TOM (short for Toonami Operations Module) is a Beta Droid and the host of Toonami. Aboard the spaceship Absolution, he and his AI companion Sara broadcast the latest in action anime and cartoons. He's also been the star of his own adventures, done in the form of Total Immersion Events.
History[]
TOM 1[]
TOM debuted to the masses on July 10th, 1999 as a short, pudgy, bubble-headed robot voiced by Sonny Strait. He said this: “So it's a brand new Toonami, but the mission objectives remain the same. My name is TOM. I'm the new Moltar. Welcome aboard the Ghost Planet Spaceship Absolution, Cartoon Network's first and only interstellar broadcast and exploration vehicle. I'll give you the tour later. From this day forward she is completely responsible for all Toonami transmissions. I'm takin' you guys into the new millennium! No big changes now, same show, same attitude; new place to do it, new guy to do it with. I'm not going to waste any more time, let's get back into it. Later.”
In a 2000 comic called Swarm (which has since been retconned), TOM's origins are shown. He was once a Beta Droid produced in a factory, alongside a similar-looking female robot named RUBY. The factory's owner, LARS, tried to pronounce him defective, even after TOM saved the droids from Nebula Rays. Because of this, TOM ran away and eventually ran into Moltar, who gave him the job of hosting Toonami.
In September 2000, during the first Total Immersion Event The Intruder, TOM 1 met his end while trying to stop a blobbish creature known as the Intruder. After TOM realized his handguns were ineffective against it, the blob surrounded him and devoured him.
TOM 2[]
Fortunately, this was not the end of TOM, as his AI companion Sara restored his consciousness into a new body. Taller, sleeker, and leaner, TOM 2 was able to put an end to the Intruder and continue his job as the host of Toonami. TOM 2 acted, sounded, and looked more like a teenager than his previous incarnation, having the mind of an 18 year old and being awkward and dorky.
In September 2001, during the TIE Lockdown, TOM sent dozens of DOKs controlled by the viewers at home with access to a computer to rescue a mysterious ship from a trash compactor.
In September 2002, during the TIE Trapped in Hyperspace, the Absolution was infected by a sentient computer virus known as Swayzak, who attempted to make the ship crash into Earth. TOM jacked into the Absolution's systems and helped Sara make waste of Swayzak via the use of a virtual ship, destroying him and his friends and being helped out by the viewers at home with access to a computer. However, as a final stand, Swayzak took the opportunity to infect TOM. Sara and the viewers were able to go inside TOM, fight Swayzak, and free TOM from the infection.
In the online comic Endgame, a space pirate named Orcelot Rex stole Sara and destroyed the Absolution. When TOM went to pursue Orcelot, he was caught and killed.
TOM 3[]
Thankfully, a beleaguered race of robots called the Dronomeks offered to help rebuild TOM, transforming him into the muscular-looking TOM 3. TOM 3 destroyed Orcelot Rex for once and for all, hitting him in a sensitive area with a fork. In return, the Dronomeks built a new Absolution for TOM and Sara.
TOM didn't go on any more adventures after that, but he did show the viewers at home the best there was in action cartoons and anime.
On April 1, 2012, as Adult Swim began their traditional April Fools day stunt of airing the cult movie, The Room, the screen cut to black and quickly cut to reveal TOM 3 aboard the Absolution watching the movie on his monitor. He follows by saying, "Oh, hi, Adult Swim, I got the results of the test back, I definitely have April Fools." The next 6 hours involved the showing of iconic episodes from classic Toonami shows, such as Dragon Ball Z and Gundam Wing. There was also a new video game review for Mass Effect 3.
Most of the April Fools Day event consisted of old TOM 3 bumpers for the intro and commercial breaks. However, there was some new material created, including the speech given when TOM 3 was shown watching The Room, the Mass Effect 3 review, and some of the bumps. Additionally, shots of TOM only showed him in his chair in a simplified version of the Absolution's control room.
TOM 4[]
In 2007, TOM, without warning, underwent a new look that gave him a face similar to that of Thomas the Tank Engine. The reason for this was not explained in-series. He hosted Toonami from a control room on the planet Flowus 3 with his new friends Flash and D.
In 2008, at the end of what was seemingly a normal broadcast, TOM 4 said this: "Well, this is the end, beautiful friends. After more than eleven years, this is Toonami's final broadcast. It's been a lot of fun. We'd like to thank each and every one of you who made this journey with us. Toonami wouldn't have been anything without you. Hopefully we've left you with some good memories. So, until we meet again, stay gold. Bang." He flew away, marking the end of Toonami after 11 years.
TOM 3.5[]
After Toonami returned to TV because of a successful stunt Adult Swim pulled, TOM was upgraded into a chrome-looking version of TOM 3, dubbed TOM 3.5. TOM 4 was seemingly erased from continuity, and TOM 3.5 hosted Toonami from an HD Absolution Mk. II. He now had the ability to curse and make more mature jokes.
TOM 3.5 is the TOM used in the non-canonical Toonami event Cosmo Samurai. Here, he's separated from Sara, and he runs across a team of intergalactic samurai who rebuild him and help him take down a criminal named Akutou. They eventually rescue Sara, but their adventure is not over, as Akutou was just a decoy and the real boss has yet to surrender.
TOM 5[]
In 2013, TOM was upgraded yet again into a slimmer, angrier-looking version of himself. TOM 5, along with returning co-host Sara, hosted Toonami aboard the Absolution Mk. III.
In the first Adult Swim Total Immersion Event, The Intruder II, the Absolution Mk. III was invaded by the Intruder, fused with the remnants of TOM 1, who wanted revenge. TOM lost an arm and seemingly Sara, but in the end was able to wipe out the Intruder for good... destroying the Absolution in the process. TOM and Sara sought refuge on a barren planet known as Shogo 162.
In The Intruder III, TOM and Sara escaped the doomed Shogo 162 and discovered their base was a ship, called the Vindication. They adopted one of the creatures from Shogo, a sandworm they'd later name "Georgia."
In Countdown, TOM was contacted by a version of himself from an alternate future where Sara and the Clydes are evil. TOM was able to stop that future from happening, but obtains scars.
In The Forge, TOM is taken hostage and is taken to a forge where his kind are made. TOM and Sara are able to liberate the TOMs, but TOM gets shot and killed in the process.
TOM 6[]
Of course, Sara backs up TOM's consciousness into a new body. TOM 6 is able to finish off the Forge Commander, but sadly loses the Vindication. He and Sara make their new home in The Forge. In The Return, TOM thinks about all the different versions of him there is across the universe but Sara told him that he is the best TOM there is and an alarm goes off, revealing a ship heading towards The Forge. Sara finds out it's an upgraded version of the Absolution Mk. 1 from 250 years into the future and TOM and Sara make the Absolution. Mk XIV their new home to host Toonami.
Trivia[]
- The higher-ups wanted Freddie Prinze Jr. to voice TOM, because of celebrity recognition. Jason DeMarco also considered Beau Billingslea for the part.
- TOM resembles Proto Man from the Mega Man game series, as both are robots with visors.
- TOM's favorite show on Toonami is Outlaw Star.
- TOM's favorite kind of games are action-adventure games; he's not particularly fond of RPGs, as shown in the Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind review.
- TOM is an unlockable gadget via cheat code in the PlayStation 2 stealth game Sly 2: Band of Thieves with Steve Blum reprising his role.