Roger Retinz

"You're blowing my mind, kid. You even know what a TV is? Say it with me: "Teh-leh-vi-sion"."

- Roger Retinz, being a douche

Played by Meowzy, here we have the one and only Roger Retinz, the Ratings Rajah of Take-2 TV. Spirit of Justice spoilers will follow in the page, so be warned!

Early Years
(This is all headcanon and in no way official)

Born to a family of douchebags, Roger's future was basically already written before he even had a chance to live it. He didn't exactly have the easiest of childhoods, with a brother who bullied him and parents who beat the snot out of him for occasionally no reason. Didn't do the dishes in time? That's a beating. Caught smoking? That's a beating. Took the change that dad needed to buy beer because he was practicing coin tricks? That's a beating. Got into a fight with some other kid at school? Grounded for a week and another whack upside the head.

The one thing keeping Roger going during those times was magic. The day he'd seen one of Magnifi Gramarye's shows as a young child was the day that'd changed his life. He wanted nothing more than to be just like Magnifi- to turn the craziest fantasies into reality and perform feats your average person couldn't even imagine. He practiced and practiced, until one day, when he was eighteen, Troupe Gramarye held a show in the city once more. He didn't have enough money to go see it, so he did something even better. Donning a costume that he'd made from scratch- half purple and half green, because he didn't have enough of either fabric for a full costume- Roger waited outside the theater for hours until Thalassa Gramarye finally noticed him and let him meet with her father. One long talk later, Magnifi had adopted 'the Great Mr. Reus' as his new, third disciple.

Roger left his home and never looked back, as he'd found a new family. One that'd welcomed him with open arms.

Troupe Gramarye
As the Great Mr. Reus, Roger had a promising future ahead of him with Troupe Gramarye. He was living the dream and learning from the best. Zak and Valant were like brothers to him, Thalassa was like a pleasant mother hen and little Trucy was always a joy to play with. They traveled the world to perform shows and Mr. Reus's fire tricks in particular were a huge hit.

Sadly, he came to find out soon enough that much like his own family, the troupe was nothing more than a gathering of drama, backstabbing and intrigue. Zak and Valant, who were supposed to be partners, were caught in a fierce rivalry. Not only were they both in love with Thalassa (though Valant never stood a chance, as she was already married to Zak and had a daughter with him), but they were both aiming to become Magnifi's successor. Not to mention, Thalassa had a mysterious past involving some ex-husband and Magnifi was a distant asshole who pressured (and on occasion blackmailed) the entire troupe. Still, that made Roger all the more determined to fight for the position of Gramarye heir as well. He did his best to catch up to the others, as he was the newcomer and the underdog, but was consistently unable to meet Magnifi's expectations and became increasingly frustrated.

When he was twenty two, he got injured while practicing a trick with knives, slashing open a good portion of his right lower arm. The doctors told him he was lucky to walk away with only scarring, but Magnifi was wholly unsympathetic on the matter. Despite having a poster made with the Great Mr. Reus included in the group, the old man made the decision to have him sit out on their new show (Magical Menagerie), fearing that Roger would mess up on stage. No one dared to object. No one dared to stand up for their supposed family member, because no one dared to defy Magnifi. Still, Roger had always been a rebel, prone to fighting back. In one last act of defiance, he tried to go on stage during the performance anyway, only to be ousted from the troupe by Magnifi right then and there. The Great Mr. Reus was humiliated and vowed to have his revenge in front of thousands of people.



(DECEPTION! DISGRACE!~)

The Ratings Rajah and the new Mr. Reus
Being kicked from the troupe, Roger had no home to return to. Still, he had the money that he'd made from their performances over the years- a fair share that Magnifi couldn't take away even if he wanted to, Roger had already made sure of that. He used it to find new footing and decided to pursue a different career; television. Instead of performing in shows, he began to write his own, each more gaudy and passive aggressive than the next. (SOMEONE was a bundle of frustration at the time...) Take-2 TV, a channel based in L.A., eventually took a liking to Roger's work and offered him a job as producer. Within several years, he began his rise to the top. A bit of a control freak dedicated to his trade, he became known as a very 'hands-on' producer who was always present during the recording and editing of his shows.

Roughly ten years after being ousted from Troupe Gramarye, he'd already secured the title of Ratings Rajah. He had his own talkshow, catchphrase, underlings to boss around, a penthouse, a hipstery sense of fashion... He was living the life of luxury while those who'd remained in Troupe Gramarye were either dead, missing or dirt poor, their reputation slandered after the supposed murder of Magnifi by one of his disciples. Despite all this, Roger's hatred for the troupe hadn't diminished in the slightest.



(Scrooge McFuck)

One day, during the recording of one of his shows, Roger overheard some guy talking about the Great Mr. Reus. No, not just talking; GUSHING. Somehow, more than ten years after being disgraced, the Great Mr. Reus still had one devoted fan. Roger decided to take him aside for a one-on-one 'interview' and see just what kind of obsessed looney he was dealing with (and whether he could turn it into a new show), only to find himself flattered by Manov Mistree's devotion. He ended up revealing his old identity to the man before he could stop himself, then coined a whole new idea to make money. Manov would become the new Mr. Reus and Roger would act as his producer to make him a hit on TV. No one had ever known who the real Mr. Reus had been, after all, nor would anyone have to know that the new one was not the same person.

