In the movies of The Lord of the Rings, only a small part of Middle-earth is shown. Long before the adventures of Bilbo and Frodo, there existed dangers greater than anything the Hobbits could imagine. One of them was a giant dragon from Morgoth.
Which dragon is being referred to? By now, thanks to the Hobbit movies, we know that there are also dragons in Middle-earth. However, long before the Third Age, there were more of them: Morgoth, the first Dark Lord who wanted to dominate Middle-earth, created several dragons to give his forces more strength.
First, he created Glaurung, the father of all dragons. He had four legs, could breathe fire, but could not fly. After that, Morgoth created more dragons, and in the process, Ancalagon the Black also emerged. He was the largest and strongest dragon that ever existed – and Morgoth used him as his final secret weapon.
The strongest and largest of all dragons
How powerful was Ancalagon? His size alone is remarkable. Although it is never specifically mentioned how large he truly was, since he is described as the largest dragon in Middle-earth, one can assume that he was many times larger than Smaug.
Unlike Glaurung, Ancalagon could also fly, which gave him tactical advantages. His firepower also seems to have been the greatest of all dragons, if one believes Gandalf:
It has been said that dragon fire could melt and consume the Rings of Power, but there is now no dragon on Earth with old fire hot enough; and there has never been a dragon, not even Ancalagon the Black, who could harm the One Ring, the Master Ring, for it was made by Sauron himself.
Gandalf to Frodo about the power of the One Ring (via The One Wiki to Rule Them All)
This power is probably also the reason why Morgoth used him and his army of flying dragons as a last weapon to defend himself in the final battle.
Even the mightiest dragon could not save Morgoth
In the year 545 of the First Age, the War of Wrath
broke out, in which the inhabitants of Middle-earth allied against Morgoth. This war lasted over 40 years, and in the final battle, Men, Elves, Maiar, and possibly even Valar fought against the armies of Morgoth.
For Morgoth’s troops, things did not look good, and as a final trump card, he summoned his last army to battle: Ancalagon and a group of flying dragons. This caused the troops from Angband, Morgoth’s fortress, to be pushed back, and a brutal battle ensued.
But then Eärendil, the father of Elrond and Elros, came to the rescue. With him were the great eagles, led by their king Thorondor. They fought against the dragon army, and ultimately, Eärendil managed to defeat Ancalagon in single combat.
He fell on Thangorodrim, a formation of 3 volcanoes in the Iron Mountains, which were destroyed as a result. After Ancalagon’s death, Morgoth had no defense left and lost the war. Angband was destroyed, and Morgoth was forever bound to the Void.
Especially in the First Age of The Lord of the Rings, many things happened. Morgoth waged war on many fronts, and with dragons, Balrogs, and giant spiders, powerful creatures also roamed. Among them, the first dragon was particularly vile: The first dragon in the world of The Lord of the Rings was so powerful that he led his own army
