Bumblebee (Transformers)

Bumblebee is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes.

Transformers: Generation 1

Template:Transformers character Bumblebee (known as Bumble in Japan, Moscardo in Portugal, Űrdongó in Hungarian) is the "little brother" of the heroic Autobot faction, constantly striving to prove himself in the eyes of the taller, stronger robots that he respects - especially his leader, Optimus Prime. So strong is this admiration toward others, he takes risks that put him in danger. Although a bit of a wise-cracker, he is a capable and reliable messenger and spy, his small size allowing him to go places that his larger comrades cannot. He is highly fuel efficient, has great visual acuity, is particularly adaptable to undersea environments and transforms into a Volkswagen Beetle. He was later reconstructed in a stronger, more mature form as Goldbug.

Bumblebee is established as the smallest of the first year Autobots, but his actual size varies greatly in the various media, ranging from the same size as other Autobot cars to barely taller than a human. His only official height was in an early issue of the Marvel comics where it is stated he is 15 feet tall.

Bumblebee's primary function in the original Transformers animated series and comics was to serve as the "young" character with whom the youthful viewing audience could identify, and he would befriend the Autobots' primary human ally - the young son of the Witwicky family (Buster in the Marvel comic - see issue #1 - and Spike in the cartoon) - to this end, a concept that persists into the 2007 live-action film. Although a well-known character because of this, Bumblebee is quite unusual in that, unlike many other Transformers, his name has not been re-used and applied to unrelated characters throughout the ensuing twenty years of Transformers media, due to the loss of the trademark until recently. His role as the "young yellow character", however, has inspired other Transformers characters with the same role such as Cheetor and Hot Shot.

Marvel Comics

When the Autobots and Decepticon awakened on Earth in 1984, Bumblebee was part of the first team of Autobots sent out to investigate the planet. Eager to be the first to encounter a local lifeform, Bumblebee unfortunately got his wish when he was injured in a battle with the Decepticons at a drive-in movie theater, and - stuck in car mode - was found by the young human, Buster Witwicky. Buster took him back to his family's automotive garage, where his father Sparkplug repaired the car, and was shocked when it transformed into a robot. Bumblebee arranged their first meeting with Optimus Prime, and his role as a "liaison" of sorts between the Autobots and humans continued as he participated in the first meetings with millionaire industrialist G. B. Blackrock, eventually leading to a deal between them that saw Blackrock supply the robots with fuel.

After some smaller roles showing new Autobot recruits around and searching for Decepticon activity, Bumblebee took the spotlight again when he came to question his usefulness to the Autobots, and abandoned them without explanation. Unfortunately, this occurred just as Decepticon leader Shockwave had targeted Bumblebee as the weakest link in the Autobots, planning to mind-control him and use him against his comrades. Taking refuge from Decepticon pursuit in a used car lot, Bumblebee was subsequently stolen by two teenagers, who took him on a joyride through the city. This attracted the attention of both Autobots and Decepticons, and after saving the teens from a Decepticon attack, Bumblebee himself was saved from them by the Autobots, convincing him of his worth to them.

When Bumblebee was assigned to watch over the launch of the mobile Power Station Alpha, also guarded by the daring special mission force G.I. Joe, a Decepticon attack prompted him to transform in order to save a civilian boy, only for the Joes to mistake him for a Decepticon and open fire, destroying him. Learning of their mistake and allying with the Autobots, the Joes set about trying to rebuild Bumblebee; with the aid of Autobot medic Ratchet, Bumblebee was reconstructed as Goldbug.

Charged with hunting down the petty criminal known as the Mechanic, who had stolen some Autobot equipment, Goldbug and Blaster opted instead to remove themselves from the tyrannical command of then-leader Grimlock. A run in with the Decepticon Triple Changers led to both robots becoming infected with the metal-eating disease known as the Scraplets, but with the help of human Charlie Fong and the Autobot Throttlebots, a cure was found in the form of water, and they were saved. Their respite was short-lived, however, when the group, low on fuel, was caught up to by the Protectobots, under Grimlock's command, and Blaster was captured. The abandoned, immobile Throttlebots, including Goldbug, were then captured by the government-sponsored Rapid Anti-robot Assault Team (RAAT), who intended their destruction. Sympathetic to their plight, RAAT operate Walter Barnett removed their brain components and installed them in toy cars while their bodies were destroyed.

