Wild Thing

"A whirling dervish of a robot!"

- Robot Wars: The Ultimate Guide

Wild Thing was the name given to a series of robots produced by the roboteering team, the Adams Family. It competed in Series 3-6 of Robot Wars. One of the most successful individual robots, it made four semi-finals out of four attempts and lost to the reigning champion on three occasions. Despite these losses, it proved itself an incredibly resilient robot, surviving attacks from robots such as Hypno-Disc and 259, and ostensibly never breaking down in any of its battles. It almost defeated Chaos 2 in Series 5 and managed to take Tornado and Hypno-Disc to judges' decisions, unlike most robots that lost to those two. The name likely came from the 1966 song by The Troggs.

The original machine was named Thing 2 and entered into Series 3. It featured a steep wedge shape, made from 6mm polycarbonate with an aluminium frame and side panels, but its weaponry (a lifting arm fitted with a spike) was on the back of the robot instead of the front. This weapon was rarely used as it preferred to use its wedge shape to tip its opponents over, much like Roadblock, and driven by two 4 Pole DC motors. However, its flat wedge front left it helpless when tipped over by Panic Attack in the semi-finals. Thing 2 had a Latin message on its front, reading "Aut Vincere Aut Mori", which translates as "To conquer or to die". There was a ballcock on a hand as decoration, and the electric powered eyes featured on all versions of the robot except the Series 6 incarnation. Occasionally, the robot was referred to merely as Thing. The name was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the fact that the team shared a last name with the fictional Addams Family, the robot itself named after the disembodied hand called "Thing".

In the Fourth Wars, Wild Thing kept the same wedge shape, but added a lance mounted on a self-righting arm, had smaller wheels for more control and manouverability but less speed of 10 mph. This version of Wild Thing was the most successful, reaching the second round of the semi-finals before losing to Hypno-Disc. For Series 5/Extreme 1, the lance was shortened so that it would only serve as a self-righter and a large 12 kg horizontal spinning disc with two steel blades capable of spinning at 6000RPM was added to the wedge but the go-kart tyres were vulnerable. This version reached the semi-finals once more, going out on a judges' decision to Chaos 2 after nearly pitting the defending champion twice in the same battle. In the first version of the Robot Wars Magazine, before Extreme Series 1, Nick said he might put netting on the robot to tangle spinners following its loss to Hypno-Disc. Despite the upgrades to its weaponry through its appearances, Wild Thing mainly relied on its pushing power, speed, and maneuverability to win battles.

In Series 6, the robot was completely redesigned into an arrow-shaped compact invertible machine built for reliability and stamina with a 1500RPM vertical cutting disc. This version was known as Wild Thing 2, but the name was rarely ever used on the show. This new robot had the same speed, power and manouverability as its predecessors and its shell was made from alloy steel, which proved strong enough to stand up to the destructive power of 259 but had a high ground clearance and exposed tyres. Wild Thing 2 also reached the semi-finals, but was ripped apart and pitted by the defending champion Razer and reversed into the pit in the Loser's Melee.

In Extreme 2, Wild Thing 2 was intended to appear in the All-Stars Tournament for reaching the Semi-Finals in Series 6, however for unknown reasons it did not compete so Chaos 2 took its place. Wild Thing was retired after this.

Before Wild Thing, team captain Nick Adams was previously a member of the Demon team in Series 2.

Series 3
Thing 2's first battle was against fellow newcomers Prizephita. Prizephita got under Thing 2 at the start and tossed it up in the air. Thing 2 landed back on its wheels and retaliated, lifting Prizephita with its spike. Thing 2 turned and rolled Prizephita over which self-righted only to be overturned again and pushed into the arena wall. Just as Prizephita began to push it self back over again, Thing 2 pushed it into the CPZ where its boxing glove srimech got stuck on the wall, preventing it from self-righting. Shunt and Sergeant Bash begun to attack Prizephita and just before cease was called, righted it but by then there was nothing left in Prizephita and Thing 2 was put through. After a fast-moving push-and-shove against previous heat finalists All Torque, Thing 2 pushed it into Shunt, whose axe knocked out All Torque's receiver. This put Thing 2 through to face another newcomer Cerberus. Cerberus almost flipped Thing 2 and then rammed it into the arena wall. Thing 2 caught Cerberus, pushed it over the flames, and rolled it over. Thing 2 met the defending champs Panic Attack in the semi-finals, and was looking promising, pushing Panic Attack around the arena. However, just moments later Panic Attack used its rear to get underneath Thing 2. Then, in what seemed to be a lucky mistake, Panic Attack drove onto the arena spike and was bounced up in the air. The momentum from the spike helped overturn Thing 2 and dashed its hopes of progressing any further.

