History[]
Roy Race was the star striker of Melchester Rovers F.C., which he joined while still in his teens. In 1975 he became player-manager of the team, which he led to victory on numerous occasions, marrying club secretary Penny Laine along the way and having three children: Roy Race Jr. (alias 'Rocky'), Melinda and Diana. Roy had a number of adventures during his surprisingly long career (the Rovers were kidnapped and held to ransom in one foreign locale or other about once a year on average, and Roy also survived being shot by a homicidal television actor (mirroring then current events in TV soap Dallas), bombed by terrorists in the Middle East and having his wife walk out on him for a while) but what finally ended his time on the pitch was losing control of his helicopter and crashing it in 1993 (this was the cliffhanger ending of the weekly Roy of the Rovers title, picked up on several months later in its monthly successor). Roy survived but lost his left foot. Roy subsequently moved to Italy to manage a side there. He returned home following Penny's death in a car accident (which left Roy himself with partial amnesia) and attempted to reconcile with his son Rocky, who had also become a footballer. When last seen, Roy had finally become the owner of Melchester Rovers, the club he devoted most of his life to, and his son was their new star striker, the latest "Roy of the Rovers."
Roy Rebooted
A new, younger Roy has since surfaced who appears to have no connection to the original. Presumably, this Roy Race lives in a different universe all his own. His sister Roxanne is also a footballer.
Powers and abilities[]
Abilities
Playing football; leadership skills.
Strength level
Human male who gets regular strenuous exercise.
Paraphernalia[]
Transportation
Helicopter.
Notes[]
Roy's playing career lasted for almost forty years, which is clearly pretty much impossible, particularly as Roy never seemed to look older than his mid-thirties. Later instalments of Roy of the Rovers attempted to explain this with retroactive continuity, explaining that more than one Roy Race had played for Melchester, the original Roy of the 1950's having been the father of the 1970's Roy. Decades later, Rebellion began publishing a new, updated version of the strip, featuring a sixteen year old Roy divorced from his previous continuity.
Trivia[]
Roy's strip spawned a spoof version in the adult comic Viz: the bizarre Billy the Fish.
Links[]
- Appearances of Roy Race
- Character Gallery: Roy Race
- Images that feature Roy Race
- Fan-Art Gallery: Roy Race
- Roy Race quotations
Discover and Discuss[]
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