Thomas "Tom" Natsworthy[1][2][3][4][5] is a male human and one of the main protagonists of the Mortal Engines Quartet, alongside Hester Shaw.
A native of London, his attempted chase after Hester and subsequent fall by Valentine leads him to being the aviator of the Jenny Haniver and having adventures across Earth. He is the father of Wren Natsworthy.
His position as London's head Historian was proceeded by Thaddeus Valentine.
He died from heart failure[6] years after being shot by Pennyroyal.[7]
In the 2018 film, he was portrayed by Irish actor Robert Sheehan.
Description[]
Tom is young,[47] with pale skin.[14][48][49] He is small,[9] handsome,[50][19][51] good-looking,[32] and healthy,[50] with untidy,[9] tousled[52][47] dark[32] brown[46] hair that hangs over his forehead.[52] He has a London accent,[11] a worried face,[49] and three blade-like scars on one of his hands from a Stalker bird attack at Rogue's Roost.[36] Hester describes his face[53] and angled, slightly freckled shoulders as "beautiful".[48] His arms have soft vellus hair on them; his strong muscles and tendons can be felt underneath them.[48]
At the start of the series, he wore the black uniform of a Third Class apprentice in London.[9] After his fall from London and imprisonment in Speedwell, Anna Fang gives him a fleece-lined jacket when she takes him and Hester on the Jenny Haniver.[54] He wears a belt on his waist,[55] and had bandages wrapped around his chest as a result from broken ribs gained from his fight with Shrike.[56][52] In the dogfight between the Jenny Haniver and the 13th Floor Elevator, blood ran down his face into his eyes[57] from a V-shaped[58] cut on his forehead[57] that made it seem like he was from a unknown guild.[58] Crumbs of glass stuck on his face and hands like grit,[59] and his body was stained with soot.[58]
When he was invited to the Winter Palace, he wore robes that Smew's predecessor wore prior to their death.[32]
Sixteen years after settling in Anchorage-in-Vineland, he is starting to bald on the top of his head and having gained some weight with age;[46] his hair has also started to thin.[22] He also has a bald spot on the top of his head[46][47] and an L-shaped scar on his chest where Windolene Pye operated on him after he was shot by Nimrod Pennyroyal.[7][49][46][21] He wore a red-and-gold bracelet with his and Hester's initial's intertwined with each other, signifying that they were married, on one of his wrists[46] before it was cut off by Shikin[21] and used as a bargaining chip against Wren.[51] He wore rumpled, old-fashioned clothing;[47] which included a waitcoast and a long-sleeved shirt.[21] Some time on the Screw Worm gave him a smell of mildew and brine.[47]
Six months after the events of Infernal Devices, Wren mentions that he has become "awfully old".[60]
Tom has pale skin, green eyes, and short brown hair. He is tall, albeit a head taller than Hester, and wore the black-and-blue clothing of the Historians before swapping it out for a brown, fleece-lined leather aviator's uniform near the film's climax. He has a warm, accented voice.[33]
Personality[]
At the beginning of the series, Tom is shown to be shy, proud of his city, and fascinated with history, yet bored with his apprenticeship.[9] Kate describes him as "sweet" and "eager to please",[61] while Hester describes him as "sweet",[62] "gentle", "clever", "bashful",[19] "lovely", "infuriating", having "stupid bravery",[63] and being "boring in a lovely way".[24] The Stalker Fang described him as "kind".[51] He is an extremely kind-hearted, peaceful, and polite person, and is upset by violence and things he perceives as unjust or cruel. This makes him a well-liked person by almost every he meets and able to see the best in others, but it also makes him somewhat gullible and prone to being tricked several times in the series.[52][4][7][21] Gargle notes that he looks deeper than appearances in people, a rare trait among the Dries.[64] Wren mentions that he is usually full of questions and theories.[23]
Despite this, he is capable of being angry and frustrated,[9][22][24] and he sometimes feels like he's not a hero.[52][62][65]
In her fury before leaving him in the ruins of Cloud 9, Hester describes him as "brave" when he was young; but "stupid" and "timid" as an old man.[39]
Christian Rivers describes Tom as "cheeky", as a result of letting his actor, Robert Sheehan, have a little fun with the character.[66]
Sheehan himself describes Tom as a "kid" at the beginning of the film, and that his arc is "baptism by fire".[67]
Both have also said that Tom has "dormant bravery".[67][44]
Philip Reeve has admitted that the film version of Tom is more attractive than the book version - both in looks and personality. However, he has mentioned that Sheehan knows Tom's "beat" (slight awkwardness), yet he is funny and earnest. He has mentioned that the film version of Tom is "lovable".[68]
History[]
Pre-Series[]
Tom was born in London to Rebecca and David Natsworthy, residents of Tier Four. His parents were killed in the Big Tilt, and he was subsequently left in the care of the Guild of Historians, as his parents were part of them.[1]
When he was twelve, he won a Guild prize for an essay on identifying fake antiquities.[1]
Mortal Engines quartet[]
Mortal Engines[]
By the time he was fifteen years old, Tom was a Third Class Apprentice, working under Chudleigh Pomeroy. He observed London's capture of Salthook, but was sent to the Gut after a brawl with Herbert Melliphant.
