TOMMY BOBKINS JR.

Real Name: Tom Bobkins Jr.

Identity/Class: Human (advanced) technology user

Occupation: None

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: His playmates (at least seven, none identified)

Enemies: None

Known Relatives: Tom "Tommy" Bobkins Sr. (father), Mary Bobkins (future wife), Tommy Bobkins III (future son)

Aliases: Tommy

Base of Operations: His father's suburban home, somewhere in America

First Appearance: Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4 (January, 1962)

Powers/Abilities: An ordinary boy of perhaps 10 years of age, Tommy had no paranormal abilities.

For a brief time, Tommy possessed an atomic-powered yo-yo from the future, which he used to perform some amazing tricks.

Height: Unrevealed (4' 8"; by approximation)
Weight: Unrevealed (80 lbs.; by approximation)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Brown

History:
(Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4 (fb) - BTS) - The past of Tommy Bobkins Jr. is largely unrevealed, but he lived in the suburban home of his father, Tom Sr. (see comments). Young Tommy liked to play with a yo-yo, but the old toy was beginning to wear out.

(Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4) - While Tom was raking leaves in the yard, one of Tommy's playmates came over to show off his new deluxe yo-yo, and Tommy wanted one just like it to replace his old one.

   Tom went into the woods behind his house to dispose of the leaves he'd raked, and he thought about buying Tommy a new yo-yo the next time he went into town; but then Tom discovered an expensive-looking yo-yo laying on the ground, so he picked up the abandoned toy and gave it to his son.

   Tommy showed his friends the new yo-yo his father found for him, but then he discovered that he could somehow perform amazingly complicated tricks with it--the yo-yo acted as if it were doing the tricks by itself! When one of his friends offered to swap two yo-yos for the miraculous toy, Tommy declined the offer.

   Tommy was still playing with the wondrous yo-yo hours later when evening came, and his father told him it was time for him to go to bed. After he put the toy on his nightstand, and his father tucked him in bed, Tommy quickly fell asleep. But then Tom Bobkins was shocked when the yo-yo suddenly levitated from his son's nightstand and flew out the bedroom window! While Tom chased after the flying toy, he noticed it was going into the woods behind the house, back to the spot where he had found it earlier.

   As the yo-yo settled on the ground, Tom was surprised when a doorway suddenly opened on one of the trees--he hid behind another tree and watched as a woman and a young boy emerged. The two strangers began to search the ground, then the boy joyfully reported that he found what they were looking for: The yo-yo! After the child picked up the toy, the two strangers climbed back inside the tree and closed the door; then before Tom's disbelieving eyes, the entire tree faded away!

   Now alone in the woods, Tom Bobkins thought to himself that Tommy would probably be heartbroken by the loss of the yo-yo; but he was sure that after he explained about the amazing events that had transpired to his son, he didn't think Tommy would be too disappointed...

   In the meantime, the yo-yo was being taken back to its home, for the "tree" was actually a time machine! When the "tree" materialized in the wondrous world of the near future (see comments), the doorway again opened, and out stepped the woman--Mary Bobkins (young Tommy Bobkins' future wife)--and the little boy--Tommy Bobkins III (young Tommy Bobkins' son-to-be)--and so the yo-yo would remain in the family!

Comments: Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

Although Tommy's father, Tom Bobkins Sr., was really the main character in this 5-page story, I decided to do this profile for Tommy instead because he was the one who played with the yo-yo. And there was never any mention of Tom Sr.'s wife, so he could have been divorced, or a widower; or maybe she was just away visiting a relative.

This story was originally published at the same time as Fantastic Four I#2, so it's possible that it took place in the early days of the modern Marvel Universe. But I'd estimate that Mary and Tommy III originated from about 20 years ahead of Tommy Jr.'s time, and considering the advanced technology of their world, it was probably an alternate Earth/potential future of a different timeline.

The real-life yo-yo toy was once rumored to have originally been invented as a throwing weapon for hunting small game--although it would probably be ineffective as a hunting tool, the concept of being able to retry a missed throw would certainly be desirable.

And with that in mind: It's a shame that Tommy Jr. didn't get to keep that yo-yo, because with all the tricks it could do, he could've used it to become a superhero! Think about it...he could've used the futuristic toy to strike and ensnare criminals! (Too bad Marvel never thought of reusing Tommy in the early-1960s, when they were creating new superheroes (...such as when they took a one-shot character like shrinking scientist Henry Pym and later reintroduced him as Ant-Man))...
DC had Captain Boomerang, so Marvel could've had...YEOMAN YO-YO!

Profile by Ron Fredricks.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Tommy Bobkins Jr. (and any of his relatives) has no known connections to:

The yo-yo has no known connections to:

The "tree" time machine has no known connections to:

Tom Bobkins Sr.

A middle-aged man, he lived in a suburban home with his young son, Tommy Jr.