Series 4
Wild Thing began its Series 4 campaign as the 11th seed (although this was never acknowledged throughout the Heat), for reaching the semi finals last time round. Facing newcomers Humphrey and veterans The Steel Avenger by getting under Humphrey, before pushing The Steel Avenger around the arena. Then it attacked Humphrey and pushed The Steel Avenger into Matilda's CPZ, where it was lifted up. Eventually the axe-wielding machine escaped and returned to the fight. As Wild Thing was shoving Steel Avenger around the arena, Humphrey had stopped on the arena floor flipper and was no longer moving much at all. Wild Thing continued to attack Steel Avenger as Humphrey was attacked by the House Robots and thrown by the floor flipper. Next, Wild Thing faced Reactor. Straight away, the 11th seeds attacked Reactor from its rear, almost lifting it over. It then shoved Reactor towards Dead Metal and succeeded in shoving it into Sergeant Bash's CPZ, then Sir Killalot's. Killalot punctured Reactor's wheel and it could only move sluggishly. Wild Thing shoved it around the arena again, getting it into Dead Metal's CPZ where it then rammed Reactor several times. Considerable damage had been caused to Reactor as cease was called, with the judges unsurprisingly awarding the victory to the more aggressive Wild Thing. In the Heat Final, the Adams family faced The Steel Avenger again. Straight away it charged The Steel Avenger, shoving it around the arena. For long parts of the fight, the robots grappled all around the arena. Eventually Wild Thing flipped Steel Avenger onto its side and, when Steel Avenger righted itself, Wild Thing repeated the move. This time, the axe had become jammed into the arena floor and The Steel Avenger couldn't self-right. The House Robots attacked Steel Avenger and it was pitted, so the Adams family reached a second successive Series Semi-Final. In the Semi-Final, Wild Thing faced the 22nd seeds X-Terminator 2. X-Terminator appeared to be the more powerful machine, shoving Wild Thing into Sir Killalot's CPZ. Escaping, Wild Thing went on the offensive, shoving X-Terminator into Dead Metal's CPZ. Wild Thing flipped X-Terminator onto its back where it couldn't self-right due to a damaged self-righting arm and the defeated machine was pitted by Sir Killalot. In the next round, Wild Thing faced frightening opposition, the 2nd seeds Hypno-Disc. The Hampshire robot's tactics here were evident, to get under Hypno-Disc and shove it around. It wasn't able to however and Hypno-Disc attacked it, badly damaging it. Wild Thing then shoved Hypno-Disc around the arena for a bit, managing to survive the damage being done to it. Cease was called with clear damage done to Wild Thing, and the judges put Hypno-Disc into the Grand Final. Wild Thing also competed in the Celebrity Special with Shauna Lowry at the controls. Wild Thing faced Vic Reeves and Diotoir in round 1, and started strongly by ramming its opponent and shoving it around the Arena. Wild Thing drove into the Arena wall and became stuck, before being freed by Dead Metal and Matilda. Wild Thing tried to attack Diotoir again, who was being torched by Sergeant Bash, but Sir Killalot grabbed Wild Thing, picked it up and dropped it down the pit.

Extreme 1
Wild Thing fought in the All-Stars tournament, defeating Dominator 2 in Round 1. Dominator 2 missed a majority of its axe blows, whilst Wild Thing landed several blows on Dominator 2's wheels with its new spinner, dislodging one of its opponent's tyres. The judges put Wild Thing through on the judges decision, based on the aggression shown by Wild Thing, who moved on to fight Firestorm 3. Firestorm slid straight beneath Wild Thing and flipped it over before Wild Thing self-righted. Wild Thing's disc slashed parts of Firestorm's Diotoir fur before sliding beneath it and pushed it against the side wall. Wild Thing's disc appeared not to be working and Firestorm flipped Wild Thing over again. Wild Thing self-righted, before it and Firestorm grappled, with Dead Metal catching the spinning disc robot and slicing into it. Wild Thing escaped Dead Metal and Shunt, before being flipped by Firestorm again. However, as Wild Thing began to self-right, Firestorm flipped it again and the self-righting arm was stuck open. The arm propped Wild Thing up off the ground where it was left immobile and Dead Metal pitted it.

