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This Antagonist was Headlined on February 2022. | ||
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| “ | Don't... you... believe it!? | „ |
| ~ Tom when he gets a sarcastic result. |
Thomas Jasper Cat Sr., better known as Tom the Cat, simply known as Tom, is one of the two anti-heroic protagonists/protagonist villains (alongside Jerry Mouse) of the Tom and Jerry franchise. He is a cat whose breed is still unknown to this day, which is strange considering how long the series has been running. He is mostly bluish gray in color with white paws and a light-blue belly. He also has a tail that is white at the tip. He is sometimes also colored dark blue, but this was only in the earlier episodes. He is Jerry's arch-enemy and best friend.
Portrayals[]
During the years of development of the Tom and Jerry cartoon, numerous voice-actors voiced Tom the Cat:
- The late Harry E. Lang (1940–1953)
- The late William Hanna (1941–1958, 2014-present via archive recordings)
- The late Daws Butler (1950, 1957)
- The late Gene Deitch (1961–1962)
- The late Mel Blanc (1963–1967)
- The late Chuck Jones (1965–1967)
- The late Abe Levitow (1966–1967)
- The late John Stephenson (1975)
- The late Lou Scheimer (1980)
- Frank Welker (1990–2010)
- Richard Kind (1992 film)
- Spike Brandt (2005–2017)
- Don Brown (2006–2008)
- Rich Danhakl (2014–present)
- Eric Bauza (MultiVersus)
Other Media[]
MultiVersus[]
Tom appears as a playable character in the "platform fighter" video game MultiVersus, appearing as a mage/ranged-type character. In the game, he fights alongside Jerry as a "puppet" character, with him being the main character the player controls. In the game, he and Jerry are both voiced by Eric Bauza, with archived audio from the late William Hanna being used for his screams.
Tom and Jerry fight alongside each other as a "puppet" character, with him being an invincible aid Tom sends out to fight their foes. While not in active use, Jerry stays by Tom's side, with Tom attempting to harm the rodent through various objects (including a tennis racket swipe, multiple mallet strikes, tying and smacking him a paddle ball, a clapping attack with trash can lids, and a frying pan smack) and physical claw swipes. However, most of Tom's specials are designed to send Jerry out through either smacking him forward (Slingshot Sharpshooter, his neutral special), reeling him out through a fishing line (Goin' Fishin, his side special), or sending him rocketing towards foes through being tied to a steerable firecracker (Rocket Mouse, his up special).
Once Jerry is out, he is able to reflect attacks Tom sends out (be it tennis balls through Slingshot Sharpshooter or dynamite with his aerial down special, Look Out Below!), and fire corks towards nearby foes. However, Jerry isn't invincible, as only a few attacks are needed to temporarily disable him, rendering his feline partner weaker without him. Despite this, not all of Tom's specials solely rely on Jerry, as he is able to use Goin' Fishin (which also drags opponents towards him) and Rocket Mouse (which homes in on Jerry's location if he's set out) are able to be used at full strength, with his grounded down special not relying on Jerry at all (Snap Trap, in which Tom sets out a mousetrap that damages foes who walk by it, with allies being able to increase the damage of by walking by). Tom and Jerry have two signature perks at present, those being Dynamite Split (in which dynamite that is reflected by Jerry splits it into three sticks of dynamite) and Fly Fisher (which decreases the power of Goin' Fishin, but allows it to grab onto ledges and walls, reeling Tom into them should they connect).
Personality[]
His antics involve laying traps for Jerry which most of the time end up failing, despite how clever his strategies are whether they work or not, and some of them can get him to occasionally get the best of Jerry and win in the end. He will try to eliminate him in revenge, get him out of the house when he is instructed in doing his job, or even start the fight to a lesser extent on occasions. His love/hate relationship with Jerry existed even as a kitten.
Part of what's said above, however, considering that Jerry is a pest that isn't welcome in his house, makes his actions rather understandable, as it could simply be said that he is trying to do his job as a house cat under his owner's orders. Generally speaking, despite them being the titular main protagonists, both he and Jerry can be classified as anti-heroes as both are abusive, cruel, and villainous at times while antagonizing each other for the sake of getting the best of one another.
In reality though, while Tom may not generally have the best relationship with Jerry and sees him as a huge annoyance, the duo actually have a rather complex relationship, since he's shown numerous times that he shares a secret bond with him, can't enjoy his life without him and can even put his differences aside with him to achieve a common goal.
Villainous Acts[]
Cartoon Shorts[]
- Some shorts open with him tormenting Jerry despite never being provoked.
- Frames Spike for stealing the chicken from the refrigerator and tried to dispose the photos that Jerry took in "Tom's Photo Finish".
- Pins the blame on Spike for the mess in the house and his aggressive behavior gets him thrown out of the house in "Spike Gets Skooled".
