The Coalition of the Swilling

Bah. The only power Bombadil had was to bore people to death singing about his Dingleberry.

Bombadil wasn't powerful in the sense that he could change things, he was powerful in the fact that he couldn't be changed.

But, for some odd reason I kept picturing him in yellow rain slickers - kind of like the Gorton's Fisherman.

I was always kinda bemused by the whole 'Tom' thing anyway. There didn't seem to be the same rhythm to his pages that was everywhere else. When I was reading the books to Ebola, it wasn't long before he was saying 'you can skip that part, Mommy'.

I always pictured him as a scruffy version of the Jack in the Beanstalk giant. Burlap sheath, brown cotton shirt, cloth belt; stuff like that. Maybe dried leaves in his hair.

Sharp hits it on the nose. Bombadil had a good heart and a soft head, and would be helpful if asked but wouldn't go looking for good works to do. No one had power over him, but realistically, that is only true within his own domain. He had no power beyond its borders.

In today's world, he would be Switzerland.

Also, Bombadil had a very poorly developed fashion sense.

Again, like Switzerland.

Who the hell is Tom Bombadil?

A Lord of the Rings personality who didn't make the cut for the movies. For a reason.

In this case, Lisa, ignorance is really bliss.

Tom 'Bombastic' would be closer to the truth.

Actually, they mention this in Elrond's Council - Bombadil has not the power to resist Sauron, and if all else fall, then so shall he, last as he was first; and then Night.

Besides, you KNOW that they'd have gotten Robin Williams to play him in the movie, and that would have been a disaster.

Ah.

I've never seen the movies. Or read the books.

::ducks stones::

Now then, some have actually suggested that Tom is Iluvatar, the Creator, given that Elrond referred to him as Iarwain Ben-Adar, "oldest and fatherless," but Tolkien when pressed said that Tom was simply a mystery.

Part of the reason for the differing "rhythm" of that section is that it was essentially inserted from one of Tolkien's other works, "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil" dealing with Tom and Goldberry (his lady, who while mentioned by him doesn't make an actual appearance in LoTR), etc., etc.

You mean in the book Dave? She's in there. Hot mama too, by the sound of it. No idea why she hangs around with a clown like Tom.

Ken, when you're as old as Tom, you've probably picked up a 'few tricks', so to speak.

At least, that's what my inner pervert thinks.

(At his age, what your inner pervert 'hopes'...I mean, it's true for Bingley, too.)

Goldberry IS in there? I guess I forgot. Honestly, I admit to usually skipping right over that section, which is why Peter Jackson doing the same didn't bother me one bit.

I always thought of Tom as being like Falstaff...