Hornets

"Hornets, destroy Buzz Lightyear!"

- Emperor Zurg ordering the Hornets.

The Hornets are supporting antagonists of the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command cartoon series. They are bipedal robots serving as the Zurg Empire's staple military force under the leadership of Emperor Zurg. However, despite their outgrowing numbers in mass production, they are shown to be quite shoddy and expendable given to their poor design, and can be easily destroyed by Space Ranger laser-fire, though they can be quite lethal when they come in large numbers.

Role
The Hornets first appeared as the tertiary antagonists in The Adventure Begins, where Zurg summons them to stop Buzz Lightyear and his partner Warp Darkmatter from rescuing several captive LGMs. Though Zurg escapes, Buzz and Warp manage to easily take down the Hornets while rescuing the LGMs, though Warp ends up being seemingly killed in an explosion, much to Buzz's dismay.

When the Brain Pods inform Zurg that the LGMs are connected to Uni-Mind (a mystical orb that enables all LGMs to feel and think as a collective whole), Zurg decides to utilize the Uni-Mind by kidnapping more of the LGMs in order to take control of every innocent mind in the Galactic Alliance. To that end, he sends in his right hand Agent Z and more Hornets to steal the Uni-Mind. Though the Hornets end up being destroyed by Buzz and his new team of recruits (Mira, Buster, and XR), this allows Agent Z to steal the Uni-Mind and capture Buzz.

As Buzz is taken prisoner by two Hornets, he is shocked to realize that Agent Z is actually Warp, having faked his death to sever his ties with Star Command, as he had been under Zurg's payroll all the time. Zurg had the Brain Pods and Grubs to work on giant ray gun that will manipulate the Uni-Mind's powers and the entire Galactic Alliance to his own will. As a treat, Zurg orders the two Hornets to have Buzz as a test subject, but Buzz's team arrives to the rescue and takes down many more of the Hornets before Buzz uses his sense of justice and virtue to free the Uni-Mind from Zurg's control, thus leaving Zurg and his army's plans for conquest in vain.

Appearance and Capabilities
Hornets are yellow, bipedal machines with insectoid-like features, befitting their namesake. Their hands can morph into triple-barrel laser cannons, which serve as their main weaponry. They are also capable of flight.

In addition to being used as foot soldiers and cannon fodder, Hornets are sometimes used by Zurg as infiltrators and spies.

Individually or in small groups, Hornets are quite easy to defeat due to their fragile build. A single blast from a Space Ranger's wrist laser will destroy a Hornet instantly. In some cases, Space Rangers have beaten Hornets using hand-to-hand combat alone. Also, due to their limited intelligence, Hornets can be easily fooled or distracted. Only in large groups do Hornets actually pose a real danger.

Trivia

 * They are similar to Battle Droids from Star Wars. Both are the villain's henchmen. Both are mass-produced. Both have terrible aim. Both seem to dangerous only in large numbers. Though, unlike Battle Droids, the Hornets never speak.
 * According to The Good, the Bad, and the Robotic and the August 2000 issue of Disney Adventures,the Hornets are programmed to respond to every command with the phrase, "Obey Zurg!". However, they never spoke a word in the series.
 * They are never seen with a weapon other than arm-mounted laser cannons.
 * They appear as enemies in the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command video game.
 * They are also commanded by Warp Darkmatter.