Tom was accompanied by his hero, Head Historian Thaddeus Valentine, as well as Valentine's daughter Katherine. Together, they approached the Salthook scavengers to purchase Old Tech. However, one was an assassin in disguise, and attempted to stab Valentine. Tom managed to stop the attack, and pursued the girl towards the furnace district.
The would-be killer revealed her name to be Hester Shaw. She claimed that Valentine was responsible for her disfigurement before leaping down a waste chute. Shortly after, Valentine arrived and to Tom's surprise, pushed him down after her.
Together, Tom and Hester trailed London, eventually being picked up by Speedwell. However, the mayor had the pair drugged with the intention of selling them as slaves. They managed to escape, chased by the slavers. They were rescued by Anna Fang, who smuggled them to Airhaven aboard the Jenny Haniver.
Tom, Hester and Anna dined at the Gasbag and Gondola inn, accompanied by several of her Anti-Tractionist friends. The dinner was interrupted by the arrival of Shrike, a Stalker sent by London mayor Magnus Crome to kill Hester. While the aviators held off Shrike, Tom and Hester escaped Airhaven on a hot air balloon.
The pair then climbed onto the pirate suburb of Tunbridge Wheels. Chrysler Peavey took a shine to Tom, considering him a "gentleman" for originating from London. However, the brutality of the pirates caused Tom to grow disillusioned with the concept of Municipal Darwinism. After Peavey's men mutinied, Shrike caught up with Tom and Hester. The Stalker revealed his intention to kill Hester and have her resurrected as his daughter, but before Hester could be executed, Tom stabbed and killed him.
Tom and Hester then reunited with Anna, who took them to Shan Guo to warn the citizens of MEDUSA. Tom spotted Valentine disguised as a monk, and raced to find Anna and Hester. Witnessing Valentine kill Anna, he resolved to return to London with Hester and help her kill the Head Historian.
After dropping Hester onto London, Tom was attacked by the 13th Floor Elevator. He succeeded in shooting it down, inadvertently killing Bevis Pod.
Hester, meanwhile, was captured and taken to Valentine. However, she was freed after Katherine was stabbed and fell on MEDUSA's console, causing it to malfunction. She quickly left London with Tom in the airship. MEDUSA finally misfired, obliterating most of the city and killing Valentine. Hester tried to comfort a grief-stricken Tom as they flew away in the Jenny Haniver, apparently the only survivors of the incident, and made their way to the Bird Roads.
Predator's Gold[]
After two years working as an air-trader alongside Hester, Tom came into contact with Nimrod Pennyroyal, an author who requested transport to Brighton. However, the Jenny Haniver was chased by the Green Storm, an organization that regarded the ship as stolen. Tom flew the airship through the streets of Novaya-Nizhni to evade the pursuers, and although he was successful, the Jenny was heavily damaged. Eventually, the ship drifted towards Anchorage.
While the Jenny was being repaired, Tom and Freya Rasmussen, the margravine of the city, became infatuated with each other, resulting in a drunken kiss witnessed by Hester and Caul, a Lost Boy. Tom was later awoken by Caul in time to witness a distressed Hester take off in the Jenny.
Unable to convince Freya to turn back Anchorage, Tom spent his time investigating the burglaries occurring around the city. After a heated exchange with Pennyroyal, Tom realised that the author's books were complete fantasies- however, the idea of parasite towns was not. Tom was kidnapped by the Lost Boys upon discovering a spider-cam, and taken to Grimsby.
At the underwater lair, Uncle revealed that Hester was being held captive by the Green Storm at Rogue's Roost. Uncle offered the Lost Boys to take Tom there- ostensibly so that Tom could save Hester, and Uncle could spy on the Green Storm.
