Chaos 2

"...the first robot ever to flip another out of the arena: Fire Storm the victim, on Chaos 2's march to the Series 3 title. Since then they took Series 4, surviving a few near misses along the way, to beat the very best, take on House Robots, and nearly destroy them, and time after time flip opponents over and out. Chaos 2: a role model for Robot Wars!"

- Jonathan Pearce in Series 6

Chaos 2 was a competitor robot from the UK robot combat game show Robot Wars. It competed in Series 3-6 and both series of Robot Wars Extreme, with an earlier version, known simply as Chaos, also competing in Series 2. Winning eighteen consecutive battles in the domestic UK Championships, as well as the domestic championships of both Series 3 and 4, Chaos 2 is one of the most successful robots in Robot Wars history. It is the only robot in the UK to win back-to-back domestic championships.

Built by Ipswich mechanic George Francis of Team Chaos, Chaos 2 was the most successful pioneer of the rear-hinged flipper, winning the 'Best Engineered' award in Series 3 along with its championship victory in the main series. Like other famed competitors Razer and Hypno-Disc, it inspired several imitators which emulated its concept of using CO2-powered pneumatics for the flipper mechanism. A number of robots which took inspiration from Chaos 2 went on to become successful in their own rights, including Spawn Again and Bigger Brother.

The first version of Chaos entered Series 2 and reached the Heat Final, where it was defeated by Mace after failing to self-right. Chaos 2 debuted in Series 3 and promptly won its Heat by defeating The Big Cheese, a battle which was singled out as the best of the series. It went on to win a grudge match with Mace 2 to reach the Grand Final, where it threw Fire Storm out of the arena and became the first robot to defeat Hypno-Disc in the Final itself. Chaos 2 repeated its success in Series 4, once again winning its Heat and ultimately winning its second title via a Judges' decision against Pussycat. It also reached the top eight of Series 5, but was defeated in the Semi-Finals against Bigger Brother. Making one final appearance in Series 6, virtually unchanged from its Series 3 iteration, Chaos 2 made the Heat Final, but was defeated there by then-series newcomer Dantomkia.

Aside from its multiple championship victories, Chaos 2's biggest claim to fame is being the first competitor to flip another robot out of the arena. Dispatching of six robots in this way, Chaos 2 held the record for most victories with this method until its retirement.

Versions of Chaos
"Ever since helping Rex to build Recyclopse, I wanted to harness the power of Recyclopse's tongue in a more effective way. By hinging the flipper at the back (instead of the front), you only have to poke a small part of the front blade under your opponent to be able to chuck them."

- George Francis

Chaos
Chaos was a small wedge-shaped robot with polycarbonate and chequer-plated armour and armed with a titanium flipping arm on the front. The flipping arm was powered by a cylinder made out of the nose gear from a McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter jet, while the robot also used two of the wheels and the Sinclair C5 motors from its predecessor, Robot The Bruce. Team Chaos opted to switch to two-wheel drive and free-mounted castors in order to make Chaos highly manoeuvrable and better to steer than Robot The Bruce, while still having a high top speed and retaining its predecessor's power.

Chaos took three months to build, and during construction the original chassis had to be rebuilt because of the insufficient torque provided by the two motors, two drive chains and two wheels at low speeds. The problem was solved by gearing down the robot by means of a counter shaft placed in the gearbox. Chaos proved nimble and strong, its highlight from its Series 2 run being the first and only robot to pull Dead Metal into the pit during the Tug of War trial. However, on Chaos 2's official website, George Francis admitted that the robot had a tendency to tip itself forwards while flipping, the flipping arm was not powerful enough, and that it often had problems getting the arm underneath opponents due to its narrow size. Chaos was also left unable to self-right after the team forgot to add a pair of rounded plastic plates to the back, costing it in its Heat Final against Mace.

Several of Chaos' parts, including its wheels and castors, were also later used for the construction of Chaos 2.

Chaos 2
Chaos 2 was a compact, two-wheel drive dual-wedged robot armoured in aluminium and polycarbonate, powered by a pair of lawnmower motors and armed with a powerful high-pressure pneumatic flipper. The flipper was powered by a liquid CO2 fire extinguisher and twin pneumatic rams expanding at 570/1, and was powerful enough to act as a self-righting mechanism and to toss robots over and out of the arena. Chaos 2 was the joint pioneer of the rear-hinged flipper, along with Facet, and proved a major influence on several robots which subsequently adopted this weapon type. It also boasted superb traction, a low centre of gravity at the rear - although its ground clearance at the front was much higher - a zero turning circle and a top speed of 20mph, although this was quoted as 12mph in several Robot Wars publications. The robot was painted black with the flipper plate and side armour in light grey, and the logo painted red on the flipper cover. It also featured small plastic sections on the sides and top to prevent it from getting stranded when it was flipped, and to allow it to roll onto its wheels or back. Chaos 2 cost only £250 to build, and used several parts from Chaos, including the wheels, castors and differentials. After dominating Series 3-4 with no modifications, Chaos 2 was rebuilt for Series 5 and Extreme 1 with improvements to its flipper and armour. Titanium was used for extra plating beneath the outer polycarbonate armour and a new flipper plate, while the flipper received new larger diameter rams, new valves and a larger CO2 canister. The batteries were also replaced with smaller ones in order to accommodate the bigger rams. From Series 5 and in some of its Extreme 1 matches, an extra piece of titanium was also added to the rear polycarbonate panel above the gas canister to prevent it from being punctured by axes and crushers. While its flipper proved substantially more powerful from Extreme 1 onwards, Chaos 2 suffered from a tendency to flip itself over when it fired its weapon, requiring a large amount of CO2 just to self-right. It also had a tendency to leak gas which further depleted the weapon's supply, which cost it against Bigger Brother and Dantomkia when it ran out completely, and was prone to failure if it was damaged. Chaos 2's shape also prevented it from self-righting properly when it was low on CO2, its high ground clearance lead to it being easily shoved around from the side, and the polycarbonate armour proved especially fragile. It was also at least sixteen kilograms lighter than almost all other opponents in Extreme and Series 5-6, putting it at a further disadvantage. Despite all of these shortcomings, the only noticeable modification made to Chaos 2 in Series 6 was the addition of wheels with treaded tyres, as George Francis could not afford to make any more substantial changes to it. The original wheels were also used in Series 6 and Chaos 2's final appearance in Extreme 2, where its flipper, armour and chassis sustained tremendous damage from Razer, 13 Black and Mr Psycho.

