Tobias (Animorphs)

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Tobias is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Tobias is one of the first five Animorphs. Tobias was a red-tailed hawk nothlit (a creature trapped in morph because they stayed morphed for longer than two hours) from the end of the first book until the Ellimist restored his power to morph in The Change. However, instead of resuming Tobias' human form as his normal body it remained as the Red-tailed hawk and Tobias has the ability to morph from hawk to any other animal, including his original human form. His friends sometimes call him "Bird-boy" because of this. Tobias is close friends with Rachel and Ax. He had a crush on Rachel during the early books and they became involved later in the series. He has a pet cat named Dude, which was his first morph and the first morph of the Animorphs. His parents were believed to be dead, but near the end of the series it was revealed that Tobias's mother, Loren, was still alive and blind. Tobias's true father was Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, an Andalite who was the giver of the Animorphs' powers. Because the Ellimist wiped out all evidence of Elfangor's time on Earth, Tobias was unaware of that until Visser Three got his hands on Elfangor's will. Loren and Tobias are reunited, though Loren never quite remembered her son or Elfangor, due to a case of amnesia. Tobias' surname is often assumed by fans to be Fangor, but it's quite likely that he has his mother's maiden name instead, due to the Ellimist altering the timeline to remove Elfangor from Earth.

Before he was a nothlit, Tobias lived sometimes with an uncle in the other Animorphs' home town and sometimes with an aunt on the other coast. Neither ever really cared about the boy -- often not paying attention to him or just using him as free labor -- and they never tried to find him after his "disappearance" (thanks to becoming a nothlit). Before the war, Tobias was a "loser" without any friends, and often a bully magnet. He had some hero-worship towards Jake because Jake stopped some bullies from beating him up. In Megamorphs #4: Back to Before this lifestyle causes Tobias to join The Sharing and become a Controller in an alternate reality, because some people from The Sharing helped him with his bully problems, and because he saw Jake attending a meeting at Tom's insistence and figured that if they both got involved in The Sharing then he could become a "winner" like Jake.

After becoming a nothlit he lived in the forest as a hawk along with Ax. Many fans believe, and on top of that the other Animorphs suspected, that Tobias trapped himself as a hawk on purpose. In the first book, he makes no effort to keep track of time while in morph and seemingly does not care about the two hour limit, only demorphing when pressured to by the other Animorphs. After being trapped, Tobias reflected on his situation, at one time debating how and what he felt when he realized he was trapped. Even after being given the option to return to a life as a human, Tobias chose to continue living as he was, explained by the others earlier on as a need to stay in the fight. However, as the series progressed, it was revealed that it wasn't so much of a selfless sacrifice; Tobias preferred his life as a hawk to his life as a human, a fact he eventually came to accept.

After the war, Tobias seems to withdraw from the rest of the world, distraught by Rachel's death and angry at Jake. He only joins with the other Animorphs after finding out about Ax's capture by The One.

[edit] Family

Father Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, an Andalite who deliberately became a human nothlit to escape the war and live with Loren on Earth and father Tobias. The Ellimist interfered with his timeline, leaving his memories intact but restoring his Andalite body and his position in the war effort. Loren and the young Tobias remained on Earth.
Mother Loren Rescued from the Skrit Na by Elfangor, she later married him. A car crash somewhere in Tobias' early life left her blind and destroyed her long-term memories prior to that point. She chose not to continue caring for Tobias, though she remained living a short distance from him. She performed volunteer work at a crisis hotline. Later on in the series, she is found by Tobias and given the morphing power, which restored her sight. She then went to live in the Hork-Bajir valley.
Uncle Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, Elfangor's younger brother, who joined the Animorphs after a battle which claimed the lives of all the other Andalites on his ship.
Unknown Aunt and Uncle: Became Tobias' legal guardians after Loren's incapacitation. Each had little affection for him and would frequently try to pass responsibility for him onto the other. Neither has looked for Tobias since his disappearance, apparently content with the assumption that the other is minding him. It is unclear how exactly the pair are related.
Grandparents Noorlin-Sirinial-Cooraf and Forlay-Esgarrouth-Maheen, Elfangor's parents, whom Tobias has never met.