Roulette (Universe)

This article is about the female Autobot from Universe. For the male Autobot from the IDW comics, see Roulette (G1).

Roulette is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.

She'll shoot yer eye out, kid.

Anyone who makes the mistake of gambling on Roulette will quickly learn that there's very little she leaves to chance. As one of Cybertron's top sharpshooters, Roulette's high-powered sonic blaster lets her pop Decepticon heads with the best of them. Her speedy alternate mode allows her to keep her foes at arm's length or close the distance to finish off a weakened foe, and her shoulder-mounted deflecto-shield absorbs and redirects any incoming attacks.

Some of her fellow Autobots dismiss her incredible marksmanship, but Roulette doesn't mind; she's climbed the ranks faster than many of her comrades and knows that they're jealous.

“	Life should be as easy as hitting bullseyes.	”
—Roulette's bio quote

Fiction

3H comics

Unicron would soon rebuild her to be more kibbly.

At an early age, Roulette and her sister Shadow Striker watched as their sister was destroyed at the hands of nomadic invaders. Though this traumatic event drove her sister to crime, it gave Roulette her passion for law enforcement, in the hopes that she could prevent such tragedies from happening to others. She placed second in the IntraFormers Sharpshooting Competition behind Sureshot, but she was forgotten amongst the cheers for the winner. She later enrolled in the Academy of Cybertronian Law Enforcement, rising through the ranks quicker than any previous recruit. Roulette bio

Roulette, her sister, and fellow Autobots Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, and Trailbreaker returned to Cybertron after a long absence. The planet's Maximals welcomed them home, but the celebration was interrupted by Unicron, who abducted all five Autobots, as well as the Maximals Silverbolt and Blackarachnia. Abduction After she and many other prisoners were freed by Optimus Primal, Roulette was turned on by Shadow Striker, who had become corrupted by the influence of Unicron. She was forced to leave her sister behind when Primal led the escapees back to Cybertron. Escape

The end of the conflict was told by an Optimus Prime, who described the defeat of Unicron and his Minions. As Unicron folded in on himself, Optimus Primal led the survivors through a portal presumably leading back to their native technorganic Cybertron. Roulette was carried away to safety by King Atlas, though her downcast expression may hint at her turncoat sister's fate. Revelations Part 2

TransTech

Roulette was a croupier at The Blue Deployer, Cryotek's bar of ill repute in the trans-dimension hub city of Axiom Nexus. Jackpot attempted to hit on her and apparently failed to impress. Gone Too Far

Wings Universe

Roulette was hanging out at the Galadria Space Bridge Outpost in the Delta Prysmos Sector when a pirate ship appeared overhead and dropped a bomb on her and several other passersby. Hoist the Flag

2005 IDW continuity

She's already got the "stand around and point" part of mimicking Optimus Prime down pat.

Roulette was a young Velocitronian born from the hot spot in the Titan Navitas. In the wake of Optimus Prime's annexation of Earth and the defeat of Baron Karza, Roulette was one of several zealous recruits who travelled to Earth to meet the Prime. To Walk Among the Chosen Roulette chose to join the Autobots after learning the story of how Optimus had once been a normal 'bot before ascending to Primehood, Primeless, Part 2 and relished the idea of helping Earth, supposedly a lost Transformer colony, come out of its "dark ages." Befitting a Velocitronian, she also admired Optimus's speed in spite of his cumbersome alternate mode. To Walk Among the Chosen

On one of their first missions after arriving on Earth, Roulette and the other colonists would join Aileron in Mexico City in the hopes of recovering a cache of stolen Cybertronian weaponry. They discovered that an anti-Transformer protest had degenerated into a riot, and in the chaos, a human protester managed to nail Midnight Express with a black market Earth Defense Command weapon. The unexpected resistance prompted Optimus to deploy reinforcements, and while Soundwave, Arcee, and Jazz saved the day the new recruits watched in awe.

