- "Look, what it comes down to is you want me to take over the world, and Pinky wants me to wrap my toes in string cheese. But... face it, man, that's not me."
- — Romy
Roman Numeral I, better known as Romy or Roman, is a genetically-created lab mouse clone and the son of Pinky and The Brain. He appears in the twenty-fourth episode of Pinky and the Brain, "Brinky."
Appearance[]
Romy is a white anthropomorphic lab mouse with pink paws. He shares physical similarities with both of his parents, with a similar head shape and eye colour to Brain, and Pinky's buck teeth, straight tail and head tufts; at an adult, he stands in-between them in height.
Personality[]
Being biologically created from and raised by both Pinky and the Brain, Romy has what could be seen as a combination of their two personalities. He is incredibly intelligent, often referencing works of classic literature and scientific names, but also has Pinky's more unusual personality traits, as well as showing a wonder for the world and the arts that aren't as present in Brain. He begins to rebel against his fathers' expectations, mainly Brain's, upon reaching adulthood, and shows a dislike for their bickering and Brain's dehumanization of him. Although Romy later accepts Brain's apology for this treatment and is generally shown to love both of his dads, he does seem to favour Pinky over Brain, likely due to Pinky's emotional availability.
Romy is very artistic, which was encouraged by Pinky in his youth; he is often drawing as a child, and as an adult dreams of being a ventriloquist and moves in with Bunny, who seems to be a modern artist- her apartment is described as looking like "something that Guggenheim threw up then fed to its young." He also is noted to be a fan of the Grateful Dead. As seen when he enters the bar, Romy is very sarcastic and quick-thinking, and isn't opposed to attacking in self-defense. However, most of the time he seems to be very laid-back and easygoing.
Romy shares many traits with his parents, including running gags; he often uses Pinky's filler words (such as "narf" or "poit"), and says his "yes" in a similar way to Brain. He also attempts to repeat Brain's running bit of honestly answering an intrusive question with, "Actually, I'm a lab mouse who-"
History[]
"Brinky"[]
Romy as an infant.
Romy was initially created with the intention of being The Brain's perfect copy to kickstart his army of clones in another world domination attempt. However, during his creation process, one of Pinky's toenail clippings fell into the machine, and his DNA was merged with Brain's. Romy emerged as an infant, whom Pinky immediately adopted a fondness for, carrying him around the cage and trying to name him. Brain, who still considered the baby mouse a science experiment, called him Roman Numberal I, to signal that he was the beginning of his army. Pinky then took the name and gave the child the nickname Romy.
Romy quickly grew, with Brain explaining that the clones would grow at an accelerated rate until reaching maturity. He then attempted to research Romy's brain patterns, trying to get him to say large scientific words; he was confused on Romy's inability to do so, as Romy should have been exactly akin to him. Pinky suggested Pat the Bunny to read to him instead, which Brain brushed off. Finally, Romy spoke his first sentence- "Narf, zort, fiddledy-posh!" Furious at the idea of Pinky's influence contaminating his research, Brain ordered his friend to leave, and then went back to the machine's data to discover what went wrong in the cloning process, thus uncovering that Romy was the son of both he and Pinky.
As Brain still hoped there was enough of him in the clone to use for world domination, Romy continued to be raised in the lab by the two mice, though their parenting styles often clashed; Brain was more interested in training Romy to take over the world, while Pinky continued to treat him as a child. As time passed, Romy seemed to gain an interest in art, often making "lovely drawings." It is known that Pinky did continue to raise him on Pat the Bunny and games of "What's that Smell?"
Fully-Grown Romy.
Upon reaching adulthood, Romy was informed that he was old enough to finally help Brain, but he decided to pass on the opportunity, seeing Brain's plans as "narfy" and preferring instead to follow his dreams of becoming a ventriloquist. He and Brain began a fight over this, and Romy revealed that he was angered at being treated as an experiment and disliked hearing his fathers bicker all the time. In his distress, he escaped the cage and ran away from the lab.
Romy attempted to hitchhike on a highway, with a sign reading "WORLD OR BUST," until spotting several motorcyclists enter a bar. Romy became interested in a woman there, Bunny, who was fighting with her ex, Herb. Herb shoved him in a bottle, resulting in Romy biting him. As the cyclists thought Romy was a circus freak, he then claimed that his bite had turned Herb into a circus freak, causing everyone but Bunny to flee in terror.
Romy proud of his dads.
Bunny and Romy then began dating, with Romy moving into her apartment at 135 South Mullen Street, Apartment 2F. He sent a letter to Pinky to let him know that he was alright and happy, though he asked him not to show Brain. After receiving the letter, Brain and Pinky arrived to visit him, with Pinky being ecstatic at his girlfriend being "Pat the Bunny" and Brain being more confused at the relationship. However, Brain does attempt to apologize (in his own way), which Romy accepts, and in turn Brain accepts Romy's desire for ventriloquy. Romy announces that he and Bunny intend to take a year off to follow the Grateful Dead (which had disbanded by that point in time, though Romy didn't seem to know this).
"Acme Valley PTA"[]
Romy later appeared in a comic story (though these stories are only debatably canon); he is close to graduating Ventriloquist School- whatever happened to Bunny is not mentioned. Brain calls him home to pose as his son so that Brain can pose as the father of a basic nuclear family and run for president for Acme Valley PTA elections. The plan is complicated by Romy and Billie, who is playing Brain's girlfriend, falling in love and Pinky becoming jealous and posing as Romy's biological mother who was lost at sea. The comic ends with Romy and Billie eloping to Las Vegas.
Appearances[]
Comic Stories[]
Pinky and the Brain
- Acme Valley PTA
Quotes[]
- "Narf, zort, fiddledy-posh!"
- "You see, I-I've been pondering this whole, uh, "taking over the world" idea you got a jones for. Like, don't you see the narfness of it? Uh, I just gotta say pass, bro."
- "And you two! Bicker, bicker, bicker! It's like... Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
- "Hey, Don McLean, the levee is dry."
- "That's right! Now you're a circus freak! Anybody else want a little Circus in their blood?"
- "So please don't try to find me. Your clone, Romy. 135 South Mullen Street, Apartment 2F."
- "Well, well, look who's here. My two dads. Saget and Coulier."
- "Man, I'm sick of disappointment! That's why we're taking a year off to follow the Grateful Dead."
Trivia[]
- Christian Slater was considered to voice Romy at one point, and an offer was even sent out to him. He wasn't able to make it, however, and the role went to Rob Paulsen.[1]
- Romy shares both of his fathers' voice actors; as a child, he is voiced by Maurice LaMarche (Brain), and as an adult he is voiced by Rob Paulsen (Pinky).
- When Pinky is packing up his "room," Romy's belongings seem to include a ball of yarn, a seashell, and Pat the Bunny. He also has a sign hanging above his bed, readying "ROMY'S PLACE KEEP OUT" and showing a mouse skull and crossbones.
- According to the comics, Romy's favorite meal is Cheese Casserole.
- Despite only appearing in one episode, Romy has gained popularity in the fanbase, to the point where he was noticed among a fan-call for characters to return in the reboot, along with Slappy Squirrel, Pinky Suavo, and the Goodfeathers.[2]
Gallery[]
