Bumblebee

Bumblebee is an Autobot scout and Sam's protector.

IDW Transformers movie comics
Many years in the past, Bumblebee was hatched among the second generation since the rediscovery of the AllSpark and revival of Cybertron. He and Cliffjumper were guardians of the AllSpark at the Temple of Simfur. One day, Bumblebee wondered aloud why Optimus and Lord High Protector Megatron were out investigating the nearby excavation site when the AllSpark was "freaking" out with energy spikes. Cliffjumper assured him that whatever Optimus and the others were investigating, it must have been important, then reminded his colleague that they had their duties. When Bumblebee admitted nerves, Cliffjumper said that the two of them could handle anything, and just to let trouble come to them. He would soon regret those words when aliens attacked Simfur. They were seeking cover inside the temple when Lord Megatron swooped in, berated them for not taking the fight to the enemy and destroyed their opponent. He then told commander Starscream to keep the lowly security guards out of the way of the military

Bumblebee was concerned this was the start of something big, to which Cliffjumper agreed, but he felt that as little cogs in the great machine, all they needed to do was stand guard. Prowl advised them to stay at their posts and report to him of any unusual activity from the AllSpark during the battle.

After The Fallen informed Megatron of Optimus' break and enter of his personal quarters, Bumblebee, Smokescreen, Cliffjumper, Camshaft, Jazz and Prowl were sent to the ruins near Burthov to arrest Optimus Prime's party on trumped-up charges of treason. When Optimus angrily demanded to know just what he had done to be charged with treason, Bumblebee pointed his weapon at the science leader and said they were just following orders, which seemed to satisfy Optimus. What the security officers didn't know was they were being led into a trap, and soldiers loyal to Megatron were under orders to eliminate all but Optimus. After being hit by an explosive round, the group banded together, realising they had all been marked for death. Optimus ordered them to flee to Burthov while he took care of Starscream's group personally. Bumblebee hauled Arcee from the wreckage.

While on an apparent scouting mission, Bumblebee and Arcee discovered the Nemesis while it was under construction and reported their findings back to Prowl. Then Bumblebee transformed into a ball and Arcee transformed into a hover-bike and they both headed back to base. When the Nemesis was completed, Bumblebee and Arcee were there once again to witness the majority of the Decepticon forces board and take off for parts unknown to them.

With the bulk of the war-like Decepticons gone into space, the Autobots were able to hold their own in their resistance to Megatron's rule, but the war was ever-escalating in intensity, leading to increasing casualties and devastation to Cybertron. Bumblebee was part of an assault on Simfur Temple to activate Sentinel Prime's "pillar" that he promised would end the war, but when Starscream blew up Sentinel's ship, The Ark, Bumblebee retreated with the rest of the Autobots. However, the battle had weakened Decepticon forces to the extent that the Autobots were soon able to steal the AllSpark.

Optimus Prime made the desperate decision to launch the AllSpark into space. This decision took Bumblebee by surprise, but he supported Optimus. Bumblebee commanded the Autobot forces at Tyger Pax on Cybertron attempting to hold the Decepticons off while the AllSpark was launched off-planet. He succeeded, but Megatron crushed his voice box, and he lost his ability to speak in the process. Ratchet has been having trouble fixing it ever since. Bumblebee was declared a hero for his actions, but he feared that all they had done was potentially spread their war to other worlds.

Later, he was the first to track the AllSpark to Earth, making planetfall in 2003. Here, he learned to express his emotions by tuning in appropriately emotive music on his car radio. Though the clandestine human organization Sector Seven tracked his descent and secured the area in Virginia where he landed, his quick assumption of a local alternate mode disguise allowed him to escape via Interstate 64. Bumblebee's search for the AllSpark began in St. Louis, Missouri, where he used a remote link to a coffee shop computer to search Shwiggle for any signs of extraterrestrial sightings. There, he discovered the legend of the Ice Man, and the story of Captain Archibald Witwicky.

Bumblebee's quest took him to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where Captain Witwicky had been committed. First he visited the ruins of the long-abandoned Psychopathic Institute for the Long-Term Insane, Witwicky's final home. From there, Bumblebee headed into downtown, where he scanned the records of Captain Witwicky from an unnamed asylum. This action unfortunately put Sector Seven onto his trail.

