Darke Destroyer

Darke Destroyer was the name given to two robots that entered in Series 3 and Series 4 of the main competition of Robot Wars, the robots were named after the team members, the Darke boys. The original featured a spinning helicopter-like lawnmower blade powered by a Mini starter motor, while Darke Destroyer 2 featured two "wagglers" (electric motorised, spring-loaded high speed axes), a pair of side spikes for glancing blows and a slope for tipping opponents over. Darke Destroyer's front wheel, which did the steering, was powered by a car window motor and the rear wheels by a golf caddy. This version had a turning circle of five feet which made it cumbersome, but made it to the heat final in Series 3, after a controversial judges' decision in a battle against T2, only to lose to Gravedigger. Darke Destroyer 2 was powered by a Peugeot turbo diesel starter motor but lost in the second round to Kronic the Wedgehog.

Series 3
There was a slow start to Darke Destroyer's first battle, as Sgt. Meikle used its axe with no effect. Darke Destroyer scratched Sgt. Meikle's paintwork, but did little else - its blade jammed against the bodywork of the opponent. Both robots drove around with their ineffective weapons. The robots hit each other, and Darke Destroyer's blades were compressed. The judges put Darke Destroyer through. A similar battle ensued against T2, with T2 dominating most of the battle. However, T2 was eliminated on the judges decision, which was viewed as very controversial. Regardless, Darke Destroyer was through to the Heat Final. Gravedigger tried to flip Darke Destroyer, but failed. Once again, Darke Destroyer's blade had no effect. Gravedigger pushed it onto the flame pit, before Dead Metal came in for the attack. Gravedigger could not flip it - it threw it across the arena, but it landed on its wheels. Gravedigger pushed it around, and eventually onto an arena spike, where it was flipped. It was then attacked by Shunt and Dead Metal.

Series 4
"This time, it may not be all darkness for the destroyer"

- Jonathan Pearce

Darke Destroyer had plans for revenge in this Series, as they had once again been placed in the same heat as Gravedigger. However, Gravedigger had already been eliminated. In the first round melee, Dreadnaut XP-1 and Darke Destroyer 2 bumped into each other repeatedly, but after Warhog broke down, Darke Destroyer 2 shoved it around until cease was called. This brought Darke Destroyer up against one of the robots who had denied it the chance to get revenge; Kronic the Wedgehog. The two bumped into each other several times, until Kronic successfully flipped Darke Destroyer 2. With no srimech, Darke Destroyer was eliminated.

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 3
 * Losses: 2

Series Record

 * Series 1-2: Did not enter
 * Series 3: Heat Final
 * Series 4: Heat, Round 2
 * Series 5-7: Did not enter

Trivia

 * Both robots to defeat Darke Destroyer lost their next battle and went out in round 1 of the following series.