Buzz Bomber

The Buzz Bomber (ビートン) is a wasp-type Badnik model created by Dr. Eggman and made first appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) as one of the most common enemies in the game. Buzz Bombers are able to hover in the air with its small but effective wings and can shoot rail detonator blasts at its target.

Buzz Bombers also have several upgraded models based on them. After the Buzz Bombers' first appearance, they or other similar bee-type badniks (such as Buzzer) have become one of the most common enemies in the series.

Appearance
The Buzz Bomber resembles a mechanical mud dauber with a blue and black metal coloring. The stinger at the tip of its stripy colored tail is a rail detonator cannon, its primary weapon. Two mechanical devices resembling pale wings give it the ability to hover. Two engines are installed at the bottom of the badnik, allowing it to travel at very high speeds.

In Sonic Generations, newer models are more detailed, having now four pink wings and are split to two other models which have a yellow, red, and black color scheme (like Buzzer), and a giant purple version. Since Sonic Lost World, Buzz Bombers have retained their softer appearance from earlier game appearances.

Powers and abilities
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 a rail detonator blast, which appears as a concentrated orb of laser energy, at the target. However, their halting programming is their weakness, as they leave themselves open to attacks.

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
Buzz Bombers first appeared in the original 16-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog, as these badniks were the most common enemies in the game, as these badniks are featured specifically in Green Hill Zone, Marble Zone and Spring Yard Zone. In original 16-bit version, Buzz Bombers fly in single or in a group from the side of the screen, firing a single rail detonator blast and then flies away. The player has to avoid projectiles and use the Spin Jump to defeat them as the timing is right.

In 8-bit version of the game with same name, Buzz Bombers have the same attack pattern and are featured in Green Hill Zone and Bridge Zone. Like many other badniks in the Game Gear and Master System titles, Buzz Bombers don't have Animals inside as an organic battery.

Sonic Chaos
Buzz Bombers reappeared in Sonic Chaos, although they are slightly redesigned and do not shoot rail detonators. These variations appear in Turquoise Hill Zone, Gigalopolis Zone and Electric Egg Zone. They fly around in the first two zones, but are stationary in the latter zone. They are simply called "bugs" in English manuals, but the Japanese Game Gear manual identifies them as Beeton, which is their Japanese name.

Sonic Spinball
The bee-type badnik called Wasp, loosely resembles Buzz Bomber in terms of appearance and attack pattern in Sonic Spinball. They also closely resemble the Buzz Bomber from the Sonic the Hedgehog animated series. These enemies hover around and block pathways in The Showdown. It can be destroyed with one hit and in 8-bit version of the game, destroying one of them rewards the player with 80,000 points.

Sonic Adventure 2
Buzz Bombers made an appearance in the bonus stage Green Hill in Sonic Adventure 2, as these badniks mostly act like in its first appearance. Appearance of Buzz Bomber is almost the same but more cubic.

Sonic Generations
The Buzz Bombers reappeared in both console and Nintendo 3DS versions of Sonic Generations, in three variations. The yellow ones hover in the air and attempt to shoot the player, appearing in their native Green Hill Zone and Modern Sonic's Planet Wisp.

The normal bluish-purple ones appears less commonly and only flies toward the player. There also exist giant ones at Knuckles' race challenge, 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.

Sonic Jump
Yellow variations of Buzz Bombers appeared at Green Hill Zone in 2012 remake of Sonic Jump. It acts normally like it did like in Sonic Generations which shoots energy projectiles from its stinger. It can be easily destroyed by jumping under of it.

Sonic Lost World
In both Wii U and Nintendo 3DS versions of Sonic Lost World, only blue Buzz Bombers appeared, which in this game were given a more comical design remising their appearance in the original Sonic the Hedgehog. In gameplay, the Buzz Bombers appear in multiple Zones where they either just fly around or float stationary in one place from where they shoot lasers at the player when they spot Sonic. Like in earlier games, the Buzz Bombers release Animals when defeated. Sometimes, the Buzz Bombers also appears in chains with Spinners which the player can use to traverse the Zone.

