Tommy makes a really convenient villain for fics, especially pre or post-Billy, but idk I always found it interesting that neither Steve or Tommy really? Do all that much? They never actually get very physical, Tommy actively is trying to stop Jonathan by the end of the fight because he thinks it's gone too far and all he does to Steve is push him against his car and then later makes some shitty comments about his gf while they are in the shower.
As a trio they do break Jonathan's camera (... arguably not a crazy response considering how illegal and invasive the pictures were, even if they ended up being useful to Nancy's investigation) and they graffiti the theater which is stupid, petty, and illegal but like, not that crazy compared to things I have seen people have them do in fics lol.
Like, the Party's bullies are more violent than the Tommy, Steve, and Carol trio with the quarry incident! Honestly the trio just seem to be vibing, partying, and verbally hating on everyone which still isn't great but again, it's interesting that they are kind of held up as boogeymen in the series and by fandom when they just straight up haven't actually done all that much unless something directly affected them (i.e. Steve and his girlfriend getting peeped at; Steve supposedly getting cheated on).
@spacebarrette pointed out to me that the way the trio are written is more similar to girl bullies than the typical jock male bullies which puts a lot of things into perspective, and also is honestly a more interesting take on pre-upside down Steve imo.
(Not trying to discount verbal abuse/bullying here, either, just saying people act like Steve and Tommy are beating people up and giving them swirlies left and right when like, mostly they just seem to heckle people and gossip.)







