Bumblebee (Animated)
| The name or term "Bumblebee" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Bumblebee (disambiguation). |
- Bumblebee is an Autobot from the Transformers Animated continuity family.
Bumblebee is the youngest, yellowest, and most energetic of the Autobots...as usual. A hyperactive wisecracker, Bumblebee is quite convinced he's the fastest—and coolest—thing on four wheels. He has a tendency to bite off more than he can chew, so it's a good thing he pals around with the massive Bulkhead. He does not take well to being called short, and his over-eager ways can get on Ratchet's nerves all too easily. Still, Bumblebee is good people, as evidenced by his fast friendship with Sari Sumdac.
| “ | I may be small, but I'm scrappy! And I can ride circles around your big, old, rusty chassis! | ” |
—Bumblebee to Bulkhead, "Total Meltdown" | ||
Fiction
Animated cartoon
- Voice actor: Bumper Robinson (English), Santiago Ziesmer (German)
Early in his career, Bumblebee dreamed of becoming a member of the Elite Guard. He joined the Autobot Boot Camp, but things didn't exactly go as planned - his drill sergeant was a jerk, most of his classmates bullied him and the only bot willing to befriend him was a complete mudflap. His luck seemed to change, however, when he accidentally overheard someone communicating with a Decepticon. He then saw fellow classmate Wasp walk out, which aroused his suspicions. After taking the advice of Longarm, Bumblebee attempted to weed out the spy, but Sentinel Minor got in the way twice. Needless to say, this resulted in many transform-ups for his squadron. After Wasp and Ironhide tore off his legs and put him in a closet, he was saved by Longarm, who encouraged him not to give up. Later that day, the group was put through their first training exercise—combat in a simulated battlezone. When somebody switched the turret settings to fire actual lasers, it was Bulkhead who saved him. However, they accidentally knocked over a building in the process, flattening Sentinel.
When Sentinel was conducting a surprise locker inspection, Sentinel discovered a Decepticon communicator in Wasp's trunk, ousting him as a traitor. Sentinel was prepared to put Bumblebee on an Elite Guard fast track program. Sadly, his new friendship with Bulkhead forced him to throw it all away in order to prevent his new buddy being kicked out, and they both wound up working on space bridges. Autoboot Camp
Stellar cycles later, Bumblebee and Bulkhead were assigned to Optimus Prime's space bridge repair crew, fixing malfunctioning space bridges. 'Bee proved agile enough to help Bulkhead, who had managed to lodge a wrecking ball in an asteroid. Even though he expressed significant fear of Megatron, he still managed to crack wise at the Decepticon leader's appearance once they were face-to-face. The humor vanished when Megs pulled out his sword. After Megatron was thrown off the ship, Bumblebee entered stasis with the rest of the crew just before the crew's ship crash-landed on Earth.
Fifty years later, Teletran-1 awoke the crew to alert them to the intrusion of a nanite-powered bug-slug. Sending out a probe to find local disguises, the probe scanned Captain Fanzone's car amongst other things. Bumblebee was given the car for his new bodyform. Lucky him.
Upon noticing "a little creature" struggling with her "owner", 'Bee and Mr. Bulk showed their unfamiliarity with organic life by assuming the owner/pet relationship was reversed. Their speculation was interrupted by the attacks of the giant, nanite-fueled bug monster, and Bumblebee intervened to get Sari out of the way. Later in the battle, Bumblebee was called on to deliver the override command to the beast's nanites, as he was the fastest and most nimble of the crew.
His defeat of the monster seriously impressed Sari, who decided to befriend him. Sari's definition of befriending included cajoling him into sneaking her aboard the Autobots' ship. Of course, Sari wouldn't stay still as Bumblebee asked, compelling him to jettison her into a ventilation shaft. After introducing her to the group, Sari and 'Bee became fast friends. When Starscream attacked Detroit, Bumblebee took a shot intended for Sari, allowing Screamer to capture Bumblebee, Isaac Sumdac, Captain Fanzone, and the Mayor. Sari, with Prowl's help, managed to rescue them. Transform and Roll Out!