After managing to escape the Predacons, Goldbug returned to the Autobots' volcano base, only to discover that the Ark had been restored and had blasted off. Blindsided by Decepticon leader Ratbat, Goldbug's toy body was blasted, but soon found by the Autobot Headmasters - freshly arrived from the planet Nebulos - who used their technology to construct his body for him again. The group soon learned that the brain patterns of Optimus Prime (who had died sometime before) had been preserved on computer disk by a human named Ethan Zachary, and Goldbug took the disk to Nebulos, where Prime was restored to life as a Powermaster.

Subsequently, Goldbug was among the Transformers who was deactivated while defending the Earth against the cosmically-powered Starscream. Bumblebee's body was seen among the deactivated Autobots Ratchet was doing his best to revive in Transformers #56, "Back from the Dead".

While Ratchet diligently worked to restore the deactivated Autobots to life, his attempts constantly met with failure. In the midst of his work, he was captured by believed-dead Decepticon leader Megatron, who demanded he rebuild Starscream as a Pretender. Ratchet succeeded in this task, but while Megatron left him unattended to observe Starscream's attack on Earth, he was able to use the prototype Pretender shells to restore to life Grimlock, Jazz and Goldbug, who he restored to being Bumblebee out of personal preference.

During a battle with the Decepticon Mayhem Attack Squad, Bumblebee, Jazz and Grimlock were transported to the center of Cybertron, where they discovered the slumbering form of their creator and deity, Primus. The battle that followed caused Primus to briefly awake with a scream, alerting his ancient enemy Unicron to his location. Aware that Unicron was now bearing down on Cybertron, the Autobots began a search for the Creation Matrix, the only force capable of stopping the chaos-bringer. Bumblebee, Jazz and Grimlock followed a lead to VsQz, third moon of the planet Cameron, where they ran afoul of both a monstrous creature created by the corrupted Matrix energy, and the mighty Decepticon Pretender, Thunderwing, who defeated them and claimed the Matrix for his own. They were later rescued by their fellow troops, and Thunderwing was defeated.

Bumblebee put in one further appearance in the U.S. Marvel comics. In a nightmare alternate universe where Unicron had destroyed Cybertron, and Galvatron and the Decepticons ruled Earth, Bumblebee was shown in flashback as one of the casualties of the Decepticon conquest, being killed by Scourge.

In the expanded universe of the Transformers comic published exclusively in the U.K., which reprinted the American series with new stories spliced in between, Bumblebee had a lead role in several other stories. In one, he went AWOL to track down and capture Ravage, in the process running into a Decepticon trap and needing rescuing. Later on, he was part of the Dinobot Hunt; on his own, he rescued three Autobot prisoners and disabled the Decepticon's means of mentally controlling Sludge.

As the U.K. series did not reprint G.I. Joe and the Transformers (in which the above account of Bumblebee's transformation into Goldbug occurred) until much later, a new story was penned that reimagined the change in a very different way, as part of the U.K.'s larger running time travel storyline. When the deranged future Decepticon leader Galvatron travelled back in time to 1987, the bounty hunter Death's Head pursued him. The mass-shifting inherent in the time-travel process caused the Autobot First Aid to be displaced to limbo when Death's Head arrived, which alerted Bumblebee to his presence. Wanting to keep the fact that he was in the past a secret, Death's Head blasted Bumblebee, completely destroying him, but his remains were soon happened upon by the Junkion, Wreck-Gar, also from the future. Putting his advanced mechanical skills to work, Wreck-Gar soon rebuilt Bumblebee as Goldbug and the upgraded Autobot joined in the battle against Galvatron, at one point facing him one-on-one (and losing) before Ultra Magnus intervened. Goldbug had a few additional adventures dealing with Galvatron's threat in other U.K.-exclusive stories.

After the time-and-space-shattering events of the Time Wars, the U.K. comic introduced an alternate timeline that chronicled the adventures of the Autobot Earthforce, a group of pro-active Autobots under Grimlock's command, who were dedicated to safeguarding Earth while Optimus Prime's contingent dealt with the threat of Unicron. Bumblebee was a member of the Earthforce, performing such notable missions as helping Ironhide stop the Decepticons' plan to rebuild Devastator as an individual being.

