My Top 10 Favourite Robot Wars Robots

About time I did a Robot Wars post that isn't just related to recapping a machine's career.

In case running this blog for so many years hasn't made it clear by now, I. LOVE. ROBOT WARS! This is by far my favourite show ever to come out of my home country of England, my favourite game show of all time, my favourite sports show (yes, robot combat is actually classed as a sport, LOOK IT UP!) and my favourite show that isn't fictional entertainment. Robot Wars was my jam growing up with how insanely fun it could be to watch with the various different machines that would enter battling each other for the right to take home the title of Robot Wars champion. I was obsessed with the show back in the day and even now, I still consider myself a die-hard fan of the franchise. I own several books, I collected a lot of the toys, I played the video-games and I've watched both the classic and reboot eras. Oh and I've also seen at least three live shows and watched the streaming exclusive Mech Mania series on Mech+, which I've even subscribed to since, y'know, it's a streaming service devoted to Robot Wars. So yeah, I'm quite the fan of Robot Wars. XD

And to show what a fan I am for today's post, I want to finally countdown and reveal my Top 10 Favourite Robots that have appeared on the show, both classic and reboot eras. So which robots have won the battle to earn a spot on this list? Let's find out.

3-2-1...ACTIVATE!

Number 10: Panic Attack

Gotta start with a fan-favourite and a classic machine, haven't I?

I, like many Robot Wars fans, adore Panic Attack. It's just a charming little machine that may not have the flashiest wins ever, but it does have some of the most calculated and clever with its tendency to hook opponents with its forks and either topple them over, carry them around towards danger or especially drop them in the pit. Panic Attack is one of those great examples how you can still leave a big impression despite not being the most extravagant fighter ever. It also helps how Panic Attack just looks so eye-catching and iconic with its yellow and black paintjob, the spider mascot on top, the red eyes and of course, the lifting forks. This is a machine you can recognize just by looking at it, it's that visually distinctive.

Panic Attack's most notorious wins for me include its Series 2 Grand Final victory that crowned it as Robot Wars' second Champion, its dominant Series 5 Heat performance, its win over Axe Awe in its Wild Card Warriors battle and its Series 7 Round 1 Melee. Those battles to me show Panic Attack at its best and most efficient while also summing up what an impressive driver Kim Davies could be. I'd also say its victory in the First Round Melee of the Series 7 All-Stars is notorious too, but that's because of what a crazy House Robot Rebellion it ended up being rather than because of Panic Attack itself. XD Still, Panic Attack got a lot of notable battles with some of its wins being very memorable moments in the show.

Panic Attack is just a classic robot and it's one that deserves every bit of love it gets. Iconic, skilful, eye-catching, memorable, this robot doesn't make me panic whenever I see it...

Number 9: Wheely Big Cheese

I love cheese, and I love robots. So how can I not love a robot that resembles a giant cheese wedge? XD

Wheely Big Cheese is a memorable machine for a myriad of reasons, namely the fact that it's responsible for the biggest out of the arena flip in the show's history. See for yourself:

Unreal, am I right?! :D

Wheely Big Cheese always looked cool in the arena with its large flipper, yellow titanium armour and huge red wheels, but it's also the prime example of Awesome, But Impractical since it had a tendency to break down easily, which hurt its chances somewhat and meant it never performed as well as it should do. Do I care about that? Not really. I still love this machine. Not only was it a favourite of mine to watch in the show, but it was one of my favourites to play as in Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction because of that powerful flipper and how it was easy to handle and control. Its pullback toy was also great. The robot was also just a lot of fun to watch in action, especially whenever that flipper really worked, such as in its battle with Axe-Awe or in Series 4 when it battled Killertron. When that flipper worked, IT WORKED and always looked spectacular as a result.

