About
Robot Combat is a technology-based sports competition where teams of competitors (called roboteers) build robots outfitted with various weapons and pit them against each other in battle. Weapons that have become famous in robot combat include flippers, hammers, axes, claws, and spinning discs, and often the hazards in the arena itself can cause damage as well. A robot is victorious once its opponents are either immobilized or thrown out of the arena. If time runs out and there isn’t a decisive winner, the judges declare a winner based on the criteria of style, control, damage and aggression.
Fans in attendance (safely behind the bulletproof arena walls) and watching on TV desired and were drawn to robots being destroyed in spectacular fashion. The sport of robot combat was first made famous by the British competition series Robot Wars and then expanded across the Atlantic with the US-based series BattleBots.
History
Robot Wars
Robot Wars was the first live television series to feature traditional robotic combat. Originally the idea of Marc Thorpe, a designer at LucasArts, he started the first robotic combat competition in San Francisco 1994. Eventually, he struck a deal to have the competition televised, and Robot Wars debuted in 1998 on the UK-based BBC Two network as a rousing success. It was also later broadcast in the US on networks such as TechTV. The main Robot Wars tournament each season was considered the UK Championship of robotic combat, but Robot Wars also hosted many international competitions as well.
The first series of Robot Wars was won in an unusual fashion by a robot named Roadblock. Although it was armed with a spinning circular saw, it won many of its battles by its opponents driving over its wedge shape and being immobilized because they could not drive upside down. Due to this, many robots started to be designed using flippers as their weapons, and many robots would add SRIMECHs (self-righting mechanism) to counter the flippers and prevent from being immobilized by them. The second war was won by Panic Attack, whose forklift wedge was combined with excellent driving to defeat opponents by either flipping them or by putting them in the Pit of Oblivion. The Pit is one of the many hazards in the Robot Wars arena (along with a floor flipper, grinding saws, and the House Robots) and being dumped in the pit is considered an instant elimination.
The third and fourth wars were won by a powerful flipper robot named Chaos 2, the only robot to win the UK Championship twice under the Robot Wars banner. Chaos 2’s most notable and historic victory was in the grand final episode of series 3, when it defeated Firestorm by flipping it completely out of the arena. This historic flip (pictured above) was the first such victory in Robot Wars history, but it would be far from the last, as many more flipper robots (including Chaos 2 itself) would repeat the feat many more times in later seasons.
The fifth war was the first to be won by a robot whose primary objective was to immobilize and destroy opponents with damage. Razer, a robot utilizing a powerful crushing claw, decimated all of its competition on the way to the UK Championship as well as the first ever Robot Wars World Championship. Razer’s success continued into the sixth war, but it was defeated in the grand final by Tornado in very controversial fashion.
Tornado modified their robot and added a cage (pictured above) to keep Razer’s claw out of reach, but critics said that the cage made Tornado too large to fit into the Pit of Oblivion and was an unfair advantage. The fight eventually went to the judges, who declared Tornado the winner and champion of the sixth war. Razer would rebound from the loss and achieve continued success, winning the World Championship for a second time.
The seventh war, the final series before Robot Wars would be taken off television, was won by a full-body spinning robot named Typhoon 2. Another controversial judge’s decision in its grand final against Storm 2 (pictured below) led to accusations of collusion and executive meddling, as Storm 2 was considered a “boring” robot because it would always win by quickly pushing opponents in the pit with no effort or flash. Many thought the executives wanted the more exciting and destructive robot to win, and after some damage to Typhoon 2 was allegedly left off the judges scorecard, Typhoon 2 was declared the winner and champion. Like Razer before it, Storm 2 would also bounce back from its second-place finish in the UK competition and go on to win the third World Championship.
Robot Wars would be cancelled and not return for an eighth season, but robot combat competitions would continue in live events across Europe as part of the Fighting Robot Association.
BattleBots
BattleBots was the second major television series to feature robotic combat. When Robot Wars relocated from San Francisco to the United Kingdom, the roboteers left behind would go on to create BattleBots. Eventually they too earned a TV deal, and BattleBots debuted on Comedy Central in 2000. The first season was not a tournament format and only featured exhibition battles, but a new format would be added in the second season. To separate itself from its competition in Robot Wars, BattleBots held tournaments for multiple weight classes and spotlighted many different robots, but the heavyweights were still the most popular by far.
A flipper robot named Biohazard (pictured below) dominated the heavyweight division, winning three of the four tournaments during the show’s run on Comedy Central and losing in the finals of the other to Son of Whyachi. Other notable robots from BattleBots include Nightmare, Complete Control and Warhead. Sometimes, competitors from Robot Wars would come from overseas to compete in BattleBots, including UK champions Razer and Panic Attack.
Biohazard’s smaller counterpart Hazard would also win two of the four middleweight tournaments as well. Ziggo (a full-body spinning robot) and Dr. Inferno Jr. (who used spinning saws) each won two of the lightweight tournaments.
