Manta

"Manta's about 200 pounds of pure evil fish... it's got very sharp teeth."

- Jeff Cesnik

Manta was a competitor robot that featured in both seasons of Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors. It reached the Semi-Finals of the Season 1 US Championship and The Second World Championship, which was also broadcast in the UK as part of the first series of Robot Wars Extreme, as well as winning the Civil War tournament representing the Confederacy. However, it lost in the second round of both the US Championship and the International Championship in Season 2, as well as the Extreme 1 International Inferno.

Design
Manta was a low rounded box-shaped robot with six-wheels, a very high top speed of 20mph and two weapons- a three-bladed vertical spinning Kees hardened steel disk at the front and a carbide ramming spike at the back. It was described by Jonathan Pearce as "stealthy-looking", and was painted light blue, dark blue and gray to resemble a manta ray. For Extreme Warriors Season 2, Manta featured a new spinning blade capable of spinning at 7,500rpm. Its sides were sloped to deflect wedges and spinners, although the robot was comparatively lightweight during Season 1 at 185lbs, and could not self-right.

US Season 1
Manta's first appearance in Season 1 was in the Civil War competition, representing the Confederacy. In the first round against Tiger Cat, Manta immediately attacked its opponent, ripping off some of its fur and causing the front panel to fly off the New York machine. Tiger Cat reversed onto a flame jet and was set on fire, and Manta continued to attack it with its spinning blade. Tiger Cat was eventually counted out and pitted, so Manta went through to the second round to face Spike. In this battle Manta slammed into Spike numerous times, and then pushed it across the arena and into the side wall. At this point Spike appeared to lose mobility and, after a few more slams, Manta left it to the house robots. Eventually Manta pitted Spike and reached the final, in which it would face $6 Million Mouse. In the final, Manta slammed into the back of $6 Million Mouse and turned it over onto its side, unable to self-right. Manta pushed $6 Million Mouse into the CPZ and it was picked up and paraded around by Sir Killalot before being thrown by the arena flipper. This righted $6 Million Mouse and Manta continued to attack it, eventually pushing it into the pit to claim the Civil War trophy.

Manta's next competition was the US Championship. In the first round Manta slammed Rippa Raptor into Dead Metal's CPZ before getting underneath Mad Cow, puncturing one of its tyres. Manta then went back to attacking Rippa Raptor, which had become immobilised. Not much more was seen of Manta until cease was called and judges gave it the win, much to the surprise of the audience, the team and Mick Foley. In the semi-final against Panzer Mk 2, both robots went on the attack with Manta getting the upper hand early on, getting underneath its opponent on numerous occasions. However Panzer Mk 2 came back strongly and slammed Manta into the arena wall, causing Manta lose mobility. Panzer Mk 2 continued to slam Manta but many of these attacks resulted in it driving up the side of its opponent. Cease was called and the judges went for Panzer Mk 2, which sent Manta out of the competition. Manta also competed in The Second World Championship, representing the United States. This competition was also broadcast during Robot Wars Extreme: Series 1 and Manta's opening battle was broadcast during German Robot Wars. In the first round Manta attacked Ansgar, getting underneath it and pushing it into the CPZ. Meanwhile Chaos 2 had pitted itself while trying to pit Mastiff and Manta finished the job by pushing the Italian machine into the pit of oblivion. Manta spent the rest of the battle pushing Ansgar around the arena until the German robot became immobilised and was counted out, leaving Manta to go through to the semi-final against Drillzilla. In this battle Drillzilla attacked the back of Manta, but was pushed backwards by Manta into the arena wall. The two American robots continued to push each other around the arena, activating the pit release button in the process. Manta was performing well to push the heavy shufflebot around the arena until it drove perilously close to the pit and was pushed in by Drillzilla, eliminating Manta from the competition.

US Season 2
Manta fought in Round 1 against Mad Cow Bot and Trilobyte. It immediately rammed into the larger Trilobyte and started shoving it around the arena. Trilobyte was quickly immobilized. After Trilobyte's entanglement cloth was ripped off by Mad Cow Bot, Manta used its new spinning blade to attack Trilobyte's rear wedge. Manta went through along with Mad Cow Bot.

"You guys were out there giving 100%, guts, stamina, fortitude..."

- Mick Foley to Cesnik Technologies

In Round 2, it faced Rocky-Bot-Boa. The fight seemed evenly matched despite Manta's new spinning blade breaking in the opening stages of the fight. Manta was quick, and aggressively slammed into its opponent, but proved to have lower pushing power, and it was shunted back by Rocky-Bot-Boa. As the fight went on, both robots were slowly running out of battery power. The battle was sent to a Judges' decision, and a close split decision went against Manta because it showed more signs of immobilization. "That thing was a brick, you can't push it around, you can't hurt it, it's impossible!"

- Cesnik Technologies on Rocky-Bot-Boa

Manta also competed in the International Championship, where it first faced Joker. It was able to push Joker around the arena and cause some damage to its opponent's rear, whilst its low design prevented Joker from causing any damage in return. Eventually, one hard hit from Manta's blade immobilised Joker, so Manta pushed it onto the flame pit, where it was left to the mercy of Sir Killalot.

In the second round, Manta fought against General Chompsalot 2. It started strongly, causing minor damage to General Chompsalot, until it was slammed into the pit release button. After this, Manta appeared to lose mobility. Chompsalot tried to get Manta into the pit, but failed to do so and time ran out. The resulting judges decision went against Manta, eliminating it from the competition.

Extreme Series 1
In addition to the UK broadcast of the Second World Championship (which is covered in the US Season 1 section), Manta took part in the International Inferno against Panic Attack, Maximill and Flensburger Power. It started by attacking Maximill, twice sending it into the air on impact and then pushing it into the flame pit. Manta briefly attacked Flensburger Power before ramming Maximill into the CPZ, where the Dutch machine was attacked by Matilda and Shunt. Manta was then lifted into the air by Panic Attack and pushed around the arena as Flensburger Power was counted out. Manta was eventually freed and rammed Panic Attack numerous times as Maximill was also counted out. Panic Attack lifted Manta up again and held it over the pit, which was opened at that point by Matilda. This allowed Panic Attack to nudge Manta into the pit and win the International Inferno.

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * UK Wins: 0
 * UK Losses: 1
 * US Wins: 7
 * US Losses: 4

NOTE: The Second World Championship performance record is only included within US Wins/Losses

Outside Robot Wars
The team had previously entered the first series of Robotica with Kritical Mass, which also featured six-wheel drive and a front-mounted spinning blade, known as "The Blade O' Death". It reached the final, but lost to Run Amok after a design-error left it beached on some bricks. The team then returned to the third series with a new robot, Ultra Violence which featured a more deadly blade and exposed wheels. It also reached the final, but lost to Juggerbot 3.0.

To test Manta before the World Championship, the team entered it into BattleBots Season 3.0 under the name Kritical Mass 2. It did well, winning two battles before losing to Gold Digger.

Mantas final combat appearance would be at the North Carolina Robot Street Fight 2 in 2002 where it would perform incredibly well.

Trivia

 * Along with Krab-Bot, Tornado, 101, Storm 2, Behemoth, and Razer, Manta is one of only six robots to finish in the top four of a World Championship and the top eight of a domestic championship, and is the only US robot to do so.