Bugly (G1)

This article is about the Generation 1 Decepticon. For the Animated Decepticon, see Bugly (Animated).

Bugly is a Decepticon Pretender from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Insects don't have politics. They're very brutal. No compassion, no compromise. We can't trust the insect.

Bugly functions only to control and dominate others. As a strategist, he relishes giving orders and commanding his fellow Decepticons to carry out his bidding. He is also one of the few known modern practitioners of Circuit-Su, which teaches martial artists of the Allspark that connects all energy in Transformer life-sparks, and how to tap into that energy. Bugly believes in the conservation of energy principle—by drawing greater amounts of power from his spark through discipline, he thinks that this is limiting the amount of energy available for all other Cybertronians. This is the ultimate form of domination for Bugly, and he works tirelessly to cultivate his mental abilities at the expense of others.

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

Marvel The Transformers comics

From the mind of David Cronenberg...

After commandeering a genetics research lab on Earth, Scorponok was able to recreate and perfect the science of Pretender shells using synthoplasmic chambers constructed by him and Vorath. Bugly was one of six Decepticon volunteers transformed by the process into new Pretenders. But soon after the process was completed, the Decepticons took notice of a digital eavesdropper. After tracing the intruder to Alternate Reality, Inc., Scorponok sent out his newly recreated troops to test their might against the spies. With the data they had stolen, the Autobots managed to create Pretenders of their own, and manufactured heroic counterparts to Scorponok's goons. A digital copy of Optimus Prime proved too great a tactician for Bugly and his kin to defeat, and they were soon driven into a retreat by their opposites. Pretender to the Throne!

And staring Jeff Goldblum...

When Scorponok's Decepticons met with those under the command of Ratbat, the two commanders were manipulated by Starscream, driving them against each other. The conflict eventually came to a head with an all-out brawl erupting between both groups. Bugly found himself facing off against Skywarp; the teleporting Seeker proved a difficult target until Bugly concentrated on predicting the pattern of his "jumps", and caught Skywarp with a blast of photon fire while he was re-materializing. Hostilities ceased when both teams realized they had been tricked, and Starscream was already on his way to seize the Underbase for himself. Cold War! The combined Decepticon forces were then forced into battle with the Autobots in another of Starscream's manipulations. When all sides agreed to temporarily put their grudges to rest and stop the treacherous Seeker, they scattered their forces across various cities where they expected him to strike. Bugly was part of a wave that included the Decepticon Pretenders and the Predacons that attacked the Underbase-powered Starscream in Tokyo. The Predacons quickly fell, but the Pretenders were protected from Starscream's cosmic blasts by their synthoplasmic shells. Dark Star

Later, Bugly got the job (along with Bomb-Burst) to fly Iguanus away from a skyscraper, in a plot by Scorponok to gain energy by channeling lightning. The Micromaster Off Road Patrol foiled the plan and Iguanus was toasted, so Bugly let him plummet to his doom and fled. King Con!

Bugly later assisted Submarauder with his Pretender shell at the Decepticons' New Jersey base, after he had served as Zarak's ferry across the nearby river. The Interplanetary Wrestling Championship!

Transformers Comic-Magazin

Bugly was present when the Decepticons unleashed a robotic hell-beast known as 'King Con' on New York; however Optimus Prime rented a helicopter to fly a banner announcing huge raw oil deposit finds in the Rocky Mountains. After a short hesitation, the Decepticons retreated to pursue these findings. New York — A City Sinking in Terror

Regeneration One

An undead Bugly, still clad in his Pretender shell, was part of Megatron's horde of "Ex-Bots" during his conquest of Earth. Alongside Octane, Razorclaw, Skalor, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Thrust, and Ratbat he exterminated a convoy of escaping humans, including Buster and Jesse. Less Than Zero

In 2012 after Megatron's defeat, all of the deactivated zombies were piled into a large pit by the Autobots and obliterated from orbit. Natural Selection, Part One

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

DOOF!

