Thomas Connor/novel

"We've not seen one like this before."
The article's subject originates from the Bendy novel series' continuity, which is not deemed as canonically part of the main series' lore. See Bendy Wiki:Canon for more information.

Thomas Connor
Canon  •  Novel
Biography information
Date of birth	Unknown
Date of death	Unknown
Age	Unknown (adult)
Sex	Male
Eye color	Unknown
Hair color	Unknown
Relatives	Mr. Frederick Pendle (father-in-law) Mrs. Frederick Pendle (mother-in-law) Allison Connor (wife)
Career information
Occupation	Manager of the Gent storefront Repairman Gent representative
Companies	United States Armed Forces (formerly) Gent Gent storefront Joey Drew Studios
Appearances
Bendy: Dreams Come to Life Bendy: The Lost Ones Bendy: Fade to Black (mentioned only)

"He fired me because it wasn’t my fault. He fired me to blame anyone but himself. But he still kept the machine. Even though. And that’s Gent’s invention, I helped invent it, and he took away my rights, my design, everything." — Thomas Connor.

Thomas J. Connor is a repairman, World War II veteran, manager of the Gent location in Atlantic City, and the husband of Allison Pendle. A worker tasked with making sure the endless piping of the Ink Machine stays in top form, he becomes frustrated with how unstable the system is as time goes on. He also tries to dissuade other workers from entering the unstable areas.

History

Early life

Thomas Connor served in World War II, creating and fixing machinery. Eventually, he gets a job at the Gent Corporation, and becomes the manager of the Gent storefront in Atlantic City.

Inventing the machine

After Joey Drew Studios hires Gent, they commission the firm to build a machine that would mold life-sized figures. Originally working at the Atlantic City location, Thomas designs and invents said machine at the location. After its invention, it gets shipped to the animation studio to be installed and Thomas gets an office at the studio near the Administration lobby.

Working at the studio

Contributing with the studio, Thomas faces some a lot of issues. First, he complains about the endless floods of ink contaminating the structure of Joey Drew Studios, remarking that the pipes simply can't hold the volume. He also thinks that the Ink Machine, and all the things that have happened because of it, just does not seem natural. He declares that he will no longer do any more repair work for Joey.

Thomas tried to explain to Wally Franks what to do when the ink pressure reaches 45, seemingly impatient and frustrated about both the confusion and Wally's misunderstanding about what to do in relation to the ink pressure. In the end, Wally then aggravatingly declares if he has to do his own work as well as Thomas', he will leave.

Thomas aggravates that the studio's elevators are yet more devices that keep breaking down. He assumes that it is because Joey was ignoring the safety of using the elevator that someone will fall to their death if not changed. He remarks that he would not be that "someone" and will, therefore, take the stairs.

Office report and the Ink Demon's birth

Thomas makes a progress report to the Gent home office, stating that their client's expectations keep changing, despite making progress with the Ink Machine's ability to create realistic cartoon characters. He then states that the machine is now teetering on "the edge of magic" compared to proper engineering, though Joey is convinced that magic and engineering are one and the same. He then reports that progress with the film reels being used by the Ink Machine to create the characters is so far going well, and they had several near-successes. Thomas reveals that the first creation of the Ink Machine was, in fact, a failed attempt to create a real-life version of Bendy, and no one at Gent has ever attempted a second try.

Later on, Thomas was told by Joey to lock the Ink Demon up in order to prevent him from getting publicly seen, due to the creature's appearance and behavior.

Meeting Buddy and temporary firing

In late July of 1946, Joey Drew cuts a tour of the studio with Daniel "Buddy" Lewek short when he discovers Thomas waiting for him outside his office. With him is a long narrow cardboard tube, which makes Joey extremely excited. Joey escorts Thomas into his office for an important meeting, leaving Buddy alone. Buddy doesn't encounter Thomas again until a few weeks later. While taking paper and ink from the music sheet closet in the Music Department, he hears voices approaching and hides. The voices belong to Sammy Lawrence and Thomas, and Buddy overhears an argument between them. Thomas has seen Sammy sneaking around his work station and the machine, and knew that he had asked one of his workers where the ink was kept just last Friday. Sammy tries to convince Thomas he doesn't want the ink, but only makes things worse by grabbing Thomas and calling him "Tom."

Weeks later, Sammy goes missing and the musicians are locked out of the Music Room. Three days later, Joey furiously yells at Thomas over the Ink Machine not working right and fires him. A week later, at Joey's company party, Thomas and Allison Pendle arrive to demand the Ink Machine back. Joey takes them into the hallway, with Buddy following. Joey belittles Thomas, blaming him for the issues with the Ink Machine, before telling him that he legally owns it and threatens to call security. Joey turns his attention to Allison and fires her for siding with Thomas, but she calmly brushes it off and convinces Thomas to leave.