Series 2
"Hopefully we can either lift them or spear them with the ram."

- Mick Cutter on Chaos' weapon

Chaos entered Heat B of the Second Wars, seeded sixth in recognition of Robot the Bruce reaching the Grand Final of the previous series. It started quickly in its Gauntlet run, but drove into a fence, recovering straight away and choosing the centre route. It knocked down the barrels, but drove past the ramp as it pushed past the barrels. "Spinning rather crazily, it's a nippy robot."

- Jonathan Pearce as Chaos makes an error and tries to correct it

It quickly reversed and tried again, driving up the see-saw successfully. However, Sergeant Bash blocked its way. Chaos backed up and rammed Sergeant Bash away to cross the end zone. It ducked to one side to avoid Dead Metal, who rammed into the end wall. Chaos had completed the course, and finished second on the leader-board, behind Tantrum which finished in a faster time.

"I think I was a bit too overenthusiastic on the controls."

- George Francis

Chaos qualified for the Tug of War Trial, where it was chained up to Dead Metal and tasked with attempting to survive being pulled into the pit.

It immediately yanked the chain, overpowering Dead Metal's pull and dragging him steadily towards the pit as the House Robot swerved and attempted to hang on. Eventually, Dead Metal hung over the edge, and with one final tug, Chaos successfully pulled him down. "This is a battle of pride here, because Chaos is doing enough, surely, to go through anyway. But it wants Dead Metal in that Pit! It wants Dead Metal submerged, in the smoke! CAN HE PULL DEAD METAL IN? HUMILIATION FOR THE HOUSE ROBOT!"

- Jonathan Pearce, as Dead Metal falls.

The only competitor to defeat Dead Metal, Chaos finished first on the leader-board. "Took a little bit longer than we hoped, but we got there in the end!"

- Mick Cutter to Phillipa Forrester on their performance on the Trial

Chaos proceeded to the Arena stage, facing Wheelosaurus in its Semi-Final battle.

It tipped Wheelosaurus onto its side straight away, but this had no effect because of Wheelosaurus' design. Chaos's weapon also had no effect when it tried to flip, so Chaos backed away for another charge. The two robots cautiously approached one another, and when the two made contact, Wheelosaurus turned away. Chaos pushed Wheelosaurus into Sergeant Bash. near Bash, and Wheelosaurus was attacked by the flamethrower. Matilda and Shunt caught Wheelosaurus and began to inflict punishment on it, slicing through the wheels and axing the motor compartments. Wheelosaurus had become immobilised, and Shunt helped Matilda ram it into the angle grinders. Meanwhile, Chaos danced around Dead Metal, with the House Robot chasing it around the arena before ramming Chaos into the wall, which bent the entire section of the wall out of place. Chaos escaped and dodged Dead Metal during the end of the match, slamming into Dead Metal a few times as it did so, dislodging his back panel as 'cease' was called.

In the Heat Final, Chaos fought against Mace. "We've just given the robot a good check over to make sure that nothing's come loose or broken, and charged the batteries up for the next round!"

- Mick Cutter, confident before the Heat Final

Both machines met in the middle of the arena. Mace was first to get its lifting arm under its opponent, but Chaos reversed and turned away, so Mace turned around for another attack. The two robots clashed head-on, with Chaos getting its flipping arm under Mace this time. It flicked Mace up, but Mace merely bounced onto its wheels. Chaos backed away, but as Mace closed in, Chaos drove close to Matilda in the PPZ. Mace took advantage and pushed the seeded robot straight into Matilda, which pushed Chaos away and flipped it over with the tusks. Chaos fired its flipping arm in an attempt to self-right, but it became stranded on its back. "Trying to get back to life, but they know they're in trouble!"

- Jonathan Pearce

Chaos was left helpless as Mace damaged its armour with its flail. With Chaos immobile, the House Robots came in. Shunt accidentally re-righted Chaos while hammering it with his axe, allowing Chaos to dart away across the arena. "Chaos immobilised, well, risen from the dead it would seem!"

- Jonathan Pearce

It soon found itself trapped by Dead Metal and Matilda, and Matilda flipped it over onto its back again. During the ending credits, Sir Killalot proceeded to pick Chaos up with his jaws, carrying it around the arena before dropping it into the pit.

At the end of Series 2, Chaos was nominated for the 'Best Engineered' award but lost out to The Mule.

Series 3
"Better than Cassius last year they reckon, so they've got a lot of living up to do!"

- Philippa Forrester in The Pits, during Chaos 2's very first televised introduction

Chaos 2 first appeared in Heat E of the Third Wars, where it faced newcomers Crocodilotron in the first round. It drove around Crocodilotron as the latter careered into the wall, then flipped it over several times against the side wall and into Matilda's CPZ. Chaos 2 then attacked Matilda, almost flicking her onto her side and causing the chain for her chainsaw to become dislodged, before being pushed by Shunt and having its flipper held in place by Sergeant Bash's pincers. Meanwhile, Dead Metal sliced into the defeated Crocodilotron as Shunt and Sergeant Bash pinned Chaos 2 against the wall. Needless to say, Chaos 2 was declared the winner, and went through to the second round. "This is a real weapon - one of the most powerful we've seen in Robot Wars, and it simply flipped Crocodilotron up and over. You're talking 85 kilos here, simply tossed up in the air like a broken twig."

- Jonathan Pearce comments on Chaos 2's flipping ability

Chaos 2 next faced Sonic. It flipped Sonic over straight away, before re-righting it and flipping it over again as Sonic tried to get underneath it. The House Robots attacked and pitted Sonic, allowing Chaos 2 to proceed to the Heat Final. "David against Goliath!"

