'' animated series, Bumblebee transforms into a yellow
Volkswagen Beetle. Bumblebee is the "little brother" of the heroic
Autobots and a
mascot, constantly striving to prove himself in the eyes of the other robots—especially his leader,
Optimus Prime. This often causes him to take risks and put himself in danger. He is portrayed as a smart aleck, a capable, reliable messenger and spy, and his small size allows him to go places that his larger commanders cannot. He is highly fuel-efficient, has great visual acuity, is particularly adaptable to undersea environments, and transforms into a Saturn yellow
Volkswagen Beetle. He was later reconstructed into a stronger, more mature form as Goldbug.
Reception At
BotCon 2023,
Hasbro named Bumblebee as one of the first five robot inductees in the Transformers Hall of Fame.
Animated series The Transformers Bumblebee is the second character to appear in the original
Transformers animated series, while on a mission to recover a small clutch of energy conductors with
Wheeljack. Bumblebee was among the Transformers aboard the
Ark when it crash landed on Earth, causing the Transformers within to be trapped in stasis for 4 million years. Upon awakening in 1984, Bumblebee helps
Ironhide quell a raging river and uses his small size to help the human ally,
Sparkplug Witwicky plant explosives in the midst of a
Decepticon mining operation. Bumblebee later befriends Sparkplug's son, Spike, but on their first adventure together they are both kidnapped by the Decepticons and Bumblebee's memory chip is altered to make him lure the other Autobots into a trap. Bumblebee recovers in time to help his fellow Autobots stop the Decepticons from sending Spike to Cybertron. After their first adventure, Bumblebee and Spike become best friends as they realize they make a good team. On one of their missions, Bumblebee and Spike are injured in a Decepticon attack on a rocket base. Bumblebee is repaired by
Ratchet, and Spike is fixed at the hospital, but Spike's mind is transferred into the robot body of Autobot X, created by Sparkplug, so the doctors at the hospital can operate on his real one. Spike leaves the base due to a side effect of the mind transfer. Bumblebee then leaves to search for him, however his radio transmitters were not fixed yet. Bumblebee finds Spike and tries to convince him to return, but Spike believes that he is being tricked. Bumblebee sees the Decepticons arriving at their location and overhears
Megatron telling lies to Spike. Bumblebee then leaves to go get support from other Autobots, who are helping repair at the rocket base. After arriving at the rocket base, Bumblebee tells
Optimus Prime that Megatron is manipulating Spike. Optimus decides to help Bumblebee, fearing that due to Spike's compromised mental state he could be taken advantage of by the Decepticons. Bumblebee and Optimus reach Spike and attempt to communicate with him, but they are unable to do so. Eventually they are able to break through to Spike just in time to help Sparkplug, who was in danger. After the Decepticons leave, Bumblebee and Spike high-five. Bumblebee's next adventure would occur when he accompanied Spike and Sparkplug with
Jazz to test out his new speakers but decided to head to headquarters so they wouldn't have to deal with his loud music. When Bumblebee returned to the headquarters, he saw nobody but
Bluestreak there and that Teletraan One was damaged. He then was dragged to the recharging chamber by Bluestreak, due to Megatron putting a personality destabilizer in their recharging chamber to turn all the Autobots evil. However, Bumblebee was saved when Jazz, Spike and Sparkplug arrived back just in time as Jazz knocked Bluestreak out for a while. After Sparkplug fixed Teletraan One, he, Bumblebee, Jazz and Spike learn about what happened. With Bumblebee and Jazz being the only ones who were not affected from the personality destabilizer, Bumblebee decided to stop his comrades when he hears about Optimus Prime,
Brawn and
Prowl attacking an Air Force jet base with Spike accompanying him. Once they arrived, Bumblebee tried a few times to get through to Optimus but to no success. Bumblebee was relieved that his friends were free from the Decepticons' control, after Sparkplug invented Attitude exchanger to counteract the personality destabilizer effects, except for Prime. Bumblebee took the last one, as there was no other ones left, as he wanted to make one final attempted to get Optimus back to his senses. Bumblebee tells Prime that he is not evil, and he believes in him, then encourages him to fight off Megatron's control also to not give in. Bumblebee quickly put the Attitude exchanger on Optimus, who heard his voice, which freed him from Decepticon control. Bumblebee was given a hug by Prime for not giving up on him and for saving him. After stopping the Decepticons, Bumblebee was thanked again by Optimus Prime, who also thanked everyone for their help, for what he did for him. Bumblebee with Spike gave Ratchet and Sparkplug tools as they needed to fix the Air Force jets the Autobots destroyed while under Megatron's control. Bumblebee later befriended a girl named
