Bumblebee (2018)

On the planet Cybertron, the Autobot resistance, led by Optimus Prime, is on the verge of losing the war against the Decepticons and prepares to evacuate the planet. Decepticon forces led by Starscream, Soundwave, and Shockwave intercept the Autobots during the evacuation, and Optimus sends Autobot scout B-127 to Earth in an escape pod to set up a base of operations, before staying behind to fend off the Decepticons. B-127 reaches Earth, crash-landing in California and disrupting a training exercise by Sector 7, a secret government agency monitoring extraterrestrial activity on Earth. Colonel Jack Burns presumes B-127 to be hostile and orders his men to attack. B-127 scans a Willys MB jeep and flees to a mine, where he is ambushed by the Decepticon Blitzwing. When B-127 refuses to reveal Optimus’s whereabouts, Blitzwing tears out his voice box and damages his memory core, but B-127 destroys Blitzwing with one of his own missiles. B-127 scans a nearby 1967 yellow Volkswagen Beetle before collapsing from his injuries.

In 1987, teenager Charlene “Charlie” Watson, who was depressed by the sudden death of her father, and resentful of her mother Sally’s new boyfriend Ronald, finds a yellow Volkswagen Beetle in a scrapyard belonging to Hank, who gives it to her as an 18th-birthday present. When trying to start it, Charlie unknowingly activates a homing signal that is detected by Decepticons Shatter and Dropkick as they interrogate and slice down Cliffjumper on one of Saturn’s moons. The two Decepticons head to Earth, acquire Earth vehicle forms, and encounter Sector 7; pretending to be peacekeepers, they persuade the agency to help capture B-127, despite Burns’ objections. While Charlie attempts to fix the Beetle, it transforms into B-127, whom she befriends and names “Bumblebee”. She then unknowingly unlocks a message from Optimus urging Bumblebee to defend Earth, which restores some of his memories. They are discovered by Charlie’s neighbor Memo, who agrees to protect their secret, while Bumblebee learns to use the radio to communicate. Left alone, Bumblebee unintentionally destroys Charlie’s home and causes an energy spike that attracts Sector 7’s attention.