- Terrorizes Nibbles/Tuffy and swats him on the behind with a flyswatter in "The Milky Waif".
- Attempts to eat Jerry's animal friends, such as a duckling, a goldfish, and a canary.
- Captures Jerry's Mermouse friend to sell her to a museum for money in "Tom's Mermouse Mess-Up".
- Attempts to steal gold from Jerry's claim along with Butch Cat in "24 Karat Kat".
Movies[]
- In Tom and Jerry: Blast of To Mars, Tom terrorizes Jerry and accidentally causes the war between Earth and Mars by destroying the Martian city. In his defense, Tom would team-up with Jerry to fix his mistakes (as Tom often does when he goes too far).
- In Tom and Jerry: The Fast & The Furry, Tom commits, so far, his worst villainous deed, unknowingly and unintentionally causing many deaths while cheating during the Fabulous Super Race. By changing the signal that indicates the route at the Amazonian jungle, Soccer Mom loses her car on quicksand and then gets likely eaten alive by bugs. Later on, when Squirty bites his tail, Tom throws him into a whale and leaves Grammy to drive her car into the whale. When they are revealed to have survived, Tom accidentally blows up their car's balloon and as Grammy and Punchy mistake a backpack for a parachute, they fall to their deaths at the Borneo Island. Prior to this, he also uses a laser to cut through a part of Australia to delay Jerry and Grammy, leading a piece of land sinking into the sea, which likely killed an unspecified number of people.
- He appears as the secondary antagonist of Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale. Promoted as the captain of the evil Cat King's guard, Tom (along with the other alley cats) crashes Jerry's party, imprisons La Petite Ballerina in a birdcage, and traps the toys. Tom also gathers his troops to try to stop Jerry and his friends from reaching the star. This film may perhaps portray Tom at his most villainous, which adds insult to injury on his character, as he's shown partaking in the entrapment and enslavement of the toys.
Video Games[]
- In the NES game Tom and Jerry: The Ultimate Game of Cat and Mouse, he kidnaps Jerry's nephew, Tuffy and locks him up in the attic trunk, leading to Jerry to come to his rescue.
- In the Game Boy Color game Tom and Jerry: Mouse Attacks, he kidnaps Jerry's friends and family (Quacker, Uncle Pecos, Tyke, Tuffy and Muscles) and even imprisons Jerry himself under a cup in a mini game.
Quotes[]
| “ | Tom: I'm Tom. Jerry: I'm Jerry. Both: You talked! Tom: Well, sure, I talk, what do you think I am, a dummy? Jerry: You said it, I didn't. Tom: Hey, you little pipsqueak, I oughta... Hey! How come you never spoke before? Jerry: There was nothing I wanted to say that I thought you'd understand, and there still isn't! Tom: Alright, that does it, you little... oh, boy, you get me angry! |
„ |
| ~ The first time Tom and Jerry spoke to each other. |
| “ | A cat and a mouse friends? That's disgusting. No way. | „ |
| ~ Tom the Cat. |
Trivia[]
- Tom's full name, Tom Cat, is most likely a reference to the term "Tomcat", a term used for male cats.
- While he's usually seen as the instigator of their conflicts, there are times where Tom can be the victim when the conflicts between him and Jerry are instigated by the latter, often because Jerry is intentionally antagonizing Tom for his own amusement.
- Both Tom and Jerry, while usually and generally on the good side, can be classified as anti-heroes as both are abusive, cruel, and villainous at times despite being the main protagonists of the series as they typically antagonize each other.
See Also[]
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Animated Features Live-Action Films Animated Television Live-Action TV Video Games Shorts Music See Also | ||
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Animated Features Live-Action Features Direct-To-Video Features Animated Television Live-Action Television Video Games Shorts See Also | ||
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Animated Features Live-Action Films Live-Action Television | ||
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Alley Cats | Arthur Slugworth | Augustus Gloop | Barney Bear | Bulldog | Butch Cat | Butch Dog | Captain Kiddie and Squawk | Cat Guards | Devil Jerry | Dr. Applecheek | Dr. Malevolent | Dr. Zin | Drizelda | Ferdinand | Flappy | Flying Monkeys | Freddie | Gorthan | Grammy | Joey | Invincatron | James Moriarty | Jeannie | Jerry | Joseph Walters | King of the Cats | King Thingg | Lackey | Lickboot | Mechano | Mike Teavee | Mr. Salt | Nome King | Nomes | Prince John | Pristine Figg | Sheriff of Nottingham | Simon Legree | Spike | Squirty | Steed Dirkly | Straycatchers | Terrance Mendoza | Tin, Pan & Alley | Tom | Tom's Owner | Veruca Salt | Violet Beauregarde | Wicked Witch of the East | Wicked Witch of the West | Winkie Guards | Ginormous | Wolf | ||
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Books Movies Television Video Games See Also | ||
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Animated Features Live-Action Films Live-Action Television | ||
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