Carly, who admired the Autobots. While testing out one of Wheeljack's inventions, Bumblebee fought the Decepticons as they wanted to steal it which they succeed in doing. After the battle, Bumblebee and Spike went looking for Carly, who left base to help them as she believed it was her fault that the Decepticons got the invention because of her due to being there when they were testing it. Bumblebee and Spike found Carly with Ironhide, who was the one who rescued her from the Decepticons, then left but they didn't get very far when they saw that their friend wasn't behind them. Transforming back into robot mode, Bumblebee wondering what was going on then saw that Ironhide was immobilized. After the rest of the Autobots showed up, Bumblebee, along with Spike and Carly hid, and all agreed that they had to do something. Bumblebee signaled Jazz to do his sound and light show which distracted the Decepticons so Carly can reverse the process of Wheeljack's invention. After the battle is won, Bumblebee encourages Spike to ask Carly out knowing that they have feelings for each other. By 2005, the Decepticons had conquered Cybertron, forcing Bumblebee and Spike to operate on Moonbase Two, one of Cybertron's moons. When the planet-eating Transformer
Unicron began devouring the moons, Bumblebee and Spike set their moon to self-destruct and attempted to escape in their shuttle, but to no avail. Spike's son Daniel later rescues Bumblebee, Spike, Jazz and
Cliffjumper from being cast into a smelting pit inside Unicron's digestive system. Bumblebee and the others then escape before Unicron explodes due to the power of
Matrix of Leadership. When the body of the deceased Optimus Prime is recovered from space by a pair of Transformer-hating human scientists who intend to use it to lure the Autobots into a trap, Bumblebee is part of the rescue team led by
Rodimus Prime to recover it. Entering the lab, some of the Transformers are exposed to rage-inducing alien spores that could infect them with the Hate Plague, which causes them to run wild. Although Bumblebee avoids infection, he is seriously damaged by the infected rampaging
Superion. A member of the alien race called the
Quintessons subsequently repair and restore Optimus Prime to life, so he can stop the Hate Plague and repair Bumblebee. The little Autobot was so severely damaged that he required an entire reconstruction and is rebuilt as a Throttlebot. In his new, shiny body, he comments that he has gone beyond just being plain old Bumblebee, and is now a "gold bug", prompting
Optimus Prime to redub him
Goldbug. Goldbug travels with Optimus Prime to the Decepticon planet of Chaar in order to secure a heat-resistant alloy that can protect him from the plague, only to be infected on the mission and later cured when Prime uses the power of the Matrix of Leadership to purge the plague. Because of an animation error, Bumblebee appears in a wide shot in a celebration with Goldbug where he was seen jumping and cheering during the series' final episode. Bumblebee and Optimus Prime are the only Autobots to appear all of the seasons, especially the first and final episode of the cartoon. Bumblebee appears in the final episode as an animation error, but it counts that he is a major character who appeared. Bumblebee reappears in Generation 2: Redux, a BotCon magazine which is set after the events of the final episode as Goldbug battling the Decepticons in Switzerland along with Jazz,
Sideswipe,
Beachcomber and
Seaspray and became Bumblebee once again in his G2 color by the power of Forestonite.
Transformers: The Headmasters In
Transformers: The Headmasters, Goldbug and the other Throttlebots were on Cybertron when Vector Sigma began to destabilize as a consequence of
Optimus Prime releasing the Matrix's energy to cure the Hate Plague the previous year. The Decepticons soon invaded the planet in an attempt to take control of the computer, and Goldbug and the Throttlebots joined Dinobots
Grimlock and
Slag in holding the line against them. Unfortunately, they were knocked unconscious by the hypnotic power of the new Decepticon
Headmaster Mindwipe, but they had managed to delay the Decepticons long enough for the Autobot Headmasters to arrive and take up the fight. The Throttlebots disappeared after this encounter, suggesting they might have been destroyed, but they eventually resurfaced months later as the Decepticons were carrying out their final plan to destroy the Earth. Goldbug and the Throttlebots teamed up with Fastlane and Cloudraker to investigate the emergence of a "Death Tower" in
Santiago,
Chile, only to find
Predaking there waiting for them. Naturally, the small 'bots were no match for the powerful combiner, but they fought bravely, clinging onto his limbs before being hurled aside. Luckily, the
Autobot Targetmasters arrived in time to bail them out and take Predaking down. This is also because of the budget cut that happened in the middle of the movie.