The Baton Rouge clues led Bumblebee to Springfield, Missouri, in search of Witwicky's son Clarence Witwicky. En route, he evaded the first of several attacks by Sector Seven. In Springfield, he found records of Clarence's descendants, and started out to track them down. The oldest son, Ben Witwicky, had resided in Denver, Colorado, but the trail ended there. En route to his next stop in Tucson, Bumblebee was again attacked by Sector Seven, evading their helicopters by blinding them and rocketing off at high speed. Not long after, he was attacked by Barricade in the desert.

Damaged and smoking, Bumblebee stopped by the roadside to rest and recover. Suddenly detecting a burst of AllSpark energy, he continued onwards out of Colorado. In New Mexico, as he approached the source of the AllSpark energy, he came under attack once again from Barricade. Other Decepticons, meanwhile, attacked the energy source and found it to be a Sector Seven ruse. Bumblebee managed to escape Barricade again, though unbeknownst to him the Decepticons let him go so that they could track him. Eventually, his search took him to Tranquility, Nevada, where he would soon encounter Sam Witwicky.

Transformers: Beginnings
Voice actor: Mark Ryan (English)

Optimus Prime entrusted Bumblebee with the secret that the AllSpark would be sent into deep space to prevent Lord Megatron from possessing and corrupting it. Just after the launch, Megatron attacked Bumblebee in rage at losing the AllSpark and shattered the Autobot's voice capacitor beyond repair.

Bumblebee arrived on Earth and, sensing the AllSpark was near, took on local camouflage to search for the artifact. He immediately attracted the attention of Sector Seven agents and the Decepticons.

Transformers: 2007 movie
Voice actor: Mark Ryan (English)

Bumblebee, having made his way to a second-rate car dealership, became Sam Witwicky's first car. Sam's father promised his son a car if Sam paid half of the money and achieved three A's in school. After doing so with the help of his genealogy project, Sam rode with his father to a car lot with an exceedingly long name. Following them to the lot, Bumblebee quietly placed himself among the other cars. To prevent Sam from having to choose another car, he used a high-frequency sound wave to blow out the windows of every other car in the lot, leaving Bobby Bolivia with no choice but to sell Bumblebee to the Witwickys.

The next day, Sam and his friend Miles Lancaster drove Bumblebee down to the lake in a misguided attempt to impress the popular girls at a party. Observing the exchange of thinly veiled insults between Sam and the football jocks, Bumblebee decided to help out Sam when the boy noticed Mikaela Banes walking home after a falling-out with her now ex-boyfriend. Playing "Drive" on his radio, Bumblebee inspired Sam to kick Miles out and drive Mikaela home. As the two awkwardly chatted, Bumblebee suddenly turned off his engine when they neared a romantic spot overlooking the city, this time playing "Sexual Healing" and "I Feel Good". Not knowing his car has a mind of its own, Sam misinterpreted this as a breakdown. Mikaela attempted to fix Bumblebee with her mechanical know-how, only to leave after Sam asked her why she tolerated jerks like her ex-boyfriend. Trying to help as much as he could, Bumblebee allowed Sam to start up his engine as she walked away, this time playing "Baby, Come Back". Arriving at Mikaela's house, Sam advanced a step towards her by stating that he didn't believe her to be shallow at all, that there was "more than meets the eye" with her. After she left, Sam quietly enthused that he loved his car.

Later that night, Bumblebee drove off by himself with Sam in hot pursuit, believing it to be a car theft. Unwittingly leading his human owner to a junkyard, Bumblebee transformed and activated his communications beacon, requesting assistance from Optimus Prime and the other Autobots. Unknown to him, Sam had seen his robot form and run off, and was now being being pursued by the junkyard's two guard dogs. Bumblebee came to Sam's aid, scaring off the dogs, but had to escape when the police (whom Sam had previously summoned when Bumblebee drove away from his house) arrived to arrest Sam for breaking into the junkyard.

