Goldbug was once a young Cybertronian drifter known as Bumblebee.  He survived on the streets of Polyhex with no real purpose.  Over time, he became skilled at sneaking around, stealing, eavesdropping and blackmailing.  When he heard of a new cause being led by Optimus Prime, he eagerly joined the Autobots in hopes of finding a place to belong and where his unsavory activities would be tolerated.  When the war began, Bumblebee showed extreme bravery in battle and often sought ways to be noticed by command.  In time, he worked his way up the ranks of the Autobots and was offered an upgraded form and a new identity as Goldbug, to take his place.  Although he holds a high position in the Autobot hierarchy, he is paranoid that someone will one day try to betray him and take his place as he has done to so many others in the past.

Bibliography of significant appearances: All characters of the Botcon 2008, "Shattered Universe" are personas existing in an alternate reality.  Their story was featured in the 2008 convention comic, several of the Transformers Collector Club comics and a few prose-only stories including "Dungeons & Dinobots." 

Other appearances: