The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (I)

​The epic war between good and evil concludes with The Return of the King.  Merry and Pippin are pushed into new realms of bravery and heroism unlike anything they ever experienced before.  Aragorn takes his rightful place as the king of men and, with the help of the Dead Army, he defeats the forces of Sauron.  Lastly, Sam struggles with Frodo in destroying the ring but they eventually becomes victorious in fulfilling their mission.  A journey that finally concludes with both relief yet sorrow.  Here are my top 5 cards from the 2003 Topps Lord of the Rings:  The Return of the King set.

Eowyn is one of my favorite characters.  She is as valiant as she is beautiful, and her bravery is complimented with her compassion.  Card #28, A Farewell To Friends, is an angelic portrayal of this heroine.

One's home and the way it is kept often indicates the character of those that live within.  Minas Morgul was once a fortress of Gondor and was known as Minas Ithil.  However, Sauron's forces eventually overran it and it became a dwelling of evil.  The essence of dark forces that lie within, powerful and foreboding, are captured on Card #46, Fortress of Evil. 

The Witch-King of Angmar grows in power as he is Sauron's right hand enforcer.  Ruler of the Nazgul, he regally sits upon his fellbeast on Card #48, The Lord Of Minas Morgul.

​Card #70, The Wounds of War, illustrates the war's impact as Pippin finds Merry injured on the battlefield.  The emotion is clear in that one Hobbit's pain is another Hobbit's suffering.  The laughter, dancing and free flow of ale back in the Shire is but a distant memory of these two

We often think of wizards as old, frail, yet powerful with magic.  Gandalf is old but frail he is not.  We saw him do battle throughout the LOTR trilogy, and here we see him in the thick of it on Card #75, Fury Of The White Wizard

The next post on the Lord of the Rings will takes us to the corresponding Update Set for the Return of the King.  I'm excited to see how the conclusion of this journey is portrayed in this final set.