Wheely Big Cheese's most notorious wins for me include its win over Killertron, its win over Suicidal Tendencies (mostly for how controversial it was), its win over Wolverine and its win over Axe-Awe (obviously). Those wins, minus the Suicidal Tendencies battle, were a prime example of Wheely Big Cheese's flipper at its best and some of its most spectacular flips. Some of its losses are also really memorable such as its semi-final battle with Tornado, its Mayhem battle against Hypno-Disc and Ming III and its semi-final battle against Dominator 2. Sure it lost those battles, but they were pretty big losses and still had notable moments for Wheely Big Cheese that showed its power, especially when it chucked Dominator 2 so high it nearly touched the damn ceiling! Just unreal how powerful that thing can be! Now one has to wonder what a modern, updated Wheely Big Cheese would be like...

With its fantastic flipping power, easily recognizable design and some noteworthy wins and losses throughout its career, this is a machine that shows the true meaning of "hard cheddar"...had to thrown in a cheesy pun somewhere. XD

Number 8: Dantomkia

I seem to like yellow robots, don't I? XD Spoiler alert, this isn't the last yellow bot on the list, there's still one more to come. For now, let's focus on this one.

Dantomkia feels like one of those robots I love but most people hate...for some reason. It's mainly because it flips its opponents out of the arena a lot, but I don't think that's a valid criticism. Dantomkia should be praised for how pragmatic, swift and tactical it can be when in action, hence why I personally enjoy watching it in action. I love the robot for its unique name too. You see, the name comes from Michael Lambert, the driver of the machine, who named it after his three kids, Daniel, Thomas and Kiara. That's so creative and in turn, gives this robot a name that you'll never forget anytime soon. In Robot Wars, there is only ONE Dantomkia, and it's this machine. Its appearance is as unique as its name too. You don't often get wedge-shaped flippers like this, especially with the front prongs to help wedge underneath opponents. It also allowed Dantomkia to somewhat act as a full body spinner too. This design also made for an awesome toy too and I'll never forget the hours of fun I used to have playing with it. That alone is enough for me to name this machine as one of my favourites.

Dantomkia's most notable wins include its win over Chaos 2 in Series 6, its Loser's Melee against Wild Thing and 13th Black, its win over Hypno-Disc and Sir Chromalot in the Challenge Belt, its first round melee battle against King B Powerworks, Rick and Hassocks Hog 2 in Series 7, its VERY quick victory over IG-88, its dominant melee against Behemoth, Pussycat and King B Powerworks in the All-Stars and its dominant melee against Glitterbomb, King B Remix and Overdozer. These battles either showed it at its best or showed how effectively it could flip other machines out the arena for a quick win. The win over Chaos 2 is especially important as it was the moment that truly signified how outdated Chaos 2 was and how Dantomkia was the new breed of powerful flippers coming in to dominate the scene. It's also the moment where Chaos 2 got a taste of their own medicine since they were notorious for flipping other machines out, and then Dantomkia comes to flip THEM out. Dantomkia's loss to Gravity is another really memorable moment for the machine, namely since Gravity gave THEM a taste of their own medicine an also broke Dantomkia's 11 second record for fastest out of the arena flip. Funny, am I right? XD

People can say what they want about Dantomkia. I personally love the machine and it's why I still consider it among my favourite robots out there. Flipping fantastic and striking to the eye, I wonder what the three kids whose names made up this machine thought about it...

Number 7: Raging Knightmare

The ONLY robot on this list I haven't done an essay on (yet), so you may be surprised to see me label this machine as one of my favourites. Also it doesn't really have the most impressive history or track record ever, but it's still one of my favourites anyway.

First of all, the name is just badass. How can you not love a machine called RAGING KNIGHTMARE? That is such an awesome name! And it fits with the theme of its predecessors since before it, we had Knightmare and Spirit of Knightmare. I love the cartoon knight on top of the robot as well that emphasizes the knight pun some more. That's just cute and funny. Raging Knightmare is also the coolest looking machine that Team Knightmare ever created during their time on the show. The silver colour scheme with the gold trim around the flipper, the golden R and K initials and the somewhat boxy design look distinctive, and it's also the most unique looking flipper bot we've had since unlike most flipper bots, Raging Knightmare can run both ways up. That's so neat and again, so unique. It really does give Raging Knightmare its own identity and something that stands out visually and technically compared to other flippers.