Tom was immediately attacked by Stalker Birds upon his arrival at Rogue's Roost, then captured. He was taken to Hester's cell by Sathya, one of Anna's old friends, and almost executed. However, Caul triggered the explosion of the spider-cams, cutting the power and ruining the base. Freed, Tom and Hester fled towards the Jenny Haniver. They were confronted by Sathya and the Stalker Fang, with Sathya encouraging the Stalker to kill them. Guided by vague memories of Tom's presence at Anna's death, the Stalker refused to do so, and allowed them to leave unharmed.
As the duo made their way to Anchorage in the Jenny, Tom made love with Hester, resulting in the conception of their daughter.[69][47]
After returning to Anchorage, Tom came across Pennyroyal attempting to escape the city. Tom was accidentally shot by the author, who flew away in the Jenny. During Anchorage's last run across the Earth's ice, he was in a coma from Pennyroyal's bullet, expected to die. However, Windolene Pye managed to remove the bullet from his heart. As the city approached Vineland, he was briefly conscious before falling back into his coma.
Infernal Devices[]
Tom spent fifteen years living on a now static Anchorage with Hester and their daughter, Wren. After Wren was kidnapped by Fishcake, he journeyed with Hester, Caul and Freya to Grimsby. Learning that Wren had likely been trapped at Brighton, he then travelled there with Hester.
Tom explained his situation to slaver Nabisco Shkin, in the hope that Shkin would simply give his daughter back. Instead, Shkin imprisoned him and took his wedding band, coercing Wren into stealing the Tin Book of Anchorage. Hester broke into the Shkin Corporation, freeing him and Fishcake, but Tom was frightened by her brutal murder of the guards.
Tom and Hester regained the Jenny Haniver from a Pennyroyal-themed exhibition, and flew up to Cloud 9. They were successful, but Wren revealed how Hester had betrayed Anchorage to the Huntsmen. Despite Tom's pleas, a deeply shaken Hester walked off, and he was forced to fly away on the Jenny without her.
A Darkling Plain[]
After six months of travelling with Wren, Tom visited a heart specialist in Peripatetiapolis about chest pains he had been suffering. He learned that Pennyroyal's bullet had caused a weakness in his heart that gave him only a few years left to live.
In the Traction City of Peripatetiapolis, Tom discovers that the bullet that Nimrod Pennyroyal shot him with in Predator's Gold has damaged his heart and he has not long to live, though he doesn’t tell his daughter Wren. Tom soon discovers a woman that resembles Clytie Potts, a London Apprentice Historian that he knew. When questioned, she tells him that her name is Cruwys Morchard and that she is transporting Old Tech devices. Unconvinced, Tom and Wren decide to pursue her, travelling on the Jenny Haniver to Murnau, a Traktionstadtsgesellschaft city, where they meet Wolf von Kobold, the son of the Mayor of Murnau and commander of the traction city Harrowbarrow. Wolf believes that the survivors of MEDUSA may be still inside London, and the three agree to make an expedition to London.
Tom and Wren meet Wolf on Harrowbarrow, a burrowing Traction City, which takes them closer to London. With Wolf accompanying them, they fly the Jenny Haniver over the Green Storm border, and finally reaching the debris field of London. There they discover that the survivors of MEDUSA have rebuilt a society in London, led by Tom’s old boss and now Mayor Chudleigh Pomeroy. Garamond, the paranoid head of security, convinces Pomeroy to keep them there as he suspects that they may inform others of London’s survival. Tom, Wren and Wolf eventually discover a new traction town being rebuilt near the ruins, a project that was in-progress long before Magnus Crome decided to use MEDUSA.
Tom, fearing for Wren, takes the Jenny Haniver to Batmunkh Gompa, hoping to convince Naga to not use his supposed weapon. Tom leaves a letter to Wren saying his goodbyes and entrusting Theo Ngoni to take care for her, admitting that he is dying. Wolf hears of Manchester’s destruction and is determined to continue on to London, claiming to his underlings that Harrowbarrow’s creeping nature will help them survive.
