Bumblebee/Cartoon continuity

He's kid-friendly with a capital B!

The Transformers cartoon
Four million years ago on Cybertron, Bumblebee was part of the Autobot army, stationed out of the city-state of Iacon. The war effort was marked by dwindling energy resources on both sides, and the Autobots routinely sent out patrols to search for untapped sources of energy. On one such mission, Bumblebee and Wheeljack managed to scrounge up some energy conductors, but not even enough to last a quartrex. Bumblebee's sunny disposition kept Wheeljack from getting too maudlin about their long-term survival, and the duo began rolling back to Iacon. They were interrupted by a group of Seekers and got into a firefight that turned literal when one Decepticon fired a ring of flame around their position. Wheeljack managed to blow a path through the opposition, but Bumblebee caught some stray fire in his rear axle and had to pull inside Wheeljack before he spun completely out of control. Still, they managed to reach the underground tunnels in time, which deterred their pursuers from following any further.

Despite Bumblebee and Wheeljack's success in procuring more energy for the Autobots, Optimus Prime determined that it was time to take the Autobots' search to other planets. Bumblebee was among the Autobots who boarded the spacecraft for this mission, but it was attacked in mid-flight by the Decepticons and crash-landed on prehistoric Earth. All the Transformers aboard were knocked offline by the crash and lay dormant until 1984, when the ship's computer, Teletraan I, was jarred back to life as the volcano into which the ship had crashed erupted. Bumblebee was rebuilt to transform into a Volkswagen Beetle.

After befriending the humans Spike Witwicky and his father Sparkplug following a Decepticon attack on an oil rig, Bumblebee was part of the team of Autobots sent to stop Megatron and the Decepticons from overpowering Sherman Dam. Bumblebee helped Ironhide carve out a new riverbed for the raging waters, saving a nearby neighborhood from being flooded. Such acts were some of the earliest that helped endear the Autobots to the humans.

On their next mission, which was to the ruby crystal mines of Burma, Bumblebee and Sparkplug volunteered to sneak inside and plant Wheeljack's explosive device. On their way out after setting the explosive, they were stumbled upon by Thundercracker and Skywarp, and so were still inside when the explosive went off. The pair fortunately survived the explosion and were retrieved from the rubble by the other Autobots. Bumblebee would later take part in a ploy to try and trick the Decepticons with a fake rocket base, dressing up in an oversized lab coat to pose as a human scientist. This was less than successful, and he and the other Autobots were forced to try and stop the Decepticons from taking off in their space cruiser.

During the Decepticon development of their space bridge program, Bumblebee and Spike were spying on the enemy for Optimus Prime. They accidentally tumbled into the ravine where Megatron was launching his test flights for the bridge, and they were almost forced to act as test pilots before the window of operation closed. The two heroes briefly escaped but were recaptured, and Megatron altered a bank of Bumblebee's memory circuits to lure the Autobots into a trap. Bumblebee was injured during the Decepticon ambush, giving Ratchet a chance to examine his circuits and discover the altered portion of his memory. Bumblebee recovered in time to alert the Autobots to the true location of the space bridge and rescue Spike before he was sent on a one-way trip to Cybertron.

Having bonded after their adventure with the space bridge, Bumblebee and Spike were virtually inseparable for the next 20-odd years. Bumblebee escorted Spike and his boy-genius friend Chip Chase to the laboratory where Chip was assisting Doctor Alcazar in developing his antimatter formula. On their way back, they were attacked by Laserbeak, alerting them to the fact that the Decepticons were after the antimatter formula on which Chip had been working. After Chip was captured by the Decepticons, Bumblebee and Spike mounted a rescue with the help of Mirage and Hound.

After Optimus Prime was dramatically injured by an explosion, Bumblebee volunteered with Ironhide, Trailbreaker and Bluestreak to take the Decepticon space bridge to Cybertron to retrieve a new cosmitron. Though they gained entrance to Wheeljack's workshop with Chip's help and retrieved the required component, the group was debilitated by the Rainmakers' acid rain. After a pep talk from Chip, they were able to return to Earth through the space bridge, and Bumblebee rushed the cosmitron back to headquarters.

