Disney and Pixar’s Lightyear brought everyone’s favorite Space Ranger back to the big screen with a brand new origin story. Of course, it would be difficult to tell a big Buzz Lightyear adventure without the character’s arch-nemesis, the evil Emperor Zurg, sworn enemy of the Galactic Alliance. Buzz’s robot nemesis is the central antagonist in Lightyear, and the film finally pulls back the curtain on the villain’s identity, revealing a surprising twist for longtime Toy Story franchise fans.
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WARNING: This article contains MAJOR spoilers for Disney and Pixar’s Lightyear! Continue reading at your own risk…
There was a storyline in Toy Story 2 that suggested Zurg may actually be Buzz Lightyear’s father, paralleling the relationship between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader in Star Wars. That notion was addressed when Zurg is first unmasked in Lightyear, but it doesn’t take long for the real truth to come to light. Zurg isn’t Buzz Lightyear’s father. Zurg IS Buzz Lightyear.
In Lightyear, Buzz and the entire team from Star Command are stranded on a remote planet for decades, though Buzz hardly ages because he’s testing hyper speed missions that allow him to essentially travel forward in time. He’s focused on finishing the mission to return home while everyone else on the planet starts making new lives for themselves. This is where the future Buzz comes into play.
Knowing the folks at Star Command didn’t appreciate him stealing a ship solve the hyper speed problem, that version of Buzz travels far into the future, where he find all sorts of robot technology that allows him to become even more powerful. He travels back in time to fix his initial mistake, but his crystal can only take him so far. He needs the new power source that “present” Buzz and Sox created.
This big reveal adds a major layer to the relationship Buzz has with Zurg. Both are two versions of the same person, though one has evolved to move on from his mistakes while the other spends years dwelling on them.
What do you think of Pixar’s new origin story for Zurg? Do you think they’ll bring Zurg back for future stories? Let us know in the comments!
