While the X-Men aren’t known for battling giant monsters that should only exist in fantasy novels, there are certainly times when something of that sort is shown within the pages of the superheroes’ comic book series–and this particular issue is no exception, as it reveals a terrifying creature that is a literal Tolkien nightmare.
J.R.R. Tolkien is the creative genius behind the Lord of the Rings novels (which includes The Hobbit). Within the world Tolkien crafted with the flick of his pen, there are a plethora of fantastical creatures and landscapes–though not all of them pleasant. There are portions of Middle Earth that are absolutely horrific, including Shelob’s lair, certain areas of Mirkwood Forest, and–of course–Mordor. However, out of practically all the frightening locations–and the sinister beasts that reside there–there is one that stands above the rest as perhaps the most terrifying, and the X-Men fought a robotic version of it.
In Weapon X #1 by Larry Hama, Adam Kubert, Karl Kesel, Dan Green, and Chris Warner, readers are thrown into the ultra-violent world of the Age of Apocalypse where Wolverine (who is known as either Logan or Weapon X in this universe) and Jean Grey are attacking one of Apocalypse’s bases. They achieve this by riding a Sentinel into the heart of the citadel, causing as much destruction (and attracting as much attention) as possible. When Weapon X, Jean, and their Sentinel prove to be too much for the Infinites (Apocalypse’s foot soldiers), the villains decide to unleash a beast that even Wolverine had trouble against: a Balrog-Class Meta-Cyborg.
X-Men has its Own Balrog from Lord of the Rings, & it’s Terrifying
A Balrog, according to Tolkien mythology, is a corrupted Maiar that became a creature of shadow and flame. Fans are assuredly most familiar with this creature from the Peter Jackson film Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring as it was the giant, demonic-looking monster Gandalf fought while trying to escape the caverns of Moria with the rest of the Fellowship. The ‘Balrog’ in X-Men wasn’t quite the same as the one from Lord of the Rings, but there were a few key similarities. Firstly, the creature was literally named after the Tolkien monster to properly capture the terror it was meant to induce in its victims. Secondly, the meta-cyborg was enormous, easily the size of the Balrog Gandalf battled. Where they differ, however, is in the specifics behind their respective existences. Tolkien’s Balrog is a giant, anthropomorphic being that is intelligent, uses weapons, and whose existence is based in magic. The Balrog-Class Meta-Cyborg is just as it sounds: a cyborg. It is an amalgamation of the genes of dead mutants merged into one hellish beast with mechanisms running through it to give the creature more power. The meta-cyborg is more akin to a synthetic Kraken than Tolkien’s Balrog in terms of aesthetics, but based on its threat level and (most importantly) it’s name, this cyborg is the closest thing to a Tolkien creature fans are going to see in an X-Men comic–and it doesn’t disappoint.
When the Balrog-Class Meta-Cyborg makes its appearance, it nearly kills Wolverine as the creature’s metallic tentacles prove to be too much for the mutant savage to handle. Jean Grey is forced to step in and shoot the creature with a psi-blast to finally be rid of it. This villain has the size, the power, and the name of Tolkien’s Balrog–simultaneously making it X-Men’s scariest monster to date and a literal Tolkien nightmare.
