A pouca informação que temos sobre Tom Bombadil sugere que não, ele não foi afetado pelo aspecto viciante do Anel. Gandalf, que geralmente está certo sobre as coisas, sugere que Bombadil é imune ao seu efeito:

[I]f he were given the Ring, he would soon forget it, or most likely throw it away. Such things have no hold on his mind. He would be a most unsafe guardian; and that alone is answer enough.

^{_{Fellowship of the Ring Book II Chapter 2: "The Council of Elrond"}}

Mas se você preferir, o próprio Tolkien afirma que Bombadil não é afetado pelo Anel na Carta 153 (ênfase minha):

T.B. exhibits another point in his attitude to the Ring, and its failure to affect him. You must concentrate on some part, probably relatively small, of the World (Universe), whether to tell a tale, however long, or to learn anything however fundamental – and therefore much will from that 'point of view' be left out, distorted on the circumference, or seem a discordant oddity. The power of the Ring over all concerned, even the Wizards or Emissaries, is not a delusion – but it is not the whole picture, even of the then state and content of that part of the Universe.

^{_{The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien 153: To Peter Hastings (Draft). September 1954}}

Embora se possa argumentar que Tolkien está se referindo a Bombadil não se tornando invisível, o fato de ele discutir imediatamente a dominação peculiar do Anel sobre os outros sugere o contrário, pelo menos para mim.

Em relação ao interesse de Bombadil pelo Anel, vale a pena notar que os hobbits passaram um bom tempo contando tudo sobre ele:

Tom now seemed wide awake and plied them with questions.

He appeared already to know much about them and all their families, and indeed to know much of all the history and doings of the Shire down from days hardly remembered among the hobbits themselves. It no longer surprised them; but he made no secret that he owed his recent knowledge largely to Farmer Maggot, whom he seemed to regard as a person of more importance than they had imagined. 'There's earth under his old feet, and clay on his fingers; wisdom in his bones, and both his eyes are open,' said Tom. It was also clear that Tom had dealings with the Elves, and it seemed that in some fashion, news had reached him from Gildor concerning the flight of Frodo.

Indeed so much did Tom know, and so cunning was his questioning, that Frodo found himself telling him more about Bilbo and his own hopes and fears than he had told before even to Gandalf. Tom wagged his head up and down, and there was a glint in his eyes when he heard of the Riders.

'Show me the precious Ring!' he said suddenly in the midst of the story: and Frodo, to his own astonishment, drew out the chain from his pocket, and unfastening the Ring handed it at once to Tom.

^{_{Fellowship of the Ring Book I Chapter 7: "In the House of Tom Bombadil"}}

Independentemente de quaisquer propriedades mágicas que causam dependência, se quatro pessoas entrassem em minha casa e me contassem um longo conto envolvendo um anel mágico, a antiga propriedade do Senhor de Todos os Males, que estava sendo caçada por monstros vestidos de preto, eu quero ver por mim mesmo.

    

Não, Tom Bombadil não parece ser afetado pelo Anel; se ele foi afetado, foi em um grau muito pequeno.

Aqui está a passagem em que Bombadil e o Anel ficam face a face:

Indeed so much did Tom know, and so cunning was his questioning, that Frodo found himself telling him more about Bilbo and his own hopes and fears than he had told before even to Gandalf. Tom wagged his head up and down, and there was a glint in his eyes when he heard of the Riders.

‘Show me the precious Ring!’ he said suddenly in the midst of the story: and Frodo, to his own astonishment, drew out the chain from his pocket, and unfastening the Ring handed it at once to Tom.

It seemed to grow larger as it lay for a moment on his big brown-skinned hand. Then suddenly he put it to his eye and laughed. For a second the hobbits had a vision, both comical and alarming, of his bright blue eye gleaming through a circle of gold. Then Tom put the Ring round the end of his little finger and held it up to the candlelight. For a moment the hobbits noticed nothing strange about this. Then they gasped. There was no sign of Tom disappearing!

Tom laughed again, and then he spun the Ring in the air — and it vanished with a flash. Frodo gave a cry – and Tom leaned forward and handed it back to him with a smile.
- The Fellowship of the Ring

Nós vemos algo surpreendente aqui: este objeto, no qual o destino do mundo inteiro está preso, é impotente nas mãos de Tom. Ele pensa tão pouco que trata como um brinquedo, uma mera ninharia, sem importância ou perigo. Como devemos fazer sentido disso? Estudioso de Tolkien Michael Martinez tem uma explicação muito plausível, e tem a ver com o modus operandi do Anel - apelando para a personalidade do indivíduo:

Given that Bombadil asked to see the Ring, and that he played with it and at one point had a gleam in his eye, I don’t see any justification for concluding that he was not tested by the Ring like others. Bombadil probably had the easiest test of all because he had already long before made his choice about mastery over others.

