In "Toy Story 2," Zurg (Andrew Stanton) is accidentally released from his toy box when Buzz (Tim Allen) and the others are at Al's Toy Barn. During a battle atop an elevator with a new identity-confused Buzz who has tagged along with the gang from the toy store, Zurg tells him, "No, Buzz. I am your father." An obvious reference to the famous twist in "Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back," it's a funny moment with an even more comedic resolution, in which the new Buzz and Zurg happily play catch together.
"Lightyear" takes the idea in a new direction. Toward the beginning of the film, Buzz makes several attempts to reach hyperspeed, but the four minutes he spends on each test run equate to four years on the planet, meaning that everyone on its surface continues to age while Buzz virtually does not. After Zurg captures him and brings him aboard his ship, Buzz learns that Zurg is actually an alternate version of himself from the future.
This version of Buzz returned from a successful hyperspeed test only to find Star Command waiting to arrest him. Rather than submit to authority, Buzz goes further into the future and finds technology that allows him to travel back in time. His plan is to use Buzz Prime's fuel source to help send them back in time before the ship crashes, which would mean that the planet's future generations, including Buzz's new friends, would cease to exist.
"Lightyear" certainly takes liberties with the relationship between Buzz and Zurg as presented in "Toy Story 2," but in doing so, it takes on an identity all its own.