On-board the Jenny Haniver, Tom forgives Hester for selling Anchorage to Arkangel. Shrike finds Pennyroyal hiding, and the three tie him up. Stalker-birds attack the airship, severely damaging it. Shrike manages to save the three from being killed, but falls out of the ship and into the mountains. The airship downs near Fang’s old home, where Hester and Tom leave Pennyroyal. Fishcake, having heard the airship, confronts them and tries to kill Hester; but is stopped by the Stalker Fang. Fishcake demands she kills them, but the Stalker Fang hits him and Fishcake runs away. Tom’s heart begins to strain and he collapses. The Stalker Fang, deciding not to kill them as they will all die soon enough, takes Tom into the house as Hester follows.
The Stalker Fang explains to Tom and Hester that she destroyed various traction cities and Green Storm bases to make the two sides fight each other, giving her time to send a command to ODIN. This command targets the various destructive volcanoes around the Earth, which will erupt and kill mankind, but will "make the world green again". Fishcake finds Pennyroyal, and they plan to escape in Popjoy’s sky-yacht, but need the keys around the Stalker Fang’s neck. Pennyroyal finds an Anti-Stalker weapon that Hester dropped and makes his way toward the house. Tom attempts to convince the Anna-side of the Stalker to destroy ODIN, and the Stalker flashes between the converging personalities. Tom’s heart strains and he collapses again, whilst Pennyroyal takes the key to the sky-yacht and attempt to bring it to them to save Tom. As Hester carefully takes Tom outside, they see a twinkling star in the sky: ODIN destroying itself. Hester realizes that the Stalker Fang had ordered the weapon to destroy itself. Pennyroyal attempts to fly the sky-yacht to Tom and Hester, but is threatened by Fishcake to leave them behind as revenge for leaving him on Brighton.
As he lay dying, weakly, Hester slowly drags him to a villa. Hester thinks there is no way out, but soon comes to terms and accepts there there is one way out.
As Tom lays there, he does not care what happened as he thinks to himself as lucky because he was loved by someone so strong, and brave, and beautiful. The last thing he feels is Hester kissing him goodbye; the last he ever heard was what Hester said: "It will be all right, Tom. Wherever we go now, whatever becomes of us, we'll be together, and it will be all right." Tom dies with Hester by his side; she commits suicide soon after to join him. Shrike runs to them, but it was too late. He moves their bodies to a cave in Erdene Tezh, holding hands. Shrike stays with them until nature consumes their bodies. Tom and Hester are remembered when Shrike came out of his slumber and tells their story.
Field Guides[]
The Illustrated World of Mortal Engines[]
Tom had a section in the book.
Film[]
Tom is first seen running throughout London to the London Museum while Salzhaken is being devoured. Chudleigh Pomeroy catches him as he runs into the museum and is warned about running off. Katherine then appears and asks for information on the Sixty Minute War. Tom shows Katherine around a room where all the stuff from before the time of the war is kept, and shows a recording, unbeknownst that Herbert Melliphant is watching them. As they leave the room, Katherine and Tom are approached by Herbert who says that Tom needs to go to the Gut to find relics. Katherine takes Tom to the Gut and make it in time to find a toaster in pristine condition for the museum, which is held by Thaddeus Valentine. When Hester Shaw attempts to murder Thaddeus, Tom stops her and she runs off. Tom chases Hester through the Gut until they both get trapped at the waste chute. Hester tries jumping into the chute, but Tom stops her. Hester growls at him, telling Tom to ask Thaddeus about Pandora Shaw and Hester Shaw. Hester then drops into the chute and out of London. After Thaddeus finds Tom and Tom tells Thaddeus what Hester said, Thaddeus kicks Tom out of London to hide the fact that Hester is Thaddeus' daughter.
Outside London, Tom wakes in a pile of trash that Hester has hid him in, while she steal his ID, pocket knife, and money. Tom follows Hester in the wild, talking out of curiosity and confusion, when she threatens him with his pocket knife, saying she had one shot to avenge her mother and refuses to kill him. As they walk in the City-made trenches scarring the outside world, Tom begins rambling about his past as he follows her, and Hester puts Tom's supposed "skills" to the test by determining the direction to go into. After observation Tom says, "We should head that way", pointing south. Hester growls "You never head south" before walking in the opposite direction.
At night, after Tom brings wood he found, Hester warns "No fires, unless you want to get us killed" as she prys the ground with her bare hands for water, forcing Tom to discard the wood. She drinks the groundwater, with Tom watching in disgust, and she replies "Thirst will kill you before hunger" before pulling out a Twinkie packet from her back pocket she had. She shares the Twinkie with Tom (he mentions "it's over a thousand years old", likely hinting that the film takes place in 3,118 A.D.), and he mentions that "It's so quiet out", regarding night in the outside world. She mentions that she likes "the quiet", while Tom grew up with "the sound of engines". As Tom begins to tell Hester his backstory (his parents dying when he was a kid in an accident), she cuts him off, saying that the two "aren't going to share our sad stories." She then says "I can't help you, and you can't help me" before going to sleep.
