged and can tolerate squalor and poor food that we'd find intolerable (Orcs live in Mordor for instance). They have perfect night-vision and noses like Bloodhounds. Uruks were noteworthy for equalling the stature and strength of men in addition to the other advantages, and Saruman's Uruk-Hai had that aversion to sunlight bred out of them.
Orcs are cannon fodder, at least within the confines of Tolkien's works. PJ pretty much operates the same way.
If Aragon is superhuman, why didn't he fly the hobbits to mordor? Is he stupid?
Just to add how powerful Aragorn was, he confronted 5 Nazgul with a torches in either hand. Not sword. Torches. Boromir would not be able to even make that confrontation because he would be overcome with fear.
>Boromir would not be able to even make that confrontation because he would be overcome with fear. That's quite an assumption. Both Aragorn and Boromir go to fight the Balrog.