At one point, Bumblebee took part in a match against Cyrus "Colossus" Rhodes. Unfortunately, Cyrus hulked up, then proceeded to beat the slag out of Bumblebee. The other Autobots were forced to rescue him, using it as a chance to riff on his small stature. However, only Bumblebee was able to get into Sumdac Tower when Meltdown went to kill Isaac Sumdac. Bumblebee managed to get him to the ground floor, but Meltdown arrived. Bulkhead tried to stop him, but Meltdown threw a glob of acid at Bulkhead, which Bumblebee took instead (basically, 'Bee is a human shield). Bulkhead offered his apologies over his comments, saying he was only having a little fun—which sent Bumblebee into declaring his good moves and speed. He's going to be pretty impossible to live with for a while. Total Meltdown
Blast from the Past Thrill of the Hunt
After Bumblebee showed a lack of ability (or inclination) to be subtle on Earth, Prime had Prowl try to teach Bumblebee how to blend in. This ruined some plans with Sari, as she wanted to attach some turbo-boosters to him to make him go even faster. During the exercise, they encountered Nanosec, a crook that had gained Professor Sumdac's new speed suit via unknown patrons. Unable to keep up with Nanosec, Bumblebee was convinced by Sari attach the turbo-boosters against Prime's orders. Unfortunately, he couldn't control them in vehicle mode, allowing Nanosec to escape from the Autobots twice. Worse, he was carrying enough Destronium to destroy all of Detroit. Overhearing Bulkhead and Prowl's comments on his change of appearance, Bumblebee realized that the suit was causing him to age the more he used it, so he purposefully ran him into old age (cold, Bee). With the Destronium about to go critical, Bumblebee, with help from Prowl and Bulkhead, managed to use his turbo-boosters to head into the outer atmosphere and get the Destronium away from the city before detonating. The whole experience seems have given Bumblebee a bit more respect for subtlety. Nanosec
Along Came a Spider Sound and Fury Lost and Found Survival of the Fittest Headmaster Nature Calls
When Decepticon activity was detected in high levels, Bulkhead spilled the beans on what he and Prowl had done with the Dinobots, and Optimus Prime pretty much lost it. Ranting that all he had was a group of insubordinate malfunctions, he told Ratchet to take Sari's AllSpark-infused key from her, saying it wasn't safe in her hands. As she ran off crying, Bumblebee defended her, and Prime pointed out that Bumblebee wasn't a good character witness. Bumblebee mouthed off that their situation meant that Prime wasn't fit to command, and then went looking for Sari. Heading to Sumdac Tower, Bumblebee spotted Starscream, and disobeyed Prime's order to hold off. Heading up the elevator (which could not only fit him, but also carry his weight), Bumblebee charged, firing his stingers at Starscream. All it really did was interrupt his speech, which made Starscream seriously freak out. However, a crane pulled Starscream, who was holding Bumblebee, up to the roof, where the two fought it out...right until Megatron burst through the roof of the tower. Megatron Rising - Part 1
After Megatron's restoration, Starscream absentmindedly beat on Bumblebee for a while, then threw him aside when Megatron called the Decepticons to him. Once he'd been repaired with remaining key energy in Professor Sumdac's lab, Bumblebee called Prime on his previous statements, and Optimus apologized, saying he'd been out of line. When Ratchet brought the Autobots' ship to them, the Autobots and Sumdacs boarded the vessel in an attempt to lead Megatron and the Decepticons off-planet, but were shot down and crashed on Dinobot Island. As the Autobots rallied to defend the AllSpark, Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Prowl took on Blitzwing. Ratchet and Bumblebee teamed up again to create an electromagnetic pulse, causing him to crash. After shelling them in tank mode, Blitzwing again took to the air for some strafing runs. Prowl noticed a connection between Blitzwing's alternate modes and personalities, so they had Bumblebee use his greatest strength, his obnoxious personality, to cause Angry Blitzwing to emerge. Taunting the triple changer, Bumblebee got him to transform accidentally into tank mode and crash into the lake. Megatron Rising - Part 2
The Elite Guard The Return of the Headmaster Mission Accomplished Garbage In, Garbage Out
