Spoilers ahead for Peter Jackson’s film version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s almost 80 year old book.
For those who were exposed to Peter Jackson’s latest (and possibly last) foray into the world of Middle Earth, The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies may have left them with more questions than a concluding chapter should. Such questions as “Why is this still going on?” “Which CGI blob am I supposed to be rooting for again?” “Wait, I’m only counting like three, maybe three and a half armies at most—what gives?” or even “If this takes place 60 years before Lord Of The Rings, then how is Legolas going to find Strider, AKA Aragorn? Won’t he be like, I don’t know, negative 30 years old?”
Luckily someone has assembled answers to the more strategic elements of the titular battle, laying out strategy, the various factions involved, and a timeline of events (that Strider shit remains unresolved though). The fine folks over at Shirts.com have put together this very large and informative piece that is almost Peter Jacksonian in length and variety of elements involved. Using Tolkien’s original for source material, along with other supplemental reading materials and a careful viewing of the film, the infographic lays out precisely how equipped each army was, and at which stage they enter the fray. It’s the perfect piece to end countless disagreements about Bolg’s troop count or whether or not Beorn was involved (The poor shapeshifter got short shrift in screen time).
[Via Blastr]