Animated series

Bumblebee holds the distinction of being the second-ever character to appear on-screen in the original Transformers animated series, while on a mission to recover a small clutch of energy conductors with Wheeljack, illustrating the energy crisis holding sway over their home planet of Cybertron. Bumblebee was subsequently among the Transformers aboard the Ark as it set off searching for new worlds and new energy sources, which crashed on Earth, causing the Transformers within to be trapped in stasis for four million years. Awakening in 1984, Bumblebee distinguished himself by helping Ironhide quell a raging river and using his small size to help Sparkplug Witwicky plant explosives in the midst of a Decepticon mining operation.

He later befriended Sparkplug's son Spike, but their first adventure together was not a pleasant one, as they were both kidnapped by the Decepticons, and Bumblebee was brainwashed into luring the other Autobots into a trap.

As a regular character throughout the show's first two seasons, spanning 1984-1985, Bumblebee's escapades were almost always carried out alongside Spike. His adventures have taken him back to Cybertron, to the prehistoric Dinobot Island, the sunken city of Sub-Atlantica, a world of alien giants, a debaucherous gambling asteroid locale and more. He has been scorched by acid rain, fought as a mindless gladiator, been mauled by a monstrous alien cat, quested for "robotic insecticide" and, in one of his most significant roles, was one of the few Autobots to survive a brainwashing scheme by the Decepticons, leaving it up to him to save his comrades.

In the episode 51, "Prime Target" the big game hunter Lord Cholmondeley captured a secret Soviet jet, leading to panic of possible war. Cholmondeley then set his sights on the ultimate trophy, the head of Optimus Prime. In order to lure Optimus in Cholmondeley captured Bumblebee and several other Autobots. Optimus Prime accepted Cholmondeley's challenge and defeated the big game hunter and freed the Autobots.

In the episode 59, "Trans-Europe Express" a charity auto race from Paris France to Istanbul Turkey was held. The Autobots Bluestreak, Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Smokescreen, Sunstreaker, Tracks and Wheeljack participated along side several human racers including Augie Canay. Meanwhile Megatron had been able to discover the whereabouts of the Pearl of Bahudine, the power core of a Cybertronian weather control machine. Megatron had the Stunticons eliminate the Autobots from the race while stealing Augie's car to use its experimental engine's metal to make a control device for the pearl. Bluestreak, Tracks, Bumblebee and Augie were able to stop the Decepticons by unleashing the power of the pearl, but to stop the pearl Bumblebee had to destroy it. Augie had the gold shell of the pearl sold and the money given to charity when he learned the race was a fake set up by the Decepticons merely to get his car.

By the time of The Transformers: The Movie, set in the Earth year 2005, the Autobots had been forced off of Cybertron, and Bumblebee and Spike manned Moonbase Two on one of the planet's satellites as the Autobots prepared a strike to take back the planet. The attack was scuppered by the sudden appearance of the giant planet-eating robot Unicron, who consumed Moonbase One as Spike and Bumblebee looked on in horror. As Unicron turned on their moon, the pair set a cache of explosives to detonate in his maw and abandoned the base in a small shuttle, but the detonation failed to even scratch the chaos-bringer and he inhaled their ship. Deep in his digestive system, the pair were trapped on a conveyor that would drop them in an acid vat, but they were saved by Spike's son Daniel, and they and the other Autobots escaped Unicron's body as it was destroyed through the power of the Autobot Matrix of Leadership.

Bumblebee was one of the few characters from the beginning of the series to continue appearing in the show's third season, set in 2006, where he could regularly be found performing duties in Autobot City on Earth. He and Spike were reunited for an old-school adventure when the ghost of Starscream invaded the city in order to steal the eyes of the giant Autobot Metroplex, but they were unable to stop the villain from accomplishing his task.

When the body of the deceased Optimus Prime was recovered from space by a pair of Transformer-hating human scientists who intended to use it to lure the Autobots into a trap, Bumblebee was part of the rescue team lead by Rodimus Prime to recover it. Entering the lab, some of the Transformers were exposed to rage-inducing alien spores that caused them to run wild, and although Bumblebee avoided infection, he was seriously damaged by the rampaging Superion. A member of the alien race called the Quintessons subsequently repaired and restored Optimus Prime to life in order to stop the "Hate Plague", and also worked his technical wizardry on Bumblebee. The little Autobot had been so severely damaged, however, that he required an entire reconstruction. In his new, shiny body, he commented that he had gone beyond just being Bumblebee, and was now a "gold bug", prompting Optimus Prime to redub him "Goldbug." As Goldbug, Bumblebee traveled with Optimus Prime to the planet of Chaar in order to secure a heat resistant alloy that could protect him from the plague, only to be infected on the mission and later cured when Prime used the power of the Matrix to purge the plague.

Goldbug also enjoyed a brief appearance in the fourth and final season of the series, defending Autobot City and Cybertron against a massive Decepticon attack. Because of a scene showing Bumblebee instead of Goldbug, it still makes him one of only nine characters to appear in all four seasons of the show.

After the animated series ended in the U.S. Bumblebee appeared in animated form in the commercial for the Classic Pretenders.

Bumblebee made a cameo in the pilot of the Transformers: Animated series on a historical video being viewed by Optimus Prime. This historical video was stock footage from the original animated series.

He made several further appearances in the Japanese-exclusive series, Transformers: The Headmasters, which supplanted the fourth American series, and appeared to die while attempting to stop a metal-warping meteor from crashing into Cybertron, only to turn up alive and healthy later on in the series. The role of a young human and small Autobot friend in this series was taken over by Daniel and Wheelie.

Books

Bumblebee was featured in the 1985 audio and book adventure Satellite of Doom.

Bumblebee appeared in the 1986 story and coloring book The Lost Treasure of Cybertron by Marvel Books.

Dreamwave Productions

When Dreamwave Productions introduced their re-imagined version of Generation 1 continuity for the 21st Century, Bumblebee was present for the Autobots' new adventures once again. The War Within, set in Cybertron's past, chronicled Bumblebee's early adventures in the Battle of Altihex and the defense of Iacon in the face of an attack by Shockwave.

When Optimus Prime and Megatron vanished in an early spacebridge experiment, causing the Autobots and Decepticons to splinter into smaller factions, Bumblebee remained with the Autobots under Prowl's command.

As ever, Bumblebee was among the Transformers trapped in stasis aboard the crashed Ark who was reactivated on Earth in 1984. Although not depicted in fiction, the general events of the television series pilot seemed to take place in the Dreamwave continuity - with Bumblebee meeting and befriending Spike Witwicky.

The war on Earth ended in 1999, however, when the Autobots successfully defeated the Decepticons and attempted to transport them back to Cybertron aboard the Ark II. Thanks to sabotage orchestrated by American military general Robert Hallo, however, the Ark II exploded after exiting orbit, and the Transformers fell back to Earth. Hallo's plan to take control of them was foiled by his former partner Adam Rook, who rounded up several deactivated Transformers, Bumblebee among them, and put them under his control, intending to sell them on the black market as weapons of mass destruction. During the auctions, Bumblebee was among the Transformers sent to attack the Smitco Oil Refinery as a demonstration of their power. Megatron liberated himself from Rook's control and soon did the same to the other Decepticons, who took some pleasure in dismantling Bumblebee and the other Mini-Bots. Rescued by their reactivated Autobot comrades, Bumblebee and co. were soon hale and hearty again and dispatched to stop Megatron's plan to cyber-form the Earth with a metallic virus.

A year later, Shockwave arrived on Earth, having successfully unified Cybertron and intending to arrest Prime and Megatron's forces as war criminals. Bumblebee was among the Transformers captured by Shockwave, and was later part of the team who joined the underground Autobot resistance on Cybertron.

Following the liberation of Cybertron from Shockwave’s rule, Bumblebee was assigned to help reinforce Jazz’s team on Earth and was placed in command of the Autobot supply shuttle Orion, with a team under his command for the first time. Upon arriving in the Earth system from transwarp space, they witnessed the arrival of the deranged clone of Starscream, Sunstorm. When the resultant conflict with Sunstorm caused most of the Autobots and Decepticons on Earth to knocked out of commission, Bumblebee and Jetfire tracked the madman to beneath the Earth's surface, where Bumblebee was knocked out and saved by begrudging Starscream. Jetfire subsequently seemed to die battling Sunstorm, shaking Bumblebee's resolve so badly that he decided to leave the Autobots.

