Reply #33: If he was Maia, why did the ring have zero effect upon him? [View All]

[pokerfan]

Tom was able to handle the ring and even wear it (!) without any ill effect or any sign of temptation.

"'Eldest, that's what I am... Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn... He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless - before the Dark Lord came from Outside.'"
The Fellowship of the Ring I 7, In the House of Tom Bombadil

Tolkien said it best: "And even in a mythical Age there must be some enigmas, as there always are. Tom Bombadil is one (intentionally)."
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, No 144, dated 1954

Anyway you look at it, the movie didn't need ol' Tom.


From the Encyclopedia of Arda: http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/t/tombombadil.html