Recommended music: Howard Shore – Théoden Rides Forth (feat. Ben Del Maestro)
It’s #TolkienThursday! Today, I want to share another ToyBiz Lord of the Rings figure from The Two Towers. This time, it’s another version of Gandalf the White!
During the Battle of Helm’s Deep, Gandalf is the key savior who helps turn Rohan’s near defeat into a victory. Before the siege starts, he goes to find Erkenbrand in the book and gathers the scattered Rohirrim. In Peter Jackson’s film, Erkenbrand isn’t included. Instead, Éomer takes on his role, and Gandalf returns with him at dawn for the final battle.
As King Théoden and Aragorn make their desperate stand inside the Hornburg, Gandalf is orchestrating the eleventh-hour counter-offensive. Just as the fortress is breaching and the defenders face total annihilation, Gandalf arrives at dawn on the eastern hills. He brings about a thousand reinforcements, led by Erkenbrand in the book or Éomer in the film.
The sudden morning sunlight blinds the Orcs and Uruk-hai, making them panic as if Gandalf had called the sun himself. Gandalf leads a powerful charge down the valley, pushing the enemy into the waiting forest of the Huorns. Without Gandalf’s planning, ability to unite Rohan’s forces, and perfect timing, Helm’s Deep would have fallen, and the West’s resistance to Saruman would have ended.
This initial release of Gandalf the White came out in the first wave of The Two Towers half-moon figures, and there was also a brighter white variant with the same sculpt. Besides the Gandalf figure packed in the deluxe horse and rider set with Shadowfax, Gandalf the White appeared in the second wave of carded TTT figures, the second wave of ROTK half-moon figures, a UK exclusive two-pack with Treebeard, a two-pack with Saruman, as the base figure for Gandalf Stormcrow, and in another UK exclusive gift set called ‘The Return of Gandalf.’ I’ll talk about some of those Return of the King versions next year. 😄
In the meantime, even though he didn’t show up until the very end, Gandalf was critical to the Battle of Helm’s Deep, and the character’s inclusion is critical to any Helm’s Deep display.
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