tolkiens legendarium - Why is Galadriel so awesome?

In The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies

The White Council assaults Dol Goldur. In this assault, there are three Istari and two Elves. Why is it that the wizards seem less powerful than the elves? Saruman is making as much of an impact as Elrond, and Radagast is a getaway driver.

Surely, at least Saruman should be more powerful (in the modern sense of wizards being powerful) than Elrond and Galadriel, as they aren't minor gods. I understand that Radagast is a hippie, not a fighter, but Saruman is obsessed with power. It's his thing. So why is he outdone by Galadriel when she

decides that she's bored of this fight and wishes to win now, so just does.

(Sub-question: Is this the least magical scene in the series, considering Tolkien's view of magic being subtle? Don't get me wrong, as someone who enjoys flashy lights and cool fight scenes I appreciated it, it just seemed out of place, because all of those with magic had previously been portrayed in a Tolkien-compliant manner)

Answer

The degree of power shown by Galadriel in the movie is far in excess of the book: although in the book she was capable of destroying Dol Guldur (and the suggestion is that she did so single-handed), taking on Sauron one-to-one would have been beyond her capabilities.

Tolkien's Letter 246 states up-front that Gandalf was the only one who had sufficient innate power to take on Sauron, but that while Galadriel evidently felt she could, she would have needed to be augmented by the Ring in order to do so:

Of the others only Gandalf might be expected to master him – being an emissary of the Powers and a creature of the same order, an immortal spirit taking a visible physical form. In the 'Mirror of Galadriel', it appears that Galadriel conceived of herself as capable of wielding the Ring and supplanting the Dark Lord. If so, so also were the other guardians of the Three, especially Elrond.

In the Council of Elrond, during a discussion between Galdor and Elrond, it's made even more explicit that an un-augmented Galadriel (or Elrond, or Círdan) quite simply does not have the power to withstand Sauron:

'What power still remains lies with us, here in Imladris, or with Cirdan at the Havens, or in Lórien. But have they the strength, have we here the strength to withstand the Enemy, the coming of Sauron at the last, when all else is overthrown?'

'I have not the strength,' said Elrond; 'neither have they.'

So Galadriel's display of power in this scene in the movie must be ranked as a movie invention that can't be otherwise explained. You're correct: Saruman should be more powerful (Gandalf says elsewhere in The Council of Elrond that "It was by the devices of Saruman that we drove him from Dol Guldur"), and so should Radagast and Gandalf.

That's not to say that she's weak, however; for a more in-depth analysis of Galadriel's powers, see this question: What powers does Galadriel have?

Sub-answer: there's a lot more displays of magic via flashing lights/etc in the books than is commonly supposed. Gandalf hurling lightning bolts at the Nazgul on Weathertop ("such light and flame cannot have been seen on Weathertop since the war-beacons of old"), his display of power during the Warg attack ("High in the air he tossed the blazing brand. It flared with a sudden white radiance like lightning; and his voice rolled like thunder"), more lightning bolts when he rescues Faramir ("One wheeled towards him; but it seemed to Pippin that he raised his hand, and from it a shaft of white light stabbed upwards"), for example.

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...

How do Pokemon trainers collect their winnings?

According to Bulbapedia , Prize money is the money that a Trainer pays out at the end of a battle. So we know that the money comes directly from the trainer that just lost, and not some third-party committee or sponsor. But how is this done? It can be easy seeing the random trainers who challenge you along the way wanting to wager and then, after admitting defeat, sticking to their word and handing over their hard-earned pokebucks. Then there are the likes of Team Rocket and Giovanni, who also give money once they lose. This doesn't seem like something people in a criminal organization would willingly do. From this it appears that trainers have no say in whether or not they cough up the dough after losing, but I can't find anything on how exactly the funds are transferred from loser to winner. So how do Pokemon trainers receive their winnings?

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