LAWRENCE MAKOARE WITCHKING OF ANGMAR WAR MASK

Greatest and most feared among Sauron’s Ringwraith slaves was the Witchking of Angmar. In spectral form it was the WitchKing who inflicted a mortal wound on Frodo on Weathertop with a Morgul blade. During the Siege of Gondor, the Witchking broke Gandalf’s staff before slaying King Theoden from atop his dreaded Fell Beast. During this final assault on the world of Men, the Witchking appeared wearing armor that was both kingly and sinister, forged of the finest steel yet rusted and pitted with age. The centerpiece of this armor was a fearsome spiked war mask which, as the Witchking was invulnerable to attack from any man, was as much for instilling dread in his enemies as it was for protection. The original helmet designed for the Witchking to don during the Siege fo Gondor in The Return of the King (New Line Cinema, 2003) was based on a frightening illustration by concept designer, John Howe and this original armor design can be seen in the video game adaptation by Electronic Arts. However, crewmembers on-set during filming who had not read the books were confused as to which character was on the battlefield as the initial concept for the Witchking’s helmet was very similar to Sauron’s helmet from the prologue sequence of The Fellowship of the Ring (New Line Cinema, 2001). Therefore, Weta Workshop revised the design for the Witching’s War Mask to be more suggestive of a Black Rider and the Witchking’s scenes were re-shot during the 2003 pick-ups. This urethane prop