Biggest Heroes in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion

[William Cloud Hicklin]

I would characterize Fingolfin's last fight as brave, but heroic? Vainglorious and foolish, rather; at best the sort of empty valor displayed in a Japanese banzai charge. Just suicide dressed up as courage. It accomplished nothing and cost the Noldor their king.- the sort of ofermod Tolkien condemned in Beorhtnoth and Beowulf.

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

I would characterize Fingolfin's last fight as brave, but heroic? Vainglorious and foolish, rather; at best the sort of empty valor displayed in a Japanese banzai charge. Just suicide dressed up as courage. It accomplished nothing and cost the Noldor their king.- the sort of ofermod Tolkien condemned in Beorhtnoth and Beowulf.

Yes, heroic. Is there anything heroic that's not suicidal? You can't be a hero unless you take great risks and (potentially) give up all you have, including your life, for your cause. Fingolfin utterly despaired and was definitely desperate, which makes him somewhat suicidal, but suicide is not what he had in mind when he changed Thangorodrim. It was not "I want to die now, so let's arrange for Morgoth to kill me. I'll look good, but it's not like I have any chance against him". It was more like "Have we not done everything that's possible to defeat him? Mandos' profecy must be coming true, and we'll come to complete destruction. I hate Morgoth! I'm in complete despair! There's no way out, no solution! Nothing we can do will be any good!"