History Main / AirborneMook

** ''Videogame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'', being much more of a platform game than other games in the series, has several. Bubbles bounce around the screen in diagonals and take a ton of hits to kill. Aches and Achemen are bats that swoop down from the ceiling, Achemen turn into a demon when they land and spit fireballs. Mobys are a bird that swoops down out of the sky and beelines at Link once they reach his height. Bago Bagos are a skeletal monster head that take soaring leaps across the screen while spitting stones. Ras are the animated dragon head statues and the LedgeBats of the game. Moas are flying ghostly eyeballs -- the orange ones in palaces try to drop fireballs on Link, the outdoor types just try to fly into him. Girobokkus are a slower moving, armored floating eye that are invincible when their eyes are closed. Boons are fast moving dragonflies that rain rocks down beneath them, luckily they're fragile because they're very hard to hit.

** The first film's game on UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance has the city pigeons [[CurbStompBattle suicidal enough]] to attack a lion.

* The Giant Mosquitoes in the Blighttown swamp in ''VideoGame/DarkSouls''. Hard to hit, annoying things. They're easily killed by the even the weakest of attacks but here is the kicker; ''They endlessly respawn.''

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' throws Pegasus Riders, Wyvern Riders, and, occasionally, flying monsters at the players on a regular basis.

* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' has the jump/jet-packing [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Elite Rangers]] and [[KillerSpaceMonkey Brute Jumpers]], as well as the robotic Sentinels and insectoid Drones. ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'' adds Ranger variants of the [[HiredGuns Jackals]] and [[SlaveMooks Grunts]].

* In ''VideoGame/DeathsGambit'', you'll often encounter floating crystals that pulse shockwaves around themselves. Garde Tum has [[spoiler: drones that fire actual lasers]]. There are also semi-examples, like the ghostly cultists who merely lack legs and so float off the ground instead, and the [[SuperpoweredMooks Aldwynn Ascended]], whose powers allow them to briefly sprout wings and fly up high, only to dive down for a devastating attack.

* ''VideoGame/ElephantQuest'' features the so-called Repulsers, Zippers, and Chasers.

* ''VideoGame/GardenGnomeCarnage'' has sleighs. They float, and some of them drop gift-clad parachuting elves on you, but on the other hand, they can be helpful as they explode like a brick when they hit the ground, likely taking out some elves in the process.
** In the ''Garden Gnome Carnage'' spin-off ''VideoGame/HyperPrincessPitch'', they return. They shoot projectiles at you, and some of them only fly by, leaving you only short time to kill them, while others stay around and you have to destroy them.
* ''VideoGame/{{Ghoulboy}}'' has giant insects with a skull over their face.
* ''VideoGame/GunstarHeroes'' has jetpack soldiers that drop bombs in Orange's stage.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bug}}'' also had at least one in each level, and they were usually very annoying to defeat.

** Various flying demon enemies begin popping up in later installments as well. If you don't have an aerial attack like the trusty axe subweapon they become a very serious pain in the ass, such as Earth Demon.
** Flying enemy that throws spears: Gremlins of ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon'', or ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow'': Winged Skeleton.

** The most infamous across the series are the dreaded Medusa Heads. They don't usually turn you to stone, but they do fly in a sine wave when you're on platforms. If the platforms are moving, or the ones who ''do'' turn you to stone show up, or god-forbid ''both at the same time'', they become DemonicSpiders rather quickly.

** Various flying demon enemies begin popping up in later enstallments as well. If you don't have an aerial attack like the trusty axe subweapon they become a very serious pain in the ass.

* The ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' series has quite a few aerial Badniks, like the [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1 Buzz]] [[VideoGame/SonicGenerations Bom]][[VideoGame/SonicLostWorld bers]] and [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 Buz]][[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4 zers.]] They [[TooDumbToLive tended to fly within Sonic's attack range]], though, and most are rather easily dispatched.

-->-- ''Franchise/StarWars: Episode IX -- Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker''

* The ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' series has quite a few, like the [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1 Buzz]] [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 Bom]][[VideoGame/SonicColors bers]] and [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 Buz]][[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4 zers.]] They [[TooDumbToLive tended to fly within Sonic's attack range]], though, and most are rather easily dispatched.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' introduces Lakitu (which flies [[FlyingOnACloud on clouds]] out of normal range and drop [[TheSpiny Spinies]] onto the player) and Koopa Paratroopas (flying versions of the Red Koopas; they lose their wings and fall to earth if Mario jumps on them, becoming regular Koopa Troopas).

** ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'' has Para-Biddybuds, which typically fly in groups and with a joint pattern, as well as Stingbies, a bee enemy that chases Mario and/or Luigi if they spot them, though they are limited by. ''3D World'' also introduces Parabones (Dry Bones with wings), which are also present in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey''.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'' introduces the Urban Stingbies, which are mosquito enemies found in Metro Kingdom and [[spoiler:a part of Darker Side]].

** Flying variants of the octopus-like Octoroks appear from time to time. Sky Octoroks appear in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild''. The ones in the former fly through leaves attached to their tops, which they spin like propellers. The ones in the latter game are instead {{Living Gasbag}}s that fly thanks to inflated mantles. ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'' also features winged Octoroks that dodge Link's attacks by fluttering out of the way.
** The {{Liza|rdFolk}}lfos enemies have winged relatives, the Aeralfos (from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess''), that attack Link from the air with strafing attacks.

*** Kloak floats in place and throws objects and/or enemies.

** ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryReturns'': Tiki Buzzes are drum-like tikis that are winged and stay airborne without actively attacking the Kongs, though their fiery variants do expel fireballs onto them.
** ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze'': Hootzes are owl-like creatures that are part of the Snowmad tribe, and either remain static in an aerial spot or move in a certain patter (back and forth in a straight line or around a circle).

* ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' has many MechaMooks that could fly. These include Pipi, a robotic bird carrying an egg which it drops. If the egg hits the ground, it breaks into eight or so mini-birds, which then fly at Mega Man. Especially annoying are those "things" that live in BottomlessPits which pop out from them as you jump over, knocking you backwards and into the pit. The series' {{Mascot Mook}}s, Metools, have helicopter-propelled variants in Needle Man's Stage Revisited from ''VideoGame/MegaMan3'' and Junk Man's Stage from ''VideoGame/MegaMan7''.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' introduces Lakitu (which flies [[FlyingOnACloud on clouds]] out of normal range and drop [[TheSpiny spinies]] onto the player) and Koopa Paratroopas (flying versions of the Red Koopas; they lose their wings and fall to earth if Mario jumps on them, becoming regular Koopa Troopas).

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' introduces Parabombs, which are Bob-Ombs falling onto the floor with a parachute. Also, in the Forest of Illusion, some enemies that are otherwise ground-based travel encased in a floating transparent bubble.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'' has Para-biddybuds, which typically fly in groups and with a joint pattern. ''3D World'' also introduces Parabones (Dry Bones with wings), which are also present in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey''.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker'' has Para-''anything''. Any enemy in the game can have wings if you wish so. Including Bowser himself.

[[caption-width-right:250:And you thought mosquitos were annoying...]]

* ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' had the Bloatflies, which attacked by spitting their larvae at truly unearthly speeds, and Mr. Handy -- Mr. Gutsy robots, as well as Eyebots used by the Enclave.
** ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' added the similar, but ''[[DemonicSpiders much]]'' tougher Cazadors.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' had some enemies with the flying status, which meant that you couldn't use melee attacks against them unless they were guns or bows/crossbows. Alternatively, one could just use magic on them without having to open up the inventory all the time.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' also had enemies with the "flying" status which could not be damaged by melee attacks. There were also bat enemies which had a 1/8 (later ones had 1/4) chance of completely avoiding a physical attack.

** The first film’s game on UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance has the city pigeons [[CurbStompBattle suicidal enough]] to attack a lion.

* ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic3'' generally had one or two flying units per race. Some, like Citadel Lightning Birds or the Tower Gargoyles, would only cover 7 squares or so, while others, like Angels, Pegassi or all dragon types, could fly to any square on the board. The Dungeon faction Harpies deserve a special mention: when upgraded, these had the “Return Back (to a starting point) After Striking” and “Enemy Doesn’t Respond To Blows” trait, which essentially made them into a ranged unit that could attack with impunity and flee if a stronger unit cornered them.
** ''Heroes Of Might And Magic 5'' had a smaller selection of races, but tried to give them more variety to compensate. As such, the flying units also gained more unique traits. For instance, Gryphons could fly off the map for one turn to dive down at your chosen spot in the next. If the enemy troops were still there, they would receive doubled damage from the attack.

%%* ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'': Cacodemons, Lost Souls, and Pain Elementals (which [[MookMaker spawn Lost Souls]]).

