The Wall Street Journal called him "a bubbleheaded host."
The fans made fun of his enormous gut.
He is the Toonami equivalent of Conan O'Brien replacing David Letterman on Late Night.
His official title is Toonami Operations Module, the Absolution's maintenance AI unit.
He is TOM, the current host of Toonami.
Handpicked to be the host of the block and to pilot a new space vessel by Moltar after risking his life to save a space colony from a swarm of metal-eating creatures, TOM made his official debut on the block on Saturday, July 10, 1999 around 11:55 PM (EST) to usher in the new era of Toonami. As anyone could see, this wasn't business as usual, as a number of familiar Toonami elements like
Moltar and
Clyde49 were gone, and a new atmosphere was introduced with the
Absolution. He looked like one of those anime/video game robots like Bomberman or Mega Man with a HUGE gut that was a nuclear reactor.
Like his predecessor, TOM was a sardonic host, light-hearted and a little edgy. He gave daily affirmations and guides to living, but rarely made fun of the heroes and villians on the block, which Moltar tended to do once in a while. Unlike Moltar, TOM had a lot of adventures, one of which caused his untimely "death."
It was a long day for TOM. Moments after commenting on a recent newspaper article that called him "Bubble headed" with his assistant, the Absolution's onboard AI unit
Sara, an unknown object crashed through the ship's hull. Well, crashed wasn't the proper word. The object burned through the hull. Minutes later, the object revealed itself to be a creature that ate metal and rumored to be responsible for destroying spaceships for millenia. After attacking the intruder for the first time, TOM was propelled out of the ship and knocked unconscious. Fortunately, he regained his composure and came back to Sara to devise a plan to get rid of the growing creature. They launched a plan to trap the intruder in a section of the ship, hoping to jettison it once and for all. Unfortunately, as TOM used his largest weapon to try to stun the intruder, the creature grew larger, forcing TOM to try to escape from harm. This proved futile as the gelatinous creature devoured TOM, killing the familiar
bubble headed host and shocking us un-expecting viewers.
There was hope and rebirth thanks to Sara, who scanned TOM's memories and AI matrix into a larger, more action-ready shell, the TOM 2 (though he was never, referred to as TOM 2). After hearing from Sara that he "died," the reborn TOM got right back to action, planning to sacrifice everything to get rid of the intruder before it devours the Absolution. In short, he blew it up, and got rid of one of the engines in the process. TOM, who has transmitted heroes to the masses, was a hero himself.
A year later, TOM found himself in a similar situation, only this time, he didn't do all that much. After responding to a distress signal, TOM and Sara went to the ship only to realize that a huge vessel was going to pull them in (give or take 1000 years). To prevent this from happening, TOM played the role of commander and unleashed his newest creations, the DOK units, to get inside the garbage barge and destroy it from within. Unfortunately, they got put offline, but thanks to a quick-thinking TOM, the DOK became controlled courtesy of Toonami viewers courtesy of the internet. The viewers succeeded, and they were freed from the grasp of the garbage barge. The ship that sent the distress signal left without saying a goodbye. But then again, you don't become a hero just to get compliments.
On March 17th 2003, Toonami's sixth birthday, TOM 2 faced yet another challenge, albeit in the form of an online comic, when a space pirate named Orcelot Rex blasted his way into the Absolution and captured Sara. The Absolution was blown up and Tom got his butt kicked in the process; but after his failed fight with Orcelot, Tom's remains were scavenged by a bunch of deralect robots, who rebuilt him and the Absolution. Bigger, better, stronger than before - Tom readily served Orcelot using a fork, and saved his gal.
Yet while the more things change, the more things stay the same. Tom 3 looks different, but he acts exactly like the Tom we all knew and love. He still lounges endlessly in his chair playing video games and taunting the competetors; just like he always has - and perhaps always will.
TOM may have be the second host of Toonami in the United States, but around the world, he has always been the face of Toonami. In Europe, Australia, India, and now Japan, TOM is the host they all know and love. When the block hosted a film festival, TOM was there. When the powers that be made theatrical promos, TOM was the prominent front man. As the block grows over time, the face that will be the dominant icon of the block will be TOM.
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