A disturbingly comprehensive guide to the Thomas abuse that happens during the series. This is just in case you want to know why I set up SOS. You know, other than to fill that dark void in my soul. ::cough::
(Things in italics are the good yet unexpected things that happen to our beloved Lt. Schubaltz.)

35. The Secret Mission
No Thomas.

36. Sniper
No Thomas.

37. The Blue Devil
No Thomas. There is Riese, who is cool in her own way, but she's still not Thomas.

38. The Steel Bison
Finally! Thomas! And it’s the only episode with a Thomas-related name!
1. Medium-strength Zoid damage.
2. Van verbal abuse.
3. Fiona actually treats him well and compliments him. This doesn’t last.
4. Karl reminds Thomas to follow military protocol. This is acceptable. He tells Van and Fiona that Thomas is “difficult.” This is not.

39. The Invisible Enemy
1. Small Zoid damage in first battle.
2. Medium Zoid damage in second battle. Van has to save his bacon at one point, but Thomas returns the favor.
3. Van and Thomas get the jump on some bad guys. This is good. The bad guys in turn get the jump on them. This is bad.
4. Just as Van and Thomas are about to free themselves, Fiona and Zeke come to the rescue anyway. This is good. The rescue goes very, very wrong and ends with them running away from a lit stick of dynamite stuck to Zeke. This is bad.
5. Beek may get the respect, but Thomas sure doesn’t. I like to think that Van and Thomas’ rivalry becomes good-natured in the end.

40. The Zoid Hunters
1. The episode starts out with the Dibison getting in way over its head. It is disabled. This does not bode well for the rest of the season. Count this as the first time the Dibison gets totaled. It's not the last.
2. Various Thomas verbal abuse.

41. The Devil's Maze
1. Big. Ass. Dibison. Damage. By his own brother, no less. Count this as number two.
2. We learn about poor Thomas’ inferiority complex. And how Karl never accepted Thomas as a soldier. But because of this we do get to see Thomas as a squealer, so it's not all bad.
3. Van teases Thomas a lot, but he accidentally hurts Thomas’ feelings. He feels bad about it, though. As well he should. You know, take Fiona out of the picture and Van and Thomas have a really good relationship.
4. Karl says he’s proud of Thomas, and doesn’t complain about his non-military attitude. How nice.
5. And in the end, after saving the day and his brother…Thomas falls flat on his face in front of Fiona while Van and Karl laugh at him.

42. Raven
1. Small damage to Dibison.
2. Thomas reveals his personal feelings about Raven and related topics, and doesn’t get made fun of.
3. The writers gave him the lines “I think she still likes me” and “So what’s the plan, Van?” If that’s not abuse, I don’t know what is.

43. The Emperor's Holiday
1. Thomas gets hit twice in the face by Lady Marianne’s hat.
2. I think a lot of Lady Marianne’s “help” constitutes as abuse.
3. As does Fiona’s cluelessness.
4. Zeke, however, sees the light. He then attempts to express his affection rather, erm, excessively.
5. Major emotional damage, but in the end he comes out stronger and wiser for it.
6. Small damage during first battle.
7. Bonus points to this episode for starring Stinger as the bad guy. He's a sadist and he looks great doing it. He may be evil, but he's so fun to watch! I miss his bugnuks, though. Where'd they go?
8. In the last two minutes…DAMN YOU, RAVEN! See, the thing is, I like Raven. And I like Thomas. So when the two fight, I can’t decide who to root for. This marks the first time the Dibison is truly, truly totaled. It’s the third time it receives major damage. He's only been here for seven episodes. The destruction of the Dibison has only been going on for five episodes. Someone doesn't like him.

44. Assault of the Mega Monster
1. We see the Dibison’s last stagger, but I'm counting this as a continuation from the previous episode. Fortunately, Moonbay rescues Thomas and the Zoid.
2. Thomas remains unconscious for the duration of the episode.
3. Van is the only one who visits Thomas in the hospital. The only one. Fiona doesn’t even seem that concerned. This is where I started thinking that Thomas could do better. And remember what I said about Thomas and Van actually having a good relationship? Van really looks like he cares about Thomas. (I don't mean it romantically. They don't have that 'feel.')

