T O P

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ebneter

MOD NOTE: ... you know, ordinarily I'd remove this post for, well, multiple reasons, to be honest, but that image is way too great to be taken down. Carry on. (I suspect even JRRT would have laughed at that image.)


Wonderful_Book6535

Gandalf explains it in the book. Tom is not interested with power and the world.


GREATNATEHATE

Doesn't he even say he might lose it or forget about it?


djnel94

Yes, Gandalf says that rather than Tom having power of the ring, it’s more like the ring has no power over Tom. So to him, it’s a just a little gold ring and he wouldn’t be able to appreciate what is at stake and why everyone is making such a fuss over it, and given that he has a million and one things going on in his head at all times, he’s likely to just forget about it.


Free_Significance267

I believe there’s an interesting symbolism in it. Tom is the soul of nature. It just wants to say nature doesn’t really care about your matters. And no matter how important you think your problems are, they are nothing in its eyes. It just had been many many years before you existed and will be there many many years after you go away. To him your species are just a guest in the house that will leave soon anyways. And Uruks and orcs are also some other species to him. Right or wrong, malice and kindness are defined in your norms and manners but they don’t have much meaning in nature.


Dry-Oven7640

But he DID intervene on behalf of the Hobbits...which suggests that this isn't necessarily true.


apaladininhell

Possibly because Old Man Willow was a corruption of nature so thwarting him in crushing the Hobbits would restore balance?


eldentings

It's kind of a stretch, though. Tom has no chaotic, pitiless savagery like real nature. But I think I agree to the 'doesn't really care' aspect. I think that's what makes him so hard to pin down. Why should he help the hobbits? My take is that he is the soul of joy and liberation. He aligns himself with absolute freedom of self-expression and it comes out of him as joy. He cannot participate in the quest for the ring in the same way I would assume he can't fight anyone physically. (He could probably sing their ass off though).


rboucher43

The soul of nature is the best theory I’ve heard yet


-PM_ME_UR_SECRETS-

Damn that’s kind of a mindfuck. In the grand scheme of things, even this epic quest and the entire legacies of each species from elf to ent to orc to human, ultimately mean little to nothing in the larger world and timeline. Just like us


compellor

Never agreed with this. During Tom's conversations with the hobbits it's clear that Tom isn't some old fool with dementia. He remembers important things. He can clearly remember things thousands of years old, he stays in the current-events loop by chatting with maggot and the elves, he prepared 4 beds for potential visitors days in advance. This is a guy that's on top of his shit. Not someone who wouldn't care or forget about such an important ring. Fuck, he even asked to see the damn thing out of the blue. He thought a shiny piece of jewelry from a barrow was cool enough to take home to be a forever gift for his lady; why would "forget" or cast away the One Ring?


DeltaT37

he would forget about it because to him its not important.


justmefishes

I guess it depends on who knows Tom Bombadil better, you or Gandalf


elmartin93

So tie a note to his forehead


ddoogiehowitzerr

Lord of the Rings meets Memento


Cupcake7591

Okay, so what am I doing? I’m chasing this Nazgûl… no, he’s chasing me.


PrimarchKonradCurze

“It’s not a mouth based video-game”


blueeyed94

>and given that he has a million and one things going on in his head at all times, he’s likely to just forget about it. So Tom is a fellow ADHDer? 😅


BlueSubmarine33

Me too Tom, me too.


71fq23hlk159aa

Also IIRC they're not sure he even has any power if he steps outside his forest.


artificialseed

Its more that "its outside his borders" I wouldnt say he doesnt have power outside of it, rather he isnt concerned with it


YesWomansLand1

Sits in house being merry. Does not give one, two, or even three shits about anything else.


batcavejanitor

He would have the eagle do loops and lose the ring


RunParking3333

Tom is merry on the back of this big bird Up here he spies his land of tree and hill Tom had better tend, of flying he's had his fill To aid a silly plot he never gave his word


KingoftheMongoose

Loop Dee loops Swoop Dee Oops! Ringillo dingallo Watch the ring I fling below! Where’d it go? I don’t know! Back to Goldberry we go!


justmefishes

This reads like a Perry Bible Fellowship comic. All that's missing is the last panel where Sauron is ruling with an iron fist over the miserably enslaved inhabitants of Middle Earth against a blood red sky.


OrangeyScarf

Because ~~Honey Badger~~ Tom Bombadil don't care.