The next day, Bumblebee drove back to the Witwicky house sometime after Sam had been bailed out by his dad. Frightened and confused, Sam rode away from what he dubbed "Satan's Camaro", ending up in the city and encountering Mikaela in front of a Burger King. Bumblebee followed Sam towards an industrial area, not realizing that the Decepticon Barricade was stalking the boy, intent on finding glasses belonging to Sam's ancestor, which Sam had been auctioning on eBay Sam ran away from the attacking Decepticon and literally ran into Mikaela after she had followed him. As Barricade bore down on the pair, Bumblebee suddenly appeared, knocking the Decepticon off his feet, then drove the humans away as Barricade gave chase.

Racing through dilapidated factories and warehouses, Bumblebee eventually arrived at a deserted chemical plant on the outskirts of town. There he waited until Barricade's back was turned before dumping Sam and Mikaela out of his passenger side door, then transforming into robot mode to protect his friends. Barricade transformed and attacked, hitting Bumblebee with his tire spikes and knocking the Autobot into a chemical tank. In retaliation, Bumblebee grabbed Barricade and threw him into an electrical substation, but Barricade rolled over and grabbed Bumblebee's head and began to pound him. Eventually, Bee was able to damaging the Decepticon and put him into stasis lock. After Sam and Mikaela took care of Frenzy, Bumblebee introduced himself to them entirely through the use of his radio, explaining that it was the only way he could communicate, that he was an alien, and that Sam had witnessed him calling to his friends the previous night. Transforming back into vehicle mode, Bumblebee invited his friends to enter (which they did after a brief hesitation) and began to drive them to nearby Griffith Observatory.

On the way, Mikaela (who had refused to sit in the driver's seat, as Bumblebee was driving), rhetorically asked Sam that if Bumblebee was a super-advanced robot, why did he turn into a piece-of-crap Camaro? Mildly insulted, Bumblebee stopped in the middle of a packed tunnel and forced the humans out, then drove away. As Sam lamented the fact that "four thousand dollars just drove off", Bumblebee passed another car and scanned it, driving back to the pair as a sleek and shiny 2009 Camaro. Amazed and impressed, Sam and Mikaela got back in, and Bumblebee continued their journey to the observatory. Arriving, the humans observed as the other Autobots entered the Earth's atmosphere and crash-landed in various parts of the city.

Bumblebee then took his friends to a secluded alleyway, where Sam and Mikaela met the other Autobots. Introducing themselves, Sam learned that Bumblebee was his guardian and that the Autobot's vocal processors had been damaged in battle. Ratchet was still working on them as he fired a regenerative plasma beam[1] at the damaged area. Optimus Prime explained that their mission was to find the AllSpark, and that Sam Witwicky was the key due to his grandfather discovering Megatron on an Arctic voyage.

Arriving at the Witwicky residence, Bumblebee attempted to convince his comrades to remain out of sight while Sam was talking to his father. When Sam and Mikaela were captured by Sector Seven, Bumblebee helped rescue them. The interrogation of Agent Simmons went nowhere, however, and Bumblebee became so annoyed with his attitude that he released lubricant onto the agent. Soon, Sector Seven reinforcements arrived, intent on recapturing the kids and any "N.B.E.s" they could get their hands on. Optimus Prime tried to protect Sam and Mikaela as they hid under a bridge, but both almost fell to their deaths when they slipped. Bumblebee raced forward, transforming and catching them in mid-air. Unfortunately, this also gave Sector Seven a clear and obvious target for them to attack. Firing harpoon cables from helicopters, the clandestine human organization dragged Bumblebee to the ground, and its soldiers began to freeze the helpless Autobot, who reached out to Sam. The boy broke free from an agent's grip, pushing the soldiers aside until he was tackled by several agents and taken away. Though Jazz objected to allowing Sector Seven to leave with their friend, Optimus Prime ordered his troops to stand down, as there was no way to save the prisoners without incurring human casualties.