A freak snowfall saw the Autobots enjoying a snowball fight, and Bumblebee managed to take out a whole group when a snowball he threw ended up growing to a huge size. Investigations of what was causing the freak weather took the Autobots to the Arctic Circle, where Spike and Sparkplug were captured by a new Decepticon, Skyfire. Bumblebee was part of the team who rescued the pair, and he caused a cave-in to prevent Ravage from following them during their escape.

When the newly built Dinobots ran amok in headquarters, Bumblebee tried unsuccessfully to prevent Grimlock from wrecking Teletraan I. Subsequently, an attack on the Great Falls went unreported until Hound detected it, and Bumblebee was left back at base while the rest of the Autobots went to investigate. Luckily, he disobeyed Prime's orders and was able to pick up Spike after Megatron managed to defeat Optimus's group. Back at HQ, Wheeljack decided to reactivate the Dinobots, despite Bumblebee's protests. As it happened, the plan worked, and by the time Bumblebee, Ratchet and Spike arrived at the falls, the Decepticons had already been defeated.

Bumblebee was part of the team of Autobots who flew to Peru in the reactivated Skyfire to investigate Decepticon activity, helping Spike to rescue a native girl named Luisa during a pitched battle. The trio were able to locate Skyfire, who'd been captured by the Decepticons, and Bumblebee wrestled with Ravage while Spike struggled to reactivate the fallen warrior. After the expected defeat of the Decepticons, Luisa suggested they could introduce Bumblebee to her brother's convertible.

Bumblebee was present at Autobot Headquarters when Sparkplug was kidnapped by Laserbeak, but was unable to stop the Decepticon. He later tried to comfort Spike and took part in a diversionary attack on the Decepticon base while a team broke Sparkplug out. They were all taken by surprise when Sparkplug subsequently let the Decepticons into HQ and went with them when they retreated, unaware he was under the influence of Doctor Arkeville's hypno-chip. The Autobots attempted unsuccessfully to prevent Megatron's latest plan, and Cybertron was brought into close proximity to Earth.

During the retreat through harsh conditions, Bumblebee was hampered by a flat tire, which Spike soon changed. The pair were caught in an earthquake before they could get underway, and with Spike snatched by Laserbeak, Bumblebee tumbled into an opening chasm. He was later fished out by Windcharger, after Spike had been rescued and alerted the other Autobots to 'Bee's predicament.

Back at HQ, Bumblebee volunteered to be part of an expedition to Cybertron to try to save Sparkplug. There they learned about the hypno-chips, but were discovered by Sparkplug, who raised the alarm. The group escaped to Wheeljack's shop. There Wheeljack created a counter-device for the hypno-chips, subsequently allowing them to rescue Sparkplug and take him back to Earth. During the inevitable battle, Bumblebee employed a Tarzan technique to avoid Rumble's pile drivers. He was disappointed when the wave created by Megatron's exploding spaceship dissipated before he could try out his boogie board.

During the aftermath of the chaos Cybertron had wreaked, Bumblebee and the rest of the Autobots were caught up in foiling Starscream's plan to destroy Earth using an exponential generator. Bumblebee, Windcharger and Brawn traveled on Skyfire to Bali to investigate reports of giant, mechanical insects and found themselves tangling with the Insecticons. Once the rest of the Autobots caught up, the Insecticons and Decepticons retreated to a nearby oil refinery, pursued by the Autobot forces. When Shrapnel unleashed his ability to control lightning, Spike suggested Bumblebee transform to vehicle mode, as his rubber tires would insulate him from the lightning bolts.

During one Decepticon plot, Megatron challenged Optimus Prime to a one-on-one contest, and all of the Autobots were on hand to cheer him on. Though Optimus lost, it turned out that Megatron had cheated, so the Autobots were free to blast the Decepticons into an open crevasse full of lava.