Wild Thing later fought in a battle fighting for the Challenge Belt against Tornado, the holder of the Challenge Belt. Tornado's new milling cutter bent one of Wild Thing's side spikes and dug into the wheel. Tornado slammed Wild Thing into the side wall before the two began a shoving match. Tornado's weapon prevented the Adams family's machine's weapon from spinning. Tornado slammed Wild Thing into the side wall repeatedly. Wild Thing refused to go down, however, despite the heavy battering it had taken. After escaping Sir Killalot's claws, Wild Thing lost the judges decision.

Finally, Wild Thing fought Fluffy and Arnold A. Terminegger in a Mayhem. Fluffy broke down relatively easily, leaving Arnold A. against Wild Thing, who was the favourite. However, Arnold A. Terminegger's 180 degree axe severely hampered Wild Thing's movements and Wild Thing lost the judges' decision.

Series 5
For Series 5, Wild Thing was seeded 9th. It began its Round 1 battle by attacking the similarly-armed Trouble & Strife with its disc several times, causing some minor damage to the green robot's armour. It attacked again, but Trouble & Strife flipped it over twice. However, the 9th seeds stayed on its wheels both times. On the second time coming back down, it caught its wheel hub on the spinning disc of the newcomers, buckling it. The seed continued to attack Trouble & Strife with the spinning disc and pushed it around the arena. It shoved Trouble & Strife into the CPZ and cease was called. The judges put Wild Thing through. Next, the Adams Family faced Napalm 2, a team even more experienced than them. Wild Thing slammed into Napalm straight away and tore off a side panel, also stopping its opponent in its tracks. Wild Thing continued to attack Napalm, activated the pit release and pitted it. In the Heat Final, Wild Thing faced Prizephita Mach 2 in a rematch from Series 3. Wild Thing charged straight away, but the opposition got in the first flip. Wild Thing attacked Prizephita's rear and sides a few times with its disc, not doing any apparent damage. Prizephita got two more flips in, the second lifting Wild Thing onto its back for the first time in the heat. Prizephita flipped it again before it could self-right. Prizephita flipped Wild Thing over again, but once more the seeded machine self-righted. After escaping Shunt, Wild Thing was flipped again. Prizephita prevented it from self-righting and then flipped it onto its side. Prizephita then released the pit. Wild Thing fell back onto its feet and clashed with Prizephita again. Wild Thing shoved Prizephita around the arena for a short time, almost pitting it and eventually shoving it into an angle grinder as cease was called. Somewhat controversially, the judges put Wild Thing into the Series Semi-Finals. In the Semi-Finals, Wild Thing faced the prospect of reigning champions Chaos 2. The champions straight away flipped Wild Thing across the arena. It drove Wild Thing onto the side wall and almost got it out of the arena, but instead hit it against the wall and knocked the pit release button off the wall. Chaos 2 attempted another flip and this time flipped itself over, but it self-righted quickly. It flipped Wild Thing over again and the pit activated while the 9th seed self-righted. Chaos 2 flipped Wild Thing over again, but again failed to throw it out of the arena. Wild Thing then pushed Chaos 2 towards the pit and almost into it, but it escaped and pushed Wild Thing into a CPZ where it was attacked by Dead Metal and Shunt. Chaos 2 flipped Wild Thing over again after it escaped the CPZ, but Wild Thing shoved Chaos 2 from the side towards the pit and it very nearly fell into the pit once more; even the pit's pyrotechnics went off. Again however, Chaos 2 was able to escape. Cease was called with both robots inside Dead Metal's CPZ, and Chaos 2 was awarded the victory.

Wild Thing was now in the Loser's Melee that determined the fourth robot to enter the second round of the Semi-Final. It faced 13th seeds Spawn Again and S3 a new machine to the competition. S3 got the first hit in, a minor one on Wild Thing. However, its second hit was much more powerful, almost throwing the 9th seed from the arena. Wild Thing then shoved Spawn Again across the arena which, coupled with an attack by S3, appeared to have immobilised the 13th seeds. Wild Thing activated the pit before being thrown across the arena by S3 again, tearing a hole in its armour. Spawn Again was counted out and pitted as S3 knocked off part of the arena wall before cease was called and the judges put S3 back in the competition.