- Jonathan Pearce describes the Heat Final line-up

In the Heat Final, Chaos 2 was drawn up against the lifting wedge of The Big Cheese. Both robots started tentatively, until The Big Cheese got in underneath Chaos 2 and lifted it up onto its side, only for Chaos 2 to land back onto its wheels. "Really for the first time, in this heat, in danger, Chaos 2!"

- Jonathan Pearce, as Chaos 2 is lifted

Chaos 2 quickly backed away, flipping The Big Cheese clean over before it charged the Somerset machine towards the wall and flipped it back over. Both robots retreated over the Flame Pit, only for The Big Cheese to lift Chaos 2 over onto its back; Chaos 2 immediately righted itself using its flipper and spun away. Chaos 2 then drove The Big Cheese into the wall and flipped it over again, with The Big Cheese trying to leaver itself back onto its wheels with its lifting arm. "Chaos 2 senses victory!"

- Jonathan Pearce, as The Big Cheese struggles to self-right

However, The Big Cheese's arm could not open far enough for it to self-right, and it was eliminated before being attacked by the House Robots. Chaos 2 stayed away as Sir Killalot re-righted The Big Cheese, before the latter Sergeant Bash onto his side, causing his rear armour to fall off. Team Chaos watched on in amusement as The Big Cheese toppled over in the process, with Chaos 2 advancing to the Series Semi-Finals following its victory. In the first round of the Semi-Finals, Chaos 2 fought newcomers Trident. It lifted Trident's rear end as it spun near the edge of the arena, but was not able to flip it initially. After Trident missed it with its axe, Chaos 2 stuck its flipper underneath Trident's front end and flipped it over onto the Flame Pit; with Trident's axe not being powerful enough to self-right, it was declared immobile. Chaos 2 emerged victorious once again as the House Robots attacked Trident's stainless steel body. "Well, Trident tried and tested and unfortunately, he failed, and I've got a chaos theory: Don't mess around with that little robot!"

- Craig Charles, after Chaos 2's first Semi-Final victory

In the second round, Chaos 2 faced Mace 2, in a rematch of the Series 2 Heat Final between both robots' predecessors. Both robots nudged and shoved each other at the start, with Chaos 2 almost flipping Mace 2 over, but not succeeding. After a while circling round each other, Chaos 2 drove head-on into Mace 2's lifter, then tried to flip again, but missed, allowing Mace 2 to lift it up and push it around. Chaos 2 backed away, flipping Mace 2 onto its lifter, then its back, and leaving Mace 2 stranded and unable to self-right. Chaos 2 flipped Mace 2 one more time in an attempt to re-right it, but was unable to do so, and Mace 2 was attacked by the House Robots before being thrown by the Floor Flipper. "Surely, the star is extinguished!"

- Jonathan Pearce, after the important flip from Chaos 2

Chaos 2 progressed to the Grand Final, where it was drawn against Fire Storm in the eliminator. Both machines circled around and nudged each other in the opening seconds, before Chaos 2 got underneath Fire Storm from the side and flipped it over. Seconds later, Chaos 2 pushed the inverted Fire Storm towards the wall and threw it out of the arena, the first time this occurred in the show's history. George Francis stated after the battle that he did not intend to flip Fire Storm out, instead expecting to slam it into the side wall. "All I can say is..Whoops!"

- George Francis after flipping Fire Storm out

In the Final, Chaos 2 faced the destructive flywheel of series newcomer Hypno-Disc. It started quickly, circling round Hypno-Disc in an attempt to flip it. Eventually, Chaos 2 followed Hypno-Disc towards the wall, and fired its flipper, but bounced onto the top of its opponent's disc, temporarily stopping the disc with the flipper as it tried to close. Both robots separated, with Chaos 2 buffeting against Hypno-Disc as it attempted to get underneath its opponent. Eventually, Chaos 2 succeeded in getting underneath Hypno-Disc from the front, and flipped it onto its back; without a self-righting mechanism, Hypno-Disc was eliminated instantly. While the House Robots attacked Hypno-Disc, Chaos 2 celebrated its victory by flipping Matilda and Shunt onto their sides, and was declared the Grand Champion of the Third Wars. Chaos 2 later entered the First World Championship, and faced a tough draw against Czech Republic representatives Killerhurtz in the first round. Killerhurtz was sluggish to get away, with Chaos 2 nudging it before it suddenly sped off across the arena. Both machines circled slowly around each other, with Killerhurtz attempting to axe Chaos 2's back panel, but missing. Chaos 2 drove onto a set of arena spikes and backed into Killerhurtz, then into Shunt's CPZ, where it was cornered by both Shunt and Killerhurtz as the latter finally axed Chaos 2's flipper. Shunt proceeded to axe Chaos 2's back panel three times, the third hit puncturing its gas canister, causing CO2 to vent everywhere. Shunt lifted Chaos 2 before turning to attack Killerhurtz as both competitors struggled to break themselves free. Eventually, Chaos 2 escaped, and while still lingering in Shunt's CPZ, flipped Killerhurtz onto Shunt as it made a run up its damaged flipper. Killerhurtz tried to self-right as Chaos 2 pushed it towards the wall, but the axe was damaged after its attack, and Chaos 2 proceeded to the Quarter Finals. Here, Chaos 2 faced fellow English competitor, Razer. Both robots instantly darted towards, circled round and dodged each other in an attempt to line up an attack. Chaos 2 got underneath Razer and flipped it, but Razer landed on its wheels and Chaos 2 continued dodging it before spinning onto the Flame Pit. However, it backed into Razer's wedge, allowing Razer to grab hold of Chaos 2, push it into the wall and puncture its back panel and gas canister, incapacitating its flipper in the process. Razer proceeded to bash Chaos 2 against the wall and claw through its back panel again, before pushing it into Dead Metal. After slicing through its flipper cover, Dead Metal eventually let Chaos 2 go, with Chaos 2 deliberately driving into the pit to avoid sustaining more damage. With this, it was eliminated from the First World Championship.

At the end of the Third Wars, Chaos 2 also received the 'Best Engineered' award, and its Heat Final battle with The Big Cheese was voted 'Battle of the Series' by the judges during the Grand Final.

Series 4
"The only thing we've changed is my beard in a desperate attempt to look young!"

