10. Pick a character or group who you believe is unappreciated, undervalued, or undeservedly reviled by fandom and explain why they are awesome.
(Skipping 8 and 9 for now, but I'll definitely do them later.)
For me the obvious choice is Indis, but I've already written extensively about why I think she's a fantastic character. So I'm going to take this opportunity to ramble about a character who gets pretty much no attention from anyone in the fandom: Anarion.
Often neglected in favor of his father and older brother (both of whom I also love dearly), Anarion must have been (in my opinion) the greatest hero of early Gondor. Not necessarily of all the Numenorean exiles, but of Gondor. He kept them from destruction in the years leading up the the War of the Last Alliance, when the rest of Middle-earth's leaders were occupied elsewhere. Even during the Alliance he died on the battlefield, fighting for his people. It was he who founded the original line of the kings of Gondor.
There isn't a lot of personal information on Anarion, so for background here are a few of my headcanons. He has blond hair and blue eyes, which he gets from his mother. (For more information on her, see this post.) He's always been an upbeat, optimistic person, and brought a little more happiness to his family during the dark days of Ar-Pharazon's reign. He is extremely close to Isildur, who is kind of a pessimist and relies on Anarion a great deal for emotional support, and Anarion would feel lost without his big brother around. He's considered very attractive, but his wife isn't incredibly gorgeous (see post linked above). They have four children, all born before the fall: Glorithil, Annawen, Calerian, and Meneldil (the last two are twins).
After the Faithful escape Numenor, Isildur and Anarion are separated from their father and found the realm of Gondor south and east of Elendil's kingdom. They co-rule Gondor, although their father is still the official king of both realms. Anarion builds the fortress of Minas Anor, where he lives with his family (wife, four children, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, and three grandchildren), and Isildur and his family live in Minas Ithil. Osgiliath, the capitol city and Gondor's major population and government center, lies between the two fortresses, and both brothers spend a significant amount of their time there as well.
When Minas Ithil falls to Mordor's forces, Isildur leads a group of survivors back to Osgiliath. He continues on to Minas Anor, where he consults with Anarion. They decide it would be best for Isildur to go to Elendil for help. With him go his sons, his pregnant wife, and his nephew Meneldil as Anarion's representative. Anarion stays behind, to defend Gondor against possible further attacks.
They don't have to wait long; soon Osgiliath is subject to frequent orc raids, and within the first year nearly all the civilians are evacuated from the city. Anarion permanently relocates to Osgiliath with the army, and is pretty much totally separated from his family except for his daughter Calerian (his trusted advisor) and his grandson Cemendur (his squire). He communicates with his wife, father, and brother via palantir, but it's still a long, lonely five years, during which he manages to keep Gondor from being overrun and his troops from losing all hope.
When the reinforcements finally show up, the Gondorian soldiers aren't exactly happy about being thrown into another, longer, bloodier war, but they will follow Anarion. Anarion is charismatic and personable, with an astonishing memory for detail and a knack for conveying to all who fight with him that they truly matter. Anarion never gives up; although determination runs in his family, his is not the grim determination of Isildur. It is tenacity strengthened by optimism, the ability to confront anything with a smile and a nod of affirmation that there is hope, if we fight hard enough.
The Numenorean exiles love and respect Elendil for keeping them together up through the Akallabeth, and Isildur has the absolute loyalty of his people (especially the ones who travelled north with him after the fall of Minas Ithil), but Anarion was there for Gondor in its hour of need. That's why Anarion's death during the Siege of Barad-dur has such a profound impact on the people of Gondor. Many of the elves are a little puzzled by it, since Elendil took command of the combined Gondorian/Arnorian troops during the siege, but they soon realize just how important Elendil's second son was to the Gondorians.
