Roller (IDW)
From Transformers Wiki
| This article is about the pre-war policeman Autobot. For G1 Optimus Prime's drone unit, seeRoller (G1).For a list of other meanings, seeRoller (disambiguation). |
- Roller is aTransformerfrom the2005 IDW portionof theGeneration 1continuity family.
Rollerwas a good friend toOrion PaxandRatchetin the pre-war days. He served alongside Pax in the police force until...somethinghappened to him.
He's known for being one chatty chappy! Despite his friendly nature and his incredible strength (he's one of the mightyPoint One Percenters), he's not that confident in his abilities. He'll focus on what others can do that hecan't,rather than what he can.
Contents |
Fiction
2005 IDW continuity
- First appearance:More than Meets the Eye#9(mentioned);#10(on-panel)
Roller was one of Orion Pax's fellow officers atRodion,a gifted investigator and a trusted ally with a fondness for TV.PatternismRoller was on secondment atTeskwhen his fellow officersSpringarmandWheelarchwere killed byKromaand theSenate's thugs.Metastasis
Following Orion's defeat ofSonicandBoomin theDead End,he had Roller send in a containment trailer to arrest them.Post HocRoller later helped Orion by locating theRelinquishment Clinicclosest to his location and bringingSenator Shockwaveinto protective custody.Patternism
He was a bit worried about Orion's attachment to Shockwave, having investigated the Senator and found that he had befriended and modified other people besides him, but only got Orion angry at him by sharing this information. Roller remained at the police station to protect Shockwave while Orion was breaking into thePrimal Basilica,but was defeated byKroma's cronies when they broke into the place in search for the Senator. Orion tried to save them both, but Kroma convinced Shockwave to surrender himself by holding Roller hostage.
Ratchet recalled these events as "the last time the three of us [himself, Pax and Roller] were together"An Intimate Beheadingas Pax, Roller, and the Outliers had to go on the run after that and Ratchet remained behind to look after his patients.All Our Parlous YesterdaysThe last conversation the two would have would be Roller mentioning they'd find it hard to stay in touch and Ratchet, unable to bring himself to say goodbye, making noncommittal noises.Our Steps Will Always Rhyme
The fugitives would find themselves constantly fightingSentinel Prime'sElite Guard.The incredible abilities of the outliers made Roller feel useless, despite his considerable power: he knew Orion Pax kept him on the team because they were friends and didn't think that was enough. To give himself an edge, he began taking thecircuit speederC32.
In 1st cycle 502, Roller and the gang were fighting to protect aspark hot spotinAlyonfrom being taken or exterminated by Sentinel. They were joined by members of theLost Lightcrewof four million years later,who claimed thatZetahad sent them to help. From this group,Rungtested Roller's carton ofKremzeekand realised it contained C32, questioning about his habit. Roller admitted to his insecurity, saying "not everyone is born special" —even though, as Rung noted, hehadbeen. In the final battle to save the sparks, as the Elite Guard bombarded them, Roller refused to let Orion Pax risk his life to harvest sparks and did it himself, saying he needed this. Roller was badly wounded in the process, driving Pax to a rage.
Roller was missing in the aftermath of the battle, and Pax ordered his crew to look for him. Unfortunately, after the visitorsaltered the short-term memoriesof Pax's crew, everyone forgot he was missing...All Our Parlous Yesterdays
...so it was handy for him a different time traveler,Censere,had brought him to the future as part of his mission to save Cybertronians on his list of theDisappeared!As travel using a singletime casewas hazardous, Roller was placed in stasis within theNecroworld,millions of years later, and disguised with holograms to appear as an organic being.Do Not Go GentleUnaware of this, Optimus would name hisdrone moduleafter his old friend.
Many years later,aRoller was considered for an exploring mission that went toWheelie.Better hope they didn't think a presumed dead guy was better than you, Wheelie!Spotlight: Wheelie
DuringTeam Rodimus's battle with theDecepticon Justice Divisionon the Necroworld, a groggy Roller woke up with his fellow rescuees to find himself in a weird place with agreen strangerand an emotional Ratchet hugging him. He'd also found the time case, and watched quietly as a long-running drama involving Megatron played out in front of him. Afterwards one such stranger, Velocity, introduced herself to himDo Not Go GentleandRewindbegan to introduce him to others the next day. One other,titchy tiny Tailgate,amused him by picking him up and carrying him around.