** The sequel introduces several- the Seagull Zombie, the Parrot Zombie, the Jetpack and Disco Jetpack zombies, and any zombie carried by the Bug Zombie. Unlike the Balloon zombie, regular plants could thankfully hit them. The Dodo Rider is an interesting case- it starts out as a grounded mook, but when it encounters ice floes or troublesome plants it flies over them until it passes the obstacle.

-->-- ''Franchise/StarWars Episode IX: Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker''

-->-- ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker''

* ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'' had the sorta-flying Infectors, which were weak but fast, and whose main purpose consisted of making more Necromorphs from the corpses lying around. Then, the ''VideoGame/DeadSpace2'' ''Severed'' DLC has had the actual winged Flyer Necromorphs. Thankfully, those were also the weakest of the bunch.

[[AC:Film]]
* '''Franchise/StarWars'' ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'': Geonosian soldiers are winged members of their race, who can fly and are armed with shock sticks or sonic blasters.
* ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'': The jet-propulsor equipped Stormtroopers. To quote Finn, "They can fly now?"

Because of this, they are often used as GoddamnedBats, relatively weak enemies that use their speed and agility to harass the player until they go down, especially in games where your character has DenialOfDiagonalAttack or takes {{Knockback}} (see LedgeBats for this case). Can be a type of KungFuProofMook if they're especially hard to hit normally.

Airborne Mooks in platform games, usually those that try to knock the player over, are considered a huge annoyance, ''especially'' if they're [[LedgeBats the kind whose sole purpose is to knock the player]] into a BottomlessPit. However, if you can GoombaSpringboard off of them they can be used to cross BottomlessPits.

* Vespoids in the ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' series. They are essentially giant wasps that hover just out of reach of many of the game's weapons, before darting in, jabbing you with a stinger, and retreating. Couple this with the fact that the stinger can inflict paralysis on you, and will seemingly always do this when you're low on health/fighting a boss level enemy, and you will soon come to hate them.
** Also, they nearly always shatter when you DO kill them, leaving absolutely nothing to loot, making the whole exercise of killing them completely pointless (fortunately, Poison works fine if you need a body to carve).
** The fact that the developers have included quests based entirely on slaying large numbers of these things (an early quest has you slay 20. At this point in the game, it takes 3-5 hits to kill one of the things!) also accentuates the utter irritation they bring. However, at least they spawn almost infinitely in certain places, so you don't have to go looking everywhere for them.

* ''VideoGame/AlanWake'' had the Taken Crows, which were obviously extremely weak, but attacked in whole swarms to compensate. ''VideoGame/AlanWakesAmericanNightmare'' had replaced them with Taken that could temporarily turn themselves into swarm of crows.

Simply put, a {{Mook}} that flies, floats, or hovers, due to either having wings, a propulsion system, or supernatural powers. They like to stay out of the player's reach, and will attack from their advantageous position. Furthermore, due to their freedom in the air, they tend to dodge rather well.

* Neckies in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry''; Zingers, Flitters, Mini Neckies, and Kloak in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry2DiddysKongQuest''; Knik-Knaks in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry3DixieKongsDoubleTrouble''; and owl-like Hootzs in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze''.

* The remake of ''VideoGame/TheNinjaWarriorsAgain'' has {{Attack Drone}}s as flying enemies, which fly high and lower themselves a bit to fire a salvo of rockets diagonally at the player character. Fortunately for your robot ninjas, these drones are also ''extremely'' fragile, taking one hit to destroy.

* Wide variety of them is abound in ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac''. Many are varieties of a fly, starting from regular red flies that have tiny health and only do contact damage, all the way to fast, tough [[MeaningfulName Boom Flies]] that [[DefeatEqualsExplosion explode on death]]. In between there are the ranged Pooters and the smaller ladybug-like things that also explode on death, but are much slower and weaker than Boom Flies.
** There are Hofers – eyeless heads suspended in the air that spit blood and a variety that moves while doing so. Then there are relatively high-level Babies, which shoot blood and [[TeleportSpam constantly teleport]], and Angelic Babies which fire a SpreadShot of three. [[spoiler: The Womb]] has Leeches, which charge forward through the air at ridiculously high speeds if you’re in their path, with the upgraded [[DefeatEqualsExplosion Explosive Leeches]] and Angelic Leeches (also Explosive, but are protected by an invincible fly) encountered at [[spoiler: Satan’s level and Cathedral, respectively]]

