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Buzz Bombers have several upgraded models based on them. Since the Buzz Bombers' first appearance, they have become one of the most common enemies in the Sonic series.
The classic Buzz Bomber resembles a mechanical mud dauber with a black coloring around its spherical thorax. The stinger at the tip of its blue-striped abdomen is a rail detonator cannon, its primary weapon. Two mechanical devices resembling pale wings give it the ability to hover. Also, two engines are installed into the sides of this Badnik's thorax. Finally, the classic Buzz Bomber has a blue head with cartoony eyes, two mandibles and yellow antennae.
Starting with the Time Eaterincident, the Buzz Bomber models were made more mechanically detailed, with four pink wings, cyan eyes, and a bendable bar between their thoraxes and abdomens. Sometimes, starting with the Lost Hexincident, the Buzz Bombers showed an appearance similar to the early models, but with more cartoonish designs.
During the War to Take Back the Planet and the resurgent Black Doom incident, the Buzz Bombers received a more modernized and militaristic design. These models retained the typical Buzz Bombers' basic shape. However, their wings had become yellow, their abdomens had lost their stripes, and their thoraxes had become blue. They also had black heads with a single red eye each and small antenna.
In gameplay, Buzz Bombers fly alone or in a group from the side of the screen. When a Buzz Bomber targets the playable character, it will halt in mid-air, retract its stinger, and fire a rail detonator blast diagonally downward before flying away (only to make a reappearance from the opposite direction soon after). The player has to avoid projectiles and use the Spin Jump or Spin Attack to defeat them when the timing is right. Upon their defeat, they release an Animal and reward the player with 100 points.
In the 8-bit version, the Buzz Bombers are featured as enemies in Green Hill Zone and Bridge Zone. In gameplay, the have the same attack pattern as their 16-bit counterparts. Like many other Badniks in this version, they do not have Animals inside them. Regardless, upon their destruction, they reward the player with 100 points.
Sonic Chaos[]
In Sonic Chaos, the Buzz Bombers were redesigned with plain stingers replacing their usual rail detonator projectiles. These variations appear as enemies in Turquoise Hill Zone, Gigalopolis Zone and Electric Egg Zone: These variations include black flying Buzz Bombers in Turquoise Hill Zone, similar gray flying Buzz Bombers found in Gigalopolis Zone, and stationary gray Buzz Bombers found in Electric Egg Zone. Their only attack patterns are touching the playable character, as they do not shoot projectiles like the common Buzz Bomber.
In the game's English manual for the Game Gear version, these enemies are simply called "bugs".[3] However, the Japanese version identifies them as "Beetons",[4] which is the Buzz Bombers' Japanese name. Other sources simply refer to these enemies as "Buzzes",[5] presumably due to their lack of bombing capabilities.
Sonic Spinball[]
In the 16-bit version of Sonic Spinball, the Buzz Bombers[6] closely resemble the Buzz-Bombers from the Sonic the Hedgehog television series. In gameplay, they hover around and block pathways in Showdown. They can be destroyed with one hit.
In the 8-bit version of Sonic Spinball, the Buzz Bombers, known as Wasps[7] in the Sega Game Gear version and Waspins[8] in the Master System version, look like their 16-bit counterparts. They are found in Final Showdown. They can be destroyed with one hit, and destroying one rewards the player with 80,000 points.
In Sonic Adventure 2 and its enhanced port Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, the Buzz Bombers made an appearance as enemies in the extra stage, Green Hill. The appearance of the Buzz Bombers is almost identical to their original appearance but is more cubic.
In gameplay, these Badniks mostly act like how they did in their first appearance. Upon their destruction, they will also release an Animal.
In the console/PC version of Sonic Generations, Buzz Bombers from somewhere across spacetime appear as enemies. In these games, they were given a more mechanical-looking design. The player encounters the Buzz Bombers alongside the yellow Buzzers in Green Hill.
In gameplay, Buzz Bombers, which are more uncommon than Buzzers, simply fly towards the player without launching any attack. Outside the main Acts, there are also giant purple, indestructible Buzz Bombers in the Knuckles: Horde of EnemiesChallenge Act. These Buzz Bombers cannot hurt Sonic, nor do they attempt to attack him, but they can propel Sonic high into the air if they are struck by an attack from a certain height, which is useful during these Buzz Bombers' Challenge Act. A statue of the purple Buzz Bomber can also be unlocked in the Statue Room.
