# How Does Feanor Match Up to Maia?



## Gloranthan (Dec 12, 2022)

First off, I know Tolkien's powers and gifts of different beings are like Dragonball Z power levels. They seem to mostly be spiritual, and have a lot of nuance to their specifics. Secondly, Feanor obviously doesn't rank with any of the Valar. There does seem to be some quite wide divergence among the status/power/intellect of Maia as well as elves. Feanor, we're told, is the top dog of the Elven soul-fire and I wonder how he ranks in mental ability and spiritual might to various Maia. I would assume Sauron, being one of the top Maia we encounter, was even smarter and more intense than Feanor - though _even less wise_ in other ways. Feanor went off the rails several times, and was a covetous, proud elf, but Feanor wasn't nearly as malicious. In fact, despite his blinding obsessions, he seems to have actually liked his family and respected the Valar. Sauron, while he has _some_ redeeming qualities and virtues, is really twisted up on himself in a way I don't think Feanor ever matched.
I do not have in front of me a list of Maia, and I know Tolkien probably didn't produce a hierarchy chart, but I wonder if Feanor was more powerful and intelligent than some lesser Maia.


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