'The Hobbit': A Guide to the Creatures of Middle-earth

With ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ set to hit theaters, it’s time for you to brush up on the beasts of Middle-earth. Here’s a look at some of our favorites.

These massive beasts look like elephants, albeit ones with six monstrous tusks! Heradrim call them warriors. Hobbits call them Oliphaunts. Fans call them some of the coolest creatures to come from the books. 

The Balrog is a fiery demonic creature, who was seduced to the dark side by the first Dark Lord, Morgoth. Note its humongous body, awesome strength and flaming whip-like weapon, which Gandalf unfortunately got too close to. 

If you see one of these bad boys circling the sky, be prepared for battle because the Nazgul aren’t far behind. One other word of advice: You may want to stand downwind of these Pterosaur-like creatures.

Orcs are short, goblin-esque creatures made by the Dark Lord Morgoth. Don’t let the size of these guys fool you, though. They’re savage war beasts that would like nothing more than to see you bleed -- and that’s when they’re in a good mood.

These beasites can be found within the caves of the Misty Mountains. You better have your bow ready if you stumble upon them -- when the Fellowship passed through Moria, it took an arrow to the brain to bring down this carnivorous cave creature.

This super-sized spider devours anything that crosses its path, as Frodo almost learned the hard way when Gollum tricked the hobbit into going for a spin in its deadly web.

The Great beasts were used to pull the colossal battering ram during the Siege of Gondor. Massive and powerful, these gigantic rhinoceros-like creatures are the workhorses of Sauron's evil armies.

Gwaihir the Windlord was the greatest of the Great Eagles. He saved Bilbo from attach, and then rescued Frodo and Sam from the rocks of Mount Doom. Gandalf also tends to rely on this flying beasts when in a pinch. 

Smaug is the fearsome dragon who invaded the Dwarf kingdom of Erebor and has been wreaking havoc ever since. In the realm of Middle-earth, this guy is public enemy number one -- and quite the hoarder, especially when it comes to gold. 

Gollum is a creepy and curious little creature, who started life as a hobbit named Sméagol. He eventually lost his way (and his mind) when he came across "his precious" Ring.