Back aboard Metrotitan, the assembled colonists continued to laud the myriad deeds of Optimus; their combined hero-worship managed to annoy even Aileron. To Walk Among the Chosen

Following the arrival of the Junkions on Earth, Roulette and the colonists watched Prime return to Metrotitan, and bombarded him with questions about the aliens. A Lonely Pillar on the Plain She and the other colonists knelt as Optimus Prime returned to Earth from Cybertron, and later watched on as Pyra Magna and Optimus Prime had a heated argument about the use of the Matrix to manipulate the faith of the devout. Roulette was present when Optimus Prime organized a summit with several human governments, which was interrupted when the Junkions sicced a horde of Sharkticons on the event. Dance Among the Shadows At Prime's urging, she took part in the ensuing battle on the deck of Metrotitan. Future Glories Lost

Spurred on by a crisis of conscience, Optimus abruptly changed tack mid-battle and decided to lay down arms in the hopes of negotiating a permanent peace with the Junkions. The Autobots subsequently relocated to the abandoned Bikini Atoll, where Roulette and the others helped the Junkions build "Little Cybertron," a permanent Earth settlement. Feel Safe Without Regrets The new Autobots attended Oiler's funeral, where Roulette and the other colonists tried to comfort his sister Slide. Roulette wasn't comfortable with the idea of burying the deceased, noting that on her homeworld Velocitronians disposed of their dead via smelting pool. The Next Day, and the Next

A few days later, the colonists were still stationed on the island and were starting to grow bored with the endless construction and the erratic behavior of the Junkions. After a hard day's work, Roulette went off with the other colonists to feed the Sharkticons... leaving Slide, who could no longer transform, behind in the dust. What It's Really Like

When the time came for Earth to formally join the Council of Worlds, Roulette and her friends gathered in Metrotitan's space bridge to watch the proceedings... but were unprepared for Baron Ironblood's attack on Iacon that cut off the space bridge connecting the two planets. With Optimus indisposed, Aileron took command of the remaining Earthbound Autobots; needing to keep the colonists occupied, she brought them along on a mission to Oaxaca to track down Jazz, Primeless, Part 1 who had gone missing following a disastrous interview. What It's Really Like

While searching the city, the team were ambushed by more human militants wielding salvaged Cybertronian weaponry, forcing Aileron to order a retreat to the city outskirts. This move sparked a prolonged argument between Aileron and Slide, and, as their mission continued, Slide's frustration with Optimus began rubbing off on some of her teammates, prompting Roulette to wonder why they were chasing Jazz instead of quelling the flow of guns. The mounting tension was quickly thrown into overdrive after the team discovered Jazz pinned down by more human militiamen. Primeless, Part 1

Aileron ordered the colonists to take down the humans; the Autobots were able to intimidate most of the humans into leaving save Mateo Chavez, who opted to take them back to meet with his suppliers—the Decepticons Frenzy and Rumble, who had used their holomatter avatars to start a lucrative arms trade in the hopes of making a quick buck. Roulette pointed out that any punitive Autobot-Decepticon interactions would only inflame a delicate political situation, which made Aileron realize that she would have to cover up the situation entirely. Roulette, Aileron and the colonists returned to Autobot City with the Decepticons in tow, none of the other Autobots any the wiser about what had transpired. Primeless, Part 2

The defeat of the Iron Ring allowed Iacon to reestablish contact with Autobot City, and shortly afterwards Roulette and the other colonists went to Cybertron to attend Sideswipe's funeral. The Dead Come Home, Part 1

While Optimus presided over the opening of an Ore-13 mine in Kentucky some days later, the colonists were on board Metrotitan, arguing with Slide about the Prime's motives. To defuse the tension, Pyra Magna suggested that the colonists visit the mine in person to better understand Optimus's goals; Surfeit of Primes this left the team stranded after Metrotitan—alerted to a burgeoning crisis on Cybertron precipitated by the arrival of Onyx Prime—teleported away. Another Mine With nowhere else to go, the colonists retreated back to Little Cybertron to await further instructions. Eventually, however, news broadcasts from Cybertron began to trickle in, reporting that Cybertron had abruptly lost contact with Roulette's homeworld. Though Roulette remained optimistic that Optimus would put things right, more reports that something had destroyed Velocitron, Devisiun and Eukaris, with Prime planning to sacrifice Caminus, galvanized Slide into action. Unstopped and Unstoppable

