Supernova

"Supernova, a potential star"

- Jonathan Pearce

Supernova was a competitor robot from Series 5 to 7 of Robot Wars, it was the second robot built by Team Trinity. It was a low, fast, two-wheeled, invertible, slight wedge-shaped robot which was pale yellow in colour, later to be repainted in a blue and red colour scheme. This newer colour scheme featured the Superman symbol, directly over the word Nova. Its main weapon was a 22kg half metre, 2000RPM horizontal spinning disc, driven by a 12HP motor and capable of ripping robots to pieces with its sharp hammerheads on the sides, but mostly specialised in knocking loose components inside and causing the robot to break down. Supernova's disc was almost a quarter of the robot's weight and spun at 2500RPM in its Series 7 guise. However, the armour was thin and was often hurled away from its opponents due to the immense power of the disc.

Supernova's best performance in the UK series was in The Sixth Wars, when it reached the heat final, before losing to Spawn Again. The robot lost in the first round in its other two appearances, to seeded machines. Supernova also represented Sri Lanka in the The Third World Championship, reaching the final before losing to UK representative Storm 2.

Series 5
Supernova had a disappointing run in its debut series. Although it started well against the seeded Behemoth, sending its scoop ajar, the lack of control proved to be Supernova's achilles heel. The robot was rendered immobile after it carelessly drove into Matilda's CPZ and had its top panel torn off and its wheel-guard bent, thanks to Matilda's flywheel. Behemoth used the axe to immobilise the exposed machinery inside Supernova, before pushing it forward and flipping it head-first into the pit of oblivion, eliminating Supernova from the competition. "Behemoth put the lights out on the Supernova, sending it into a black hole"

- Jonathan Pearce sums up Supernova's run

Series 6
Supernova's first round melee in the Sixth Wars saw it go up against newcomers to the televised show Short Circuit, the number 10 seeds Spawn Again, and the experienced Tiberius 3. Despite receiving a small hole from Tiberius 3's claw weapon, Supernova used its flywheel to great effect on Short Circuit, who soon began to slowly fall apart, and was soon immobilised. Spawn Again then eventually flipped over Tiberius 3 from behind, from which Tiberius 3 couldn't self right. Both Short Circuit and Tiberius 3 were counted out and further tormented by the House Robots, allowing both Spawn Again and Supernova were able to proceed to the next round of the Heat.

In the second round, Supernova was drawn up against Ming 3. Supernova immediately targeted the exposed wheels of Ming 3. The disc weapon of Supernova caused major damage to the wheels, eventually, the wheels of Ming 3 were so far mangled, that Ming 3 couldn't move along the arena floor. Team Ming's machine was deemed immobilised, counted out by the Refbot, flipped by the arena floor flipper, and eliminated.

This put Supernova through to the Heat Final, where it was placed up against Spawn Again once again, Supernova was seen as a good chance of defeating the seeded machine. However, against all odds, Spawn Again quickly gained the upper hand by flipping Supernova onto an angle grinder. The Refbot freed it, however the mobility of Supernova was greatly hindered, and only one of its wheels was working. After a few more fierce flips from the seeded Spawn Again, Supernova completely lost power in its other wheel, also in the spinning disc weapon. Refbot then came in and counted out Supernova, eliminating the Sri Lanken machine from the competition.

Series 7
Despite being unseeded, Supernova had a promising start in the main competition of the Seventh Wars; in the first round, Supernova was placed up against Rhino, the number 16 seeds Storm 2 and newcomers Mayhem. At the beginning of the battle, Supernova immediately ripped off both of Mayhem's tyres, preventing the wheels from touching the arena floor, immobilising it. Mayhem was later counted out by the Refbot. Storm 2 then caught Supernova from behind and slammed Team Trinity's machine into Sir Killalot, and Supernova's spinning disc shredded one of Sir Killalot's track treads. However, Supernova couldn't get away again before Storm 2 did the same again, charging it from the other side of the arena, slamming it into the arena wall, inside a CPZ, slicing into the arena wall in the process. This slam completely immobilised the locomotion of Supernova. The Refbot then came in and counted out Supernova, despite Supernova's flywheel weapon still spinning and Rhino limping almost to a stand-still. Cease was then called and Supernova was eliminated from the competition.

Supernova also appeared in the Third World Championship representing Sri Lanka. Supernova won the qualifier battle easily; its spinning disc weapon tore through Mechaniac's shell, sending the back panel flying off the machine, leaving the mechanics exposed. Repeated attacks from Supernova dislodged Mechaniac's batteries and left it immobile. Cassius Chrome then punched Mechaniac's batteries which then shorted out the electronics and started an internal fire. Supernova was the winner and the first robot to qualify for the World Championship.

In the first round of the World Championship, it met Hard from Belgium, and Spartacus from the USA. It used its disc to rip apart Spartacus's front, eventually succeeding in buckling one of Spartacus's wheels. Hard had mysteriously stopped moving, so it was counted out. Supernova and Spartacus were both having mobility problems; Spartacus could only move in circle due to its buckled wheel, and Supernova was only displaying short bursts of movement. In the end, it was Spartacus who was deemed immobile, and Supernova moved on to the next round.

In Round 2, Supernova dominated the fight against Crushtacean, battering the South African robot with its disc. After a few hits, one of Crushtacean's claws came loose, and it stopped moving. Crushtacean was thrown by the floor flipper, and skittered all the way across the arena. In the final, Supernova met Storm 2 again. Storm 2 charged in, while Supernova tried to use its disc, but couldn't impede Storm 2 at all. The two robots slammed into each other a few times, and one of their collisions caused Supernova to turn sideways and get stuck on the arena wall. Refbot came over and tried to free it, while Storm 2 got itself beached on an angle grinder. Supernova finally managed to get back on its wheels, so it attacked the vulnerable Storm 2, freeing it from the angle grinder in the process. The robots continued slamming each other until the clock ran out. The battle went to a judges' decision, the decision decided that the Third World Champion was Storm 2, leaving Supernova as the runners-up.

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 5
 * Losses: 4

Series Record

 * Series 1: Did not enter
 * Series 2: Entered with Oblivion
 * Series 3: Pinball only with Oblivion 2
 * Series 4: Entered with Oblivion 2
 * Series 5: Heat, Round 1
 * Series 6: Heat Final
 * Series 7: Heat, Round 1

Trivia

 * Like Oblivion, Supernova lost in the first round of its last main competition appearance after reaching the Heat Final of its previous appearance in the main competition.
 * In its first two appearances in the main competition, Supernova fought in Heat H, and went up against a seeded machine in the first round.
 * Like Oblivion, Supernova's only losses in the main competition involved seeded machines.
 * Supernova was one of four robots to come back to life whilst being counted out by the Refbot.
 * During its first-round melee in Series 7, Supernova cut a hole in the arena wall that was never repaired.
 * Storm 2's combined attack with Supernova on Sir Killalot led to the most expensive repairs for a House Robot ever.
 * Through representing Sri Lanka in the Third World Championship, Supernova became the only robot to represent an Asian country in an international competition.