Taken to Hoover Dam, Bumblebee was continually doused with cryoblasts to keep him docile and inert as Sector Seven performed experiments on him. Sam and Mikaela (with some armed persuasion from Captain Lennox) convinced Sector Seven to release Bumblebee. Upon his release, Bumblebee converted to battle mode and almost lashed out at his human oppressors until Sam calmed him down, informing him of the presence of the AllSpark and Megatron in the facility, and that the Decepticons were coming for both. Following the humans to the AllSpark's chamber, Bumblebee hesitantly reached out to the life source of his people and reformatted it, shrinking the cube until it was a size that the humans could manipulate. Bumblebee and a military escort fled to Mission City, meeting the Autobots en route.

Soon after they arrived at the city, Starscream appeared. Recognizing the Decepticon, Ironhide and Bumblebee lifted up an abandoned truck in order to shield the humans from any collateral damage Starscream's attack would inevitably bring. One of the Decepticon's missiles struck the truck, sending both Autobots flying, with Bumblebee landing in a store front. The attack tore off Bumblebee's legs and left him barely functional, as Sam discovered to his horror when Bumblebee crawled from the wreckage. Soon, the other Decepticons arrived, led by Megatron, and the remaining Autobots were engaged. Mikaela and Sam hoisted Bumblebee onto an abandoned tow truck, but refused to leave his side. The Autobot silently handed his friend the AllSpark, trusting the fate of his people into the boy's hands, and urged him to run while he still could. As Sam ran off, Mikaela drove Bumblebee away from the fighting to relative safety.

However, she was soon overcome with guilt for leaving Sam and the battle. With Bumblebee's assent, she turned the truck around and headed back in. As Mikaela drove down the street in reverse, Bumblebee activated his weapon systems, then fired his plasma cannon and missiles at Brawl, who was pinning down Captain Lennox and the rest of the combined Ranger/Sector Seven soldiers. His contribution was the deciding factor, confusing Brawl enough for the soldiers to counterattack, and the Decepticon was destroyed at last when Bumblebee's final cannon blast pierced his spark. Bumblebee was rather pleased with himself, and Mikaela complimented his shooting.

After the destruction of Megatron and the AllSpark, Bumblebee (who had regained his voice)[1] requested permission to remain with Sam, to which the young man agreed. After his legs were repaired, he allowed Sam and Mikaela to make out on top of him as the other Autobots watched as Optimus sent his message to space for other Autobots.

IDW Revenge of the Fallen comics
Shortly after the battle in Mission City, Bumblebee's injuries were tended to by Ratchet while Ironhide and Captain Lennox's men searched for the creatures inadvertently created by the AllSpark's energy. After his legs were attached, he rolled out with the Autobots to escape Sector Seven's inquiries. A month later, when asked by Lennox, Optimus Prime informed the human that Bumblebee had resumed his role as Sam Witwicky's protector.

Bumblebee accompanied the other Autobots to escort the convoy transporting the dead Decepticons to a navy base in San Diego, California, where they would be taken out to sea and dumped. Optimus Prime gave the surviving AllSpark sliver to Professor Vine of Sector Seven, but after deciding this was a bad idea later on, he sent Ironhide and Bumblebee back to the Nevada facility to retrieve it. Bumblebee raced ahead and arrived to inadvertently save Starscream's life by disarming the revived Wreckage. A grateful Starscream shot Bumblebee as he was protecting the humans, leaving his vocal processor damaged. Though Ironhide praised him for his bravery and selflessness, Bumblebee regretted not being able to save everybody. By the time the Navy and the Autobots were out at sea to bury Jazz and dump the Decepticon corpses, Ratchet had repaired Bumblebee's body (giving him a modified vehicle mode in the process), but was evidently unable to fully restore his vocal processor. In an effort to prevent mistakes of the past occurring again and to protect Earth, the Autobots and the United States Military formed a special unit under Major Lennox and Optimus Prime's command. When the Decepticon Swindle was detected in San Francisco, Bumblebee and the others rolled out from Diego Garcia.

