Bumper (G1)
| The name or term "Bumper" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Bumper (disambiguation). |
- Bumper is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Bumper is a young and inexperienced Autobot, new to the war, but eager to do his part against the Decepticons. He is in the interesting position of looking up to Bumblebee, which makes Bumblebee feel more awkward than normal. Bumper may not have much of a history so far, but his determination and flashes of courage and brilliance may take him far.
Fiction
Dreamwave Generation One continuity
Bumper was part of the crew of the shuttle Orion, under the command of Bumblebee. The ship was sent to Earth from Cybertron after Shockwave was overthrown to bring news and supplies to the Autobots left on the human planet. Unfortunately, on their routine mission, the Orion's crew crossed paths with one of Shockwave's creations, the super-clone Sunstorm. Night of the Combaticons Bumper was part of the party that attacked Sunstorm, in order to attach an inhibitor onto him, so it could drain the destructive energies Sunstorm produced. Skyfire
Later, he and Warpath were sent to retrieve several Autobots that Starscream had previously deactivated and "stored" at the bottom of a lake. They were interrupted by a heavily-armed platoon of EDC troops under the command of Marissa Faireborn, The Omega Effect who rounded them up within a transport hold and took them to an underground facility. Worried about their predicament, Warpath asked Bumper what was to become of them. Unfortunately, Bumper was as clueless as he was. Atonement The Autobots eventually arrived to a secret base, where their offline members were reactivated. The EDC explained that they needed the Autobots' help to investigate the disappearance of an entire town of people in San Desto, California.
Bumper was part of the squad sent in to San Desto, instantly earning the disdain of Sunstreaker (though Sunstreaker thinks that way about everyone). Bumper took a squad of EDC troopers into a movie theater to investigate an energy signature emanating from it. Inside, they were ambushed by the Insecticons Infestation and captured. When they left to take care of their new breed of Insecticlones, Bumper managed to break free and took a cerebro-shell. He then hid in the lab until the Insecticons returned, now with Sideswipe and Sunstreaker as their prisoners. Fearing that Bumper had fled to the surface, the Insecticons left once more, allowing Bumper to free his captured teammates. Bumper then used the taken cerebro-shell to disable Bombshell and shut down his mind-control network over both his human slaves and the Insecticlones, putting an end to the Insecticons' machinations in San Desto. Extermination
Bumper and the Autobots left EDC behind to rejoin the rest of their group. Lost and Found They arrived at the future site of Autobot City, whose construction was being supervised by Prowl. The Route of All Evil
IDW Generation 1 continuity
Before the war, Bumper was part of stakeout team Panorama 3 along with Fastback. They had the bad luck to be the ones who hit the right location for Megatron's next illegal pit-fight, and the worse luck to be witnesses to his first fateful meeting with Soundwave. Their transmissions were jammed, and they were captured, interrogated, and killed in rather short order. Megatron Origin #2
They were given a fairly elaborate and rather well-attended funeral. They rated Alpha Trion's attendance, apparently. Megatron Origin #3
Despite his death, his name was somehow listed as a choice for an Autobot mission. Wheelie got the nod instead. Spotlight: Wheelie
Toys
Generation 1
- Cliffjumper (Mini Vehicle, 1984)
- The toy that has come to be known as "Bumper" or "Bumblejumper" has never had an official Transformer release from either Hasbro or Takara. Originally a mold from Takara's pre-Transformers Microman Microchange line, the yellow version[1] of the "MC-04 Mini CAR Robo 02 Familia 1500XG" mold appeared on Cliffjumper cards in 1984[2] (it's not impossible that he was also available on Bumblebee cards, but to this day, no packaged example has surfaced). How this toy came to be released in this manner has yet to be determined, and it's highly likely the mystery may never be solved, although a few factors point to this toy being intended for a Transformers release by Hasbro.[3]
- For years, the toy was referred to as "Bumblejumper" by fans, a portmanteau of "Bumblebee" and "Cliffjumper", since he was believed to have been packaged on the cards for both of those Minicars. In the early 1990s, the shortened and more Transformers-like name "Bumper" began to propagate through the fandom. The name was made "official" for the toy when it was used in the first issue of Dreamwave's ongoing Transformers comic in 2004.
- The only official Transformers releases of the mold were the versions released by Estrela in Brazil. It was known simply as "Sedan" and was cast in four color schemes, first two as the "Robocar" Sedan, then two more as the heroic "Optimus" Sedan.[4]
- The alternate mode for this figure is a Choro-Q version of a Mazda Familia.
Notes
- Given that Bumper's stickers are different from those on the Takara release, and that the Estrela releases of the mold came complete with package art and a unique Tech Spec, Bumper may have been intended for official release in the Northern Hemisphere at some point.
- An almost-realized BotCon exclusive from Fun Publications was a redeco of Prime Rumble/Frenzy into Bumper.[5]
