WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Bumblebee, in theaters now.

Bumblebee. Bee, for short. For as long as we've known the fan-favorite Autobot, that's been his name. Like Optimus Prime, Megatron or Ironhide, it's been part of Transformers lore since the very beginning. However, the Bumblebee movie reveals the little yellow shape-changer wasn't always gone by that moniker.

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As we learn in the 1980s-set franchise prequel, Bumblebee is merely the name he was given after his arrival on Earth. On his home world Cybertron, he was called B-127.

At the beginning of director Travis Knight's film, viewers are transported to the final days of the war for Cybertron. Optimus Prime and his Autobots are fighting a losing battle against the Decepticons, and the fearless leader has no choice but to order his troops to fall back. As he does so, he gives a special mission to B-127, whom we immediately recognize as Bumblebee.

 

That changes what we thought we knew about the character, and the Autobots. It raises the question, Are any of the names fans have committed to memory over the past three decades the actual names of the Transformers? The implication is, of course, that the Transformers were born with formal, numerical designations, and only embraced their better-known identities later.

The explanation behind "B-127" isn't given, but we do witness the origin of "Bumblebee." As it so happens, the name is given to the Autobot by Charlie Watson, played by Hailee Steinfeld.

The christening becomes an important moment for the character, presenting audiences with the rebirth of the Autobot they have cheered on for years. Near the end of the movie, when Bumblebee is reunited with Optimus Prime and reveals to his leader his new name, we witness the first time Optimus calls his trusted soldier by his new call sign. It's a satisfying moment, to be sure, and one that might add even more weight to the idea that the Autobots once had different names. Optimus' immediate willingness to accept the new name may indicate this perhaps isn't the first time he's re-christened a fellow Autobot.

As for the Bumblebee himself, it shows that he is not just another number in a war any longer.

Directed by Travis Knight from a script by Christina Hodson, Bumblebee stars Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena, Dylan O’Brien, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Pamela Adlon, Jason Drucker, Abby Quinn, Rachel Crow, Ricardo Hoyos and Gracie Dzienny.