Turning to Spike for advice, the pair went on a drive in Cincinnati, where they debated responsibility and saved a woman from some muggers. Bumblebee apparently remained unconvinced, but Dreamwave's subsequently bankruptcy and closure left his story unfinished. The profile series, More Than Meets the Eye, featured entries for Bumblebee as both a Pretender and as Goldbug, but gave no in-story reason for his upgrades to these forms and they never appeared in the fiction of the series.

In the alternate Dreamwave Transformers/G.I. Joe storyline set in World War II, Bumblebee was formatted to turn into a motorcycle with sidecar.

Devil's Due Publishing

In the pages of Devil's Due's first G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers crossover, the evil terrorist organization Cobra were the first to uncover the Ark and the Transformers slumbering within it, capturing and reformatting a large number of them to use them as war machines. Bumblebee and Wheeljack were able to avoid this fate and contacted the team created to respond to the threat of Cobra, G.I. Joe, and helped to free his fellow Autobots. Unlike most Autobots, who had new alternate modes, Bumblebee and Wheeljack had their original Generation 1 alternate modes in this series.

In the second crossover, Bumblebee was among the Autobots sent back in time due to an accident with the space bridge computer Teletran-3. As part of a small group transported to the 1970s, Bumblebee was reformatted as a small economy car (this time, resembling an AMC Pacer) before the teamed-up Joes and Cobras returned all the Transformers to present-day Cybertron.

Bumblebee took center stage in the third crossover series, as he, Grimlock, Arcee and Perceptor were sent to Earth to aid G.I. Joe in removing the influence of Cybertronian technology on the planet. Sporting his original alternate mode again, he is shown to have something of a crush on Arcee. When Cobra attacked the base, the Autobots helped repel the Cobra Battle Android Trooper armies. Journeying to Cybertron to stop Serpentor, the mismatched group were ambushed first by Cannibalizers, then by Serpentor, Piranacon, Predaking and the Stunticons, with Bumblebee being badly injured as he ran right into Predaking's leg. He was then mercilessly executed by Serpentor, who would later comment that Bumblebee's death is the only thing that ever really made him feel emotion. Despite the character being notoriously difficult to kill, it seems his death is permanent, as Serpentor comments that he felt something leave him, most likely his spark. A statue to his memory was seen in the final issue. His death would continue to have repercussions, as seen in the fourth series where Prime insists on journeying to Earth personally rather than expose any of his troops to the same fate.

IDW Publishing

Fall of 2005 was the third re-launch for The Transformers comic series, this time under the management of IDW Publishing.

Main series

IDW's core universe was introduced with the six-issue mini-series, The Transformers: Infiltration, making it clear that the company's take on the Generation 1 universe was radically different. Bumblebee appears as a member of a small team of Autobots under the command of Prowl, operating in secret on Earth out of Ark-19. Still a Volkswagen Beetle, he (like the other Autobots) possesses the added ability to generate a "holo-matter" avatar of a young female to masquerade as a driver and to otherwise interact with humans. Working with Ratchet and a trio of young humans to search an abandoned Decepticon base, Bumblebee was able to take down Skywarp during a Decepticon attack, outthinking the Decepticon and shooting him out of the sky despite his teleportation system. After Blitzwing and Skywarp brought the base down, Bumblebee helped save the humans, despite commenting previously that they would be acceptable losses. As Megatron then engaged the traitorous Starscream in battle, Bumblebee did what he does best by spying on the fight; almost shot by the Battlechargers, he was saved by Prowl and Jazz. In the follow-up The Transformers: Escalation, he is left to run the Ark-19 on his own.

New Avengers/Transformers

Bumblebee, Jazz, Optimus Prime, Prowl and Ratchet appeared in the New Avengers/Transformers crossover by Marvel Comics and IDW Publishing that came out in 2007.

Transformers: Evolutions

IDW has also begun publishing of The Transformers: Evolutions, a series dedicated to featuring alternate-reality "Elseworlds"-style tales of the Transformers. The first installment, Hearts of Steel, placed the Transformers in battle on Earth prior to the Ice Age with the forms of transmetal prehistoric beasts. The Ice Age forced them to enter hibernation beneath the surface of the planet when it begins.