After Optimus Prime destroyed a surprised dead end, Bumblebee chased Swindle onto the deserted Golden Gate Bridge. Though cornered, the Decepticon was amused that they had sent his old nemesis Bumblebee against him, and quickly set to clobbering the Autobot. Major Lennox distracted the Decepticon, allowing Bumblebee to pay Swindle back for his inept attempt to torture him thousands of years ago. On the plane trip back to Diego Garcia, Lennox and Optimus agreed that Sam Witwicky would become the target of the Decepticons again, and that he must be protected. Bumblebee was chosen to act as Sam's guardian again, and before he left, Prime pressed upon him that the protection of the boy was his first priority.

Bumblebee's attempts to integrate himself into Sam's life were not as smooth as he had hoped. Without the team structure of the Autobots, Bumblebee tended to act upon instinct, taking revenge on Mikaela's ex-boyfriend Trent DeMarco for his previous humiliations of Sam by wrecking his truck, smashing a would-be car thief with the door he was attempting to unlock, and inadvertently giving Sam traffic tickets by not observing the rules of the road. When Bumblebee was alone, he attempted to learn as much as he could about human culture, feeling that he owed it to his friend. Soon, Sam came to the question of what Bumblebee would do when Sam went to college after the summer. 'Bee intended to follow Sam wherever he went, but Sam feared that he might not be able to bring his car along with him. Unfortunately, Sam's parents were less than thrilled with the idea of having an alien robot live with them while Sam was away, especially after what the Autobots had done to their beloved yard. Ron Witwicky decreed that while Bumblebee could stay for the rest of the summer, once Sam has gone to school, the Autobot was out the door. However, unexpectedly, Ron Witwicky came to Bumblebee seeking aid when Mikaela reported that Sam had never made a rendezvous with her. Speeding out of the garage without Ron (and without waiting for the garage door to open), Bumblebee searched for clues to Sam's whereabouts and eventually found a message from his old foe Barricade, who demanded the AllSpark in exchange for the boy. Finding the pair at an car wrecking yard, Bumblebee attacked Barricade, but was considerably outmatched, with the Decepticon gloating that Earth had made the Autobot soft, and their last encounter was down to pure luck. Eventually, with a distraction from Sam, Bumblebee was able to force Barricade into a pool of gasoline. With the Decepticon hardly down for the count, Bumblebee told Sam to run and ignited the gasoline, causing a tremendous explosion that sent both Transformers flying. In the aftermath, Bumblebee told Sam he had a feeling they hadn't seen the last of Barricade

Bumblebee came on-scene to assist his fellow Autobots after Demolishor had... demolished a amount of human property.

The Veiled Threat prequel novel
Bumblebee was guarding Sam Witwicky and did not take part in any NEST missions. He saves Sam (again) from Barricade, who (again) escapes to safety. Transformers: The Veiled Threat

Revenge of the Fallen movie
Voice actor: Mark Ryan (English, dialogue cut from final movie)

Bumblebee was dozing in the Witwicky garage the day Sam was packing for Princeton University when he heard the boy scream out his name. Bumblebee drove through, transformed and started blasting away at AllSpark Mutations of the Witwicky kitchen appliances. Judy Witwicky was horrified that Bumblebee blew up much of their house, but he shrugged her off and went back into the garage. As firefighters and local police arrived, Sam and Mikaela Banes went inside the garage. Mikaela asked whether Bumblebee was still having voice problems, to which Sam replied the Autobot was just playing it up. Sam revealed he did not want Bumblebee to come to college as he wanted a normal life, and he couldn't do that with Bumblebee watching over him. Bumblebee was heartbroken and began crying, refusing to listen anymore.

However, Optimus Prime was having difficulties with NEST director Theodore Galloway, who believed protecting the human race required drawing away the Decepticons from Earth by making the Autobots leave. Optimus believed Sam would be a worthy ambassador to convince the President of the United States otherwise. Bumblebee picked up Sam from a frat party, only to get an unwanted passenger in Alice. Bumblebee knew something wasn't right about the girl interested in Sam, smashing her head against his dashboard, and dousing her in liquid to get rid of her. Bumblebee dropped Sam off to meet Optimus at a graveyard, where the boy turned down Optimus' offer.