After five seasons, BattleBots would meet the same fate as Robot Wars and be cancelled after Viacom purchased Comedy Central and decided to take the network in a different direction. But also like Robot Wars, the roboteers would continue their robot competitions in untelevised live events. For over a decade the battles would continue unseen by the masses, until a new spark would bring robot combat back into the spotlight…
The Bots Are Back
In 2015, it was announced that BattleBots would return to television on ABC for a six-episode competition. For this revival, they did away with weight classes and only held a single heavyweight competition. A few BattleBots veterans returned after a long absence, but this competition spotlighted many promising newcomers and innovative robot designs. The devastating spinning blade of Tombstone proved to be the most deadly weapon in the tournament and took it all the way to the finals, but it was defeated by the armored and versatile Bite Force.
ABC announced that it would bring BattleBots back for another season in 2016 and expand the tournament field, and the season is currently ongoing. Veterans from the previous season, including the defending champion Bite Force, as well as more legends from the original BattleBots, will compete for the championship.
In addition to the success of the revived BattleBots, it was announced that Robot Wars would also be returning to its former home on BBC Two and begin broadcasting in late 2016. Many veterans from the original Robot Wars, including Razer, will return to take on the new generation of robots.
Famous Robots
The House Robots
From left to right: Matilda, Dead Metal, Growler, Refbot, Mr. Psycho, Shunt, Sir Killalot, Sgt. Bash
The House Robots are robots that patrol the Robot Wars arena during battles. If a robot is knocked into the Corner Patrol Zone (CPZ) where a house robot is waiting, the house robot can attack them. Also, after a robot has been immobilized and counted out by Refbot, sometimes the house robots will come out to cause extra damage and excite the crowd. Dead Metal, Matilda, Sgt. Bash and Shunt were the original four, with Sir Killalot added in series 2. Mr. Psycho and Growler were added in series 6, and Cassius Chrome (not pictured) was added in series 7.
Dead Metal, Matilda, Shunt and Sir Killalot (pictured above) have been confirmed to be returning for the 2016 revival of Robot Wars and have been substantially upgraded.
Notable Competitors
Roadblock (Top, Left): Champion of Robot Wars Series 1. Roadblock’s primary weapon is a spinning blade, but it was the robot’s wedge shape that overturned the competition and led it to the championship.
Hypnodisc (Top, Center): With a powerful spinning disc, Hypnodisc was one of the most incredible and destructive robots in robot combat history. Sadly, reliability issues prevented it from ever winning a championship, but it’s one of only two robots to make three consecutive grand finals.
Chaos 2 (Top, Right): The first and only robot to win two Robot Wars UK championships, Chaos 2 revolutionized the warzone with its immense CO2-powered flipper. Because of flippers, going out to the arena without a SRIMECH to self-right became suicidal… but Chaos 2 even found a way around that by flipping robots completely out of the arena!
Razer (Center, Left): Champion of Robot Wars Series 5 and two-time World Champion. Razer’s giant pneumatic claw shredded and cut through opponents like tissue paper. It’s been confirmed that Razer will be one of the veterans to return for the revived Robot Wars.
Storm 2 (Center): Runner-up of Robot Wars Series 7 and the third World Champion. A simple, effective, but very controversial robot, said to be the victim of executive meddling because it wasn’t “exciting” enough to be a champion. Another veteran returning for the revived Robot Wars.
Biohazard (Center, Right): Three-time BattleBots heavyweight champion, relying on a powerful flipper to send opponents flying. One of the most dominant competitors in robot combat history.
Son of Whyachi (Bottom, Left): One-time BattleBots heavyweight champion, its spinning blade tore through much of the competition. It was later moved to the super-heavyweight division due to a controversy involving its drive system and the allowed weight bonus for walker robots. It came back to compete in season 2 of the revived Battlebots.
Complete Control (Bottom, Center): A prominent middleweight competitor in the original BattleBots, it also returned as a heavyweight for the revived BattleBots. Complete Control’s team enjoys joking and showmanship, sometimes taking it to levels that may even be considered trolling.
Bite Force (Bottom, Right): The champion of the first season of the revived BattleBots, A sturdy and versatile competitor with multiple weapon options. They will defend their title in the next season, which is currently ongoing.
Cultural Impact and Fandom
Both Robot Wars and BattleBots were wildly popular in their primes, with BattleBots at time even surpassing Comedy Central’s crown jewel South Park in television ratings. Both series would also spawn merchandise such as smaller models of the robots (pullback toys and driveable RC versions) as well as officially licensed video games.
Robot Arena 2, an unlicensed PC game based on robot building and combat, has featured robots from both shows thanks to fan-made mods. Similar mods may also be made for the recently-released Robot Arena 3.
The continued live events (post-cancellation but pre-revival) still had high attendance and popularity, and even inspired a new generation of roboteers to build their own robots to battle with.
Search Interest
Note that Google Trends only goes as far back as 2004, which is after both series were originally cancelled. Also note that results and numbers for “Robot Wars” searches may be skewed because the series has a similar name to the “Super Robot Wars” video game series made by Bandai Namco.
External References