Roller (IDW)

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This article is about the pre-war policeman Autobot. For G1 Optimus Prime's drone unit, see Roller (G1){{#switch:{{#sub:Roller (G1)|-1}}|!=|.=|?=|.}} For a list of other meanings, see Roller (disambiguation).
Roller is a Transformer from the 2005 IDW portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
Juice Box Hero.

Roller was a good friend to Orion Pax and Ratchet in the pre-war days. He served alongside Pax in the police force until... something happened to him.

He's known for being one chatty chappy! Despite his friendly nature and his incredible strength (he's one of the mighty Point One Percenters), he's not that confident in his abilities. He'll focus on what others can do that he can't, rather than what he can.

Fiction

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2005 IDW continuity

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First appearance: More than Meets the Eye #9 (mentioned); #10 (on-panel)
Ehhh, I'll do it later.

Roller was one of Orion Pax's fellow officers at Rodion, a gifted investigator and a trusted ally with a fondness for TV. Patternism Roller was on secondment at Tesk when his fellow officers Springarm and Wheelarch were killed by Kroma and the Senate's thugs. Metastasis

Following Orion's defeat of Sonic and Boom in the Dead End, he had Roller send in a containment trailer to arrest them. Post Hoc Roller later helped Orion by locating the Relinquishment Clinic closest to his location and bringing Senator Shockwave into 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 the Primal Basilica, but was defeated by Kroma'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 Beheading as 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 Yesterdays The 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 fighting Sentinel Prime's Elite 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 the circuit speeder C32.

RECTANGLE CAR NYOOOOOOM

In 1st cycle 502, Roller and the gang were fighting to protect a spark hot spot in Alyon from being taken or exterminated by Sentinel. They were joined by members of the Lost Light crew of four million years later, who claimed that Zeta had sent them to help. From this group, Rung tested Roller's carton of Kremzeek and realised it contained C32, questioning about his habit. Roller admitted to his insecurity, saying "not everyone is born special"—even though, as Rung noted, he had been. 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.

Dude, circuit speeders give you one hell of a hangover...

Roller was missing in the aftermath of the battle, and Pax ordered his crew to look for him. Unfortunately, after the visitors altered the short-term memories of 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 the Disappeared! As travel using a single time case was hazardous, Roller was placed in stasis within the Necroworld, millions of years later, and disguised with holograms to appear as an organic being. Do Not Go Gentle Unaware of this, Optimus would name his drone module after his old friend.

Many years later, a Roller was considered for an exploring mission that went to Wheelie. Better hope they didn't think a presumed dead guy was better than you, Wheelie! Spotlight: Wheelie

During Team Rodimus's battle with the Decepticon Justice Division on the Necroworld, a groggy Roller woke up with his fellow rescuees to find himself in a weird place with a green stranger and 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 him Do Not Go Gentle and Rewind began to introduce him to others the next day. One other, titchy tiny Tailgate, amused him by picking him up and carrying him around.

In English, please?

Poor Roller got drafted into "Team Rodimus" and brought on an experimental quantum leap warp back to Cybertron. He proudly confirmed with GPS they were in Central Iacon, only for them to learn they'd accidentally crossed to the Cybertron of a parallel universe! Some Other Cybertron To his confusion, everyone but him seemed to know what was up with this universe and Rewind's answer was no help. A team of rebels, the Anti-Vocationist League, showed up to free them but, as a dismayed Roller said, they were rubbish. When Rodimus decided they should break free and help, Roller took commands from Megatron on the best way to take out functionaries. Anomie Along with everyone else, he witnessed the sanctuary of Adaptica, the fake-out of Rung's alternate mode, A World Misplaced and the arrival of a battle-prepped Luna 2 come 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 Production Roller 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 Fascists Roller joined the former crew of the Lost Light as they prepared to continue their quest by modifying a dead Decepticon named Skip into 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 and Chromedome to 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 the Afterspark. As you do. Roller was delighted to reconnect with Springarm, a fellow officer from Rodion who died over four million years ago. Roller had always felt guilty about not being around when Kroma attacked the precinct, killing Springarm and Wheelarch and leaving Orion Pax to fend for himself. But Springarm forgave him, bringing Roller a step closer towards accepting ascension into the Matrix. Metastasis It was eventually discovered that the Afterspark was not what it seemed, however. They were actually on Cyberutopia, 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 the Lost Light, reduced to feral Sparkeaters by Getaway and Scorponok on behalf of a mysterious figure called the Grand Architect. Roller joined an assault team that entered the Lost Light to defeat their adversaries. A Dance Before Dying They were forced into battling Red Scraplets in the oil reservoir, but fortunately survived thanks to Whirl's affinity to the creatures. Lūstrāre After Getaway was killed and Scorponok seen off, the entire cast regrouped aboard the Lost Light before being captured by the Grand Architect. Farsickness

Roller happy at last :)

He was with everyone else when the Functionist Council's false effigy of Primus entered the universe through the rift in space The Return of the King and watched over Flame to make sure he didn't try something funky. The Unremembering Together with Chromedome and Rewind, Roller was dispatched to Port Residua to open a Matrix and help shut down the Functionist Council. A Spark Among Embers He later went along on the Lost Light's final "lap of honor", sucking on two juice boxes at once and wondering why they still couldn't use the vessel after the quantum engines were removed. With the dismantling of the ship imminent, Roller attended a farewell party at Swerve's and flirted with a receptive Nickel, admiring her wheels. The Lost Light was 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

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In this portion of the Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity, Roller the full-size Transformer is the same individual as Roller the buggy drone. See the other Roller's page for more on his exploits in continuities where he is a separate individual.
He saw me wanderin', hatin'.

