Quote Originally Posted by Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh View Post
EDIT: Also, which book version of Balrogs are we talking about Fall of Gondolin, or the 'retconned' ones. As their power level varied, IIRC. Or are we talking Durin's Bane specifically ?
Fall of Gondolin is not canon.

Quote Originally Posted by Pendaran View Post
Honestly, given Durin's Bane, I don't think there's a lot of mileage in trying to bring up the earliest take on the Balrogs for anything, Tolkien clearly ended up settling on that they were the whole fewer in number corrupted Maiar deal.
Short answer: yes.

Long answer: It's flatly stated in Tolkien's notes on the matter, and borne up by Lord of the Rings and the final Silmarillion.

Quote Originally Posted by Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh View Post
That's fair enough, but I love bringing up the Fall of Gondolin whenever I can.
Fall of Gondolin is not canon.

I'm just going to repeat that for fun, because honestly, I love bringing it up as well - Glorfindel going all Michael Strogoff on a Balrog is a hilariously awesome scene, as is Ecthelion using his giant spiked helmet to impale Gothmog after it busts both his arms.

Buuuut...non-canon. ^_^

Quote Originally Posted by Pendaran View Post
Ugh, I missed that in the general sprawl of the posts. Gandalf straight up from the Two Towers describes the fight. We are told what happens. That's not second hand info in good faith, that's "the guy who was one half of that fight narrates what happened for us." The things you are trying to compare are not super comparable. It would require one of the Children themselves who was around at the time noting all the stuff you're talking about. Which, if that's what happens, hey, nevermind me, but otherwise, not the same thing.
The fight is also noted in the appendices in the timeline, and said timeline and vague description dovetails nicely with what Gandalf says (starts January 15, 3019 for those interested). It does not, for example, say 'Gandalf kills the Balrog in an hour-long fight, then takes a breather for a week while making up a great story to tell everyone.' ^_^

...it also notes that Gandalf fought the Balrog -- including stair-running time, presumably without breaks -- for TEN DAYS.