The Transformers are returning to comics, giving the new creative team the perfect opportunity to reject one major character aspect from the Michael Bay movies: the voice of Bumblebee. Having recently acquired the Transformers license from Hasbro, Robert Kirkman and Skybound Entertainment's upcoming Transformers #1 should reintroduce a more classic version of Bumblebee.
Transformers #1, by writer/artist Daniel Warren Johnson, will launch the new Energon Universe shared continuity, featuring Transformers and G.I. Joe, also acquired from Hasbro by Skybound. The new series will find the Autobots and Decepticons arriving on Earth and restarting the Cybertronian War, with the G.I. Joe and Cobra organizations getting involved as well.
Transformers Should Nix With Bumblebee’s Radio Voice
Skybound Entertainment recently revealed the line-up of Autobots who will appear in Transformers #1, and curiously, franchise mainstay Bumblebee is absent. While it appears Daniel Warren Johnson will focus on other Autobots to start his Transformers run, it is inevitable Bumblebee shows up in the new continuity. When he does, hopefully the creators take the opportunity to do away with the character's Bay-verse affectation, where Bee can only communicate through audio clips pulled from the radio. The trait originated in the first movie, where Bumblebee’s voice box was damaged in battle. Though it was fixed by film's end, the filmmakers loved the joke, and Bee communicated that way for the rest of the series.
Bay's Bumblebee Is Better Suited For The Screen
Bumblebee speaking through the radio was a fun idea for the movies, but it is something that will be difficult to translate to the comic book medium. Further, the movies mined everything that can seemingly be done with the joke – given that Robert Kirkman and Skybound Entertainment are establishing a new Transformers continuity, now is the perfect time to return to a more classic, comic book version of Bumblebee. Bee's radio voice was an invention that helped bring a distinct version of the Autobot to the screen, which in turn helped the franchise establish itself as a major pop culture phenomenon, introducing Transformers to a new generation of moviegoers.
Now, Skybound has an opportunity to do the same with a new generation of Transformers comic book readers. It is possible to honor the legacy of the films while standing as its own separate canon, exploring its own fresh ideas about the franchise. It appears the new series will lean heavily on the classic, G1-era of Transformers for inspiration. It is likely that their Bumblebee, whenever he is introduced, will be closer to that version of the character than the one depicted throughout the Michael Bay films. With the Transformers set to make their grand return to comics, hopefully Daniel Warren Johnson and Skybound will forge their own path in developing Bumblebee.
Transformers #1 is available Oct. 4, 2023 from Skybound Entertainment.