- Ian Swann before the first battle

Chaos 2 returned for the Fourth Wars as the reigning champion, competing in Heat A. In its first round eliminator, it faced two newcomers in Indefatigable and Atomic and immediately attacked Atomic, flipping it onto its side after all three machines circled round each other. Chaos 2 flipped Indefatigable onto its side as well while Atomic self-righted, before flipping Atomic again several more times as Indefatigable was deemed immobilised. It finished the fight by flipping Indefatigable out of the arena after the latter was attacked by Sergeant Bash. In the second round, Chaos 2 was drawn up against another newcomer, Medusa 2000. Here, it missed its initial flip, but quickly threw Medusa 2000 onto its back and nearly flipped it over the wall, but instead flipped it into Shunt's CPZ. Chaos 2 knocked Medusa 2000 onto its side before flipping it again and nearly sending it over the front arena wall. Medusa 2000 backed into Sergeant Bash's CPZ, having its rear wheel crumpled by Sergeant Bash's pincers and becoming immobilised instantly. Chaos 2 helped nudge Medusa 2000 onto the Floor Flipper, before allowing the other House Robots to continue attacking Medusa 2000 and for Sir Killalot to dump the latter into the pit. In the Heat Final, Chaos 2 fought Atomic again. Both machines rammed each other as Atomic tried to flip Chaos 2, but missed, allowing Chaos 2 to throw Atomic end-over-end several times across the arena. Atomic appeared to have been immobilised after these flips, and Chaos 2 attempted to flip it over the wall, but failed. Instead, it flipped Atomic into Sir Killalot, who snapped through and crushed Atomic's chassis before carrying it onto the Floor Flipper. Chaos 2 finished off by driving underneath Atomic, and went through to the Semi Finals once again after this straightforward victory. After the fight, Craig Charles said that Chaos 2 seemed so much faster and more powerful than in the previous series, to which George Francis replied that he did not make any modifications to Chaos 2 at all since its victory in Series 3. In the first round of its Semi-Final, Chaos 2 faced the seventh seed and fellow Series 3 Grand-Finalist Steg 2. Here, both robots began by circling tentatively around each other, until Steg 2 missed its first flip, and Chaos 2 tossed it onto its back. Steg 2 self-righted, then flipped Chaos 2 over after nearly being turned onto its side, only for Chaos 2 to self-right and flip it again a couple more times; at one point, turning Steg 2 over into Shunt. Chaos 2 rolled Steg 2 over once again, using its open flipper to place it onto its side and leave Steg 2 stranded as it was unable to self-right after its own flipper jammed open. In the second round, Chaos 2 faced series newcomer, Tornado. Despite missing its initial flip, it immediately took advantage of Tornado's high ground clearance and lack of potent weaponry to flip it around the arena several times. Eventually, Chaos 2 stacked Tornado against the wall and threw it out of the arena, hitting one of the cameras in the process. This battle was actually fought three times - the first attempt was abandoned after damage to the arena wall, and the second due to Chaos 2 and Tornado losing mobility at the same time - with this being the third attempt and the only one to be televised. "After throwing them around a bit, we left them perched up against the fence. Ian said "That's it, we've won, leave him there", and I thought "Nah, I just have to throw them over, it's too tempting a target""

- George Francis' thoughts of the fight with Tornado

In its second successive Grand Final, Chaos 2 faced the thirtieth seed Stinger in its eliminator. It began the battle by throwing Stinger high into the air before pushing and flipping it around the arena, all while sustaining blows from Stinger's swinging mace. However, Chaos 2 drove into Matilda's CPZ by mistake, and had part of its back panel ripped off by Stinger as it reversed, leaving its internals exposed. Chaos 2 recovered, flipping Stinger several times around the arena and into Dead Metal's CPZ, before lifting both robots as Dead Metal grabbed hold of Stinger. Stinger escaped, and both robots converged in the middle of the arena as 'cease' was called. The eliminator went to a Judges' decision; after a close fight, it was revealed that both robots had scored equally on aggression, style and damage, with Chaos 2 winning the decision on one point based on control, to a mixed response from the audience. In the Grand Final, Chaos 2 fought the nineteenth seed Pussycat. Here, both robots circled each other round, failing to exchange significant attacks until Chaos 2 threw Pussycat across the arena in a rapid succession of flips. Pussycat re-righted itself both times, but Chaos 2 slammed it into the wall and tossed it onto a flame jet, before catching the Floor Flipper. However, it sustained damage to its back panel as Pussycat's blade clipped its rear, sending a shard of polycarbonate flying towards the ceiling in the process. Chaos 2 continued to ram into Pussycat, but its flipper became bent and dented in the process, and its manoeuvrability across the arena floor worsened as the battle progressed. Pussycat's blade also stopped working, and it toppled onto its side after driving up Chaos 2's flipper again. Chaos 2 waited until Pussycat was able to re-right itself without its blade, before slamming Pussycat into the wall and attempting to flip it out of the arena. However, it was unable to do so, and proceeded to push Pussycat into Shunt. 'Cease' was called after Shunt tried to axe Pussycat, with both competitors spinning jubilantly as the Grand Final went to a Judges' decision. After yet another close and evenly-matched fight, the Judges declared Chaos 2 the winner and the Fourth Wars Grand Champion, making it the first - and so far only - Robot Wars competitor to successfully defend its title. As well as the main series, Chaos 2 also competed in the Northern Annihilator, alongside Suicidal Tendencies, Killerhurtz, Spikasaurus, Stinger and Dominator 2. In the first round, it immediately charged towards Killerhurtz and Spikasaurus, before backing into Dominator 2, which axed Chaos 2 before being flipped over by Suicidal Tendencies' forks. Chaos 2 escaped, and attempted to flip Suicidal Tendencies twice, before suffering another axe blow from Dominator 2. It then attempted to flip Killerhurtz and Spikasaurus together after the two robots became unable to separate themselves, before finally throwing Suicidal Tendencies over as Killerhurtz toppled over itself. Shortly afterwards, Chaos 2 flung Stinger away and got underneath Killerhurtz; however, in trying to flip Killerhurtz, it drove into the wall and got wedged, allowing Dominator 2 to strike the flipper a few more times. Eventually, Chaos 2 finally toppled Killerhurtz onto its back, and attempted to throw John Reid's machine out of the arena as it attempted to self-right. However, Chaos 2 did not have enough power in its flipper to do so; inadvertently allowing Killerhurtz to escape the CPZ and attack it alongside Dominator 2. Both opponents' axes caused more damage to Chaos 2's flipper, and the reigning champion was left completely immobilised as Dominator 2 tore off its back panel. Shunt left another hole through Chaos 2's flipper cover before 'cease' was called, with Chaos 2 being subsequently eliminated from the Northern Annihilator. "George Francis...I don't think he knows what's hit him!"

