Bumblebee Movie Can Redeem Starscream

UPDATE: This flying Decepticon is not Starscream after all! He's Blitzwing.

When Bumblebee rolls into theaters this December, it carries the hopes that it could redeem Starscream, a character much maligned by the previous films. For a decade and five films, the Transformers franchise were all creatively controlled by Michael Bay. And, of all of the Transformers, the robot in disguise most desperately in need of redemption is Starscream.

The second-in-command and would-be leader of the Decepticons, Starscream was utterly ruined by Michael Bay's interpretation of the character. As both a toy - Starscream was an F-15 fighter jet that transformed into a robot - and as a villain in the popular 1980s cartoon, the malevolent machine was always a fan favorite ever since his debut as part of the Generation-1 Transformers. But as one of the Bayformers, Starscream was turned into a hideously-designed eyesore who ended up bearing little of the personality fans came to expect. More damning, Starscream meant nothing overall to the movie saga.

But there's a new hope for the Decepticon schemer in Bumblebee, which is directed by Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings), and stars Academy Award-nominee Hailee Steinfeld as Charlie, a teenage girl who bonds with the yellow bug in 1987. The new film promises a smaller scale story centering on the relationship between Bee and his new human friend. It also boasts far fewer robots overall, with only three Decepticon antagonists, one of whom (as glimpsed in the teaser trailer) resembles and is expected to be Starscream himself.

If this turns out to be the case as fans hope, then without his arch-rival Megatron to hog the spotlight as the movie's Big Bad, here's how Bumblebee could finally let Starscream soar:

This Page: Why Starscream Is Awesome But Was Ruined
Page 2: How Bumblebee Can Get Starscream Right

Why Starscream Is Awesome

Starscream has been a part of the Transformers' many incarnations across all media platforms since his debut, but the version of the character remembered most fondly is from Generation-1. Starscream was Megatron's lieutenant but yearned to kill/replace him as the leader of the Decepticons - and he was never subtle about it. Always earning Megatron's ire, both verbally and physically, Starscream still did his evil duty fighting their war with the Autobots. But he never hesitated to pounce upon every opportunity to undermine and supplant Megatron. In the animated Transformers: The Movie, Megatron was transformed into Galvatron and finally murdered Starscream in the middle of his coronation as the new Decepticon leader. However, Starscream returned as a ghost to haunt his enemies!

The popularity of Starscream endures because, in many ways, he was the most human of the Transformers. While Optimus Prime and Megatron represented the two sides of good and evil, Starscream himself was a scheming opportunist who was no stranger to spectacular failure. Voiced with raspy gusto by the late Chris Latta, Starscream was jealous, petty, vindictive, and cowardly, yet somehow, he was also funny and loveable. Time and again, Starscream would reach for the brass ring - command over the Decepticons - but was denied because he was never quite good enough. As a red, blue, and grey jet fighter, Starscream also boasted one of the coolest looking designs of the Transformers, and the rejection of his classic look was just one of the reasons his live-action movie counterpart was always so disappointing.

How Michael Bay's Movies Ruined Starscream

Michael Bay's version of Starscream was unrecognizable from the character fans loved. All of the Bayformers were over-designed, but Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and even Megatron at least retrained distinctive traits that made them identifiable. But Bay ruined Starscream in particular. Though he was still the evil lieutenant to Megatron and transformed into a fighter jet, Starscream looked horrible. Gone was the handsome, streamlined G-1 design and colors; Bay instead turned the Decepticon into a monotone grey eyesore that had the head of an insect and a deformed robot body. All of Michael Bay's designs were controversial, but nothing about this drab and ungainly incarnation would make a Transformers fan think this was Starscream.

Worse than how he looked was how Bay abandoned nearly everything about Starscream's character. All that remained was his tenuous loyalty to Megatron and his desire to replace him as leader, but otherwise, Starscream had absolutely none of the amusing wit and personality he had in the cartoon. It's true that all the Bayformers were criticized for lack of personality, but Starscream's diminishment was particularly infuriating because he was arguably the most interesting of all of the Transformers, plus his schemes and inevitable failures also provided comic relief. Instead, Starscream was reduced into a non-entity who had no memorable impact on any of the movies before he was killed off in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. When his severed head makes a token appearance in Transformers: The Last Knight, this final indignity was just a bitter reminder of all of Starscream's wasted potential.

However, Bumblebee has the chance to restore Starscream to prominence and give him the spotlight he always deserved.

Page 2 of 2: Bumblebee Can Get Starscream Right

Is Starscream In Bumblebee?

It's crucial to note that Starscream has not yet been officially confirmed to appear in Bumblebee. There are three villainous robots expected to battle the brave yellow Autobot in his solo film, but only two of the Decepticons - Shatter and Dropkick - have been formally announced. This leaves a mysterious unnamed third robot, briefly seen in the teaser trailer transforming from a fighter jet. This machine could possibly be one of the identical Decepticon Seekers, Skywarp or Thundercracker. But going by its red, blue, and grey color scheme the mystery bot certainly looks like Starscream.

It would totally make sense for Starscream to be Bumblebee's main adversary in the Autobot's solo film. The bug is second only to Optimus Prime as the most important and best-known Autobot and he should, in turn, face Megatron's number one lackey. Since neither Prime nor Megatron are center stage in Bumblebee - at this point in the timeline, Megatron is imprisoned inside the Hoover Dam and Optimus is in outer space (but still rumored to make a cameo) - it allows both Bee and Starscream to finally develop their own rivalry that the previous five movies never gave them the chance to have.

How Bumblebee Can Get Starscream Right

One of the aspects of Bumblebee fans anticipate most is that it promises a more grounded and emotional story, compared to the over-the-top, senses-shattering spectacles Michael Bay directed. Bumblebee returns to the original 2007 Transformers' formula, but this time it's a female hero who befriends the yellow Volkswagen Beetle and discovers he's an alien robot fighting an interstellar war on Earth. The hope is that the robots' characters finally shine through in this prequel set in 1987, and if that holds true, then Starscream is both the perfect villain and beneficiary of this new approach, starting with his look restored to his beloved G-1 design.

With Megatron out of the picture, this time period would be Starscream's heyday on Earth - he's in charge of the Decepticons now. Bumblebee offers a chance to explore how Starscream lives his dream and runs the evil Cybertronian army. Meanwhile, Bumblebee has been hiding on Earth and working alongside humans for decades, but his purpose in his solo film is yet to be revealed. The opportunity here is to weave a personal rivalry between Optimus Prime's most-trusted friend and the self-styled leader of the Decepticons. If Travis Knight finally does Starscream right and restores his amusing personality, the Transformers movies would, at last, have the kind of compelling robot villain that was missing from all five Bayformers movies.

The potential that a successful Bumblebee could serve as a reboot of the Transformers movies also benefits Starscream. If a reboot is in play, then it's possible nothing that happened in Bay's films will come to pass, including Starscream's grotesque redesign and his future death. Meanwhile, if Travis Knight's Starscream is indeed the beloved version fans remember, his return in future Transformers films will be a welcome one and he would also set a new template for how future villains, including Megatron himself, will be portrayed going forward.

The classic Starscream is such a memorable and enduring bad guy, he deserves a movie version that properly portrays him in all of his cunning malevolence. Here's hoping Bumblebee offers Starscream the spark of redemption he has sorely needed all along.