User:Mathewignash/Bumblebee (Transformers Animated)

As the Transformers franchise has grown, other characters have appeared with the name Bumblebee. One of these characters is a lead character in the Transformers Animated TV series.

Transformers Animated
Bumblebee appears in the Transformers Animated series in 2008 as a yellow sports Supermini (scanned from a vehicle driven by Detroit Police Captain Fanzone). The character of Bumblebee in Animated is described as a hot headed racing young Autobot, making him more akin to Armada Hot Shot than the original Bumblebee. He does however retain the traditional warm-heartedness and human-friendly attitude of the original due to his friendship with Sari Sumdac and Bulkhead. Although considered childish and self-centered by many of his fellow Autobots, Bumblebee shows a loyal and caring side for his friends, and can be considered protective of Sari Sumdac, to the extent of blocking shots, blasts ,and missiles from harming her. This was first shown in "Transform and Roll Out! Part 3" when he deflected a shot from Starscream that was aimed at Sari. The blast rendered him unconscious until Sari healed him with her Key. He is the kid-friendly character of the show.

Bumblebee has a retractable face plate he uses when he goes into combat and a retractable weapon (called "energy stingers") in both hands. He can use the wheels on his feet in robot mode as motorized roller blades.

In the Japanese translation of Transformers Animated, the story has been changed to make it a prequel to the 2007 Transformers live-action film. This makes this version of Bumblebee an earlier version of the film character.

Animated series
In the episode "Autoboot Camp", Bumblebee has flashbacks to his days as an Autobot trainee. During training, he met Bulkhead, Longarm, Ironhide, and Wasp. The group was under the command of Drill sergeant Sentinel Minor, who gave Bumblebee his name (after calling him a "bumbler"). Bumblebee would often say or do the wrong thing, resulting in the entire platoon receiving Transformation push-ups as a result, which made him unpopular with Wasp and Ironhide. One day, Bumblebee heard someone communicating with Megatron. Believing the traitor to be Wasp, Bumblebee (with help from Longarm) discovered evidence in Wasp's locker. For discovering the traitor, Sentinel was prepared to give Bumblebee Elite Guard membership. However, Bumblebee gave up that chance by taking the rap for Bulkhead, who had previously knocked a building onto Sentinel, and was about to be removed from training, joining his new friend as a Space Bridge technician. Bulkhead and Bumblebee were assigned to a Space Bridge repair ship under the command of Optimus Prime, along with Ratchet. Both he and Bulkhead were the first to encounter Prowl before he joins their group.

In the episode "Transform & Roll Out" the repair crew stumbled across the legendary Allspark, and were attacked by Megatron and his Decepticons. They barely escaped the Decepticons, but ended up crashing on Earth. Bumblebee and his fellow Autobots were stranded on Earth and he adopted an Earth car alternate mode. He met and became friends with the young human Sari Sumdac.

In episode five, "Total Meltdown", Bumblebee is coerced by Prometheus Black into fighting a bio-enhanced human, Cyrus "The Colossus" Rhodes. During the battle, some of his hydraulic fluid is spilled. Black experiments on the fluid, but accidentally spills it and breathes in the fumes, transforming him into the corrosive Meltdown.

In the episode "Nanosec", Bumblebee's self-proclaimed title as "fastest thing on wheels" is threatened by Nanosec, a super speedster crook on a deadly mission that could destroy all of Detroit. Bumblebee defeats him using new jet boosters, and some forward thinking.

In the episode "Along Came a Spider", Bumblebee is attacked by the Decepticon Blackarachnia, who absorbs his stinger powers for a brief period. (Also, in one of the Halloween scenes where Bulkhead and Bumblebee first see Halloween night, a boy can be seen walking in the far left-hand side wearing a Bumblebee costume.)

In episode 14, "Nature Calls", Prowl, Bumblebee and Sari get more than they bargained for when they head out to the remote woods to investigate a mysterious Cybertronian energy signal. The signal comes from some mutant space barnacles latched on to Megatron's body. Before the barnacles are defeated, they infect Prowl, turning him into a zombie-like Transformer. Prowl ends up scratching Bumblebee somehow and infecting him with the barnacles as well. They are both saved by Sari using a hot water hose.