- Jonathan Pearce, as Chaos 2 is battered into submission

After winning the award in the Third Wars, Chaos 2 was nominated for the 'Best Engineered' award for the Fourth Wars, but lost out to The Steel Avenger.

Extreme 1
"If you know anything about Robot Wars, you'll already know who we are"

- George Francis introducing his robot to Robot Wars Extreme

Chaos 2 fought in several competitions throughout the first series of Robot Wars Extreme, competing in the All-Stars Tournament, The Second World Championship, Challenge Belt, Flipper Frenzy, and International Mayhem. "This is the draw from hell!"

- Julia Reed to the X-Terminator team

It first appeared in the All-Stars Tournament, drawn up against X-Terminator in its first round battle. Chaos 2 immediately flipped X-Terminator in the opening seconds as the latter fired its axe, before flicking it away a second time as X-Terminator self-righted and landed on its flipper. After both robots separated, it charged into X-Terminator again, but missed its flip as X-Terminator instantaneously struck its flipper and back panel; the attack caused Chaos 2's flipper to stick open for the remainder of the battle. Chaos 2 hesitated as it attempted to close its flipper, but X-Terminator capitalised on its weapon malfunction by piercing holes through its flipper and back covers. With X-Terminator's axe head embedded in its back cover, Chaos 2 dragged X-Terminator across the arena, ramming into Shunt in the process. Chaos 2 dodged an axe blow from Shunt as both competitors broke free, its flipper finally resetting into position following another axe blow from X-Terminator. Seconds later, Chaos 2 threw X-Terminator onto its back again; this time, X-Terminator was left unable to self-right and was counted out by Refbot. Shunt and Matilda attacked and re-righted the defeated X-Terminator, with Chaos 2 finishing the battle by throwing X-Terminator one more time onto Matilda's flywheel. In the Quarter Finals, Chaos 2 faced Wheely Big Cheese, in a rematch of its Series 3 Heat Final against the latter's predecessor. Again, Chaos 2 charged straight into Wheely Big Cheese, throwing it onto its side and near a flame jet in both of its first flips. Wheely Big Cheese backed into Chaos 2, almost overturning it and pushing it, before Chaos 2 flipped it a few more times, throwing it onto its back and into the air. Eventually, it flipped Wheely Big Cheese into Dead Metal, who was also attacked by Wheely Big Cheese. Chaos 2 then drove onto Wheely Big Cheese's flipper twice, but escaped as its opponent's flipper failed to open quickly enough both times. It finished the battle by pushing Wheely Big Cheese into Shunt and flipping it a few more times, nearly propping Wheely Big Cheese up against the wall as time ran out. The battle ended in a Judges' decision, which unanimously went in favour of Chaos 2. "Competitive, but I thought they were both a little nervy"

- Jonathan Pearce

In the Semi-Finals, Chaos 2 was drawn up against Tornado, in a rematch of their Series 4 Semi-Final encounter. Chaos 2 again charged straight towards Tornado, but flipped itself while trying to throw Tornado over, allowing Tornado to shove it into the wall as it attempted to self-right. Shunt came in to pin Chaos 2 against the wall and attack it, before Tornado battered and pushed Chaos 2 around, its flipper jamming open once again. Chaos 2 briefly held Tornado with its opened flipper, before retreating in an attempt to out-drive Tornado. Tornado slammed side-on into Chaos 2, turning it onto its side, before pushing it into an angle grinder. Chaos 2 finally flipped Tornado close to Dead Metal, but ended up being pushed into the CPZ by Tornado, and was pinned under Dead Metal's pincers as Tornado prevented it from escaping. In trying to drive away, Chaos 2 backed into Dead Metal's saw, causing several sparks to fly from its back panel, before luring Tornado into another CPZ. Both competitors spun around until Dead Metal came in to attack, with Chaos 2 flipping Tornado onto its rear spikes as it was wedged underneath Dead Metal. Tornado landed on the side wall, but Chaos 2 was unable to flip it out of the arena after sustaining more damage from the House Robots. With this, Refbot came in to free Tornado from the wall, much to the audience's displeasure; Tornado pushed Chaos 2 into the wall again towards the end of the battle, and won the subsequent Judges' decision. This eliminated Chaos 2 from the All-Stars Tournament. As one of the four Semi-Finalists of the All-Stars Tournament, Chaos 2 represented the United Kingdom once again in the Second World Championship, which was also broadcast as part of the first season of Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors. In its first-round battle, also broadcast during German Robot Wars, it faced Italian robot Mastiff, German entry Ansgar and US Series competitor Manta. Chaos 2 immediately flipped Mastiff over in the opening seconds, and flipped it twice more as it self-righted and pressed the pit release button. It pushed the seemingly-immobile Mastiff towards the pit, but while trying to flip it into the pit, accidentally pushed Mastiff away and drove in itself. Chaos 2 was soon joined in the pit by Mastiff, which was pushed in by Manta, the American robot going through to the next round after attacking and immobilising Ansgar. Needless to say, Chaos 2 was eliminated early from the Second World Championship. "I was trying to show off, I was trying to tip the other one into the pits and missed it!"

- George Francis admits his mistake

Chaos 2 also fought Tornado again in the Challenge Belt. As before, Chaos 2 was pushed sideways into Dead Metal's CPZ by Tornado in the opening moments, and pushed into Shunt's as it escaped. Here, Chaos 2 flipped Shunt into the wall, and flipped Tornado twice over before being pushed into Dead Metal again. "Oi, get off my back, Shunt... You're nagging me! Get out of my face, man!"

