Tom (Tom and Jerry)

Tom
Tom and Jerry character
Tom's design in the Hanna-Barbera shorts.
First appearance	Puss Gets the Boot February 10, 1940
Created by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Voiced by	Clarence Nash (1940–1943) Harry E. Lang (1941-1953) William Hanna (1941–1958) Allen Swift (1961–1962) Mel Blanc (1946–1967) John Stephenson (1975) Frank Welker (1980-1993) Richard Kind (1992) Don Brown (2006-2008) Jeff Bennett (2002) Bill Kopp (2005) Shun Yashiro, Kaneta Kimotsuki, and Setsuji Satō (Japanese)
Information
Full name	Thomas Jasper Cat
Species	Cat
Gender	Male
Relatives	George (identical cousin)

Thomas "Tom" Cat is a fictional character and one of the title characters (the other being Jerry Mouse) in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's series of Tom and Jerry theatrical cartoon short films. Created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, Tom is a blue/grey anthropomorphic domestic short-haired cat who first appeared in the 1940 MGM animated short Puss Gets the Boot. Tom was originally known as "Jasper" during his debut in that short; however, beginning with his next appearance in The Midnight Snack he is known as "Tom" or "Thomas".

His full name, "Tom Cat", is based on "tomcat", a phrase which refers to male cats. He is very rarely heard speaking with the exception of a few cartoons (such as 1943's The Lonesome Mouse and Tom and Jerry: The Movie). His only notable vocal sounds outside of this are his various screams whenever he is subject to pain or panic. He is continuously after Jerry Mouse, for whom he sets traps, many of which backfire and cause damage to him rather than Jerry. His trademark scream was provided by creator William Hanna.

Tom has changed over the years upon his evolution, especially after the first episodes. For example, in his debut, he was quadrupedal and had normal cat intelligence. However, over the years (since the episode Dog Trouble), he has become almost completely bipedal and has human intelligence and he is similar to his previous appearance, in 1945 shorts he had twisted whiskers and his appearance kept changing. In the 1940s and early 1950s, he had white fur between his eyes. In newer cartoons, the white fur is gone. As a slapstick cartoon character, Tom has a superhuman level of elasticity. Tom is usually defeated (or very rarely, killed, like in Mouse Trouble, where he explodes) in the end, although there are some stories where he outwits and defeats Jerry.