Bumblebee and Spike were on hand to watch the activation of Sparkplug's experiment, Autobot X, and its total failure. When the pair were subsequently injured during a Decepticon attack on a rocket base, Spike's life-threatening injuries resulted in another experiment: transferring his mind into Autobot X. The process damaged Spike's psyche, and the boy fled headquarters. Bumblebee forwent further repairs on himself to go looking for Spike, and he found him... being conned by Megatron into joining the Decepticons. The diminutive Autobot sped back to find Optimus Prime, and the Autobots were able to talk Spike around. His mind was subsequently returned to his regular body.

While the Autobots were gathering for another mission, Bumblebee teased Gears about the latter's grumpy demeanor. Despite this, when Gears was captured by the Decepticons, Bumblebee was as concerned as anyone for the Autobot's safety. Certain subtle clues led the Autobots to a Decepticon installation in Africa, where they attempted to stop Megatron from destabilizing the sun. Bumblebee saved Gears's life during the battle by ramming Starscream from behind, and he ended up struggling with Ravage. When everything was wrapped up, Bumblebee and the others were keen to keep Gears's less abrasive personality, but Gears's wishes prevailed.

Investigating reports that the Decepticons had made the Empire State Building disappear, Bumblebee was part of the contingent of Autobots who went to the city. He carried Spike on his shoulders as he, Mirage, Hound and Ratchet ventured into New York's scenic sewer system and were pursued by an alligatorcon. As it turned out, the creature was build from Optimus Prime's parts, as the Decepticons had captured and disassembled him. After fighting battle taxis, Bumblebee and Spike broke into the Decepticon control center and tricked Megatron into destroying the control device for Optimus Prime's arm, which had been attached to the top of a tower as a gun emplacement. Later, Bumblebee was seen sporting an "I &hearts; NY" license plate.

A new Decepticon plan involved turning the Autobots evil by installing a personality destabilizer device in the Autobot recharging chamber. Luckily for Bumblebee, he was out messing around with Jazz, Spike and Sparkplug, and so was spared the treatment. When he returned to base, Bluestreak tried to force him into the recharging chamber, but Jazz intervened in time. While Sparkplug worked on a solution, Bumblebee tried to reason with the evilified Optimus Prime, only to be batted aside. Fortunately, Sparkplug's attitude exchangers worked, and Bumblebee himself was able to bring Optimus back from the dark side, earning himself a hug.

Spike and Bumblebee volunteered to go into town to get a new polarizer for Wheeljack's latest experiment, the Immobilizer. While stopping off in a video arcade, they encountered Carly, who expressed her interest in the Autobot. Continuing on, they were attacked by Ravage, who planted a micro-bug on Bumblebee, allowing the Decepticons to spy on Wheeljack's demonstration and eventually steal the Immobilizer. Carly was also kidnapped by the Decepticons when she attempted to check out their base, and Spike and Bumblebee helped Ironhide mount a rescue mission.

When Megatron's Transfixatron was used to lock the Autobots in their vehicle modes during a charity event, Bumblebee was the only one there not to be affected. He returned to base with Spike and Chip to raise the alarm, and once Ratchet and Wheeljack had come up with a device to counter the Transfixatron's effects, took part in the rescue mission.

Bumblebee took his life in his hands by joining the other Autobots in playing football against the Dinobots. Their match was interrupted by an alert which led them to find the Decepticons helping to raise the underwater city of Sub-Atlantica. The city moved to the coast off Washington, D.C. so the Sub-Atlanticans and Decepticons could invade America's capital. Bumblebee and Spike entered Sub-Atlantica to free Wheeljack, who'd been captured, and returned to Washington to help fight off the enemy forces. The trio tried to stop Nergill from destroying Sub-Atlantica, but failed and were only snatched away from certain destruction at the last moment by Optimus.

