| “ | Wow, look at all the attachements I have! This is amazing! | „ |
| ~ The Tin Woodman after his story is restored in Jack of Fables #31 — "The Book of Reversals: The Books of War, Volume Four" |
The Tin Woodman is a Fable who is a prisoner at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village. He first appears in flashbacks in Fables #4 — "Chapter Four: Remembrance Day."
History
The exodus
The Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow met a young girl, Dorothy Gale, during her adventures in Oz.[2] The four were eventually driven out of the Homelands when the Adversary's territory expanded.[3] The Tin Man, the Lion, the Scarecrow and Jack Pumpkinhead found themselves running through the forest alongside a large crowd of Fable people, closely pursued by the Adversary's troops.[4]
The Lion, the Tin Woodman, Dorothy and Toto were on the run from the Adversary's forces for years, before the group made it into the mundane world in the year of 1943.[3]
Life in the mundane world
Dorothy abandoning the Tin Woodsman and the Cowardly Lion in the Jersey Pine Barrens
Dorothy met with Snow White and Bigby Wolf at Fabletown but was repulsed by the Fabletown Compact and refused to sign. Though Snow believed it was because Dorothy did not want to see her friends sent to the Farm,[3] it was actually because Dorothy discovered that the Compact was too confining for her requirements, as it restricted her in ways she found unacceptable. She refused to allow her hands to be bound in such a manner.[2] She stormed out of Fabletown.[3]
The Cowardly Lion and the Tin Woodman decided to live out on the Jersey Pine Barrens rather than staying at the Farm, while Dorothy went on to live as a killer for hire among the mundys. Colin the pig encountered them in the woods during one of his occasional getaways from the Farm. He proposed to escort them to Fabletown, yet they politely refused, appearing to anticipate Dorothy's return to fetch them. Unfortunately, she never did.[5] The truth was that she had deserted them, recognizing their presence as a hindrance that would only delay her ambitions of becoming a proficient assassin for hire.[2]
Prisoner at the Golden Boughs
Years later, the Tin Man and the Lion were captured by Mister Revise's people and imprisoned at the Golden Boughs Retirement Village.[6] The Tin Man used to have all sorts of appendages attached to his body, including tin cannons, a rotating saw and a large drill, which were all removed when he was revised.[7]
Dorothy was also eventually and was imprisoned at the village where she was thrown down Revise's memory hole. When she emerged, she had been stripped of most of her memories and was again the same innocent girl she had been so long ago.[2] The Lion, the Tin Man and Dorothy remain prisoners for years.[2]
One day, as Sam leads the new prisoner Jack Horner to his cottage, the Lion can be spotted anxiously peering out the window of his own cottage, hidden behind the curtain.[6] Eventually, the Lion, along with, the Tin Woodman, Dorothy Gale, the Scarecrow and Toto flee the village during the mass escape orchestrated by Jack Horner, but Toto is killed and eaten by one of Robin Page's tigers.[8] Unfortunately, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion are ultimately apprehended and returned. Dorothy is also captured at a later time.[9]
Bookburner's attack
Jack is enthusiastically supported by the Tin Man and many other prisoners as he assumes the responsibility of leading the defense against the army of Bookburner.[10] In a last-ditch effort to defeat Bookburner, Mr. Revise makes the decision to allow the Fables' original stories to be reinstated,[11] and distributes copies of the book containing them to everyone.[7]
Hillary Page gifts the Tin Man his own book, entitled Tin Woodman of Oz. She reveals that these are his true tales, ones that were censored and altered in the revised version. As he carefully flips through the pages, he is miraculously restored with all of his appendages intact.[7] He is amazed at all the attachment he has, and Jack asks if he has any useful ones, and the Tin Man confidently states that he does. He shows Dorothy the one she really liked, asking if she remembers it, and she is impressed and wonders how she could have forgotten it.[12]
In the snowy forest near the besieged Golden Boughs, the Tin Man joins in the battle,[12] and devises a plan to dig them out of their predicament.[13] Carl, the fourth of the Three Little Pigs, starts to dig into the ground. Meanwhile, the Tin Mark makes a flippant comment, "You call that digging? That's nothin'. I have attachments."[12] Following the intense battle, Carl offers his congratulations to the Tin Man for coming up with the idea of digging them out. However, the Tin Man humbly credits Carl for being just as instrumental in the plan.[13]
Dino Diner
Nevertheless, this proves to be insufficient. Following a volcanic eruption caused by Mr. Revise in an attempt to halt Bookburner, resulting in the destruction of the Golden Boughs, the Tin Man, and various other Fables, all embark on a stolen bus. After a lengthy trip, they eventually come to a halt at Dino Diner.[13]
He and the rest of the group are seated quietly while Jack makes a phone call to Snow White and Bigby Wolf, urgently requesting their presence due to a grave situation at hand. The looming threat of Kevin Thorn, known as the Author, possesses the power to erase them all effortlessly with a mere stroke of his pen.[14] As Snow and Bigby enter the diner, they find everyone still seated inside.[15]
Shortly afterward, the Tin Man watches through the window as the Page sisters decide to take matters into their own hands and leave the others to fight Thorn and his group.[16]
Decades later, the remaining Fables have turned Dino Diner into an amusement park. The Lion admits to the Tin Man he is so sick of this place he could eat someone. They talk about how Dorothy struck off on her own may years ago. The Lion mentions that she got "all dark," and the Tin Man responds that Dorothy always was "kind of creepy."[17] Unbeknown to both, she got her memories back when the Golden Boughs were destroyed, along with the memory hole.[2] Raven gathers everyone for a meeting and tells the others that the bird spirit has showed him the way to Fabletown, and the group sets off to find the place.[17] The group follows the spirit for days, until they reach their destination.[18]
Death
The group finds themselves in the middle of a battle between Jack Frost, and Jack Horner in dragon form. Raven lies to the others and convinces them to protect the dragon, saying the dragon is the only one who knows the secret way to Fabletown. Everyone soon realizes that they have been tricked when Jacks kills several of them, believing that they are out to steal his treasure.[1]
The Lion informs the Tin Man that Raven has deceived them; the dragon is on the move, breathing fire and destruction, and it is their responsibility to defeat it. The Tin Man admits to having an untested attachment that he is unsure of its function, but decides now is the perfect time to try it out. The attachment causes nearby cows to explode into the air, and he labels it as a bad attachment, adding "Oh, the bovinity!" Jack Frost believes that the Tin Man is on the dragon's side and kills him by chopping off his head. His last words are spoken to his faithful companion, assuring that when they reunite, it will be on Oz.[1]
Alternate universe
An alternate version of the Tin Woodman appears in The Unwritten Fables, which takes place in an alternate universe where Mister Dark was never defeated. As Mister Dark's army launches an attack on the remaining citizens of Fabletown at the magic grove in Haven, the Tin Man fights valiantly on the side of the Fables.[19]
Appearances
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Original source
He is based on the Tin Woodman from the children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and its many sequels. In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy Gale befriends the Tin Woodman after she finds him rusted in the forest, as he was caught in rain, and use his oil can to release him. He follows her to the Emerald City to get a heart from the Wizard. They are joined on their adventure by the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion. The Wizard sends Dorothy and her friends to the Winkie Country to kill the Wicked Witch of the West. The Tin Woodman's axe proves useful in this journey, both for chopping wood to create a bridge or raft as needed, and for chopping the heads off animals that threaten the party. When the Winged Monkeys are sent by the Witch of the West against the group, they throw the Tin Woodman from a great height, damaging him badly. Winkie tinsmiths repair him after the death of the Witch.
References