Goldbug (SG)
| This article is about the evil Autobot Seeker. For his heroic Throttlebot counterpart, see Bumblebee (G1). For a list of other meanings, see Goldbug (disambiguation). |
- Goldbug is an evil Autobot Seeker from the "Shattered Glass" continuity family.
Goldbug, the evil Seeker commander, was once a shiftless drifter named Bumblebee. Survival on the streets of Polyhex meant learning to become a sneak, a pickpocket, and blackmailer, and at these things Bumblebee excelled. When he joined Optimus Prime's brutal Autobot forces, his bravery put him on the fast track to power, and when Drench was "removed" by Prime, Bumblebee was rebuilt as Goldbug and took his place. Though he holds a high position in the Autobot hierarchy, he is extremely paranoid that he is not appreciated by his peers and will be summarily replaced.
Fiction
Shattered Expectations
Goldbug led Jazz and Grimlock in a search for the ancient Pretender technology, intending to use it to give them the edge against the Decepticon insurgency. He appeared to be the leader of the trio (barely). However, their plan was foiled by the arrival of Starscream and the Mayhem Suppression Squad. Shattered Expectations
Shattered Glass
Goldbug was present at the execution of Rumble when Optimus Prime brought their "old friend" Cliffjumper in to view the festivities. Later on, he was discussing the launch of the Ark with Prime and Blurr in the combat training room. Goldbug mentioned that the "Old One" wouldn't have approved of the current plan, but Optimus quickly shot down his objections. Goldbug and the other Seekers defended the Ark's launch platform from Decepticon attack, but failed to stop Cliffjumper from scuttling the liftoff. Shattered Glass
When Wheeljack's new creations, the Dinobots, ran amok, both Autobot and Decepticon alike were forced to chase them down before the other side could modify their A.I.s. Gotta catch 'em all. Goldbug and Jazz located Swoop atop an observation tower. Unfortunately, he could fly and neither of them could. Goldbug volunteered Jazz to climb up and fetch the Dinobot, but J wasn't having none of that. Rodimus and Blurr arrived and made a consensus (with laser rifles) that Jazz would be climbing. In a move that surprised no one except Jazz, Swoop took off flying the moment Prime's bodyguard laid a hand on him. Goldbug got the creature in his sights and shot it down, bringing Swoop and Jazz crashing to Earth. When Blurr inquired why Goldbug didn't just shoot the Dinobot in the first place, Goldbug shrugged and said that now they didn't have to climb up and fetch it. Dungeons & Dinobots
The Ark was finally repaired and ready for launch when Optimus Prime ran off to deal with Megatron. Goldbug and Blurr caught Rodimus fiddling with a communications console, preventing Prime from calling in. Blurr started to bluster at the insubordination, but Goldbug was willing to hear Rodimus' explanation. Rodimus argued that Optimus' obsession with Megatron was holding them all back. Cybertron was a dead world now, and with Prime out of the picture, Earth would be ripe for their taking. Goldbug agreed, and Blurr was thrown off the ship for remaining loyal to Prime.
Later, when the Ark and the Nemesis were locked in battle above Earth, Goldbug manned the Ark's sensor station. Astrotrain succeeded in severely damaging the Ark. Goldbug had time to curse the coward Rodimus, who fled in an escape pod, before calling for all hands to brace for impact. Do Over
After the crash, Goldbug initially hooked up with Big Daddy, Brawn and Beachcomber as they went searching for their "valiant leader". It was fortuitous, wonderful, outstanding when they finally crossed paths with the opportunist, and had the opportunity for revenge. Rodimus did some fast talking, though, and his stories of human allies and the Decepticons getting vaped led Goldbug to hold his fire long enough to hear the Seeker leader out. They returned to the Ark in order to make a proper assessment of the state of the planet. Goldbug and the Autobots had quite a bit of difficulty understanding the concept of "renewable resources" their human allies the Witwickys tried to explain.
Strategy wasn't the only thing on Goldbug's mind, however — using Rodimus's bail-out during the crash as an excuse, he challenged Rodimus for leadership of the Autobots. The two Seekers battled on the bridge of the Ark, with the fully-reenergized Goldbug soon gaining the upperhand. Rodimus was far more craft, though — he voice-activated Teletraan-X and deleted the ID-recognition file for Goldbug, causing the ship to identify him as an enemy combatant. Goldbug was quickly retrained by the internal security systems, and held helpless before Rodimus Prime. Despite his precarious position, Goldbug agreed to yield only if Rodimus left him as second-in-command. Showing the sort of logic and reasoning positive-matter Decepticon leaders have displayed for eons, Rodimus laughingly agreed to keep the ambitious Goldbug as his right-hand bot. After all, no way Goldbug would let anyone else in the Autobots kill Rodimus before him.