As she naps, Tom searches for "help", and only person that recognizes him is Hester, as he waves his arms and yelling for help on top of a "traction canyon". "Tom!" she growls as he shows her that the "help" he found, and Hester realizes that he instead found night scavengers.
Hester hides Tom from the scavenger and they try to evade them, but Hester gets shot by one of the scavenger's cities bullets in her leg as she helps Tom cross a "traction canyon". The pair keep running across the canyons and hiding from the scavenger until they are suddenly taken in Scuttlebug, which is camouflaged in the ground (and design resembles a centipede).
Orme, the leader of Scuttlebug, decides to take Hester and Tom in, despite Hester's leg wound. The pair are taken by Orme's to a room (actually a cell) made out of wood, and Hester takes the room's bed, forcing Tom to be on the floor. "This is all my fault", Tom says about his current situation (what has happened so far in the film), and Hester tells him her backstory, about Pandora and Thaddeus' relation to her, and how she was scarred for life.
The next morning, Tom notices Scuttlebug headed south (due to the city's direction), and he tells Hester. She tells him to open the door to their cell, and Tom finds that it is locked. However, he finds a hatch in the floor before Scuttlebug arrives at the trading cluster, which he opens with his pocket kinfe. Hester throws Tom his wallet and tells him to go north, where an airship will take him back to London. Scuttlebug stops, and Hester urges Tom to leave, but he cannot (he feels that he needs to protect her). As a result, Tom and Hester are pawned off as slaves by Orme.
Hester is on the bidding stand after an old woman, and the auctioneer tries to cater her to his wealthier customers, and Tom calls out for her and he gets hit with a baton for rebelling. Before anyone can buy Hester, Anna Fang (who arrived in the background) decides to vouch for her. The auctioneer tries to threaten Anna, and she shoots the auctioneer, resulting in a fight between Anna and the rest of the bidders. Anna shoots Hester's chains with her gun and throws her a gun from one of the bidder's corpses, and Hester shoots Tom's chains off. "I knew you would come for me", he smiles. "Shut up and run", she gripes at him.
Hester and Tom run through the moving traction cities, trying to find a method of escape when Shrike finds them. The pair jump onto the wheel of a nearby traction city, and Tom helps Hester get over the wheels to evade Shrike. On the platform of the traction city, both find that Shrike has cornered them.
As Hester decides to fulfill her promise to Shrike, Anna shoots Shrike with a missile from her ship, the Jenny Hanniver. Anna tells Tom and Hester to get on the ship, but she leaves Tom with Shrike after he gets Hester on the ship.
Knowing that the Jenny is still in Tom's vicinity, Hester drops Tom a rope to hold onto as the Jenny flies. However, as soon as Tom grabs the rope, Shrike pulls down on it, hard. Shrike's force weighs the Jenny down, and Anna throws Hester a knife to cut the rope, effectively sending Tom to his death. Hester throws Tom the knife and he cuts the rope as quickly as he can to free himself and the Jenny.
In the sky, Hester pulls Tom into the Jenny, and there is an implied moment of connection between the two. Anna shuts the door, and Tom decides to handle Anna, and she puts a gun to his head while mockingly saying "How? How will you handle it?" to his face. "Easy", Tom nervously says before Anna says, "I'm just messing with you." She tells Tom and Hester to sit in the ship, and Anna uses a medical device to heal Hester's infected leg wound. After Hester asks why Anna saved them, Anna simply replies that she was a good friend of Pandora Shaw and, after Pandora's murder, that she was supposed to be Hester's guardian if she died (it's implied in the dialogue). She also states how she wondered how Hester survived in the wild, and now she knew (referring to Shrike).
Tom, horrified, says "You were raised by that corpse?" to which Hester retorts "You don't know what your talking about". Tom and Hester get into a fight about Shrike, and Hester storms out of the room, but not before saying "He [Shrike] saved my life". Anna gives him a side eye, saying "You're an idiot".
Later in the day in the Jenny's back, Hester tells Tom of how Shrike found her and raised her like his daughter. As a result, Tom sympathizes with Hester, but she refuses his sympathy, and leaves him on the back of the airship.
