| "Daddy, how come we gotta stay here? I miss mommy and Mai." |
| — Tom-Tom missing his mother and sister.[1] |
Tom-Tom was Mai's younger brother and the beloved son of Ukano, the former governor of New Ozai, and his wife, Michi. First introduced as a two-year-old, Tom-Tom did not understand the conflict his family was involved in. Both curious and mischievous, he innocently got himself in and out of all kinds of trouble.[2]
Quick Answers
Who are Tom-Tom's parents?
How does Tom-Tom's mischievous nature affect the storyline in Avatar?
What happened to Tom-Tom after the end of the Hundred Year War?
History
After the Fire Nation took control of the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu (which was renamed New Ozai), Tom-Tom's father was appointed governor, and his family relocated to the city. When the citizens made an escape under the guise of a "pentapox" epidemic, Tom-Tom wandered away from his parents. He had been playing with a stuffed animal in another room when he spotted Momo eating berries on a table. Tom-Tom pulled the lemur's dangling tail, forcing Momo off the table and onto the floor. As Momo tried to escape, Tom-Tom followed him and they ended up in the crowd with the escaping citizens. Out of curiosity, the infant followed the citizens and the two eventually wound up at the rebel campsite.
Tom-Tom took a fascination to Sokka's war club and put in his mouth, causing Sokka to snatch it back and call the infant "bad Fire Nation baby"; this prompted a flood of tears from Tom-Tom and Katara's sharp reapproval. Katara took special delight in Tom-Tom, cuddling him to sooth his tears and commenting on how cute he was, although Yung said he would just be another soldier when he grew up, calling the baby a killer. Avatar Aang returned to the camp after failing to locate King Bumi and, not long after, a messenger hawk appeared bearing a message from Ukano, who was under the impression that the citizens of Omashu had kidnapped Tom-Tom, using the disease as their cover and offered to trade Bumi for Tom-Tom.
Princess Azula arrived in New Ozai to speak with Mai, and decided that they, alongside their childhood friend Ty Lee, would handle the prisoner exchange so that there would be no more hindrances. When the three girls showed up at the rendezvous point, they brought King Bumi, but decided to go back on the deal after considering that trading a baby for a powerful earthbender king would be a foolish decision.
Later, Aang went to the governor's house and covertly returned Tom-Tom, much to the joy of his parents.[2] Over the course of the next two years, he also learned to speak in complete sentences.
After the end of the Hundred Year War, Tom-Tom's father took him to a meeting of the New Ozai Society in an attempt to raise him to be more loyal to the former Fire Lord. At the meeting, he was very happy to see Mai again after so long. However, after his sister refused their father's offer to join the society, she took Tom-Tom and had him stay with her at their Aunt Mura's.[4]
Following Zuko's return to the Fire Nation capital with his long-lost mother Ursa, Tom-Tom was among many children kidnapped by the kemurikage, dark spirits said to haunt the mountains outside of his family's hometown. It was later revealed, however, that the kemurikage were in fact Princess Azula and a group of allies, and kidnapping the children was an effort to turn the citizens against Zuko's rule. Ukano had bankrolled Azula's plan, believing he was acting for the good of the nation, but in the end could not bear the pain of subjecting his family to such horrors. Although Tom-Tom did not fully understand what was happening, he remained cheerful and strong-willed throughout the entire situation, and in the end his father helped all the captive children to escape, though Tom-Tom did cry when Ukano was taken away to prison.[1][5]
Relatives
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Appearances
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Book Two: Earth (土)
- 203. "Return to Omashu"
Avatar comics
- Iss. #33. "Rebound"
Graphic novels
- Smoke and Shadow trilogy
Trivia
- Tom-Tom, like Ty Lee and Ta Min, has grey eyes, which is an unusual eye color for people of Fire Nation descent.[2]
- However, his eye color is depicted as amber in "Rebound", similar to the rest of his family.[4]
- In China, phrases or words are often repeated twice to show affection, cuteness, or used to address someone younger, like a nickname. Tom-Tom is an example of this.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 DiMartino, Michael Dante; Konietzko, Bryan; Yang, Gene Luen (writer), Sasaki of Gurihiru (penciling, inking), Kawano of Gurihiru (colorist), Heisler, Michael; Comicraft (letterer). Smoke and Shadow Part Two (December 16, 2015), Dark Horse Comics.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Ehasz, Elizabeth Welch (writer) & Spaulding, Ethan (director). (April 7, 2006). "Return to Omashu". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2. Episode 3. Nickelodeon.
- ↑ DiMartino, Michael Dante; Konietzko, Bryan; Yang, Gene Luen (writer), Sasaki of Gurihiru (penciling, inking), Kawano of Gurihiru (colorist), Heisler, Michael; Comicraft (letterer). Smoke and Shadow Part One (September 23, 2015), Dark Horse Comics.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Yang, Gene Luen (writer), Hill, Ryan (artist), Heisler, Michael (letterer). "Rebound" (May 4, 2013), Dark Horse Comics.
- ↑ DiMartino, Michael Dante; Konietzko, Bryan; Yang, Gene Luen (writer), Sasaki of Gurihiru (penciling, inking), Kawano of Gurihiru (colorist), Heisler, Michael; Comicraft (letterer). Smoke and Shadow Part Three (April 12, 2016), Dark Horse Comics.