In the 1800s, Bumblebee was awakened when a pounding from above showers dirt on him. Expecting Decepticon activity, he was surprised to find that the source was humans building a railway. Curious about their train, he is almost caught by the humans, but hides by adopting the train's form as his alternate mode. Among the humans is the legendary John Henry, who is concerned that the train - a spike-driving device designed to lay railroad - is intended to replace him, and to placate his concerns, Bumblebee reveals his true form to him with the promise that he is only here to help. Through John Henry, Bumblebee learns that the Decepticons have reactivated and are pillaging trains as part of their newest plan. This scheme which is to travel to New York and obtain an electrical generator in hopes it will make them all powerful. After awakening some of his fellow Autobots, Henry and Bumblebee manage to thwart the Decepticons' plans, rerouting the railtrack they are using, causing the Decepticon train convoy to plunge into a chasm. After this Bumblebee and the other Autobots return to stasis.

3H Enterprises

Bumblebee appeared in the voice actor play performed at BotCon 2004, in which a device built by Rhinox to stop Unicron from pulling victims from other dimensions inadvertently transported an Autobot shuttle under Bumblebee's command into the middle of a battle between Rattrap, Silverbolt, and Waspinator and a team of Unicron's agents. Bumblebee's shuttle is able to scoop up Rattrap and company when their ship is destroyed. After saving more of Unicron's victims from the Decepticons, Bumblebee's team returns to their own time.

Fun Publications

In a possible future chronicled in the exclusive comic book available at BotCon 2005, Bumblebee featured as the espionage director of the Autobots. Having been on the trail of the Decepticon agent Flamewar for a long, long time, Bumblebee interrupted a communication between Flamewar and the Tripredacus Council and revealed that his agent, Ricochet, had installed a degenerative virus into Deathsaurus's clone army. With Flamewar now exposed, Bumblebee pointed out that she was nothing more than a liability to the Council, who blew her ship up.

Based on the Transformers Classics toy line, the Timelines 2007 story is set 15 years after the end of the Marvel Comics story (ignoring all events of the Marvel U.K. and Generation 2 comics). Megatron survived the crash of the Ark on Earth, reformatted himself into a new form and now leads Ramjet, Skywarp, Soundwave, Starscream and the Constructicons. Optimus Prime has also returned to Earth commanding Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Grimlock, Jetfire, Mirage and Rodimus (formerly Hot Rod).

In Crossing Over, when the Cybertronians Skyfall and Landquake arrive on Earth unexpectedly Megatron attempts to destroy them, but Optimus Prime and his Autobots are able to drive Megatron away.

Transformers Battle Circuit

The Classic line appeared in a simple Flash-based video game on the Hasbro web site. In this one-on-one fighting game you press the right and left arrow keys to try to overpower your opponent. In the game you can play Rodimus, Bumblebee, Grimlock, Jetfire, Starscream, Astrotrain, Trypticon or Menasor. Optimus Prime and Megatron each appear as the boss you must defeat to win the game.

Other Media

• Bumblebee appears in the Robot Chicken episode "Junk in the Trunk." In the segment he's in, he is whipped by a towel used by Grimlock in the locker room and later appears at Optimus' bedside before he dies of prostate cancer.
• Maggie Simpson appeared as Bumblebee in one opening sequence to the Simpsons alongside the rest of the Simpson Family rendered as Autobots.
• Classic Bumblebee was featured on the cover of the Transformers Club Magazine #14.

Toys

• Generation 1 Mini-Bot Bumblebee Yellow (1984)

The toy which would become Bumblebee was originally released as part of the Japanese "Microchange" series, a subset of the Microman toyline, and was available in both yellow and red colors. The intention of the Microchange line was that the toys transformed into in-scale items - Bumblebee is designed to transform into a toy car, specifically a Penny Racer Volkswagen beetle, hence his slightly skewed proportions. This version of Bumblebee features Dunlop brand tires. The original Bumblebee sported a regular Autobot symbol, but later versions had a heat-sensitive rub-symbol that revealed the Autobot logo.

His mold is similar to that used for Cliffjumper, in that the transformation is the same, but the actual parts have different shapes and details.

• Generation 1 Mini-Bot Bumblebee Red (1984)

Released as part of the Transformers line, Bumblebee's red variation could also be purchased at retail, although its existence was never acknowledged by official media. He was also available in a wide variety of colors in other parts of the world, including blue, gold and silver. Bumblebee was available in the Mini-Vehicle assortment throughout its lifespan, from 1984 to 1986.

