TOM 3

TOM 3 was the fourth host of Toonami and the third incarnation of TOM, after TOM 2's death in the online Toonami comic Toonami: Endgame. Like his predecessor, TOM 3 was voiced by veteran voice actor Steve Blum. This version of TOM remained in service for 4 years, from March 17, 2003 to March 10, 2007, when he was replaced as host by TOM 4. However, it has been revealed that TOM 4, his successor is a separate entity from the other TOM incarnations. His whereabouts between when he was replaced as host in 2007 and when he returned in 2012 have yet to be disclosed on-air or online. On April 1, 2012, TOM 3 hosted Toonami during the surprise April Fools stunt on Adult Swim.

Appearance
Unlike his previous incarnations, TOM 3 had a more muscular build. This was also the first TOM to have five fingers on each hand. His nuclear reactor was located in his upper chest, and the helmet scope from his previous incarnations was discarded. Like the previous two TOM incarnations he also had a blue and white color scheme. He also had lights embedded onto his forearms and a glowing symbol on his chest.

History
When the remains of TOM 2 were thrown into a discard pile aboard the ship of Orcelot Rex, he encountered a number of friendly robots, called the Dronomeks, who rebuilt his body. This rebuilt TOM, dubbed TOM 3, succeeded in saving SARA v1 and defeated Orcelot Rex. Afterward, TOM 3 took command of a newly-built spaceship, which he dubbed the Absolution Mk. II, to resume his duties transmitting Toonami.

After hosting Toonami for over a year, Toonami transitioned from a weekday afternoon block to a Saturday night block on April 17, 2004. At this point an upgraded version of SARA and new Clydes were also introduced. On March 17, 2007, TOM 3 was phased out along with SARA and the Absolution to make way for the new hosts of Toonami: TOM 4, Flash and D. No explanation or backstory was given for the transition to the new hosts.

On April 1, 2012, as Adult Swim began their traditional April Fools day stunt of airing the cult movie, The Room, the screen cut to black and quickly cut to reveal TOM 3 aboard the Absolution watching the movie on his monitor. He follows by saying, "Oh, Hi Adult Swim, I got the results of the test back, I definitely have April Fools". The next 6 hours involved the showing of iconic episodes from classic Toonami shows, such as Dragon Ball Z and Gundam Wing. There was also a new video game review for Mass Effect 3.

Most of the April Fools Day event consisted of old TOM 3 bumpers for the intro and commercial breaks. However, there was some new material created, including the speech given when TOM 3 was shown watching The Room, the Mass Effect 3 review, and some of the bumps. Additionally, shots of TOM only showed him in his chair in a simplified version of the Absolution's control room.

The April Fools Day event is cited as the start of the hashtag "#BringBackToonami" online movement, which resulted in the return of Toonami on May 25, 2012. This new Toonami used a new high definition version of TOM 3 (TOM 3.5) for over a year until it was replaced by TOM 5.

Video Game Reviews

 * Main Article: Video Game Reviews

As host of Toonami, TOM 3 delivered a total of 28 video game reviews.

Trivia

 * TOM 3 appeared as an easter egg in Sly 2: Band of Thieves, being a gadget used to gain the attention of guards.
 * Two years after Toonami was originally cancelled, Cartoon Network brought back TOM 3 as an NPC in their MMORPG FusionFall. TOM's addition to FusionFall came in January 2010, during the in-game event Birthday Bash celebrating the game's first anniversary.