Lord Of The Rings: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Orcs

In Peter Jackson's movies, the army that Saruman sent to ravage the kingdom of Rohan appears to be made up of almost exclusively Uruk-hai. They're depicted as huge creatures, towering above the tallest of men.

But, in the books the Uruk-hai weren't actually the most formidable of Saruman's servants. Tolkien made many references to half-orcs and goblin-men, in the service of Saruman. During the Battle of Helm's Deep these are the soldiers that seem to cause the most trouble for the defenders. As the strongest and tallest of Saruman's servants, they wielded the battering ram that eventually smashed down the gates of the Hornburg.

This begs the question, what are these creatures, and how did Saruman create them? Tolkien admitted that there were female orcs in Middle Earth, although we never see them. This might be one of the more disturbing things to imagine, but this indicates how Saruman might have created his half-breeds...

Maybe we should move on.