Firestorm

"We're Firestorm, and you're gonna burn"

- Graham Bone

Firestorm (spelt Fire Storm in Series 3) was a long time competitor on the British show Robot Wars. In total there were five Firestorm robots, but they were all essentially upgraded versions of the same basic machine. The rough design of the robot, which was reused for each one, was a wedge driven by two wheels in the base of the rear, minimizing ground clearance on the front. On the front surface of the robot was a front-hinged flipper mechanism which doubled as a Self-righting mechanism. However, in 5 series and 2 extreme series Firestorm only needed to self right three times. Also on the front was a slow bar on the first robot which was superseded by a quicker panel flipper on the later four, which served as the main weapon. The original Firestorm also featured a retracting spear weapon (similar to that of Cassius 2) and a set of conveyor belts on the wedge.

Both of these were removed for Firestorm 2, which had an inverted paint scheme. This was reverted back to the original for Extreme 1 and remained the same until Series 7. The Firestorm series of robots competed through Series 3 to 7. The team also entered with the less successful Groundhog in Series 2.

The Firestorm robot was one of the most successful in Robot Wars history, holding the record for the most battles ever won in across the main competition, reaching five consecutive semi-finals. It reached the Grand Final in Series 3, 5 and 6, finishing in third place on each occasion. Consequently, Firestorm was never seeded lower than 7th (except for the Third Wars which had no seedings). It was also the only robot that was able to flip over Mr. Psycho, and broke several records - the quickest battle record it set in its first ever battle stood for several years, and its final victory against Mute allowed it to take the record of most Out of the Arena flips from Chaos 2. However, despite this huge amount of success, the team only won one official honour in its history; the Commonwealth Carnage Championship in Extreme Series 2.

Whilst lacking in destructive weaponry, Firestorm's success was largely due to the driving skill and tactics its driver, Graham Bone, who is regarded as one of the best drivers in the UK competition. Firestorm's trademark tactic was to drive an opponent up against the arena wall, and flip it against the side-barrier so that it couldn't self-right. This tactic served Firestorm well throughout its entire Robot Wars appearance, with the first example being Facet in series 3, the last being Mute in series 7, and many others in between, including the Grand Champions of series 2, Panic Attack. Graham Bone expanded this tactic in the later series, using the reverse wedge at the back of the robot to allow Firestorm to lever its front up onto the arena wall, and use its flipper to topple an opponent over the wall and out of the arena. This was done by a castor at the front so the robot could 'rear up' and 'shove' is oppponent out of the arena.

Like many Robot Wars competitors the Firestorm team entered Techno Games. The team entered the football tournament with a robot called Snowstorm which was a white and blue, weaponless Firestorm. Snowstorm was teamed with Kat's Whiskers from Team KaterKiller

Appearances in Merchandise

 * Firestorm/Pullback
 * Firestorm/Minibot
 * Firestorm/Robot Wars: Metal Mayhem

Series 3
The original Firestorm had a very narrow lifting arm and four conveyor belts on the body. In the first round Firestorm smashed Crasha Gnasha into the wall, the force of the impact throwing the shark-like machine onto its back. Next, it was flipped over once by Facet, another wedge-shaped robot, before self-righting and flipping Facet on to its side, a position from which it couldn't self-right. In the Heat Final it flipped Diotoir over once before pushing it onto the flame pit, where it caught fire.

In the Semi-Finals it didn't have to do much against Pitbull as it was turned over by an Arena Spike. Then, Firestorm caused a surprise by defeating the reigning champions Panic Attack in round 2. It repeatedly got underneath its opponent, although it didn't manage to flip it until Panic attack was nearly turned onto its side by an arena floor spike. At this, it turned Panic Attack onto its side against the arena wall. It managed to self right, but Firestorm won the fight by a judges' decision.

In the Grand Final Firestorm made history by becoming the first Robot to be flipped out of the arena. Firestorm and Chaos 2 briefly circled each other and Chaos 2 tried to get a flip in but missed. Firestorm lay static in the middle of the arena, giving Chaos 2 time to position itself and toss Firestorm into the air. Refusing to give it any time to self-right, Chaos 2 charged at Firestorm, pushed it over to the arena wall and flipped it out, causing an immediate cease, Firestorm becoming the first of many robots to be later flipped out of the arena. Firestorm won the play-off and third place by default due to the damage sustained by Steg-O-Saw-Us in its previous fight against Hypno-Disc.