• Generation 1 McDonalds Bumblebee (1985)

One of the four original McDonalds Happy Meal Transformers toy from 1985, this toy was just a solid statue of the character in robot mode. Variants exist in red and blue colors.

• Generation 1 Decoy Bumblebee

A red rubber toy given away as a promotion.

• Generation 1 Goldbug (1987)

Released as part of the Throttlebots sub-group, Goldbug had a pull-back motor and simplistic transformation, but was proportioned more like an actual Volkswagen Beetle. Goldbug's head was directly based on the head of the original Bumblebee toy, making Bumblebee the second Transformer to be given a second toy, after Hot Rod.

• Generation 1 Pretender Classic Bumblebee (1989)

Still a Volkswagen Beetle, Bumblebee was seemingly equipped with off-road tires as he was upgraded into a Pretender. His head, however, was based on the original Cliffjumper toy, rather than Bumblebee's toy or cartoon/comic design. Armed with a gun that could be wielded in robot mode and plugged into the roof of his vehicle mode, and another gun for his shell, Bumblebee was also sold sans shell as a member of the K-Mart exclusive "Transformers: Legends" assortment.

• Generation 1 Action Master Bumblebee (1990)

This non-transforming action figure of Bumblebee blended the design of his original toy with his cartoon/comic design, and came armed with a Heli-Pack that transformed via a spring-loaded feature into a high-powered air rifle the figure could wield. According to his power plans Bumblebee sported an Anti-Decepticon Jamming Sensor, a Target Trajectory Calculator and a Photon Shock Burst Component. With this release, Bumblebee was made the only character to have had a figure representing him available in every year of the original Transformers toyline, from 1984 to 1990.

• Generation 2 Mini-Bot Bumblebee (1993)

A metallic gold redeco of the original Bumblebee toy. This version of Bumblebee sported tech specs identical to his first Generation 1 toy.

• Generation 2 Go-Bot Bumblebee (1995)

Released in the final year of the Transformers: Generation 2 toyline, Bumblebee was a gold, yellow and black redeco of the earlier figure High Beam, a member of the Go-Bot sub-group possessing free-wheeling axles for Hot Wheels-style play activitity. All Go-Bots have a 1:64 scale. The toy was later redecoed into the Botcon 1995 exclusive, Nightracer, and the Transformers: Robots in Disguise figure, Crosswise.

• Generation 1 Keychain Bumblebee (2001)

The original yellow version of Bumblebee was made into a keychain by adding a small plastic loop and metal keychain in 2001. This toy was recolored into Botcon exclusive Glyph in 2002. Blind packaged black versions of this toy were sold by Takara in Japan.

• Smallest Transformers Bumblebee (2003)

Among the blind packaged Transformers of the Smallest Transformer line was a tiny version of Generation 1 Bumblebee, standing only 1.75 inches tall. With his official height of 15 feet tall, this toy has a 1:103 scale.

• Generation 1 Reissue Bumblebee (2004)

This remold of the original yellow Bumblebee featured a new head mold which looked more like the animated series head. This toy was later recolored into the ehobby exclusive Decepticon Bug Bite.

• CybCon Bumblebee (2004)

An exclusive toy available at CybCon 2004 was Bumblebee. This original molded toy was supposed to represent Bumblebee Cybertronian form before coming to Earth.

• Alternators Bumblebee (unreleased)

As one of the earliest concepts designed for the 1:24 scale line, Transformers: Alternators, Bumblebee was reimagined as a new Volkswagen Beetle. Volkswagen's rejection of the pitch on the grounds that they did not want to associate their vehicles with war-themed media meant that the toy never progressed beyond the line-art phase, but the design was used for Bumblebee in the 2005 Transformers: Timelines comic book.

• Titanium Bumblebee (2006)

After years of not possessing the "Bumblebee" name trademark, Hasbro finally regained the moniker in time to release a 3 inch tall die-cast non-transforming Bumblebee figure as part of the Transformers: Titanium line in 2006. This figure was very accurate to body style to the Generation 1 toy, but with the animated series head. With the official height of Bumblebee being 15 feet tall and this figure standing 3 inches tall, this figure is at 1:60 scale.

This toy was later recolored into Titanium Cliffjumper.

