Revenge of the Fallen Bumblebee (Human Alliance)

Robot Mode: At first glance and without anything to judge his scale by, Bumblebee appears as yet another of the countless Deluxe-sized variations we've seen of the yellow Autobot during the last three years. Then you notice, though, that he's a bit bigger and more detailed as well. Then you're distracted by the urge to squash that annoying little human boy he's got with him, before you realize it's just a toy and that it comes with BB as an add-on, but I digress

Human Alliance BB isn't exactly a revolutionary new concept, but he is definitely an improvement over the run-of-the-mill Deluxe BBs we've seen in the Movie lines so far. He's very posable, very detailed, and offers but very few grounds for complaint. The resemblance to the on-screen character is very good, too. The only thing that is somewhat detrimental to his look is the fact that he's got car seats on his arms. Wouldn't be so bad if you could fold down the backs, but you can't. So BB is stuck with seats on his arm. Not a deal breaker, but somewhat annoying for being pretty much the sole blemish on an otherwise very nice figure.

BB has acquired quite a few weapons in this incarnation. Apart from his usual arm cannon, he has a missile launcher on each arm, a double cannon that flips out from the seat on his left arm and another cannon that flips up behind his head. Also, he's got a missile launcher that flips out over his right shoulder and can be manned by Sam (see the picture below, as I missed that the first time around). As an additional feature BB can flip down his battle mask when he prepares to go into combat. Personally I'd have liked for BB to have a second hand that could somehow be folded away or hidden when he activates his arm cannon, because his sole hand is pretty well done and would really deserve a counterpart. I've seen custom versions of this figure where a second hand was attached and those look damn fine.

What else can I write here? I guess I'm a bit prejudiced here, because after about twenty BBs I'm rather sick of the look of this character, but I'll still admit that he is portrayed pretty well here and except for the thing with the car seats on his arms there is nothing really wrong with his robot mode. If he'd gotten a second hand, I'd have overlooked the thing with the car seats, too. As things stand, still a very nice robot mode.

Vehicle Mode: Not a big surprise here, BB still turns into the Camaro concept car we've seen in both movies and the transformation is mostly the same, too, just a tad more complicated as there are more parts and panels to align, but not much. The car is a bit bigger here, about Alternator size, but the look doesn't really differ much from the various Deluxe-class versions except for some minor details. On the outside, that is. The main difference is, of course, that Human Alliance BB has an actual interior where his buddy Sam can take a seat.

Both doors open and BB has two individual seats where Sam (or any other Human Alliance figure for that matter) can fit. The figure is fixed in place by a small knob that plugs into its back and Sam can take the steering wheel in hand or pretend to manipulate any of the sculpted details on the dashboard. No rear seats, of course, as the robot legs have to go somewhere, but still: A very nice car interior. The only slight flaw here is that you can see BB's robot fingers just behind the driver's seat, but that's just a little thing and not worth deducting points for. So overall a very nice car mode.

Partner: Who else would be Bumblebee's Human Alliance partner than Sam Witwicky, of course. This is the first time Sam/Spike Witwicky has been incarnated (officially, at least) in toy form since 1987, where he served as Headmaster for Cerebros/Fortress Maximus. This Witwicky boy here looks fully human, though, and for some reason I really like the look on his face. The sculpt displays a perfect mixture of panic and cluelessness (dull surprise?) that is very fitting, considering the limited range of emotions Shia the Beef displayed in the second movie.

The figure is very posable for its size and can take up various positions on BB in robot mode, either sitting in one of the chairs on BB's arms (which looks pretty stupid) or behind his shoulder. BB can also have him standing in his palm, which is fun somehow. So all in all a good partner figure for BB. No complaints.

Remarks: Due to the fact that Bumblebee is very much overrepresented in the ROTF toyline (nearly every tenth figure and about half of the merchandise articles are BB, no kidding) and my dislike of the portrayal of Sam Witwicky in the second movie, I was very much predetermined to hate this version of Bumblebee. As a matter of fact I originally didn't want to buy him at all. Well, I still didn't buy him, but I got him as a Christmas present from my sister-in-law and her husband. And I must admit, I like this figure. I'm not madly in love with it (unlike some other people I know), but I like him. The robot is very cool, if a bit overloaded with weaponry. The car mode is pretty much flawless and I like the Human Alliance gimmick of having actual drivers along. So what I'm saying is: Thumbs up. Not all the way up, but up.

Rating: B+

Update 2010-05-21: During the first picture session I missed the fact that BB can flip out a missile launcher over his right shoulder. I've added a picture to prove it.

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