Tom is then instructed by Anna to guide the Jenny into Airhaven and he is present in the meeting with the Shan Guonese rebels talking about MEDUSA when Shrike attacks the city. Tom leads Hester to the Jenny where they are confronted by Shrike as the city falls.
Tom tries to attack Shrike with a crowbar, but he chokes him and throws him to the floor, knocking him out.
He later wakes up in the Jenny the next day with Hester watching over him, making sure he's okay as the Jenny approaches the Shield Wall.
In the city of Shan Guo, Anna and her allies meet up with Governor Kwan, who strongly advocate for the destruction of London. Tom desperately pleads for London to be spared, and storms out in anger and grief when Kwan refuses to listen to him.
Hester attempts to follow him, but stops as following him would be futile. He is later found by her after she found MEDUSA's "weak spot" (kill codes) in Pandora's locket. "Where did you get this?" he asks before the alarm is sounded as MEDUSA fires on the Shield Wall.
Tom and Hester find shelter alongside Sathya and they survive the initial nuking of the Shield-Wall. They fly in with Jenny and destroy London's engines, stopping the traction city right outside its target. The pair then leave for somewhere else.
Relationships[]
Anna Fang[]
Anna Fang was Tom and Hester's ally during Mortal Engines. After book one, he and Hester inherit the Jenny Haniver from her.
Bevis Pod[]
Although they never met in the books, its in hinted in the film that Tom and Bevis are friends and/or acquaintances.[33]
Chudleigh Pomeroy[]
Although raised by the Guild of the Historians after his parent's deaths in the Big Tilt, Chudleigh was the father figure and mentor to Tom.
Fishcake[]
Despite him stealing his daughter,[70] Tom is sympathetic towards Fishcake and wanted him to be his adoptive son.[22]
Because of Hester's disregard for the boy,[22] Fishcake held a grudge against him.[24] This ultimately led to the man's death by heart failure.[6]
Freya Rasmussen[]
Freya took a liking to Tom during Predator's Gold, and the two seemed to be romantically interested in each other throughout the book. Freya kissing Tom leads to Hester leaving the city in a rage. Later on in Infernal Devices, they are seen to be close friends and Freya accompanies him to find Wren. While rescuing Wren from Cloud 9, Tom wishes that he had Freya with him rather than Hester after she abandons Fishcake.
Herbert Melliphant[]
Herbert Melliphant was Tom's bully on London, as Tom was a Third Class apprentice and Herbert was a First Class Apprentice.[9]
Hester Shaw[]
Tom was forced to ally with Hester after being kicked out of London by Thaddeus Valentine. Over the course of book one, they begin to trust each other.[71] In Predator's Gold, the pair fall in love with each other.[72] As of Infernal Devices, Tom and Hester are married and have daughter named Wren.[37] In A Darkling Plain, when Tom dies from heart failure[6] after being shot by Pennyroyal in the second book,[7] Hester commits suicide out of grief.[73] Wren mentions that he genuinely loved her (despite who she was).[60]
Caul mentions that Tom's love for Hester is the kindest thing a man could have.[32] He is also mentioned to have a forgiving nature towards her.[24]
Despite this, Tom turns to Hester in how to deal with various situations. When she ran off with the Jenny Haniver, Tom was forced to cope without her.[29] After she escaped Cloud 9 soon after he learned of her betrayal of Anchorage, he became depressed[60] and listless;[23] the mere thought of her enraged him.[60][74] He was also confused why he fell in love with her (after he discovered her betrayal);[74] he later realizes that he loved her for her true self - a broken, shy, gentle soul.[24]
Hester considers his near-death at the hands of Pennyroyal, who shot him in the heart, to be her punishment for selling Anchorage to Arkangel to win him back.[48]
The Stalker Fang mentions that she loves him very much.[6]
Matthew[]
Although never seen in the book, Tom has a pet rat in the film which powers a device he made that shows footage from the Sixty Minute War.[33]
Nimrod Pennyroyal[]
Nimrod Pennyroyal succeeded Anna Fang as being Tom and Hester's ally.
Thaddeus Valentine[]
Thaddeus was Tom's idol in Mortal Engines before being revealed to be a pawn of Crome.