During the Dark Ages, in a period when Optimus Prime and Megatron were lost in a space bridge incident, Bugly was part of the Chaos Trinity alongside Bludgeon and Mindwipe, seeking to expand their personal power through dark rites and mysticism. During one of their ceremonies deep in Kalis, they were interrupted by The Fallen, a mysterious and powerful being who offered the great power if they helped him find the Angles of Dissolution required for the Unbinding. The three Decepticons accepted. Fragmentation With preparations advancing, the trio met with The Fallen in the Well of All Sparks, and Bugly and Mindwipe watched as their new master gave Bludgeon a taste of the dark power he offered. The trio began stirring up interfactional conflicts to lure their targets to the right position to be captured. Escalation

The trio attacked Shockwave and Jetfire, who were meeting to combine their resources to work out what was going on. Bugly used his electro-stingers on Shockwave, disabling the Decepticon. With Jetfire captured, the trio wondered why Grimlock hadn't shown up as they expected he would, having leaked Jetfire's communication to him, but it turned out Grimlock had. The Dynobot jumped them, striking Bugly with his energo-sword and taking out the other two with equal ease. Revelation They recovered to watch The Fallen take out Grimlock. He sent them to secure the third Angle, so the Chaos Trinity went and attacked the Protectobots. With Hot Spot reluctant to have his team form Defensor after previously losing control of the Combiner, the three Decepticons overwhelmed them and captured Hot Spot. Confrontation While The Fallen began the Unbinding, Bugly, Bludgeon, and Mindwipe attempted to protect the Well of All Sparks against Shockwave's forces. Shortly after Trypticon arrived at the battle, Bugly was felled by enemy fire. Conflagration

2005 IDW continuity

He's a bug, he's ugly...

Bugly was part of the squad led to Earth by Bludgeon in the 1980s to collect Ore-13, and wound up buried inside their Mount St. Helens base after an eruption. In the late 20th century, Skywatch found and revived him, only for Bugly to escape the mountain. He didn't get far before being attacked by the newly founded G.I. Joe, and Skywatch ally Centurion soon proceeded to drag him back into the mountain base, where he was chained to the enigmatic Talisman at the behest of Joe Colton and Garrison Kreiger. The visiting Sgt. Savage protested this treatment of the Decepticon, but was thrown at the Talisman by Centurion for his troubles, activating the device and releasing energies which utterly destroyed Bugly. When Eagles Scream

Precursor World

Bugly, or a creature that looked like his Pretender shell, was part of Purple Wicked Convoy's collection of monsters. God Neptune comic 1

2019 IDW continuity

Bugly was a member of Security Operations on Velocitron, but also an undercover agent of Mayhem. He was on duty for Knock Out's inauguration and helped apprehend Minerva after she was framed for an assassination attempt on the new First Senator. Tread & Circuits Part 4

Toys

The Transformers

On his way to audition for the role of Scumbug in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

• Bugly (Pretender, 1988)

• Accessories: Pretender shell, 2 "photon rifles", 2 "electro-stinger" antennae, belt
• Known designers: Masakatsu Saito (concept artist), Richard Marcej (packaging)

Released in the fifth year of the original The Transformers toyline (fourth in European matkets), Bugly transforms into a Cybertronian hoverjet. He comes with two high-finned blaster weapons that form his wings in jet mode.

His outer Pretender shell resembles a huge bipedal insect, with large compound eyes and a The Fly-like claw for a right hand (which was the left hand in the original movie but oh well). His antennae are removable, which also lets you rotate them around in the socket for some modicum of posability. In keeping with the general weirdness of the second wave of original Pretenders, Bugly's robot mode has a dedicated 5 mm hole in his back for no particular reason; the rifles already plug into his backpack's sides to serve as extra wings.

Bugly was not released in Japan.

• More information on Bugly at TFU.info

Notes

Foreign names

• Italian: Insector