During the game, the Badniks, Buzz Bombers included, got hijacked by the Deadly Six when they turned against Eggman and used to attack him under the Deadly Six's orders. When that happened, a few of them got destroyed by Sonic, while one Buzz Bomber managed to injure Tails, which made Sonic retreat with Tails.

Sonic Runners
In Sonic Runners, Buzz Bomber are some of the more common Badniks in the flying type characters' stages. In this game, they do not fire projectiles and instead either fly around back and forth separately or in groups, though some of them also fly stationary in midair

Buzz Bombers in Sonic Runners come in three types. Aside from the regular types, there are golden Buzz Bombers which give 300 extra points each when destroyed, and black ones called Super Buzz Bombers which only Color Powers and power type characters can destroy. Any type of Buzz Bomber contain Animals inside them.

Variants

 * Buzzer
 * Poh-Bee
 * Tonbo
 * Krondor

Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic
Buzz Bomber appears briefly in Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic manga. At the beginning of Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic Volume 3' story Sonic Rampage!!, Buzz Bomber can be seen in the background getting defeated by Sonic with his Spin Attack as Eggman keeps mentioning how his arch-nemesis is always getting his way.

Sonic the Comic
Buzz Bombers appeared in numerous issues of the Fleetway Editions's Sonic the Comic, in which they occupied much the same role as in the games as part of Doctor Robotnik's badnik army. Buzz Bomber has appeared in pin-ups, Encyclopedia Badnika feature and few comic's covers.

Archie Comics
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, the Buzz Bombers, here called Buzzbombers, were among the first generation of badniks produced by Dr. Robotnik. Early on, their design resembled that of their counterparts from the Sonic the Hedgehog television series, though they would come to resemble their game counterparts. Over time though, the Buzzbombers were rendered obsolete by more advanced robots and got decommissioned.

Following the events of Worlds Collide, the Buzzbombers' history became nearly identical to that of their game counterparts.

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
In the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog television series, the Buzz Bombers are red and green with no engines, eye eyes, and drills for noses. They would occasionally come after Sonic and Tails, but would prove no match for the hedgehog.

Sonic the Hedgehog (TV series)
In the Sonic the Hedgehog, the Buzz-Bombers, here spelled Buzz-Bombers, possessed a more sinister design, although they retained their wings, rockets, and laser stingers. They only appeared in "Heads or Tails", where Dr. Robotnik deployed them twice, first to coax out Sonic and later to deploy a chemical weapon against the Great Forest. Both times though, they were stopped by Sonic and the Freedom Fighters.

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie
In Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie, the Buzz Bombers are a brand of robots created by Dr. Robotnik that patrol the Land of Darkness. Sonic and Tails encountered a swarm of them on their road to Robotropolis.

Sonic Boom
In the Sonic Boom televisions series, the Buzz Bombers, here called Bee Bots, are a mass-produced robot model created by Dr. Eggman. They serve both as Eggman's sentries and foot soldiers which the doctor uses for his frequent attacks on Team Sonic and Bygone Island. While fast and agile, they are not very powerful and are easily destroyed in intense combat.

Merchandise
The toy company TOMY has released Buzz Bomber action figurine during the release of Sonic & Knuckles as it also includes a series of 21 Sonic figurines and these figurines came in packs of four under the Sonic & Knuckles label and were also released individually under a Sonic the Hedgehog label.

Trivia

 * The Buzz Bomber's names might have been based on a game for the Intellivision called "Buzz Bombers", which is also the name of a minigame for Penn and Teller's Smoke and Mirrors.
 * Buzz Bomber appears in Sonic and the Black Knight in winning Fan Art.
 * Buzz Bombers in Sonic Generations are simply recolors of the Buzzer that do not fire at Sonic. Before Sonic Generations this Buzzer model was used in Sonic Colors.
 * The Corn Hornets which appear in Treetop Terrace, a chapter in Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure, bear a slight resemblance to the Buzz Bombers.