IDW - Bumblebee

Characters

Autobot

Bumblebee - Sports Car (Former VW Beetle)

Ratchet - Ambulance

Wheeljack - Race Car

Cliffjumper - Sports Car

Hound - Military Jeep

Blurr - Cybertronian Race Car

Bluestreak - Sports Car

Drift - Race Car

Jazz - Sports Car

Sideswipe - Lamborghini Gallardo

Blaster

Roadbuster

Omega Supreme - Rocket, Base and Tank

Optimus Prime - Truck Cab (Mentioned) Surrendered to Skywatch

Hot Rod - Sports Car (Mentioned)

Ultra Magnus - Car Carrier (Mentioned)

Prowl - Police Car (Mentioned)

Red Alert - Lamborghini Gallardo Emergency Vehicle (Mentioned)

Trailbreaker - Camper Van (Mentioned)

Decepticon

Skywarp - F-15 Jet Injured by Pulse

Frenzy - Cassette Captured by Autobots/Skywatch

Cindersaur (Monitor Only) Captured by Autobots/Skywatch

Axer (Monitor Only) Captured by Autobots/Skywatch

Cutcruncher (Monitor Only) Captured by Autobots/Skywatch

Squawkbox (Monitor Only) Captured by Autobots/Skywatch

Scavenger - Excavator

Devastator - Constructicon Gestalt (Mentioned)

Megatron - Gun (Mentioned)

Human

Colonel Gordon Horiuchi

Lieutenant Daniel Klonowski

Lieutenant Larsen

Collins

Sanjay Bharwaney

Serena Bharwaney

Swati (Bharwaney Housekeeper)

Lopez (Mentioned, at Phillips Base) Killed by Skywarp

Skywatch Personnel

Storyline

The Autobots are cheering for their new leader, Bumblebee, but he's not exactly happy with his new role, Ratchet tries to reassure him that he's the right choice, but he doesn't really believe it. Elsewhere Skywarp has just attacked a Skywatch outpost and killed the humans inside it, he then warps away for a new location. Wheeljack's monitoring some radio signals when he picks up on a message from Colonel Horiuchi asking to meet with an Autobot. Wheeljack makes contact. Bumblebee is told about the contact later and he's disappointed and doesn't know what to do next, but Wheeljack says that he has to make the decision as commander.

Skywarp warps to a storage unit that he's been hiding at and sits amongst the various weapons and warheads he's been collecting since he was left on Earth and waits for Megatron to return for him. Bumblebee agrees to meet with Horiuchi in the desert and they make an agreement, Bumblebee and the Autobots will help him hunt down rogue Transformers in exchange for being left alone, Bumblebee is given a set of special Skywatch badges to give to the others and they start wearing them.

Some days later the Autobots track down and capture a lost Frenzy who has been slaughtering cattle since he's been separated from Soundwave, during the mission the Autobots realise that the badges are recording their words, which starts to unnerve them. Back at the base the Autobots look over their recent captures and Horiuchi tells them that their new target is Blurr (after he ran away from Skywatch in For All Mankind). When they at first refuse, Horiuchi reveals that the badges also act as a suppressor as well, and he forces Cliffjumper into his vehicle mode. The Autobots are forced to agree to take down Blurr.

Blurr is speeding along the desert trying to signal out to Hot Rod when he runs into Bumblebee who tries to get him to surrender to him, Blurr refuses it and tries to make him see how stupid he's being, Bumblebee doesn't listen, and Blurr draws his gun on him and shoots him in his chest, hitting the badge. Ratchet checks up on him and says that he's fine whilst the others capture Blurr and put him in mode lock. Later Horiuchi calls the Autobots and asks why they haven't given Blurr over to him yet, and Bumblebee says that he won't give an Autobot over to him. Horiuchi tries to use the badge's suppressor to force him into a car, but the badge stops working, Ratchet realises this before Bumblebee and tells him to play along, and to pretend to be stuck in that mode, the Colonel says he'll come to the base tomorrow morning to see about getting him fixed.

Once the screen is off Bumblebee transforms and tries to get Ratchet to explain the rest of the plan, but no one's talking. Bumblebee realises that it's because the badges will record them but not him. Skywarp is starting to lose it and sets up a communications relay to try and make contact with Megatron and the others. Blurr has been freed and sent out to find a car the same make and colour as Bumblebee's alternate mode and he finds one and returns it to base.

Back at base Bumblebee gathers his team and says that he's going out to try and get rid of the badges and free them from Skywatch's control, and tears off his own defective badge. Bumblebee drives off, Ratchet sets up the fake Bumblebee with his now removed badge and he starts sending text messages t Wheeljack and the others as they aren't able to be traced as easily and just look like junk data. Bumblebee is told that the badges have a supply of stable Darkstadium in it, which is very rare, so if he locates some then he'll be closer to finding a remedy.

Whilst looking Bumblebee finds Scavenger hiding on a work site, he confronts the Decepticon and tries to get him to help him out by not just hiding, but trying to help humans, but the Decepticon attacks him. Some humans hear the attack and start running towards it, Scavenger transforms back to his excavator mode and hides and Bumblebee speeds off before he's found.