45. The Wings of Darkness
1. Have you seen Thomas? I sure haven’t.

46. The Devil of the Sea
1. Thomas? Oh, Thomas? Where are you? Not here.

47. A Monster Awakens
1. Thomas is back, but still bandaged.
2. Raven insults him. Karl yells at him. All within ten seconds of each other. I think Thomas needs a hug.
3. Medium Zoid damage.

48. The Black Lightning
1. Major Zoid damage. At least it wasn’t entirely his fault—he wasn’t piloting it at the time. This marks the fourth time the Dibison is this badly damaged.
2. Thomas is knocked out,
3. Tied up,
4. And left next to a time bomb. Come on, people! He finally lost the bandages this episode! Don’t give him more! This was about the point when I started thinking about setting up SOS.

49. The Distant Stars
1. Only verbal abuse this time. Irvine joins in the fun.

50. Attack of the Geno Breaker
1. Medium Zoid damage. The Dibison runs out of ammo.
2. Thomas is built up, then shot down by Fiona. Irvine and Moonbay join in the teasing.
3. Apparently, some officials think that Thomas is expendable, and it would actually be beneficial if Raven were to take either him or Irvine out. I need to have a few words with those people.

51. The Boy from the Ruins
1. Irvine tells Thomas that Fiona loves Van. Ouch. After the shock wears off, he’s actually rather good about it.
2. But it’s still painful for him to see Fiona and Van together. Irvine teases him about this. The abuse never ends.

52. Van's New Power
1. The only Thomas abuse is that there is no continuity from the previous episode. He’s just…sort of…there. I count this neglect of his character as abuse. Because I have nothing else. But, really, isn’t being ignored the worst type of abuse? No, no it’s not. But it sounded good, didn’t it?

53. Phantom
1. Thomas and Van work well together, and don’t even insult each other. Maybe it’s because Fiona isn’t around for most of the episode.

54. G-File
1. Is there anything more abusive than a clip show? They even showed the clip of Thomas’ Dibison being blasted by the Genosaurer. And I had just suppressed that traumatic memory, too!
2. Karl once again asks Thomas to be more formal. But it’s cute, so I’ll let it slide.
3. Silly dubbers! Thomas isn’t sneezing because he’s nervous, he’s sneezing because people are talking about him behind his back! At least, I think so. It’s a common Japanese superstition.

55. Supersonic Battle
1. Once again, no real Thomas abuse. This is four episodes running. Is this the start of a trend?

56. Cerberus
1. No, apparently not. The Dibison gets totaled for the fifth time.
2. Van is really nice to Thomas when Thomas is injured. Fiona…Fiona…Fiona laughs at him. Bitch. ::ahem::
3. Three scientists decide that Thomas needs to be taken out because he calls them “childish” (which they are!) and because they think that Beek isn’t a worthy contribution to science. That’s right, the first manmade organoid/AI is not worthy. But their Zoid-accessories are. Organoid = = bad. Accessories = = good. Hypocrites. I mean, honestly. I’d understand it if they were angry that Thomas became a zoid pilot after being a scientist, because then it would be like he turned his back on them, but…I think they’re just jealous. Yeah.
4. That nutty nurse destroys Thomas’ equipment.
5. Twice.

57. The Nightmare
1. Mild Zoid damage. Hiltz wasn’t aiming for him, anyway.
2. Ooooh…rough. Thomas (and Moonbay and Fiona, but they're not what this site is about) doesn’t matter enough to Hiltz to get rid of. There’s no damage like psychological damage.

58. Attack of the Winged Dragons
1. Thomas and Irvine kick ass in flying Zoids and are dubbed "heroes of the sky."
2. Then they get hit once their mission is done. Although Thomas is appropriately worried, Irvine doesn’t seem too concerned that his and Thomas’ zoids are on fire, so I guess it’s okay. At least it’s not the Dibison getting creamed again.
3. Bonus points to this episode for making Thomas look the happiest I've ever seen him. He enters the base and sees Fiona and the newly upgraded Storm Sworders. The woman he loves and a shiny new toy...what more could a boy want?

59. The Capital Collapses
1. The Death Stinger totals the Dibison. This marks the sixth time. Damn Hiltz! Damn him and his stupid hair!
2. Karl's Saber Fang is also totaled by the Death Stinger. This is not a good episode for the Brothers Schubaltz.