- Jonathan Pearce as Chaos 2 flips Shunt against the wall

Chaos 2 flipped Dead Metal as it tried to free itself, but was pushed into the CPZ and attacked by Shunt as he came in. It flipped Shunt over onto his side, but appeared to have lost drive on one side at this point, and could not drive out of the CPZ. This allowed Dead Metal to slice into Chaos 2's side again as Tornado proceeded to attack Dead Metal itself. Chaos 2 kept spinning in circles and firing its flipper as it was counted out by Refbot, before being tossed by the Floor Flipper. 'Cease' was called, and its Challenge Belt challenge ultimately proved unsuccessful. "Well... the king is dead, long live the king, perhaps?"

- Pearce speculates the start of Chaos 2's downfall

Chaos 2 also fought in the one-off Flipper Frenzy, alongside Thermidor 2, Bigger Brother and Wheely Big Cheese. However, rather than attack its opponents, it helped Thermidor 2 and Bigger Brother flip Sergeant Bash over in the opening moments, before slamming into the pit release button while Wheely Big Cheese became immobilised as it tried to attack Matilda. Chaos 2, Thermidor 2 and Bigger Brother then attempted to flip Sergeant Bash out of the arena together, with Chaos 2 particularly causing his flamethrower to break off as it flipped the House Robot against the wall. Matilda slammed into Chaos 2 with her flywheel, and Chaos 2 threw itself onto its back trying to flip Refbot over. This left the two-time UK Champion vulnerable to another attack from Matilda which threw it onto its side as Thermidor 2 tried to intervene with its flipper. "Thermidor, the Thermidor team look at this...with a little flick, not on Matilda, but on Chaos 2!"

- Jonathan Pearce perceives Thermidor 2's intervention as an attack on Chaos 2 With Chaos 2 stranded against the wall, it ultimately lost the Flipper Frenzy to Thermidor 2, with both Bigger Brother and Wheely Big Cheese also becoming immobilised.

Chaos 2 also fought in a one-off International Mayhem battle, where it fought Belgian robot Philipper and Dutch competitor Alien Destructor; both of the European entries planned to team up against the double UK champions. "One against Chaos, is impossible."

- Frank Laan justifies the teaming-up for the International Mayhem

With George Francis competing solely within his control pod, and the robot showing damage from previous battles, Chaos 2 immediately rammed and flipped Philipper several times, launching the Belgian robot into the air. "And the silver fish [Philipper], goes swimming in the big pool of Robot Wars Extreme, against the big fish. Chaos 2, a shark amongst robots!"

- Pearce as Chaos 2 sends Philipper barrel-rolling across the arena

Alien Destructor retaliated by shoving Chaos 2 into the wall before it flipped Philipper on top of it, and was flipped itself before being attacked by Dead Metal over the Flame Pit. With its CO2 supply depleted, Chaos 2 rolled Philipper onto its side, before it and Alien Destructor continued to ram each other. Alien Destructor wedged under Philipper as it was counted out, before Chaos 2 and Alien Destructor kept dodging each other as the battle went to a Judges' decision. Despite a strong showing from Alien Destructor, Chaos 2 won the decision and the International Mayhem.

Series 5
As the defending champions for the second successive series, Chaos 2 began its Fifth Wars campaign by fighting newcomer Storm Force in the first round. It started by driving round Storm Force and flipping it over, with Storm Force rolling back onto its wheels. Chaos 2 continued to throw Storm Force around the arena, with Storm Force smoking and hitting Chaos 2 with its axe before being flipped again several more times. Chaos 2 flipped Storm Force close to Matilda, only to be buffeted away by her flywheel, and eventually immobilised Storm Force after a few more flips. It positioned Storm Force partially over the pit, pressed the pit release button, and allowed Storm Force to descend into the opening pit. In the second round, Chaos 2 faced fellow series veteran The Steel Avenger. It chased The Steel Avenger around the arena before throwing it over twice. The Steel Avenger self-righted, but was tossed over several more times by Chaos 2 despite landing a few axe blows in. Chaos 2 continued to flip The Steel Avenger over and drive it close to the wall, eventually managing to balance The Steel Avenger over the wall after it self-righted, who promptly fell out of the arena. Following the battle, George Francis received a broken studio light with a note of complaint from the producers, as a joke in reference to Chaos 2 throwing The Steel Avenger onto the light.

Chaos 2 advanced to the Heat Final, where it faced S.M.I.D.S.Y. It flipped S.M.I.D.S.Y. over almost immediately, before getting underneath S.M.I.D.S.Y., pushing it and hurling it into the wall, beaching S.M.I.D.S.Y there. Chaos 2 attempted to flip S.M.I.D.S.Y. out, but flipped itself over in doing so, and was unable to self-right after its flipper cover was damaged by S.M.I.D.S.Y. during its previous attack. As S.M.I.D.S.Y was unable to free itself from the wall either, 'cease' was called, and the Judges ordered a rematch for the first time in the show's history. In the rematch, both robots started by ramming into each other, with S.M.I.D.S.Y. driving round Chaos 2 and getting underneath it. Eventually, Chaos 2 flipped S.M.I.D.S.Y. a few times around the arena and into Sir Killalot, who crushed S.M.I.D.S.Y.'s side and appeared to immobilise it. Chaos 2 finished S.M.I.D.S.Y. off by flipping it again in Sir Killalot's CPZ, before propping it against the wall and throwing it out. "Our first Semi-Final fight was against Wild Thing. It was terrific, it was the best fight I've ever had!"

