Bumper (G1)

The name or term Bumper refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Bumper (disambiguation).

Bumper is an Autobot from the Generation One continuity family.

I have a name!

Bumper is a young and inexperienced Autobot, new to the war, but eager to do his part against the Decepticons. He is in the interesting position of looking up to Bumblebee, which makes Bumblebee feel more awkward than normal. Bumper may not have much of a history so far, but his determination and flashes of courage and brilliance may take him far.

Fiction

Dreamwave comics continuity

Bumper was part of the crew of the shuttle Orion, under the command of Bumblebee. The ship was sent to Earth from Cybertron after Shockwave was overthrown to bring news and supplies to the Autobots left on the human planet after Prime and the others were taken back home. Night of the Combaticons Bumper was part of the party that attacked Sunstorm in order to attach an inhibitor to him so it could drain the vast energies Sunstorm produced. Skyfire

Later, he and Warpath were sent to retrieve several Autobots that Starscream had previously deactivated and "stored" at the bottom of a lake. They were interrupted by a heavily-armed platoon of EDC troops under the command of Marissa Faireborn, who took them and the deactivated Autobots to a secret base, reactivating them. The EDC needed the Autobots' help to investigate the disappearance of an entire town of people in San Desto, California. The Omega Effect {{ Atonement

Bumper was part of the squad sent in to San Desto, instantly earning the disdain of Sunstreaker, but Sunstreaker thinks that way about everyone. Bumper took a squad of EDC troopers into a movie theater to investigate, but was captured by the Insecticons. When they left to take care of their new breed of Insecticlones, Bumper managed to break free and took a cerebro-shell. Freeing the captured Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, Bumper then used the taken cerebro-shell to attack Bombshell and shut down the Insecticlones, and halt the advance of the controlled citizens of San Desto. Infestation Extermination

Note: It is possible that Bumper's heroism was not all it seemed—Bombshell was shown to be tinkering with his head, his escape was so convenient that it could well have been engineered, and the last panel of the comic hints that there is a traitor within the group (a prominent car registration plate reads "TR8R-1"). However, any future stories in which this might have been explored were precluded by Dreamwave's closure.

IDW comics continuity

Oh, like you live in a mansion.

Before the war, Bumper was part of stakeout team Panorama 3 along with Fastback. They had the bad luck to be the ones who hit the right location for Megatron's next illegal pit-fight, and the worse luck to be witnesses to his first fateful meeting with Soundwave. Their transmissions were jammed, and they were captured, interrogated, and killed in rather short order. Megatron Origin issue 2

They were given a fairly elaborate and rather well-attended funeral. They rated Alpha Trion's attendance, apparently. Megatron Origin issue 3

Despite his death, his name was somehow listed as a choice for an Autobot mission. Wheelie got the nod instead. Spotlight: Wheelie

Toys

Generation One

• "Bumper" (Mini Vehicle, 1984)

Not Hubcap.

The toy that has come to be known as "Bumper" or "Bumblejumper" has never had an official Transformer release from either Hasbro or Takara. Originally a mold from Takara's pre-Transformers Microman Microchange line, the yellow version of the "MC-04 Mini CAR Robo 02 Familia 1500XG" mold appeared on Cliffjumper cards in 1984 (it's not impossible that he was also available on Bumblebee cards, but to this day, no packaged example has surfaced). How this toy came to be released in this manner has yet to be determined, and it's highly likely the mystery may never be solved, although a few factors point to this toy being intended for a Transformers release by Hasbro.

For years, the toy was referred to as "Bumblejumper" by fans, a portmanteau of "Bumblebee" and "Cliffjumper", since he was believed to have been packaged on the cards for both of those Minicars. In the early 1990s, the shortened and more Transformers-like name "Bumper" began to propagate through the fandom. The name was made "official" for the toy when it was used in the first issue of Dreamwave's on-going Transformers comic in 2004.

The only official Transformers releases of the mold were the versions released by Estrela in Brazil. It was known simply as "Sedan" and was cast in four color schemes, first two as the "Robocar" Sedan, then two more as the heroic "Optimus" Sedan.

The alternate mode for this figure is a Choro-Q version of a Mazda Familia.

External links

• Brazilian "White" Bumblejumper at STA, with Sedan's card art and Tech Specs.

• Comparison chart of MC-02, Bumblejumper, and Sedan at Minitropolis

• Bumper at TFU.info

• Bumblejumper at Cliffbee.com