In the Wii U version, PCversion, and Nintendo 3DSversion of Sonic Lost World, blue Buzz Bombers appear as enemies. In these games however, they were given a more comical design reminiscent of their appearance in the original Sonic the Hedgehog. 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. One Buzz Bomber managed to injure Tails though, which made Sonic retreat with Tails.
On the Wii U version of the game, the player encounters the Buzz Bombers in Desert Ruins Zone 1 and 3, Tropical Coast Zone 1 and 3, Silent Forest Zone 4, Sky Road Zone ?, and Lava Mountain Zone 2. On the Nintendo 3DS version of the game, the player encounters them in Windy Hill Tutorial, Windy Hill Zone 1, 2 and 3, Desert Ruins Zone 1 and 3, Frozen Factory Zone 2 and 3, Silent Forest Zone 1, 2 and 3, and Sky Road Zone 1 and 3. In the game's Speed Race mode, Buzz Bombers are also found in Desert Ruins Zone 4.
In gameplay, the Buzz Bombers either just fly around or float stationary in one place from where they shoot lasers at the player whenever they spot the playable character. 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 skip across with the Homing Attack.
Sonic Mania[]
In Sonic Mania, and its expansion Sonic Mania Plus, Buzz Bombers are enemies found in both Acts of Green Hill Zone. In gameplay, Buzz Bombers fly alone or in a group from the side of the screen. When they find the playable character, they will halt in mid-air, retract their stingers, and fire a projectile diagonally downward before flying away. These projectiles can be deflected by using Shield-derived power-ups or through Mighty's Spin Attack. The player is able to destroy Buzz Bombers by attacking them with a Spin Attack-related move. Upon their destruction, they will release an Animal and award the player with 100 points.
In gameplay, the Buzz Bombers exhibit two distinct attack patterns. In some sections, they simply hover in midair, never moving from their spot. When they see the playable character however, they will start taking shots at them. In other sections, the Buzz Bombers will fly forward until they spot the playable character, upon which they will stop in midair to shoot at them, much like in the original Sonic the Hedgehog.
During the boss battle with Zavok, yellow and orange versions of the Buzz Bombers appear. These enemies will appear around the boss area, where they will flying into the player. Upon colliding with something or getting hit by Zavok however, they will be destroyed.
In Sonic Frontiers, Buzz Bombers, along with Buzzers, appear as enemies exclusively in Cyber Spacestages. With their appearance taken from console/PC version of Sonic Generations, Buzz Bombers are an uncommon sight out of the two bee-like Badniks, as they are encountered in Cyber Space stages 1-4, 1-6, 2-2, 3-6 and 4-3. Either found stationary in the mid-air or hovering back and forth at low speed, Buzz Bombers don't fire projectiles when Sonic is near close to them compared to Buzzers, much like in Sonic Generations.
The player can defeat Buzz Bomber with one hit despite of multiple hit points, while sometimes they are required to be taken down in groups by using Homing Attack to reach another section of the stage. Because of being digital replicas of Badniks in Cyber Space, Buzz Bombers are disintegrated into the air in after one hit without containing Animals inside them.
Buzz Bombers reappear in Sonic Superstars, where they can be found in Bridge Island Zone, with pixelated Buzz Bombers also appearing in Cyber Station Zone as well. Unlike in previous titles, instead of shooting small projectiles, the Buzz Bombers now shoot a singular deadly laser before flying away. The only way to destroy the Buzz Bomber is to attack it before it attempts to fly away, which doing so will also stop the Buzz Bomber's laser attack in the process. Like other Badniks, the Buzz Bombers drop an Animal and 100 points upon being destroyed.
Additionally, during the game's opening animation, a Buzz Bomber also appears alongside a Batbrain and a Crawlshell in an attempt to harm a Flicky, a Cucky, and a Pocky. Unfortunately for the Badniks, Sonic swiftly speeds in to destroy them. Later in said animation, another Buzz Bomber and Crawlshell would be destroyed by Amy's Piko Piko Hammer in Pinball Carnival Zone.
