Buzz Bomber

Buzz Bomber, known as Beeton (ビートン) in Japan, was a first-generation Badnik created by Dr. Robotnik in the original Sonic the Hedgehog video game. It first time features in both the Genesis and Game Gear versions, more specifically in Green Hill Zone, Marble Zone, Spring Yard Zone and Bridge Zone.

Physical Appearance
The Buzz Bomber resembles a mechanical wasp or similar species with a blue and black metal coloring. The stinger at the tip of its tail stores energy for use in attacks. Mechanical devices resembling wings give it the ability to hover. Engines installed at the bottom of the Badnik allow it to travel at very high speeds.

Attack Pattern
Buzz Bombers glide across the landscapes of their territory, waiting for enemies to show themselves. When a Buzz Bomber targets an enemy, it will halt in mid-air, retract its stinger, and fire an orb of concentrated energy at the target. Sonic exploited their halting programming to his advantage, destroying them before they were able to fire.

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie
Buzz Bombers appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie, when Sonic and Tails head towards Robotropolis in the Land of Darkness. These versions traveled in a swarm, as opposed to the original game (where they would fly separably).

Sonic the Comic
Buzz Bombers appeared in numerous issues of the British publication Sonic the Comic, in which they occupied much the same role as in the games as part of Doctor Robotnik's badnik army.

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
Three Buzz Bombers chased Sonic and Tails at the beginning of the episode "The Mystery of the Missing Hi-tops". They looked a bit different in that they were green with red glowing eyes and had drills for noses much like Grounder. They were easily defeated by Sonic. They made a cameo in Robotnikland on the Sonic Ride. These versions however, spat fire from their mouths.

Sonic the Hedgehog (TV series)
Buzz Bombers also appeared in the pilot episode of Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM), entitled "Heads or Tails". In this series, they possessed a more sinister design, although as with Buzz Bombers in other continuities they possessed both wings and rockets, and could fire lasers from the sting in their tails. The leader of a group of Buzz Bombers was called "Bomber One".

A single Buzz Bomber was first used to capture Tails, in an attempt to flush out Sonic the Hedgehog. It worked, but the Buzz Bomber was destroyed when its own laser ricocheted off a rock and rebounded back on the Buzz Bomber.

A larger group of Buzz Bombers were later used to carry Robotnik's new defoliating chemical, with the intention of spraying it over the Great Forest and killing all the trees. However, the chemical tanks were destroyed by Sonic, and the Buzz Bombers were then pelted by water balloons from the Freedom Fighters' catapults, short-circuiting them. Although Robotnik ordered them to press on with the attack, the Buzz Bombers fled.

They did not appear in any other episode of the series.

Archie Comics
The Buzz Bombers appeared in the early issues of the Archie Sonic the Hedgehog comic series as recurring badniks. Their appearance was not how they looked in the games, but how they looked in the SatAM television series.

In Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 226, the start of the Genesis arc, the Buzz Bombers had an appearance similar to their video game counterparts, most likely because that issue featured the Archie universe being recreated to resemble the universe of the video games.

Sonic Generations
The Buzz Bombers reappeared in Sonic Generations, in three variations; yellow, which hover in the air and attempt to shoot the player, appearing in their native Green Hill Zone and Modern Sonic's Planet Wisp, the less common purple, which just fly toward the player, and the rarer giant purple, which are similar to the regular purple, but can propel the character high in the air if struck by a Spin Attack at a certain height.

Trivia

 * The Buzz Bomber's names might have been based off of a game for the Intellivision called "Buzz Bombers".
 * In Sonic the Hedgehog CD a enemy named Poh-Bee looks very much like Buzz Bombers.
 * Buzz Bomber appears in Sonic and the Black Knight in winning Fan Art.