60. The Giant Fortress
1. One of the writers/animators must like Thomas. All the time when Thomas and Fiona crawl through the ducts to reach the power blocks, Thomas gets a niiiiiiice view. Not that he takes advantage of it--he's a gentleman, you see. I'm just sayin'...
2. O'Connell abuses Beek, much to Thomas' dismay.
3. This might be one of the saddest moments of Guardian Force. At the end of the episode, Van and Irvine are off somewhere fighting against incredible odds, and Thomas and Fiona are still on the Ultrasaurus, unable to do anything or even know if their friends are all right. Fiona stands crying on a balcony, calling out to Van that she believes in him and she wants him to come back safely. Thomas stands near her, but not near enough to touch. She makes no indication that she even knows he's there. Thomas just stares sadly at Fiona, not saying anything, not moving to comfort her. What could he do? If he had any doubts about Fiona loving Van, they're gone now. He knows that nothing can really help the heartache that comes from a loved one being in danger, so they just stand there: together, but separate.

61. The Great Sea Battle
1. Minor Dibison damage. It almost slips off the Ultrasaurus, but it manages to regain its footing. That's probably a good thing--the Dibison is more like a generic buffalo than a water buffalo.
2. Major Schubaltzy cuteness.

62. The Gravity Cannon
1. Irvine, Van, and Thomas all get to take a little rest. It's beyond cute. Van's the only one who actually fits on a couch.
2. Minor zoid damage when Thomas pilots the Hammerhead.

63. The Final Battle
1. ...I did not expect, nor want, this to turn into a memorial. I think I'm going to go off somewhere and sob for a while.
2. On a side note, I'll also shed a tear or two for Stinger. I'll miss you, you effeminate little sadist.

64. The Ancient Memory
1. Okay, false alarm. Thomas survives. And there was great rejoicing.
2. However, Thomas was temporarily knocked unconscious.
3. And the Dibison is unable to walk.
4. But it's able to hitch a ride on a Gustav and therefore save Van's and Irvine's collective bacon. Go Megalomax!
5. How's this for a change: Fiona flirts with Thomas ("Your wish is my command. You know I'd be more than happy to take you anywhere you want to go.") and Thomas nags her to move faster.
6. And then Fiona disappears right in front of his eyes. Van gets the big dramatic yell, but you can tell that Thomas is feeling it too.
7. On a side note, I still can't figure out how the Dark Kaiser is able to sit on his throne. I mean, look at him. He doesn't even have a normal center of balance. Can he even bend at the waist?

65. The Zoid Eve
1. Thomas is made to stay behind because the Dibison's busted. Sigh.

66. The Momment of Annihilation [sic]
1. That typo bugs me. If Thomas could see it, it would bug him as well. So it counts. Come on, use a freakin' spell check. Even most of the Zoids fanfic writers on FF.net wouldn't make that mistake, and that's saying something.
2. Another role reversal: Irvine whines to Thomas (which I'm counting as Thomas abuse) and Thomas tells him to suck it up, but in better words. At least the Dibison's fixed, not that it gets used or anything.
3. Thomas gets maybe a minute of screentime. Even Hermann gets more screentime than him. That's abuse for the character and the fans, I tells ya.

67. Return to Another Tomorrow
1. Thomas briefly gives up hope. Irvine tells him to suck it up, but in better words. And all is right with the universe again.
2. Why the heck do they have Irvine working the Gravity Cannon's controls with Thomas and Karl? Don't they have actual trained people, you know, sciency military people rather than a cycloptic mercenary? I mean, this is kind of important. Don't use him just because he's a main character. It's just silly.
3. Hiltz bites the dust! I admit, maybe that's just a nice thing that happened for me. Goodbye Hiltz, and goodbye Hiltz's stupid hair.
4. The last bit at the end was really, really cute. While Moonbay and Fiona are jumping about and Irvine is...standing there... Thomas frightens Van by grabbing his shoulders and shaking them, crying, "I'm so glad you're safe and soooound!" (I'm not too sure about the last two words, but I did listen to that bit several times with my ear next to the speaker. Funny thing is, when I first saw it I thought Thomas was yelling at him for being too reckless.) Then we get a nice group picture showing that everyone survived. Even Rudolph. How that happened, I don't know. I do know that Thomas survived and he has the biggest smile I've ever seen him wear. And that's really all that matters.