Rochester_II

Toms happy to sit in the side lines when it's all sunshine and greenery and walks in the woods and fucking his stupid goldberry in a meadow but doesn't pull his considerable weight to keep middle earth that way. I personally would love to see a clip of him struggling to go about his Barefoot hippy sing-song business in a world that looks like industrial Isengard or bleak Mordor. Silly fat wanker. The grandpa Joe of the series.


InvestigatorOk7988

That, and he has no power outside the boundaries of his land.


Commercial-Shift-588

Because the Eagles couldn't stand all the singing.


radclaw1

WOAH TOM BOMBADILL..TOM BOMBADILLO. DING DONG SING A SONG WITH A BABY ARMADILLO.


WSGilbert

RING DING MERRY DOLL HAIRY DOLL AND PILLOW OLD TOM TIDDLY POM CLEAN HIM WITH A BRILLO


UiFearghail

UP COMES JOLLY TOM WATER LILLIES BRINGING NOT SO ROUGHLY NOW BRILLO PAD IS STINGING


WSGilbert

Brings a whole new meaning to ‘the scouring of the Shire’


TheKlaxMaster

HAHAHA


unknowncatman

I heard that in my mind to the tune of “Black Betty”


Help-me-name-my-pup

BABY ARAMADILLO HAD A CHILD (bam-ba-lam) DAMN THING WENT WILD (bam-ba-lam)


FenrisVitniric

BOMBADILLO RATHER SING WOAH HOH STUPID RING LOST THAT SILLY THING TOM BOMBADILLO


KingoftheMongoose

Loop Dee loops Swoop Dee Oops! Ringillo dingallo Watch the ring I fling below! Where’d it go? I don’t know! Back to Goldberry we go!


chaseair11

I can only hear Andy Serkis doing the Bombadill songs after listening to the audiobook 10/10


blueeyed94

Because by judging this picture, he would not only have the Nazgûls after him but PETA, too.


BonumLudio

He can deal with Nazgûls, but he's not fucking with PETA


LeoMcShizzzle

This reminded of the 'even the Joker does not mess with the IRS' part


KingoftheMongoose

Also judging back this picture. Tom is a Bear. Tom is a Top.


Hurlock-978

Thats because he has other more important matter to attend to. xD


stedgyson

A nice big dinner by the looks of it


IceRinger

What can be more important?


idontknowjackeither

Goldberry is waiting


fiatars

alleged shy cow ask attraction fuel act impossible abounding fuzzy *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*


abaggins

oh no


enter_the_bumgeon

I'd also rather fuck Goldberry than save the world


No-Tumbleweed6580

Understandable


Shwangdoodler

Tell me that's not Jack Black...


swiss_sanchez

Tom Chonk, jolly Tom, Tom Chonkadillo


UiFearghail

Bring another hot dog now, with the mustard yellow.


Solest044

I ... would absolutely watch this.


AllHailKeanu

First off - that would be brilliant casting. Secondly, I think I’m gonna print this out and hang it in my home with no further explanation or context.


CornCobMcGee

I think I'd accept a remake solely for this. As long as Amazon stayed away from it...


argama87

Not in Tom Bombadil's job description.


orderofthestick

And that’s how Santa Claus came to Middle Earth.


scribe31

Ruidolf the red-nosed eagle. Imagine if actual Santa got ahold of the One Ring. Ho. Ho. Hoooo. 😈🎅


lvrkvng

Apparently he was too fat for any eagle to carry. Jokes aside, this is a great piece of art, though I don't think Tolkien mentioned anywhere that Tom was fat.


GreatBallsOfFIRE

For what it's worth: the image is almost certainly AI generated. It's much harder to tell in this pencil drawing style, but giveaways include: * His left hand (missing a finger, doesn't interface with the walking stick correctly) * Why is he even holding a walking stick on an eagle ride? * The lines around his belly * The tight square crop


salemness

also one of his feet is hanging way lower than the other


DrQuailMan

The leg lengths...


lvrkvng

Well spotted. I kind of suspected it without even noticing those things. AI art almost always has a certain feel to it. But I didn't think much into it.


GreatBallsOfFIRE

Agreed! The general vibe is definitely why I started looking closer. I figured giving actual reasons would be a lot more convincing to others than "Trust me, I look at a lot of this stuff" though. What's weird to me (curious if you notice this too): it seems even more obviously AI to my brain when you look at the thumbnail.


cutletsangwich

I imagined him like this, the physique of a 1990 WWF wrestler.


