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In the theatrical films, the featured Buzz is a toy, a spaceman action figure, whereas the television properties follow the adventures of the fictional space ranger on whom the toy is modeled.
Buzz Lightyear was first seen on Toy Story as a birthday gift for Andy . At this time, Buzz does not realize that he is a toy, believing himself to be the real Buzz Lightyear. (The reason for this is implied in the first film, and clarified in the second: He was placed in "hypersleep" before going on his mission, for example, being inserted in the display carton. All Buzz Lightyear toys are similarly unaware.) He also thinks that all of his equipment is fully functional, not realizing that his communicator is a sticker, his laser is an LED, etc. This belief causes friction between Buzz and Woody, Andy's previous favorite toy, whom he refers to as a 'sad, strange, little man'. The other toys in Andy's room are attracted by Buzz's doo-dads and gung-ho attitude, but Woody becomes increasingly jealous and contrives to cause Buzz to fall behind Andy's desk. Instead, Buzz falls out of the window and is thought to be lost. During this period, Buzz manages to survive and save Woody numerous times due to the fact that he still believes that he is a space ranger. Using both stealth and agility, he manages to get through all challenges with Woody until he finally realises that he is, in fact, a toy after watching a Buzz Lightyear Action Figure TV commercial. His attempt to fly out the window of toy-destroying child Sid's house fails, and in the resulting fall, his left arm is broken off. At first, he has a nervous breakdown and falls into depression after learning the truth, but with encouragement from Woody, he gradually comes to accept the situation. He teams up with Woody to escape Sid, and together they are able to reunite with Andy and the other toys.
In Toy Story 2, Buzz leads Slinky, Mr. Potato Head, Rex, and Hamm on the mission to find and rescue Woody after he is stolen by Al McWhiggin, the owner of Al's Toy Barn, for his collection, which is to be sold on to a museum. Assuming Woody's leadership role in his absence, Buzz manages to track down his trail and find the culprit. He appears to be a serious leader right on his task, as he demands the toys not to give up until Woody is safely back in Andy's room, stating that he cannot consider himself Woody's friend if he isn't willing to try and save Woody the way Woody risked his life to save Buzz. Buzz and the toys eventually succeed by navigating traffic, elevators, cars, airports, and aircraft. However, at one point in the movie, while investigating Al's Toy Barn itself, Buzz is captured by a newer Buzz Lightyear action figure, who overpowers him and imprisons him in a display box, showing that the entire toy line apparently holds the same ignorance of their existence as toys as Buzz once had. Nevertheless, Buzz manages to break free from the box and follows the rest of the toys and Al all the way to his apartment. However, whilst escaping the Toy Barn, the toys accidentally release an evil Emperor Zurg action figure. Zurg, who like the other Space Ranger toys, believes he is the real Emperor Zurg, follows Buzz. When Buzz finds Woody in Al's apartment, however, Woody decides to stay with the Roundup Gang. Buzz angrily retorts that he came to save a toy that told him that a toy's real purpose lies in being loved by children, and leaves with the rest of Andy's toys.
Shortly afterwards, Woody has a change of heart, calls Buzz and the others back and invites the Roundup gang to join them, but the Prospector locks the vent, trapping the Roundup toys. Following Al, the gang is attacked by Zurg, who tries to kill the gang. The fake Buzz, who is leading the toys at that moment, battles Zurg, claiming that he "killed his father". After knocking Buzz to the ground, Zurg answers with the phrase: "No, I am your father", in an allusion to Darth Vader. When Zurg attempts to strike Buzz down, he gets knocked off the elevator's roof by Rex. After the fall, he loses his evil side, and the newer Buzz toy elects to stay with him. After rescuing Woody and getting rid of the Prospector at the airport, Buzz assists Woody in rescuing Jessie. Despite being separated from Woody, Buzz commandeers Bullseye in order to follow Woody and is seen galloping next to the plane's wheels when he catches Woody's hat. As the toys finally get home, Buzz is shown to hold a torch for Jessie, complimenting her on her hair, to which she replies by describing Buzz as the 'sweetest space toy she ever met', much to his delight. The last shot shows Woody, Buzz, and other toys watching Wheezy sing "You've Got a Friend in Me".
In Toy Story 3, Buzz, along with Jessie, Woody and the other toys, end up in a daycare center after Andy had grown up and is preparing to go to college. Though initially excited at the prospect of being played with again, the toys soon find the various toddlers are extremely harsh on them and decide to escape. When Buzz escapes from the Caterpillar Room, he is captured and put in demo mode by the cruel teddy bear Lotso, who serves as the leader of the daycare toys. This causes him to regain his 'Space Ranger' persona, and he loses all his memories of his life with Andy and his toys. Lotso takes the opportunity to manipulate Buzz into being a henchman for him, telling him that the daycare is Star Command Central, and that the rest of Andy's toys are working for Zurg. Buzz imprisons them until they capture and reset him (with Woody's help), but this results in his being accidentally put into Spanish mode, still based on his original, deluded self, but with a new romantic side that causes him to flirt and dance with Jessie. He recovers fully and regains his original memories (losing those of his demo and Spanish modes) when he is almost crushed by a falling TV set in an attempt to save Jessie. At the garbage dump, Buzz and the rest of Andy's toys are left to die in an incinerator by Lotso (who ends up being strapped to a garbageman's truck with a few toys), and believing that they are about to be burnt in the furnace, he and Jessie appear to admit their feelings for each other. They are saved, however, by the Squeeze Toy Aliens, who managed to take control of a large crane ("the claw"). As the toys finally got home, Andy then donates all of his toys to a girl named Bonnie. Buzz and the other toys watch Andy drive away to college, and as seen in the credits, embrace their new life with Bonnie, seeing that their life with Andy is now complete. In the end credits, Jessie uses Buzz's Spanish mode to dance with him to "Hay Un Amigo En Mi", a Spanish version of "You Got A Friend In Me."
In Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Buzz is a space ranger working for Star Command, protecting the universe from Evil Emperor Zurg. He works in a team alongside Mira Nova, a Tangean princess with phasing powers, Booster, a janitor from the planet Jo-Ad, and XR, a robot created by the Little Green Men (the aliens from the movies, LGMs for short). To compare this animation and the Toy Story films, the button between the red and blue ones is green in the Toy Story films and yellow in this animation with the releasing of strings when pressed.
In the Super Bowl on February 3, 2008 during the 3rd quarter, Buzz and Woody are watching the Super Bowl and then watch a promo for WALL-E, who is playing with a vacuum.
Buzz Lightyear can be seen as meet-and-greet characters in the various Disneyland theme parks around the world. He also has a cameo appearance in Bedtime Stories as part of the audience (hence reasoning why he is Bugsy).
In Finding Nemo, a Buzz toy can be found in a toy box in the dentist's office.
Buzz is a space ranger from the Intergalactic Alliance and is stationed in the Gamma Quadrant of Sector 4. He is the captain of the Alliance's Team. Lightyear is known for his bravery and courage. Buzz believes that following rules is the way people should live their life. Though a great leader, at times he can be rather unemotional, one of his biggest character flaws. Buzz is said to be Emperor Zurg's son (à la Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back) as mentioned in Toy Story 2, but in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, this is revealed to be a taunt intended to catch Buzz off guard.[episode needed] Either way, this shows that Buzz does not know his father (although as mentioned in Toy Story 2, he was indeed killed, possibly by Zurg, as neither of these facts have been refuted). Buzz is trained in several forms of martial arts and is a highly skilled warrior in hand to hand combat. Being in peak physical condition, Buzz makes a perfect space ranger and is an example to many. He has blue eyes and brown eyebrows, hinting that he might have brown hair.
Buzz wears a high-tech space suit, similar to those of modern-day astronauts though more streamlined and iconic. The suit chest features a control panel. On the left hand side of the suit, a large red button activates the suit's flight system. When activated, the wings on the suit's backpack will unfold, and the boosters at the bottom of the pack will ignite, allowing the wearer to fly. It's stated that his wings are made up of a carbonic alloy. The sides of the wings carry lights that blink red and green, indicating port and starboard sides, in order to prevent any in-air collisions.
The buttons on the right of the suit have numerous functions. Though it is unknown which button does what, when pressed the wearer will be able to contact Star Command, the headquarters of Buzz Lightyear and his allies. On the toy Buzz of movies however, all they do is make Buzz say different catch phrases. The suit also has a liquid adamantium-nitrogen layer which allows Buzz to withstand virtually any physical attack and, in special circumstances, can be used to repel telepaths.
Buzz's suit also protects against the vacuum and cold of space. It can also translate all he says into any language even an outer space dialect. A retractable helmet, when activated, covers Buzz's head and allows him to breathe in space or on planets lacking a sufficient supply of oxygen. The helmet is activated by pressing the purple button on the side of the chest armor. When pressed once, the helmet automatically swings up and seals; when pressed again the helmet flips back down. To protect against the heat of re-entry, the suit contains a shield generator.
The left arm of the suit has a panel that flips open to reveal a display that contains a mission log in the wrist area to record history and provide records. It is also where a "Made In Taiwan" wording is embossed and it is[citation needed]one of the critical pieces of evidence that made him realize he was really a toy. Also located in this area are oxygen gauges, a fuel gauge for the jet pack, and a speaker (all on a sticker, which Buzz peels off in Toy Story 1 after realizing he is a toy.) The right arm contains the weapon system which projects a powerful laser out of the small cannon on the back of the wrist. It is unknown how long the laser's battery life lasts, but it is known that it requires a recharge after some time.
As seen in Toy Story 2, Buzz has a utility belt as an upgrade to his already powerful suit. The buckle of the belt activates the anti-gravity servos stored around the belt. When pressed, a blue beam shoots out before completely covering the wearer in a bubble which allows them to, as the name suggests, defy gravity and fly without the aid of the jet pack. On the sides of the belt, two magnets are stored for climbing purposes. The magnets are shown to be able to support up to three pounds (1.3 kg) before slipping, making them rather strong for toy magnets. At the back of the belt a compartment contains a grappling hook which can easily fold up. The string of the grappling hook is estimated to be about 12 inches (30 cm) long and strong, being able to hold four toys without fraying.
Though how many different space suits Buzz has is unknown , it is known that there are two different series of suits. The first series consists of modified version of his original suit, but with different weapons. The other series are for different rescue missions. There are three different types of rescue suits that have been shown so far: Delta, Alpha and Gamma. Delta consists of the basic suit, and a bigger jet pack and a grappling hook. The others have been shown to have a similar look but with different weapons.