| “ | Thomas: You foolish bug. Once my timer strikes BUG-ZERO, YOUR time will be up, and MY nefarious plan will be executed SUCCESFULLY. Hooray! Bugbo: How interesting! Thomas: If your friends arrive in time, they'll be forced to watch you go SPLAT! Bugbo: Goodness gracious me! Thomas: And if they don't, you'll perish ALONE, knowing your so-called "friends" never cared to find you! |
„ |
| ~ Thomas Flyswatter evilly explains his evil plans for Bugbo to Bugbo. |
| “ | Dear pesky insects, your precious 'BUGBO' has been taken captive by none other than ME! Hahaha! If you ever want to see your precious pal again, then it's up to you, and only you to find me! If you do not find me within 12 bug hours, then you can say goodbye to your beloved minibeast. UNkind regards, your arch nemesis. | „ |
| ~ Thomas Flyswatter's letter. |
Thomas Flyswatter is the titular main antagonist of the third episode of the 2022 webseries Bugbo titled Bugbo: A Familiar Foe.
He is also a minor antagonist in its second episode, Bugbo: Under the Oak, where he appears in the post-credits scene in true generic supervillain fashion to tease his appearance in episode three.
He is a former Human turned Flyswatter, who after his tragic disfiguration caused by an incident in Swatter Inc., became a supervillain-like figure with an anti-pest thematic and a never-ceasing vendetta against all bugs, especially Bugbo and his acquintances, who he holds accountable for his pain for unknown reason to the extent of calling himself their arch-nemesis.
He was voiced by Bravvy/Eva, who also voices Bon the Bunny and the Pumpkin Rabbit from The Walten Files.
Personality[]
Little is known about Thomas' personality prior to becoming the supervillain that he now is. He claims that he was the only one in the factory that was unaware of the danger of the conveyor belts, which may imply a clumsy demeanor. His incident was also shown to be completely on purpose and avoidable in the flashback, which may imply one of two things: He's either extremely dumb, or suicidal.
After his disfiguration, he develops a burning hatred towards every single insect there is, especially Bugbo and his acquaintances. He goes to large extents to exact his supposed revenge on them, such as collecting Bees solely to build a trap for them, forgetting that Bees are also insects. He also appears to have a twisted sense of humor and irony, showcased in how he attempts to kill Bugbo using a giant flyswatter, the same object that he blames him for becoming.
He's also understandably (from his point of view, at least) upset whenever Bugbo and his acquaintances fail to recognize him, as he thinks of them as responsible for their pain. However he is not too proud to beg to them: he begs for them to come back for him after he realized he was stuck in his own trap, which was eventually going to strike Bug-Zero and activate.
Biography[]
Tragic Backstory[]
According to himself, he was once a minimum wage worker at the Swatter Incorporated factory, a factory dedicated to the creation and manufacturing of anti-pest (which is to say, anti-bug) objects, including, of course, the flyswatter. One fateful day, Thomas, being the only one unaware of the environmental hazard that were the conveyor belts, "accidentally tripped" into a one and was put directly inside a "Flyswatter-maker-machine-thingy," disfiguring him and turning him into Thomas Flyswatter after an excruciating process. Thomas somehow finds Bugbo and all other bugs to blame, and becomes his arch-nemesis.
The visuals given to us by the episode, however, tell us a different story: Thomas' life-changing "incident" seems completely on purpose. Not only does he lay on the conveyor belt himself, but there was also a button to stop it not too far ahead. Either Thomas knew of this and there's some deeper intricate meaning to this, or he is simply dumb enough to do all of that accidentally. The latter is probably true.
Under the Oak[]
In the post-credits scene for Bugbo: Under the Oak, Thomas makes an off-screen appearance, throwing a dart at a board with Bugbo's face on it. After he hits the spot, Thomas says "I Hate Bugs!"
A Familiar Foe[]
Flyswatter finally strikes and exacts his revenge on Bugbo by kidnapping him during his favorite day: Wrecking Ball day. He does so using some sort of flying vehicle akin to a stereotypical spaceship with a cage attached to its bottom. Thomas evilly laughs as he transports Bugbo to his evil lair atop of Mount Bobo, but not before dropping a ransom letter to his acquaintances to announce that he has indeed been kidnapped, or rather, BUGnapped, and that they have only 12 bug-hours to find him or else he will be killed by a trap of his own design.
While Bugbo's acquaintances try their absolute best to find Bugbo all over the globe while singing a song about finding him, Thomas evilly contrasts by singing a song about killing him under the same tune. Cloaked to hide his identity, he explains the evil yet genius nature of his plans to Bugbo: Once the timer on his trap counts down to Bug-Zero, the contraption will activate and kill him via a giant flyswatter. If his friends do arrive in time, they will be forced to see him die before likely dying themselves; and if they don't, Bugbo will die knowing that his friends never cared enough to find him. Bugbo expressed the importance of friends to the viewer, telling them that those without friends become bitter, spiteful, egocentric lunatics, which seemingly upsets Thomas to the point he shuts him up.
Once Gerbo and Gradient Joe arrive to the evil lair thanks to the help of the Red Brother and the various items he provided with his Blue Mushroom, Thomas tries to stall them by releasing bees from a trap. He fails to realize that bees are also a bug and that they will just fly pass them, and fly pass them they did, which left the coast clear for them to enter. The duo finally reunites with Bugbo, but when they're about to go down to where he was being held captive, Thomas, now uncloaked but still cleverly disguised with a fake moustache, stops them.
