Editing The Question

{{comicstory|seriesissue=''[[The Transformers: Spotlight|The Transformers Spotlight]]: Bumblebee''
|prev=Spotlight: Megatron
|next=The Reluctant Specialist
|title="The Question"
|image=SLBB_cvrA.jpg
|caption=
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[March 6]], [[2013]]
|coverdate=March 2013
|written by=[[John Barber]]
|art by=[[David Daza]]
|colors by=[[Zac Atkinson (colorist)|Zac Atkinson]]
|letters by=[[Shawn Lee]]
|assistant editor=[[Thomas Boeing]]
|editor=[[Carlos Guzman]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology="[[The Transformers (IDW)|Ongoing]]" era, circa "[[Chaos (IDW)|Police Action]]"
}}

'''His leadership questioned at every turn, Bumblebee sets out on a solo mission to stop the Decepticons returning to Cybertron.'''

==Synopsis==
With [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]] and the majority of the [[Autobot]] forces on their way back to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], [[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] and the small contingent under his command remain on [[Earth]], searching for the [[Decepticon]]s that remain in hiding on the planet. Unfortunately, the search is not going well, and Bumblebee finds himself doubting his own leadership abilities, constantly asking himself what Optimus would do in his place. Returning to [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] following another failure to turn up any hiding 'cons alongside [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] and [[Groove (G1)|Groove]], Bumblebee argues with [[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] over the significance of the potential Decepticon threat. The police-bot insists that as a known quantity, the Decepticons come second to the unknown quantity of the possible threat posed by corruption among their [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|human allies]] that he is currently investigating. Prowl requisitions Groove to aid him, annoying Bumblebee enough that the little bot insists that Prowl respect his authority. Prowl snorts, declaring it a matter of who is ''right'', not who is ''in charge'', and leaves with Groove and [[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]]. Hot Spot tries to cheer Bumblebee up, but all he does is remind him of his current injuries.

Left to his own devices, Bumblebee pays a call on [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]], who is the process of packing up his belongings and moving out of his hideaway. Uninterested in helping, Thundercracker tells Bumblebee that he's not cut out for leadership, but the little 'bot insists that both Earth and Cybertron must be protected. The mention of Cybertron causes Thundercracker to remark that getting back there would be no easy task for the Decepticons, following the destruction of their [[space bridge]]... which in turn reminds both 'bots that [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] can now open space bridges with his new body. They realize that Megatron allowed himself to be taken prisoner to take advantage of this fact, prompting Thundercracker to relent and provide Bumblebee with records of the space bridge radiation signature he obtained in their past meeting with [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]].

Bumblebee takes Thundercracker's records to his human friend [[Sanjay Bharwaney]], who uses the equipment at [[Darkmatter Logic]] to scan the planet for the signature, locating it in the vicinity of an ancient Native American settlement. Heading there as night falls, Bumblebee discovers the Decepticon army gathered around a space bridge terminal, awaiting its opening. Opting for stealth, 'Bee attempts to sneak in and sabotage the bridge before it activates, but no sooner has he reached the terminal than it flares to life, illuminating him for all the Decepticons to see. [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] orders the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] to take care of Bumblebee while the other Decepticons go through the bridge; the fight is, unsurprisingly, a brutal and one-sided one, until Bumblebee has a brainwave and jams his cane into one of the bridge's power conduits, disrupting its power flow and causing explosive feedback that destroys the bridge and knocks all five Stunticons out.

Bumblebee hauls his prisoners back to Omega Supreme by dawn—much to the shock of all the other Autobots—and takes charge, explaining the threat that Prime's forces now face, and the need to wrap up their mission on Earth. With orders handed out, 'Bee enters Omega, calling for Prowl to follow him for a meeting, and Prowl smiles: Bumblebee is finally doing what Optimus would.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] (1)
*[[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] (2)
*[[Groove (G1)|Groove]] (3)
*[[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] (9)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (10)
*[[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] (11)
*[[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]] (12)

|c2=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (4)
*[[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] (5)
*[[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] (6)
*[[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] (7)
*[[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]] (8)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (13)
*[[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] (15)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (16)
*[[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]] (17)
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] (18)
*[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (19)
{{!}}}
|c3=
*[[Sanjay Bharwaney]] (14)

}}

==Quotes==

"The little guy's got more '''spark''' than I gave him '''credit''' for these last couple million years. Taking down five '''bad guys''' on his own—and '''blaming''' himself for not stopping a '''hundred''' more? And '''then''' coming home and taking '''control'''? That's what Prime would do."
:—'''Prowl''', on Bumblebee

