Goblins

Goblins or Orcs of the Misty Mountains are what Tolkien called the Orcs whom Thorin and Company encountered in The Hobbit. They lived deep under the Misty Mountains in many strongholds, ever since the War of Wrath in the First Age. Tolkien described them as big, ugly creatures, "cruel, wicked, and bad-hearted."

A clear illustration that Tolkien considered goblins and orcs to be the same thing, the former word merely being the English translation of the latter, is that in The Hobbit (the only one of Tolkien's works in which he usually refers to orcs as goblins) Gandalf asks Thorin if he remembers Azog the goblin who killed his grandfather Thror, while in all his other writings Tolkien describes Azog as a "great Orc".

History
After the chaining of Melkor in Valinor, most of his followers were forced to either remain in the ruins of Angband or flee. Their kingdoms spread throughout many mountains of Middle-earth; notable cities include Goblin-town near the High Pass above Rivendell, the Goblin-capital at Mount Gundabad, and the former Dwarf-kingdom of Moria. These Orcs slowly degenerated into gnome-like creatures, grotesque and twisted by evil.

During the Second Age, the Goblins were under Sauron's control and were led by great Orcs sent from Mordor, warring with the Elves, Dwarves and Men for their new master. Following his defeat in the War of the Last Alliance, the goblins returned to their strongholds, outposts and cities in the Misty Mountains and while they mostly remained there, some ventured out of their lairs and waylaird travellers. One such party led by Orcs of Barad-dûr attacked and killed Prince Isildur and his men, who were on their way to Rivendell.

During the Third Age, goblins became once again a threat to Middle-earth, as the Shadow of Sauron crept once again in the abandoned fortress of Dol Guldur. A chieftain known as Azog led a host of goblins and settled in the mines of Moria. Following the death of King Thrór, the dwarves began to war with the goblins, beginning the conflict known as the War of Dwarves and Orcs which ended with Dáin II Ironfoot beheading Azog. Later, during the Quest for the Lonely Mountain, the company of Thorin II was captured in the High Pass by the goblins of Goblin-Town, who under the rule of the Great Goblin had allied themselves with the Wargs to attack the nearby Woodsmen. The dwarves were rescued by Gandalf the Grey, who also killed the Orc chieftain. This greatly angered the creatures who pursued them to a pine forest and attempted to avenge their king's death, but the Great Eagles got in their way. With their hatred for the Free Peoples rekindled, the goblins rallied at Gundabad and fought in the Battle of the Five Armies under Bolg son of Azog. After their defeat, most of the Orc population was depleted and the remained fled back to their caves. By TA 3019, the goblins had taken Moria and most of them had been compelled into Sauron's service, while a few others were among the agents of the wizard Saruman, who too desired to rule Middle-earth. The Fellowship narrowly escaped the goblins, but a company of Orcs from Mordor, Moria and Isengard attacked them at Amon Hen and captured the hobbits.

By the Fourth Age, the dwarves had reclaimed Moria and slain most of the goblins who had once infested their ancestral home.

The Hobbit (1977 film)
The animated Goblins appearing in this film are large, putrid green, bestial creatures. They are far bulkier than what one normally expects for a Goblin, being either hugely muscular or fat. They also had bulbous toad-like heads featuring tusks, lupine ears, canine-like noses, and even horns.

The Hobbit Film Trilogy
The Goblins of the High Pass seen in Peter Jackson's first installment of the Hobbit trilogy are quite different compared to the Orcs of Moria, having flesh-toned skin and riddled with various skin diseases and deformations like harelips, mismatched or skewed eyes, and crooked-growing fingernails. They are overall much more grotesque than Goblins seen in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, being as tall as any Dwarf or Hobbit with some even reaching almost human height or even greater.

These types of goblins later appear in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies as "goblin mercenaries" adorned in armor and some riding Great Guldur War Trolls.

The Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy
In The Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy, goblins from the Misty Mountains are recruited by Saruman to amass an army to lead in Sauron's campaign against Rohan. They cut down the trees and begin work in the caverns to prepare for war (forging weapons and armor, breeding Uruk-hai, arming the soldier-orcs).

The Fellowship of the Rings also runs into Moria Goblins in the mines and fight them along a Cave Troll in Balin's Tomb, before fleeing and being cornerned in the great dwarven halls. When Durin's Bane roars, the creatures retreat, fearing the Balrog's wrath.

Appearances

 * The Hobbit
 * The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
 * The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies
 * The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
 * The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (film)
 * The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
 * The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (film)
 * The Silmarilion
 * Unfinished Tales