Bumblebee (Teen Titans)

**Karen Beecher**, also known as **Bumblebee**, is a character from the *Teen Titans* series.

A metahuman with insect-like wings capable of flight and the ability to shrink to a miniature size, Bumblebee also uses a pair of hand-held electric dart-guns as "stingers." Initially met Cyborg as part of Brother Blood's HIVE Academy, she joins him in taking it down, claiming that, despite appearances, she wasn't totally brainwashed by him and had, in fact, been planning on taking the crime-school down from the inside. She later becomes the leader of Titans East.

In the XP4 fics, Bumblebee debuted in the XP4 Heroes Coalition - Teen Titans.

## **Appearance**

Bumblebee is an African-American hero typically depicted wearing red lipstick with her hair pulled back into two buns. She has a slim build and she wears a black and yellow turtleneck costume revealing her midriff. She wears a yellow belt and long, black pants with her boots built in, as well as long, yellow arm bands. Being half-bee, she has large, white wings strong enough to lift her into the air and fly at fast speeds.

## **Personality**

Bumblebee is one of the "cockiest" characters. She can be a little bossy with her teammates but deeply cares for them. Bumblebee is also extremely intelligent and she tries too hard. She is observant, kind, and very open-minded. Bumblebee made the strongest bond with Aqualad first, but they fight less than she does with Speedy. She is cooperative and patient. Bumblebee has a very independent and cocky personality, and a very confident and outgoing attitude. Being very independent, she doesn't like being told what to do, such as when Cyborg tells her what to do in "Wavelength". On a more comical note, Bumblebee's pigtails tend to react to her emotions, sometimes going erect when annoyed, and shooting upwards when surprised. Más y Menos are also shown hiding in the pigtails in the episode "For Real", when Control Freak surprises them in the Ops as soon as they arrive.

## **XP4 Fanfics**

Bumblebee is a member of the Heroes Coalitions and is part of the Teen Titans division. She also attends the Vanguard Academy as a student.

### **XP4 Heroes Coalition - Teen Titans**

In Chapter 7, Bumblebee is present at the heroes assembly inside the Titan Tower in Jump City while getting themselves ready for the Toy Factory's attack.

In Chapter 8, Bumblebee took part in the battle against the Toy Factory in Jump City.

In Chapter 10, Bumblebee is present when Marcus "The Kane" McGee defeated Andy the Ragdoll and then witnessing the Toy Factory retreating into a portal. She is later present at the Toy Factory's base where it's been decided to destroy the toy machine and the remaining toys be donated to charity.

In the epilogue, Bumblebee is revealed to have joined the Heroes Coalitions.

### **XP4 Heroes Coalition - AKB0048**

In Chapter 25, Bumblebee is present in confronting the DES Soldiers in Neo-City.

In Chapter 29, Bumblebee is amongst the thousands of AKB-fans gathered around the concert hall in a city somewhere Kasumigastar and later witnessed the return of Atsuko Katagiri and the rest of the missing idols, and had a great time watching the performances afterwards.

In Chapter 32, Bumblebee took part of paying respects for Mace Wyndu's death by attending his funeral via burial at sea in Atamistar before witnessing the arrival of a fleet of Dimensional Defense Union ships whom paid their respects for Mace by gifting him with a Heroes' Tribute.

## **Abilities**

Karen Beecher was a scientist who created a super suit with a bee theme in order to show the Teen Titans that her boyfriend and later husband, Mal Duncan A.K.A. Herald, was worth being on the team. In the continuity of Teen Titans, however, Karen's wings and powers appear to be a natural feature.

* **Size Alteration:** Bumblebee can shrink into a size like a bee and it helps her fly with more speed and agility and thus making it hard for enemies to bring her down. She can even dodge projectile-based attacks. While shrunken, Bumblebee retains her full size voice and strength but seems to be weakened in self defense.
* **Flight:** Bumblebee is able to fly using the insectoid wings growing from her back.
* **Stingers:** Bumblebee carries a pair of B-shaped weapons that she refers to as her "stingers." These weapons are used to discharge incredibly powerful blasts of electricity that can be fired in both short bursts and long streams. She is also able to use them to conduct electricity and move it from one source to another without harm to herself. It can also absorb the electricity and travel it through both stingers.
* **Hand-To-Hand Combat:** Bumblebee is a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant. She was able to fight on par with both Cyborg and Brother Blood, and was able to defeat the former in one episode.
* **Enhanced Agility:** She is very agile.
* **Enhanced Strength:** She is very strong, as shown when she is fighting Cyborg in "Wavelength".
* **Enhanced Durability:** Though not that resistant, she can withstand most hits.
* **Mind-Control Resistance:** She can resist mind control to some extent, as shown in "Titans East - Part 2".
* Her voice:" is comprised of humming and buzz, buzz sounds needed to distract her enemies who con her into being good.

## **Trivia**

* Bumblebee has made a few appearances in the Teen Titans Go! comic book series (#20, 25, & 29). She also appears in issue #39 and is in love with Herald.
* The animated Bumblebee is able to shrink to tiny size and electric blasts from a pair of hand-held weapons, as well as fly, like Marvel Comics' Wasp.
* The size manipulation may also be a nod to the change in Bumblebee's physiology in the DC comics. Unlike her comic incarnation, she does not wear a mask or goggles.