Hoping to get more answers about the machine, Buddy catches Thomas and Allison before they get in the elevator to leave. He grabs Thomas by the shoulder, resulting in a rather violent reaction from the man, but Allison is able to get him to calm down a bit. Thomas reluctantly proceeds to explain what the machine was built for. Allison compares it to a printing press for people, much to Thomas's disapproval, and he tells her what he created was monstrous. He then explains the reasoning Joey fired him, and how unfair it is that he's taking the machine. Allison brings up Susie Campbell, making Thomas sigh, before quickly moving on to explaining how Joey owns everything they make at the studio. They leave, and as the elevator door closes Thomas warns Buddy to get out while he still can.

Rehiring

Thomas Connor is approached by Joey Drew, who offers him his job back in order to fix the machine. Despite everything that happened, Thomas agrees to, much to Allison's disappointment. As part of the deal, Thomas and a crew of movers pack away the Ink Machine to get it away from prying eyes and a "far too curious writer girl" in the studio. While moving it, he bumps into Wally Franks, who is shocked to see Thomas working again. Wally tries asking a few questions and having a small chat with Thomas, but he can tell he wants to leave so he lets him go.

Thomas gets seasick while transporting the machine, and he thinks about his favorite super hero, Superman. He loves heroes that save the day from evil, and begins to think about the machine. He's scared of it, but he can't abandon it. He compares it to a growing child, needing some fixing to make it perfect. They're so close, and he doesn't want to abandon 'a miracle.' The rest of the trip goes by just fine, with them arriving late at night with no one except Constance Gray noticing the boat.

With Scott's help, they find an old meatpacking factory that operated during Prohibition with multiple secret entrances. The movers are having difficulty carrying the crate down some stairs, and when Thomas takes control he notes that the crate is now moaning, and instantly concludes that Ink Demon has been shipped with the machine due to a special connection. As he carries it down, he thinks about how grateful he is that Scott has remained in Atlantic City while others have moved to bigger cities.

The next day, Scott takes Bill Chambers to a jazz bar called the Jive Dive to meet Thomas. Thomas reluctantly introduces himself and is confused to hear that Bill wants to work for free. They sit down and Scott asks Thomas about how well things went the previous night, expressing his disapproval of Thomas going back to Joey. Scott makes a remark about dumping the machine in the ocean, and Thomas starts to speak about the dangers of ink and water mixing, but stops himself before turning to Bill and officially hiring him.

Thomas returns to New York for over two weeks before returning to Atlantic City. There, he comes across Bill locking up. Thomas asks about Scott, and Bill explains that he's home caring for his ill baby. Thomas is upset and Bill offers to help, but Thomas isn't sure if he can be trusted. Eventually he decides to let Bill help and leads him to the abandoned meatpacking factory and down a secret path that leads to the Ink Machine. Thomas has Bill go to the opposite end of the Ink Machine to control the internal pressures while he welded. As they work, Bill asks about the machine, but Thomas stays vague with his answers. Thomas instructs Bill to release the lever, but when he does he's sprayed in the face with ink. Thomas quickly hands Bill a rag and has him clean it off as fast as possible. They look at the Ink Machine as Thomas tells Bill that it created a monster and he begins speaking in third person to keep vague. Bill is confused, so Thomas tells him that Joey Drew had him make the machine, but it's still his fault bad things are happening. Before Bill can ask more, Thomas begins to leave and Bill follows.

The morning after his party with Joey, Bill waits at the hotel to spy on him and Thomas. When they start to leave, Bill jumps up to chase after, accidentally running right into Thomas. Thomas helps Bill up and has him tag along, potentially needing his help. Joey isn't sure at first, but Thomas explains that Bill knows about the machine already. They join Thomas in his truck and drive to a little corner bar called The Way Out. Bill is at first relieved, not wanting to return to the factory after watching Brant explode into ink, but it's revealed that they're using a second entrance. They walk across a dark room with a long conveyor belt when Bill is suddenly attacked by a crazed Scott, who is drenched in ink. He screams about a monster as Thomas pulls him off, and Joey orders Thomas to silence him. Scott freaks out more, screaming and frantically laughing at Joey before biting Thomas's hand and running into a wall.

