Backlash was nearly totally rebuilt for Season 2.0- new armor, new battery system, new reinforced frame and drive system, and more!

UPDATE! Backlash WON 2nd place!

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Backlash was first picked to fight a solidly-built Rampage. I looked this bot over and was pretty worried. He appeared to be very solid, with this steel armor and a spinning weapon and 3 menacing spikes. I knew it should be a good fight. The fight started with Rampage sitting by the killsaws, apparently trying to lure Backlash over them, but I didn't fall for it, I moved around and Backlash smashed into Rampage's side spike, tearing it completely off. The spike flew all the way across the arena and ricocheted off two of the walls before crashing back to the floor. Cool! I went in for another hit, this time Rampage flew into the killsaws and got cut up a bit. Backlash moved in one last time, tearing off the top panel of Rampage and smashing the side up a bit. Rampage came to rest over the saws, and when the saws came back up, they ripped off the front steel guard and sent it flying across the arena. Rampage stopped moving, so Backlash won by a Knockout. This fight did not make it to TV.

Rampage A piece torn off of Rampage

Backlash next had to fight Mike Regan's lightweight bot, Scrub. Scrub is a mini version of Mike's middleweight, Spaz, who went on to win the Season 2.0 championship. The fight began and I sent Backlash, disc spinning madly, towards Scrub, who had stopped and started spinning his own weapon. The bots tangled and Backlash ripped off the spike from Scrub, sending it flying. Backlash hit Scrub several more times, but it was hard to line up on him, because Scrub was almost always in motion. Eventually, one of Scrub's drive wheels stopped moving, and he was spinning a bit slower, so I sent Backlash in for a few more hits, some on the tires, others on the body and what was left of the spike weapon. The match went the full three minutes, and at the end, the judges awarded Backlash a 43-2 victory. This fight did not make it to TV.

Scrub A spike torn off of Scrub

Backlash's next opponent was Dallas Goecker's bot, Sallad. Sallad is a well-built machine that is very low to the ground, and has a nasty arm that triples as a lifter, a hammer, and a ramming spike. Backlash charged over to meet Sallad, who backed into the spike strip. I thought it might be over right there, but Sallad freed himself before I could hit him. Backlash zipped around, the spinning disc beating against Sallad's front armor, but the teeth couldn't find much to grab on to, so Sallad and Backlash just pushed each other for a bit. Sallad gets one great push on Backlash, pushing the rear wedge into the Killsaws. I really got worried then, because this ramp got cut in such a way that it was high-centering Backlash badly, but both drive wheels were still (barely) able to touch the ground. I was able to get Backlash moving enough to hit Sallad a few more times, warping his front armor against his drive wheels. At that point, Sallad could no longer move, and smoke started to pour out of his overheating motors. The referees counted Sallad out at just under 2 minutes, and Backlash took a KO victory. I had a lot of damage to repair after this fight, so I rushed off to the pits to fix the rear of Backlash's wedge and repair some other minor damage. This fight aired on Comedy Central's BattleBots, season 2.0.

Sallad

Backlash's next opponent was Christian Carlberg's Toe Crusher. I've always admired Toe Crusher. He's a tough bot to beat. Backlash and Toe Crusher met briefly at BotBash the year before. Toe Crusher is a fast and powerful bot, and Christian is an excellent driver, so I definitely had my hands full on this one. As the match started, both Toe Crusher and Backlash moved into the center of the arena, and I was able to hit Toe Crusher a couple of times before Toe Crusher got around the side of Backlash and started pushing him across towards the far wall, but Backlash was able to barely escape and twist away, facing Toe Crusher again. I sent Backlash in to hit Toe Crusher, and landed a solid blow to Toe Crusher's frame, but the impact was just enough to snap the battle-worn shaft that supported Backlash's disc weapon. The whole disc flopped useless to the floor, but somehow stayed attached to the bot. With my weapon disabled, I moved Backlash towards Toe Crusher to try to push him into the killsaws, we both ended up going over the saws at least once, but then, after one more trip over the saws, Toe Crusher stopped moving entirely. I'm still not sure what killed him. I maneuvered Backlash to try to push Toe Crusher some more, and managed to position him barely over the saws as the referees counted out Toe Crusher. Backlash was declared winner by KO at 2 minutes 15 seconds. It wasn't a pretty win, but I'll take it! This fight aired on Comedy Central's BattleBots, season 2.0.

Toe Crusher

Well, here Backlash was again- in the Lightweight finals! Just like last season! Backlash certainly had his hands full with his next opponent- the very powerful and deadly Ziggo! I was quite nervous coming into this fight, I had just run back from the pit after charging Backlash for only about 30 minutes, and hastily repairing his broken disc shaft from the previous fight. My strategy on this match was to get to Ziggo before he could spin up all the way and hit him hard. I knew it took him several seconds to spin up, and Backlash should be able to get over to him in just a few seconds. The match started and both bots spun their weapons up, and I hit the joystick full forward. Nothing happened. Backlash just sat there. Something was definitely wrong. I started wildly dancing around with my radio in hand, frantically trying to get Backlash to "see" the commands I was giving him. A wheel started to move and stopped. Aaaargh! Something was wrong and I could do nothing! Ziggo was fast approaching and I couldn't defend myself. Somehow Backlash's disc remained spinning, but I could only intermittently get a signal to him to drive. Ziggo hit Backlash from the side, taking out a chunk from his tire and bending the extended shaft. The impact apparently disabled something inside Ziggo, because he stopped spinning. Ziggo moved in to Backlash, right at the spinning disc, and got hit. Hey, that was cool, I didn't even have to aim and I still hit him! Every once in a while, Backlash was pushed within range, and I had a second or two of control to keep him moving, but it wasn't enough. (Meanwhile, I'm still dancing around like a madman, trying to get the transmitter to send signal to Backlash- I wish they had shown this on TV, it would have looked really funny). The non-spinning Ziggo came in and pushed Backlash from the side enough to upend him, and the gyroscopic forces of the disc took over and Backlash ended up on his back. Immediately after this hit, Ziggo found himself high-centered on the arena exit ramp. Both bots were immobile at the same time, yet the referees counted Backlash down and out and Ziggo won by KO at 1 minute 23 seconds. This fight aired on Comedy Central's BattleBots, season 2.0. After the match, I discovered what had happened. In my haste to fix Backlash for this fight, I had somehow lost the antenna wire from the top of the bot, it had fallen deep down inside Backlash, so the reception from my transmitter was next to nothing. Ugh. I remember in the few minutes between those matches looking at the wire and thinking to myself, "I should put a piece of duct tape on that, so it won't slide down." Silly me, I should have listened to my own advice! The match could have been VERY different with the help of a simple piece of tape! Post season update: Upon reviewing the fight on TV, and consulting with BattleBots themselves, it appeared that this fight should not have ended in a KO after all. Ziggo and Backlash were disabled simultaneously, and the match should have been halted and reset by the crewbots. Not that Backlash stood much of a chance with his bad antenna wire, but it just kind of sucks to have had to lose like that. Oh well, next time!!

Ziggo

Yippee! Backlash takes home the 2nd place nut!