Raging Knightmare's most notorious wins include its win over Revenge of Trouble N' Strife and its Heat Final victory against Spawn Again that saw it become a semi-finalist for the first time in the show's history. Seriously, the way it beat Spawn Again was pretty hilarious. See for yourself:

It also had some notorious battles in its previous incarnations, namely how it finished runner-up in the Extreme series' second Annihilator as Spirit of Knightmare and got two Out of the Arena flips as Raging Reality during its Series 6 run. Team Knightmare have been around for a while in Robot Wars and whenever they show up, they always seem to leave an impression somehow, and Raging Knightmare left the biggest one for me.

Silver and boxy, armed with a powerful flipper, able to run both ways up and sporting one of the coolest names in Robot Wars history, this machine really is like a brave knight on the battlefield...

Number 6: Thermidor II

A lot of fans love this machine, and who can blame them? Thermidor II was always a fun bot to have around on the show.

First of all, its design is very distinct and memorable. How many lobster-based machines have you seen on Robot Wars? Only one, and it's Thermidor II. That alone makes it a very unique robot with an identity like no other. But don't be fooled by Thermidor's appearance. It may seem like a joke bot, but it's actually pretty efficient and was a two-time semi-finalist over the course of its career. True, it also has bombed out in Round 1 a few times, thus giving this machine a very hit-and-miss track record, but that doesn't stop me loving Thermidor II. Thermidor is armed with a powerful flipper that can throw opponents out of the arena, something it demonstrated to great effect in its Mayhem battle against Behemoth and Stinger by throwing them BOTH out of the arena in the same fight. That was unheard of at the time, so it was pretty impressive how Thermidor made history in such a big way. Like Raging Knightmare, it's also a flipper bot that can run both ways up, which is also unique as I mentioned earlier, we don't get flipper bots that are usually invertible. The robot just always looks so good in the arena with its red colours and lobster like appearance and thus I'm always happy to see it in action.

Thermidor II's most notorious wins include its victory over Kronic the Wedgehog in Series 4, its Mayhem battle I mentioned earlier, its dominant Heat performance in Series 7 and the Flipper Frenzy. Most of those battles mentioned showed how effective it could be with its powerful flipper while the Flipper Frenzy win was notable due to how chaotic it was with everyone attacking the House Robots and Thermidor ended up surprisingly as the only one still moving at the end. Funny how it has a reputation for breaking down easily, yet in this one battle it outlasted Chaos 2, Bigger Brother and Wheely Big Cheese. Other notable battles include the Extreme 2 Annihilator, which it finished as a runner-up in, its Round 1 loss to Prizephita Mach 2 because of how unexpected it was and its Semi-Final battle against Pussycat in Series 4 due to how close that was. Whether it wins or loses, Thermidor II's fights tend to stick with you and you remember them well.

Visually distinctive, fun to watch, always giving us a memorable battle, it's no wonder this robot has me suddenly craving lobster for dinner afterwards. Provided it's a REAL lobster and not a robot one. XD

Number 5: X-Terminator (Series 7)

Most of my love for X-Terminator comes from the Series 7 incarnation, so I'll mostly be talking about just that incarnation and justifying why I've only put this X-Terminator on the list above all the others.