* ''VideoGame/{{NetHack}}'' features many flying creatures. Essentially everything represented by [[OurAngelsAreDifferent A]], [[GoddamnedBats B]], [[OurDragonsAreDifferent D]], [[OurGhostsAreDifferent W]] or v (vortex) is one. All of these obviously ignore pits, beartraps, landmines and such, and easily travel over water. All of them also have good-to-great AC - Dragons and Angels because of their scales and armour, the rest because flying lets them dodge attacks easier. There are also several special cases...
** Couatl are essentially flying feathered angelic snakes. Lawful players will practically always be friendly with them, and so have little to worry about. Neutrals and chaotics are also likely to outmatch them by the time you first encounter one, and be immune to their poisonous bite. However, everything changes if you happen to be near water - couatl will then wrap itself around you, and pull you under, which is a guaranteed insta-kill unless you manage to free yourself in the one turn between couatl wrapping itself against your body, and couatl pulling you under (and if you are heavily burdened with stuff or otherwise slow, you won't get that turn either). The only way to definitely avoid that fate near water is to either wear a ring of magical breathing (makes drowning pointless, but all your stuff still gets soaked and screwed up as a result), or to wear an oilskin cloak, which will cause couatl and other entangling creatures, like kraken, to harmlessly slip off.
** Killer bees (use letter "a", mainly used for the similarly dangerous giant ant varieties). Frequently encountered in swarms of 10+. Their tiny size gives them AC of 0 - i.e. landing a damaging blow on them is as difficult as on someone fully encased in the basic metal armor. Worst of all, though, is their poison - up until your character gets poison resistance, it frequently amounts to an insta-kill. If you don't have it, the best thing to do about them is to immediately engrave the Elbereth ward, and attack at range until they finally die or at least go away long enough for you to retreat to another level/behind some door, all while desperately reapplying the ward to ensure it doesn't fade while you are surrounded. This is comparatively easy for Rangers and Wizards, with their powerful ranged attacks/spells, but hell for classes like Archeologist, whose best ranged option is to literally throw anything you have in your inventory at them.

* ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' had the Bloatflies, which attacked by spitting their larvae at truly unearthly speeds, and Mr. Handy - Mr. Gutsy robots, as well as Eyebots used by the Enclave.

* The ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'' series has them. Hammers and other low-hitting moves will not be able to hit these kinds of enemies, use your GoombaStomp instead. Bowser from ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory Bowser's Inside Story]]'' has it pretty rough against the (very few) airborne enemies he fights - he is unable to attack them via any of his normal attacks.
** VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam adds mooks (and bosses) that change from being airborne mooks to land based ones mid battle (and vice versa), with Flibbees going between being right way up and on the floor and upside down and in mid air. There's also Robo Drilldigger, a giant boss who has both land and sky forms (and whom is immune to the jump or hammer depending on which one is in use) and the boss Pi'illodium, who can thankfully be taken out the air and made vulnerable to ground based attacks if you destroy its wings.

** Flying Assault Drones and Rocket Drones in ''VideoGame/MassEffect1''. Their flying made them immune to most biotic attacks, they had some of the strongest [[DeflectorShields shielding]] in the game and very tough weapons to boot. They land eventually, though, and could be lured to your side with a high enough Hacking skill. Ironically, the much weaker Geth Recon Drones are the first and weakest enemies you face in the game.

** Last but not least, ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' has the Harvesters. Made from a wild, non-sentient specie, these are very tough, have a powerful cannon attack and spawn more basic husks around them. The multiplayer also has the very fast Geth Bomber drones with difficult-to-dodge attacks.
* Zubats from ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', or any Flying-type for that matter, although they weren't as annoying as the bats...
** Pokémon with the Levitate ability to dodge Ground-type attacks can count too, though Koffing/Weezing are probably the most annoying, having a high Defense, being able to poison you or blow up, and having only one weakness because Levitate removes its Ground weakness...
*** The Tynamo family is particularly nasty for this reason; its offensive stats are high enough that it can do more than stall, and its weakness to Ground attacks is annulled by its Levitate ability, effectively leaving it with ''none''. That is, unless Gastro Acid, Entrainment, Gravity, Mummy, or Mold Breaker come out to play.

* ''VideoGame/IntoTheBreach'': Hornet Vek and the Psions hover above the ground, making them immune to drowning and falling into a pit. However, they are still vulnerable to hazards on the ground, such as landmines or acid pools.