RollBots () is a Canadian animated television series created by Michael Milligan (screen name "MCM") and produced by Amberwood Entertainment. The TV show premiered in Canada on YTV on February 7, 2009, and in the United States on The CW4Kids on September 19, 2009. The series was cancelled on December 1, 2009 after one season.
Plot The series is set in Flip City, home of eleven different RollBot tribes. The show follows Spin and the members of the Flip City Police Department (FCPD) as they fight crime.
Characters
Good Bots Spin (Sam Vincent): Spin is the main character of the series and the last member of the Zushin tribe. The fastest RollBot in Flip City, Spin's bot mods include Skyv boots, hyper-speed, and boomstick. He joined the Kei'zatsu tribe, but he does not feel a sense of belonging. Described as a daredevil, Spin is known to get away with breaking rules. Spin is fired from his job as an FCPD officer after an incident with Vertex. He is declared a criminal when he attempts to stop a robbery because the FCPD arrived at the wrong moment and believe Spin to be the robber. It is hinted that Spin may be related to Vertex. Spin is the only rollbot who suspects that Vertex is a Spiderbot, and is ridiculed by everyone else because, as far as the rollbots of Spin City are concerned, Spiderbots do not exist. Spin has the ability to absorb radiation and use its power to disperse energy blasts and perform psychokinesis. In "Paradigm Shift Part 2", it is revealed to Spin that he is the last member of the Zushin tribe, the only tribe that can talk to the Hub. He can use this connection to tell the Hub to do things like reset the safety net, or he can get emergency alerts on his comm, seconds before the Zoboshi or Kei'zatsu receive them. Spin is also acquainted with numerous bots around the city, including friends and enemies. He even seems to know the famous botball player, Roboto, on speaking terms.
Captain Pounder (Garry Chalk): Head of the Kei'zatsu tribe and captain of the FCPD. His equipment includes a shield charger, Torvoldian throwing armour, and thunder punch. As head of the FCPD, Captain Pounder is tough and strong. Despite this, he has a secret soft side. He gives the impression of knowing Vertex intimately, but avoids discussing it. It is hinted that he is after Vertex, although the reason behind this is unknown. He does consider Vertex to be a high priority target, however, it is obvious that he does not know that Vertex is (or is now) a Spiderbot, and always dismisses the idea. He is secretly monitoring Spin. He consistently communicates with someone who is involved with Spin in some way, but they only communicate through Pounder's computer. The Mayor forces Captain Pounder to fire Spin after he says that Vertex is a Spiderbot. When Spin is arrested, Captain Pounder declares him to be a dangerous criminal and wants Spin behind bars; but this is only a cover so he can keep a close eye on Spin to protect him from something (presumably Vertex). In "Paradigm Shift Part 2", it is revealed that Pounder did know Vertex, as Vertex greeted him familiarly (such as when he called Pounder 'General'), and that Pounder can speak the Spiderbot language quite fluently. At the end of "Paradigm Shift Part 2", Captain Pounder and Vertex fall through a hole in the safety net; but not before Pounder tells Spin that he is a member of the Zushin tribe. It was also revealed in Spin's flashback that Pounder lost his left eye after being attacked by Vertex.
Penny (Cathy Weseluck): Originally from the Kuzuri tribe, Penny is a doctor on loan to the FCPD. She was banished from her tribe after interfering with an important surgical operation on Mayor Aria's assistant. Penny is equipped with a healing glove. She is Spin's best friend and, like him, is known to break rules. She is chosen by Captain Pounder to take command of the FCPD if anything happens to him. When Spin is declared a fugitive and escapes FCPD custody, she does everything she can to help Spin hide from the FCPD. She is seen on the field for the first part of the season, but spends most of her time running the board back at the precinct. She has been an officer for longer than Spin (though no one knows how much longer), and therefore is his superior officer. There have been hints at attraction between Penny and Spin, but there have never been any obvious incidents. She has also been shown to have a slight crush on Roboto, although this is more admiration because he is a famous botball player than actual love.
Lance (Scott McNeil): An office administrator at the FCPD, Lance is from the Kei'zatsu tribe. He is not very strong, cannot roll very fast, and can get scared very easily. His only bot-mod is the force bubble, with which he protects himself. He dislikes Spin because Spin does not respect his rules. He makes fun of Spin by always calling him a "rookie", sticks him with boring jobs when he has the chance, and says that Spin will never belong to the Kei'zatsu tribe. When Spin gets fired from his job, Lance arrests him after he tries to stop a robbery in progress, to make it look like Spin was the robber. Lance has a weakness for eating lug nuts (the Rollbot version of donuts), which Spin has used against him as a distraction, and even escaped prison by doing so. He usually eats so many that he becomes exhausted and sick when he is full.
Tinny (Tabitha St. Germain): A BotTot (young RollBot) from the Kei'zatsu tribe. He is in school, but spends a lot of time with Spin, who lets him try dangerous things. In "Paradigm Shift Part 2", Tinny battles Vett and discovers that he has the power to create force fields and project energy blasts. He has often been shown to be fully capable of becoming an officer, despite being so young. On several occasions he has shown the capability to both run the board at the FCPD independently and to be an officer on the field.
