| “ | Because you are an abomination. Only God should have the power to be everywhere at all times. | „ |
| ~ Roland Cox to a Jumper. |
Roland Cox is the main antagonist in the 2008 movie Jumper. He the leader of Paladin, an organization that hunts down and kills Jumpers by any means necessary.
He was portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson, who also played Gator Purify in Jungle Fever, Greg Meeker in White Sands, Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction, Carl Lee Hailey in A Time to Kill, Ordell Robbie in Jackie Brown, Elijah Price in Unbreakable and Glass, John Mills in Twisted, Frank Tenpenny in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Derrick Vann in The Man, Officer Abel Turner in Lakeview Terrace, Octopus in The Spirit, Stephen in Django Unchained, Chaney in Oldboy, Richmond Valentine in Kingsman: The Secret Service, Major Marquis Warren in The Hateful Eight, Mr. Barron in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Preston Packard in Kong: Skull Island and Marcus Banks in Spiral: From the Book of Saw.
Biography[]
Background[]
Roland is one of the most formidable field commanders of the Paladins. Like all Paladin members, he seeks to kill all Jumpers (humans with the ability to teleport anywhere) until all of them become extinct due to the Paladins’ belief that having the power to be at all places at all times should be reserved for God only, and deemed Jumpers as abominations to the world and a disgrace to God. It appeared that he was recruited as a Paladin member since his childhood given to his dedication to the Paladins' cause.
He has been trying to kill Griffin O'Connor for a long time but has been unsuccessful (he has badly injured him, however). Griffin has also been trying to kill him but Roland is the most skilled of all the Paladins and is very difficult to kill, even for Griffin, who specializes in killing Paladins.
Discovering David[]
Roland hunts down David Rice (who is a Jumper) and badly injures (or kills) his father. Roland is forced to fight both David and Griffin at once when the two Jumpers team up. Roland traps David with electric wires and fights Griffin all out. He gets knocked through a wall and then dodges a huge bus that was thrown at him by Griffin. Roland and Griffin then go through a jump scar into Millie's apartment (which is on fire) and continue to fight each other. Neither one can kill the other but Griffin manages to grab the Paladins’ machine and escape, preventing Roland from coming back to the lair. Roland then pulls Millie into the apartment through the scar, holding her as a hostage. After David incapacitates Griffin in a fight, David goes to save Millie.
Final Battle[]
Roland pins him to the wall and is about to kill him but David jumps the entire apartment to the river and then to the library. Roland is badly injured and David then jumps him to an abandoned cave at the Horseshoe Bend in the Grand Canyon. David leaves him there and Roland is trapped. His ultimate fate is unknown, but it is unlikely that he managed to escape, so he probably died either due to dehydration and lack of nourishment, or by falling off (he might have committed suicide).
| “ | "This conversation’s not over until you answer my question. Tell me...how’d you last this long, huh? Who’s helping you? Jumpers. Kinda hard to jump with 1000 volts of electricity passing through your brain huh? Who’s protecting you? Give me an answer so I can go home. I hate Jumpers. Think you can go on like this forever? Living like this with no consequences, hm? There are always consequences! Where you going huh? I got you now! You think you can hide behind a wall?, go anywhere?, do anything?!, not anymore!!! | „ |
| ~ Cox to David when they first met |
Personality and Traits[]
Sadistic, cruel, and no-nonsense, Roland is the most dangerous and skilled Paladin that can be considered a powerful adversary to deal with. Roland has extreme confidence in his own abilities and skills to combat Jumpers to the point of arrogance. Unfortunately for Griffin (and later David at the beginning of the film), his confidence is well founded as he and David were incapacitated and nearly killed by the seemingly unbeatable Paladin. Griffin was even unable to defeat Roland in their fights though David eventually managed to do such a feat in the end. Like other Paladins, Roland has dedicated himself to killing any existing Jumpers, even those who are relatively young as they were easier to kill and they also did the same to their family or their loved ones.
Quotes[]
- Roland: [to David who is struggling to jump Millies apartment] Some things you can't jump, David.
- Roland: [to David] What I'd like to know is how you rob a bank WITHOUT opening any doors.
- Roland: Only God should have this power.
- Roland: [about David's mother, who he realizes is a Paladin] When's the last time you saw her?(William Rice: She split when the kid turned five.) Roland: Five. Oh.(William Rice: [opens door] Haven't heard a word since. If I hear anything, I'll be sure to give you a holler.) Roland: [closes door] No, you won't.(William Rice: No, I won't.)
- Roland: You always go bad.(David Rice: Maybe I'm different.) Roland: You're not different.(Griffin: I'm different, boo!)
- Roland: [to David] You think you could go on like this forever? Living like this with no consequences? [David tries to Jump and Cox stops him] Roland: There are ALWAYS consequences!
Weapons and Gadgets[]
Like all Paladin Members, Roland Cox armed himself with these gadgets:
- Paladin Shock Prod (Power Stick): A short pole that harvests electricity. This stick has a ball at one end that when it comes in contact with a person, a large amount of electricity is transferred to the person. This leaves the person paralyzed for a brief moment and it also stops a Jumper from jumping.
- Scar Ripper: An advanced technological box that can create a strong electrical force that can rip open jump scars (transparent tiny wormholes that are left by Jumpers whenever they teleport somewhere else) and keep them fading so they can be kept open. The electrical field is powerful enough to create storms in the area in which that box is activated. A handle is located at the top, when a user turns the handle then pushes the handle down, the Scar Ripper is activated.
- Jump-Scar Detecting Spray: A special spray that releases a kind of chemical substance that causes Jump-Scars (transparent wormholes that Jumpers created whenever they teleport) to be fully visible before it fully dissipates.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- He was based on Brian Cox, the main antagonist of the novel of the same name. The change of his name was to prevent confusion with the English particle physicist or the Scottish character actor of the same name.
- His actor and David's actor, Hayden Christensen, also played Mace Windu and Anakin Skywalker respectively in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.