Tommy Kennedy
From Transformers Wiki
- Tommy Kennedy is a human from the cartoon portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
Tommy Kennedy is an enthusiastic kid with a good heart, a lot of potential and... well... Not so much in the "patience" department. A resident of Autobot City, Tommy is close friends with Powermaster Optimus Prime and loves to pick his memory chip when it comes to the star-spanning adventures of the Transformers. Unfortunately, Tommy's attention span tends to max out at about 22 minutes and from there on he becomes restless; he's either quick to move onto something else or he begins to forget the details of the story completely.
Nevertheless, Tommy is a handy kid. He can sculpt a bust better than most professionals, he knows how to repair an Autobot's delicate circuitry and he can even fight (be it schoolyard bullies or Decepticons!). It's because of his wide array of talents that Tommy has a hard time focusing on any one craft or skill; one day he wants to be a reporter for the Autobot City News, the next day he wants to help repair a Space bridge, and the day after that he might want to be a Headmaster. Tommy has a bright future ahead of him, if he can just learn to settle down, and Optimus Prime is sure to see that he reaches his potential.
He can breathe in space.
| “ | You said you were going to tell me how you were brought back to life and instead you tell me a story where you weren't really brought back to life at all! And even if you were, you'd be dead again by now! | ” |
| —A tactful Tommy Kennedy to Optimus Prime; "Dark Awakening" | ||
Contents |
Fiction
Cartoon continuity
The Transformers cartoon
- Actor: Jason Jansen
Tommy, a resident of Autobot City somewhere beyond the year 2006, made friends with Powermaster Optimus Prime in an encounter that was never recorded. He began meeting with Prime in the barren wasteland outside the Autobot City limits and the Autobot leader took a special interest in the child, answering his many inquiries and trying to teach him lessons about right and wrong, etc. In their first recorded storytime sessions, Tommy told Prime that he needed help with a "special project" for school. The "special project" required knowing the specifics of how the Autobots came to Earth, so Prime indulged him. Season 5: More than Meets the Eye, part 1 As the story dragged on, Prime became more and more curious as to the specifics of Tommy's "special project", but Tommy stayed tightlipped on the whole thing. Season 5: More than Meets the Eye, Part 2 Eventually, after Prime begged him long enough, Tommy brought in his "special project" and unveiled it in front of his idol: A bust of Prime's head which he made himself, to be presented to all the Autobots to commemorate the anniversary of when the Autobots first came to Earth. Prime was touched. Season 5: More than Meets the Eye, Part 3
After taking a few licks from some bullies at school, Tommy wanted to know about the "biggest guy" Prime ever had to fight. This immediately reminded Prime of the war with Unicron. The story then took a break so Tommy could go help Prime and Joyride repair the Space bridge (assuming he could lift the two-ton screwdrivers). Season 5: Movie, Day One Later, Prime's story was interrupted again, this time by a malfunctioning memory chip. Tommy used his technical knowhow to keep the chip running for about 20 more minutes, but the thing eventually blew out. He and Prime then journeyed into space for replacement parts. Season 5: Movie, Day Two As soon as Tommy finished the repairs on Prime's memory chip, he received more details about the adventure. Unfortunately, his constitution proved lacking and he asked Prime to take a break, citing the tale as too depressing to go on. Season 5: Movie, Day Three For their next meeting, Prime showed up late. Apparently, he let Grimlock pilot the shuttle to Earth and the Dinobot took a wrong turn. Prime had to cut storytime short, as he needed to take Grimlock to get his brain circuits upgraded. Season 5: Movie, Day Four At their next meeting, Prime offered to finish the story, but Tommy said he couldn't remember all the details because he lacked an electronic brain. Prime filed him in and then concluded the epic tale. Unfortunately, the epic tale ran a little short, so Prime elected to leave Tommy with... THE TOUCH!!! Season 5: Movie, Day Five
When Prime arrived for their next session, Tommy was nowhere to be found. Tommy then climbed onto Prime's shoulder, startling him. Prime warned him against such behavior, as he might have mistaken him for a Decepticon. Season 5: FFOD, Part 1 Next time, Prime decided to test Tommy's deductive skills to see if he could figure out the mystery in the next story. The story was cut short, though, as Prime had to go help Quickswitch test out Cybertron's new security system. Season 5: FFOD, Part 2 Prime continued to use the storytime session to try and educate Tommy, this time treating it like a history lesson. Tommy was disgusted at first, but soon found that history lectures were pretty cool when the subject is the Transformers. Season 5: FFOD, Part 3