Series 6
In Series 6, Wild Thing 2 was seeded 9th again. In Round 1, it faced three newcomers in The Stag, UFO and Vader. Wild Thing began by attacking The Stag, but the newcomer got underneath Wild Thing and pushed it into the arena side wall. Wild Thing got away and attacked the rear of The Stag, causing superficial damage. It then dodged attacks from UFO and Vader and attacked the flywheel-armed robot. Both robots then attacked UFO, which had activated the pit. The Stag was counted out and the remaining robots clashed. Wild Thing managed to stop Vader's disc and UFO pitted The Stag before cease was called, with the judges putting through the two machines with vertical discs. Next, Wild Thing faced the promising and very experienced 259. Wild Thing began by dodging 259, until it was thrown into a CPZ by the large flywheel. 259 proceeded to toss Wild Thing over and over across the arena, almost throwing it out of the arena. Wild Thing then attacked the side of 259, but it escaped. Then came the turning point: after being hit yet again, Wild Thing knocked off 259's drive belt, permanently stopping the flywheel. 259 activated the pit, but Adam Clark's machine couldn't put Wild Thing down it. 259 then shoved Wild Thing around the arena, Wild Thing then shoved the vertical spinner robot onto the flame pit. After pushing it around some more, 259 stopped completely. Wild Thing made a few more attacks before cease was called, where it was put through by the judges. In the Heat Final, The Adams family faced Vader again. Wild Thing charged into Vader, but the newcomers got in the first hit, also making several more. The last hit saw the flywheel get caught on Wild Thing, so Vader pulled it across the arena. Refbot freed the robots, who then attacked each other again. Vader then appeared to have stopped, but it moved again quickly and Wild Thing got its disc stuck in Vader's armour. The veterans was now able to shove Vader around. Shunt, now that the robots were in his CPZ, attacked the newcomers, stopping the flywheel with a blow from the axe and also almost toppling it. After running around the arena, Vader was almost flipped by Shunt. Vader activated the pit with 10 seconds to go, but neither robot pitted the other and cease was called. The judges put the Adams Family's machine into the Series Semi-Final for the fourth time. In the Semi-Finals, Wild Thing once more faced a tough draw against defending champions Razer. Razer began the battle by crushing Wild Thing. Wild Thing escaped and the two robots drove side by side. Wild Thing's disc didn't appear to be working effectively as Razer buried its claw into the 9th seeds again. Wild Thing escaped once more, but then the champion grabbed hold of it again and buried its claw right into Wild Thing's wheel. Both robots started spinning madly in place. Sergeant Bash set Razer alight as the invertible robot escaped, but it was losing control. Razer grabbed hold of Wild Thing one last time. It pushed the now four-time semi finalists into the pit release and dropped it into the Pit of Oblivion. The damage caused to Wild Thing by Razer was almost enough to keep it from competing in the Losers' Melee. "Totalled!"

- Alan Gribble [as a Technical Consultant] describing Wild Thing's state

Despite this, Wild Thing was able to compete in the Losers' Melee, where it was placed up against Dantomkia and 13 Black. In the battle, Dantomkia began by shoving a bouncing Wild Thing into the CPZ. Dantomkia, Wild Thing and 13 Black started dancing around Sir Killalot, all missing each other. The seeded machine was then driven into Dead Metal's CPZ by Dantomkia, who had also flipped 13 Black upside down. The house robots started attacking 13 Black and Wild Thing. Dantomkia then pressed the pit release button, and Wild Thing, who was simply driving away from the House Robots, drove right down the pit, as it was descending, eliminating it from the competition. This was Wild Thing's last appearance in Robot Wars.

Results

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Wins/Losses

 * Wins: 14
 * Losses: 10

Series Record

 * Series 1-2: Did not enter
 * Series 3: Semi-Finals, Round 1
 * Series 4: Semi-Finals, Round 2
 * Series 5: Semi-Finals, Round 1
 * Series 6: Semi-Finals, Round 1
 * Series 7: Did not enter

Appearances in Merchandise

 * Wild Thing/Minibot

Trivia

 * Out of Wild Thing's four main competition losses, three of them were against the reigning champion (Panic Attack in Series 3, Chaos 2 in Series 5 and Razer in Series 6, coincidentally the wars in which each of these robots lost their respective titles). Interestingly, all three of these occurred in the first round of the semi-finals. The one time that Wild Thing made it to Round 2, it lost to previous runner-up Hypno-Disc instead.
 * The Robot Wars announcer Stuart McDonald failed to acknowledge Wild Thing as a seed at any point during its Heat in Series 4.