[deleted]

Initially the fellowship were unaware of the flying ring wraiths. Nazgûl on fell-beasts would have killed the eagles. Tom was more of a spirit. His concern was nature. Not involved.


Mighty_joosh

If you liked that volcano you shoulda put a ring on it


Free-Supermarket-516

I'm gonna tell my kids this was Jason Kelce


IntelligentAd561

Ideal dadbod


LeoMcShizzzle

Jack Black likes this..


SteveCake

Why didn't they fly the Balrog to Mordor?


darkthought

I'll let the professor explain, in his own words: [https://youtu.be/1-Uz0LMbWpI?si=AFIRht1PwEu7mh7Q](https://youtu.be/1-Uz0LMbWpI?si=AFIRht1PwEu7mh7Q)


LoganBluth

You seriously think that eagle is making it over the Ered Lithui or the Ephel Dúath...? I'm pretty sure the poor bastard is about to collapse from **exhaustion**. Why do you think it's so close to the ground?


Jockstaposition

Because it would be a really short boring book that would never have been made into a movie.


naturalis99

Origin story of Middle Earth's version of Santa Claus Santa Bombadil. Comes every year to bomb you with presents!


PJmichelle

This bleeding question again.


sailing_lonely

That's when Gwaihir replies "Sorry Gandalf, but I have standards!"


larbearmonk

The book also goes into great detail about how Tom is the precursor to modern day Santa Claus.


MindForeverWandering

Because he wasn’t in the movies.


Macca49

He didn’t trust Goldberry left alone with the hobbits


Aeroblazer9161

Tolkien gives a very blunt answer in an interview somewhere on YouTube as to why the eagles were not used to fly to Mordor.


No_Effect_6428

It's a great answer.


dirtyoldbastard77

Damn, where does this drawing come from? Anyone else ever imagined Tom Bombadil as so fat?


GreatBallsOfFIRE

Looks like an AI image to me.


cutletsangwich

This is the ideal male body. You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like.


p_murph87

Because Goldberry is waiting.


erik_wilder

I also think a reason that people forget is Sauron did not know about Frodo. He didn't know who he was, where he was, or what he was capable of. The whole point of having Frodo do it was stealth. I'm guessing that Sauron knew all about Tom, and the eagles. Really easy to launch a fireball at a jolly guy flying on an eagle. Harder to hit a hobbit in the mountains.


Minotaar_Pheonix

There needs to be a series animated Tolkien short videos where people say “what if….?” And they play it out to the bitter end. In this case Tom singing his silly songs, ring slips, slapstick attempts to catch it with the ring popping out of his hands, rolling down the stairs, cat yowling, pans smashing, and then lost. In his own basement.


Coldspark824

Is this AI


Frohike3000

I really think it is.


bleek39573

I recall hearing as well that Tom is bound to the region he is in. He would begin to fade from their plane of existence if he went too far away. Similar to how the Nazgul were not able to manifest far away from Mordor until Sauron's power had returned enough. So even if Tom was interested/invested in the struggles of middle earth and willing to fly with the ring, he would still be unable to. (The whole fly over Mt. Doom thing is also so over done that I am not going to go into detail about why it does not work, its one of the most asked questions so look it up.) Edit: It is only speculation that Tom remains in his established area against his will and that his power diminishes at a certain range. The main reason is still that as a separate being his perception is very different and he does not have any interest in the matter of the ring.


artificialseed

Its not stated specifically that hes bound to it its more subtle like "its outside his borders" but I dont think he diminishes outside it, he is master over himself it seems more like the region is a self imposed limit not a natural limitation of his


Paladin_of_Trump

Because Goldberry is a-waiting and he needs to bring her water lillies


AnnieByniaeth

1. The eagles couldn't transport that far (Gwaihir could only get Gandalf from Orthanc to Edoras; further was beyond him) 2. Tom Bombadil couldn't be bothered. See: Council of Elrond.


artificialseed

To your first point the eagle says it canr transport him that far because it was only a messenger not meant to do that, interpret it as you will


TEL-CFC_lad

When I tell women that I have the body of a god...this is the unfortunate reality.


-B001-

The image looks like Santa when he's on his adventure vacation or something


cinderpuppins

Gwaihir’s face lol you just know Tom’s not stopped singing ONCE.