Bunto (Colin Murdock): A member of the Kei'zatsu tribe and the FCPD. He is a higher-ranking officer who is often seen commanding a squad of FCPD bots. What makes him different from the other FCPD members is that his armor has blue-and-red coloured plating in place of the white of most officers. When Spin is declared a fugitive, Bunto repeatedly attempts to capture Spin, though he always fails, due to Spin either speeding away or beating Bunto in some way.
Villain Bots Vertex (Colin Murdock): A notorious villain and Flip City's most wanted individual. He is the main antagonist of the series, and is suspected to be a Spiderbot. He plans to take over Flip City by shutting down the Hub and deactivating the safety net using a device called a "dymex key" that is combined with eleven artifacts hidden all over the city. Shutting down the safety net will allow an invasion of Spiderbots to control Flip City and destroy all RollBots. His tribe is unknown. Vertex has the ability to transform into a RollBot, as a disguise, and to speak in both his native Spiderbot language and the Rollbot language. In "Paradigm Shift Part 2", he is last seen falling through a hole in the safety net with Captain Pounder. Before he falls through the net, he states that despite his absence, the invasion will proceed to attack Flip City.
Manx (Nicole Oliver): A renegade Kei'zatsu who is now Vertex's head henchbot. She has previously worked at the FCPD, though her reason for defecting and joining Vertex are unknown. Manx is equipped with pulse flares, and is very agile. Unlike other villains, Manx has a conscience. She is aware of Botch's recklessness. In "Paradigm Shift Part 2," Manx leaves Vertex's forces to assist the FCPD after hearing Vertex's true plans for the RollBots. Vertex attempts to have her destroyed for knowing his true plans. She also has a rarely seen Kei'zatsu symbol on each of her legs, though they are faded and scratched out, possibly as a sign of her no longer belonging to the tribe.
Botch (Brian Drummond): A renegade Zurasho, Botch is one of Vertex's henchbots. He is armed with an energy grappler and power shields. He previously worked for the Triads, Flip City's most dangerous gang. He aspires to unseat both Manx and Vertex. Right before joining Vertex, he was arrested by Manx while she was still working for the FCPD. Despite his hatred for her, Manx, he seems to work well with Manx on certain missions, even calling her 'Manxy' on occasion. In one instance, he is even shown to be truly worried for her safety. Botch has a Zurasho symbol on each of the sides of the piece of metal on the top of his head, but they are dented, possibly to signify that, similarly to Manx, he is no longer a part of his tribe.
Macro (Colin Murdock): A renegade Hai'bu who chose to become a villain and work for Vertex. He is armed with a projectile mace on his left arm, but he sometimes uses other bot-mods in its place. Macro is strong, but very unintelligent and not evil. Macro is the type of model known as a Hai'bu Wrecking Ball. He is the only one of Vertex's henchbots who is completely loyal to Vertex. Like Lance from the FCPD, Macro likes to eat lugnuts whenever he has a chance, but he does not consume as many as Lance does. He is apparently an ex-member of the Hai'bu Hammers botball team.
Phaze (Paul Dobson): A bot who was in jail before he escaped with the help of Vertex. He is an ex-member of the Zurasho tribe who left to join the Triads, though he did not like them either. He was the member of the Triads who let Botch join before quitting and going on his own. He is soon arrested and placed back in jail, thanks to Spin. He is extremely crazy, loves destruction, and has a passion for magnetic bot mods because of the damage they can do. Phaze is the reason Manx is no longer part of the FCPD, and Manx despises him for it. He appears to have a crush on Manx.
Reboot (Cathy Weseluck): A renegade Tensai who was thought to have been kidnapped, but actually chose to help Vertex with his plans to shut down the Hub. She learned everything she knows from Zilla and Bug. She is also famous for her 'holographic cake' trick used at Tensai birthday parties. She and Vertex's henchbots stole an experimental bot-mod called a "crontab" to take to the Hub to shut it down. The crontab could turn back time, and no one would remember it had happened. However, when they activated the crontab at the Hub, it almost destroyed Flip City. Spin was the only one who noticed the time flux from the crontab's repeated use; he was finally able to stop Reboot and Vertex's henchbots before they could use the crontab to turn back time again. The henchbots escaped and left Reboot to be apprehended by the FCPD. It has been rumored that Reboot has discovered a way to defeat Vertex, but she has not revealed it to anybody.
Tamaki (Shirley Millner): The leader of a renegade group of pirate bots. She used to reside in Anakata Tower in Flip City, and she was once partners with Anakata, a member of the Fuzata tribe. They worked on a bot-mod that turns anything (even RollBots) into gold, but Anakata tricked her at the last minute and got all the credit for the bot-mod. Tamaki wants revenge on her former partner and her share of the profits from the bot-mod. It was soon destroyed after she reclaimed it. Her ship is called the "Black Dot".
Kibi (Richard Newman): A renegade Tensai who is now a pirate. He is also Captain Tamaki's right-hand bot.