Bombadil allowed evil things to remain in his land — not because he wanted them there but because he did not want to destroy them. He probably set the boundaries of that land to keep those evil things from troubling Men and Hobbits (his neighbors).

Bombadil didn’t believe in creating prisons for the barrow-wights and... Old [Man] Willow; he just didn’t succumb to their evil ways. Hence, the Ring could have shown him a world where he roamed free and evil things didn’t bother him (and perhaps didn’t bother anyone else). Or the Ring could have shown him a world where he could “master” anyone and anything. The point is that the Ring definitely could have shown him something, even if it was more absurd and silly than what it showed to Sam.

E, obviamente, o que quer que o Ring mostrasse a Tom, ele não estava interessado.

Tolkien explica porque na Carta nº 144:

Tom Bombadil is not an important person – to the narrative. I suppose he has some importance as a 'comment'. I mean, I do not really write like that: he is just an invention, and he represents something that I feel important, though I would not be prepared to analyze the feeling precisely. I would not, however, have left him in, if he did not have some kind of function.

The story is cast in terms of a good side, and a bad side, beauty against ruthless ugliness, tyranny against kingship, moderated freedom with consent against compulsion that has long lost any object save mere power, and so on; but both sides in some degree, conservative or destructive, want a measure of control.

But if you have, as it were taken 'a vow of poverty', renounced control, and take your delight in things for themselves without reference to yourself, watching, observing, and to some extent knowing, then the question of the rights and wrongs of power and control might become utterly meaningless to you, and the means of power quite valueless. It is a natural pacifist view, which always arises in the mind when there is a war.

Portanto, o que torna o Anel tão atraente para quase todos os outros é a mesma coisa que o torna impotente contra Tom Bombadil. Ele optou deliberadamente por rejeitar o controle sobre qualquer coisa que não fosse ele mesmo. Ele mesmo é bom, mas não toma partido na batalha entre o bem e o mal. Ele não se importa com quem ganha ou perde, porque renunciou ao poder, controle e conflito. Esses conceitos não têm significado para o Tom. Ele é exclusivamente um observador, e seu único interesse está nas coisas por si mesmas. Tom não aprova a tentativa do Velho Willow de comer os hobbits, e ele o impede de fazê-lo, mas ele ainda respeita Old Man Willow e seu direito de existir. O fato de que o Velho Salgueiro é provavelmente maligno, pelo menos até certo ponto, não entra na equação.

O Anel é um dispositivo de poder, e o poder é seu único meio de influenciar e manipular as pessoas. Tom Bombadil é diametralmente oposto ao poder e, portanto, o Anel é impotente para corromper ou tentá-lo. É interessante (e divertido) imaginar o Anel tentando desesperadamente encontrar uma rachadura na armadura de Tom, procurando em vão por uma maneira de alcançá-lo, e silenciosamente gritando de raiva quando ele trata o Anel como um brinquedinho bobo. Porque o Anel ajusta seu apelo às fraquezas únicas do indivíduo (ou seja, desejos), e porque Tom não tem desejos (além de manter sua esposa Goldberry feliz), o Anel simplesmente não poderia alcançar Tom. Ele está totalmente além de sua influência, e é apenas mais uma peça de joalheria para ele.

Gandalf concorda claramente com essa avaliação:

'He is a strange creature, but maybe I should have summoned him to our Council.'
'He would not have come,' said Gandalf.

'Could we not still send messages to him and obtain his help?' asked Erestor. 'It seems that he has a power even over the Ring.'

'No, I should not put it so,' said Gandalf. 'Say rather that the Ring has no power over him. He is his own master. But he cannot alter the Ring itself, nor break its power over others. And now he is withdrawn into a little land, within bounds that he has set, though none can see them, waiting perhaps for a change of days, and he will not step beyond them.'

'But within those bounds nothing seems to dismay him,' said Erestor. 'Would he not take the Ring and keep it there, for ever harmless?'

'No,' said Gandalf, 'not willingly. He might do so, if all the free folk of the world begged him, but he would not understand the need. And if he were given the Ring, he would soon forget it, or most likely throw it away. Such things have no hold on his mind. He would be a most unsafe guardian; and that alone is answer enough.'
- The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Council of Elrond

    

Sim, eu acho que Tom Bombadil foi afetado pelo anel, porque se ele estivesse apenas curioso, ele teria pedido para não desmanchar de Frodo. No capítulo 7 da Sociedade do Anel, na casa de Tom Bombadil, na página 174, diz; "'Mostre-me o precioso Anel!' ele disse de repente no meio da história: "É pequeno, mas teve um efeito sobre ele.