Series 4
Firestorm 2, now seeded 5 after its impressive run in series 3, looked equally impressive in its first-round melee with The Morgue and Scar. Firestorm powerfully rammed The Morgue into the arena wall with its new flipper design, so that the yellow barrel-shaped robot could not self-right. Firestorm went on to attack Scar, although both robots had already qualified, also immobilising Scar against the arena wall. Firestorm's round 2 battle, with Bolt From the Blue, was largely uneventful, with neither robot able to gain the upper hand. Firestorm was the more aggressive, ramming its wedge-shaped opponent several times, but could not get underneath Bolt From the Blue's low ground clearance. After Bolt From the Blue almost flipped Firestorm over, its flipper seemed to stop working, allowing Firestorm to ram the slower robot several times again and win the judges' decision. Firestorm faced a reinstated Morgue in its heat final, attempting a couple of times to softly flip The Morgue so its barrel-shape would not help it self-right, but without success. Firestorm then rolled The Morgue onto Matilda, and flipped it again, however the Welsh machine rolled back onto its wheels both times. Firestorm attempted to repeat its tactic in the first round, pushing The Morgue against the wall but failing to flip it. The Morgue came onto the attack, pushing Firestorm around and getting underneath the Durham competitor. As the pit descended, Firestorm pushed The Morgue over towards the pit, with The Morgue reversing over the edge and getting wedged over the pit, then Firestorm spinning around and accidentally reversing into the pit as well. The team of the Morgue celebrated, thinking that they were victorious, however the judges awarded the win to Firestorm 2 based on the battle up until that point, and the fact that The Morgue had been immobilised over the pit just before Firestorm 2 went in.

Firestorm's Semi Final was a fast and furious battle against the unseeded, but so far impressive Dominator 2. Firestorm immediately came on the attack, driving straight under Dominator 2, flipping it and shoving it around the arena. Dominator 2 managed to self-right, however, by repeatedly flailing its axe whilst spinning around on its side. Firestorm repeated the manouver, before Dominator 2 landed a strong axe blow on Firestorm's flipper, embedding the tip in and allowing Dominator 2 to push the seeded robot back, despite Firestorm using its flipper to try and free itself. Dominator released Firestorm, but managed to trap the Durham competitor with its axe when Firestorm drove up its front wedge. Firestorm then came back on the offensive again, flipping Dominator 2 over once more and shoving it against the arena wall, almost flipping it out, before time ran out and cease was called. The judges' decision was one of the closest ever, being a controversial, 2 - 1 split decision that favoured Dominator 2 by only one point.

Firestorm 2 also entered the Series 4 Tag Team Terror, pairing up with Scorpion. In the first round, it was drawn against Bigger Brother and Plunderbird 4. As Firestorm watched Bigger Brother and Scorpion battle, it wasn't long before the red machine was toppled, therefore Firestorm did its duty of righting it. Firestorm retreated as now Plunderbird attacked Scorpion, but then it shot out of the Red Zone and rammed it from behind. Firestorm was warned by Refbot to get back to its zone, which it did, but it soon after darted into the Blue Zone and almost toppled its teammate. It then bulldozed Plunderbird into the Red Zone, attempting to flip but was lifted by Matilda. "What on Earth is going on here, Refbot? Control these robots!"

- Jonathan Pearce comments on the madness in the arena.

Plunderbird attempted to crush into Firestorm 2, but the Slicer Dicer wasn't working. Firestorm attacked Bigger Brother, almost flipping it, but couldn't quite manage it and was again attacked by Matilda. It reversed away from the Red Zone, slamming into Bigger Brother on the way for good measure. It again got underneath Scorpion, slamming it into the seemingly immobile Plunderbird 4. Firestorm released Scorpion from the wedge of Plunderbird, only to be assaulted by Bigger Brother. Firestorm flipped Plunderbird onto its claw, but it dropped down shortly afterwards. It slipped underneath it, but was pinned underneath Plunderbird momentarily, freeing itself to right Scorpion again. Bigger Brother shunted it into Matilda CPZ, where it was flipped against a side wall. It propelled itself away, then righted itself. Firestorm Then attacked Bigger Brother, who had flipped Scorpion, but Firestorm failed to flip the bronze robot. Fiestorm was pushed against a side wall, while Scorpion was set alight by Sgt Bash. Bigger Brother pushed Firestorm 2 into a CPZ, but it was soon to escape. It was then forced into the Blue Zone, and was presurrized for the remainder of the battle. The Judges gave the win to Firestorm and Scorpion, who proceeded into the Final against 101 and King B3. Unfortunately, it wasn't working properly for the battle, therefore putting up a poor performance. After Scorpion took punishment from both of its opponents, Firestorm moved sluggishly out of the Red zone, only to pushed by King B3 back into the Red Zone. King B3 then mistakenly drove up onto Firestorm's wedge, but not far enough for the flipper to be able to topple it."Scorpion may have gone blind, and they've shown a blind eye to rules and regulations!"

