Roman Torchwick

Roman Torchwick is a character in the world of RWBY and a secondary antagonist.

He makes a very small cameo in the "Yellow" Trailer before being introduced properly in "Ruby Rose," orchestrating and participating in the robbery of a store titled: From Dust Till Dawn, the target being its supply of Dust, which was ultimately foiled by Ruby Rose.

Appearance
Roman has slanted dark-green eyes and bright, long, orange hair, with long bangs covering his right eye. He wears a black bowler hat with a red band, and wears black eyeliner.

Roman wears a red-collared white suit and a small gray scarf. He has black gloves with rounded sleeves, as well as long black pants and black shoes.

Personality
Roman's personality is a mixture between that of a formal gentleman and a ruthless criminal. He affects charm and speaks calmly even in the middle of an armed robbery.

However, he also demonstrates a ruthless streak, evidently willing to use lethal force on Ruby when she foiled his scheme, even going so far as to laugh after successfully shooting her down in "Black and White." Judging by his elaborate outfit and accessories, Roman also has expensive tastes, a common stereotype of Mafia Dons and other organized crime kingpins.

This is further exemplified by his reaction the destruction of his battlemech, which causes him to be violently flung to the ground scattered by debris. Rather than appearing upset with what happened to his product or afraid of the situation, he simply brushes himself off commenting that the experience has compromised the cleanliness of his suit.

Despite working with the White Fang, he appears to have no respect for them or Faunus in general. On several occasions he talks to or about them in a derogatory fashion, referring to them as "mutts" or "animals." It is unclear if this is representative of hostility towards the Faunus in general or him acting out his frustrations towards having to work with the group, perhaps because he does not like being ordered around by Cinder Fall and her associates.

He is also often takes to mocking, taunting, and insulting his enemies, as seen when he called out to Blake Belladonna, saying, "Here kitty, kitty, kitty," as well as when he responded to Ruby's arrival by saying, "Well, hello, Red! Isn't it past your bedtime?" This quality persists even when he is in very difficult situations such as when he is imprisoned and interrogated by James Ironwood.

Abilities
Piloting: In "Ruby Rose," Roman is shown to be a skilled pilot, as he was able to keep a Bullhead relatively stable even though it was being bombarded with attacks. He is also able to pilot an Atlesian Paladin-290 battlemech and utilise the machine's weapons and sensory systems to good effect, though he was unable to defeat Team RWBY while using the machine. Roman also showed to have great skill in piloting the Paladin, effortlessly guiding it through traffic, moving it fast enough to catch up to a fleeing Blake and Sun.

Fighting: Roman fights using his signature cane-cannon, Melodic Cudgel. In "Ruby Rose" he did manage to hold off Ruby. As of "Black and White," Roman is shown to be adept in using his cane as a melee weapon and is very capable in parrying. He was able to hold is own in the fight against Blake and Sun Wukong, deflecting nearly all of their attacks.

He has the skills to use Melodic Cudgel offensively, such as using it to hook Blake towards him to deliver a punch or staggering her by whipping her knees. In fact, Roman came close to overpowering Blake, having gotten far enough to knock her to the ground and temporarily disarm her. However, she was saved at the last second by Sun, who proved himself to be able to stand his ground against Roman, even with Roman still able to hold off Sun, despite being fired at.

He also seems to have exceptional accuracy, as he was able to hit Ruby with a blast from his cane from a considerable distance. His reflexes are impressive as well, as he was capable of defending himself against attacks from Blake and Sun, both extremely swift, dual-wielding opponents, only using his cane. Despite Blake producing shadow clones using her Semblance, Roman remained perfectly aware of her position and movements during the engagement, quickly countering her attacks. He can also easily deflect incoming shots, such as seen with Sun's weapons.

Planning: Roman appears to be some sort of criminal mastermind. So far, the only on-screen attempt to rob a Dust shop has failed, yet by "Players and Pieces" he has recovered from this and obtained more Dust, showing that his nefarious scheming is something to be reckoned with. This image is furthered by "Players and Pieces," as he is seen planning a heist, attack, or something similar, targeting the entirety of Vale. In "Best Day Ever," Roman is seen to be quite a skilled thief, such as taking away a piece of paper from Emerald Sustrai without her knowing, despite being right next to, and coming into close contact with her.

In "Painting the Town...," Roman anticipated the possibility his Paladin might be destroyed and had his associate Neopolitan follow him in a Bullhead to pick him up if he required rescue from his foes, escaping with her after Team RWBY successfully destroyed the Paladin.

Trivia

 * Roman Torchwick's design is based off the Pinocchio character Candlewick. Candlewick's original name was Romeo, which is similar to Roman. Roman's red hair, hat, and cigar specifically resemble Candlewick's appearance in Disney's film adaptation of Pinocchio named Lampwick.
 * In addition, similar to Roman's cane, Lampwick is often depicted holding a pool cue.
 * The Director's Commentary in the DVD mentions that Roman is a "shout-out to A Clockwork Orange" (1971 British film).
 * Roman's name and weapon could relate to the famous Roman candle firework, which ejects multiple pyrotechnic stars and is illegal in some countries. Also, Roman's weapon fires a blast that resembles a firework.
 * Given the penchant for wordplay that Rooster Teeth exhibited in Red vs. Blue, this possible allusion is not too unlikely.
 * Roman calls Ruby by the name "Red," a possible reference to the fact that she is an allusion to Little Red Riding Hood.
 * In the episode "Ruby Rose," after one of his henchmen is flung next to his feet, he remarks, "You were worth every cent, truly you were," implying that the interaction between him and Junior Xiong in the "Yellow" Trailer was Roman hiring Junior's men for the robbery. This was confirmed by Junior in "Painting the Town..."
 * Roman's fighting style seems to be inspired by the martial art of bartitsu, where practitioners are taught to use a cane as a weapon in addition to various hand-to-hand techniques.
 * Roman's symbol can be found adorning one of his belongings, in his case, his lighter.
 * Roman's symbol is a Jack-O'-Lantern, otherwise known as a Will-O'-The-Wisp or Will-O'-The-Torch, the origin of which was a spirit cursed to roam the world with only a torch/lantern.