In gameplay, Buzz Bombers fly alone or in a group from the side of the screen. When a Buzz Bomber targets the playable character, it will halt in mid-air, retract its stinger, and fire a rail detonator blast diagonally downward before flying away (only to make a reappearance from the opposite direction soon after). The player has to avoid projectiles and use the Spin Jump or Spin Attack to defeat them when the timing is right. Upon their defeat, they release a Ricky and reward the player with 100 points.
Sonic Jump (2012)[]
In the 2012 version of Sonic Jump, yellow and orange variations of the Buzz Bombers appeared at Green Hill Zone. In gameplay, these Badniks act much like their yellow variations did in Sonic Generations, namely by shooting energy projectiles from their stingers. However, they can easily be destroyed by jumping into them from below.
Mario & Sonic series[]
Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games[]
In Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, the Buzz Bombers (mistakenly called Buzzers[10]) appear in the Action & Answers Tour. They namely appear in the "Midair Formation & Answer" event as midair objects to keep an eye on. As the player plays out the Ski Jumping Large Hill event, they have to take notice of the midair formations the Buzz Bombers and Paratroopas progressively assume in midair on the way down. The longer the player stays in midair, the closer the Buzz Bombers and Paratroopas will get to completing their formation. After the player has landed, they must then identify the formation the Buzz Bombers and Paratroopas were trying to assume out from four answer options.
In the Nintendo Switch version of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the Buzz Bombers appear as enemies in the "Tokyo Sky Flight" mini-game. Here, they have their sprite-based appearance from the original Sonic the Hedgehog. During the "Tokyo Sly Flight" mini-game, they come in two variants. First, there are the standard blue Buzz Bombers that fly towards the player from one side of the screen and gradually fire at the playable characters before then flying away. Lastly, there are the yellow Buzz Bombers that only fly a short distance away from the right side of the screen before quickly retreating. As the player progresses through the mini-game however, the Buzz Bombers will appear from more random directions and attack more relentlessly; the blue Buzz Bombers, for example, will gradually go from appearing from the right side of the screen and not attacking at all to appearing from both sides of the screen and firing rapid shots at the playable characters in quick succession. Regardless of their behavior, the Buzz Bombers are easily destroyed with one gunshot from the Tornado.
Some Buzz Bombers come equipped with Bumper shields that can protect them from the Tornado's gunshots. However, they can be knocked away with the Tornado's shockwave attack. Also, upon destroying a Buzz Bomber, the player receives points; blue Buzz Bombers grant 100 points each while yellow Buzz Bombers grant 500 points each.
In Sonic Runners, the Buzz Bombers appear as enemies. In this game, they retain their design from Sonic Lost World. They are also some of the more common foes encountered in the flying type characters' stages. In gameplay, they do not fire projectiles. Instead, some of them fly around back and forth separately or in groups. Other simply hover in place.
The player can destroy the Buzz Bombers with any move or offensive power-up in the playable characters' arsenal. When destroyed, a Buzz Bomber will grant the player 100 points.
Buzz Bombers in Sonic Runners come in three types. Aside from the regular Buzz Bombers, there are golden ones which grant 300 points when defeated, and silver ones that grant 200 points when eliminated and which only Color Powers, Invincible and the power type characters' dash attack can defeat. All three variations also contain Animals that are released when they are destroyed. The Buzz Bombers also appear as part of several episodes' narrative, which features them being defeated time and time again by Team Sonic.
In Sonic Forces: Speed Battle, the Buzz Bombers from Sonic Forces appear on the race tracks. In gameplay, they act as stationary obstacles for the player to run into, perpetually floating in midair. However, they do not attack the player and can easily be destroyed using the Spin Jump. Upon their destruction, they grant the player five Rings.
In Speed Sphere Challenge, Buzz Bombers are present as common enemies that walk around a set path. Unlike the other Badniks in the game, the Buzz Bombers do have an offensive attack, where they can periodically shoot small bullets that can harm Sonic when touched and make him lose 3 Rings in the process. Despite that, the Buzz Bombers can still be easily destroyed by simply rolling over them. Like the other Badniks, the Buzz Bombers release an Animal upon being killed.
Personality[]
While built to serve as work drones, Buzz Bomber units possess a degree of sentience and personality traits. These traits include fawning over Dr. Eggman and trying to give him a great birthday on their own volition.[11]
Powers and abilities[]
With the aid of their (small but effective) wings and rockets, the Buzz Bombers are capable of flight. They are also equipped with stingers that can fire a rail detonator blast, which appears as a concentrated orb of laser energy, at their target.