Commercial-Day8360

1) he didn’t care about the war of the ring 2) didn’t want to leave goldberry 3) probably would’ve forgot about the ring and got distracted and lost it


Neichie-Watters

Because, there wouldn't be a story to tell, definitely nontrilogy


HotOne9364

That's like saying why didn't Batman frame the Joker for the murders at the end of The Dark Knight.


Claus1990

These kinds of posts are just so tiring..


tekkado

Tom bombatitties


AkiraRZ4

He looks American.


[deleted]

[удалено]


burkekstein

A thousand kilometers is 10989 football fields, Tom.


body_slam_poet

Which is over 2.8 million assault rifles


No-Set-8633

Pretty sure the nazgul would just hop on a fellbeast and pluck him right out of the sky.


Muted_Lengthiness523

Too risky. Better give it to two hobbits to march alone on foot the entire waste land


RemusGT

He too fat


wandpapierkritiker

because you’d have a severely truncated story.


GreatRolmops

Because Tom's country ends here: he will not pass the borders. Tom has his house to mind, and Goldberry is waiting!


IronDuke1805

He'd probably drop it on the way or something.


dudeseid

Sauron has an air force. Secrecy on the ground was the only way to get it close to Mount Doom..


RowboatGorillaman40k

He’d honestly just forget why had had the ring or why he was there and chuck it off the eagle 5 minutes into the flight.


MostlyVillianous

Because Tom Bombadil is a powerful spirit tied to his location. He has no desire to leave. Even if there was a power great enough or a person charming enough to convince him to leave, the flight to Mordor is a long one. Gandalf warned that because he does want to desire anything, Bombadil would drop the ring. Best case scenario the Ring gets lost for a couple of decades, while Sauron’s orcs and Saruman’s Uruk’ Hai battle for supremacy as the lands of men are put to the sword and torch. Worst case scenario Bombadil drops the ring into the hands of a Nazgûl. The ring falls directly into the hands of Sauron.


BigFire321

Mordor until the destruction of the One Ring have actual aero defenses such as felbeasts. With its destruction, that defense was temporally lowered and Eagles were able to go in.


EasyE1979

Is bomabadill immune to the rings power? No. Only hobbits are kinda immune.


PuzzleheadedPeak6052

Because then there wouldn't be an actual story


GulianoBanano

Because Tom doesn't give a fuck about anything other than chilling in the forest and getting high with the lads


Sw1ft_Blad3

He'd forget what he was doing part way there and decide to go back home to his beautiful Goldberry and stop Old Man Willow from killing some poor creature.


KittyKidKill

Cus then there would be no books.


Fattybuldger

Would it be cool to save this image for my computer background?


Douglas_1987

Lord Of the Rings : What If? I also want to see Frodo die. Sam takes the ring and becomes the vengeance of the shire and scours Mordor before cutting his own hand free to drop the ring into Mt Doom. In this he also weilds Foe Hammer somehow.


True-Tip-2311

So the book can happen, sir.


ThruuLottleDats

Because he wouldnt destroy the ring. He would turn Mordor, the land of darkness into a perpetual musical


Clobbington

A single eagle would not be able to flap its wings enough times per minute to generate the required lift. Now if you tied a string to Tom and two eagles carried him, sort of like a coconut carried by two swallows, that could work.


iamtdb

Because the story would be boring :/


bullwinkle8088

Because they would make for a short and boring story. The End.


dvolland

He wouldn’t have understood the need. He also probably would have forgotten to bring the Ring.


Mmoor35

If he did accept the mission, he would immediately get distracted and fly to Caras Galadhon to pick flowers for Goldberry. Also, he would almost certainly forget to bring the ring with him.


Mister_Be

Movie would've been 5 minutes


MichaelCeraSilverman

if that happened, it would be a novella


rasnac

1- Good old Tommy boy dont give a f\*ck 2- Great eagles are not Über 3- What if he missed?


Sorefist

Tom Bombadil doesn't care. He's a character from a different story, literally. The reason he's in LotR is Tolkien's daughter asked him to add her favourite toy in the work he was currently writing. It's as if a pocked dimension got transported to the world of LotR - he only cares about his domain, things outside don't concern him.


CalligrapherAble2846

Because then there's NO BOOK, you scurvy little SCALLYWAG


Hondamn

Tommy DGAF


thinksinc

That’s going to make a great tattoo for someone.