Horiuchi and his team arrive at the Autobot base and they analyse Bumblebee, but even replacing his badge doesn't repair him, they decide that Bumblebee must be dead and Horiuchi tells Ratchet that he's in charge now. Wheeljack reports the success of the trick to Bumblebee and tells him that someone connected to Skywatch and Darkstadium is Sanjay Bharwaney and he should follow him for more information. Whilst tailing him he starts to befriend his daughter from a distance.

The Autobots hold a fake meeting whilst communicating with each other in secret via text when Ratchet slips up a bit and Klonowski notices it (as he's monitoring their communications) and starts to look into it. Bumblebee makes contact with Sanjay's daughter, Serena and the two start to talk.

Back at Skywatch, Klonowski finally realises that they've been using text messages to communicate and breaks their code, and of course that Bumblebee is out in the world rather than stuck in the cave. Bumblebee asks Serena to get her father's computer for him, so he can use the schematics on it to stop the badges, and she does so. Bumblebee sends a message to the others and says that he feels bad about using the girls to get the computer, they tell him that it's a necessary evil, and reminds him that he and Blurr have to be out of range when it goes off as all non-badged Transformers will be badly hurt by the pulse. Bumblebee says he will, but it still feels wrong to use Serena like this. Klonowski continues to watch the text conversation and begins to rethink his thoughts on the Autobots.

Skywarp attacks the Skywatch Phillips Base and finds out that the information he wants to get is only on a remote computer, Sanjay's. Serena brings the computer to Bumblebee who sends the schematics on it to Wheeljack but Ratchet tells him that the computer has several tracking chips in it that'll alert all of Skywatch if they try to move anything from it. Bumblebee tells Ratchet to explain how to hack it from there, and then Wheeljack finishes telling him (as Rtachet doesn't know the finer points).

Bumblebee sets up the computer to disable all the badges and has just 15 minutes to get to a safe distance, he returns the computer to Serena and drives off just as Sanjay returns home, unaware that Skywarp is in the sky above the house.

Whilst on the way home Bumblebee learns that Skywarp has arrived in Serena's house's area and turns around to rescue her, the Autobots try to stop him over the comms, but he ignores them. Back at their house Serena and Sanjay are upt o their usual business when Skywarp appears in their garden. Horiuchi is being chewed out at by the Skywatch higher ups for his unit's lack of results and the expense of their operations when Larsen walks in and tells the Colonel about how Bumblebee is out and about.

Sanjay and Serena run away from Skywarp and Bumblebee picks them up, with Sanjay being scared about being inside one of the aliens, and he realises that Skywarp is after the computer. Bumblebee transforms and holds the humans in his chest cavity whilst hiding from Skywarp. Sanjay goes to activate the pulse that will deactivate all the badges and injure the unprotected Transformers (Skywarp and Bumblebee) by Serena begs him not to hurt her friend. The Autobots contact Bumblebee and tell him they're on the way to save him from Skywarp.

Bumblebee lets out Sanjay and Serena and tells them to hide whilst he confronts Skywarp when Klonowski appears and attacks the Decepticon with one of Skywatch's special weapons. Bumblebee tries to get away out of range but Skywarp warps in front of him, then the signal goes out and knocks out the two Transformers and disables all the Skywatch badges.

Later Klonowski is hanging out with the Autobots in their base where he explains to Ratchet that he's being made the scape goat for Horiuchi and that he's been fired, but with a large cash settlement as well and he leaves. Bumblebee then rolls out in his newly fixed, and larger body and prepares the team for a mission.

Notes

• Bluestreak can be seen in the crowd cheering for Bumblebee, since Silverstreak was seen already with Hot Rod's team (they're the same guy in most series') it can be assumed that they're separate characters here.
• Despite starting his escape run in an Earth mode, Blurr has regressed to having a Cybertronian alternate mode again here, whilst in the real world it can be assumed that this was just due to a lack of communication between the two series writers on this matter, in fiction it could be explained as being a transitional form whilst Blurr looks for a new alternate mode so he can go into hiding again
• For some reason the Skywatch badges can record the voices of the robots wearing them, but not any around them....
• Scavenger repainted himself to a normal colour rather than the bright green seen in All Hail Megatron.
• Scavenger's articulation seems are visible to Bumblebee.
• Oh if only Bumblebee could have just died....
• Blurr's super fast voice is seen here for the first time, this implies that his voice only goes fast when he's using his super speed.
• Despite being injured here Skywarp is later seen with the Decepticons, as is the captured Frenzy...

My Thoughts

Art

This comic is in the same art style as two of the Coda stories, Uneasy Lies the Head and Hidden...I'm not a fan of it, it looks too murky and isn't that attractive at all. Seriously, the movie-based G1 designs would have been better...

Story

This story just explains why Bumblebee goes from his normal G1 Alternate mode and into his movie-based one, and also shows how poor a choice for leader Bumblebee was as well.

Continuity

This story is set just after Bumblebee is named the new Autobot commander and before Ultra Magnus returns to base and conscripts the Autobots into helping him take in Hot Rod's team.

Other

The character models here tend to use the G1 cartoon character models rather than the established G1 ones.