50 reasons Star Wars is better than Lord of The Rings
By Ryan Wrenn
19. Blasters vs. Swords
What were Blasters? The most commonly used individual weapon in Star Wars
Who were Swords? The most commonly used individual weapon in Lord of the Rings
Verdict: A sci-fi story will seemingly win out over a fantasy story when you’re talking about their respectively weapons of choice. Never bring scimitars to a laser fight, like they always say.
While that assumption might be right, it misses one of the most meaningful differences between Star Wars’ blasters and Lord of the Rings’ swords: names.
Aragorn, Gandalf and Frodo each have specific swords with specific names and specific histories. The movie medium doesn’t allow them to delve too far into any of them, but oftentimes in the books the swords have more elaborate and interesting backstories than most of the characters.
It’s this little detail, even if it’s just tangentially referred to in the movies, that sets LOTR’s weapons above blasters. While we’ve occasionally criticized the LOTR movies for failing to develop well-rounded characters compared to Star Wars, it makes up for it in little details like these.
For the simple fact that no stormtrooper ever bothered to name their blaster, swords take this round.
Lord of the Rings wins
Next: 18. Trash Compactor Monster vs. Shelob