Tommy Sherman: Difference between revisions
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When he was a senior at Lawndale High, Tommy was the school's star football player. He was the quarterback of the [[Lawndale Lions]] when the team won the state championship. (This was three years before the time of "The Misery Chick.") Tommy was known for wanting to bring in the touchdowns himself, never passing to anyone else. He also had the habit of turning to wave at the crowd as he did so, often running into the goalpost head-first. He broke his nose twice and during the playoffs went into a coma for six days, an injury that nearly caused him to miss the championship game. He recovered without apparent harm to lead the team to victory the next day.
In "The Misery Chick," a break-away goalpost on the Lawndale Lions football field was to be dedicated to him, which set up the major conflict of the episode. When visiting the school, he managed to piss off ''everyone'' he talked to by being an obnoxious, boorish, crude man who assumed every girl wanted him and that it was his right to rip the piss out of boys at random. While walking onto the football field after a nasty conversation with [[Daria Morgendorffer]] and [[Jane Lane]], Tommy was struck by a large, heavy wooden crate containing the goalpost (which had apparently not yet been assembled and erected) and was killed on the spot. Only [[Kevin Thompson]] idolized him, though [[Angela Li]] (and perhaps [[Coach Gibson]]) appreciated his winning talents if not his personality.
His death left almost everyone in school upset, though for the most part this seemed less because Tommy Sherman himself was dead and more because ''someone'' was dead at school & that represented death in general. Kevin ''was'' genuinely upset that Tommy was dead. Others like Brittany, meanwhile, were upset because they weren't sure how to feel that someone they disliked was dead and felt rotten that they hated "the dead guy", while Jane was left shaky by the fact she'd joked he would die a few seconds before he really did.
[[Image:Tommy.jpg|frame|left]]
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Aside from a few exceptions, Tommy Sherman has been universally depicted as a villainous character, ranging from jerk to outright evil. He's been sociopathically vindictive, a rapist, and sometimes a comic book supervillain.
Several exceptions exist. "Run On Tommy - Run On" by [[Overlord Mikey]] has Tommy knowing he's a failed drop-out with ego problems and backs Jodie in giving a speech about what he's really like, in the hope others turn out different. "[[A Life in Bit Parts]]" by [[TAG]] has Tommy as an actor playing the Tommy we saw, and noted to be a really nice guy off-screen.
==A Closer Look==
Certain aspects of Tommy Sherman's life and death are worthy of closer examination and comment. Ignore for a moment the fact that this is a cartoon, and just play along.
===
Not much, apparently. No one, including Tommy, said a word about where he’d been or what he’d done since he left high school. He was out of town, for certain, as Kevin said Tommy was “coming back to Lawndale.” It is possible Tommy went to college on a football scholarship, but if he skipped classes that seems unlikely. He probably passed classes the same way Kevin did, getting a bye (explaned [http://www.outpost-daria.com/ep211.html here]) whenever he needed one. Perhaps Tommy was one of those people for whom high school was the best time of their lives, the peak of their achievements, and nothing that came after was quite as good. He was stuck in his own past, and being unable to move on finally killed him.▼
The crux of the episode revolves around Daria and Tommy's respective verbal broadsides:
===Was Tommy Sherman Evil?===▼
Though he was a jerk, Tommy was not as bad as some fans (and fanfics) have painted him. True, he viewed women only as potential sex partners and was crudely outspoken about this. He also helped Brittany to her feet, complimented her looks, and did not become angry (much less strike her back) when she slapped him in the face. He took it in stride, called her a bimbo, and moved on. Doubtless the slap was not a unique event. Doubtless, too, his come-ons sometimes worked. There are always more fish in the sea.▼
:'''<i>Daria:</i>''' I know the whole school's turning itself inside out because of some egotistical football player, and I've seen you insult or proposition just about everyone you come across, so my guess is that you're the football player guy. Congratulations. You must have worked very hard to become such a colossal jerk so quickly.▼
Tommy also insulted and belittled every male he met, though with a curious air of political correctness. He made fun of [[Mack Mackenzie]]’s name, but he didn’t use racist slurs. Tommy preferred verbal abuse with a personal touch.▼
:'''<i>Tommy:</i>''' You know what Tommy Sherman's going to do now? He's going to go out onto the field and check out his new goal post. He's going to read the plaque and think of all the people who admire him. But you wouldn't know anything about that. You're one of those misery chicks, always moping about what a cruel world it is, making a big deal about it so people won't notice that you're a loser.▼
This can be viewed as Tommy shrugging ''off'' what Daria's just said, as he manages to keep his voice even and doesn't care to address her points: he simply cuts her down and carries on as normal. On the other hand, he does actually leave the area (which Daria wanted in the first place) and he's immediately going to go check out his goalpost and think of being admired, and before he goes he's launching a vicious verbal assault: this implies he was very much bothered by what she said and wants to both silence her and recover the situation/his ego.