Satisfied, Joey takes the flashlight and continues walking as Thomas puts Scott in a more comfortable position. Bill asks about the monster, but Thomas simply says he already told him about it. Bill begs for answers, but Thomas says he can't answer them as they need to get the machine fixed and returned to New York as soon as possible. Bill refuses to keep going and Thomas calls after him as he runs in the opposite direction, but he doesn't try chasing after.

Searching for the machine

At some point, the Ink Machine goes missing much to the surprise of Thomas as he searched the whole studio for it. After the machine gets reported to be missing, a not readable newspaper about it gets published with the headlines reading "COMPANY SEEKS MISSING MACHINE." Thomas then writes a memo to an unknown individual, talking about his concern of the Ink Machine leaking somewhere it shouldn't, and asking them if they know where the machine is and telling them to continue looking for it if not.

Joey Drew Studios close to closure

As Joey Drew Studios gets close to bankruptcy, Thomas realizes this as people are packing things up and tool are going missing because of the chaos. During this, he tries to keep the Ink Machine safe as Gent continues their research, with Alan Gray also acknowledging Joey Drew Studios' inevitable closure.

Aftermath

On February 23, 1952, Thomas and Allison are married by the First Light Presbyterian Church. Other than that, at an unconfirmed date, both are later trapped in the Cycle and transformed into a caricature of cartoon characters (Thomas as Tom and Allison as Allison Angel), as to how it really happened remains unknown.

Characteristics

Physical appearance

Thomas was described as a tall and broad man by Buddy.

In the graphic novel adaptation, Thomas is depicted as Caucasian with a short lineup haircut.

Personality

A master at his craft, Thomas is a disgruntled, ill-tempered, no-nonsense repairman with trust issues. In his audio recordings, his tone suggests that he is fed up about struggling against the workings of the Ink Machine for quite a long time, eventually declaring that he refuses to do anything more about it. Despite his volatile disposition, he is shown to be a hard worker and a careful observer, as revealed in his report-of-sorts to the Gent Corporation's as-of-yet unseen flagship headquarters. In terms of social skills, he had hardly a kind word for anyone, except for his superiors at Gent and Allison Pendle.

Despite his normally serious, ill-tempered demeanor, deep inside, he is despondent, brooding, and nervous. He also seems to lack a sense of kindness to Wally Franks. However, after his firing and rehiring, he seems to get more careless in terms of morality, since he is completely willing to get the Ink Machine to Atlantic City to fix and continue the experiments, claiming that what he was doing was the right thing. Although, this cloud be because he wanted to fix the machine to save people from the more "devastating" fates.

Thomas also seems to get quite violent, since he intimidatingly stepped towards Buddy after he mentioned the Ink Machine, and threatened to make Bill "regret" if he told anyone about the machine. Whether he would actually hurt them or if he was bluffing to keep them under control is unclear. He also seems to dislike people grabbing him, stating that "no one could grab him" and getting angry after Sammy does so.

Documents

Audio logs

• "Log #1" - Found in Part I: Chapter 1 of Joey Drew Studios Employee Handbook.
• "Log #2" - Found in Part I: Chapter 3 of Joey Drew Studios Employee Handbook.
• "Log #3" - Found in Part I: Chapter 3 of Joey Drew Studios Employee Handbook.
• "Log #4" - Found in Part I: Chapter 5 of Joey Drew Studios Employee Handbook.

Memos

• "Business As Usual" - Found in Part III: Chapter 1 of Joey Drew Studios Updated Employee Handbook.
• "Memo to Staff Regarding Utility Shafts" - Found in Part I: Chapter 2 of Joey Drew Studios Employee Handbook.

Behind the scenes

First seen in Bendy: Dreams Come to Life, Thomas is a side character in said novel. Appearing several times throughout the story with there being hints to his role, most importantly him being revealed to be the Ink Machine's creator. In Bendy: The Lost Ones, Thomas is a major character with a lot more relevance. He is revealed to be a manager at the Gent Corporation and his personality is expanded on. He is only briefly mentioned by Allison in Bendy: Fade to Black, revealing the grudge Joey holds towards Thomas to the point where he didn't allow him to join his parties against Allison's will.

Identity

In Dreams Come to Life, the argument scene between Sammy and Thomas was misinterpreted by some members of the fan community that Thomas was implied to be an African-American due to the way Sammy discriminates him. However, Foxygen Prime, who was Joey Drew Studios Inc's ex community manager, had stated that Sammy just discriminates Thomas as a repairman. This interpretation was also debunked in the graphic novel adaptation. Additionally, in the graphic novel version, Sammy did not said "What's that mean, 'someone like you'?" to Thomas but instead said "Leave me alone."