As the Autobots prepared for their strike on the control base for America's GODS space weapon, Goldbug and Wheeljack joined Rodimus for the infiltration mission. Like the Trojan horse, they got captured and taken inside the base along with their "drivers", the Witwickys, just before the rest of the Autobots launched an assault from outside. Striking from both in and outside the base, the Autobots soon controlled the satellite station and its deadly particle beam weapon. Their assault soon drew the attention of the surviving Decepticons, however, and the Cybertronian Civil War officially took up residence on Earth. Goldbug was attacked by the diminutive Frenzy and his two human friends, who used a fire extinguisher to temporarily blind the Seeker and steal his weapon. To add injury to insult, the weaponless Goldbug was then forced to deal with the Incredible fury of Frenzy unleashed. The Decepticons were able to reclaim the military base, and the Autobots were driven off. Eye in the Sky
Still working for his own advancement, Goldbug commissioned Side Burn and Wheeljack to create a stellar spanner out in the desert without Rodimus Prime's knowledge. They were nearly finished when the Decepticons Blitzwing and Heatwave stumbled upon their location. Seizing the opportunity, Goldbug planned to launch Heatwave through the untested machine to make sure it worked. Blitzwing attempted to stop them by hooking directly into the spanner's digital landscape, but failed due to Wheeljack's electro-shells. The feedback had a side-effect, however, of sending out a cacophony of fleshling music on the Autobots' communications frequency. Unable to even think straight, Goldbug blasted the Spanner to keep the Decepticons from using it and ordered a retreat.
Back at the Ark, Goldbug was forced to answer to Rodimus Prime for his antics. Fearing another clash with Teletraan-X's servo, Goldbug babbled off whatever he could think of to stay Rodimus's fury. Luckily, his only punishment ended up being salvage duty with Seaspray, as the Agonizing Rehabilitation Chambers were conveniently broken. Blitzwing Bop
Goldbug took part in the raid on Blackrock's Mega-Rig, warning everyone to stick to hand-to-hand combat to avoid damaging their prize. He, Side Burn and Beachcomber later joined Rodimus when their leader met with Blackrock to listen to an offer he had for them. Despite Goldbug's strenuous objections, Rodimus accepted the offer. Soon after, the Autobots captured two of the Decepticons' human friends, Sephie Beller and Rick Ottman. Goldbug held Rick at gunpoint when the Decepticons turned up, and the Decepticons were soon bound prisoners. When Soundwave revealed that he wasn't the one who'd put up the jamming field, Goldbug wondered aloud who was doing the jamming. His answer came moments later when the Autobots were attacked by Blackrock in his Centurion mech. Goldbug and Swoop initially managed to restrain the robot, but the Centurion's defenses were too formidable, and the Autobots were eventually forced to retreat. Transhuman
At some unspecified point in time, Goldbug and a team of Autobots somehow under the command of both Rodimus Prime and Optimus Prime fought Thundercracker and Ravage in the Transformers' greatest battle on Earth, "Digital Doom on the Highway to Destruction." According to Ravage, anyway. Recordicons #3
Games
Transformers Legends
During an Autobot attempt to launch from Cybertron in a battleship, Grimlock, Ricochet and Goldbug were distracted from reaching the launch site and ended up chasing Ravage instead. Shattered Glass
Toys
Timelines
- Shattered Glass (BotCon box set, 2008)
- Accessories: Launcher, missile, key
- Part of BotCon 2008's exclusive box set of five figures, Goldbug is a retool of Cybertron Hot Shot with a new head sculpt based on Generation 1 Goldbug and a new black, yellow, and blue color scheme, bearing a little resemblance to Stealth Bumblebee. He transforms into a modified Chrysler ME Four-Twelve concept car. Plugging a Cyber Key into his trunk (his is a clear-orange Velocitron-style key with a black border) deploys transparent blue wings from his spoiler. The toy also comes with a spring-loaded missile-launching gun that can be carried in robot mode or pegged into the roof of the car mode.
- The original version of this mold was also used to make Cybertron Excellion and live-action movie-verse Breakaway.
- Goldbug is only available as part of a set of six toys, along with Optimus Prime, Autobot Jazz, Grimlock, Razorclaw and Starscream.
