Tom Thumb (comics)
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Tom Thumb is the name of two fictional characters (both with the real name Thomas Thompson) who are owned by Marvel Comics and appear in the comic books published by that company. Both are loosely based on the DC Comics superhero, The Atom.
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[edit] Various incarnations of Tom Thumb
In Squadron Supreme Thomas Thompson is a dwarf scientist and member of the superhero team Squadron Supreme. But, in Supreme Power Thomas Thompson is one of a number of convicts who had volunteered to act as test subjects for a military experiment.
[edit] (I) Squadron Supreme
Thomas Thompson, a dwarf, was a scientist, inventor, adventurer, and member of the superhero team Squadron Supreme of Earth-712. His main contribution to the team was his scientific genius. He designed the Squadron's headquarters and frequently created advanced devices such as a Behavior Modifying Machine that could be used on criminals to change their ways, and a force field belt that protected its wearer and could even deflect bullets.
After running a test on the radiation emitted by Nuke, another member of the Squadron, Thumb realized he (along with anyone else who had spent extended periods of time in proximity to Nuke) had cancer. Unable to invent a cure, Thumb ultimately died and was placed in the Hibernaculum, a form of suspended animation he invented to preserve the bodies of diseased or recently deceased persons until a remedy could be found for whatever disease or injury that could not be treated by present day medicine.
While the Squadron is based on the Silver Age Justice League, Tom Thumb is closer to the Golden Age Atom; a very short adventurer with no superpowers. Though he is a surprisingly skilled and agile fighter for his size, his greatest similarity to the Silver Age version is that he is a brilliant scientist.
[edit] (II) Supreme Power
Tom Thumb first appeared in a flashback in Supreme Power, a reboot of the Squadron Supreme.
The flashback showed a number of convicts who had volunteered to act as test subjects for a military experiment. The experiment was designed to graft a retrovirus based on the DNA of Hyperion, an extraterrestrial and superhero of ambiguous origins, to human subjects. One of the subjects was Thomas Thompson, and the retrovirus' effects made Tom shrink to a height of less than an inch (2.54 centimeters), though his size seems to have fluctuated since. To compensate for his diminished stature, Tom has a belligerent, confrontational attitude, daring his larger opponents to try something.
After being recruited to the government's Squadron Supreme superhuman group, Thompson was going to be a member of the covert team and started thinking it would be similar to a James Bond movie. However, Doctor Emil Burbank made a tiny, self-contained suppository capsule with enough air to last the mission, which was inserted into Shape as a backup plan. After the mission in Africa, Tom Thumb is now in counseling to help him deal with the self-contained capsule experience.
Although not a scientist, the Supreme Power version of Tom Thumb is similar to the Silver Age Atom in that he has achieved miniscule size. He has been depicted at a variety of sizes, ranging from insect to action figure scale. However, it is unclear at this time whether Tom is able to return to normal human dimensions.