- Jonathan Pearce as madness breaks out yet again. Firestorm didn't move after this and Scorpion's drive had broken on one side, meaning that King B3 and 101 were the champions of the Tag Team Terror.

Firestorm 2 entered the Sumo Basho tournament, but was pushed off in 4 seconds after driving up Shunt's scoop. It also entered the pinball, scoring 135 Pts, equal seventh with Hypno-Disc.

Extreme 1
Firestorm 3 took part in the Robot Wars Extreme All-Stars Championship after having reached a Grand-Final and Semi-Final in the previous 2 UK Championships. In the first round, it was drawn against Panic Attack who it had taken the crown off in Series 3. Firestorm 3 immediately turned Panic Attack over before flipping it against the arena wall where the Series 2 champions couldn't recover. Firestorm 3 then fought Wild Thing in the Quarter-Final. After a few flips on Wild Thing all over the arena and pursuing it into the house robots, Wild-Thing had found itself with its srimech open and pinned off the ground. In the Semi-Finals, Razer lifted and punctured Firestorm 3 and was axed by Shunt several times in the last 10 seconds of the fight. The fight went to a judges decision and Firestorm 3 was eliminated.

Firestorm 3 also took part in a Vengeance battle with Diotoir after Team Nemesis made fun of the fact that the Firestorm team spend much time doing their hair. Before the battle even began, Dr Zulu was caught on the security cameras "vandalising" Firestorm 3, however, it's believed that this was all just a big setup joke for the cameras. Within the first 10 seconds of the battle, it was all over as Firestorm only needed a few flips to send Diotoir rolling onto the flame pit where it couldn't self-right, Diotoir caught fire and was counted out by Refbot.

Reaching the All-Stars Semi-Finals also gave Firestorm 3 a place in the 2nd World Championships representing the UK along with Chaos 2, Razer & Tornado. It did well in Round 1 flipping both the Dutch NEAT Machine and Swedish W70 over, but it couldn't get its flipper into contact with the American Drillzilla who shoved Firestorm 3 all over the arena. Both Firestorm 3 and Drillzilla were still mobile at the end, but the judges awarded the win to Drillzilla instead of Firestorm 3 as it was more aggressive.

Series 5
Seeded 7th this time around, Firestorm 3 sustained major damage to its flipper from Matilda's flywheel in its very first fight. However, it had already disposed of Bee Capitator, flipping over the furry robot, so it moved through. The team repaired the flipper for the next round and had immobilised Sir Chromalot within five seconds of the bout, due to the "Class Act" robot being unable to self-right. It progressed to the Heat Final where, after some tense driving, it pushed Reactor 2 to the arena wall, before flipping it up onto the arena wall. Reactor 2 stayed there for a moment, before slowly toppling over the arena wall and out.

Firestorm's opening semi-final battle against Hypno-Disc was over after just one attack from the destructive weapon. Sir Killalot then pitted Firestom after its disappointing performance. However, it came back strongly to win the Losers melee, outmatching Wheely Big Cheese and Panic Attack making it to the second round, although Panic Attack nearly got Firestorm out of the arena at the end. There it met Pussycat, where its wedge shape and flipper allowed it to dominate the battle, throwing Pussycat around the arena to win the resulting judges' decision.

This was the only time, out of both the Fifth and Sixth Wars, that a winner of the loser's melee made it into the Grand Final.

