Cannon, Zander
AVERAGE REVIEWS SCORE:
4 out of 5
(1 book)
The Transformers: Bumblebee
(Art by Chee)
In the aftermath of the devastating war between Autobot and Decepticon on Earth, Optimus Prime and Hot Rod have left and Bumblebee has been elected as the unlikely leader of the remaining Autobots. Trying to rehabilitate their relationship with humanity, Bumblebee agrees to an alliance with a Colonel of Skywatch but soon discovers that the human military organisation is more intent on controlling the Autobots than working with them. With faith in his leadership failing, Bumblebee must risk his life to free the Autobots from human control and to defeat the rogue Decepticon Skywarp.
One of the most interesting aspects of this book was that I, a lifelong fan of Bumblebee, had the initial reaction to him being leader of the Autobots of 'Seriously? Bumblebee!?'. That is absolutely in-keeping with the themes of the book though, as the Autobots who've been friends with him for millennia also doubt his ability to lead. What I really enjoyed was that this book is a coming-of-age style story in which Bumblebee learns to be true to his own values and beliefs rather than trying to live up to the ideal set by the likes of Optimus Prime. It's a little cliche, sure, but sometimes recurring tropes are just that because they continue to resonate.
The only downside here was at the very end where Bumblebee gets a makeover to bring his look more in line with the Camaro seen in Michael Bay's (increasingly terrible) Transformers movies. It's not that I hate the Camaro version (although the classic VW is still better in my opinion), so much as the fact that it feels like a little bit of a betrayal of the journey the character goes on through the book. The fact that he's small and his car version is not hugely impressive but he's still worthy of being the leader is the book's key theme and the introduction of the updated look feels like pandering to brand cohesion with the movies at the expense of that theme.
4 out of 5
Collaborations & Anthologies:
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Ghosts (here)