Bumblebee (Transformers)

Character
Name:	English: Bumblebee Japanese G1 Cartoon: バンブル (Bumble) Japanese (other canons): バンブルビー (Bumblebee) (more on TFWiki.net)
Occupation:	Autobot scout/warrior
Relationships:	varies by series
Fandom:	Transformers
Other:
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Bumblebee, sometimes known as B-127, is a major character from the Transformers franchise. He is an Autobot, often a scout or warrior.

Canon Background

Bumblebee appears in some, but not all, forms of Transformers canon. He was in the original series. Trademark issues were apparently behind his exclusion from Beast Wars, as the name Bumblebee, applied to a character who presumably would have been a bumblebee, wasn't distinctive enough to be a valid trademark; after that, he didn't appear in anything until the movies. Thanks to his popularity in the first movie, he was put into Transformers Animated, and has appeared in every new series since. Out-of-universe, all forms of Bumblebee were designed to appeal to children; because of this, he is often the character who interacts most with the human companion character. He is portrayed as mute in the movies and Transformers: Prime series, although in both of these cases he regains his voice.

Major Apperances

• The Transformers TV series
• The Transformers Generation One Marvel Comics
• The Transformers Generation One IDW Comics
• The Transformers Bay Movies
• Transformers Animated
• The Transformers Aligned (Prime) Continuity
• Transformers Cyberverse
• Transformers Earthspark
• Transformers One

See Bumblebee (disambiguation) on TFWiki.net for more of his appearances.

Popular Tropes & Fanon

TBA

Subjects of Fannish Interest & Meta

Bumblebee is the kid-appeal character, and thus is relatively unpopular in the older-skewing online fandom; while many fans still like him, he has a smaller fanbase than Optimus Prime or Starscream, for example. This has been the case ever since the 1990s.

He is rarely shipped with others to the extent that other prominent Transformers characters are. In regards to shipping, he may be seen as too child-like and may be considered minor-coded as of the 2020s. Bumblebee/Optimus Prime and Blitzwing/Bumblebee shippers are often caught in the crossfire of this, and shippers may be disliked in some circles. Bumblebee is also in more notable Human/Transformer ships than any other character, as he has more human companions than any other character. He's also not shipped often in the Japanese-side of the fandom, so combi works are somewhat common on Twitter and Pixiv.

Relationships

This is purposefully an incomplete list, as Bumblebee is shipped with many of the other Transformers. He's also popular for self-insert shipping.

Please add any notable relationships in fanworks if they are missing.

Primary Canon	With...	Who is a(n)...	Full Label	Type	Ship Name(s)	Information
various	Optimus Prime	Autobot	Bumblebee & Optimus Prime	Gen	(n/a)	Most common Bee relationship
various	Optimus Prime	Autobot	Bumblebee/Optimus Prime	M/M	Opbee | コンバン | オプビ	Close allies
Bayverse	Sam Witwicky	Autobot ally	Bumblebee/Sam Witwicky	M/M	Sambee | ビーサム | サムビー	Interspecies
Bayverse	Sam Witwicky	Autobot ally	Bumblebee & Sam Witwicky	Gen	(n/a)	Sam is one of Bee's many human companions
IDW Comics	Starscream	Decepticon	Bumblebee/Starscream	M/M	Starbee	Allies, but only in the IDW continuity post-war
Animated	Blitzwing	Decepticon	Blitzwing/Bumblebee	M/M	Blitzbee | BumbleBlitz	Popularized by Reise ohne Ende by suna_scribbles
Bumblebee (2018)	Charlie Watson	Autobot ally	Bumblebee/Charlie Watson	F/M	Charbee	Interspecies
Bumblebee (2018)	Charlie Watson	Autobot ally	Bumblebee & Charlie Watson	Gen	(n/a)	Charlie is one of Bee's many human companions
Prime	Rafael "Raf" Esquivel	Autobot ally	Bumblebee & Rafael "Raf" Esquivel	Gen	(n/a)	Raf is one of Bee's many human companions
Earthspark	Breakdown	Decepticon	Breakdown/Bumblebee	M/M	Breakbee	Playful rivals; old friends
Prime	Megatron	Decepticon	Bumblebee/Megatron	M/M	Megabee	Opposites Attract enemies to lovers; crack-ish
Animated	Sari Sumdac	Autobot ally	Bumblebee & Sari Sumdac	Gen	(n/a)	Sari is one of Bee's many human companions
Rescue Bots	Blades	Autobot	Blades/Bumblebee	M/M	Bumbleblades	(n/a)
Animated	Blurr	Autobot	Blurr/Bumblebee	M/M	Blurrbee	(n/a)
Prime	Smokescreen	Autobot	Bumblebee/Smokescreen	M/M	Smokebee	(n/a)
Prime	Arcee	Autobot	Arcee/Bumblebee	F/M	Beecee	Close allies
Bayverse	Barricade	Decepticon	Barricade/Bumblebee	M/M	Bumblecade | バリビー | ビーバリ	Bee's primary rival in the Bayverse films
various	Jazz	Autobot	Bumblebee/Jazz	M/M	Jazzbee	Rarepair, but possible in multiple continuities
Animated	Wasp	Autobot	Bumblebee/Wasp	M/M	Waspbee | ビーワス | ワスビー	May be Bee/Waspinator, Wasp's Decepticon form
RiD2015	Strongarm	Autobot	Bumblebee/Strongarm	F/M	Strongbee	Close allies
G1 Cartoon	Spike Witwicky	Autobot ally	Bumblebee & Spike Witwicky	Gen	(n/a)	Spike is one of Bee's many human companions
G1 Cartoon	Cliffjumper	Autobot	Bumblebee & Cliffjumper	Gen	(n/a)	Shared the same toy mold in G1. Commonly headcanoned as brothers

See List of Transformers Relationship Names for more.

Notable/Example Bumblebee-Centric Fanworks

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

Fan Communities/Fan Events

• bumblebee-fan-girls, ^{Archived version}, a club on Deviantart
• autobotbumblebeefans, ^{Archived version}, a club on Deviantart
• bee-satans-camaro, ^{Archived version}, a club on Deviantart
• bumblebeebuddies, ^{Archived version}, a club on Deviantart
• Bumblebee, ^{Archived version}, a community on FanFiction.Net
• Bumblebee Week, a fanweek that took place in 2023.

Wikis

• バンブル on PixivEncyclopedia
• 実写バンブルビー on PixivEncyclopedia
• Bumblebee on the TFWiki
• Bumblebee (Transformers) on Wikipedia