Firestorm was very much the underdog in its second Grand Final appearance, fighting the frighteningly destructive Razer for a place in the grand final. Razer certainly started the battle on top, as Firestorm drove at it but was unable to drive underneath Razer's front wedge. Razer then proceeded to attack the vulnerable armour around Firestorm's flipper, crumpling, but not piercing it. Firestorm tried to use its flipper to free itself, however in doing so it exposed its interior, allowing Razer to crush one of the hydraulic rams powering Firestorm's flipper, leaving it wedged open. Firestorm escaped, and kept trying to drive under Razer; however, it ended up driving onto Razer's scoop twice, allowing the crushing arm to cause minor damage. However, on one of its attacks, Razer accidentally pushed Firestorm's flipper closed, and that was the turning point of the battle. With its flipper now closed, Firestorm was able to drive underneath Razer's side, and shove it against an angle grinder. The Razer team had a huge scare, as Razer became pinned against the arena wall, but was able to drive free after being nudged by the Refbot and Sergeant Bash. Then, in a display of amazing tactics, Firestorm then deliberately drove onto Razer's front scoop, allowing the beak to come down, and proceeded to almost shove Razer into the pit, and then into Sergeant Bash's CPZ. Both robots escaped to the middle of the arena, but Firestorm repeated the tactic almost exactly the same, nearly pitting razer and shoving it into Sgt. Bash once more. Firestorm nearly pitted Razer for the third time, before Razer came back on the attack - however, either Firestorm's armour was too thick, or Razer's beak had lost power, as Razer was only able to cause minor damage to Firestorm's front. As the final seconds ticked down, Firestorm pushed Razer against the arena wall and into Shunt, who axed the silver machine just before time ran out. For only the second time in Robotwars history, the judges entered the arena to inspect the damage done to both robots. This was considered to be Razer's closest victory ever, with the judges awarding Razer the win based on the damage caused to Firestorm's flipper early on.

Firestorm wrecked its revenge in a fast and furious rematch with Hypno-Disc for third place. With its flipper still out of commission from the previous fight, the team had used the extra weight to add additional armour that enabled it to stand up to the blade of Hypno-Disc, although Firestorm did lose its wheel armour on both sides exposing its tires. After pushing Hypno-Disc around the arena, it rammed the spinner down the pit and drove in with it. The judges called for a rematch, however the Hypno-Disc team couldn't comply, as the impact with the bottom of the pit had badly damaged its mobility. Firestorm finished third again in its second grand final appearance.

Series 6
Firestorm 4 returned as the 3rd seed after its Series 5 performance. Its first battle was against Mega Hurts 2, Cedric Slammer and Colossus. It flipped over Colossus in the CPZ, leaving it unable to flip itself onto its wheels, as it was up against the side wall. Meanwhile, it also flipped over Cedric Slammer, leaving it immobile, and for good measure, threw Mega Hurts 2 over, causing its monitor to break off. It then proceeded to drive in the pit. In the second round against Barbaric Response, Firestorm 4 flipped the Barber machine several times, and after getting beneath Refbot and flipping it on its side, it pushed Barbaric Response into a position from which it could not escape. In the heat final against X-Terminator, Firestorm and X-Terminator circled each other, with X-Terminator getting beneath Firestorm 4 and attempting to flip it over with its scoop. After almost flipping X-Terminator into the pit, Firestorm 4 catapulted X-Terminator into the side wall, leaving it feebly attempted to self-right. Firestorm 4 then attacked and flipped Shunt onto its side. X-Terminator fell onto its back after trying to self-right.

In the series Semi-Finals, Firestorm 4 was up against 13 Black in the first round, and immediately Firestorm flipped 13 Black against the side wall, and 13 Black's self-righter had broken, leaving it immobile and Firestorm going through. In Round 2, Firestorm 4 fought the 7th seed S3, who it pushed up onto the side wall, so that the weight of the disc and wheel caused S3 to fall over the wall and out of the arena. This meant that Firestorm had made it to its third Grand Final.

In the grand final, Firestorm 4 put up a fight against Tornado, flipping it over so that the wedge became useless. However, flipping it back onto the front caused Firestorm 4's demise, because Tornado got beneath the wedged robot and pushed it into the open pit. However, Firestorm 4 won the playoff against Terrorhurtz; despite having a chunk of armour torn off by the deadly axe, Terrorhurtz lost drive and Firestorm 4 placed 3rd.

