Operation Bumblebee, Part 1

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"Operation Bumblebee, Part 1"
Production company	Hasbro Studios
Airdate	March 10, 2012
Animation studio	Polygon Pictures

Bumblebee questions his worthiness to his team after he is compromised.

Synopsis

Optimus and Ratchet stake out a Vehicon mining operation overseen by Megatron. Optimus isn't about to let Megatron have whatever gave off the signal that led him and Ratchet here, and he confronts Megatron just as the Vehicons break earth and hand the package to him. Megatron advises Optimus to stow his weapons; the device they've unearthed is a deadly spark extractor, capable of sapping the spark from the body of every Cybertronian in its radius. He takes the opportunity to gloat about how Optimus—ahem, Orion—led him to it before stepping through the ground bridge, and ordering the Vehicons to hold Ratchet and Optimus off. Closeby, Bumblebee speeds over a cliff and through the attacking Vehicons, before driving into the GroundBridge. He transforms and grabs the package from Megatron's hand, before turning around and bolting. Megatron runs after him, but upon arriving outside the vortex, finds his troops destroyed and all three Autobots gone.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Oh for Primus' sake will SOMEBODY keep him occupied so I can get some work done!?"
—Ratchet doesn't like to be distracted.

"The new Urbana 500. It won't just rock your world. It will transform it."
—The commercial narrator hates Bumblebee.

"Bumblebee where's your famous horsepower? Show me some speed!"
—Knock Out, unintentionally striking a nerve.

Notes

Continuity notes

• It is with this episode that the events of Alex Irvine's apocryphal story, Bumblebee at Tyger Pax, are confirmed. However, this does not place the story in the realm of canon-it is still not sanctioned by Hasbro.

Transformers references

• The device dú jour today is the spark extractor, courtesy of ancient Decepticons. However, unlike the original, this one seems to be more of a bomb-like device, sapping the sparks of everyone in its radius.
• The T-cog is a reference to the transformation cog of G1 lore. It also controlled at least one robot's ability to transform, and when removed, has similar results.

Real-world references

• Megatron uses the term "mutually assured destruction", a longtime slogan for the effect of nuclear war.
• Knock Out references Rent-A-Car, a real-world car rental service.

Trivia

• Starscream's voice is somewhat deeper in this episodes than ones previous. It's kind of unsettling.
• In a first for the series, Bumblebee's car mode is revealed as the Urbana 500. The Urbana 500. It won't just rock your world. It'll transform it.