Which Fictional Characters Could Actually Resist the Power of the One Ring?
The Ring of Power awakened and magnified your desire for power, control, or dominance. That hunger is what ultimately destroyed even the mightiest figures in Middle-earth. While most could be corrupted by it, a few fictional characters outside Tolkien’s world might resist it for reasons beyond simple moral purity. Here are ten who could.
Mr. Rogers (Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood)
Credit: IMDb
Fred Rogers didn’t need power to make the world better. He believed in kindness without conditions and that people are enough. The Ring’s promises of domination wouldn’t appeal to him. He’d see the corruption behind its shimmer and simply hand it back.
Bugs Bunny (Looney Tunes)
Credit: IMDb
The Ring thrives on drama, but Bugs doesn’t. He’d treat it like a stage prop, maybe wear it as a monocle or balance it on Daffy’s head for a gag. Its promises wouldn’t land because he’s just here to entertain himself, and the Ring has terrible comic timing.
Superman (DC Comics)
Credit: IMDb
For someone who can literally move planets, the Ring’s promises are boring. Kal-El grew up on a Kansas farm where power meant fixing fences and protecting neighbors, not ruling kingdoms. Even if the Ring whispered, “You can save them all,” he’d remember Pa Kent’s warning: real strength comes from restraint, not domination.
Dumbledore (Harry Potter)
Credit: IMDb
Dumbledore knows the cost of unchecked ambition. His youthful hunger for power ended in tragedy and left scars deeper than any spell could heal. He has been around long enough to know that the Ring only has lies to offer.
Aziraphale (Good Omens)
Credit: IMDb
For someone so fond of dusty bookshops and tea that’s slightly too cold, the Ring’s presence would be jarring. Aziraphale would sense the wrongness like a bad smell. Power through fear is fundamentally uninteresting to him.
Kirby (Kirby’s Dream Land)
Credit: IMDb
There’s no resisting the Ring if it never gets the chance. Kirby would probably swallow it like a shiny jellybean, gain a brief evil aura, and then belch it out in a puff of smoke. He doesn’t think in terms of good or evil, just snack or no snack. The Ring wouldn’t stand a chance.
Neo (The Matrix)
Credit: IMDb
Neo knows a prison when he sees one, even if it’s gold-plated. The Ring feeds on delusions of control, but Neo’s whole deal is rejecting prewritten systems. He’d just walk away mid-sentence, already seeing the code behind the lie.
Mr. Bean (Mr. Bean)
Credit: IMDb
Mr. Bean wouldn’t understand what it is, listen to its whispers, or use it properly. He’d try to toast bread with it or get it stuck in a turkey. The Ring, built to twist minds and poison intentions, would be left powerless against someone too oblivious to have either.
George Costanza (Seinfeld)
Credit: IMDb
Even if the Ring tried seduction, George’s reaction would be pure suspicion. If it promised power, he’d assume it was mocking him. If it did nothing, he’d feel insulted. He might pawn it, flush it, or forget it in a taxi. His toxic self-doubt would be the Ring’s undoing, accidentally, of course.
Captain America (Marvel Comics)
Credit: IMDb
The Ring might try to seduce Steve Rogers with visions of a perfect world, with no wars and no fear. But Steve’s moral compass always points true north. He is a true superhero who can recognize the bully inside the whispering gold band.