Apex Bomber

Apex Bomber is an Autobot drone from the toyline portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

The Heroic Apex Bomber What Bombs at the Apex

Apex Bomber is Powermaster Optimus Prime's drone buddy. He is not cognitive, but he responds to Prime's orders and can be commanded to "perform combat functions", whatever that may mean. His standard alternate mode is an extra trailer for Prime to tow around. When Prime is in super robot mode, Apex Bomber can merge with him as Apex Armor.

He is called a "roller drone"; in some universes, he is an upgraded version of Roller.

Fiction

Ask Vector Prime

Vector Prime clarified that, in some universes, the Apex Bomber was indeed an upgraded Roller. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/07/27

Toys

Commemorative Series

• Powermaster Optimus Prime with Apex Armor (2003)

Generation One Commemorative Series Apex Bomber is a minor retool of Godbomber from Takara's 2001 God Ginrai reissue. The few changes include lengthening the missiles and removing the scope from the Godcannon. In adapting the toy's presentation for an English-speaking audience, Godbomber become "Apex Bomber", which merges with the included Powermaster Optimus Prime as "Apex Armor".

• More info on Apex Bomber at TFU.info

Notes

• The first Optimus Prime toy came with Roller, a small vehicle stored in the trailer. When the Powermaster Optimus Prime toy was released it did not include Roller. Despite this, the Marvel comic and other contemporary fiction still presented Roller as his familiar cart-shaped self in Prime's trailer. When the toy was rereleased in 2003 as part of the Commemorative Series it now included Apex Bomber, who is described on package as a "roller drone". This led to the idea that Apex Bomber was an upgraded Roller, which was canonized in Ask Vector Prime.
• To date, Apex Bomber has no unique pieces of art; a monochromatic red version of Godbomber's packaging art was used for his instructions.
• Apex Bomber was somewhat close to receiving a new toy in the 2016-2017 Titans Return toyline. Early on in the duration of the line, a session of the Transmissions Podcast discussed a Hasbro computer presentation indicating an upcoming Deluxe Class figure designated "Iron Apex" (altered name probably for trademark and/or marketing reasons) using a placeholder image of Godbomber. As no figure was ultimately released under the name "Iron Apex", Hasbro probably scrapped the idea when TakaraTomy produced the roughly Voyager-sized Legends Godbomber to accompany Super Ginrai.