- George Francis

In the first round of its third consecutive Semi-Final, Chaos 2 faced Wild Thing. It again started strongly, circling round Wild Thing and flipping it before attempting to throw it over the wall, knocking the pit release button off in the process. Chaos 2 flipped itself, allowing Wild Thing to push it as it self-righted, before flipping Wild Thing a few more times. Wild Thing triggered the pit's descent by bumping into the closed panel, before Chaos 2 flipped it several times against the wall and into Dead Metal's CPZ, who trapped both robots and caused light damage to Wild Thing. Both evaded Dead Metal, with Wild Thing pushing Chaos 2 towards the pit, and almost fully in, but Chaos 2 drove forwards to escape with its rear castors suspended over the edge. Chaos 2 pushed Wild Thing back into the CPZ, and flipped it again after it escaped from Shunt and Dead Metal. In return, Wild Thing pushed Chaos 2 side-on and almost into the pit again, with Chaos 2 being suspended at such an angle by Wild Thing's arm that it triggered the pit's smoke plume. Wild Thing backed away, allowing Chaos 2 to escape again, before pushing it into Dead Metal's CPZ as time ran out. The battle went to a Judges' decision, which went in favour of Chaos 2 due to it being more aggressive. George Francis later considered this battle to be the best he had ever fought in. In the second round, Chaos 2 fought against fellow flipper-wielding robot Bigger Brother. It was flipped side-on by Bigger Brother after its first charge, and failed to self-right immediately, venting a copious amount of CO2 in the process. Chaos 2 was flipped onto its side by Bigger Brother, but recovered by flipping Bigger Brother numerous times, twice leaving it on its back. Bigger Brother self-righted both times, and flipped Chaos 2 over again as both robots drove over and around the Flame Pit. Chaos 2's CO2 supply was depleted at this point, leaving its flipper without enough power to self-right again; as a result, it was counted out by Refbot and pushed into the pit by the victorious Bigger Brother. With this, Chaos 2 was eliminated from the Fifth Wars, its reign as UK Champion finally coming to an end after an eighteen-battle winning streak.

Series 6
"I don't like big axes, so Iron-Awe's a worry...the other one has a big hydraulic cutter at the front, which would make a nasty mess of the flipper if it gets hold of it"

- George Francis expresses concerns about Chaos 2's first-round opponents

Despite George Francis stating that he would consider building a successor after its loss to Bigger Brother, Chaos 2 entered the Sixth Wars as the fifth seed, fighting Iron-Awe 2, Mighty Mouse and newcomers Destructosaur in its first-round battle. It dominated the melee, immediately flipping Destructosaur and itself over as Iron-Awe 2 axed Destructosaur's side at the same time. Chaos 2 swiftly self-righted, leaving Destructosaur stranded on its back before throwing Iron-Awe 2 out of the arena; the latter lingering too close to the wall beforehand. It spent the rest of the battle circling round and chasing Mighty Mouse around the arena, rolling it over at one point and getting underneath it. However, Chaos 2's flipper broke following its attack on Iron-Awe 2, leaving it unable to use its weapon to flip Mighty Mouse over. Meanwhile, Destructosaur was counted out by Refbot and tossed by the Floor Flipper, allowing Chaos 2 to progress along with Mighty Mouse. "Would you believe it? Destructosaur out and Chaos 2, predictably, through..."

- Jonathan Pearce, following Destructosaur's count-out

In the second round, Chaos 2 faced previous series Heat Finalist Crushtacean. It initially rammed underneath Crushtacean, but tipped itself over while trying to flip it from the front, with Crushtacean's claws being ideally sized to grab hold of Chaos 2's sides. Crushtacean pushed Chaos 2 towards the wall, with Chaos 2 firing its flipper again and launching itself backwards onto an angle grinder. This allowed Crushtacean to pin the former champion against the grinder, although Chaos 2 eventually freed itself after getting beached on its side. Chaos 2 tried to flip Crushtacean over twice more as the two robots grappled each other again, but was initially unable to do so on either attempt. It finally flipped Crushtacean over soon afterwards, and again into Sir Killalot's CPZ, before Crushtacean pressed the pit release button and accidentally backed into the opened pit.

The Heat Final saw Chaos 2 fighting against series newcomers Dantomkia. It got underneath Dantomkia in the opening seconds, launching it a short distance across the arena but not being able to flip Dantomkia over. Chaos 2 attempted to flip Dantomkia again as Dantomkia pushed it into an empty CPZ, the force of the flip was sufficient to simultaneously throw both robots onto their backs, leaving them vulnerable to attacks from Shunt and Sir Killalot. Dantomkia re-righted and freed itself from the wall, but Chaos 2's flipper rapidly lost pressure and CO2 after being rammed by Shunt, allowing Dantomkia to push Chaos 2 close to the wall as it eventually gave up trying to self-right. Dantomkia immediately got underneath and flipped Chaos 2 out of the arena, to George Francis' delight, marking Chaos 2's elimination from the Sixth Wars. This not only marked the first and only time that Chaos 2 failed to reach the Semi-Finals, but also its last appearance in the main UK Series. "Got a parachute? I think I need one."

- George Francis after Chaos 2's defeat

Extreme 2
"Chaos 2, shouldn't we be up to Chaos 3, 4, 5 even by now?"

- Philippa Forrester

Chaos 2 made a final one-off appearance in the second series of Extreme, competing in the All-Stars Tournament. The Extreme 2 All-Stars was intended to be a tournament reserved for the Semi-Finalists of Series 6, but as Wild Thing 2 could not take part for unknown reasons, Chaos 2 took its place. "No improvements, how costly will that be?"

- Jonathan Pearce

Here, it fought fellow former UK champion and former rival Razer and the double flywheel-wielding 13 Black in its first-round battle. Chaos 2 started by driving around 13 Black as it crossed the Flame Pit, then kept out of the action as Razer buffeted and grabbed hold of 13 Black. It made a run on Razer and 13 Black and tried to flip both of them, before flipping Razer a full 360 degrees over the floor and closed pit. Chaos 2 slammed side-on into one of 13 Black's discs, the disc ripping through its flipper cover, before continuing to nudge both of its opponents and attempting to flip them again, albeit unsuccessfully. The former two-time champion then got underneath Razer and shoved it into 13 Black, allowing 13 Black to tear off one of Razer's self-righting wings; however, Chaos 2 could not flip Razer over as its flipper suffered a CO2 leak after another of 13 Black's attacks. After pushing and driving around Razer, Chaos 2 was left immobilised following a side-on slam from 13 Black, which jammed its right-hand wheel and knocked its drive chain loose. Razer punctured Chaos 2's rear panel and lifted it as it was counted out by Refbot, the double World Champions smoking in the process. "...and the Refbot counting down and counting out; a sad, looking, Chaos 2."

