The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (I)

The rise of Sauron is felt throughout middle earth as he rallies orcs, men, and other foul beasts to do his bidding. The ring wraiths lead the charge as they take over town after town in search of the one Ring of power. The Two Towers is by far my favorite movie in the Tolkien series. We are introduced to the mighty Tree Ents, see the strength of honorable men through the Riders of Rohan, and at last see the elves in full battle against the orcs. In this post, I’ll present my favorite character cards from the 2002 Topps Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers trading card set.

​King Theoden, Card #7, is a noble king but is cast under Saruman’s spell, a spell that makes him old, frail and subject to his treacherous and corrupted advisor, Grima Wormtongue. It is only the magic of Gandalf, the White, that frees him from the spell and he can resume his leadership of Rohan.

​Lady Eowyn is the King Theoden’s niece. Her fair beauty masks her true self as a warrior princess that plays a pivotal role in the final installment of the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Card #9 illustrates her beauty and simplicity. Her compassion is not lost in the gaze she has upon the villagers of her town.

​Eomer is the nephew of King Theoden and was banished from the kingdom by King Theoden while under Saruman’s spell. In Card #10, he is pictured in his armor after defeating a group of Uruk-Kai that kidnapped Merry and Pippin at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring. He would also play an important role in defeating the enemy.

​Merry & Pippin escaped the Uruk-Kai during Eomer’s attack by running into Fangorn Forest. Safe from the melee, the soon were captured by a tree Ent named Treebeard, who couldn’t quite make out what they Hobbits were. He gathered his brethren and determined that they were indeed not Orcs and would set them on their path towards home. During their journey, Treebeard, saw the destruction of the forest by Saruman and soon raged battle against his fortress with the help of other tree Ents. Card #12 illustrates the knowledge and wisdom of Treebeard.

​The Uruk-Kai are beasts of unmatched strength and endurance and are the foot soldiers of Saruman, servant of Sauron. Their armor is thick and their blades are blunt, all the more to cause excruciating pain to their victims. Card #18 shows their growing numbers as they head into battle against the men and Elves at Helm’s Deep.

I’m excited to see what movie scenes Topps chose to portray in this card set. My next post will dive into the movie even further as we continue our journey for the battle of Middle Earth.