Bob (IDW)

Bob is an adorable abomination of science from the IDW portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

PLUSH TOY. Are you listening, Hasbro?

Bob is a docile member of the Insecticon swarm which ravaged Cybertron.

He is Sunstreaker's kitty.

Fiction

2005 IDW continuity

It's a Bob's life.

On Cybertron, Sunstreaker found Bob wandering alone away from the swarm and trained him to sniff out other Insecticons for him and Ironhide.

The trio later met up with Hot Rod and Wheelie. Bob was introduced to the surprised Hot Rod, and Sunstreaker explained how he adopted the Insecticon. During the explanation, Bob wriggled down and took a happy good-dog nap. It was adorable. Hot Rod was faintly nauseated.

Bob tagged along with the group when they left Cybertron for Earth to escape Galvatron and his army. Out of the Silent Planet

Sunstreaker brought Bob with him when the Autobots departed for Cybertron, much to Red Alert's chagrin. Orphans of the Helix

Bug v. Cat: Dusk of Redemption

Later on the flight to Cybertron when the other Autobots were being jerks to Sunstreaker, Bob, sensing his owner's sadness, kept him company. Sunstreaker petted him and he purred happily. It was even more adorable. Upon arrival, Bob was part of the landing party sent down to Cybertron, where he helped his owner fight Sweeps. Lamentations He later saved Sunstreaker from an attack by Ravage. Kings

Bob accompanied his owner on board the Lost Light, and sat contentedly beside him in Swerve's bar. Life After the Big Bang Sunstreaker took him with him to an award ceremony honoring the efforts of Chromedome, Brainstorm, and Highbrow. The Reluctant Specialist Shortly after that, he and Sunstreaker accompanied Hoist, Swerve, and Perceptor on a routine mission to scavenge materiel from an abandoned Decepticon outpost, but wound up crashing on Deimus, a planet protected by a phobia shield. This caused Bob's worst fears to be realised in the form of the Titan Metroplex, who promptly destroyed their shuttle. Fortunately, Hoist managed to get the crew clear and knocked Bob out cold, causing the illusory Metroplex to disappear. The Waiting Game

Bob went with Sunstreaker to Rewind's first storytelling session. When Siren's volume got too high, Sunstreaker shielded his pet's audio receptors from the noise. An Intimate Beheading Bob accompanied Sunstreaker and several other Autobots when they offered Swerve to help him clear up his bar after it had been trashed by Tyrest's Legislators. No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases

Bob helped fight an underwater army of Ammonites alongside Sunstreaker and the other Autobots. The Dead Are Not Enough Bob was seen next to Sunstreaker when he greeted Sideswipe after the Lost Light landed on Cybertron. The Becoming Sunstreaker and Bob remained behind on Cybertron after the Lost Light left to resume its quest. You, Me, and the Universe While accompanying Sunstreaker to Maccadam's, Bob was caught up in a bar brawl incited by the Dinobots. Redemption

Sunstreaker and Bob helped retake the space bridge nexus when the Decepticons attempted to take it by force. They were also present when Optimus Prime went to Earth and annexed it into the Council of Worlds. Perihelion He stood by his owner as they entered the Ark-7 to retrieve Sideswipe before the Autobots boarded the Skyroller to Bikini Atoll to retrieve their comrades. Here Bob growled menacingly at Buster to assert his dominance. Once Upon a Time on Earth

As part of a show of goodwill towards Earth following Optimus's annexation of the planet, Bob helped Sunstreaker do unidentified good deeds in Singapore. He later lost his "alpha male" status to Buster in the med bay of the Skyroller. Edge of the Earth He later tried to regain his pride before D.0.C., Sunstreaker, and Thundercracker separated him from Buster. When the Earth Defense Command attacked, the Insecticon leapt and began tearing through a gunship before a mech controlled by the People's Liberation Army Mecha Force downed him. It's Beginning To And Back Again He bravely hid by the Skyroller for the rest of the fight until Optimus raised Metrotitan scaring off the humans. As Above...So Below

Along with Buster and D.0.C. he greeted the resurrected Sentinel Prime, The Last Autobot before the three engaged his Transtector body as the Prime went off elsewhere. White Light Once that mess was wrapped up, he stood by Sunstreaker during Soundwave's speech about how the Cybertronian race needed to be united. White Heat

Months later, he was in Pittsburgh with D.0.C., Buster, and Thundercracker helping humans evacuate a burning building before Marissa Faireborn called them to the White House to help fight the Dire Wraiths. When the quartet arrived, Bob pounced on the Wraith threatening Marissa, disemboweling it before he proceeded to feast on its remains. The Secret Service was impressed, D.0.C. and the President less so. He stayed to guard the President until Thundercracker managed to kill the lead Wraith before announcing they were going one a road trip for the Seeker to find himself. Thundercracker & Buster Save the World

"What is it, boy? Did Sunny fall down a well?"

With Sideswipe's health ever deteriorating, the Autobots eventually decided to switch off his life support systems. To allow their friend to die happily however, they hooked him up to a mnemopathis projector. Within the dream, Sunstreaker opted not to show up at Sideswipe's miraculous recovery, instead remaining on Cybertron to aid with relief efforts in the Decepticon ghetto. As a result, Bob was still in Sunstreaker's apartment when Sideswipe and Arcee came looking for his owner. Recognizing marks that indicated the Badgeless had been present, Sideswipe had Bob track Sunstreaker's scent to the Decepticon ghetto only to learn Sunstreaker had been there of his own free will. When Sideswipe died in the real world, Bob joined the others in open mourning. The Life of Sideswipe

When Sideswipe was to be buried, Bob accompanied his master and Arcee back to Cybertron for the funeral. Origin Myths At the event proper, Bob nuzzled up against the coffin by way of goodbye. The Dead Come Home, Part 1 (of 2)

When Unicron began attacking the galaxy, Bob accompanied Sunstreaker to Elonia to set up a space bridge pylon, having the unenviable position of being in the path of one of the monster's horns. Though the pylons initially failed to function, Bob was soon space bridged out of danger and back to Cybertron. Our Darkest

After Cybertron had been destroyed, the Transformers fled to Earth, with Bob among the survivors. Road's End When the combined forces of Elonia, Earth, and Cybertron launched a do-or-die attack on the Chaos Bringer, Bob boarded Trypticon, being disgorged from the Titan to take part in the attack on the Decepticon Vengeance Division. Assembly Once the monster had been felled, Bob happily played with D.0.C. and Buster, much to Sunstreaker's amusement. Ceremony

In the new era of peace, Bob joined the Colonist Soldiers on their star trek, playing with a plush toy of his old master and D.0.C. before a spatial anomaly was detected. Post

Notes

• Bob was originally going to be called Spike, to create a meta-joke of Rodimus being weirded out because he knows a Spike and so they'd later have a hated traitor called Spike and an adorable pet with the same name. Mike Costa was told this would be too confusing and IDW affixed the name "Bob" to the dear little buggy-wuggy instead.^[1]

Foreign names

• Japanese: Bob (ボブ Bobu)

References