[Legate of Amon Lanc]

I agree with skip. (Even about Christian Bale... that would actually be brilliant. I actually imagine Morgoth looking something like that. That's not to say I consider him handsome, though, but that's exactly the reason.)

That's not to say, though, that you cannot paint a big Morgoth next to a smaller Fingolfin. The picture, after all, does not have to be realistic: if you draw a big Morgoth, it can be menacing etc., although it does not have to mean that he was really fifteen meters tall. Personally, I really like Howe's illustration (and now that I looked at it, Morgoth actually is not THAT big there, I thought he was bigger in the picture). It is very clever that he covered Morgoth's head with the helmet there: he avoided the how-to-make-menacing-face-should-he-look-human-or-not dilemma people have discussed above. Although of course, a really skilled artist could probably be able to make Morgoth menacing also otherwise. But this move from Howe was likely also a clever way to avoid being dissed by fans who say "no, Morgoth should have cat eyes/reptile tongue/moustache/Mangekyou Sharingan". It also preserves the mystery.

One more thing about the height: I think it's really the crucial problem and I can see why most of the authors (at least all I can think of right now) have painted Morgoth considerably bigger, and that is, if you paint him about the same height as Fingolfin, you risk that it will look like just two guys fighting, two men (Elves...).

I think Morgoth has a bit of a similar problem like, say, the Balrog: with the Balrog, you also should not be able to determine its size. Alas, for the Balrog, it is far easier to make it unclear! (And it is actually the point.) If Morgoth is to be humanoid - like I think he should be, even though, in fact, the text does not make it necessary - you either have to make him a giant or risk making it look like a court duel between Éomer and Túrin Turambar. Not making him humanoid is of course a nice way to do it (or: in this case rather, not human), but that's a bit... well, see above for the horns and stuff.

So that's my opinion. As for the other gadgets, black plate armour is no doubt from my part at least.