TOM 5

TOM 5 was the seventh host of Toonami and the sixth incarnation of TOM after TOM 3.5. TOM 5 was voiced by veteran voice actor Steve Blum. This version of TOM remained in service for over 6 years, from April 27, 2013 to November 30, 2019, when he was killed by the Forge Commander in episode 4 of The Forge. The backstory of how TOM 3.5 became TOM 5 has yet to be revealed and most likely will remain that way.

Appearance
TOM 5's design is considerably trimmed down compared to his previous incarnations, appearing much more streamlined and economical. He lost the muscle definition from his third body but retains overall human proportions. He retained the lights on his forearm but his Nuclear-Reactor returned to his left pectoral. He also had thrusters built into his back similar to TOM 4. Instead of the blue and white color scheme that most TOM incarnations had in the past, TOM 5's body was bluish gray and silver.

After the events of Countdown, TOM 5's body became heavily battle scarred. There was a huge burn mark and a crack over his visor, as well as a few scratches on his helmet. In addition his right chest-plate became slightly exposed and his left arm was burnt.

History
TOM 5 was announced during MomoCon 2013, and he assumed the position as host of Toonami on April 27, 2013. TOM 5's debut brought with it the return of SARA, a new Absolution, and an entire revamp of the block. However, the switch from TOM 3.5 to TOM 5 has never been explained.

During the events of The Intruder II, TOM 5 was forced to amputate his left arm after the Intruder's attack rendered it useless. He was then forced to sacrifice the Absolution in order to destroy the Intruder once and for all. After landing on Shogo 162, the restored SARA used the abandoned facility to produce a new arm for him. The arm was noticeably more archaic and bulky compared to his original design, although it functioned in the same manner.

During the comic book Trapped, TOM was able to leave the Vindication and explore the planet. Upon his exploration, he came across a colony, and crashed ship. Entering the ship, he heard three taps and realized that he was not alone. He comes upon a control room and slowly approached the occupant who is facing the monitors. The occupant states that TOM is an "intruder". He attempts to explain himself but ends up being electrocuted by the occupant's chair, blacking out. TOM woke up, realizing he was in another body. The occupant explains that he gave him a new body in order to "defend Shogo". TOM bargained with the occupant - he kills the creature, the occupant saves SARA. Running out of the settlement, TOM notices a motorcycle and climbed onto it. The creature appeared, and chased after TOM. He rode towards docking bay 94, and entered through a door, falling a great height, only to catch himself with a grappling hook. Pulling himself to a landing, he noticed a new, larger robot body whom he dubbed "New TOM". Before he could do anything else, cords attached themselves to his body which allowed him to control "Big TOM" to combat the menacing beast. He broke free of the docking bay, and battled the beast. The beast destroyed the occupant's base, much to the horror of TOM. A knife protrudes from his wrist and stabbed the beast in the stomach, for final measures - he decapitated the beast. After killing the beast, he ran back into the base, pleading with the occupant for his help but seeing his skeletal remains, and returning to his original body, he questioned if it was all a dream. Outside, he saw the beast's skeletal remains, and the base, empty, and abandoned. He ran back to the Vindication, yelling for SARA. Upon re-entry, both hosts converse about what just occurred. SARA scanned TOM's body and showed him a hologram of the occupant who turned to be a warrior who settled on the planet 10,000 years ago. TOM surmised that the warrior's cockpit must have shown the memories to him from all those years ago. He ended the conversation with stating that he's "happy to be home."

During The Intruder III, TOM 5 and SARA discovered that the Vindication was not a remote broadcasting station but instead a massive space vessel which they used to escape the imploding Shogo 162. With their new crew member Georgia, they began broadcasting Toonami while traveling through space aboard the Vindication.

During Countdown, TOM 5 was sent to the future where his body was severely damaged by an infected Future SARA and her murderous Future Clydes. Ultimately, he was sent back to his own time and was able to stop the countdown to the destruction of the Vindication. Though visibly damaged, TOM remained functional enough to continue as captain of the Vindication and host of Toonami.

TOM 5 met his end in episode 4 of The Forge, where he struggled to get the other TOMs onto the Vindication, before being shot dead by the Commander of the Forge.

Speeches

 * Main Article: TOM 5's Speeches

Like his predecessors, TOM 5 often delivered motivational, introspective speeches interspersed with clips from Toonami's shows. In total, TOM 5 delivered 9 Toonami speeches:
 * Equality
 * Respect
 * Positivity
 * Bullies
 * Friends
 * Help
 * Dreams
 * Sometimes the Bad Guys Win
 * Growing Homily

Video Game Reviews

 * Main Article: Video Game Reviews

As host of Toonami, TOM 5 delivered a total of 72 video game reviews.

Trivia

 * TOM 5 was the longest serving host so far in the block's history.
 * For April Fools 2018, the Toonami bumpers involving TOM featured a Japanese voice actor, Masa Kanome, speaking Japanese dialogue with English subtitles.
 * On June 6th, 2020, he made a cameo in the opening of the block where his  successor replayed the "Equality" speech.