After Optimus Prime died in the Unicron War, Roller was trapped between dimensions Ruination Chapter, Part Two and consigned to soul-crushing wandering. His anger and despair as he journeyed created an emotional and malicious energy that attracted the attention of Unicron. His scattershot memory didn't tell much, but what he knew was his burning hatred for Optimus Prime of the Autobots. Unite Warriors bio As part of his plan to avert Galvatron from 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 invade Cybertron so 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 of Thrull. 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 an energon 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 by Trailbreaker and continued the battle on foot. He made his way into Vector Sigma's chamber, where Ratchet was trying to resuscitate Optimus Prime, and saw his chance to get revenge on Prime by destroying his body. He was stopped in his attempt by Sky Lynx, then re-combined with the rest of the team to do battle with Sky Reign. Sky Reign Chapter This face-off would be interrupted by the arrival of Megaempress and her 4 Guards. In the chaos that followed, Grand Galvatron's limbs fled in terror and Roller and Breakdown were forced by Flowspade to become fists for her "Transplay" ninja technique. Megatronia Chapter Roller was eventually released from this state and rushed to Optimus's defense when Unicron arrived with his upgraded Combatrons, 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. When Optimus Maximus was 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 the Triple 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 that Dai Atlas had recovered the Zodiac, an energy source capable of reviving the deceased Autobot leader. Unfortunately, it was at that moment that a strange capsule appeared, 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 the Battlestars to help track down his remains. The team subsequently located Prime's body on the fortified Decepticon planet of Lucifer, and during their battle with Novaroid and Galaman drones, 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 in 2038, during the battle against the reborn Dark Nova, Roller once more helped Optimus Prime transform into Star Convoy, to strike down the Vok 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

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Generations (Japan)

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The other Roller. No, the other other Roller.
  • Optimus Prime & Bumblebee (Multi-pack, 2013)
  • ID number: TG24
  • Release date: September 28, 2013
  • Accessories: Ion Blaster
Part of the ninth wave of TakaraTomy's version of the Generations toyline, Roller is a redeco of the Legends Class Thrilling 30 "Autobot Roller", transforming into a six-wheeled SUV of made-up model. He also has a third cannon mode with a 5 mm handle that other toys can carry. He has 3 mm-compatible hands, a 5 mm hole in vehicle mode and a 3 mm hole in weapon mode for mounting the Ion Blaster accessory.
He was only available in a four-pack with Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Blazemaster.
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

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Comic-accuracy? Never heard of it.
  • Grand Galvatron (Giftset, 2016)
  • ID number: UW-06
  • Release date: April 30, 2016
  • Accessories: [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Hydraulic rescue tools|{{#if:Hydraulic clamp/spreader tool|Hydraulic clamp/spreader tool|Hydraulic rescue tools}}]], double-barreled gun/fist/foot
A redeco of Combiner Wars Rook (the first release of this mold in Japan), Unite Warriors "Wandering Roller" transforms into a six-wheeled [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Reconnaissance vehicle|{{#if:armored reconnaissance|armored reconnaissance|Reconnaissance vehicle}}]]-style SWAT vehicle similar to a [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Type 87 ARV|{{#if:||Type 87 ARV}}]]. Rather than 5 mm hands, Roller has forward-facing 5 mm ports in front of his fists. This allows him to mount his hydraulic clamp-like accessory as an integrated weapon or use Combiner Wars combiner hands (one of which is included) as giant "Hulk hands". He features a robot-mode color scheme based on his appearance in IDW comics, while his vehicle mode homages the original silver version of Roller.
As a Deluxe Class Combiner Wars mold, he can combine to form the leg or arm of any Combiner Wars-compatible super robot, but his nominal placement is as the left leg to Grand Galvatron.
He was only available as part of the Grand Galvatron giftset, along with Tactician Cyclonus, Ghost Starscream, Curse Armada Thrust, and Zombie War Breakdown. This set was the third of six sets exclusive to TakaraTomy Mall... and the last of the six to have a unique set ID number.
{{#if:Combiner Wars|Combiner Wars mold:|}} Rook

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  • TakaraTomy: Unite Warriors UW-08 Nosecone||-
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  • TakaraTomy: Unite Warriors UW-08 Nosecone|}}

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Merchandise

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Transformers Character Card

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  • Wandering Roller & Tarn Set (March 19, 2024)
    • ID number: 79 & 80
Released as part of the eleventh wave of the e-HOBBY exclusive Transformers Character Card series, this pair of holographic trading cards depict super-deformed art of Roller in his Unite Warriors body and Tarn along with character profiles and tech specs.

Notes

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80% legs
  • James Roberts confirmed that Roller was a 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".)<ref>"The Underbase Podcast Deconstructs Shadowplay", 39:43 - 41:54</ref>
  • 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 of More than Meets the Eye was that Roller was the secret identity of Tarn. Issue #36 subsequently 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 in issue #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's real unmasking).
  • Speaking of red herrings, Roller is introduced in Unite Warriors as 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 in More than Meets the Eye issue 36; he even shares IDW Roller's appearance before being reformatted by Unicron. Later events in both Unite Warriors and More than Meets the Eye would make it clear that they are not the same individual.

References

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