To show that they hadn't abandoned their comrades the way Prime seemingly had, the colonists recruited Sky Lynx for a trip to Mount Rushmore, intent on storming the G.I. Joe outpost and liberating Jazz from human captivity, unaware that the Autobot had deliberately turned himself in. The battle was quickly compounded by the presence of Trypticon and the Dinobots, with the war-hardened Autobots easily overpowering the rookies. The battle quickly spilled out of control, with Gimlet inadvertently killing Mainframe in a fit of anger and subsequently being sliced in half by Slug, a problem compounded by Unicron materializing over Earth, after having destroyed Cybertron. Time Will Rust Not long after Soundwave's scream of anguish disrupted communications across the planet, Prowl and the crew of the Peaceful Revolution landed. Agreeing with Prowl's sentiments that they needed to put their differences aside if they stood any chance of defeating Unicron, the colonists and Dinobots boarded the ship and flew to Victoria Falls to regroup with Metroplex and the other Cybertronian refugees. Time Will Rust Assembly

The next morning, the Cybertronians began their counterattack in earnest; after Metroplex space bridged away from Victoria Falls to escape an oncoming horde of Maximals, Roulette was one of the many Transformers who took part in the battle to face the planet-eater head on; a gambit designed to buy enough time for Prime and a small team to slip through Unicron's defenses and kill him from within using the Talisman. As the battle against Bludgeon and Monstructor spilledover into Earth's atmosphere, Roulette joined up with the Dinobots to take down the mad scientist, and watched from the sidelines as Slide combined into Victorion to take down the monster. Ceremony Following Unicron's demise, thanks to Prime's sacrifice, Roulette joined Aileron, Jetfire, and the other colonists on a deep-space exploration mission. Post

2019 IDW continuity

First appearance: Transformers #22

Roulette was a member of the Senate Guard, and provided security on the streets of Iacon during Quake's trial. Prisoners Shortly afterwards, the Ascenticons launched a terrorist attack on the Senate building in response to Sentinel Prime's threat to outlaw their political movement, and Roulette and Grotusque were swarmed by infiltration troopers and incapacitated. We Have Deceived You

The new Decepticon regime imprisoned the Senate Guard in their own holding cells, where they remained for some time until Ironhide and Chromia's team infiltrated the building and freed them. Roulette joined Ironhide, Backstreet, Chainclaw, and Groove as they swept the Senate halls for more prisoners; their team ran into Blitzwing as they rounded a corner, however, and Roulette barely had time to shout a warning before the Decepticon heavy shot her dead on the spot. Prime

Games

Transformers: Heavy Metal

Roulette was among the Decepticons under Starscream's command who invaded Earth in search of Energon. True to her name, she let combat rely on random chance, which occasionally led to her losing battles when the odds did not turn out in her favor. Transformers: Heavy Metal

Toys

Universe (2003)

• Shadow Striker / Roulette (Multi-pack, 2003)

• Accessories: Spring-loaded missile launcher/bumper, tailpipe/missile, blaster
• Known designers: Marcelo Matere (concept artist), Dan Khanna (packaging artist)

Roulette is a retool of the 2001 Robots in Disguise Deluxe Side Burn toy with a new head; Roulette and Shadow Striker are the first convention-exclusive toys to have parts made from entirely new tooling. She transforms into a Dodge Viper with exposed engine block. Her rear bumper becomes a spring-loaded missile launcher.

She was available only in an OTFCC 2003 exclusive two-pack with her sister Shadow Striker. The two are cast in the same plastic colors, but have different paint operations to give them very different decos. This makes them one of the few examples of true repaints in the entire history of Transformers.

• More information on Roulette at TFU.info
• Roulette toy gallery at Transformertoys.co.uk

Notes

• Roulette's color scheme is based on the Digimon character Sakuyamon, as convention organizer Glen Hallit was a big Digimon fan.
• The toyless character Spikestrip is based on Roulette.