Bumblebee became involved in the illegal street races organised by the criminal Master Disaster. Believing himself to be the fastest things on wheels, Bumblebee was unsurprisingly shocked after getting thrashed in a race by a Mysterious Blue Race Car. Following this, AllSpark traces, and the appearance of Blitzwing at the race track, Bumblebee became determined to get to the bottom of the mystery (although deep down he just wanted another chance to beat the Unknown Racer.) He made a deal with Master Disaster to appear in his races. Enlisting the help of Sari, Bumblebee returned to the track, and, to cut a long story short, ending up being pursued by the maniacal Blitzwing. After nearly being frozen one minute and melted to slag the next, Bumblebee was eventually rescued by the Mysterious Racer driving into Blitzwing. The excitement wasn't over for Bumblebee yet, as when returning to Master Disaster's trailer for answers, he and his pal Bulkhead (who had angrily followed Bumblebee there for defying him) had to face off against Blitzwing (he was desperate for that AllSpark fragment...), and had to be rescued once again... although this time it was Sari using Master Disaster's controlling device. Velocity
Later, he went on a trip to the Five Banners Roller Coaster Kingdom theme park with Sari. Optimus, fool that he is, believed him when he called it "an important fact-finding mission". A Fistful of Energon
On another occasion, Bumblebee was attempting to clear up the streets of Detroit by catching some of their small time criminals. However, in each case, whenever Bumblebee came close to the capture, he froze up completely, and allowed the baddies to escape. It later became apparent that this was due to the AllSpark-infused timepiece belonging to Slo-Mo. After revealing himself and snatching the timepiece, Swindle froze all of the Autobots and looked set for victory. However, after being lifted to Sumdac Tower by Sari and the members of the SUV and repaired, Bumblebee took on Swindle (even managing to floor him at one point with his stingers.) After getting the timepiece back from Swindle, Bumblebee was double-crossed by the SUV, but fortunately for the Autobot, the rest of his pals were back online by now, and managed to get the criminals arrested. SUV: Society of Ultimate Villainy
After learning of Wasp's escape, Bumblebee felt a stirring of his old dreams, and dragged Bulkhead off to trace a signal leaked to them, containing a conversation between Megatron and his spy. As they tracked it down, Bumblebee fell into old habits, and started putting Bulkhead down, just like in the old days. It took a nasty fall to remind him that Bulkhead was the best friend he'd ever have, and he didn't need to spend his time chasing big dreams. Together, the two headed home, never realizing they were just outside of the carbon mines where the Decepticons were hiding.
Later, Bumblebee relayed the information they'd gathered to his old friend, Longarm, now Longarm Prime, head of Cybertron Intel. Autoboot Camp
Due to his inability to stay quiet, Prowl placed a bet on Bumblebee—that he couldn't go 10 cycles without talking. Should he keep to this, a sweet can of axle grease would be his! However, the poor bot just couldn't do it. Prime took 'Bee and Prowl with him to Dinobot Island to investigate Meltdown's prison break, and the plucky yellow bot vowed he would win the axle grease. However, the bet was put on hold after both he and Prowl were off-lined by Blackarachnia's cyber-venom. After the day was saved, Prime used the antidote on the bots, and 'Bee pointed out he'd been quiet for ages! Prowl dryly noted it took 'Bee being comatose to achieve this, but the yellow bot didn't care—he just wanted his grease! Black Friday
After insulting Bulkhead's latest painting of Sari, Bumblebee realized that he was wrong and actually apologized for his comments. It didn't go over very well, and that was before Megatron showed up with Professor Sumdac. Though Bumblebee suspected that Sumdac was a willing accomplice, Sari refused to hear it. At that moment, the mysterious blue racer appeared. Thinking he was a Decepticon, Bumblebee rolled after the racer, running him off the road. It was only at this point that the racer revealed that he was Blurr, a member of the Elite Guard sent to keep tabs on Decepticons and Prime's crew. Worse, Bumblebee's actions allowed Bulkhead to be kidnapped by Megatron. Once Optimus Prime was informed that the Decepticons were building a space bridge to attack Cybertron, 'Bee went with the Autobots to rescue Bulkhead and destroy the bridge. During a brief skirmish with Lugnut and Blitzwing, Bumblebee admitted that he'd lost his title as "fastest thing on wheels" to Blurr. Unfortunately, when they confronted Megatron himself, the Constructicons managed to incapacitate the pair...just in time for Starscream and his clones to attack. A Bridge Too Close, Part I
