Arena Spikes

The Arena Spikes were an arena hazard during the early series of Robot Wars, as well as in the rebooted series. They had multiple guises across their appearances, but their main function was to obstruct robots' movements and occasionally overturn them.

History[]

Across their appearances, the arena spikes consisted of various pneumatic spikes mounted in the arena floor. They would typically come in two forms, appearing either individually or in a group of five, with the latter being more common across the series' runs. When a robot drove across them, they would activate, which would lift the robot off the floor and had the potential to cause damage or overturn a robot completely.

The Arena Spikes made their first appearance in Series 1, consisting in a group of five that, in the Arena configuration, were situated near the bottom-left Corner Patrol Zone typically patrolled by Matilda. These spikes would also feature in the Gauntlet at the end of the left-hand route. In Series 2, single spikes appeared in both the Gauntlet and Arena configurations, surrounded by a red circle in later episodes. The pneumatic system was improved, allowing them to fire faster than before.

For Series 3, three sets of spikes appeared in total, consisting of a cluster of five near the top-left CPZ, a single one near the top-right CPZ and another single spike in the middle of the lower half of the arena, near the Pit of Oblivion. The single spikes in particular were more powerful than in previous series and now had the ability to overturn other robots driving over them. As the Pit of Oblivion was closed off after the first two rounds, these spikes became the only hazard able to score a direct knockout. The spikes proved controversial among fans and did not appear in subsequent series of Robot Wars original run.

For the reboot, the Arena Spikes made their return, with a set of five spikes positioned near the bottom-right CPZ. They were much larger than in previous series, but were more clearly marked, like with the other hazards, with a red border. The spikes were relatively slow moving in Series 8, but were upgraded to fire much faster in the following two series.

Notable Instances[]

Series 1[]

Battle	Robot Affected	Notes
Heat B, Heat Final	Mortis	Mortis became stuck on the spikes during its fight against Recyclopse, allowing it to be attacked by Matilda.
Heat C, Gauntlet	Wedgehog	The spikes lifted up Wedgehog, causing it to break down just over a metre away from the finish
Heat D, Gauntlet	Cunning Plan	Like Wedgehog, Cunning Plan was lifted by the spikes, but was eventually released and allowed to complete its run.

Series 2[]

Battle	Robot Affected	Notes
Heat C, Semi-Final	Dreadnaut	Dreadnaut's safety key had been knocked out.
Heat E, Semi-Final	ORAC	During its fight with Killertron, ORAC broke down after being hit by the spike.
Heat H, Gauntlet	Rampage	After travelling only 3.0m, Rampage's wheel was struck by a spike, leaving it immobile on one side and unable to progress further.
Semi-Final 1, Pinball Trial	Mortis	Mortis' track was broken by an arena spike at the start of its Pinball run, leaving it unable to score any points. This caused controversy that ultimately resulted in Mortis being allowed a second run, where it scored enough points to progress at the expense of Napalm.

Series 3[]

Battle	Robot Affected	Notes
Heat B, Final	Behemoth	Behemoth was overturned by an arena spike in its fight against Pitbull. Pitbull itself was subsequently bounced by the same spike, but it stayed on its wheels.
Heat D, Round 1	Ultor	Despite being flipped over, Ultor still progressed as Flipper had already been immobilised.
Heat F, Final	Darke Destroyer	Darke Destroyer was pushed onto a spike by Gravedigger, which overturned it.
Heat H, Final	Berserk 2	Despite a strong start against heat favourite Hypno-Disc, Berserk 2 was overturned by a spike. Hypno-Disc subsequently righted it, allowing Berserk 2 to survive to a judges' decision.
Heat L, Round 1	Wild Willy	Despite being the aggressor over Flip Flop Fly, Wild Willy was buffeted by a spike and subsequently rolled into the Pit of Oblivion.
Heat O, Round 1	Schumey Too	Schumey Too was bounced by a spike, which allowed The Steel Avenger to push it towards the pit, which Schumey Too drove into moments later.
Heat P, Round 1	S.M.I.D.S.Y.
Heat P, Round 1	Scarab	Despite a strong start against Victor 2, Scarab broke down over the set of five spikes.
Semi-Final 1, Round 1	Pitbull	Pitbull drove over the spikes whilst it was holding Fire Storm and was bounced, but the combined weight prevented either robot from being overturned. Later in the same battle, Pitbull was pushed back over the spike, which successfully flipped it over.
Semi-Final 1, Round 1	Thing 2	Thing 2 was pushed onto a spike by Panic Attack, which lifted it up on top of the defending champion. Panic Attack was then bounced by the same spike, causing Thing 2 to be overturned.
Semi-Final 1, Round 2	Panic Attack	Panic Attack was bounced up by a spike, and whilst it landed back on its wheels, the hazard's activation allowed Fire Storm to get underneath it and flip it against the arena wall, although Panic Attack subsequently freed itself.
Robotic Soccer	Alien
Middleweight Melee	Ripper's Revenge	Ripper's Revenge was flipped by a spike and Shunt held it down to be damaged even further by the spike.

Series 8[]

Battle	Robot Affected	Notes
Heat A, Group Battle	Bonk	First use of the Arena Spikes of the reboot series.
Heat C, Head-to-Head Round	Big Nipper	Big Nipper was suspended by a spike during its fight with King B Remix, but was able to escape and win the battle.
Heat D, Head-to-Head Round	Storm 2	Storm 2 was suspended by a spike, getting caught on part of its armour that had been broken during an attack by PP3D. Storm 2 was able to escape and win the battle.

Series 9[]

Battle	Robot Affected	Notes
Battle of the Stars Episode 2, Head-to-Head Round	Dee	Dee was briefly caught between the spikes during its fight against Soldier Ant.
Heat A, Head-to-Head Round	Aftershock	Aftershock was flipped over during its fight with Terrorhurtz, but was able to right itself and win the battle.
Grand Final, Head-to-Head Round	Aftershock	Aftershock took heavy damage from Ironside3, which resulted in its weapon being disabled. It was subsequently flipped over by a spike and unable to right itself

Series 10[]

Battle	Robot Affected	Notes
Heat A, 3rd Place Playoff	None	As Sabretooth drove over the spikes to evade The Swarm, they malfunctioned, with two being blown out of their sockets and into the air.