Poor Roller got drafted into "Team Rodimus" and brought on an experimental quantumleapwarp back to Cybertron. He proudly confirmed with GPS they were in CentralIacon,only for them to learn they'd accidentally crossed to the Cybertron ofa parallel universe!Some Other CybertronTo his confusion, everyonebuthim seemed to know what was up with this universe and Rewind's answer was no help. A team of rebels, theAnti-Vocationist League,showed up to free them but, as a dismayed Roller said, they wererubbish.WhenRodimusdecided they should break free and help, Roller took commands from Megatron on the best way to take outfunctionaries.AnomieAlong with everyone else, he witnessedthe sanctuary of Adaptica,the fake-out of Rung's alternate mode,A World Misplacedand the arrival of a battle-preppedLuna 2come to devour said sanctuary (Embarrassingly, the last one after he congratulated the locals for getting their moon back).Bad Moon Rising
While defending Adaptica alongside Megatron, Roller told him he reminded him of his good friend Orion Pax, hey, I think you met him once. The two of them discussed where Pax must be in this world and Roller, dismayed, had to admit that all signs pointed to dead or missing; certainly, he wasn't picking up when Roller called his personal frequency. As Luna 2 began to erase the city, Roller was sent to order an evacuation of the defence force.Modes of ProductionRoller and the others use the weaponized Luna 2 to teleport back to Necroworld, where Brainstorm had prepared the means to return them to their proper reality.This Machine Kills FascistsRoller joined the former crew of theLost Lightas they prepared to continue their quest by modifying a dead Decepticon namedSkipinto a workable space craft.After Megatron
Skip was a tight fit for all of Rodimus's crew, particularly a Heavyweight-class like Roller. He tried to stretch out and sleep in vehicle mode, only for Rewind andChromedometo sneak inside for...canoodling. Things got mildly worse when the mass displacement override shut down and the ship began shrinking, ultimately killing everyone on board.Sardines
So, after they died, Roller and the group found themselves in theAfterspark.As you do. Roller was delighted to reconnect withSpringarm,a fellow officer from Rodion who died over four million years ago. Roller had always felt guilty about not being around whenKromaattacked the precinct, killing Springarm andWheelarchand leaving Orion Pax to fend for himself. But Springarm forgave him, bringing Roller a step closer towards accepting ascension into the Matrix.MetastasisIt was eventually discovered that the Afterspark was not what it seemed, however. They were actually onCyberutopia,in fact a euthanasia clinic of a world designed to guide the terminally ill into peacefully accepting death. Their friends and loved ones were holomatter-based projections, which soon faded away.You Are Here
Things only got worse when Roller and company were attacked by the crew of theLost Light,reduced to feralSparkeatersbyGetawayandScorponokon behalf of a mysterious figure called theGrand Architect.Roller joined an assault team that entered theLost Lightto defeat their adversaries.A Dance Before DyingThey were forced into battling RedScrapletsin the oil reservoir, but fortunately survived thanks to Whirl's affinity to the creatures.LūstrāreAfter Getaway was killed and Scorponok seen off, the entire cast regrouped aboard theLost Lightbefore being captured by the Grand Architect.Farsickness
He was with everyone else when theFunctionist Council's false effigy ofPrimusentered the universe through the rift in spaceThe Return of the Kingand watched overFlameto make sure he didn't try something funky.The UnrememberingTogether with Chromedome and Rewind, Roller was dispatched toPort Residuato open aMatrixand help shut down the Functionist Council.A Spark Among EmbersHe later went along on theLost Light's final "lap of honor", sucking on two juice boxes at once and wondering why they still couldn't use the vessel after thequantum engineswere removed. With the dismantling of the ship imminent, Roller attended a farewell party atSwerve'sand flirted with a receptiveNickel,admiring her wheels. TheLost Lightwas torn apart and recycled, but in an alternate universe a quantum duplication of it and its crew- Roller included, continued onward to new adventures.How To Say Goodbye And Mean It: Part 2
Unite Warriors/Legends
After Optimus Prime died in theUnicron War,Roller was trapped between dimensionsRuination Chapter, Part Twoand consigned to soul-crushing wandering. His anger and despair as he journeyed created an emotional and malicious energy that attracted the attention ofUnicron.His scattershot memory didn't tell much, but what he knew was his burning hatred forOptimus Primeof theAutobots.Unite WarriorsbioAs part of his plan to avertGalvatronfrom using his body as "Grand Galvatron",Unicron summoned Roller back to his home universe, christening him" Wandering Roller "and giving him the ability to become a limb for Grand Galvatron. The assembled team was ordered to invadeCybertronso that the planet could serve as Unicron's new body, but Galvatron summarily ignored his request and set out to conquer the planet for himself.Grand Galvatron Chapter
Cyclonus,the main component of Grand Galvatron, had the group undergo training by exposing them to the lava pools ofThrull.The training regiment wasn't much of a challenge to Roller, though, who finished his time in the lava quickly so he could relax and sip on anenergon cube.Special Training in the Lava Baths of Planet Thrull!
