Dear Vector Prime, after events of IDW continuity and Optimus Prime #25, when Unicron was destroyed by Talisman and Cybertronians came to live on the Earth, what became of Bumblebee? Did he have further adventures, influence in integration, or easy life? And what did Starscream's ghost, who we saw conversing with BB, get up to now as disembodied wraith?
Dear Bumblebee Buddy,
As the Cybertronian race attempted to start anew, Bumblebee found new purpose as the first-ever Cybertronian ambassador on the Galactic Council, where he represented both his adopted homeworld of Earth and the population of New Cybertron. This is not to say that the Galactic Council took his appointment lightly, however: multiple planetary, delegations nearly walked out in protest when he became the first-ever mechanoid to join the Council, and he narrowly avoided several assassination attempts on the part of some particularly disgruntled anti-Cybertronian extremists. But Bumblebee always had a knack for making new friends, and had learned much from his time as Starscream’s impromptu consultant during his tenure in infraspace, so it didn’t take long before his upbeat attitude, jovial nature, and a knack for political cunning made him a well-respected member of the Council. Eventually, Bumblebee pushed for internal reform aimed at dismantling the institutional prejudices that the Council had cultivated too long—and when the open hand didn’t work, a species that measures time in eons can filibuster like none other. Before long, the Galactic Council welcomed the Catharsians to the Council, then the Chromites and the Elpasos.
When not representing the Cybertronian race off-world or touring different planets, Bumblebee was fond of visiting the developing city of Little Cybertron on Earth, where he would frequently check in with the new sparks that continued to grow from the hot spot that had once belonged to Trypticon. In particular, he took a shine to one little blue ‘bot under Arcee’s tutelage, who in turn grew to eagerly await his visits to Earth.
As for Starscream… the magic of the Talisman is not something that I am well-acquainted with, and his ultimate fate remains uncertain even to one such as I. It might be that an “echo” of Starscream’s personality persisted in Bumblebee’s consciousness as a result of their shared time together in infraspace, or perhaps the Talisman’s power really did preserve Starscream in some ethereal form. Certainly, Bumblebee could sometimes display a surprising amount of ruthlessness on the Council floor that was otherwise at odds with his gregarious nature.