Tom Bombadil is the first entity that Frodo encounters on his journey. He rescues Frodo, Sam, Pippin, and Merry from the clutches of Old Man Willow and the barrow-wights and he also provides the Hobbits with food and shelter.
Fortunately, Tom had taught Frodo a magic song to call Tom to him; so Frodo sang it and Tom came to the rescue, and opened the Barrow. After this, he escorted the Hobbits to the borders of his land and left them there.
Frodo and his companions are captured by Barrow-wights; they are rescued by Tom Bombadil. Fog on the Barrow-downs is the eighth chapter of the first book in The Fellowship of the Ring. The Hobbits journey to the Barrow-downs, where they get lost and are captured by the Barrow-wights.
Before sending the Hobbits on their way, Tom teaches them a rhyme to summon him if they fall into danger again within his borders. This proves fortunate, as the four are trapped by a barrow-wight. After rescuing them, Tom gives each Hobbit a long dagger taken from the treasure in the barrow.
Perhaps the most far-fetched theory yet states that Tom is not really the jolly old being we see, but in fact, something eviler, and much more powerful, than Sauron and many other characters.
Understanding the mystery, however, does require at least comprehending what we can. As Johnston summarizes: What we know about Bombadil is that he is a powerful and ancient being, older than Gandalf and older than the elves, and he has no interest in “trinkets” that are used to dominate others.
Many Lord of the Rings fans also say Tom Bombadil is actually the most powerful character in all of Middle Earth, due to his apparent immortality, ability to completely resist the Ring, power over his domain, and knowledge that comes from living since the beginning of time.
Perhaps Tom Bombadil was not really alive, but rather a spirit. Some Tolkien fans speculate that Tom Bombadil was in fact a Maia or even a Vala who had originated in the Far West. Tom was a being of intense age; he had been in Middle-Earth before the trees and the rivers.
It doesn't say anywhere that the Ring tried to possess Tom Bombadil and that he resisted. The Ring simply has no effect on Tom, and that's probably because Tom is a being out of space and time. He is a complete anomaly as well as an incongruity. The laws of Middle-earth almost don't apply to him.
Tom Bombadil or Iarwain as the elves called him was neither a Valar or a Maiar. He was a mystery wrapped up in a conundrum. He is Tom Bombadil. There are many theories about who he was, Eru Illuvtar, an unspecified Vala or a Maia.
But there's actually a long-standing fan theory of the original books, which, if true, quietly means Tom Bombadil was in the movies all along — in his true form as the Witch-king of the Nazgûl. The twist seems outlandish, especially considering Bombadil's overtly benevolent nature in Tolkien's work.
Since Bombadil wears a blue coat and little is known about the movements of the blue wizards, some fans speculate that he could be one of these absent sorcerers in disguise, though this is highly unlikely due to Tom residing in Middle-earth long before the wizards arrived.
Questions about him abounded even early on, though, so there are quite a few references in Tolkien's letters – more, I would say, than in Tolkien's actual published works! We first encounter Tom in Book 1, Chapter 7, “The Old Forest,” where he saves the Hobbits from a bit of a pickle they've gotten themselves into.
Sauron with the Ring would have been able to defeat Tom. “In the end he will fall, Last as he was First, and then Night will come.” They decided that Bombadil would be “a most unsafe guardian, likely to lose it or throw it away.” The Ring had so little effect on him. He WAS a bit of a space case, after all.
The most common theory is, therefore, that Bombadil is just a "rogue" Maia who perhaps stayed behind and did not follow the other Ainur at the Breaking of the World. In contrast to the seven Valar, the Maiar are an unknown number, so it's easy to associate Tom with them.
For one thing, Gandalf tells us there are only five wizards in Middle Earth: the Brown Wizard, Radagast, who is definitely not Tom; Saruman the White who shows up elsewhere in Lord of the Rings; the two Blue Wizards, Alatar and Pallando, who went into the east and have not been heard from again; and, of course, Gandalf ...
Tom Bombadil, Tom Bombadillo! By water, wood and hill, by the reed and willow, By fire, sun and moon, harken now and hear us! Come, Tom Bombadil, for our need is near us!
Given these bits of information, it seems like within his realm, Bombadil would have been able to defeat the Nazgûl or at least banish them. Outside his realm, however, he wouldn't have been quite as effective in a fight against them.
Tom Bombadil's strength lies not in physical prowess but in his unwavering goodness and connection to nature. He is a creature of immense antiquity, predating even the likes of Sauron. His power is unobtrusive, but it distinguishes Tolkien's understanding of strength versus might.
The Ring cannot effect Tom Bombadil because he is outside the whole issue of Power and Domination; Tolkien uses Tom as an allegory that even this intense struggle between "good and evil" is only part of the whole picture of existence. On this page you can find everything about the Rings of Power.
Some have theorized that Bombadil was a member of the Istari, powerful angelic beings, but his behavior and choices also make that idea unlikely. Other readers wonder if Bombadil might have been one of the Ainur. Ainur are best understood as descendants of the gods and consist of Valar and Maiar.
It is often thought that his mysterious origin may tie back to the Ainur, the angelic creatures who had a hand in creating Middle-earth itself. Using softer, gentler sources such as music and the surrounding forest, Bombadil could perform great magic to seemingly control the world, reality and nature around him.
Who is the most powerful character in the Tolkien universe?
There's no question that Sauron is among the strongest beings in Middle-earth, so powerful that even when defeated, he lay dormant and gathered strength in non-corporeal form. Sauron poured his power and will into the One Ring so that as long as it existed, he could never be truly defeated.