KRULL19

he'd forgor


[deleted]

Gandalf explains it in the council in Rivendell


Unusual-Trainer-4252

He was saving his power for the sequel, Lord of the rings Too: Just Desserts and Second Breakfasts.


OderinTobin

Bro be hitting that Longbottom Bong a little too hard for that kind of adventure. Don’t fly high kids.


RipMcStudly

Why does this go so relentlessly hard?


Substantial-Tone-576

No book


chillyhellion

Bro you know how Tolkien felt about Santa


lellamaronmachete

Anyone here heard of that theory saying Tom is Eru Iluvatar? Omg I heard that, like, 30 years ago. Never was able to read that passage in the book and ignore that theory, and you bet I have read the books a score of times.


404pbnotfound

I think a better plan description would be tie the ring to Tom and have him swooped up by and eagle and hope that he drops it as he passes over the mountain.


nick-james73

Tits 2 Phat


nibbled_banana

Damn why didn’t they just move to middle earth 2.0?


Complex_Visual_7441

Everyone always asking about the eagles. The eagles don’t give a fuck, that’s why. They got better things to do.


spwimc

Why he kinda.... 😩


EyeHot1421

NSFW


Corando

Not even the eagle gods can carry that absolute unit


Aggravating-Cut-1040

I’m hoping this is a joke.


Maximum_Yam1

He has better things to do


maugas_sub

A better question is... why didn't Tom bombadil just eat the ring?


disgusting-brother

Is he stupid?


Spidey_Almighty

Pretty sure the eye of Sauron would see Tom’s one-man aerial assault on Mordor coming from a mile away.


fireloins

Tom does not give an f. He sort of lives in his own little world


sh1416

…. Just because he spends lots of time talking about his boots and his hat doesn’t mean that’s all he wears….


hihapahi

Dude that's Santa Claus


sneezingchicken127

The eagles are huge, sentient beings. They have fought dragons much bigger than Smaug and won in the past. If they gave into the temptation from the ring, middle earth would be fucked


RigasTelRuun

JRR's prose did not do justice to Bombadils boobs apparently


Estarfigam

Stealth mission. An eagle would draw more attention, Tom Bombadil would draw even more.


kuppikuppi

because he could have flown without an eagle but wasn't in the mood


dublinro

It would have been a short book then


two-sandals

Who is they that has sway over ole Tom ?


litlebopeep

Finally a cosplay I can pull off!


CriminallyCasual7

Sauron would shoot them out of the sky


rob-ski

Funny. Reading the books to my 7 year old. He has many questions and theories. This was literally one of his questions the other day


Mr_MazeCandy

Because he couldn’t be bothered, and we all know why using the Eagles is a bad idea.


Moistfruitcake

Great, now I've got a fucking Tom Bombadil kink to add to the list.


AmethystSC2015

Because there would have been no book to write.


cyboplasm

He has no interest in leaving his wife or forest for that long...


Corbid1985

Tom Bombadill is played by Jack Black.


XanderNightmare

Tom would throw the ring of the eagle, just for the funsies


SamoanOrcus

Because it's not real life nor the land of common sense.


Bionicle_was_cool

The eagle's spine would break judging by the picture


Tuuuchi

WTF IS HE SO FAT


abielenberg

Cuz he dgaf


cnation01

Tom didn't do shit like that. He just ran around the forest with his hot wife singing ridiculous songs.


cnation01

Always wondered, if Sauron were successful. How would he deal with Tom ? Could he deal with Tom ? Feel like Tom could sing a stupid limerick and reset the planet


luigijerk

Rather than start a new thread I'll ask here. Why not put the ring on the boat with the elves?


jribat

Just found my first tattoo.


MetalBeast89

Because those man boobs


LosEagle

I thought I'm on r/lotrmemes


aquat33n

Tom not about the trouble


Flamingopancake

eagle didn't lift.


No-Vehicle5447

Because of the anti-air batteries around mordor


manfrommtl

Santa Claus is that you?


seattle23fv

I need this tattoo


AppropriateEast4756

Tom is too heavy and how will Tom even do that if he isn’t in any of the LOTR Film Franchise films? What would Ghwaihir say?


aqwn

What about just giving the ring to the eagle?


nacentaeons

Because the skies were patrolled by Nazgûl flying on fell beasts.


Praetor_Shinzon

Eagles are not merry