Boromir of Gondor is the eldest son of the Steward of Gondor, Denethor II. He mysteriously pops up out of nowhere at the council of Elrond, for no apparent reason, to suggest using the One Ring as a weapon. Everyone, especially the Elves, think this is a really bad idea and decide to let Frodo destroy the Ring. Boromir then joins the Fellowship, probably because he wants to look like a nice guy.
On the road, Boromir turns out to be a good warrior, protector of hobbits and all-round good egg. However, he has some serious issues and breaks down in Lothlórien after being stared at by Galadriel for too long. He admits to Aragorn to missing his daddy and feeling generally incompetent to win the battle his country (Gondor) is fighting with Sauron. Despite his honesty, he doesn’t get a gift from Galadriel.
The Fellowship travels on the River Anduin for a while, and during a nightly stop Aragorn and Boromir get into a fight about Aragorn’s dubious attitude towards his own humanity. Boromir doesn’t take this too well, and the temptation the Ring is forming starts to weigh on him, which results in an ill-camouflaged attempt to kill Frodo and steal the Ring from him. (Ill camouflaged as an attempt to kill Frodo and steal the Ring from him.) Frodo escapes, leaving Boromir stunned and draped with leaves. When the others are attacked, he arrives in the nick of time to defend Merry and Pippin and get shot with huge black-feathered arrows.
Whilst dying gracefully, he acknowledges Aragorn as heir to the King of Gondor.
Also, he’s blonde and looks remarkably like Sean Bean. Which is always good. Except when you’re supposed to have black hair…
by Figwit