Much like the other Autobots, Bumblebee was surprised when soon after one battle, a second Optimus Prime turned up at headquarters. He asked Teletraan I to scan both Optimuses, but the computer was unable to work out which was the real thing. Both Optimuses subsequently led the Autobot forces into battle against the Decepticons, but it was Bumblebee's query about Spike, disregarded by the fake, which finally proved which was which.

Checking out strange reports of chewed redwoods, Bumblebee, Hound, Beachcomber and Spike found the source of the problem: the Insecticons. Having avoided certain death in the form of a rolling log, the Autobots overheard the Insecticons discussing their plans with the Decepticons, and they radioed HQ. They joined the other Autobots at the Nova Power Plant a short time later, but were unable to prevent the Insecticons from devouring the power core. After discovering that the Insecticons were going to explode due to the energy they'd eaten, the Autobots traveled to Iron Mountain, which the Decepticons were attacking, to try and prevent the disaster.

Teamed up with Powerglide, Bumblebee used a jet pack to keep up with his flighty comrade. The pair investigated some strange energy readings and discovered an island full of dinosaurs. After a close call with some hostile saurians, they retreated back to Headquarters to report on what they'd found and were in time to watch a demonstration of the Dinobots' skills go horribly wrong. Spike and Bumblebee visited a local library to check out some dino-related books, but were attacked by barbarians on mammoths, who knocked a building over on them. Fortunately, they were both OK, and the rest of the Autobots dug them out before dealing with the mammoths.

Strolling into the laboratory one day, Bumblebee was surprised to find Brawn badmouthing Perceptor, and he defended the scientist. The altercation was interrupted by a mission to South America, where the Autobots failed to stop Megatron retrieving the Heart of Cybertron and powering himself up to ridiculous levels. Perceptor came up with a cunning plan: He, Brawn and Bumblebee were miniaturized and inserted into Megatron, then managed to retrieve the Heart of Cybertron from inside him.

After having helped foil an attack on a solar energy plant, Bumblebee took part in the Autobot Day parade, but things soon turned sour when Megatron's latest plan framed the Autobots. The humans turned against them, and the Autobots were soon all shot into space. They almost crashed into the Sun, but made it back to Earth safely and kicked the Decepticons back to their undersea base.

On their way to pick up Sparkplug from the airport, Bumblebee, Spike and Carly stopped off at the Fun A Rama Park, where Bumblebee couldn't see the point of the teacups ride until Carly disabled his equilibrium circuit. While at the airport, they spotted Thrust and Thundercracker, and the Dinobots were duly called in. Unfortunately, just as it seemed they'd won, Megatron triggered a huge explosion. Bumblebee shielded the humans, but the Dinobots were badly damaged.

Following repairs, the Dinobots stormed off, and the Autobots were subsequently left in the lurch when Cybertonium depletion disabled them. Spike, Carly and the Dinobots were able to bring more Cybertonium back from Cybertron in time to repair all of the Autobots, including Bumblebee.

Bumblebee was among the Autobots who went to Haley Observatory but arrived too late to prevent the Decepticons from stealing the Voltronic Galaxer. He was also among the Autobots who coated themselves in electrum to battle the Decepticons, and he battled drones in New York during a Decepticon plan to convert stolen cars into troops.

A space bridge malfunction hurled Bumblebee, along with Optimus, Inferno, Perceptor, Smokescreen and a group of Decepticons, across the galaxy to a planet where the local life forms were huge in comparison with the Transformers. After befriending a young boy and having a series of misadventures, the Autobots were ready to return home. However, the Decepticons took Bumblebee as a hostage, forcing Perceptor to use up the energon sending them home. Luckily, Perceptor's alternate plan to modify a toy rocket for space flight also worked. On the way back to Earth, the Autobots were intercepted by the bounty hunter Bosch, and all of the Autobots bar Smokescreen were liberated of their free will and sold as slaves. Smokescreen was fortunately able to free them before they came to harm.