In the season finale, "Megatron Rising", Bumblebee gets a serious lashing out from Optimus and runs away to find Sari, but not before telling Prime that he isn't much of a good leader, then disobeying Optimus to take on Starscream alone. He is overpowered even when Megatron uses a mechanical arm to throw Starscream outside. Starscream hits Bumblebee with a laser and sends him hanging for his life. Bumblebee is rescued by his fellow Autobots, and in the subsequent battle with the Decepticons, uses his greatest weapon - his obnoxiousness - to trick Blitzwing into changing into tank mode in mid-air, causing him to fall into Lake Erie.

In episode 20, "Garbage In, Garbage Out", Bumblebee and Sari get stuck with the job of helping Ratchet act nicer to people, and eventually run into a couple who a bear a strong resemblance to Spike and Carly Witwicky from G1 season 3, and Wreck-Gar, who Bumblebee thought was actually an Autobot.

In the episode after, "Velocity", Bumblebee participates in underground races in hopes of beating a mysterious blue race car. When the Decepticon Blitzwing arrives to recover an Allspark fragment, Bumblebee is assisted by the Blue racer.

In episode 22, "Rise of the Constructicons", he is grabbed by Mixmaster, who threatens the Autobots that if they ever want Bumblebee back 'online', the Autobots must give them (Mixmaster and Scrapper) the fragments of the Allspark. Bulkhead complies, after which they throw Bumblebee on the ground, have a drink of oil, and run off. However, Bulkhead had given them explosive oil, and the Constructicons lost their memories. They ran off after Bulkhead threatened them, after which the Autbots retrieved the Allspark fragments.

In the episode "SUV: Society of Ultimate Villainy", Bumblebee attempts to apprehend Detroit's new crime society, and the Decepticon Swindle by himself. When Swindle betrays the Society and freezes all technology in Detroit, Bumblebee is forced to team up with the criminals to stop him.

During "Autoboot Camp", he and Bulkhead try to find the source of a scrambled transmission sent by Issac Sumdac and nail Megatron and the double agent on Cybertron, whom Bumblebee thinks is Wasp. While searching, Bumblebee and Bulkhead have a fight, but they eventually make up later, even though they were close to Megatron's hideout. Then Bumblebee chats with Longarm about the transmission and is assured that Wasp would be found. However, in the "A Bridge Too Close" two-parter when the Autobots are captured by the Decepticons, Longarm reveals that he is actually the real double agent, assuming his true form while taunting Bumblebee with the realisation that Wasp was innocent, and therefore imprisoned for nothing. He also finds out that the blue race car in "Velocity" was actually an Autobot Elite Guard intelligence agent, Blurr, who was sent to keep watch on him and the rest of Optimus' crew.

In "Transwarped," Bumblebee is first seen traveling back to the plant, then going back to the mines to find some space bridge parts. After finding the plasma dynamic thruster, Bumblebee is sent to a dark part of some galaxy, then to a lighter part where meteor like aliens live, and one eats him. After he gets back to Earth, he and the other Autobots try to control a teenage Sari after she loses control of her new form. In an attempt to save her, he gets stabbed, but thankfully, she missed his spark chamber, but he gets severely damaged anyway. After a while, Ratchet gets him back on his feet. After that, Omega Supreme comes to Earth, under the control of Megatron. During the battle, Ratchet upgrades his stingers back to battle grade level to fight Megatron and Starscream. He then gets a boost from Bulkhead and using his boosters, gets the plasma dynamic thruster to Optimus and send Omega on a trip to several parts of space.

In "Where is Thy Sting?", Bumblebee is ambushed by Wasp, who ignores his explanation of why he thought he was the spy as he swaps their helmets, paint jobs, and voice synthesizers. When the Elite Guard arrive on earth, they try to arrest Bumblebee, believing him to be Wasp. However, Bumblebee is able to convince them of the truth, by playing against Wasp at a game of Ninja Gladiator, forcing Wasp to retreat. In "Predacons Rising", after losing Wasp when Swoop snatches him, Optimus explains to Bumblebee that he as responsible for Wasp as Shockwave is. Later, when the two Autobots arrive with Bumblebee crashing into the reformatted Waspinator, Bumblebee managed to apologize for his actions, though Waspinator yells he has no intention of ever forgiving him and attempts to kill him before he suffers the side effects of his evolution. Bumblebee and the rest of the Autobots abandoned Blackarachnia's lab when Waspinator's transwarp energies grew to critical excess mass, seemingly expunging him and Blackarachnia.

