Template:Infobox Animorph
- "Who am I? What am I? A bird. A boy. Something not quite human. Something more than human. The person Rachel loves. I discovered something amid the pain and terror and confusion. I discovered that the answer to what I am, to who I am, isn't something to be answered in a single word or a single moment. It could take a lifetime to figure out who I am. For now, I'm willing to hang in there, floating on a thermal. Biding my time."
- ―Tobias
Tobias is a founding member of the Animorphs and a red-tailed hawk nothlit, although he was granted the morphing ability again by the Ellimist. He served as the "air force" member of the team, keeping an eye up above and performing aerial support and reconnaissance. He is the son of Elfangor and Loren, the nephew of Ax and was Rachel's boyfriend.
History
Early Life
- "The food was better at my aunt's. She didn't pass out in my room. She had her own brand of fun. She'd work me like her own personal slave. That's how I knew what was in the attic: I cleaned it out. And she'd keep me out of school to run errands for her or just to "be there" in case she needed me. At least my uncle let me go to school. He'd have let me go to Australia and not cared. Not a nice feeling knowing that if you were ever kidnapped or whatever, there was no one around to bother and call the cops. But, hey, that's life. It's worse for lots of kids."
- ―Tobias
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Andalite-Yeerk War
Becoming an Animorph
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Trapped in Morph
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Regaining the Morphing Ability
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In the book The Change the Ellimist restores his power to morph. However, as the Ellimist does not also restore Tobias' human form as his normal body, Tobias' normal form remains that of the hawk, from which he is able to morph to any other animal, including his original human form. The Ellimist makes the human morph possible by sending Tobias, still in his red-tailed hawk form, into an illusion in which he encountered his human form the day before the Animorphs gained their morphing ability. The Ellimist's intervention gives Tobias the chance to return to life as a human, but he chooses to continue living as a morph-capable hawk, explained by the others as a need to stay in the fight. However, as the series progresses, it becomes apparent that in many ways Tobias prefers his life as a hawk to his life as a human.
Discovering his Parentage
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Killing Hitler
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Tortured by Taylor
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Further battles
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Saving Loren
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Endgame
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Post-War
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One Last Mission
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Personality
- "It suddenly occurred to me, right then, for the first time, that what I thought was so unique about me – that I was half instinctive predator, and half human being – wasn't so unique after all. Every human – Jake. Rachel. Marco. Cassie, all humans – kind of lives on that edge between savage and saint. And the thing is that sometimes when you get pushed you do have to push back. And other times, you have to turn the other cheek. [...] I guess the trick is to figure out when to do which thing. When to fight, when to let up. A balancing act. And even if I went back to being fully human in body and mind, that balancing act wouldn't go away."
- ―Tobias
Before the war, Tobias was a shy dreamer somewhat detached from the world. He was kind and gentle, and very unpopular at school and a bully magnet. He lived with his uncle, who was not very fond of him and he often got thrown between him and his uncaring aunt on the other coast. The only time he felt happy was when he was with his friend and mother-figure Professor Powers. Not very happy with his life, Tobias found meaning in the war. For the first time he felt like he had something worth fighting for, and he was particularly motivated by Elfangor's death. Tobias also found freedom in the power to morph. He became enraptured with the hawk morph, where he could just fly away from his human problems.The other Animorphs recognized Tobias' attachment to the hawk morph, and Jake warned him of the time limit. However, during their first mission to the Yeerk Pool at the end of The Invasion Tobias stays in hawk morph for over two hours, trapping him permanently. The other Animorphs sometimes speculate if Tobias trapped himself on purpose, as an excuse to escape his terrible life as a human.
Because of Tobias' dual existence as both a hawk and a human, his friends sometimes call him "bird-boy". Tobias' narrations contain many thoughts on his internal conflict between his human and hawk sides. A common issue that arises is his need to hunt and kill to survive. The ruthless nature of the hawk contrasts with the more caring nature of human Tobias. Tobias sometimes wonders if he is losing his humanity because of this.
Relationships with the other Animorphs
Jake
- "It felt good to hear Jake say I was indispensable, but with Jake you could never be sure anymore what was sincere. And what was just expedient. He'd been the most open of guys, back in the old days. What you saw with Jake was what you got. But he'd been a leader for a long time now. He'd learned to say what he needed to say. Jake needed me as one of the Animorphs. He liked me, respected me, was happy for me when I was happy. And, when he had to, he used me without regard for anything but winning."
- ―Tobias
Tobias and Jake were casual acquaintances before the series began, after Jake saved Tobias from a group of bullies. Tobias has a deep respect for Jake and rarely challenges his decisions or leadership during the series, while Jake respects Tobias's own strength; he once even nominated Tobias as the one to make a judgment call when he, Marco and Ax were out on an independent survey mission. However, Tobias was never able to forgive Jake for sacrificing Rachel in the final battle.
Rachel
- "Rachel would be beautiful in the middle of mud slides and hailstorms. On a sweet, sunny day, she made my heart ache. She looked at me. Embarrassed for me. Wanting to say something that would make it all right. Not knowing what to say. Hurting for me. Feeling my humiliation."
