'The Rings of Power' Officially Introduces Tolkien's Most Powerful Character That The Lord of the Rings Ignored

Published Oct 4, 2026, 7:28 PM EDT Billy is a Senior Features Author for Collider. Having written over 300 articles in just over a year, Billy regularly covers the biggest TV shows and films releasing while also analysing some of the most underrated properties that may slip your attention. Having studied for an MA in Screenwriting at UAL in 2023, Billy honed his writing skills and also developed his ability to critique the work of other creative minds. Before that, Billy studied politics at the University of Nottingham, which helped him to bring nuanced and scholarly analysis to the frameworks within which filmmakers and writers have framed their thematic messages. When Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear) was finally introduced in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, it might have come as a shock to some viewers that they'd just met the most powerful character who wasn't adapted in either Ralph Bakshi or Peter Jackson’s adaptations of J. R. R. Tolkien’s works. While Tom Bombadil's powers are never fully explored, the limited ability he does show in Tolkien's texts demonstrates that, whatever he is, he can perform feats unimaginable by other great beings in Middle-earth. However, despite his great power, Bombadil is not a Deus ex machina, a term sometimes incorrectly applied to the eagles as well (which is just wrong, but that's an article for another day). He may be powerful, but even he cannot stand against Sauron alone, which is why he tells the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) that it is his duty, as he similarly tells Frodo in Tolkien's books. Tom Bombadil Is Unaffected by the Power of the One Ring In The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo, Merry, Pippin, and Sam encounter Tom when he rescues them from certain death at the hands of Old Man Willow, a tree with a nasty spirit. Over the course of their meeting, Tom displays the power to disappear at will as well as his ability to speak to trees. However, when Frodo offers him the One Ring, Bombadil does something that has never happened before or since in Lord of the Rings. He merely takes the Ring, and even when he puts it on, he remains visible. Tom not only gives up the Ring willingly, but being a ring-bearer seems to have no impact on him. Additionally, when Frodo puts on the Ring, Tom can still see him. Throughout Tolkien's books, every character who comes into contact with the Ring is either terrified or tempted by it, so Bombadil making light of it is incredible. The fact that he can see Frodo in the Unseen World could hint that his origin is similar to the Valar and Maiar, but the mystery around his origin is far more interesting. As The Rings of Power confirms, Tom is incredibly powerful, able to save the Stranger from Old Man Ironwood, and is clearly much older than he appears. Why Doesn't Tom Bombadil Battle Sauron Himself? The obvious question then becomes: Why doesn’t Tom take the Ring to Mordor himself? This is explored in The Fellowship of the Ring’s text, but the answer is similar to the character's response to the Stranger in The Rings of Power: “Tom’s a wanderer, not a warrior.” Tom existed in Middle-earth before trees and acorns and refers to stars as “newcomers,” alluding to the idea that he is simply not of this world. Not only is this the reason why the Ring doesn’t tempt him, but it’s also why he cannot interfere in Middle-earth's events. Tom's power operates almost from a different source, unaffected yet unable to affect Sauron. In Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring, the Council of Elrond briefly discusses whether the Ring could be hidden in Bombadil’s kingdom. However, the idea is dismissed, as it is assumed even Tom could not withstand Sauron’s forces. What’s fascinating is that this shows even Tolkien's most powerful characters cannot defeat evil on their own. It takes everyone in Middle-earth to work together, but Tom isn't from Middle-earth — he’s something else. As Tolkien himself explained in a 1937 letter, he viewed Bombadil as a metaphor for the English countryside, and this places Bombadil as something to protect, rather than corrupt, by asking him to go to war. In the end, Tom Bombadil could only have a small appearance in The Rings of Power and he would still be the most powerful character ever adapted in the Lord of the Rings franchise. Not only is he unaffected by the Ring in Tolkien's text, but his immense age and ability to see into the Unseen World hint at his greater origins. Despite his immense power, however, Tom cannot fight humanity's wars for them. He's a wanderer, not a warrior, and that's the way he should stay.