Books Ballantine Books Bumblebee was featured in the 1985
Find Your Fate Junior books
Dinobots Strike Back by Casey Todd and
Battle Drive by
Barbara Siegel and
Scott Siegel.
Kid Stuff Records & Tapes Bumblebee was featured in the 1985 audio and book adventure
Satellite of Doom publishing by Kid Stuff Records & Tapes.
Modern Publishing Bumblebee was featured in the 1993
Transformers: Generation 2 coloring book
Decepticon Madness by Bud Simpson.
Comics Bumblebee has appeared in numerous comic books and related media printed by various publishers.
3H Enterprises Bumblebee appeared in the voice actor play performed at
BotCon 2004, in which a device built by
Rhinox to stop
Unicron from pulling victims from other dimensions inadvertently transports an Autobot shuttle under Bumblebee's command into the middle of a battle between
Rattrap,
Silverbolt, and
Waspinator and a team of Unicron's agents. Bumblebee's shuttle is able to scoop up Rattrap and company when their ship is destroyed. After saving more of Unicron's victims from the Decepticons, Bumblebee's team returns to their own time.
Condor Verlag In a story called "By their Blasters you shall know them ...!" from
Transformers Comic-Magazin issue #12 by German comic publisher Condor Verlag
Optimus Prime instructs
Backstreet, Bumblebee and
Ruckus on how to identify Autobots from Decepticons in battle using the Ark's computer. Pretender Bumblebee is one of those he displays to the Autobots.
Devil's Due Publishing In
Devil's Due's first
G.I. Joe vs. The Transformers crossover, the evil terrorist organization
Cobra are the first to uncover the
Ark and the Transformers slumbering within it, capturing and reformatting a large number of them to use them as war machines. Bumblebee and Wheeljack are able to avoid this fate, contact the team created to respond to the threat of Cobra,
G.I. Joe, and help to free their fellow Autobots. Unlike most Autobots, who had new alternate modes, Bumblebee and Wheeljack had their original Generation 1 alternate modes in this series. In the second crossover, Bumblebee is among the Autobots sent back in time due to an accident with the spacebridge computer Teletran-3. As part of a small group transported to the 1970s, Bumblebee is reformatted as a small economy car (this time, resembling an
AMC Pacer) before the teamed-up Joes and Cobras return all the Transformers to present-day Cybertron. Bumblebee takes center stage in the third crossover series, as he, Grimlock,
Arcee, and
Perceptor are sent to Earth to aid G.I. Joe in removing the influence of Cybertronian technology on the planet. Sporting his original alternate mode again, he is shown to have something of a crush on Arcee. When Cobra attacks the base, the Autobots help repel the Cobra
Battle Android Trooper armies. Journeying to Cybertron to stop
Serpentor, the mismatched group is ambushed first by Cannibalizers, then by Serpentor, Piranacon,
Predaking and the
Stunticons, with Bumblebee being badly injured as he runs right into Predaking's leg. He is then executed by Serpentor, who would later comment that Bumblebee's death is the only thing that ever really made him feel emotion. Despite the character being notoriously difficult to kill, it seems his death is permanent, as Serpentor comments that he felt something leave him, most likely his spark. A statue to his memory was seen in the final issue. His death would continue to have repercussions, as seen in the fourth series, in which Prime insists on journeying to Earth personally rather than expose any of his troops to the same fate.
Dreamwave Productions When
Dreamwave Productions introduced their re-imagined version of Generation 1 continuity for the 21st Century, Bumblebee was present for the Autobots' new adventures once again.
The War Within, set in Cybertron's past, chronicled Bumblebee's early adventures in the Battle of Altihex and the defense of Iacon in the face of an attack by
Shockwave. When Optimus Prime and
Megatron vanish in an early spacebridge experiment, causing the Autobots and Decepticons to splinter into smaller factions, Bumblebee remains with the Autobots under
Prowl's command. As usual, Bumblebee is among the Transformers trapped in stasis aboard the crashed
Ark who are reactivated on Earth in 1984. Although not depicted in fiction, the general events of the television series pilot seemed to take place in the Dreamwave continuity - with Bumblebee meeting and befriending Spike Witwicky.