X-Terminator was a machine that was pretty decent, but not the most remarkable ever when it debuted in Series 3. Up until Series 6, it was armed with an axe, which was never that reliable, and its only real notable achievements were reaching the Semi-Finals of Series 4 and finishing as a runner-up in the Series 4 Sumo Basho. It wasn't until Series 7 when X-Terminator finally got good and proved to be one hell of a force of nature in the arena. Its Series 7 appearance as you see here looks very striking with its silver and blue colour-scheme, its unique half pyramid-box shape design and large "ears" that have extendable poles for self-righting if it lands on its side. It always looked so cool in the arena and I loved watching it in action. But looks aren't just everything. This thing is a menace when it gets going! With the axe gone and replaced with a vertical spinning disc, X-Terminator was a near unstoppable juggernaut in the arena, chewing up opponents left and right and laughing in the face of flippers despite them being its biggest weakness! And to give you an idea how powerful it is...

...its spinning disc could throw opponents out of the arena. That's pretty insane, and not something we've seen contestant machines do before this moment. It was only Matilda with her trademark flywheel that could do such a feat, but here's X-Terminator proving you don't have to be a House Robot to pull it off too.

X-Terminator's most notable wins, including its previous incarnations alongside its Series 7 run, include its Heat Final win over Behemoth in Series 4, its dominant Mayhem performance in Extreme, its dominant melee win in Series 6 and of course, every single battle in won in Series 7. X-Terminator vs. Tsunami deserves the biggest mention for what an incredible come back it was. I'll never understand how the hell they didn't go out of the arena when Tsunami had them against the wall, but a good thing it did as seeing this machine lose so early would've been a shame. X-Terminator more than deserved that win and I'm so glad the robot ended its career as a Grand Finalist.

Series 7 may have been its only real time it shone, but X-Terminator proved it was more than capable of exterminating the competition, and that's why the Series 7 incarnation remains one of my all time favourites...

Number 4: Pussycat

This machine is a golden oldie and just about every fan of Robot Wars adores Pussycat. Who can blame them, I love pussycats too. They're so cute and cuddly and I love the way they purr and...oh sorry, wrong kind of cat. XD

Pussycat is one of the most unique looking machines to ever enter Robot Wars. So unique that if any design ever copied it, it was always obvious where the inspiration came from. Pussycat is essentially a pyramid shaped machine with four wheels so it can run any way up and even when it's on its side, it can still move about and get back on its wheels with ease. The name "Pussycat" is even a reference to the saying how "cats always land on their feet", and this machine's design makes that the case. Its blue and silver colours and the silver and black cutting blade also give it an iconic appearance that you won't see anywhere else. The blade is also Pussycat's biggest secret behind its success. It has torn up and diced through many, many, MANY opponents with that blade, even the big names like Razer and Hypno-Disc, and because of its vicious weapon and the legendary driving skills of the late David Gribble, Pussycat has one of the highest win records throughout the show's history. Even after David's death, it still proved capable of doing the damage and still capable of winning tournaments after a surprise victory over Dantomkia in the Series 7 All-Stars Grand Final. It was always impressive seeing this machine battle, because you'd never think it was really that powerful or threatening, yet Pussycat would continuously defy expectations and pull off an amazing win over and over again. Hell, this machine is among the VERY few to ever beat Razer via knockout! TWICE in fact! It's no wonder Pussycat struck a chord with many of us.

Pussycat's most notorious wins include every one of its victories in Series 4, especially against Razer and Hypno-Disc, its Heat Final match against Fluffy where it still won despite losing its blade, its Extreme Annihilator win and its victory over Dantomkia in the Series 7 All-Stars. These battles show Pussycat at its most destructive and capable, as well as its tendency to pull off surprise victories despite the odds being against it and how it could really tangle with the best of the best and come out on top. The Hypno-Disc win is especially incredible. How it managed to score that vital blow to Hypno-Disc's very small wheel, I'll never know...

This is no cute and cuddly kitty cat. It slices, it dices and it's a Robot Wars legend for that reason. Pussycat is a favourite for many, and that includes me...

Number 3: Apollo

The only machine on this list not to appear in the classic series, Apollo is my favourite machine to debut in the reboot, and for many reasons.

