What is The Road Back on Tom Swift? (details on the secret society from Nancy Drew)

Tom Swift launched right into its story when it premiered on Tuesday, May 31. The series, which is a spin-off of the popular live-action Nancy Drew on The CW, follows the titular billionaire inventor first introduced in season 2, episode 15 of Nancy’s show, “The Celestial Visitor.”

While we were only with Tom for a single episode, his presence commanded attention and also set-up a plot involving a meteorite once owned by the Icarans, the ancestors of the powerful secret society, The Road Back. In the episode, Tom was looking for the meteorite so that he could use it as the fuel source for his father’s mission to Saturn.

Fast forward two years and Tom Swift viewers got to see that mission come to fruition and, unfortunately, watch in horror as Barton’s ship exploded. At first, Tom thought he was responsible for the explosion but, as the premiere makes clear, it wasn’t his fault. And, thankfully, his father is alive.

The Road Back was responsible for what happened and their plan doesn’t stop at Barton Swift, it extends to those making incredible technological advances and pushing humanity further into the future. Here’s more on this nefarious organization.

Who are The Road Back on Tom Swift and what to do they want?

According to the Nancy Drew Wiki, The Road Back got their start as the Icarans in the 1930s. They were formed by a group of men who opposed a woman’s right to vote. They attempted to intimidate the women of Horseshoe Bay and keep them from casting ballots in elections. This was done through threats and violence.

When a meteorite crash landed in the area, the Icarans acquired it and put it on display. They used the funds they accrued from touring the meteorite to build capital and establish themselves in the community. Eventually, however, their insistence on male supremacy and exploitation of politics earned them an enemy. The Women in White hexed where the meteorite was being contained. Once it was opened, those exposed to the curse would attack everyone and anyone around them.

The survivors of that night rebranded the organization into The Road Back. Their mission is still the same. Members of The Road Back are a part of a cult hellbent on keeping humanity from advancing. They want to return society back to the way things were before. Advancement has been linked to the displacement of those who have held the reins of power, primarily men who are white, straight, from money, and able-bodied.

That’s not to say their ranks haven’t diversified since the 1930s, but their goal hasn’t changed. They want to stop society from progressing past the old social mores that have governed it. To do this, they have gone after inventors like Barton and some of the greatest minds working to improve life and expand what knowledge humans have access to in the Nancyverse.

By blowing up the Swift spaceship and endangering Tom’s father, they made an enemy of one of the most brilliant people in the world. Season 1 of Tom Swift looks to be a cat-and-mouse game that’ll have many twists as we learn more about how far the Road Back is willing to go in order to achieve their mission.

Stay tuned to Hidden Remote for more Tom Swift news and coverage! New episodes of the series premiere Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW. Next day streaming is available on cwtv.com and the CW App.

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