Extreme 2
Firestorm 4 fought in the All-Stars tournament. Its first battle was over early as Bigger Brother had flipped S3 out of the arena before it could get into its stride but it took out the frustration onto Dantomkia in the next round. Despite being similarly matched on paper Firestorm dominated the battle throwing Dantomkia over until its safety link was knocked out. The episode final passed in similar fashion, Bigger Brother put up more of a fight than Dantomkia had but still couldn't avoid being flipped and pitted sending Firestorm to the All-Stars grand final. It was matched up with Razer, a robot it had been beaten by twice before. Firestorm had a much better start in this encounter slipping straight under Razer's front (a rare feat) and pushing it into Dead Metal. Razer brought its claw down into a battery and seemed to leave Firestorm with no forward or reverse drive. It was eventually pitted despite an effort to escape.

Firestorm 4 also represented England in the Commonwealth Carnage. It started its first round promisingly throwing the Northern Ireland entry, Weld-Dor 3, out of the arena in the opening seconds and quickly following it up with Bondi-Titch, the Australian entry. Firestorm beat Panic Attack (for the fourth time in the show's history) by again flipping it against the arena side wall where it couldn't self right. Firestorm finished by spectacularly flipping Mr Psycho, the only robot to do so before or since. It faced Crushtacean in the final, and started by trying to flip it over. Firestorm then forced Crushtacean into an Angle Grinder, and flipped it into Dead Metal. Firestorm then flipped Crushtacean on its side to win, before chasing Dead Metal. Firestorm was unable to flip the house robot over and was crumpled by Sgt Bash, but had finally won a trophy.

Series 7
Now the second seed, with high expectations placed upon it, Firestorm 5 was very impressive in its first round melee, dominating the fight. Firestorm quickly threw Dutch competitors Bamm Bamm over, before shoving and flipping the Black and Blue twins around the arena. Placing Bamm Bamm over the closed pit, Firestorm pressed the release button and sent the Dutch robot to its doom, swiftly followed by the immobilised Blue twin. In the second round, Firestorm 5 tossed Reptirron the Second across the arena and into the wall, where it was unable to self right and eventually gave up. Charging Reptirron the Second, Firestorm 5 flipped it over the arena wall. In its heat final, Firestorm almost immediately immobilised the impressive Ripper, throwing onto its back where the giant low-pressure flipper flopped open and failed to self-right. Firestorm sportingly righted Ripper, only to drive it around the arena, again flipping it over, this time onto the arena wall. Once again, Ripper's flipper jammed open and appeared to be stuck. This time, the Roaming Robots competitor was out of luck, as Firestorm drove in underneath it and toppled it out of the arena.

Through to the semi finals for the 5th consecutive time, Firestorm was drawn against the unpredictable newcomers, Mute. Although similarly matched in shape and weaponry, Mute was no match for Firestorm 5, being driven under and flipped over straight away. Firestorm then managed to drive Mute over to the arena side-wall, despite Mute's highly entertaining, if ineffective, attempts to self-right, before positioning Mute against the arena wall so that it couldn't activate its incredibly powerful flipper without throwing itself out of the arena. If Mute had, though, the result would have been the same - Firestorm quickly dispatched it over the arena wall to progress to the next round. Fighting the impressive New-Blood Champions, Storm 2, Firestorm started the fight promisingly, managing to slide underneath the rambot's low ground clearance several times, although failing to flip it. Storm II however came back on the attack, shoving Firestorm around the arena, before pushing the second seeds into the open pit, ending Firestorm's highly impressive run in Series 7.

Firestorm 5 re-entered the All Stars. However, none of the robots attacked each other, and Firestorm 5 charged Shunt immediately, flipping it onto its side. Throughout the battle, Firestorm and its opponents attacked Cassius Chrome, until Firestorm 5 accidentally drove into the pit. It was soon joined by Bigger Brother. This was the only time that a Panic Attack and Firestorm battle had Panic Attack go through.

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 34
 * Losses: 11

Series Record

 * Series 1: Did not enter
 * Series 2: Entered with Groundhog
 * Series 3: Third Place
 * Series 4: Semi-Finals, Round 1
 * Series 5: Third Place
 * Series 6: Third Place
 * Series 7: Semi-Finals, Round 2

Trivia

 * It stands as the only robot with a front hindged flipper to successfully flip another robot out of the arena.