Managing to escape the Decepticons, the Autobots went for the clones, apparently deciding that they were the greater evil. The battle went poorly for them, as Blurr was lost in the space bridge and Bumblebee was cemented to a wall. When Isaac Sumdac decapitated Starscream and took his body with the Headmaster unit, Bumblebee was convinced that he was working for the Decepticons, though Sumdac revealed that it was to destroy Megatron. That didn't work out too well. After Megatron explained his plan to the captive Autobots, the Decepticon Shockwave revealed that he was Longarm Prime and that Bumblebee had sent an innocent Wasp to the stockade. Fortunately, Omega Supreme arrived, reactivated thanks to Sari and Ratchet, and sacrificed himself to save the Autobots and Sumdacs. With the threat passed, Sumdac revealed that he had been forced to help the Decepticons, and Bumblebee's mistrust of the professor presumably faded away—only to return when Sari saw that the skin of her right arm had torn...revealing robotic circuitry underneath! A Bridge Too Close, Part II
Despite the revelation that one of his best friends was a robot, Bumblebee actually remained focused on the larger picture: namely, Shockwave's presence on Cybertron. Optimus reasoned that since Bulkhead was a genius with regards to space bridges (something Bumblebee said he'd never get used to, revealing his high opinion of his other best friend), so the two headed out to the mine. Bumblebee managed to find a recall beacon generator, which was needed to locate the position in space, and the plasmadynamic thruster, which generated the transwarp field. Unfortunately, the thruster activated before Bumblebee could give it to Bulkhead, sending him across the galaxy. After catching another transwarp wave, he was again transported to another part of the galaxy—where he was swallowed by a rock alien.
Fortunately, Bulkhead was able to capture Bumblebee's signal, and reel him in. Sadly, it also brought the alien to Detroit. As the Autobots struggled to figure out how to defeat the monster and save Bumblebee, Sari used the Key on herself to upgrade with new weapons and a teenage appearance. Sari quickly trounced the monster, freeing Bumblebee. Unfortunately, Sari didn't remove the key after the upgrade, causing her to overload and lose control of her abilities. Bumblebee made a mad dash to try to remove the key, but Sari's defenses systems registered him as a threat, and Sari horrifically watched as she stabbed Bumblebee through the chest and blasted him across the street. Ratchet immediately went to work, saying that he could repair Bumblebee without the Key. However, the damage was severe, and Bumblebee's spark was fading fast. Even when they got the Key, Ratchet was still hard pressed, as the Key had been burned out upgrading Sari. Fortunately, Ratchet managed to stabilize Bumblebee with his magnets, but Ratchet was forced to deactivate Sari with his EMP generator.
After Ratchet made what repairs he could, the Autobots allowed Professor Sumdac some time alone with Sari. Lamenting on how troubled their day had been, Bumblebee tempted fate by asking how much worse it could get. On cue, the plasmadynamic thruster began to power up, but Bulkhead manged to shut it down. Unfortunately, Omega Supreme soon arrived, under the control of Megatron. Bumblebee was given an illegal stinger upgrade to help against Omega Supreme, but it still did little good. Optimus and Prowl managed to sneak inside and remove Megatron's control while Bumblebee and Bulkhead served as bait a distraction. However, Starscream managed to gain control, and soon moved to conquer Cybertron. Bumblebee came up with the idea to throw the plasmadynamic thruster inside Omega to send the three randomly warping across the galaxy, managing to reach the altitude with his turbo boosters (why Optimus let him keep those is unknown). Later, Sari was awakened, and all was well with the Autobots...except for being out of contact with Cybertron, but still, it's the thought that counts. TransWarped
Toy bios
At some point, Bumblebee began taking stealth lessons from Prowl, presenting him with a new battle tactic: sneaking up from behind instead of racing fender-first into danger. To further that end, Bumblebee apparently painted himself as a police patrol car. Patrol Bumblebee
After "getting up close to members of the AUTOBOT Elite Guard", Bumblebee decided more than ever that he wanted to join their ranks. He had Sari borrow some of her dad's auto-painting robots so that he could truly look the part of an Elite Guard team member. He also began doing combat training with Prowl, and may have gotten his energy stingers enhanced. Elite Guard Bumblebee
Titan Magazines
In battle with new villain Quake-Maker, Bumblebee got to not only mock the villain but fight alongside the super-cool new Autobot Afterburn. Burnout
The two later went on a mission to Dinobot Island to stop a Rage virus infection, a mission that had Bumblebee nervous. During the mission, Bumblebee screwed up a landing that Afterburn aced, got thrown into a mud puddle by Swoop, was left with an incredibly dirty finish, and generally looked worse than Afterburn and on four separate occasions got put down by him. This made him sad. Ratchet & Grimlock Are DEAD?