Wren Natsworthy[]
Wren is Tom's daughter with Hester. Wren and Tom are shown to have a close relationship, with Wren almost always turning to her father for comfort and saying that he is the person she loves the most in the world. Tom used to rock her to sleep and pat her head when she was sick or frightened as a child, and cried while embracing Wren when they rescued her from Cloud 9.[39]
Quotes[]
- "But that's not fair!" - Mortal Engines;[9] Predator's Gold[7]
- "Stop her!" - about Hester (Mortal Engines (Chapter 3: "The Waste Chute");[75] Film)[33]
- "I don't hate you." - to Hester, on the Jenny Haniver (A Darkling Plain, Chapter 48: "A Voyage to Erdene Tezh")[24]
- "I am not Anna", she [the Stalker] had said. "Just a bundle of Anna's memories." But what was anyone but a bundle of memories? - about talking to the Stalker Fang (A Darkling Plain, Chapter 52: "Last Words")[6]
- "I grew up with the sound of engines. I've never known anything else." - to Hester, about "the quiet" (Film)[33]
- Alternatively: "I grew up with the sound of engines."[33]
Trivia[]
- "Tom" is a short form of the name "Thomas", the Greek form of the Aramaic name "Ta'oma", which means "twin".[76] "Natsworthy" is a village in Dartmoor, where Philip Reeve lives.[77]
- "Tom" also means "the end, innocence, simplicity" in Hebrew.[78]
- In the original version of Mortal Engines, Tom was known as "Charles/Stephen Natsworthy". He was also the one who discovered that Valentine had murdered Hester's parents.[8]
- Philip Reeve also mentioned that Charles/Stephen's fall from London parallels the city's fall at the end of the novel.[8]
- As a child, Tom used to pretend that he was Stalker until Moira Plym told him to be quiet.[79]
- Tom is fond of wild theories and lurid tales.[80]
- Tom has PTSD from the destruction of London.[80]
- Tom has a fear of birds after being attacked by Stalker birds at Rogue's Roost.[36][47][81] He also has a fear of Stalkers after Shrike chased him and Hester across the Earth.[25][60]
- Tom was nearly done excavating a lost civilization in Vineland when Wren was kidnapped by the Lost Boys.[82]
- Tom usually meets with others on time.[47]
- Tom has neat handwriting.[47]
- Tom has a heart for children.[22]
- Tom may have been raised on Finchley Street on London's Fourth Tier.[81]
- Writing does not come easy to Tom.[74]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Mortal Engines, Chapter 2: "Valentine"
- ↑ Mortal Engines, Chapter 12: "The Gasbag and Gondola"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mortal Engines, Chapter 26: "Batmunkh Gompa"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Predator's Gold, Chapter 24: "Uncle"
- ↑ A Darkling Plain, Chapter 26: "Ruined!"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 A Darkling Plain, Chapter 52: "Last Words"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Predator's Gold, Chapter 32: "Valentine's Daughter"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Mortal Engines: Twenty Years On - Philip Reeve's website
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 9.9 Mortal Engines, Chapter 1: "The Hunting Ground"
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Mortal Engines, Chapter 19: "The Sea of Khazakh"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Mortal Engines, Chapter 17: "The Pirate Suburb"
- ↑ Predator's Gold, Chapter 7: "Ghost Town"
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Opening scenes of Mortal Engines (2018)
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Mortal Engines, Chapter 4: "The Out-Country"
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Mortal Engines, Chapter 6: "Speedwell"
- ↑ Mortal Engines, Chapter 9: "The Jenny Haniver"
- ↑ Predator's Gold, Chapter 28: "Untie the Wind"
- ↑ Mortal Engines, Chapter 20: "The Black Island"
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 Predator's Gold, Chapter 2: "Hester and Tom"
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Predator's Gold, Chapter 8: "The Winter Palace"