His view on Daria is also up for debate, as later episodes would make it clear that Daria ''does'' deliberately try to keep people away and is more emotionally fragile than the S1 episodes had indicated; Tommy could be making an accurate judgement, making him very good at reading people when he wants to. However, Daria didn't show any sign of being bothered that Tommy was right - what bothered her was everyone viewed her like that when "I'm not miserable, I'm just not ''like them''." Tommy's comment itself was shrugged off until he was dead.
▲:'''<i>Daria:</i>''' I know the whole school's turning itself inside out because of some egotistical football player, and I've seen you insult or proposition just about everyone you come across, so my guess is that you're the football player guy. Congratulations. You must have worked very hard to become such a colossal jerk so quickly.
Based on the thick armour that both parties usually show, it's entirely possible ''neither'' party was bothered by what the other had said and (if not for the death) would've thought that they'd 'won'.
▲:'''<i>Tommy:</i>''' You know what Tommy Sherman's going to do now? He's going to go out onto the field and check out his new goal post. He's going to read the plaque and think of all the people who admire him. But you wouldn't know anything about that. You're one of those misery chicks, always moping about what a cruel world it is, making a big deal about it so people won't notice that you're a loser.
===What Happened to Tommy After Graduation?===
▲Not much, apparently. No one, including Tommy, said a word about where he’d been or what he’d done since he left high school. He was out of town, for certain, as Kevin said Tommy was “coming back to Lawndale.” It is possible Tommy went to college on a football scholarship, but if he skipped classes that seems unlikely. He probably passed classes the same way Kevin did, getting a bye (explaned [http://www.outpost-daria.com/ep211.html here]) whenever he needed one. Perhaps Tommy was one of those people for whom high school was the best time of their lives, the peak of their achievements, and nothing that came after was quite as good. Certainly, all he focused on when visiting Lawndale and the whole centre of his ego was his high school football career, now five years in the past. He was stuck in his own past, and being unable to move on finally killed him.
▲===Was Tommy Sherman Evil?===
▲Though he was a jerk, Tommy was not as bad as some fans (and fanfics) have painted him. True, he viewed women only as potential sex partners and was crudely outspoken about this. He also helped Brittany to her feet, complimented her looks, and did not become angry (much less strike her back) when she slapped him in the face. He took it in stride, called her a bimbo, and moved on. Doubtless the slap was not a unique event. Doubtless, too, his come-ons sometimes worked. There are always more fish in the sea.
▲Tommy also insulted and belittled every male he met, though with a curious air of political correctness. He made fun of [[Mack Mackenzie]]’s name, but he didn’t use racist slurs. Tommy preferred verbal abuse with a personal touch.
He was conceited, self-important, egotistical, and boorish; like [[Quinn Morgendorffer]], he esteemed himself more than anyone. (“Do you know who I am? Tommy Sherman?”) Even worse, Tommy was ''completely right'' that he was widely admired, though perhaps not by people who knew him very well. He was “unanimously voted most valuable player” by his teammates after the state championship win, and upon his return to Lawndale High was put up in a good hotel at LHS’s expense. A jerk he was, but he played to his strengths and was little hampered by his weaknesses. He was the worst kind of winner, but he was a winner nonetheless, and (almost) everyone loves a winner. The easygoing Trent had nothing bad to say about him, other than noting that Tommy didn't show up for classes often. "The guy was a hero," said Kevin. "A really good quarterback, everybody liked him, kinda hunky, you know."
Finally, it appears Tommy had no notable criminal record, given the lack of mention of the same. He never physically harmed anyone (except himself, by hitting goalposts). He didn't even lie. As Daria observed, he was not a nice guy, but he did not deserve to die. Was he evil? Only barely. He could have been far, far worse.
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* [http://www.theangstguy.com/fanfics/antisocial.htm "The Antisocial Climber"] by [[The Angst Guy]]
* "[[Dark of Hearts]]" by [[The Angst Guy]]
* [http://www.theangstguy.com/fanfics/lifebitparts.htm "A Life in Bit Parts"] by [[The Angst Guy]]
* [http://thepaperpusher.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=419631#p419631 "Run On, Tommy - Run On"] by [[Overlord Mikey]]
* [http://thepaperpusher.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=419549#p419549 "When Tommy Goes Lurching Home"] by [[Charles RB]]
*
[[Category:Canon Characters|Sherman, Tommy]]
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