Fun Publications Classic Bumblebee was featured on the cover of
Transformers Club Magazine #14. In a possible future chronicled in the exclusive comic book available at BotCon 2005, Bumblebee featured as the espionage director of the Autobots. Having been on the trail of the Decepticon agent Flamewar for a long time, Bumblebee interrupts a communication between Flamewar and the
Tripredacus Council and reveals that his agent,
Ricochet, has installed a degenerative virus into Deathsaurus's clone army. With Flamewar now exposed, Bumblebee points out that she was nothing more than a liability to the council, who blow her ship up. Based on the Transformers Classics toy line, the Timelines 2007 story is set 15 years after the end of the
Marvel Comics story (ignoring all events of the
Marvel UK and
Generation 2 comics). Megatron has survived the crash of the
Ark on Earth, reformatted himself into a new form, and now leads
Ramjet,
Skywarp,
Soundwave,
Starscream, and the
Constructicons.
Optimus Prime has also returned to Earth commanding Bumblebee,
Cliffjumper,
Grimlock,
Jetfire,
Mirage, and
Rodimus (formerly
Hot Rod). In
Crossing Over, when the Cybertronians
Skyfall and Landquake arrive on Earth unexpectedly Megatron attempts to destroy them, but Optimus Prime and his Autobots are able to drive Megatron away. Bumblebee appears in the story
Generation 2: Redux in which he is among the reinforcements from
Autobot City to respond to the Decepticon attack at the
Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. Once there, the Autobots are able to defeat the Decepticons, but during the fight the Autobots are exposed to refined Forestonite, which enhances and mutates Cybertronian systems. He gets enhanced to his
Generation 2 form.
IDW Publishing Fall of 2005 was the third re-launch for
the Transformers comic series, this time under the management of
IDW Publishing. IDW's core universe was introduced with the six-issue mini-series,
The Transformers: Infiltration, making it clear that the company's take on the Generation 1 universe was radically different. Bumblebee appears as a member of a small team of Autobots under the command of
Prowl, operating in secret on Earth out of
Ark-19. Still a Volkswagen Beetle, he (like the other Autobots) possesses the added ability to generate a "holo-matter" avatar of a young female to masquerade as a driver and to otherwise interact with humans. Working with Ratchet and a trio of young humans to search an abandoned Decepticon base, Bumblebee is able to take down
Skywarp during a Decepticon attack, out-thinking the Decepticon and shooting him out of the sky despite his teleportation system. After Blitzwing and Skywarp bring the base down, Bumblebee helps save the humans, despite commenting previously that they would be acceptable losses. As Megatron then engages the traitorous Starscream in battle, Bumblebee does what he does best by spying on the fight; almost shot by the
Battlechargers, he is saved by Prowl and
Jazz. In the follow-up,
The Transformers: Escalation, he is left to run the
Ark-19 on his own. Bumblebee was among the
Autobots who opposed the
Decepticons serving the elder gods in the
IDW Publishing Infestation 2: Transformers comic.
TFcon comics Bumblebee, voiced by Dan Gilvezan, appeared in the TFcon 2009 voice actor play
Bee for, Bee now. Bumblebee appears among the characters in
Re-Unification, the 2010 TFCon voice actor play prelude comic.
Games Bumblebee was one of eight playable characters in the 1986
Commodore 64 video game
Transformers: The Battle to Save the Earth. The
Classic toy line appeared in a simple
Flash-based video game on the Hasbro web site called
Transformers Battle Circuit. In this one-on-one fighting game, players press the right and left arrow keys to try to overpower their opponent. Playable characters include Rodimus, Bumblebee, Grimlock, Jetfire, Starscream,
Astrotrain,
Trypticon, and
Menasor. Optimus Prime and Megatron each appear as the
boss the player must defeat to win the game. Bumblebee appears in the 2003 video game
Transformers, voiced by Jack Merluzzi. Bumblebee is one of the light-blue robots in the 2010 card game
Monopoly Deal Transformers.
Other merchandise Popular Bumblebee-specific merchandise includes shirts and costumes based on the character.
Other media A parody of the
Generation 1 Transformers was aired in the December 23, 2008, episode of
Frank TV, called "Frank the Halls". In the story,
Optimus Prime and his Autobots (Bumblebee, Jazz, and Wheeljack) battle Megatron and his Decepticons (Soundwave and Starscream) when Optimus runs out of gas. Optimus becomes enraged at the price of gas, steals the fuel from the annoying hybrid Autobot
Prius Maximus, then joins the Decepticons in destroying the city. Bumblebee appears in the
Robot Chicken episode "Junk in the Trunk".
Maggie Simpson appeared as Bumblebee in
one episode's
opening sequence to
The Simpsons alongside the rest of the Simpson family rendered as Autobots. ==
Transformers: Generation 2==