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 Infernal Devices, Chapter 25: "The Pepperpot"
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 Infernal Devices, Chapter 32: "The Flight of the Arctic Roll"
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 A Darkling Plain, Chapter 3: "The Mysterious Miss Morchard"
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 24.5 24.6 24.7 A Darkling Plain, Chapter 48: "A Voyage to Erdene Tezh"
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Predator's Gold, Chapter 10: "The Wunderkammer"
- ↑ Predator's Gold, Chapter 11: "Restless Spirits"
- ↑ Predator's Gold, Chapter 14: "The Surburb"
- ↑ Predator's Gold, Chapter 17: "After Hester"
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 Predator's Gold, Chapter 21: "Lies and Spiders"
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 Predator's Gold, Chapter 18: "Predator's Gold"
- ↑ Infernal Devices, Chapter 34: "Marooned in the Sky"
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 32.4 32.5 Predator's Gold, Chapter 15: "Hester Alone"
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 33.3 33.4 33.5 33.6 33.7 33.8 Mortal Engines (2018)
- ↑ Predator's Gold, Chapter 19: "The Memory Chamber"
- ↑ Predator's Gold, Chapter 26: "The Big Picture"
- ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 Predator's Gold, Chapter 27: "The Stairs"
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 Infernal Devices
- ↑ A Darkling Plain
- ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 Infernal Devices, Chapter 36: "Strange Meetings"
- ↑ A Darkling Plain, Chapter 11: "Wolf Kobold"
- ↑ A Darkling Plain, Chapter 15: "The Invisible Suburb"
- ↑ 42.0 42.1 A Darkling Plain, Chapter 50: "The Stalker's House"
- ↑ The Illustrated World of Mortal Engines, "Tom Natsworthy"
- ↑ 44.0 44.1 Director's commentary feature on Mortal Engines DVD/Blu-ray
- ↑ A Darkling Plain, Chapter 32: "London Journal"
- ↑ 46.0 46.1 46.2 46.3 46.4 46.5 Infernal Devices, Chapter 4: "The Legend of the Tin Book"
- ↑ 47.0 47.1 47.2 47.3 47.4 47.5 47.6 47.7 47.8 Infernal Devices, Chapter 23: "Bright, Brighter, Brighton!"
- ↑ 48.0 48.1 48.2 48.3 Predator's Gold, Chapter 33: "Thin Ice"
- ↑ 49.0 49.1 49.2 Predator's Gold, Chapter 35: "An Ark of Ice"
- ↑ 50.0 50.1 Mortal Engines, Chapter 8: "The Trading Cluster"
- ↑ 51.0 51.1 51.2 Infernal Devices, Chapter 26: "Waiting for the Moon"
- ↑ 52.0 52.1 52.2 52.3 52.4 Mortal Engines, Chapter 24: "An Agent of the League"
- ↑ Predator's Gold, Chapter 6: "Above the Ice"
- ↑ Mortal Engines, Chapter 11: "Airhaven"
- ↑ Mortal Engines, Chapter 15: "The Rustwater Marshes"
- ↑ Mortal Engines, Chapter 22: "Shrike"
- ↑ 57.0 57.1 Mortal Engines, Chapter 34: "Idea for a Fireworks Display"
- ↑ 58.0 58.1 58.2 Mortal Engines, Chapter 36: "The Shadow of Bones"
- ↑ Mortal Engines, Chapter 35: "The Cathedral"
- ↑ 60.0 60.1 60.2 60.3 60.4 A Darkling Plain, Chapter 2: "Matters of the Heart"
- ↑ Mortal Engines, Chapter 5: "The Lord Mayor"
- ↑ 62.0 62.1 Mortal Engines, Chapter 33: "Wine and Nibbles and the Dawn of a New Era"
- ↑ A Darkling Plain, Chapter 44: "Pillar of Fire"
- ↑ Infernal Devices, Chapter 3: "The Limpet Autolycus"
- ↑ Mortal Engines, Chapter 37: "The Bird Roads"
- ↑ Christian Rivers' interview for Mortal Engines
- ↑ 67.0 67.1 Robert Sheehan's interview for Mortal Engines
- ↑ The Sheehab interviews Philip Reeve - Mortal Engines Movie
- ↑ Predator's Gold, Chapter 31: "The Knife Drawer"
- ↑ Infernal Devices, Chapter 7: "She's Leaving Home"
- ↑ Mortal Engines
- ↑ Predator's Gold
- ↑ A Darkling Plain, Chapter 54: "Shrike in the World to Come"
- ↑ 74.0 74.1 74.2 A Darkling Plain, Chapter 33: "The Test"
- ↑ Mortal Engines, Chapter 3: "The Waste Chute"
- ↑ Thomas - Behind the Name
- ↑ Reevening 2: Philip Reeve Answers Questions About Mortal Engines - Mortal Engines Film
- ↑ Tom (2) - Behind the Name
- ↑ Mortal Engines, Chapter 13: "The Resurrected Men"
- ↑ 80.0 80.1 Predator's Gold, Chapter 3: "The Passenger"
- ↑ 81.0 81.1 A Darkling Plain, Chapter 18: "That Colossal Wreck"
- ↑ Infernal Devices, Chapter 11: "Four Against Grimsby"