I love the design of Apollo. Sure it's a very basic wedge-shaped flipper, but the white and back colour scheme make it look cool at least, as well as evoking a space shuttle theme given it's named and based after the Apollo space programme. Its full pressure flipper proved capable of launching opponents into orbit too, making the space theme doubly fitting. Apollo is responsible behind some pretty iconic and memorable moments from the Robot Wars reboot, namely the fact it flipped over the House Robots...

...not just one of them...

...not two...

...but three of them. They came so close to flipping over Sir Killalot in the World Series, but weren't able to do it. Still, it's always cool to see competitors flipping over House Robots and Apollo made it look so easy every time. It wasn't just that as to why I love Apollo though. I just really enjoyed watching it in action with its powerful flipper and how it proved capable of pulling a surprise or two, especially in the Grand Final when it managed to miraculously stand up to Carbide and win despite being beaten by them in an earlier match. The Apollo team always put on a good show and gave it a good fight anytime their machine was in the arena, and it made for some of the most entertaining moments of the reboot era.

Apollo's most notable wins include both its wins over Storm 2 (especially the Heat Final where they flipped them out), its win over TR2, its Grand Final victory against Carbide, its first round melee in Series 10 and its World Series win against Díotóir. Those battles showcased some of its most spectacular flips, especially on the House Robots, and also how well Apollo could preform when working at its best. Some of its losses are also notable, namely its surprise loss to Behemoth in the Series 10 Heat Final. Pity Apollo lost, but so happy for Behemoth at the same time there. As is, Apollo is the kind of machine where it's got a memorable moment to talk about, whether it wins or loses.

Sleek looking, space themed, armed with a powerful flipper and providing some of the most entertaining moments of the reboot, this is a robot that launched into orbit and gave us some really spectacular shows as a result...

Number 2: Hypno-Disc

My favourite machine that only appeared in the classic era. Hypno-Disc is a machine that really should've done better and should've won at least one kind of tournament. Always such a pity how it showed such incredible promise, yet never really lived up to it and had some pretty lame losses in its career. Does any of this stop me loving Hypno-Disc? Hell no!

Hypno-Disc has a design that is just classic from top to bottom. There's just very few machines that have a design as unique as this with the flat body, four little wheels and giant flywheel with a hypnosis pattern to match the "hypno" part of its name. To think it was inspired by a LEGO model one of the team member's sons had made too. Inspiration can come from anywhere after all. Hypno-Disc just always looked so sleek and shiny in the arena, which really helped make it look visually appealing. But when it was in battle...oh gosh, when it was in battle, it didn't half leave a big impression! Hypno-Disc used to be one of the most feared names in the arena because of how destructive it could be! Its first two battles in Series 3 and its incredible Series 4 run were the best examples of how this machine just ripped opponents to pieces and left them tattered and beaten. Because of this, Hypno-Disc tended to give us some of the most entertaining and awesome, yet frightening moments of the series because of how it would obliterate its opponents. No wonder so many were afraid of this thing when its flywheel started spinning!

Hypno-Disc's most notable wins include its wins over Robogeddon and Stealth in Series 3, every one of its wins in Series 4 (especially the battle with Splinter), its wins over Atomic and Bulldog Breed in Series 5, its dominant Mayhem melee against Wheely Big Cheese and Ming 3 in Extreme and its wins in Series 6, especially the melee in where Barber-ous 2 did all the work and Hypno-Disc just killed them afterwards as if annoyed it was stealing its thunder. That was pretty funny. XD These battles show Hypno-Disc at its most destructive and powerful and are some of the show's most entertaining battles of all time. Even some of its losses are pretty memorable too, namely its incredible upset defeat at the hands of Bigger Brother despite dominating the fight until its loss. Many fans even consider Hypno-Disc vs. Bigger Brother to be the best battle in the show's history. I hate it myself because of that upset defeat, but that's just me...

