Summary
- Transformers: Rise of the Beasts brings back Bumblebee's original design from the Generation 1 cartoons, highlighting his distinct personality and emotions.
- Bumblebee's first human in the movie series is Charlene "Charlie" Watson, who finds and forms a close bond with him, unlike the previous series where Sam Witwicky was his first human companion.
- Bumblebee loses his voice and ability to speak after a battle with Blitzwing, but he creatively communicates with Charlie through his radio, showcasing the good in humanity.
Compared to Michael Bay's live-action Transformers movies, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and its 2018 prequel significantly change Bumblebee — here's how. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts portrays how seven years after first landing on Earth, the Autobots see a speck of hope when they learn about the Transwarp key. Hoping it would help them return home, they set out on a mission to acquire it before Unicron's army of Terrorcons. Along the way, they also find human allies, Noah and Elena, who help them realize that humans are not as bad as they had imagined.
While this saga of battling the Terrorcons unfolds and finding the Transwarp key unfolds in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Bumblebee's storyline goes through several significant changes. Owing to these changes, it is hard not to wonder how the Bumblebee movie and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts have added new lore to the character's live-action narrative to make him different from his alternate iteration in the Michael Bay movies. Hence, here is a detailed breakdown of eight Bumblebee changes the Transformers movies have made since Michael Bay departed from the franchise.
8 Bumblebee Got His G1 Design After Michael Bay
Michael Bay's Transformers movies featured visually complex and meticulous designs. Compared to the original Transformers cartoons, the designs in Bay's universe went through massive aesthetic overhauls, with some parts resembling military automobiles and weaponry. While these designs allowed for visually dynamic transformations, they only highlighted the mechanical nature of the characters instead of bringing out their distinct humane personalities. 2018's Bumblebee and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts change this significantly by staying true to the original Generation 1 designs of the 1980s animated series and toys.
Bumblebee, too, sports a simpler design in Bumblebee and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and even its transformations are reminiscent of the Generation 1 cartoons and toys. There is also an emphasis on Bumblebee's facial features in both movies that make him appear more endearing, allowing better communication of emotions and stronger connections with audiences. As a nod to Bumblebee's G1 design, 2018's Bumblebee also shows how the titular Autobot's first transformation was into a Volkswagen bug, not a Camaro.
7 Charlie Watson Is Bumblebee's First Human (Not Sam Witwicky)
Bumblebee's first point of is one of the most apparent differences between the two Transformers movie series. Sam Witwicky finds Bumblebee when he goes out shopping for his first car with his father. Initially disguised as a 1976 Chevrolet Camaro, the first Transformers' Bumblebee turns into a 2007 version of the same car.
In 2018's Bumblebee, Charlene "Charlie" Watson finds Bumblebee in her uncle's scrapyard, who deems the car useless and gifts it to her on her 18th birthday. To Charlie's surprise, Bee transforms into B-127, and the two become really close as the movie progresses. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts also makes a few references to how Bumblebee is still grateful that he met Charlie after arriving at Earth, which prevents him from adopting Optimus Prime's skepticism towards humans.
6 How Bumblebee Lost His Voice
As 2018's Bumblebee reveals in its opening arc, B-127 crash lands in California after Optimus Prime sends him on a scouting mission to planet Earth. Unfortunately for B-127, Blitzwing ambushes him before he can proceed with his mission and forces him to reveal Optimus Prime's whereabouts. When B-127 refuses to comply, Blitzwing ruthlessly rips out Bumblebee's voice box, destroying his ability to speak and damaging his memory. Before collapsing from his injuries, Bumblebee kills Blitzwing in the nick of time and transforms into a 1967 yellow Volkswagen Beetle.
With what follows, Bumblebee gets to experience the good in humanity after meeting Charlie. Although the Autobot cannot directly talk without its voice box, he creatively interacts with Charlie through his radio. Even in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Bumblebee does not re-acquire his voice, although it is possible that the Energon twist fixed his voice.
5 Bumblebee Got A New Voice Actor
Mark Ryan voiced Bumblebee in Michael Bay's first Transformers movie. In the sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, he returned to voice both Bumblebee and Jetfire. The voice actor continued his work in the movie franchise by voicing Bumblebee in Transformers: Dark of the Moon and both Bumblebee and Lockdown in Transformers: Age of Extinction. 2018's Bumblebee changed this trend by featuring Dylan O'Brien as Bumblebee's voice. Unfortunately, his role was short-lived since Bumblebee lost his voice soon after the War For Cybertron prologue of 2018's Bumblebee.
4 Bumblebee Died Fighting Scourge
In Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' opening arc, a fierce battle ensues when Scourge and Unicron's other Terrorcon minions try to acquire the Transwarp key from the Autobots. Before sending him to Earth to hunt down the Transwarp key, Unicron increases Scourge's power levels, which allows him to easily overpower the Autobots. Bumblebee tries to save the day by sneakily attacking Scourge from behind, but Scourge stays one step ahead of Bumblebee and stabs him before he can attack him. Scourge then proceeds to electrocute him to completely shut him off. Shocked by B-127's sudden death, Prime looks at his lifeless body and says, "This cannot be."
This event later becomes a catalyst that infuriates Optimus Prime, bringing out the worst in him in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. In contrast, Michael Bay's Transformers movies do not feature Bumblebee's death as a part of their storylines. Optimus Prime dies in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, but the circumstances of his death are entirely different from that of Bumblebee in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
3 Bumblebee's History On Earth Is Different
2018's Bumblebee also retcons the yellow Autbot's history on planet Earth by highlighting how he arrived at the planet as a scout. When the War for Cybertron nearly pushed the Autobots to the brink of losing against the Decepticons, Optimus Prime led an operation to evacuate the planet. As 2018's Bumblebee reveals, B-127 was the first Autobot to be sent out of Cybertron in an escape pod because Prime expected him to set base operations on planet Earth. Unfortunately, Bumblebee's mission did not go as planned after he crash-landed in California and eventually lost his voice and memory.
2 Bumblebee Got An Energon Resurrection
In Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Sam Witwicky uses the Matrix of Leadership to bring Optimus Prime back to life. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts introduces a new way to revive Autobots by showing how Bumblebee gets resurrected through Energon ores on planet Earth. In Transformers 7's final arc, an energy pulse from the Transwarp key activates Earth's latent Energon sources. Since Bumblebee happens to be lying on one of these activated Energon ores, he gets powered by the Cybertronian fuel and returns from the dead.
1 Bumblebee Upgraded To An Off-Road Camaro
The Energon burst not only resurrects Bumblebee but also brings some new upgrades to his transformation. For instance, towards Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' ending, Bumblebee transforms into an off-road Camaro, sporting a rigid crash bar, elevated suspension, and a steel roll cage. This scene proves that the Energon source on planet Earth in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is one of the rarest forms of the fuel, capable of reviving Cybertronians and triggering significant changes in their transformations.