- ―Tobias
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Rachel and Tobias were acquainted before the start of the series, although they didn't really know each other. Despite this, Tobias had a crush on Rachel. Rachel was more affectionate towards Tobias than anyone at the start, and remained as his anchor to the other Animorphs after he became trapped as a bird, with Rachel stating that she felt like she had to take care of him. Tobias often visited Rachel in the late nights or early mornings in her bedroom, and their relationship soon became romantic, with them becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. Rachel's death drives Tobias into depression and seclusion.
Ax
- "I should have flown away. I knew I should have. But Ax had said I was his shorm. It's an Andalite word for someone who is closer than a friend. During the war we'd both been exiles in the woods, Ax and me. Neither of us had a real home. His family was a billion miles away, mine didn't really exist. Only later did we discover that Ax and I were, because of almost unbelievable circumstances, actually related."
- ―Tobias
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Ax and Tobias share a close bond, with Ax regarding Tobias as his shorm (best friend). Their bond is later strengthened when they discover they are uncle and nephew.
Marco
- "Marco and I will probably never be very close. He's a typical smart-aleck kind of guy. Always confident. Always has some funny or sarcastic thing to say. He's short, or at least he's not very tall. I guess girls think he's cute because he has this long brown hair and dark eyes."
- ―Tobias
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Initially, Marco and Tobias were indifferent to one another. However, shortly after becoming Animorphs, they grew closer through the various battles they shared, and Tobias and Marco became close friends.
Cassie
- "You and me, I guess."
"I'm always glad to have you along." - ―Cassie and Tobias
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Tobias and Cassie are similar in their kind natures and understanding of animals.
Morphs
Book Morphs
Television Show Morphs
| Morph | Episode Acquired |
|---|---|
| Red-Tailed Hawk - Nothlit | My Name is Jake, Part 2 |
| Human (Tobias) | Face Off, Part 1 |
| Skink | My Name is Jake (original acquisition)/Not My Problem (as a flashback) |
| Lion |
Tobias has a total of 4 morphs in the TV Show.
Books Narrated By Tobias
- The Encounter
- The Andalite's Gift
- The Change
- In the Time of Dinosaurs
- The Hork-Bajir Chronicles
- The Pretender
- Elfangor's Secret
- The Illusion
- Back to Before
- The Test
- The Diversion
- The Beginning
Trivia
- In 1999, three different transforming toys of Tobias were made. The larger two were transformers sold in stores that transformed from human to hawk. One was deluxe-class and the other Mega-class. The third toy, released in 1999 as part of a Taco Bell children's meal promotion, was a smaller, clear plastic hawk with a yellow human "soul" trapped inside. KFC also released a hawk-shaped glider, and in 1998 Taco Bell released a toy that was a watch clutched by a clawed hand shape that was roughly half human.
- Tobias and Ax get the least amount of books in the series. The reason for this came from Scholastic, rather than K.A. They didn't think that kids would be able to relate as well to an alien character, or to a kid trapped as a hawk. As a result, they both got their books in rotations of every 10 books, rather than the 5 like everyone else. Tobias got all the 3's in the series (#3, 13, 23, etc), while Ax got all the 8's (#8, 18, 28, etc). However, as it turned out, the books for Tobias and Ax were some of the fan's favourites, so both Ax and Tobias were brought into the equal rotation with the rest of the Animorphs near the end of the series.
- The Test featured a new Tobias cover model. Ursula Albano, the art director for Animorphs shared this story on the Anibase about the discovery of the new Tobias:
- "We couldn't find a kid in time for the shoot, so the photographer asked the agency to send over any old kid to stand in. Our artist, David Mattingly, would alter him digitally to fit the character. Well, a boy shows up kind of out of nowhere, skateboard in hand (he lives in the neighborhood) and a knit hat pulled down practically to his eyes. When he pulled his hat off, we knew we found the perfect Tobias. Tonya (the editor for Animorphs) and I just loved him. He was blonder than the first Tobias, but was perfect. He was Tobias. A happy accident from a desperate situation."
- Tobias and Marco are the only two of the Animorphs to morph into a human of the opposite gender. Tobias morphed Taylor in The Test and Marco morphed the state governor in The Absolute.
- Tobias is the first of the Animorphsto acquire and morph.
- Tobias has the distinction of any member to have a cover showing him morphing into another member of the team, as he morphed into Ax in The Illusion.
- K.A. on why she chose a red-tailed hawk morph for Tobias to be trapped in:
- "Tobias' form was chosen because red-tails are among the most common hawks in the U.S. I liked thinking that kids driving with their folks across Kansas or wherever would daydream that they were seeing Tobias. Probably should have made him a turkey buzzard, they're so ubiquitous. I knew right from the start I would trap Tobias in morph, by the way, never a doubt. Had to be. I knew it would drive some readers crazy, but I also knew they'd want to know more."
Gallery
Books
.jpg "Tobias (Rabbit Morph).jpg (93 KB)")
.jpg "Tobias (Taxxon Morph).jpg (142 KB)")
TV series
Merchandising
References
| Animorphs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Animorphs | Jake | Rachel | Tobias | Cassie | Marco | Ax | David | |
| Auxiliary Animorphs | James | Collette | Timmy | Kelly | Craig | Erica | Julio | Liam | Tricia | Jessie | Judy | Ray | |