Gerbo asks who he is, prompting a conversation that makes Thomas realize that neither Bugbo or his friends even know him despite his attempts to antagonize them for several [UNSPECIFIED AMOUNT OF TIME]s, not even without his clever moustache disguise off. This only makes their self-proclaimed arch-nemesis angrier, who explains how his evil contraption creation thingy works to the trio and how it relates to his thirst for revenge. Gerbo asks what made him evil like this, which makes Thomas explain his tragic backstory to the crew. Instead of giving the expected pity feeling that everyone should feel when a villain explains his backstory, however, Gerbo tries to reason with Thomas, saying that his story doesn't justify his mean actions.
Thomas completely disregards the spider's commentary about his backstory and actions, making Gerbo realize that Thomas is truly a force that cannot be reasoned with and sadly needs to be stopped violently. Before Gerbo and Gradient Joe could execute their plan to save Bugbo, he had already switched places with Thomas using his iconic reality warping shape-shifting abilities. Thomas, now captured in his own trap, begs to the trio to stay and save him while spouting stereotypical supervillain phrases, to no avail.
Thomas' fate is unknown, though he likely died from his own trap or from the wrecking ball that destroyed his evil lair moments later.
Quotes[]
| “ | Grrr... I hate bugs. | „ |
| ~ Thomas showing his hatred towards bugs. |
| “ | Thomas: Bugbo... I'm going to kill you... I'm going to end your life (Bugbo: It appears I've gotten myself into quite the cucumber.) You're gonna DIE! Bugbo: Oh my! Thomas: A cucumber indeed, my friend, or should I say, my enemy! Bugbo: Oh my! Thomas: (Laughs like a villain) |
„ |
| ~ Thomas self-proclaiming as Bugbo's enemy. |
| “ | QUIET, you troublesome creature! If I didn't have such a genius foolproof plan, I'd activate the device RIGHT NOW! AND DESTROY YOU! | „ |
| ~ Thomas threatening Bugbo to kill him if he wasn't smart enough to have a plan. |
| “ | Well, well, well, it seems you two have fallen directly into my trap, now it is time for me to unleash the bees! | „ |
| ~ Thomas unleashing the bees to attempt to hunt Gerbo and Gradient Joe. |
| “ | Thomas: NOT! So fast, bugs! Gerbo: Who are you? Thomas: What? You don't recognize me? Well, perhaps THIS will jog your memory! (Thomas removes his disguise, then laughs) That's right, it was I, Thomas Flyswatter once again! You thought you could get rid of me last time, but I'm back! Gerbo: Joe, who is thisstrange man? Bugbo: You're very peculiar whoever you are. Thomas: What do you mean? It's me, your arch nemesis, your Familiar Foe! Bugbo: I don't recognize you, I don't know who you are. |
„ |
| ~ Thomas realizing that Bugbo, Gerbo and Gradient Joe don't recognize him, also his most popular quote. |
| “ | BAH HUMBUG! Or should I say, HARM-bug! Because now that you're here, I'm going to harm Bugbo, you three have the privilege of seeing my device in action, this giant flyswatter will swat this fly like an orange in a juicer! And then I will finally have my revenge, REVENGE! | „ |
| ~ Thomas explaining his trap. |
| “ | Well, you see, when I was a young man, I was a minimum wage employee at Swatter Incorporated, a factory that specialized in the creation of pest-killing implements, such as the flyswatter. It was a dangerous environment that much everyone knew. Everyone, except me. Nobody warned me about the dangers of the conveyor belts, on one fateful day of making flyswatters, I tripped and fell onto the conveyor belt in front of me. I couldn't get off it! It sent me directly into the mouth of the flyswatter-maker-machine thingy. I went through the worst torture you could ever imagine. I was crushed, melted and spun around really fast. After the machine was done, I came out as a flyswatter. I was permanently changed. And from that day owned, I've DESPISED Bugbo and wanted to make him and all bugs like him, pay for what he did to me. And there you have it, that's why I am, THOMAS, FLYSWATTER! | „ |
| ~ Thomas explaining his tragic backstory. |
| “ | Why would I listen to an eight-legged FOOL?! | „ |
| ~ Thomas insulting Gerbo. |
| “ | Thomas: You may have bested me fair and square THIS time, Bugbo, but mark my words, I WILL BE BACK, I WILL GET YOU, I WILL GET YOU SOMEDAY! Bugbo: Sorry pal, it seems you've swatted your last fly. Thomas: NO, BUGBO! You and I aren't so different! join me! Together we could accomplish so much, you and I, Bugbo, YOU AND I! It's not my fault, Bugbo, it's yours! I'm not even bad Bugbo, you're the real villaain here, you! If you kill me, you'll be just as bad as me, worse! If you kill me, you'll never know the truth about your father! |
„ |
| ~ Thomas begging Bugbo to stay and save him by saying every stereotypical supervillainous lines, also presumably his last words before dying. |
Trivia[]
- It is unknown if "Thomas Flyswatter" was his birth name or a nickname that he took on after his disfiguration.
See Also[]
- Thomas Flyswatter on the Bugbo Wiki
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Template:Bugbo Villains