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Tommy Sherman (edit)

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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 (explained [http://web.archive.org/web/20120711193345/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.
 
===WasHow Bad is Tommy Sherman Evil?===
Tommy Sherman has repeatedly been used in fanfic as a violent thug, an abuser, a rapist, or some other form of villain. In the episode, he's a massive jerk - but is he 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. On the other hand, when he met Daria and Jane, and Daria told him "excuse me", Tommy had the cynicism of interpreting these words of Daria in the sense that Daria felt the need to beg for Tommy to allow her and Jane to speak to him, when Daria simply told him that to go away and let Daria to open her locker, since he was standing right in front of it, and even had the nerve to answer Daria saying that he would never talk to her, then turn his eyes to Jane and tell her that with her "maybe, Like, four hours into a kegger".Doubtless, too, his come-ons sometimes worked. There are always more fish in the sea.
 
True, he viewed women only as potential sex partners and was crudely outspoken about this, and assumed ''they'' all wanted him. When Daria approaches him because he's on her locker, he has no interest in her or Jane sexually and has the nerve to laugh that he'd ''never'' talk to Daria, before telling Jane "maybe [with her], Like, four hours into a kegger". He ignores Brittany has a boyfriend until she repeats it and assumes she's asking about a cuckolding fetish (which he's willing to do), and yells abuse when she leaves - however, ''not'' about her slapping him, which he seems to shrug off and doesn't retaliate over.
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.
 
Tommy also insulted and belittled [[Kevin]] and [[Mack]], but at first just in a breezy, jokey way about Kevin's height - just as Kevin is unwittingly rude about Daria. He only starts to get intentionally mean when he learned they were varsity footballer and Kevin had his old role - ''then'' he wants to insult Kevin's potential as a footballer. Tommy seems to want to make it clear ''he's'' still the big man. He also throws in a parting shot at Mack (renamed after his dad saw Michael Jordan play) to "make sure your father doesn't go to any Whoopi Goldberg movies", possibly the closest MTV would've allowed the show to get to an implied racial slur.
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." He even had a memorial tree (per "[[A Tree Grows in Lawndale]].")▼
 
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?”)
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.▼
▲HeIn wasthe conceited,[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Q7lqexyXjvrc0nWdP2IavYKBjaY6w3jr/view self-importantscript], egotistical,the anddirection boorish;for likethe [[Quinnanimators Morgendorffer]],is hethat esteemedhis himselffamous morestrut thanis anyone.him (“Do"waiting youfor knowpeople whoto Inotice am? Tommy Sherman?”)him". 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." He even had a memorial tree (per "[[A Tree Grows in Lawndale]].") On the other hand, nobody was that upset he was dead ''for his own sake'': they were all upset as they had to confront the spectre of death or their views about themselves.
 
▲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[[Trent didn'tLane|Trent]], evenwho liewent to school with him, has nothing to say other than Tommy skipped a lot of classes. 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.
 
===The Coma Before the Championship Game===
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