When Grand Galvatron attacked Cybertron, Roller and the others were separated into their individual forms byTrailbreakerand continued the battle on foot. He made his way intoVector Sigma's chamber, whereRatchetwas trying to resuscitateOptimus Prime,and saw his chance to get revenge on Prime by destroying his body. He was stopped in his attempt bySky Lynx,then re-combined with the rest of the team to do battle withSky Reign.Sky Reign ChapterThis face-off would be interrupted by the arrival ofMegaempressand her4 Guards.In the chaos that followed, Grand Galvatron's limbs fled in terror and Roller and Breakdown were forced byFlowspadeto become fists for her "Transplay" ninja technique.Megatronia ChapterRoller was eventually released from this state and rushed to Optimus's defense when Unicron arrived with his upgradedCombatrons,recognizing the evil god as the greater threat.Ruination Chapter, Part One
With Galvatron II's spirit excised from his body, Cyclonus called upon his teammates to help defend Cybertron from Unicron and the five combined into Grand Galvatron to help the other combiners in their attack against the evil god. WhenOptimus Maximuswas split up by one of Unicron's attacks, Roller rushed to his old commander's side, granting his power as an arm for one last punch that sent Unicron back to theTriple Z Point.In the aftermath, Roller regained his memories of his past life as Optimus's partner and was saddened by his leader's admission that he had only seven days left to live. When Optimus Prime died again, Roller stood guard over his body, promising to never part with him again and hoping for a new power that would be able to resurrect his beloved partner.Ruination Chapter, Part Two
After a decade of standing vigil over Optimus Prime's body, Roller received the news thatDai Atlashad recovered theZodiac,an energy source capable of reviving the deceased Autobot leader. Unfortunately, it was at that moment that astrange capsuleappeared, injuring Roller and leaving him helpless to prevent the device from abducting Optimus Prime. Feeling responsible for the loss of his former partner, Roller joined theBattlestarsto help track down his remains. The team subsequently located Prime's body on the fortified Decepticon planet ofLucifer,and during their battle withNovaroidandGalamandrones, Roller sacrificed his life, drawing fire so that the other Battlestars could complete the mission.
With Optimus Prime's body secured, the Battlestars placed it alongside Roller's own remains, hoping that the Zodiac could restore both partners to life. Their efforts succeeded, with the Zodiac's energies upgrading Roller into the Micro Carrier, able to combine with Optimus Prime to form Star Convoy.
Years later in2038,during the battle against the rebornDark Nova,Roller once more helped Optimus Prime transform into Star Convoy, to strike down theVok Galaman.The partners then separated once more, with Roller towing the Combat Deck as it was transformed into a launch ramp for Dai Atlas.LG-EX Big Powered Prologue Part Two
Toys
Generations(Japan)
- Optimus Prime & Bumblebee(Multi-pack, 2013-09-28)
- Japanese ID number:TG24
- Accessories:Ion Blaster
- The Japanese release ofGenerationsLegends ClassRollerredecoes him in metallic blue. He comes in aTakaraTomyfour-pack withOptimus Prime,as well asBumblebeeandBlazemaster.Though he isn't designed to look like IDW Roller, his bio describes him as a partner of Orion Pax in the Cybertron police force, so...
Unite Warriors
- AredecoofCombiner WarsRook(the first release of this mold in Japan), "Wandering Roller" features a color scheme based on his appearance in IDW comics. His vehicle mode, meanwhile, homages the originalRoller.
- As a Deluxe ClassCombiner Warsmold, he can combine to form the leg or arm of any combiner fromCombiner WarsorUnite Warriorscombiner, but is usually associated with Grand Galvatron, as mentioned above.
- He was released as part of a Grand Galvatron giftset along withTactician Cyclonus,Ghost Starscream,Curse Armada Thrust,andZombie War Breakdown.
| Combiner Warsmold:Rook | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Version 1:
Version 2:
Version 3:
| ||
Merchandise
Transformers Character Card
- Released as part of the eleventh wave of thee-HOBBYexclusiveTransformers Character Cardseries, this pair of holographic trading cards depict super-deformed art of Roller in hisUnite WarriorsbodyandTarnalong withcharacter profilesandtech specs.
Notes
- James Robertsconfirmed that Rollerwasa separate person from the other Roller in an interview. This was partly to mess with us by having someone so different from the Roller we knew, partly to suggest that Optimus named his drone after someone, and partly to give Orion Pax a friend who's no longer around so we'll wonder "whatever happened to Roller?!". (Ratchet's mention of "the last time" was to make us think Roller was going to die, to build tension; Roberts laments he now can't have Roller, Ratchet, and Pax hang out post- "Shadowplay".)[1]
- In the same interview, Roberts and Milne say Roller was drawn so big because he transforms into a Cybertronian police van.
- For some time, a popular speculation among the readership ofMore than Meets the Eyewas that Roller was the secret identity ofTarn.Issue #36subsequently dropped an absurd number of teases in support of this theory, which were revealed as nothing more than cheeky red herrings when Tarn was unmasked inissue #55.Furthering the joke, the reveal of Roller as alive and intact, also in that issue, came on the page immediately after Velocity asks about the DJD leader's identity (and immediately before Tarn'srealunmasking).
- Speaking of red herrings, Roller is introduced inUnite Warriorsas a time-lost Autobot with bitter resentment for the comrades who left him behind, in clear reference to IDW Roller's then-most recent appearance inMore than Meets the Eyeissue 36;he even shares IDW Roller's appearance before being reformatted by Unicron. Later events in bothUnite WarriorsandMore than Meets the Eyewould make it clear that they are not the same individual.