In "Human Error", the Autobots celebrate Christmas Eve by drinking some oil-nog before going into stasis sleep. When they wake up, they discover that they have become humans. Bumblebee takes the form of a dark-skinned pre-teen boy. It is discovered later on the episode that this is an elaborate plot by Soundwave, Laserbeak and Ratbat to trap the Autobots into a virtual reality world and brainwash them to obey his command.

In the series finale, during a rescue mission to save Arcee, who was on the moon, Bumblebee manages to settle the score with Shockwave before he and Bulkhead put him under arrest. After the Autobots learn of Prowl's ultimate sacrifice, they take the sparkless body of Prowl and the captured Megatron, Lugnut, and Shockwave to Cybertron. On their arrival home, they are greeted and cheered on by the other Autobots for their victory over the evil and malevolent leader of the Decepticons.

Fun Publications
Bumblebee appeared in the 2008 BotCon voice actor play "Bee in the City", voiced by Bumper Robinson. In this story Professor Sumdac attempted to create a teleportation system to get the Autobots to Cybertron, but an interaction with Sari's key ended up transporting Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Sari to Transtech Cybertron, where they met Flareup and his friends were detained by Shockwave while he was deemed not a threat. Bumblebee teamed up with transformer named "Joe" to help him and Flareup get their friends. But after Joe exposed himself as a Megatron and uses Sari's key to create an army to begin a reign of terror, Bumblebee pointed out the world's bureaucratic nature that resulted in a mutiny. Afterwards the Autobots and Sari returned to their own dimension.

IDW Publishing
Set shortly after the events of "Total Meltdown" is the Transformers: Animated comic issue #2 by IDW Publishing. In it, Bumblebee and Prowl apprehend the Angry Archer as the villain attempts to steal money from a used car salesman. In doing so, they reveal the holographic trickery of the Detroit super hero known as The Wraith. With the secret of his power revealed, The Wraith loses much of the respect he used to command in Detroit. The Wraith attempts to stop Cyrus "The Colossus" Rhodes from escaping prison, but is unable to fool the villain now that the secret is public, forcing the Autobots to stop Rhodes and making The Wraith look foolish. The Wraith then attempts to discredit Bumblebee at a college football game by trapping the Autobot with a car boot and using his holograms to make a fake Bumblebee attack the stadium. Bumblebee eventually escapes and the other Autobots help capture The Wraith before having him placed in a mental institution.

Video games
Bumblebee is one of the playable characters in the 2008 Transformers Animated video game for the Nintendo DS.

Toys

 * Animated McDonald's Bumblebee (2008)
 * Given away as a premium with Happy Meals.


 * Animated Bumper Battlers Bumblebee (2008)
 * A toy car designed for younger children. Features sound effects and a pull-back motor. Upon hitting an object, the top portion of the body pops open to reveal the robot form.


 * Animated Power Bots Cyber Speed Bumblebee (2008)
 * A large, non-transforming figure designed for younger children. Features push-button light and sound effects. The figure can also lie on its back for "speed mode", using the wheels on the limbs for locomotion, as seen in a few episodes of the series.


 * Animated Power Bots Street Patrol Bumblebee (2008)
 * A repaint of the Cyber Speed Bumblebee figure in neon yellow with blue and red stripes.


 * Universe Legends Animated Bumblebee (2008)
 * A Legends class toy released in the Universe Legends line.
 * This figure, along with Legends Optimus Prime, was also bundled with Deluxe Stealth Lockdown.
 * Bundled in Japan as part of the "Super Collection Vol. 2" gift set with Activators Bulkhead (Ironhide in Japan), Grimlock and Starscream.


 * Animated Activators Bumblebee (2008)
 * A Scout-sized figure with near-instant transformation at the touch of a button. A special Toys "R" Us value pack of Leader Bulkhead comes with Animated Activators Bumblebee as a bonus.