==Notes==

*As the note on the inside front cover says, this story takes place during the events of "Police Action", the story which ran in issues [[Police Action: Part 1|#25]], [[Police Action Part 2: Only Forward|#27]] and [[Police Action Part 3: A Second Chance at Eden|#29]] of the [[The Transformers (IDW)|ongoing series]]. Its precise placement is not detailed, but specifically, it would appear to take place concurrently with #25, with Groove's absence in that part of the story explained here by having Prowl send him off on a mission off-panel. However, #27 had Wheeljack conferring with Prowl via holo-projection while he was still aboard Omega Supreme's rocket, implying that the Autobots hadn't reached Cybertron yet, which would make the timing of the Decepticons space bridge departure problematic, as they didn't arrive on Cybertron until ''after'' the Autobots.
*By that same token, the story also occurs concurrently with the events of "[[Chaos (IDW)|Chaos]]", which ran in the issues of the ongoing that alternated with the "Police Action" chapters. The Decepticons would emerge through the space bridge they are shown entering here in the third chapter of that story, in [[Chaos Part Three: Kings|issue #28]]. The bridge terminal is of the same claw-like curved-pylon design as that seen in ''[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All Hail Megatron]]'' [[All Hail Megatron issue 7|#7]]. 
*The original encounter between Bumblebee, Thundercracker and Metroplex was detailed in ''[[The Hunting Party (IDW)|Spotlight: Thundercracker]]''. More recently, chronology-wise, Bumblebee petitioned Thundercracker for aid in [[International Incident Part 2: "Ranks of Bronze"|ongoing #10]]; further unsolicited visits to Thundercracker's "man cave" occurred in [[Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|#15]] and [[Revenge of the Decepticons Part 3: Woken Furies|#16]], leading him to pack it up and move, as seen here.
*Bumblebee met Sanjay Bharwaney in his [[The Transformers: Bumblebee|self-titled mini-series]].
*The ongoing series was ''painfully'' vague on why Megatron allowed himself to be captured by the Autobots. This issue finally has someone give the out-and-out explanation in dialogue: Megatron needed a ride back to Cybertron so that his body's Space Bridge tech could open a portal home for the Decepticon army.
*Breakdown comments that he "owes the Autobots a little somethin'," evidently a reference to the scrap with Prowl and Streetwise he has in ongoing #25, which timeline-wise he has probably only just returned from, as is still showing visible signs of damage from.
*After his stunt channelling the space bridge power flow through his cane, Bumblebee quips that he must get [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] to "make him one of these." He would have a zappy-cane in ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[The World & Everything in It|#2]]. 
*With the revelation that the Stunticons were left behind on Earth, the Decepticons' decision to rely on a physically crippled [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] during the battle over in "Chaos", rather than a functional [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]], makes a bit more sense.

===Errors===
[[File:SpotlightBumblebeeCoversTypo.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Okay, so some fans on the internet can't spell their beloved characters' names right, but when did these people start working for IDW?]]
*Early promotional images of the covers for this issue misspelled the name of the title character as "Bubmblebee". For the finished edition, the extra "B" has been removed.
*Doctor Bharwaney's name is misspelled "Bharmaney".
*Starscream has his ''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (franchise)|War for Cybertron]]'' body way before he gets it in ''Robots in Disguise''.
{{-}}

===Covers (7)===
* '''Cover A:''' The shadows of the Stunticons fall over a battered Bumblebee, armed with his cane, by David Daza and Esther Sanz
* '''Cover B:''' Bumblebee with a new arm-gun, by [[Livio Ramondelli]]
* '''Cover RI:''' Bumblebee by [[Clayton Crain]]
* '''Convention Exclusive:''' Mirror-flipped, cropped-in version of cover RI with "convention exclusive" branding, available only at WonderCon 2013
* '''Retailer Exclusive:''' Bumblebee and Thundercracker fight atop [[Wikipedia: Burj Al Arab|Burj Al Arab]] by [[Agustin Padilla]], available only at Middle East Film & Comic Con 2013.
* '''Hasbro exclusive cover:''' Cropped-in version of cover RI, exclusively available with ''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' Deluxe Class [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Deluxe|Bumblebee]]
* '''Micro-Comic Fun Pack cover:''' Bumblebee dual-wielding two pistols, by Livio Ramondelli
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