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This article contains significant plot details that people who haven't experienced the source material yet might wish to avoid. Read at your own risk.
Should not be confused with Zerg
Evil Emperor Zurg, also known as Emperor Zurg, or simply as Zurg, is a prominent evil intergalactic alien warlord conqueror and the sworn enemy of the Galactic Alliance. He rules over the largely automated Planet Z, and has an army of robotic Hornets and at least two enslaved species (Grubs and Brain Pods) working for him. His main opponent is Buzz Lightyear, a Human space ranger of Star Command.
Although he is a powerful and utterly evil character, Zurg is also a comical, flamboyant figure who often breaks the seriousness of otherwise purely evil statements. He enjoys mocking his opponents by videotaping awkward moments of them.
It is still a mystery to which species the evil emperor belongs. He appears to be some sort of cyborg or fully artificial lifeform, though this has never been confirmed (or denied). On more than one occasion Zurg did mention being Buzz Lightyar's father (which would make him Human), but these statements were later denied by Zurg himself, who explained that he was simply attempting to temporarily astonish Buzz.
Notes[]
- An Emperor Zurg action figure is featured in the second and third installments of the Toy Story movie franchise.
- Zurg's line about being Buzz's father is possibly a reference to the evil Darth Vader from the original Star Wars trilogy.
- Zurg is voiced by Andrew Stanton in Toy Story 2 and related video-games, and by Wayne Knight in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. Knight had previously voiced Al McWhiggin in Toy Story 2.
- Emperor Zurg is mentioned in Toy Story. Buzz states that he (Zurg) has a super weapon able to destroy an entire planet (reference to Death Star).
- In Lightyear, Zurg was revealed to actually be an elderly Buzz Lightyear from an alternate future, where he became obsessed with finishing his mission of returning marooned Galactic Alliance colonists to Earth at any cost. After flying through space at above lightspeed, he found an abandoned alien spaceship already stocked with Zurg's armor, reimagined as an imposing mech suit. The alternate Buzz then adopted the alien's identity, traveling back in time to stop his Star Command colony from ever landing on T'Kani Prime in the first place, even if it meant effectively killing everyone in the current timeline, as generations had passed in the colony. It is unknown who or what Zurg or real Zurg was originally, although the mech's cockpit appears to have been built for a humanoid of Human size and general proportions. Referencing Toy Story 2's Darth Vader reference, the younger Lightyear initially mistook the elder Lightyear for his father. Additionally, Zurg's only minions were Zyclops.