Dáin II Ironfoot
Dáin II Ironfoot,
"King Under the Mountain"
~Biography~
Dáin II Ironfoot or King Dáin was the son of Náin and the grandson of Grór, the youngest son of Dáin I of Durin's folk, and was lord of the Dwarves of the Iron Hills in Wilderland. He was a Dwarven King of Durin's Folk, the fifth King under the Mountain, and the Lord of the Iron Hills during the War of the Ring in Middle-earth in the late Third Age.
Dáin II Ironfoot crowned King Under the Mountain:
War of the Dwarves and Orcs
Dáin followed his grandfather, Grór, in lordship after Náin was killed by the great Orc chieftain Azog during the Battle of Azanulbizar, the final conflict in the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, before he could inherit the lordship. Almost immediately after the death of Náin, Dáin rushed up the steps and slew Azog himself, thus avenging his father's death. He was a very young Dwarf at the time, being only thirty-two years of age, by the Dwarves reckoning, he was still a stripling. Dáin's feat was heralded as a magnificent and glorious triumph for one so young. Dáin alone looked past the gate into Moria, and had the wisdom to know that it was impossible for the dwarves to return at that time. His kingdom at the Iron Hills was so great that they were the only people truly capable of dealing with Sauron's forces at that time.
Battle of the Five Armies
Dáin arrives at the Lonely Mountain with an army of dwarves from the Iron Hills for the Battle of the Five Armies:
Dáin was the friend and cousin of Thorin Oakenshield, and responded to Thorin's call for help during the quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain. Dáin marched with five hundred Dwarven soldiers, exceptionally strong even by Dwarven standards, clad in heavy armor and iron boots, and armed with mattocks, shields, and broadswords. He arrived just in time for the Battle of the Five Armies. After the battle, Dáin thanked the Eagles for their timely intervention, crowning their chief with gold and swearing the dwarves to everlasting friendship with them.
Dáin II Ironfoot in 
combat at the Battle of the Five Armies:
The War of the Ring
After Thorin's death, Dáin became King under the Mountain and King of Durin's folk, the first not to be in a direct line. Dáin was a wise and just ruler, and brought much wealth to the mountain realm and was on good terms with the Men of Dale in the south, and probably the Elven king of Northern Mirkwood as well, which ensured peace for many years to come. When Balin and other dwarves decided to retake Moria, Dáin initially refused, but Balin insisted on going.
A few months before the Council of Elrond, a messenger from Mordor appeared at the gates of the Lonely Mountain and offered the Dwarves an alliance with Sauron, asking only in return that the Dwarves share what they knew "concerning Hobbits", and help to track down the One Ring, which the messenger described as "least of rings... a trifle that Sauron fancies." The messenger said that, if the Dwarves could deliver the Ring itself, then Sauron would return three of the Rings of Power that originally belonged to the Dwarf-Lords, and Moria would be theirs to possess forever. On the other hand, the messenger warned that "things will not seem so well" if the Dwarves did not help.
Dáin refused to be tricked or intimidated, and sent the messenger away without an answer, and instead sent Glóin to Rivendell, to consult with Elrond, while Dáin prepared the Lonely Mountain for war.
Death
Dáin participated in the War of the Ring's northern campaign but was killed during the Battle of Dale in TA 3019, defending the body of King Brand of Dale before the gates of the Lonely Mountain. He was, by then, an extremely old Dwarf, at the age of two-hundred and fifty-two, but far from feeble. He was still among the greatest of the Dwarven warriors, a direct descendant of Durin and his prowess in battle was nearly unmatched.
Dáin and Brand during the seige of Dale:
After news of his death reached Minas Tirith, Gandalf remarked that, as saddened as they must be at Dáin's death, they should be glad that he died in battle, defending his friend's body, as well as amazed that he was still the formidable warrior as he had been when he was a young dwarf.
After his death during the war, his son, Thorin III Stonehelm, succeeded him.
Line of Durin's Folk:
Appearances in the Books and Films
In the books
• The Hobbit (First appearance)
• The Fellowship of the Ring (Mentioned only)
• The Return of the King (Mentioned only)
• Unfinished Tales
In the films
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Mentioned only)
• The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Portrayal in adaptations
Rankin/Bass - In the animated film The Hobbit, Dáin is referenced by Thorin as the leader of the dwarf reinforcements arriving at Erebor from the Iron Hills, but is not seen in the film.
The Hobbit film trilogy
In the third volume of Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy, Dáin is portrayed by Scottish actor and comedian Billy Connolly:
While Erebor is under siege by a combined force of Mirkwood elves and men from the recently-destroyed Lake-town, Dáin arrives at the head of an army of dwarves from the Iron Hills. Initially bent on attacking the elves, he wheels half of his army to fight against Azog's army when it appears on the field. The Dwarves quickly formed a phalanx, in which fight he is reluctantly joined by the elves.
As the orcs force the tired Dwarves back towards the gate of Erebor, Thorin and his company charge out, prompting Dáin to call for the dwarves to rally to their King. The two cousins exchange hearty greetings on the battlefield, though Dáin is not seen for the rest of the film.
In battle, he rides a wild boar and wields a war hammer. After he is thrown off of his boar and loses his helmet, he is shown to have bright red hair, worn in a mohawk (similar to Dwalin's at the time of the Battle of Azanulbizar).
It is rumoured that he shall get more scenes when the extended edition for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies comes out, including a coronation scene.
Video games
• Dáin appears in the real time strategy game The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth II, fighting on the Dwarven faction as King Dáin. His great axe in the game is Barazanthual, which was one of the finest weapons ever made by Dwarfdom and was rightly feared by all his enemies.
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