Rollbar (G1)

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This article is about . For other uses of "Rollbar", see Rollbar (disambiguation)|The name or term "Rollbar" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Rollbar (disambiguation).}}
Rollbar is an Autobot Throttlebot from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Do you know how hard it is for me to find shoes that fit?!

Rollbar always gives 110%. He's neither very strong nor very fast, but he's got heart, and a vast arsenal of corny, macho cliches to pepper his speech. Though the other Throttlebots are inclined to roll their optical sensors when he starts laying the Cybertronian bullslag on too thickly, his gung-ho attitude has earned the respect of them all, and when the higher-ranking veteran Goldbug is not around, Rollbar is the acting leader of his very democratic team.

Rollbar makes good use of his low power in vehicle mode. He is a rubber-tired acrobat, able to jump like a cybergoat and run like a turbodeer. This is fortunate; he has little or no firepower, and if caught in the open he has little choice but to run away. He does have radiation and chemical sensors to assist his tracking missions, and audio-video equipment to record his findings, or perhaps the big game.

Rollbar may not have what it takes to make the big plays, but he's still an opponent to be reckoned with. You have to give him that much credit.<ref>Marvel The Transformers Universe profile for Rollbar in The Transformers #56</ref>

{{#if:Rollbar gets his team motivated, "The Cure!"|
“ All right, you rustin' bunch of piston-pinchers, let's get to work! ”
{{#if:Rollbar gets his team motivated, "The Cure!"|

—Rollbar gets his team motivated, "The Cure!"{{#if:|, {{{3}}}}}

}}

}}

Fiction

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Marvel Comics continuity

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Marvel The Transformers comics

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No matter the continuity, these guys never ever catch a break.

On Cybertron, Rollbar was the leader of the Throttlebots, a group of five Autobots who stole fuel from the Decepticons. On one such mission, they were ambushed by an entire squadron of Decepticons, including a massive Titanium-class Destruction Drone. When the drone offered to spare their lives if they surrendered, Rollbar figured that was the best offer he was likely to get.

The captive Autobots were brought before Ratbat, who ordered them to travel to Earth and end a Scraplets infection there—not, as Rollbar guessed, by delivering a cure, but rather by destroying all the infected Transformers with canisters of acid. If they failed, Ratbat threatened to destroy all life on Earth (just how he was going to do this remains unknown).

Seriously. There's the threat of Scraplets...

The Throttlebots quickly found their primary target, a crashed Decepticon freighter and its occupants, the Decepticon Triple Changers and their prisoner Blaster. However, tire tracks heading away from the wreck made them realize that at least one other infected Transformer could be at large. Delaying their attack, Rollbar took Wide Load to track down the wayward Transformer.

At a gas station, they caught up with their quarry: the Autobot Goldbug, who was by that time massively infested with Scraplets. Reluctantly, Rollbar and Wideload attempted to destroy Goldbug, but he eluded them long enough for his human friend, Charlie Fong, to demonstrate the Scraplets cure he'd just discovered: water. Relieved, Rollbar and Wideload apologized and explained their urgent mission.

The three Autobots soon returned to the wreckage site, along with two tanker trucks full of water. Before they got the chance to use them, however, the Scraplets in the crash site merged into a single massive creature. Water proved ineffective against it, and the weaponless Throttlebots were unable to fight it effectively until Goldbug sprayed the Decepticons with the water, allowing them to bring their firepower to bear against the creature, disabling it long enough for Blaster to destroy it. The Cure!

...they get shot at...

While watching tee-vee at a local electronics shop window with Goldbug and Blaster, Rollbar saw a news report about Mount Verona, and the Autobots recognized the immobilized form of Ultra Magnus found inside. When they spotted the Combaticons at the volcano site, however, the Autobots learned their enemies were there to set charges and destroy Galvatron forever. Goldbug was reluctant to interfere, so that Ultra Magnus's original sacrifice to eliminate Galvatron wouldn't be undone. When a group of human women took matters into their own hands to stop the Decepticons, however, Rollbar encouraged Goldbug to return in the name of protecting human life. Ladies' Night

Rollbar and his crew joined Goldbug and Blaster in their independent war against the Decepticons, but the incident at the crashed spaceship had gained them unwanted attention. Low on fuel, they were shadowed cross-country by both R.A.A.T. and the Decepticons. When Vortex attacked the Autobots on the highway, Blaster utilized Rollbar and Chase as mobile footstands while he returned fire on the airborne Decepticon. Unfortunately, Rollbar's attention wasn't focused on his driving, and he drifted into the path of oncoming traffic. Swerving to get out of the way, he caused Blaster to lose his footing and nearly tumble off a bridge, and left himself and the others stuck in a tie-up from the near-accident. Blaster, however, managed to hit Vortex with an electro-scrambler blast and send him tumbling out of control.

...crushed...

Attempting to refuel at a Blackrock gas station, the team found themselves under attack by R.A.A.T. An aerial attack module blasted Rollbar's rear canopy, leaving him with a ragged hole in the back end. The Autobots escaped, but were still low on fuel. Freeway expressed concern that Rollbar couldn't make it much further, but Rollbar dismissed this with customary bravado.