• Classics Bumblebee (2006)

Released towards the end of 2006, Bumblebee has finally returned as a transforming figure as part of the Transformers: Classics toyline, designed as upgraded versions of classics characters. Unable to be an actual Volkswagen due to the company's position, as noted above, Bumblebee is nevertheless a small, stocky car which does not appear to be based on any single production model but rather an amalgamation of features from the Nissan Skyline C10 Station Wagon [1] He tows behind him a jetski trailer, the Wave Crusher, which transforms into a winged jetpack for the robot mode. Although Bumblebee sports a Fireblast of 4, he doesn't actually carry a gun. This toy was later repainted as Cliffjumper. The head sculpt is the same on both versions and is possibly the first Transformer head sculpt to depict a smile. With Bumblebee's height of 15 feet tall and the figure standing 4.75 inches tall, this figure is at 1:38 scale. This toy was designed by Alex Kubalsky. \

Two slight mold variants of this toy exist, with the raised part of the roof where the rub symbol being wider on later releases than the other. Although depicted with blue windows and headlights on the box, the toy has clear windows and headlights.

Bumblebee was initially sold individually, but later sold in a value pack with Classic Astrotrain.

• Generatrion 1 Reissue Bumblebee Keychain (2007)

Keychain Bumblebee was reissued on new backing cards saying "Heroes of Cybertron" in 2007 at Walmart stores.

• Classic Legends Bumblebee (2007)

First seen at BotCon 2006, the Micro series Bumblebee will be a yellow repaint of the Legends of Cybertron Hot Shot figure. The vehicle mode is based on a Chrysler ME 412 done at a scale of about 1:61.

A Chinese made bootleg of this toy was released in 2007 called "Super Change to United". This version of the toy was slightly redecoed and remolded so he could become the right leg of a Legends combiner with 4 other Legends bootlegs.

• Attacktix Bumblebee (2007)

Series 2 of the Transformers Attacktix figures included a Generation 1 Bumblebee figure.

• Slumblebee (2007)

A plush doll version of Bumblebee that transforms into car mode by simply pulling the car body from the back and folding the body inside out. Much like Classics Bumblebee, the car mode does not resemble the Volkswagen Beetle. [2]

• Titanium 6 inch War Within Bumblebee (unreleased)

A prototype of a 6 inch tall War Within Bumblebee/Cliffjumper figure was seen at a Hasbro factor tour in 2007. This figure had two different head sculpts, one for Bumblebee and one for Cliffjumper. This figure has yet to be released and seems to have been canceled.

• Classic Bumblebee redeco

This redeco of Classic Bumblebee has black repacing the white paint, and slight changes in the plastic colors. Packaged together with Premium Movie Bumblebee and Animated Bumblebee.

• Universe Legends Bumblebee (2008/not yet released)

A new Legends class mold was displayed at SDCC 2008.

Other incarnations of Bumblebee

As the Transformers franchise has grown, more continuities separate from the original series and its subsidiaries have come into existence, each featuring Bumblebees of their own. For the Bumblebees from various continuities see Bumblebee (other incarnations).

References

• Macchio, Ralph, Bill Mantlo (w), Springer, Frank (p) and DeMulder, Kim (i). "The Transformers." The Transformers v1 #1 (Sep. 1984), Marvel Comics.
• Sarracini, Chris (w), Lee, Pat (p) and Armstrong, Rob, Erik Sander (i). "Prime Directive." The Transformers: Generation One v1 #1-6 (Mar.-Sep. 2002), Dreamwave Productions.
• Mick, Brad (w), Lee, Pat (p) and Armstrong, Rob (i). "War and Peace." The Transformers: Generation One v2 #1-6 (Apr.-Sep. 2003), Dreamwave Productions.

External links

• G1 Bumblebee on the Transformers Wiki
• Generation 1 Bumblebee's Data File on Seibertron.com
• Bumblebee Official Myspace
• ToyBin G1 Toy Gallery
• tfu.info's entry on Bumblebee
• VW model painted to match Bumblebee
• Concept Chevrolet Camaro alleged to be Bumblebee's form in the Transformers Movie
• Bumblebee toy galleries
• Bumblebee Concept Chevrolet Camaro toy gallery
• Bumblebee paper model
• Elaborate Fan-Made Bumblebee Costume from San Diego Comic con 2008