By their next encounter, Tommy seemed troubled. He was genuinely depressed about the story and the hardships the Autobots were enduring in it. Prime did nothing to ease his concerns and warned him that things were only going to get worse. Season 5: FFOD, Part 4 Prime was late to their next meeting, as he was ambushed by Dreadwind and Darkwing on the way over. He defeated them in combat, of course, but put the sector on high alert just to be safe. Tommy offered to help battle the Decepticons if they ever returned and, like clockwork, Prime's early warning emergency beacon mohawk began to blink bright red. Tommy was hesitant to follow through on his offer, but as soon as Prime suggested he was scared, Tommy declared "Let's do it!" and the two blasted off into space to battle the Decepticons. Season 5: FFOD, Part 5
On Tommy's birthday, he received a visit from Prime... but Prime had apparently forgotten the significance of the occasion. Tommy began to pout until Prime and several other Autobots surprised him with a cake. Tommy blew out the candles as all the Autobots cheered for him. Season 5: Surprise Party
Acting as a reporter for the Autobot City News, Tommy was assigned to interview someone he idolizes. So, naturally, he chose Optimus Prime. His first question for Prime was rather personal, demanding to know how he came back from the dead. Prime began the tale with how he was first revived as a rampaging zombie, but Tommy had to stop him as his tape recorder had run out. He and Prime then blasted off into space to go... buy more tape. Season 5: Dark Awakening Tommy got the scoop on the next segment of Prime's return from the dead, but not quite the whole thing. Apparently, Prime had made an appointment to help Cloudburst repair his retro-rockets and it couldn't wait. Season 5: TROOP, Part 1 Eventually, Tommy got the last of the tale and was thrilled to have a story about "the greatest fighter in the galaxy". Prime warned him that fighting wasn't the solution to all of life's problems, considering he defeated the Hate Plague with wisdom rather than brawn. Prime then asked if Tommy would like to help him refuel Sky High and Tommy eagerly accepted. Season 5: TROOP, Part 2
When Prime and Tommy met again, Tommy had finally decided what he wanted to do with his life: He wants to be a Headmaster! Prime warned him that being a Headmaster isn't all its cracked up to be and figured a history lesson on their origin might change Tommy's mind. It didn't, so Prime delayed things by claiming he had to go take Landmine to the shop for some minor retooling. Season 5: Rebirth, Part 1 When next they met, Prime made Tommy a deal. If, after the end of the story he STILL wanted to be a Headmaster, Prime would make him one on the spot. Tommy enthusiastically agreed to the terms. Season 5: Rebirth, Part 2 When Prime finished his tale, Tommy still wanted to be a Headmaster, so Prime agreed to follow through with the deal and make him one. However, there were a few catches. Tommy would have to spend most of his life on the far end of the galaxy on deadly missions. And, as a co-leader of the Autobots, he would also have to spend the rest of his time studying. Tommy changed his mind, claiming he wasn't quite ready to be a Headmaster yet. However, he asked that if he ever did decide to be one, he'd like to be Optimus Prime's Headmaster. Prime agreed and then blasted off into space, promising to return soon to transform Tommy's day into an adventure! Season 5: Rebirth, Part 3
Ask Vector Prime
Tommy lived in the universe designated Primax 988.0 Delta and eventually grew up and went into politics just like some other Kennedys. Ask Vector Prime, 16/9/2015
Animated cartoon
Tommy Kennedy was a President of the United States famous for establishing the first human colony on Mars. He and his accomplishments were immortalized on a Burger Bot placemat detailing Presidents of the United States. The AllSpark Almanac II
Notes
- In case you need some context, for the fifth season of The Transformers, live-action segments featuring Tommy Kennedy and Optimus Prime were created to bookend episode reruns. The episodes were narrated by Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) under the guise of Tommy asking questions about the history of the Autobots.
- According to actor Jason Jansen, filming of the segments took place over a week in June, 1988 at Silver Cup Studios in Queens, New York. The Optimus Prime puppet used for close-up shots was mostly made of wood, and required two operators (one for the eyes and mouthplate, another to move the head). At one point, the puppet fell over and crushed the wooden hand Jansen would have been sitting on had he not been on break.[1]
- If the number of candles on Tommy's birthday cake signifies what it's supposed to, he is 15 years old.