So it was that the Great Mr. Reus returned to the spotlight once more, with a 'mere amateur' donning the mask.

Murder plot
Roger could've settled for his life as it was now. He could've just accepted that he'd come out on top and that being kicked from the Gramarye Troupe was the best thing that could've happened to him. Sadly, his hatred was just too fierce. When Trucy Wright (formerly Trucy Enigmar), Magnifi's granddaughter, approached the Great Mr. Reus about Troupe Gramarye's revival, Roger's desire for revenge was awakened all over again. He couldn't allow the Gramaryes to be reborn and he was utterly convinced that like her family before her, Trucy was destined to be a scummy little criminal. That's why he hatched a mean scheme to frame her for murder. ...The Great Mr. Reus's murder.



(A burning saltmine, this one)

The scheme itself was convoluted as hell, but basically, he weaseled his way into this little Gramarye reunion with Manov's help and offered up his services as producer. The new show, Trucy in Gramarye Land, was financed and produced by the Ratings Rajah in order to make it a hit, with the debut performance being aired on live television. All of the other magicians involved (Mr. Reus and the De Famme twins) were let in on a plan to 'prank' Trucy, which would spice up an otherwise boring show and secure their ratings. Manov was supposed to appear in an unexpected spot and play dead, then fly up into the air and laugh, and honestly it was exactly as chaotic as it sounds. What no one could've known was that Roger had hidden a sword up in the cushions in the catwalk before the show started, which impaled Manov after he was pulled up by his stunt harness, killing him instantly. The Great Mr. Reus was murdered while Roger himself was miles away, overseeing a different show in the comfort of his studio, securing a supposedly fool-proof alibi. Everyone would think Trucy had messed up with a sword trick and speared the poor man.

Little did he know that another one of Magnifi's grandkids would take on the job of defending Trucy in court. With Apollo Justice jumping through hoops for his half-sister (not that anyone aside from Phoenix would know that), Roger's plan was doomed to fail. He was exposed in court, both as being the true Mr. Reus and as Manov Mistree's murderer.



(SYMBOLISM!!! With masks! Meowzy's favorite!)



('well fuck')

CAHniverse
That Guy Who Comes Into Tori's House And Eats Her Food.

While he'd already met her before during a brief stay in the nexus of Japanifornia, Roger didn't truly get acquainted with Tori until he arrived in her house in CaHniverse. Much to his surprise and convenience, CaHniverse is this weird alternate universe of his own home in which he DIDN'T kill Manov (because the guy doesn't seem to exist here), meaning the Ratings Rajah is still going strong. With Roger's arrival in CaHniverse, whatever Roger was there before was presumably retconned out of existence, allowing the King of Douchebags to inherit his home, job and riches. Technically it's not stealing, because all that stuff was already his. TECHNICALLY.

And then it turned out that Manov Mistree showed up in CaHniverse too and things got a whole lot more complicated. Manov didn't seem to remember the incident at the magic show (as he hadn't lived up to that point yet), which was both convenient and a source for internal conflict. GUILT? What kind of nasty feeling is that? EW. Being a master of Bad Decisions, Roger proceeded to make a few more of those, such as suggesting that Manov could stop by his house whenever he wanted and inevitably sleeping with the guy.

But hey, so long as Manov's happy, it's all good, right?

Assorted Info
(mostly headcanon!)
 * Titles of shows he's produced include 'Desperation Regeneration' and 'The Ratings Rajah Goes to Burger Barn'. He also had his own Saturday night talk show, but it's never said what that was called. Titles of show ideas he coined include 'It's a Lawyer-ful Life, Justice in the Courtroom' and 'Mad Mindscape of a Magical Murderess! Closes Comrades Come Clean'. Roger is of the firm opinion that 'a show's only as good as how loud, flashy and trashy it is'.
 * His 'flirting' with Betty de Famme was just a manipulative ploy to have her believe she was the one controlling him. He doesn't actually dig underage magician girls. That's creepy.
 * He owns a penthouse full of gaudy shit, located on the 13th- Oh, sorry, I mean 14th floor of a building on Los Angeles. (It's right above a 12th floor though, so who are we kidding? It's the 13th floor.) Penthouse comes with a balcony, swimming pool, jacuzzi, etc.
 * Roger wears an old lucky coin around his neck as a good luck charm.
 * After becoming famous as the Ratings Rajah, his parents and brother attempted to get in touch with him. Suspecting they were only after his money, as they'd never attempted to find him before that, Roger replied with a kind request that they burn in hell.
 * He totally exchanged Gramarye gossip with Spark Brushel.
 * He also totally fueled the rumor that Zak only disappeared to protect his partner, Valant, from further accusations regarding Magnifi's death.
 * He kept a close eye on the trial following Magnifi Gramarye's murder, so he was very much in the loop about the legendary defense attorney who lost his badge after presenting forged evidence.
 * Roger usually eats junkfood. He usually drinks either coffee or booze.
 * On top of that, he's a smoker.
 * He owns way too many awful shirts that clash with everything.