Lance ThooEveryone’s favourite yellow-and-black Autobot is getting his own movie. “Bumblebee” will be screened at cinemas worldwide soon.
The prequel is set 20 years before the first “Transformers” film (2007) and follows the story of a government agency chasing down autobot Bumblebee and the teenage girl who befriends him, played by Hailee Steinfeld. It is the first movie in the series not to be shot by director Michael Bay, who was nevertheless involved as producer. (See trailer below)
In the run up of the movie’s release, Neue takes a closer look at this beloved Transformers character. Here are some fun facts about Bumblebee:
*The following information was taken from different timelines and continuities.
He’s Been Killed
When it comes to crossovers with other series (whether they be other Transformers series or properties altogether), Bumblebee seems to always meet an untimely demise. For instance, in the #1 edition of the January 1987 comic “G.I. Joe and the Transformers Vol 1”, the G.I. Joe team mistakes Bumblebee for a threat. As Bumblebee tries to explain, the G.I Joe team open fire, shattering his metal body (see photo below).
In the comic book “The Transformers: Robots in Disquise #27” , Megatron and Bumblebee arrive in Shockwave’s command chamber, where a hesitant Dreadwing tries to tough-talk them, only to be blasted by Megatron.
They come upon the limp form of Galvatron, who admits what his actions have wrought and submits himself to Megatron’s wrath, but Bumblebee tries to talk the Decepticon leader out of slaying him, reminding him of his past to convince him that killing is not the way forward.
Megatron lowers his cannon… and Bumblebee’s chest explodes (see photo below) as Shockwave shoots him through the back. Megatron races to his fallen ally’s side, but it is too late: Bumblebee is dead.
Leader Of The Autobots
In some continuities, the beloved Bumblebee would take the leadership reigns whenever the leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime, is out of commission (killed?).
For instance, in the animated series Transformers: Robots in Disguise, where Optimus died at the end of the previous series, Bumblebee starts off as the Autobot leader, although he was apprehensive about it.
He even took on the leadership mantle in the live-action film series, when Optimus leaves the Autobot behind to head into space as part of a search in the last movie “Age of Extinction”.
Real Cars
(Photo courtesy of Car Revs Daily)
Michael Bay directed the first five live-action Transformers movies – Transformers (2007), Revenge of the Fallen (2009), Dark of the Moon (2011), Age of Extinction (2014) and The Last Knight (2017).
Did you know that the Chevrolet Camaro car models used Bumblebee in the three Transformers movies were all real-life production models?
However, the Camaro model featured in the fourth Transformers movie was a custom design made by Chevrolet. It was not available for purchase by the public.
Chevrolet had actually stopped producing the Camaro in 2002, after having it in their stable since 1966. It wasn’t without controversy when it was Bay decided to make Bumblebee a Camaro for the first live-action film back in 2007. However, Chevrolet used the product placement opportunity to help relaunch the brand.
Back To Being A Beetle
A scene from the 2018 “Bumblebee” movie (Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures)
In the upcoming Transformers prequel “Bumblebee”, the Bumblebee character will be returning to his original Volkswagen Beetle form. As expected, this has made many old-school fans of the influential toy line and cartoon very happy.
Why Can’t He Speak?
According to the prequel comic by IDW Publishing, Megatron ripped out and crushed Bumblebee’s voice capacitor during the battle at Tyger Pax back on Cybertron. Hardtop’s toy bio claims the damage came from a shot fired by Hardtop. In the film itself, Ratchet only states to Sam that Bumblebee’s “vocal processors were damaged in battle” and he was “still working on them”.
Size Matters
(Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures)
While Bumblebee may be one of the smallest Transformers out there, he can still pack a punch. When standing stationary, Bumblebee is approximately 17 feet tall. He is a capable and reliable messenger and spy, his small size allowing 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.
His Preferred Fighting Style?
Bumblebee prefers hand to hand combat over ranged engagements with weapons. This is somewhat odd as it has been said that Bumblebee is a skilled marksman. His weaponry includes a pulse cannon, wrist-mounted rockets and machine guns.
First Human Friend
A screen from “The Transformers” cartoon episode, “A Plague of Insecticons” (Photo courtesy of Sunbow Productions, Marvel Productions and Hasbro)
Bumblebee was one of the several Autobots who were searching for energy when the Decepticons attacked their spacecraft, forcing them to crash-land on Earth 4 million years ago. When Bumblebee and the others were awoken in 1984, Bumblebee quickly befriended the human teenager Spike Witwicky.
Bumblebee and Spike would remain friends up through Spike’s adulthood, and were stationed on one of Cybertron’s moons in 2005 after the Decepticons conquered Cybertron. Bumblebee survived Unicron’s attack on Cybertron, and remained in action during the leadership of Rodimus Prime.
When Bumblebee was damaged badly during the Hate Plague outbreak in 2006, he had to be rebuilt into a new form, Goldbug. Goldbug would live to see the next Cybertronian Golden Age. (Sources: Transformers Wiki, Marvel Database, ScreenRant, CBR)
We’d Love To Hear From You
Do you have any fun facts about Bumblebee or any other Transformers? Do share it in the comments section below or on Neue’s social media on Facebook & Instagram.