Editing Roller (IDW)

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{{disambig3.5|the pre-war policeman Autobot|G1 Optimus Prime's drone unit|Roller (G1)|Roller}}
:''Roller is a [[Transformer]] from the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW portion]] of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''
[[File:MTMTE36cover-Roller.jpg|right|thumb|300px|]]
'''Roller''' was a good friend to [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]] and [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|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 Percenter]]s), 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==
===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
{{ongoing}}

[[File:Shadowplay Roller feet up.jpg|upright=1.95|thumb|left|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. Following Orion's defeat of [[Sonic (G1)|Sonic]] and [[Boom]] in the [[Dead End (place)|Dead End]], he had Roller send in a containment trailer to arrest them. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}} Roller later let helped Orion by locating the [[Relinquishment Clinic]] closest to his location and bringing [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Senator Shockwave]] into protective custody. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|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. {{storylink|Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|An Intimate Beheading}}
 
Ratchet recalled these events as "the last time the three of us [himself, Pax and Roller] were together", implying that Roller was taken out of the picture soon afterwards. {{storylink|Spotlight: Wheelie}} Pax, Roller, and the Outliers did indeed have to go on the run after that, fighting [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime's]] [[Cybertron Elite Guard|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.

[[File:AllOurParlousYesterdays-Roller.jpg|right|thumb|350px|]]

In 1st cycle 502, Roller and the gang were fighting to protect a [[reproduction|spark hot spot]] in [[Alyon]] from being taken or exterminated by Sentinel. They were joined by members of the ''[[Lost Light]]'' crew [[time travel|of four million years later]], who claimed that [[Zeta Prime (G1)|Zeta]] had sent them to help. From this group, [[Rung (G1)|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.

Afterwards, Roller was MIA and Pax ordered him to be looked for.

Then, after the visitors [[Mnemosurgery|altered the short term memories]] of Pax's crew, everyone forgot he was missing... {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays|All Our Parlous Yesterdays}}

He may have survived to the early stages of the war, as ''a'' Roller was considered for an exploring mission that went to [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Wheelie}}

Optimus likely named his [[Roller (G1)|drone module]] after his old friend.

==Notes==
*[[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>[http://theunderbase.libsyn.com/the-underbase-deconstructs-shadowplay "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 paddy wagon.
*A popular theory is that Roller became [[Tarn (DJD)|Tarn]] later in life: several incidents support this claim.
**Roller is a Point One Percenter, Tarn was implied to be one in issue #14 
**Roller is seen crushing an Elite Guardman's head with a look of virtual disinterest in issue #36, Tarn did the same to the alternate Swerve in issue #32 
**Roller has an addictive personality, Tarn is addicted to transforming 
**Roller feels outclassed by the Outliers, a good reason for him to undergo the upgrades that put him on the level of Phase Sixers, as noted in issue #14 
**Orion encourages Roller to read Megatron's works in issue #36, Tarn is intimately familiar with Megatron's writings 
**Roller is familiar with Megatron's slogan "You are being deceived" which Tarn later quotes when confronted with the Scavengers' "coffin" 
**The left side of Roller's face is noticeably damaged this issue, Tarn has scarring around his left eye visible through his mask in closeups in issue #7 and #8 
**Roller is left "abandoned" by his friend as a result of the mind-wipe, a reason he may fall in with the opposite side

==References==

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Comic-only Transformers]]
[[Category:IDW Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Point One Percenters]]
[[Category:Law enforcement]]