: The problem with not putting a name or face to an antagonist is that you're not allowing the reader to feel as if the protagonist is achieving anything. If the antagonist is defeated without

@Martha805

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The problem with not putting a name or face to an antagonist is that you're not allowing the reader to feel as if the protagonist is achieving anything. If the antagonist is defeated without ever being revealed, then it strips the feeling of accomplishment and justice being served to the evildoer who deserves it. If this is the effect you're trying to achieve then that's great, but it's very difficult to get a feeling of accomplishment when you're not sure what it is that you've accomplished.

If you have a definite person or organization that is the antagonist in your story, then your protagonist will want to put a name or face to them, that is what humans do. We need to try to know or understand what we are facing or it is much more difficult to overcome it. So whilst the enemy might be Joe, CEO of the Illumninati, the protagonist may not know that particular person, but will likely still understand that they are facing the Illuminati as a whole.

If the protagonist cannot put a name or face to their enemy, let's use your example of Sauron, then the antagonist in their story will not be Sauron to them. It will be Saruman, or Gothmog, or any other lieutenant that they know or face. If Sauron is not known to them, then he would not be their enemy, they would instead name the person they understand to be in charge of the evil in Middle Earth as their ultimate opponent.

The biggest problem usually in fiction with making the reveal of the villain is that the villain in person is not the thing to be afraid of. It's usually their influence over others, or their power to convince others to do evil, that is their real strength. Whilst Hitler was the ultimate enemy of the Allies in World War 2, I doubt anyone would have been overly scared to take him on 1-on-1 for a chance to end the war.

So when the heroes meet the villain in person, the reader understands that the biggest threat is already over. They have usually overcome much more difficult obstacles in order just to face their opponent, so the actual final showdown is less of a climax than beating their true difficulty was, which is the villain's command of every obstacle and enemy that the heroes have faced so far.

Sauron is actually probably the best example of what you are looking for that I can think of in fiction: They know who he is so can put a name to their ultimate enemy. He is incredibly powerful, but his power comes from the fear and control he has over his minions. At the climax of the story, that is what is overcome, as the company face off against his army that he has built through fear of his power, whilst Frodo literally fights to overcome the influence of the Ring in the final moments.

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