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My mum and dad have been shouting at each other for ages. All they ever do is fight. Now they're splitting up and fighting about that. I don't care about either of them anymore. I don't think I even look like them. So I think I understand what you're saying, and I hope you find out something good about your dad, because right now I can't think of anything good about mine

—Tom reveals his sad and serious side while discussing his parents divorce after agreeing to help Alex

Tom Harris is the best friend of Alex Rider. He appears in Scorpia, SnakeheadScorpia Rising and Nightshade and is mentioned in Ark Angel.

Appearance[]

He has blue eyes and black, spiked hair, and is described as being very small.

Life[]

Tom wasn't interested in any school subjects and was regularly bottom in everything. But the best thing about him was he didn't care. He was always cheerful, and even the teachers had to admit that he was fun to be with. And what Tom lacked in the classroom, he made up for on the sports field

—Alex Rider regarding Tom's personality

He was bullied for two consecutive years before Alex set the bullies straight. Tom is now the captain of the football team at Brookland, the school which both he and Alex attend. Tom Harris is the only person at Brookland who knows about Alex's occupation involving MI6, having been let into the secret by Alex himself during a train ride in the book Scorpia. He was confided in after providing a distraction that allowed Alex to slip unnoticed into the Widow's Palace, home of Julia Rothman.

Unlike Sabina Pleasure, Tom believed Alex's story straight away. He and his brother were also involved in helping Alex to BASE jump into a high-security compound in the same book. (See Scorpia for more details)

In Scorpia Rising, Tom is shot in the arm when Alan Blunt sends a faux sniper to force Alex to flee to Cairo, thus setting his plan of disbanding SCORPIA into motion.

Relationships[]

Harris has an older brother named Jerry Harris whom he was sent to stay with after a school trip in Venice. Their parents are currently in a messy divorce and constantly fighting. Alex Rider is his best mate.

Differences in the TV series[]

Season One[]

Tom actually plays a role in the events of Point Blanc, as opposed to entering the series much later. Tom is Alex's steadfast friend, and for example is seen comforting Alex as he is coerced into working for MI6. This connection motivates Dr. Greif to have Parker Roscoe kidnap and interrogate Tom for information regarding Alex, which ultimately blows Parker's cover and allows MI6 to arrest Parker. At the climax of the season, a clone doppelgänger of Alex also targets Tom for his connection to Alex, torturing Tom in order to get at Alex in vengeance for the destruction of his clone family. The conflict culminates in MI6 being unable to discern which Alex is the "real" Alex, which Tom resolves by decisively attacking the clone, recognizing him instantly, thereby allowing for the clone to be eliminated.

Trivia[]

  • Tom and his brother Jerry often gripe about how bad it was of their parents to name them after the cartoon Tom and Jerry.
Scorpia Characters
Main Characters
Alex RiderAlan BluntTulip JonesJack StarbrightJulia RothmanNile
Other Key Characters
Graham AdairSmithersMark KellnerGeorge AdairTom HarrisJerry HarrisHarold Liebermann
Snakehead Characters
Main Characters
Alex RiderTulip JonesJack StarbrightEthan BrookeAshMajor Winston Yu
Other Key Characters
SmithersBen DanielsSabina PleasureBill TannerAnan SukitHermann De WynterMarc Damon
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