Studio Series Gamer Edition Bumblebee (Reactivate)

*They can cancel the game, but not the Bee!*

Series: Studio Series Gamer Edition
Year: 2024
Allegiance: Autobot
Class: Deluxe

Prelude: Remember that Transformers Reactivate game? Previously known as Transformers Rise? Yeah, it’s still cancelled. That cannot stop Bumblebee, however, for Bumblebee is eternal. Games may be cancelled, civilizations may fall, worlds may crumble, but Bumblebee remains. So here is Studio Series Bumblebee as he might have looked like in the Transformers Reactivate game. Let’s say go!

Robot Mode: The first thing I thought when I saw this robot mode was, G1 Bumblebee is now all grown up. The figure certainly has a certain G1 flair to it, mostly the head design, but it’s a far cry from the bumbling Mini-Bot of yore. Bumblebee looks big, strong, and pissed off. Kind of like you’d expect someone to look who woke up to find his adopted home world destroyed and conquered after taking a long nap. Certain elements of live-action Bumblebee are also present, of course, such as the door wings and the detailed look, so I guess we can call it an amalgam of Bumblebee’s most famous looks.

The figure’s articulation is as good as you’d expect from a modern day Studio Series figure, meaning very good. The only limitation is that Bumblebee cannot swivel his hips. Not sure why they didn’t include a joint there, maybe the budget ran out. It doesn’t hinder the figure much, he can still pull of all sorts of cool poses, but it was a bit of surprise.

In terms of weapons Bumblebee carries two blasters, kind of looking like miniature machine guns, which he can hold in his hands and also mount on either side of his head. As much as I love shoulder guns, though, I don’t like how they look there, so I’ll keep them in his hands. If he has to put them away, he can store them on the underside of his forearms, where they stay for the transformation, too.

To sum it up for the robot mode: surprisingly cool looking, nicely detailed, and with a certain bad-ass air to it. Only the non-twisting hip is a minor point against him.

Alternate Mode: Bumblebee transforms into a car that might have been a Volkswagen Beetle or a similar car in a previous life, before it was extensively modified for the Mad-Max-esque environment that would have been the state for the Reactivate game. The transformation is complex without being difficult and – as seems to be the new norm for Bumblebee figures – there is a visible head on the underside.

The car has a powerful-looking engine peeking out the back, protective panels across the windscreen, a big spoiler, and elevated headlights, everything you need to drive around in a post-apocalyptic world. The robot’s two guns can be mounted on the hood if you want, otherwise they can be stored on the car’s underside. The tires have actual rims, something you don’t see often these days, and the detail work is very good overall. There is a sculpted Autobot symbol on the front as well as on the back and you can even open the doors if you want, though there is no real interior to the car.

So bottom line: a surprisingly detailed and cool looking car mode, which I find myself liking a lot more than I expected to.

Remarks: The story of the cancelled Reactivate game is pretty long and full of hearsay and rumors, we’ll probably never know how it all went down. All we know is that, after the initial announcement, the game was stuck in development hell for years. As a matter of fact, it became a running joke in our German-language Transformers podcast, where every new announcement inevitably led to the question “you think it’ll come out before or after Reactivate?”

To be honest this toy was more of an impulse buy than anything else, as we had just toured through three different toy shops with nothing but Transformers One merchandise and this was the only figure I had the barest inkling of an interest in. As it turned out, though, I find myself liking it a lot. It’s probably the best Bumblebee figure I’ve had in hand since… well, since Legacy Animated Bee who came out the same year, but you get what I’m saying, I’m sure.

So bottom line: an excellent figure and the whole mystique around the whole Reactivate thing probably adds a little something extra to it, too.

Rating: A-