Is Tom Bombadil necessary?

Many fans of Tolkien's writing and Middle Earth say Tom Bombadil was perhaps one of the most important characters in the story and in the quest to destroy the One Ring, and his mysterious nature makes him an intriguing character, too. Without him, things may have ended differently.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on gamerant.com


Why did they not include Tom Bombadil?

Bombadil is absent from Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy; Jackson explained that this was because he and his co-writers felt that the character does little to advance the story, and including him would make the film unnecessarily long.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on en.wikipedia.org


Is Tom Bombadil good or evil?

What do we know about Tom Bombadil? He is not the benevolent figure that he pretends to be. Tom appears to the Ringbearer in a friendly, happy guise, to question and test him and to give him and his companions swords that can kill the servants of another evil power. But his motives are his own.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on km-515.livejournal.com


Why does the One Ring not affect Tom Bombadil?

The ring has no effect on him because the ring has nothing to offer him; time is already immortal, and neither good nor evil. He has no real concern because his existence will still be around whether or not Sauron gets the ring back.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on lotr.fandom.com


What does Tom Bombadil symbolize?

In a contemporary letter (1937) Tolkien explained that Tom was meant to represent 'the spirit of the (vanishing) Oxford and Berkshire countryside'.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on tolkien.cro.net


Five Great Tom Bombadil Theories | Tolkien Theory



Who Should Tom Bombadil be?

Tom Bombadil Is A Wizard

In The Lord of the Rings, a wizard is a Maia incarnated in human form. Tolkien's known wizards are comprised of Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast and two blue wizards who are only mentioned in passing.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on screenrant.com


Is Tom Bombadil a God?

I believe that Tom represents an incarnation of God in what is a very Catholic story. In Tolkien's legendarium, God is Eru, also known as Ilúvatar, the great creator of the world (see the Ainulindalë and Valaquenta chapters of the Silmarillion).
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on ronan-mclaverty-head.medium.com


Is Tom Bombadil stronger than Sauron?

Sauron is all-powerful. Unless he is destroyed he is unbeatable and unstoppable. The destruction of the ring (and Sauron's native power which is VERY considerable) is the only way to defeat him. Tom Bombadill is not so much powerful as outside the power game that is being played out in the war of the ring.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on scifi.stackexchange.com


Is Tom Bombadil stronger than Gandalf?

More powerful than Gandalf and more ancient than Galadriel, Tom Bombadil is actually Lord of the Rings' most powerful being. When it comes to powerful beings in Lord of the Rings, characters such as Gandalf, Saruman, Galadriel and, of course, Sauron are discussed at great length.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on cbr.com


Why did Peter Jackson cut Tom Bombadil?

Peter Jackson has explained his decision to omit Tom Bombadil from The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, claiming that the character's contribution to The Fellowship of the Ring bore little relevance to the overall plot and did nothing to advance the main story.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on screenrant.com


Is Tom Bombadil immortal?

Proclaimed to be "the oldest in existence," Tom Bombadil was apparently immortal and possesses a range of enigmatic powers able to give full control over his domains, seen by Goldberry that described Tom as being "Master of wood, water and hill". He was also referenced as being impossible to capture or imprison.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on lotr.fandom.com


Is Tom Bombadil the Witch King?

The theory states that Tom Bombadil is the Witch King of Angmar, who takes another form to find some peace with the tiny fragment of good left in him.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on reddit.com


Is Tom Bombadil in the Hobbit movie?

LEGO finally reveals why Tom Bombadil never made it in 'Lord of the Rings' movies. Tom Bombadil has always been the most enigmatic of characters in the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. When he didn't make the cut in the movies, despite not being central to the plot, many fans objected and wondered why.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on theonering.net


Is Tom Bombadil a Radagast?

Radagast the Brown is a wizard kinsman to Gandalf who forgot his calling and can never leave Middle Earth. And finally there's the cheery, enigmatic Tom Bombadil, who can put the Ring on his finger and not vanish. These are men of magic and of ancient wisdom and Tolkien's finest creations.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on femnista.wordpress.com


Is Tom Bombadil in the extended cut?

As Jackson's full film trilogy played out in theaters, a common refrain — even among admirers of it — was some variation of the question, "Why did the movies leave out Tom Bombadil?" Even the extended edition of "The Fellowship of the Ring" did not have any scenes with the character.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on slashfilm.com


Who is older Treebeard or Tom Bombadil?

Now, we know that Tom Bombadil predates the elves, and the trees themselves (which definitely existed before the ents.) So he's definitely older than Treebeard.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on askmiddlearth.tumblr.com


Is Bombadil a Valar?

While it is conceivable that his personality could have reversed in these ways, there is no reason to think that it did. There is other evidence that Bombadil is not one of the Valar. In "In the House of Tom Bombadil", Tom says of himself, "He was here before the Kings and the graves and the Barrow-wights.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on tolkien.slimy.com


What happens when Tom Bombadil puts on the ring?

When Frodo shows Tom Bombadil the Ring, he amazes the Hobbits by putting the Ring on without disappearing. The reason that Tom Bombadil is not subject to the power of the Ring is that he really, truly does not desire power or ownership over any one thing.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on shmoop.com


Did Gandalf meet Tom Bombadil?

Once Sauron was defeated, Gandalf had a short time in which he was largely free to do what he liked, and one of the first things he did was visit Tom Bombadil.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on thetolkienforum.com


Is Tom Bombadil in rings of power?

Like we just said, Tom has no real bearing on the story. There is a quick nod to Old Man Willow in the extended editions of The Fellowship of the Ring, but other than that, Tom's presence is fully absent.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on nerdist.com


Who is the most powerful character in Middle-earth?

Taking into consideration all of Tolkien mythology, Iluvatar the God is Middle-earth's most powerful character. He's followed by Manwë, Morgoth and the other Valar, and then the Maiar beneath them, all of whom are divine entities.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on screenrant.com


Is Tom Bombadil Ainur?

[edit] Tom as a nature sprite

Bombadil could have been created as a side-effect of the Music of the Ainur and that would explain why he was there in the beginning. His Elvish name "Eldest Fatherless" can support this notion: since he is only a part of creation, he has no "father", while the Ainur have (Eru).
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on tolkiengateway.net


Who is God in the Silmarillion?

Eru Ilúvatar

Eru is introduced in The Silmarillion as the supreme being of the universe, creator of all existence. In Tolkien's invented Elvish language Quenya, Eru means "The One", or "He that is Alone" and Ilúvatar signifies "Allfather". The names appear in Tolkien's work both in isolation and paired (Eru Ilúvatar).
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on en.wikipedia.org


Who is the best archer in Middle-earth?

In Middle-earth
  • Legolas was the most renowned archer throughout the Third Age. ...
  • Gondor's army contained units of archers famed for their skill with longbows. ...
  • Rohan included archers in its Éoreds, likely trained to fire from the saddle as the Rohirrim usually fought on horseback.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on lotr.fandom.com