Eventually, they took shelter in an auto sales lot, negotiating with the owner, Big Steve, to ensure that he didn't have the damaged Rollbar towed away. The Autobots requested simply to be refueled and left alone till nightfall. But Big Steve betrayed the team to R.A.A.T., filling their tanks with soda and allowing R.A.A.T. to haul the Throttlebots away under the cover of a fight between the Protectobots and Combaticons. Used Autobots

...humiliated...

Triple-I held the Throttlebots prisoner for some time, partially disassembling and examining them, as well as interrogating them. Eventually, the six prisoners were "executed" on national television—though in fact they survived, as Walter Barnett removed their brain modules and placed them inside toy cars. Barnett then brought the Autobots in his care to meet with Buster Witiwicky, longtime friend of their Earthbound forces. The reunion was cut short by the Predacons, who had caught the Throttlebots' scent, and sought to crush them dead in their vulnerable state. Rollbar and his companions would end up zipping through a mall, eluding the Predacons, before being recovered by Barnett. Toy Soldiers!

...blasted to bits...

Later, when the US Navy was monitoring a mysterious desert island, an Autobot shuttle arrived to attack the island and rescue Buster Witwicky. Rollbar, still in the toy car body, spoke up to identify the shuttle as an Autobot ship and keep the Navy from attacking it. A naval officer was disgruntled at taking orders from a $@%##%! toy, but Barnett reminded the officer that Rollbar was in fact a veteran Autobot warrior. The Desert Island of Space! The Throttlebots were apparently returned to the Autobots at some point, and reconstructed into new bodies replicating their old ones. When an Underbase-powered Starscream announced that he would "destroy the cities of New York, Tokyo, and Buenos Aires," Rollbar was among the allied Autobot/Decepticon teams sent ahead to Japan to try and stop him. He and the rest of the Throttlebots didn't get to put up much of a fight, as they were all destroyed by Starscream before even getting a chance to transform. Dark Star

Regeneration One

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Regeneration One continues from the Marvel US series, and does not include the UK stories or any subsequently published stories.
...manhandled by chicken-robots...

Around twenty years after the Great War supposedly ended, Rollbar found himself on the front lines, defending Cybertron from Bludgeon's Blitz Engines, alongside Groove, Guzzle, and Jackpot. Destiny, Part Five

The Transformers cartoon

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Voice actor: Dan Gilvezan (English), Kunihiko Yasui (Japanese){{#if: |, {{{2}}}}}

While the other Throttlebots first saw combat during the Hate Plague crisis, Rollbar had to wait (and missed all the fun with the Hate Plague) until the brief truce between the Autobots and Decepticons expired. Rollbar participated in the defense of Autobot City from a massive Decepticon raid, The Rebirth, Part 1 and then fought alongside his fellow Throttlebots on Cybertron. The Rebirth, Part 3

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

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The Headmasters cartoon

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Voice actor: Ryōichi Tanaka (Japanese){{#if: |, {{{2}}}}}
...hypnotically controlled...

Rollbar and his friends helped defend Cybertron from a major Decepticon assault, but fell before the might of the Decepticon Headmasters. Four Warriors Come out of the Sky They did better later on, when the Headmasters returned to Cybertron with their new Madmachine. Although Rollbar and Wideload were initially hypnotized into fighting each other by Mindwipe, Goldbug got them to snap out of it and the Throttlebots managed to hold the Decepticons at bay until the Autobot Headmasters managed to destroy the Madmachine. The Great Cassette Operation

Some time later, the Throttlebots heard about the Decepticon meteorite Metamorphose heading towards Earth, and decided that they could handle it by themselves. Rollbar and the others snuck off in an Autobot frigate, but immediately fell victim to Metamorpho's ability to twist the shape of nearby metal. Approach of the Demon Meteorite The Throttlebots were un-twisted by the time Scorponok unveiled his master plan, which involved using Death Towers to destroy Earth. Rollbar and his team were dispatched to wreck one of the towers, but found that it was guarded by Predaking, who easily defeated all of them. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 1)

Legends comic

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In 2021, a villain posing as Universal Peace Alliance chairman Spike Witwicky declared Goldbug a traitor and ordered the other Throttlebots to destroy him, bringing them to the Legends World to confront their leader. However, Rollbar and the rest were reluctant and ended up refusing to follow orders. LG54 Bumblebee & Exo-Suit Spike

2005 IDW continuity

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First appearance: Spotlight: Metroplex
...forgotten about after one issue...