Toys
Animated
Activators
- Bumblebee (Activator, 2008)
- Part of the first wave of Activators, this small version of Bumblebee automatically transforms from vehicle to robot mode via spring-loaded releases when you press his top-mounted police light. Interestingly enough, this toy is probably the closest to "proper" scale in robot mode when compared to the Deluxe Prowl and Ratchet, the Voyager Optimus, and Leader Bulkhead. Like the Deluxe class toy, Bumblebee was intended to be molded with a benign sideways smile on his face, but at this small of scale the effect does not come off as intended, leaving Bumblebee looking rather more like he's grimacing. Furthermore, his insignia is also grimacing; for some reason this toy was given the movie Autobot "angry eyes" insignia, rather than the standard "neutral expression" insignia found on most other Animated Autobots. Add him to the list of Transformers who just need a hug.
- This mold was later retooled to make Cliffjumper.
- Patrol Bumblebee (Activator, 2008)
- A police-themed redeco of Activators Bumblebee, instead of his current "undercover" markings, he gets full-on black-and-white deco with "POLICE" lettering across his doors.
Deluxe
- Bumblebee (Deluxe, 2008)
- Accessories: Left & right rocket boosters
- Bumblebee transforms from a small yellow hatchback with a single red flasher to a scrappy robot with a smile on his face. He has a fake car roof on his chest (but to be fair, so does his cartoon counterpart.) in robot mode, and the two halves of his stinger weapon, stored in his forearms, can be flipped out and pegged together. In both robot and car mode, his two booster rockets can be attached on his back.
- Due to support struts added inside his forearms to ensure durability, his stingers do not recede all the way back into his arms. There have also been some complaints that the socket in his left arm tends to crack easily, which makes the arm impossible to pose.
- This mold was also used to make <a href="#EliteGuard" title="">"Elite Guard" Bumblebee</a>.
- Elite Guard Bumblebee (Deluxe, 2008)
- Accessories: Left & right rocket boosters
- A redeco of Deluxe Bumblebee, this figure represents Bumblebee after getting Sari to help paint him up in Elite Guard deco as part of his anticipated ascension into their ranks. Dare to dream! He retains all the play-gimmicks of the original, and his arm has been remolded to allow the stingers to recede fully. The color scheme of the toy bears a little resemblance to Stealth Bumblebee from the Movie franchise.
- Oddly, the head on the retail version of the toy is coloured black, despite being depicted as yellow in both the stock photography and the packaging art.
Voyager
- Hydrodrive Bumblebee (Voyager, 2009)
- A new sculpted and downscaled figure of Bumblebee in much the same style as Samurai Prowl. He comes with a jet/ submarine that can be configured into some sort of battle armour/jet-pack. He can be placed in it in both robot and alt mode.
Other
- Bumper Battlers Bumblebee (Bumper Battlers, 2008)
- Part of the first wave of Bumper Battlers, this very simple version of Bumblebee is meant for the much younger set. About the same size as the Deluxe Bumblebee in car mode, pressing the Autobot faction symbol on his hood activates the toy's sound feature, using a seemingly randomized assortment of sound effects and original voice samples from Bumper Robinson. Pressing the car mode's front bumper in activates the simple spring-loaded one-step transformation to robot mode... "properly" activated by using the toy's pull-back motor gimmick to propel it forward into an obstacle.
