The Bumblebee
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Basic Information

The Bumblebee is a trope that defines a character as kid-friendly: this is the character that appeals to children. Typically it's the youngest, most colorful (literally and figuratively), and often the coolest or funniest member of the Five Man Band or other group of heroes.

The Bumblebee may (or may not) even be a child, themselves. Unlike some other depictions of children, however, the Bumblebee is a functioning member of the team, and useful in a fight scene (at least as a diversion, but in some cases a full blown warrior).

There's a couple options for persona within the boundaries of this trope. The Bumblebee may be any of the following, or a combination of several:

The Bumblebee is distinct from, but may overlap with, these Tropes:
Bratty Half Pint
The Chick
Cousin Oliver
Karma Houdini
The Scrappy
Tagalong Kid
Token Loli

The Bumblebee will likely adopt one of the following characters as his Father Figure or Big Brother:
The Ace
The Captain
The Hero
The Lancer

Sources

Bibliography

Game and Story Use

  • Your game isn't a Saturday Morning Cartoon or Anime production, so you probably won't have Meddling Executives forcing you to include The Bumblebee to win over younger viewers.
    • That said, there are many campaign settings and game systems that seek to emulate such shows. If your campaign is based on such a property, The Bumblebee becomes an expected part of the setting. The GM may throw in an NPC Sidekick that fits the bill, just to capture the feel.
      • Or, if the GM is running a more cynical version of the setting, they may kill off The Bumblebee in the first session, just to set the tone.
    • If one or more players in the campaign are children, they may slip into The Bumblebee role without even being aware it exists. In many ways, the Bumblebee is just the stereotype of a child, with a little extra charisma and firepower thrown in.
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