- Jonathan Pearce

Chaos 2 was placed onto the Floor Flipper by Mr. Psycho, before having its chassis bent by repeated attacks from his hammer. Mr. Psycho picked the inverted Chaos 2 up with his claw, and carried it towards the pit, before dropping it and pushing it down. This marked Chaos 2's elimination from the Extreme 2 All-Stars Tournament, and its last appearance in Robot Wars. It was retired following this loss, after George Francis considered the damage inflicted by 13 Black, Razer and Mr. Psycho to be terminal. Even so, Chaos 2 was extensively repaired later on, and restored to working condition for charity events. "I wonder if that's the last time we'll see Chaos 2, in that format. Maybe the end of an era here?"

- Jonathan Pearce, as Chaos 2 is pitted

Results

 * }


 * }

Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 25
 * Losses: 10

NOTE: Chaos' successful Gauntlet and Trial runs are not included

Outside Robot Wars
In between its appearances on Robot Wars, Chaos 2 attended several live events such as the Debenham Robot Rumbles, notably fighting Razer, Dominator 2 and Tornado numerous times with varying degrees of success. After its final appearance in Extreme 2, Chaos 2 was retired and underwent extensive repairs to bring it back to working condition. Despite not taking part in any further series or side competitions in Robot Wars, Chaos 2 continued to attend live events after its retirement, at one point fighting Lightning at an event in Manningtree in 2004, which was filmed for ITV Anglia's The Way We Are. Chaos 2 last appeared at a Robot Rumble in 2007 as a static display, and is still in the possession of George Francis. As of 2011, it now resides in Francis' shed.

The original Chaos took part in the Bordon 1999 charity event, notably fighting Eubank the Mouse in one battle.

Appearances in Merchandise
"One of the great things about appearing on Robot Wars, is that you can get a toy made"

- Ian Swann


 * Chaos 2/Pullback
 * Chaos 2/Minibot
 * Chaos 2/Robot Wars: Metal Mayhem
 * Chaos 2/Robot Wars: Arenas of Destruction
 * Chaos 2/Robot Wars: Advanced Destruction
 * Chaos 2/Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction (PC/Xbox)
 * Chaos 2/Robot Wars: Extreme Destruction (GBA)

Trivia

 * According to George Francis, when interviewed in Issue 3 of Robot Wars Magazine, Chaos was "named after the principle the workshop works under!".
 * Chaos was the only robot to be victorious in the Tug of War trial against Dead Metal.
 * Chaos was the first seeded robot to appear on the televised show, and as it fell in the Heat Final, was the first to be eliminated from Series 2.
 * Chaos was the first robot with a rear hinged lifting arm to attempt to self-right on the show.
 * Chaos was the only robot which was given the lowest seed in a series to not fight the first seed at some point in that series. (Suicidal Tendencies, who was seeded 32 in Series 4 fought Chaos 2 in the Northern Annihilator, which was part of Series 4)
 * Chaos 2 is one of eight robots to win more than twenty battles in UK Robot Wars. The others to achieve this feat are Razer, Firestorm, Tornado, Pussycat, Panic Attack, Behemoth and Hypno-Disc.
 * Chaos 2 was the first robot to win the UK Championship twice, and the only one to do so in Robot Wars. Terrorhurtz, Iron-Awe 5, Big Nipper and Eruption would later emulate this feat in FRA heavyweight competitions held in between both runs of Robot Wars.
 * Out of the five robots to have won the UK title twice in Robot Wars and FRA heavyweight competitions, only Chaos 2 and Eruption have won the title twice in succession.
 * Chaos 2 was the only one of the four Series 3 Grand Finalists not to defeat a team who previously won the UK Championship (counting Kevin Pritchard and Evil Weevil).
 * Throughout Series 3, Chaos 2's statistics board referred to its weapon as a "CO2 powered flip up", rather than a flipper.
 * Chaos 2 was nominated for the 'Best Engineered' award in Series 4 after winning in Series 3, but lost to The Steel Avenger. Along with Nemesis and Mortis, Chaos 2 is one of only three robots to be nominated for the award it won the previous year, and then not win it.
 * Ironically, Chaos 2 and The Big Cheese, which met in the final of their Series 3 heat, were the only losing Heat-Finalists in Series 2 to reach that stage in the following series.
 * Chaos 2 was one of six robots to be made into a die-cast figurine for the Robot Wars Board Game.
 * Chaos 2 was never seeded lower than 5th for the UK Championship.
 * Similarly, Chaos 2 had never been placed beyond the fifth heat.
 * Chaos 2 was always placed in odd-numbered heats (5th, 1st, 1st, 3rd), and was always placed in the first of the Semi-Finals.
 * Chaos 2 was one of three UK champions to win its title by knockout, the others being Panic Attack and Carbide.
 * Chaos 2 was the first UK robot to self-right using a rear-hinged flipper.
 * In the first battle of every UK series Chaos 2 fought in, one of the losing robots in the battle it was placed in never returned after it lost. These robots were Crocodilotron (Series 3), Indefatigable (Series 4), Storm Force (Series 5) and Destructosaur (Series 6).
 * Both Chaos 2's first and final battles involved a robot with a crushing weapon - the first being Crocodilotron in Series 3, and the final being Razer in the Extreme 2 All-Stars.
 * Both Chaos 2's first and last losses involved battles with Razer.
 * Chaos 2 was the first competitor to flip Shunt over, doing so in the Series 3 Grand Final.
 * Strangely, although Chaos 2's top speed was consistently quoted as 20mph in the TV series, it was always quoted as 12mph in other media, such as the various official guides.
 * In 2003, Chaos 2 was made an inaugural member of The Combat Robot Hall of Fame, in recognition of its successes in Robot Wars and for being the first competitor to throw another out of the arena.
 * Both times Chaos 2 won the title, the 3rd Place Play-Off didn't happen due to one robot being too damaged.

Honours
Nominations
 * Best Engineered Award - Robot Wars: The Second Wars
 * Best Engineered Award - Robot Wars: The Fourth Wars