- Bumblebee (McDonalds Happy Meal toy, 2008)
- A simple version of Bumblebee with a very simple transformation sequence, one of six toys available as part of the McDonald's Transformers Animated promotion (held concurrently with the Littlest Pet Shop promo). You transform him by pulling out the arms from the sides, pulling down the legs and rotating them around and flipping up the head. The arms hold the legs in place, and need to be pulled out before his legs. His vehicle mode is accurate to the show, and his robot mode is reasonably accurate, although rather on the "bulky" side.
- Sting Racer Bumblebee (Bumper Battlers, 2008)
- This Bumper Battlers Bumblebee has a blue stripe in place of the black one, and blue electrical marks on his sides.
- Stealth Lockdown (Animated 3-pack, 2008)
- A Universe Legends-class Bumblebee came packaged with this Target-exclusive clear version of Lockdown, as well as a Legends Optimus Prime. This Bumblebee is almost identical to the individual Universe release, except this version has a silver faction symbol rather than the Universe release's red.
- Cyber Speed Bumblebee (Power Bots, 2008)
- A large, non-transforming figure of Bumblebee in bulky, child-friendly form. He comes with lights and sounds, including a stinger sound on the right arm, which has the stinger deployed, and a "punching" sound and extending fist on the left. He also speaks a slew of phrases, including "Bring it on, Decepticons!" and "Hi, I'm Bumblebee!", again using Bumper Robinson voice clips. He is, of course, utterly adorable.
- Street Patrol Bumblebee (Power Bots, 2009)
- This Bumblebee has red stripes on his stinger arm and his stripe is dark blue.
- Shockwave VS Bumblebee (multipack, 2009)
- Activators Bumblebee packaged with a purple redeco of Voyager Shockwave in a Target-exclusive multipack.
Transformers (2007 movie line)
- Legacy of Bumblebee (Deluxe class multi-pack, 2008)
- A Walmart exclusive three pack, the Legacy of Bumblebee collector's set comes with Classics, Movie Deluxe Class Concept Camaro (Premium Series) and Animated Bumblebee figures. While the movie and Animated Bumblebees are identical to their original, single carded releases, the Classics Bumblebee has been redecoed to more closely resemble his movie and Animated counterparts, changing his white stripes to black, and his grey/silver plastic to yellow, similarly to Henkei! Henkei! Bumble.
Universe (2008)
- Bumblebee (Legends, 2008)
- A smaller, simplified Legends-scale Bumblebee toy, released under the Universe toyline.
- This toy can also be found as part of the Animated Stealth Lockdown three-pack with Legends Optimus Prime, and as part of a Universe three-pack with Legends Optimus Prime and Legends Prowl.
Trivia
- Bumblebee's arm-mounted shock stingers are very likely inspired by an early weapon concept from the 2007 movie Bumblebee.
- The character who would become Bumblebee was originally conceived as Hot Shot, but changed to Bumblebee at the insistence of incoming supervising director Matt Youngberg and art director Derrick J. Wyatt[1]. This explains why his character is more like Hot Shot and less like... well, Bumblebee. He also arguably shares personality traits with other, similarly brash "ADHD" characters such as Hot Rod and Cheetor. Cut from the same cloth, at any rate.
- Bumblebee appears to have a fake car roof on his chest in both his toy and on his character model. Not only does Bumblebee transform like his toy in his drawn-out animated transformation sequences, with his legs forming the top of the vehicle and the rest forming the underside, but his "real" windshield is drawn on the back of his legs, just like the toy. Plus the headlights on Bumblebee's feet are upside-down, just like the toy's. However, Bumblebee's vehicle mode stripe doesn't change sides like on the toy. Cheatsy!
- In addition to the above, in "Thrill of the Hunt," Bumblebee reaches under his fake car roof kibble to get out his air freshener and fuzzy dice. This would mean that he had kept them in his back seat or trunk. Interestingly enough, on the Deluxe toy, you can actually store small items in his chest thanks to his opening 'trunk'.
- He likes to swear a lot. Slag yeah!
- He apparently got his name for being a bumbler in Autobot boot camp.
- On the Transformers Animated Season One DVD set, the "Season Two Sneak Peek" special feature shows Bumblebee's character model colored in the Elite Guard Bumblebee toy's deco. Bumblebee did not actually use that color scheme in Season 2, so its inclusion in a Season Two gallery is puzzling at best...