IDW Publishing[]
In the Sonic the Hedgehogcomic series and its spin-offs published by IDW Publishing, the Buzz Bombers are capable of flight thanks to their wings.[12] They are also equipped with stingers that can fire laser shots at their targets.[13]
The Buzzer is the first variation of the Buzz Bomber that appeared. They are typically presented as yellow and orange versions of the Buzz Bombers (their only original distinctive features being the jet engines they had for wings). They also possess the same abilities as the Buzz Bombers. They first appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
The Poh-Bee is a melee variation of the Buzz Bomber. These flying Badniks, instead of being equipped with rail detonators, have maces attached to their abdomens via chains which they swing around to attack foes. They first appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog CD.
IDW Publishing[]
Battleship variant[]
The battleship variant of the Buzz Bombers are dropship-based Buzz Bombers used for carrying Badnik soldiers and cargo. Each of these robots are about the size of a small town, but their design is overwise the same as the lesser Buzz Bomber model.[14]
Thanks to its massive wings, this giant variant of Buzz Bomber is capable of flight. It also is able to store a large number of smaller Badnik soldiers and Motobug tanks inside of it. Its offensive capabilities are unknown, however.[14]
In the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog television series, the Buzz Bombers are red and green with no engines, eyes with no pupils, and drills for noses. They would occasionally come after Sonic and Tails, but would prove no match for the hedgehog.
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.
In the Sonic Boom television 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 Seaside Island. While fast and agile, they are not very powerful and are easily destroyed in intense combat. The series also features Bea the Bee, a Bee Bot which would be adopted by Amy.
Sonic Prime[]
Several Buzz Bombers getting ready to attack Sonic and his friends, from "Shattered".
Buzz Bombers reappear in the Sonic Prime television series, sporting a design extremely accurate to the games (specifically their Sonic Lost World design).
The Buzz Bombers, alongside Burrobots and Caterkillers are among the many Badniks that attempted to defeat Sonic and his friends, but were ultimately destroyed in the process. Like the other Badniks, it is unknown what the fate of the Buzz Bombers were after Sonic accidentally broke the Paradox Prism.
Books and comics[]
Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic[]
In the Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic manga, a Buzz Bomber appears briefly. At the beginning of the Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic Volume 3 story, Sonic Rampage!! a Buzz Bomber can be seen in the background being defeated by Sonic with his Spin Attack, just as Eggman keeps mentioning how his arch-nemesis is always getting his way.
In the Sonic the Comic series published by Fleetway Editions, the Buzz Bombers are a part of Dr. Robotnik's Badnik army. Depending on the artist, the Buzz Bomber would be depicted differently in different issues. They were among the first generation of Badniks Robotnik produced and have threatened the people of Mobius since their creation.
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 eventually 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'.
In the Sonic X comic series published by Archie Comics, the Buzz Bombers appeared as digital enemies whom Sonic encountered in a virtual reality Dr. Eggman had trapped him in.
In the Sonic the Hedgehog film series produced by Paramount Pictures and its spin-offs, the Buzz Bombers make an appearance amongst Dr. Robotnik's forces in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. They appear completely different than their in-game counterparts, bearing little resemblance other than the basic body shape.
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.
A Buzz Bomber is also included in the LEGO set 76991 ‘Tails’ Workshop and Tornado Plane’ released in 2023, featuring a clear abdomen that houses a Clucky.
Trivia[]
The Buzz Bomber's names might have been derived from a game for the Intellivision called "Buzz Bombers", which is also the name of a minigame from Penn and Teller's Smoke and Mirrors.
In the 8-bit version of the original Sonic the Hedgehog, the Buzz Bomber was known as Le Bourdon Bombardier in French,[15]La Avispa Mortifera in Spanish,[15]Vespa Bombardiere in Italian,[15]Vliegende Bommenwerper in Dutch,[15] and Pörriäispommittaja in Finnish.[15]
The purple Buzz Bombers in Sonic Generations are simply recolors of the Buzzers that do not fire at Sonic. Before Sonic Generations, this Buzzer model was previously used in Sonic Colors.
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