 * Animated Activators Patrol Bumblebee (2008)
 * A redeco of the Activators figure in black in white police car colors.


 * Animated Deluxe Bumblebee  (2008)
 * The toy comes with two removable rocket boosters which can be attached in either robot or vehicle mode, as first seen in the episode "Nanosec". This toy's transformation causes the black stripe to switch from the left side of the vehicle mode to the right side of the robot mode. The current animation model maintains this stripe on Bumblebee's left side, regardless of current transformation.
 * An actual Chevy Beat is 138 inches long, while this toy is 4.25 inches long. This means the toy is about 1/32 scale. It also means the toy standing 5.5 inch tall in robot mode would indicate that Bumblebee stands about 14 feet 8 inches tall.


 * Transformers The Legacy of Bumblebee Deluxe Bumblebee (2008)
 * A Walmart exclusive gift set featuring three Deluxe Bumblebee figures: the 2006 Classics version, the 2008 movie premium version and the 2008 Animated version.


 * Animated Deluxe Elite Guard Bumblebee (2008)
 * This is a repaint of the original Deluxe-class figure. While the majority of him is now black, there are equal highlights of yellow and metallic gold across both modes. The eyes are now a plain transparent-blue (as opposed to the original's light blue).  The retractable Energy Stinger weapons and removable boosters are still included, though now in the newer plain transparent blue; the boosters have no paint this time, while the Stingers now use gold highlights.  His mouth is still painted silver, and there are silver Autobot Elite Guard symbols printed onto his forearms and chest. Though this variation does not appear in the animated series, the summary on the back of box says that after getting close to the Elite Guard he wanted to become part of the Elite Guard, so he had Sari borrow some of her dad's spray painting robots.
 * With the exception of the blue and silver, this mostly-black repaint more closely matches the natural coloring of a real bumblebee- mostly black with yellow highlights along its body.


 * Animated Activators Battlefield Bumblebee (2009)
 * A redeco of the Activators figure in yellow and silver.


 * Animated TA-02 Deluxe Bumblebee (Takara Tomy) (2010)
 * The 2010 Japan release by Takara Tomy features a metallic golden yellow finish, as opposed to the original's matte yellow finish.
 * Also bundled with TA-07 Voyager Starscream.


 * Animated DiaBlock Bumblebee (Kawada) (2010)
 * A Japan-exclusive transformable toy of Bumblebee assembled out of blocks similar to Lego.


 * Animated TA-31 Deluxe Elite Guard Bumblebee (Takara Tomy) (2010)
 * The Japanese version of Deluxe Elite Guard Bumblebee sports a metallic golden yellow head as opposed to a black one on the Hasbro version. In addition, all Autobot Elite Guard emblems are painted red. Released on July 2010.


 * Animated EZ Collection Translucent Bumblebee (Takara Tomy) (2010)
 * A Japan-exclusive remold of Universe Legends Bumblebee in clear yellow plastic. Offered at Ito-Yokado stores with the purchase 3,000 yen worth of Animated merchandise.


 * Animated EZ Collection Elite Guard Bumblebee (Takara Tomy) (2010)
 * A Japan-exclusive black/gold redeco of Universe Legends Bumblebee.


 * Animated TA-39 Voyager Jetpack Bumblebee (Takara Tomy) (2010)
 * Jetpack Bumblebee is a smaller, more show-accurate version of the character that comes with a large jet pack accessory that he can combine with in vehicle mode to become a flying car. As with nearly all Japanese Animated figures, this figure is painted in a metallic finish.
 * The figure was first previewed in the U.S. as Hydrodive Bumblebee, but the release status in North America is currently unknown.


 * Animated TA-02 Lucky Draw Bumblebee (Takara Tomy) (not yet released)
 * A Japan-exclusive chrome silver remold of the Deluxe figure. As part of Takara Tomy's Lucky Draw campaign, fans who purchase over 3,000 yen of Transformers merchandise at participating stores from September 18 to October 31, 2010 are entitled to one raffle coupon for a chance to win this figure.


 * Animated Mini EZ Collection Bumblebee (Takara Tomy) (not yet released)
 * A new mold that stands at 60 mm tall, shorter than the regular Legends/EZ Collection figures.