Roller (IDW)

This article is about the pre-war policeman Autobot. For G1 Optimus Prime's drone unit, see Roller (G1). For a list of other meanings, see Roller (disambiguation).

Roller is a Transformer from the IDW portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

Ehhh, I'll do it later.

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!

Fiction

IDW Generation 1 continuity

This section covers fiction that is ongoing. It will be added to as the story progresses. If it isn't current, you can help by updating it.

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 and Boom in the Dead End, he had Roller send in a containment trailer to arrest them. Post Hoc Roller later let 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. 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. He at least survived to the early stages of the war, and was considered for an exploring mission that went to Wheelie. Spotlight: Wheelie

Optimus likely named his drone module after Roller.

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")
• In the same interview, Roberts and Milne say Roller was drawn so big because he transforms into a Cybertronian police paddy wagon.