Orc (Middle-earth)

Orcs are fictional humanoid creatures in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. They appear in most of his Middle-earth stories, and are either the soldiers of the villain, or the villain themselves. They are also sometimes called goblins, as in The Hobbit.

Orcs were created by the Dark Lord Morgoth. Their exact origin is not certain, as Tolkien's idea of them evolved constantly. Among the possibilities are that they originate from Elves or Men, tortured and corrupted by sorcery, or cross-bred with evil creatures.

In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins and his Dwarven companions are captured by Goblins while crossing the Misty Mountains, but are rescued by Gandalf, who slays their leader. At the end of the book, the goblins have amassed a great army, which fights the protagonist's side at the Lonely Mountain, which became known as the Battle of Five Armies.

These cannibalistic villains reappear in The Lord of the Rings as the race of Orcs, who (like Trolls) feed on human flesh when they can get it, and on each other otherwise. Sauron sends various Orc spies after the hobbits when his Nazgûl fail to retrieve the Ring, but of course he doesn't tell them how powerful it is, not trusting his treacherous henchmen.