When Megatron returned from the dead, Bumblebee was deployed to rescue Sam, Mikaela and Leo Spitz, driving away with the latter two while Optimus drove off with Sam. Optimus died protecting the boy, and Bumblebee took him with Skids and Mudflap to an abandoned prison where they would be safe. Following Optimus' death, The Fallen and a new army of Decepticons struck out across Earth and announced their existence, promising to leave if they were given Witwicky. Galloway shut down NEST and had the other Autobots placed under guard with orders to ship them back to Diego Garcia, while a manhunt began for Sam. Bumblebee was now protecting a fugitive.

That evening, Sam told Bumblebee he was responsible for Optimus's death, and would understand if Bumblebee hated him, but the little Autobot bore Sam no grudge, and promised that he would help in any way he could. When Sam announced that he would turn himself in, Bumblebee insisted that it would not help matters. Under Leo's suggestion, the group came to New York City to meet his internet rival, the Robo-Warrior. As it turned out, the Robo-Warrior was none other than Bumblebee's former lubrication post, Seymour Simmons, who elaborated on evidence of the Seekers that came to Earth before Megatron and the AllSpark. Bumblebee watched from the sideline as the humans and Wheelie awoke Jetfire, who transported them to Egypt, which unfortunately sent Bumblebee crash landing near Sam. Jetfire explained the origins of the Seven Primes and the treasons of The Fallen, mentioning the Matrix of Leadership, which Sam believed could be used to resurrect Optimus Prime.

Bumblebee continued his role as chauffeur, transporting the humans to Petra, the supposed location of the Tomb of the Primes. However, Petra appeared to be a dead end, and the Twins got into an argument of why they were following Sam around, which, knowing the Twins, got violent. As their brawl threatened to crush the humans in the close quarters, Bumblebee picked his two subordinates up in each hand, slammed them together, and threw them out of the temple. However, the Twins' brawl had managed to unearth the Tomb of the Primes, and Bumblebee further opened the hole with his plasma cannon, where they found the Matrix...which instantly turned to dust. Oops.

While heading back to Egypt, the Autobots came under Operation: Firestorm assault by Starscream, and it was decided that Sam and Mikaela would take the Matrix dust to Prime's body while Bumblebee, Simmons, Leo, and the Twins would lead Starscream and the Decepticons away. When it became apparent that Starscream was no longer pursuing them, Bumblebee left to rejoin Sam. Heading to the abandoned town where Sam and Mikaela were, Bumblebee found that Ron and Judy Witwicky had been captured by the Decepticons, and were being held by Rampage. Noticing Bumblebee, Sam distracted the Constructicon long enough for Bumblebee to jump him. While Bumblebee had Rampage on the ropes, Ravage jumped Bumblebee, but the plucky Autobot managed to fight off Ravage and rip out his spine. Ouch. With Ravage dispatched, Bumblebee managed to overpower Rampage and kill him by tearing off his arms and breaking his head. Bumblebee then tried to escort his charges to NEST's position, but the heavy amount of fire convinced Sam to have Bumblebee to take his parents to safety, while he continued his quest to save Optimus.

However, during Sam's flight to Optimus's body, Megatron caught up and blasted the boy, evidently killing him. Bumblebee returned to the scene with Sam's parents, and broke down in grief. However, the human miraculously survived the attack, and with the reformed Matrix of Leadership, resurrected Optimus Prime. Together, the assembled Autobots and humans watched as Optimus combined with the remains of Jetfire, destroyed the harvester and killed The Fallen.

Cyber Missions
Voice actor Tom Anderson, David Kledzik, Tony Gialluca II and Bronco D. Jackson (English)

Bumblebee and Ironhide were reviewing some data tracks that Optimus Prime had made for preservation in Vector Sigma when they detected an explosion outside their base. Bumblebee remained to lock down the most important data tracks while Ironhide went to investigate the cause of the explosion. However, that is what the Decepticons wanted, as moments later, Soundwave burst into the base, overwhelming Bumblebee with a sonic attack, and mocking Bumblebee for being the smallest Autobot. Bumblebee countered that he wasn't as small as Soundwave thought, but in the battle that followed, Soundwave was able to physically overpower Bumblebee. Bumblebee fired a shot from his shoulder cannon, but Soundwave absorbed the sonic boom and sent the acou