Rollbar was stationed on the Orvus Base orbiting Salvvatan VI as a courier for the lab's work. When Sixshot destroyed the station, he and the other Throttlebots fled to nearby Salvvatan VIII before being shot down by the Decepticon. Upon arrival on the planet, the Throttlebots attempted to hide from Sixshot, but he was a step ahead of them. They fled again until three of their number was incapacitated. Rollbar confronted Sixshot with Searchlight and Goldbug. He made the first move, transforming and driving into the Decepticon, tripping him. Sixshot hung on, however, and was then dragged until Rollbar crashed through the side of Metroplex, awakening him. Rollbar was out for a bit, but recovered in time to meet the giant Autobot before his departure. He then went off to find the other Throttlebots before leaving the planet. Spotlight: Metroplex However, the Throttlebots soon learned Sixshot wasn't as dead as they had presumed. Though they successfully managed to finish off the six-changer, he crippled their ship before he went down, and they were stranded on a mysterious planet which they dubbed "Botanica". As years passed with no sign of Autobot rescue, the group came to the conclusion the Surge had entirely wiped out their comrades and the Decepticons had won. Resigned, they kept watch for the inevitable attack that would spell their demise, with Rollbar keeping watch each night.

Eventually, the prophesied attack did come, but not from the Decepticons. Instead, their attackers were mysterious beast-formers, who quickly slew Searchlight and overwhelmed Rollbar. The Dead Come Home, Part 1 (of 2) Fortunately, the surviving Throttlebots were rescued by Prowl's crew and Rollbar and the others escaped the planet aboard the Peaceful Revolution. The Dead Come Home, Part 2 (of 2)

Games

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Transformers Roleplaying Game

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Rollbar was an underhanded fighter who always gave it his all. Decepticon Directive He and Mirage were part of an elaborate Autobot ruse designed to mislead the Decepticons—after tricking their enemies into thinking they were shipping an eastbound cargo of energon cubes by rail, the two Autobots rolled alongside the remote-controlled Union Pacific train, using Mirage’s holograms to remain invisible. The pair wound up clashing with a group of Decepticons, who defeated them and subsequently traced the train’s path back to the real energon cache in eastern Colorado. The Great Energon Robbery

Rollbar again came into conflict with the Decepticons when he entered into an agreement with Starscream, who persuaded him and some Throttlebot recruits to enter into a dangerous shipwreck and recover some Polarity gauntlets. Completely aware that Starscream would only take the artifacts for himself, Rollbar and his allies planned to double-cross their double-crosser when they arrived. However, they discovered that another group of Decepticons had stolen the gauntlets already, while Soundwave caught on to Starscream's scheme. Catch a Falling Starscream

Toys

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The Transformers

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...and rendered without arms or feet.
  • Rollbar (Throttlebot, 1987)
Released in the fourth year of Hasbro's US The Transformers toyline (third year in Europe and in Takara's Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers line), Throttlebot Rollbar transforms into an olive green Jeep CJ-7. Like all Throttlebots, his primary gimmick is a pull-back motor that sends him zipping forward in either car or robot modes when placed on smooth surfaces.
Perhaps unique among Transformers toys, Rollbar's windows "reflect" an arid landscape rather than being plain colors.
The Throttlebots were part of the Decoy promotion in 1987, where the carded toys came with a soft-rubber figurine. The Throttlebots were the only team to come with either Autobot or Decepticon Decoys; the other toys in the promotion only came with Decoys of the same faction they belonged to.
In Japan, they were also the focus of the "Throttlebot Promotional Sales Campaign", where buying a Throttlebot at select Japanese retailers (sadly, we do not know which retailers these were) got the buyer one of six random all-white Autobot Master Warriors free. These promotional toys are now among the most expensive Transformers toys ever "mass"-released, if not the most expensive (especially when size is taken into account).



  • Rollbar (Throttlebot, 1991)
In 1991, Rollbar and the other Throttlebots were re-released in the European market as part of the Classics line.
For this release, all of the Throttlebots except Wideload were retooled to have their rubsign indents removed, the decals replaced with normal factory-applied paper faction sigil decals.


Alternators

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He wants to be... a macho macho man.
  • Jeep Wrangler Rollbar (Alternator, 2006)
Released in the second wave of the second "series" of Alternators (now sold in bubble-topped packaging rather than window-boxes), Rollbar is a redeco of Alternators Swindle (himself a retool of Alternators Hound, who was already green, thus Rollbar's color change), transforming into a 1:24-scale licensed Jeep Wrangler TJ custom with oversized off-road tires and bullbar. In vehicle mode, he features a realistic interior, opening doors, an opening hood to reveal a fake (and inaccurate) engine bay, and an opening tailgate. As with Hound and Swindle, he lacks the steering feature common in other Alternators, but has spring-loaded suspension. His license plate indicates he's a registered driver in Colorado.
In robot mode, Rollbar is armed with a small laser pistol stored in his spare tire.
This version of him makes his name fit, what with actually having a rollbar.
{{#if:Alternators|Alternators mold:|}} Hound

{{#if:*Hasbro:

  • Takara:
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  • Hasbro:
  • Takara:

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Notes

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Foreign names

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  • Japanese: Rollbar (ロールバー Rōrubā)
  • French: Cabriole (Canada, "Caper")
  • Italian: Trollbot
  • Russian: Rulevoy (Рулевой, "Steering")

References

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<references />
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