Returning from a mission in Cosmos to Floron III to find robotic insecticide for use against the Insecticon army, Bumblebee and Spike discovered that they had unexpected fellow passengers in the form of Morphobots. Cosmos was overcome by the creatures and crashed on Earth, but not before ejecting his friends, who returned to Autobot HQ to get help. There, Bumblebee discovered that several of the Morphobots had attached themselves to his back, providing Perceptor with a sample to study. After being decontaminated, Bumblebee joined the expedition back to the crash site to retrieve Cosmos. A battle with the Decepticons destroyed the insecticide, and it looked like their mission had been rendered a failure until the Morphobots solved the Insecticon problem by eating the whole clone army.

One of Megatron's wilder schemes involved inflicting a small energyvore named Kremzeek on the Autobots. Luckily for Bumblebee, he was one of the few Autobots to be protected by Sparkplug's insulating compound. After a chase in Japan which resulted in Kremzeek growing to giant size, the Autobots found a way to inflict him back on Megatron. Human scientist Doctor Yoshikawa came up with a way, much to Bumblebee's discomfort, to disperse the critter's energy.

After indulging in a spot of water skiing and stargazing with Seaspray, Bumblebee and his comrade accompanied Perceptor and Cosmos to the far-off world of the Tlalakans to investigate a distress signal. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a Decepticon distress signal, and Bumblebee was captured while trying to escape from Megatron's forces, who had also turned up to answer it. With the help of the shape-shifting Tlalakans, the other Autobots mounted a rescue, and Bumblebee was pressed into service defending the natives' city while they overthrew their Decepticon overlords.

Bumblebee was once again abducted, this time by Lord Chumley while out on the town with Tracks. Placed in specially constructed devices of torture along with other captured Autobots, Bumblebee was forced to transform back and forth continuously to avoid swinging axes. He was able to use his radio long enough to contact Optimus, but this was what Chumley wanted, as the big game hunter aimed to lure the Autobot leader to his compound and indulge in some sport. Optimus, of course, won and freed Bumblebee and his fellow captives.

Despite being around in Autobot HQ when Ironhide gave the order to roll out for Cybertron, Bumblebee didn't go with him, possibly because he didn't have a girlfriend back on his home world. He was one of the Autobots who entered the Europa 2000 after rumours that the Decepticons were after Auggie Cahnay's super car. Augie's impolite driving habits at one point drove Bumblebee to yank the human from his car for a stern scolding.

As it turned out, Megatron was after the Pearl of Bahoudin, an ancient Cybertronian weather control power core in a containing shell. Bumblebee snatched the pearl from him, breaking it open and creating a huge vortex when he found the Autobots were outnumbered. To destroy it, he was forced to throw himself into the tornado, riding it until he was able to get a clear shot and blast the power core.

After Perceptor used corrostop to cure a cosmic rust brought to Earth by Megatron, the Autobots were able to defend the Statue of Liberty successfully from the Decepticons, a fact Bumblebee was particularly pleased with. After a bizarre attack on Autobot HQ which led to the Decepticons turning tail as soon as they'd arrived, Bumblebee wondered what the heck was going on. As it turned out, Starscream had built the Combaticons to try to usurp Megatron's leadership, and Bumblebee and the other Autobots used the battle between the two factions to rescue Jazz and Cliffjumper.

The Stunticons began stealing components for Megatron's latest super weapon, and the Autobots set out to stop them. Bumblebee, Spike and Blaster spectated as Optimus took down Motormaster himself. They put a counter-plan into effect, wherein the Stunticons would be held captive, while five Autobots would pose as them. However, Spike and Bumblebee discovered that the Decepticon group had escaped. After picking up their trampled comrades, they went to provide reinforcements for Optimus's group and arrived just in the nick of time.

Sent with Ironhide and Gears to investigate an SOS from Benjamin Franklin Pierce High School, Bumblebee met Martin, Roland and Elise and chased around the robot they'd built from Brawl's brain until Swindle snatched it from under their noses. With Bruticus repaired, the Decepticons took their latest superweapon to Autobot headquarters. The obligatory battle ended with Elise using B.O.T. to destroy the cannon, leading Bumblebee to apologize for the loss of their robot.