Origin
There isn’t much that is known about Rumblebee’s origin, besides that he was once an ordinary human mercenary named Krewston Carpenter. Through some unknown means of genetic and cybernetic enhancement, Carpenter was transformed into Rumblebee.
After his transformation, he was made into a member of a criminal group called The Hive, of which he was a notable member for his string of successful missions, and for being able to face CyberFrog and live.
Creation
Rumblebee was created to introduce a recurring enemy for CyberFrog to fight against. A bee specifically was chosen, since in real life most frogs are unable to eat bees, making for a more formidable than usual opponent for the amphibian hero to face. While he doesn’t have many wins to his name, Rumblebee makes up for it with sheer tenacity and a hatred for all things green and croaking.
Character Evolution
Personality
As a mercenary, Rumblebee fits the bill nicely. He strikes a perfect balance between violent diplomacy, cruel negotiation, bitter rumination, overwhelming force, undying determination, unstoppable grit, and a cold, unmerciful hatred for anyone who opposes him, whether that hatred is grounded in reality or not.
When it comes to most problems, Rumblebee prefers to deal with them with excessive violence. Unlike CyberFrog who utilizes his violent nature to protect others, Rumblebee is indiscriminate about who he kills in the line of duty. Besides breaking, destroying, killing, maiming, injuring, crippling, and outright obliterating.
Respect for others is minimal. His only loyalty is to anyone who is paying him. Anyone else who he may be working with is only there by incident, leaving him to treat them like they are beneath him. It is his enemies who he disrespects the most, holding them in no esteem no matter how much of a match they may be for him. The more powerful the opponent, the more he only thinks of them as an obstacle between him and getting paid.
Strangely, he has a habit of talking like a pirate. It’s not known where he got that from.
Appearance
A terrifying mix of man and bee. Very little of Rumblebee’s humanity remains, appearing mostly as a bee. All that remains of his human appearance is his upright, bipedal posture. Besides that, he is completely vespine in appearance, complete with enormous, purple compound eyes, four arms, and a disproportionately large abdomen with a retractable stinger. In another way that makes him similar to CyberFrog, his eyes are luminous and their brightness will change intensity depending on his mood.
He wears very little clothing, but his body is mostly covered by red armor. The armor itself was redesigned to be covered in silver spikes by the time he appeared in Blood Honey, which would prevent him from wearing much in way of clothing in the first place. Besides his armor, various cybernetic implants can be seen along his body, particularly on his back.
Harris Comics
The first time that he appeared in CyberFrog comics was somewhere around the middle of its original run in the 1990’s. It was there that he was firmly established as an enemy of CyberFrog, and as hired muscle for a criminal syndicate. What else was established was his ability to face down CyberFrog as a near equal in combat.
Sadly, this would be his only appearance in the original run of CyberFrog, as the comics ended abruptly only a few issues later. But there would be hope to see him again.
ALL CAPS COMICS
After the soft reboot of the CyberFrog comics, Rumblebee’s role remains very much the same. He is still an enemy of CyberFrog, but now has animosity toward Salamandroid as well, who had become an active member of CyberFrog’s crime fighting team by then. However, his powers and abilities had been slightly expanded upon, leading to him becoming a bigger threat than he was before.
What didn’t change was his unending hate for CyberFrog, his low opinion of everyone and everything, and his potential to become a major threat. However, bigger threats than him presented themselves in the form of bigger, badder bees from outer space.
Major Story Arcs
Reservoir Frog
Rumblebee makes his debut appearance in Reservoir Frog, ambushing a runaway from Traffik named Yoshi Leng. Leng had planned to skip town and end his life as a gang member, without repaying a debt to the leader of a rival gang, but Rumblebee had been sent to collect both Leng’s money and his life. It was only the timely arrival of CyberFrog that saved the young man’s life. After a brief skirmish where most of his men were killed, Rumblebee retreated to The Hive. But he wasn’t done with CyberFrog yet.
Later on, Rumblebee demonstrated his knack for ambush by attacking CyberFrog at his own hideout, where he proved himself to be a more potent threat than previously thought.
Vyzpzz Invasion
Rumblebee makes his grand return in Blood Honey. By some unknown means, Rumblebee has obtained an explosive device with enough power to level a city block. On his way to deliver it to Skorpeone, whose employ he remained under since the reboot, his effort was thwarted by CyberFrog and Salamandroid. A skirmish with the two renders his plan nearly a failure, but the sudden appearance of the Vyzpzz waylay his fight with the amphibians.
During the beginning of the Vyzpzz invasion, he tries to run and hide so that he may save his own life, leaving his enemies to destroy one another, as well as the explosive he was supposed to deliver. But he may still be out there somewhere.
Powers
Unlike his two amphibian adversaries, Rumblebee’s powers do not come from an alien source. He is instead the result of some unknown technological fusion between a human and a bumblebee with cybernetic enhancements.
Super Strength
Rumblebee has shown tremendous strength by being able to fight CyberFrog and Salamandroid directly.
Flight
Through a form of projected ‘laser wings’ from his back, Rumblebee is able to fly.
Super Speed
During flight, Rumblebee is able to reach speeds up to three hundred miles per hour.
Paraphernalia
In addition to his powers, Rumblebee has some gear that he is never without in order to make him even more dangerous.
Stinger Blaster
Rumblebee is equipped at all times with his favorite weapon. Seeming to fire only by his biometric signature, it is capable of firing a stream of unknown energy that is able to melt through steel in seconds. Even CyberFrog and Salamandroid are barely able to withstand the force of this weapon.
Clones
Rumblebee’s additional muscle, the Pollen-8. Their name comes from how there are never more than eight of them seen at a time. Whether Rumblebee is able to produce them from his own body or if they are created separately from him is unknown. What is known is that they follow his orders without question, and while they are physically weaker than the original Rumblebee, they are a threat in numbers.