One day, while he was disposing of some leaves that he'd raked, Tom discovered an expensive looking yo-yo in the woods behind his house, so he gave the abandoned toy to his son--Tommy was able to perform some amazing tricks with this yo-yo.

That night, after he tucked his son in bed, Tom was surprised when he saw the yo-yo levitate by itself and fly out the bedroom window. Tom chased after the toy as it flew back into the woods, and it settled on the ground where he had found it earlier.

But Tom was shocked when he saw one of the trees open, and a woman and young boy emerged from it. After the boy picked up the yo-yo, the two strangers went back inside the tree, then the entire tree faded away!

Tom was unaware that the tree was actually a time machine, and the two strangers were Mary Bobkins and Tommy Bobkins III, his future daughter-in-law and grandson!

--Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4

A red-colored toy from the future, it was powered by a single atomic energy cell; it was owned by Tommy Bobkins III.

The yo-yo seemed to be equipped with low-level artificial intelligence, and it was programmed to perform a variety of complicated tricks; if it were lost, it would fly back to the original spot where it was dropped.

Tommy III misplaced the yo-yo when he and his mother used a time machine to visit the past, and they appeared at the childhood home of his father, Tommy Bobkins Jr.--for a brief time, Tommy Jr. played with the yo-yo, before it was eventually retrieved by Tommy III and returned to the future.

(Comment: My guess is that the "string" of this yo-yo was actually an articulated nanotechnology mechanism (much like one of Doctor Octopus' tentacles, only a lot smaller), which would account for it being able to form itself in a variety of shapes.)

--Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4

Mary Bobkins and Tommy Bobkins III

They were the future wife and son of young Tommy Bobkins Jr.; previously, they had used a time machine to travel back to Tommy Jr.'s childhood home--it was during this trip to the past that Tommy III lost his atomic powered yo-yo.

They had to make another trip to the past to retrieve the futuristic toy; afterward, they went back into the time machine and returned to their own home in the future (see comments)--they were apparently unaware that they had been seen by Tom Bobkins Sr.

(Comment: I'm just going to attribute their names appearing on their clothing in that one image to "artistic license" ...unless wearing your name on your clothing was some kind of weird fashion trend in the future.)

--Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4

time machine

A device from the near future, it appeared to be an ordinary tree.

It had previously transported Mary Bobkins and Tommy Bobkins III from the future, and it appeared in the woods behind the boyhood home of Tommy Bobkins Jr.--during this trip, Tommy III misplaced his atomic-powered yo-yo.

Later (relatively speaking), it returned Mary and Tommy III back to the woods, so they could search for Tommy III's lost toy; when they retrieved the misplaced yo-yo, they re-entered the time machine and returned to their home in the near future.

(Comment: It was never explained why it was built in the form of a tree--maybe it was like Dr. Who's TARDIS and it had something like a "Chameleon Circuit" which allowed it to disguise itself as something inconspicuous.)

--Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4

images: (without ads)
Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4, p2, pan2 (Main Image - Tommy Bobkins Jr., with his old yo-yo; Tom Bobkins Sr. (background))
Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4, p3, pan1 (Headshot - Tommy Bobkins Jr.)
Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4, p2, pan7 (Tommy Bobkins Jr. demonstrates his new yo-yo to his friends)
Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4, p2, pan8 (Tommy Bobkins Jr. performs a trick with his new yo-yo)
Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4, p2, pan5 (Tom Bobkins Sr. finds yo-yo)
Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4, p1, pan1 (Tom Bobkins Sr. chases after flying yo-yo)
Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4, p5, pan3 (Tom Bobkins Sr.)
Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4, p3, pan5 (yo-yo flies away; Tom Bobkins Sr. (background))
Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4, p2, pan9 (Tommy Bobkins Jr. demonstrates yo-yo to his friends)
Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4, p3, pan2 (Tommy Bobkins Jr. playing with yo-yo; Tom Bobkins Sr.)
Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4, p4, pan2 (Tommy Bobkins III and Mary Bobkins emerge from "tree" time machine)
Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4, p4, pan5 (Tommy Bobkins III tells Mary Bobkins that he's found lost yo-yo; Tom Bobkins Sr. (foreground))
Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4, p4, pan7 (Mary Bobkins and Tommy Bobkins III re-enter "tree" time machine)
Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4, p5, pan7 (Mary Bobkins and Tommy Bobkins III exit time machine in the near future)
Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4, p4, pan9 (time machine vanishes; Tom Bobkins Sr. (background))
Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4, p5, pan5 (time machine begins to materialize in world of the near future)
Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4, p5, pan6 (Mary Bobkins and Tommy Bobkins exit time machine)

Appearances:
Amazing Adult Fantasy#8/4 (January, 1962) - Stan Lee (write/editor), Steve Ditko (pencils and inks)

First Posted: 08/16/2021
Last updated: 08/16/2021

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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