The Silmarillion/Awesome

"In that hour Lúthien came, and standing upon the bridge that led to Sauron's isle she sang a song that no walls of stone could hinder. ...Then Sauron yielded himself, and Lúthien took the mastery of the isle and all that was there... Lúthien stood upon the bridge, and declared her power: and the spell was loosed that bound stone to stone, and the gates were thrown down, and the walls opened, and the pits laid bare."
 * Fëanor, despite being a Jerkass, has the biggest one in the book. When Morgoth shows up at his house, Fëanor yells "begone from my house, jail-crow of Mandos". And the book points out that he slams the door in the face of the most powerful being in the universe.
 * Amrod defying his father Fëanor. Doubles as a major Tear Jerker.
 * The Tale of Beren and Lúthien is a whole story of Crowning Moments of Awesome. The Elves consider it the greatest tale of the First Age. It's also a Crowning Moment of Awesome for J.R.R. Tolkien, as Beren and Lúthien are avatars of himself and his wife--and he makes it work.
 * Lúthien and Huan overthrow Sauron's castle.


 * Lúthien enspells Morgoth so that Beren can steal the Silmaril.
 * Fingolfin challenges Morgoth to single combat, and manages to seriously wound him before dying.
 * Finrod fights and kills a werewolf bare-handed.
 * When Túrin killed Glaurung, the source of much of his suffering.
 * The fact that Tùrin will avenge his family, not to mention all of humanity, by killing Morgoth.
 * One of the first things Haleth did on entering Beleriand was to Curb Stomp a band of orcs.
 * Eärendil, having sailed to the land of the Valar to beg their aid against Morgoth, returns to Middle Earth in his flying ship at the head of an army of gods, angels, and giant eagles. His ship leads the air assault against Morgoth's flying dragons, and he personally slays the "greatest of all dragons", Ancalagon. Did I mention he's wearing one of the silmarils this whole time? It's the one you and I would call Venus.
 * Ar-Pharazôn's army was so powerful that Sauron's servants ran away from them in terror, and Sauron had to surrender to him. Of course, it was more complicated than that, but still...