It's a pity it never really won anything, but Hypno-Disc is forever among my favourite machines because of what a show-stealer it could be. Visually appealing, highly destructive and fearsome in the arena, Hypno-Disc is a machine guaranteed to have you under its spell...

And my Number 1 Favourite Robot Wars Robot is...Behemoth

My favourite machine to appear in both eras of the show, I've always loved Behemoth as a kid and I still love it now. I don't care if it loses a lot and is incredibly unlucky, this is still my favourite robot to ever appear on the show!

Behemoth has such a cool design and that alone is one of the big reasons why I love watching it battle. What's not to love about a robot with a bulldozer design and sporting yellow-and-black warning stripes? It just gives Behemoth an overall robust and powerful appearance, and also makes it look rather large too, befitting the "Behemoth" name. The pneumatic scoop weapon is also unique as most flipping machines have a flat wedge shaped flipper, but Behemoth's is scoop shaped and just as potent as an actual flipper. It gives Behemoth tremendous pushing power as well as flipping capabilities, and that's pretty cool to see. Later incarnations would include an axe on top for gripping purposes as well, but the axe was never really that effective. Still, with its bulldozer design and flipping scoop, Behemoth just always looked cool in action. Pity it lost a whole bunch of times, but didn't take away its entertainment factor for me. The fact it was also really fun to play as Behemoth in the Robot Wars video games also helps. Seriously, whether it's Arenas of Destruction or Extreme Destruction, Behemoth was the best one to play as, or one of the best at least.

Behemoth's most notable wins include its wins in the Series 3 World Championship Tournament, its first round melee against Arnold, Arnold Terminegger and Rambot, its win over Hypno-Disc in the Extreme All-Stars, its wins over The Steel Avenger and Stinger in the Extreme Challenge Belt, its dominant melee performance in Series 7, its House Robot Rebellion battle alongside Gravity against Mr. Psycho, Growler and Cassius Chrome, its win against Terrorhurtz in Series 8, its win against PP3D in Series 9, its win over Apollo in the Series 10 Heat Final and its Redemption Match win against Magnetar in the Grand Final. These were the battles that proved Behemoth could really pull off an impressive win if it wasn't plagued by bad luck and technical issues and also showed it wasn't always losing. The Series 10 win over Apollo was easily the highlight of Behemoth's career as it was their first Heat victory since Series 2 at that point and such a spectacular victory to with how they got Apollo to slide into the pit at just the right moment. I can't begin to tell you how ridiculously excited I got after that moment! For your viewing pleasure, I'll let you see it for yourselves:

While it's a shame it did lose a lot, even some of its losses were big moments in Robot Wars and memorable battles in their own right, such as the Mayhem against Thermidor II and Stinger, the World Championship final against Razer, the rather unique way Bigger Brother managed to pit it in Series 6, its bizarre malfunction against Mute in Series 7, the incredible good-timing of Nuts 2 that got it pitted in the Series 10 Grand Finale First Round Melees and its Grand Final battle against Eruption which was essentially Eruption juggling Behemoth around the arena for five minutes. Whether it won or lost, Behemoth always put on quite the show and was just as memorable for its victories as well as its losses.

I was also happy that I got to see Behemoth in person at the Robots Live! event in Grantham back in 2019. Seeing my favourite robot in person...I'll cherish that memory forever. ^^

Big and imposing, sporting a cool bulldozer design, cool in the arena, always a charming underdog and such an iconic part of the show that it always felt like Robot Wars whenever they showed up, all this and more is why Behemoth is my Number 1 Favourite Robot Wars contestant of all time...

And that's all I have for this list. I hope you enjoyed it and I invite you all to share your thoughts down below. What robots are YOUR favourite competitors to appear in Robot Wars? Do let me know.

Next week, I'll be doing an essay talking about Vivienne Medrano's writing issues. See you then media fans!

Honourable Mentions

Storm 2

Dominator II

Gemini

Tornado

Díotóir

Aftershock

Gravity

Firestorm

Support the blog here on my Patreon page.