Nevertheless, Tolkien left clues that Bombadil is a Vala, a god of
Many Lord of the Rings fans also say Tom Bombadil is actually the most powerful character in all of Middle Earth, due to his apparent immortality, ability to completely resist the Ring, power over his domain, and knowledge that comes from living since the beginning of time.
Beginning as early as Issac and Zimbardo's Tolkien and His Critics, published in 1968, Tom Bombadil has almost universally been regarded as a nature spirit.
Tom Bombadil wasn't an elf: Frodo and Strider/Aragorn both know enough about elves at the point Tom Bombadil is introduced to recognize them on sight, and they both act and behave as though he was something foreign and strange.
14 Tom Bombadil, The Joyful
He is a joyful soul, and this hides an immense well of power. No earthly strife seems to trouble him, and he is immune to the power of the Ring. Such propensity aligns Tom with the Valar or perhaps something greater, and Gandalf would never be able to overpower him.
Given these bits of information, it seems like within his realm, Bombadil would have been able to defeat the Nazgûl or at least banish them. Outside his realm, however, he wouldn't have been quite as effective in a fight against them.
Through all of Tolkien's extensive legendarium, the nature, purpose, and history of Tom Bombadil remains almost entirely unknown. Nevertheless, the mysterious Tom Bombadil is one of few characters from The Lord of the Rings old enough to appear in The Rings of Power.
Nevertheless, Tolkien left clues that Bombadil is a Vala, a god of Middle-Earth, specifically Aulë, the archangelic demigod who created the dwarves. Robert Foster suggested in 1978 that Bombadil is one of the Maiar, angelic beings sent from Valinor.
No, Tom Bombadil could not have defeated Sauron. As Gandalf mentioned, Tom could not use the Ring's power - rather the Ring did not affect him. 'It seems that he has a power even over the Ring.
As he is an ancient spirit tied to the woodland and the acorns and the leaves, it would make sense that he is only able to exist when he is near them. It also explains why he can't take the ring to Mordor and destroy it himself, because he is encased within his borders, and cannot step outside them.
No. That's nearly impossible for a number of reasons. (1) We know that the Blue Wizards came to Middle-earth at some point in the Third Age* to help the Free Peoples in their fight against Sauron with their powers and wise counsel. Tom Bombadil lived in Middle-earth since its foundation—both he and others explain that.
Since Bombadil wears a blue coat and little is known about the movements of the blue wizards, some fans speculate that he could be one of these absent sorcerers in disguise, though this is highly unlikely due to Tom residing in Middle-earth long before the wizards arrived.
Peter Jackson has explained his decision to omit Tom Bombadil from The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, claiming that the character's contribution to The Fellowship of the Ring bore little relevance to the overall plot and did nothing to advance the main story - unlike Lord of the Rings' Istari, to which Tom Bombadil ...
Tom Bombadill
He is said to be the 'oldest in existance,' and impossible to imprison. He could resist the Ring, was able to see others who were wearing it (such as Frodo), and could even wear it himself without succumbing to its power. He was able to make it disappear into thin air and reappear in his hand.
When Frodo shows Tom Bombadil the Ring, he amazes the Hobbits by putting the Ring on without disappearing. The reason that Tom Bombadil is not subject to the power of the Ring is that he really, truly does not desire power or ownership over any one thing.
Goldberry is a character from the works of the author J. R. R. Tolkien. She first appeared in print in a 1934 poem, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, where she appears as the wife of Tom Bombadil. Also known as the "River-woman's daughter", she is described as a beautiful, youthful woman with golden hair.
God is the most powerful entity in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings universe. The Elvish name for him is actually Eru Ilúvatar, meaning “the one, father of all.” So the question becomes: Who is the second-most powerful being? Originally, it was Melkor, “he who arises in might,” the most powerful of the Ainur (or angels).
The consensus among the Wise is that, even weakened and without the Ring, Sauron is more powerful than Tom Bombadil. Power to defy our Enemy is not in him, unless such power is in the earth itself. And yet we see that Sauron can torture and destroy the very hills.
There's no shame in this (despite what some hardcore corners of the fandom say), but it does leave these movie-only Middle-Earth fans vulnerable to misconceptions about Tom Bombadil's power. He is incredibly powerful and is immune to the effects of the One Ring. He is not, however, more powerful than Morgoth.
There is no direct relationship between Tom Bombadil and Radagast the Brown in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth mythology. There is no special relationship between Tom and Radagast. If Saruman's main power was his voice and persuasion, then what were the main skills of Radagast the Brown and Gandalf the Grey?
Bombadil could have been created as a side-effect of the Music of the Ainur and that would explain why he was there in the beginning. His Elvish name "Eldest Fatherless" can support this notion: since he is only a part of creation, he has no "father", while the Ainur have (Eru).
He is much older than Galadriel and may very well be the oldest Elf in all Middle Earth...it depends on if he was awakened with the stars, born during the dark years before being found by Orome or born during the journey out of the east.
Tom Bombadil—The Lord of the Rings
The Ents count among Tolkien's Green Man stand-ins as well, but old Tom Bombadil is certainly more… interesting. Left out of the LOTR films to the dismay of many fans, Bombadil doesn't serve a plot purpose in Fellowship of the Ring, but he sure is fun to run into as interludes go.
Gandalf goes to see Tom after his part of the story is over because Tom, despite appearances, is exactly not part of the story. Yes, he's a character who appears, but he effectively appears from another book. His songs are in a different style, but that's just a tip off.
Sure, he might take it if everyone begged him to, “but he would not understand the need. And if he were given the Ring, he would soon forget it, or most likely throw it away. Such things have no hold on his mind.