- "Comengetorix, if you think you're hard enough!"
- — Team Motto
Comengetorix was a heavyweight robot which competed in the first series of Robot Wars Extreme, and Series 6 of Robot Wars, and was the successor to Vercingetorix. Comengetorix competed in a total of five battles throughout Extreme, but collected only a single win in the Tag Team Terror while partnered with Spawn Again. Comengetorix reached the second round of the Sixth Wars before it was defeated by Hydra.
Design[]
Like its predecessor Vercingetorix, Comengetorix looked a lot like seasoned competitor Mortis, with the same body shape, and similar weapons - a lifting beam capable of lifting 200 kg and self-righting quickly and a bladed axe (a more pointed one was used in Extreme), but the robot was not too reliable, despite being built around twenty years of engineering experience. Unlike Vercingetorix, Comengetorix was driven by wheels. The robot also had polycarbonate side skirts in Extreme 1 to prevent all but the lowest of robots from getting underneath. For Series 6, it was made out of steel, and the robot used a more reliable speed controller, which plagued the robot with intermittent mobility in Extreme.
Etymology[]
The name Comengetorix naturally succeeds its predecessor Vercingetorix, which was named after a Arverni king who united the Gauls in a revolt during the Gallic Wars. The "-ngetorix" from the name Vercingetorix is retained, while the word "Come" is added to the front of the name to reference the phrase "come and get it", which Comengetorix is phonetically similar to.
The Team[]
- Main article: Team Vercingetorix
Comengetorix was entered into Robot Wars by a team from Wootton on the Isle of Wight. The team were known as Team Comengetorix, having previously been known as Team Vercingetorix. The team was captained by Ian Gear, the only member of the team present in all of Comengetorix's appearances. In Extreme, Gear was joined by Alistair Curtis-Horsfall, who had been present in all of the team's appearances with Vercingetorix, and Alistair's son Tom. Notably, Tom was asleep during the team's introduction in Extreme, and was described as the team's "sleeping partner".
For Series 6, team captain Ian Gear wore chainmail armour in the pits, and he was joined by two new teammates, Adam Radestock and Bradley Jennings.
Qualification[]
Comengetorix attempted to qualify for Series 5, but the team were unsuccessful in doing so. In its qualifier battle, Comengetorix fought an unknown robot with a spinner. The spinner robot ultimately immobilised Comengetorix after hitting its main power switch.[1]
Comengetorix would then successfully qualify for Series 6.
Robot History[]
Extreme 1[]
- "Amongst our weaponry we have a lifter, sarcasm written on the front and an axe so that people will get the point."
- — Alistair Curtis-Horsfall
Comengetorix made its debut in the Tag-Team Terror competition where it was paired with Spawn Again, the successor to Spawn Of Scutter who beat Vercingetorix in Series 4. The two of them were drawn against Tag-Team third-place finishers Bigger Brother and Plunderbird 5 for their first fight.
- Julia Reed: "Comengetorix....that's a bit of imitation in that name, isn't it?"
- Ian Gear: "Oh yeah, they've gotta come and get it"
- — Prior to Comengetorix's first fight
However, Plunderbird 5 broke down as it was been entered into the arena, so Major Tom was bought in as a substitute instead. In the fight itself, Comengetorix started off against Bigger Brother and was the first to land an attack, hitting Bigger Brother with its axe but without causing any damage. Despite Bigger Brother appearing to have problems with its flipper, venting a lot of CO2, Comengetorix was extremely sluggish and could not capitalise before Bigger Brother got under the front and flicked it up slightly, but not enough to overturn it. Comengetorix did not move until Bigger Brother rammed it, whereupon it reversed into the waiting Spawn Again.
- "And Comengetorix are neither coming or going at the moment"
- — Jonathan Pearce
After briefly getting wedged on Spawn Again's flipper, Comengetorix was able to free itself and got underneath Bigger Brother, pushing it back across the arena and lifting it up slightly, but could not get it over. As the two engaged, their teammates entered the battle, with Spawn Again swiftly overturning Major Tom. This caused both Bigger Brother and Comengetorix to rush to Major Tom's position; as Bigger Brother attempted to right Major Tom, Comengetorix tried to block them, hitting Major Tom with its axe and damaging its baseplate.
- "Comengetorix on one side, doing the attacking!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Bigger Brother was nonetheless able to overturn Major Tom, but Comengetorix still landed an attack on Bigger Brother's flipper with its axe. In retaliation, Bigger Brother managed to push Comengetorix into the arena wall, but its flipper was no longer working. Spawn Again, its own flipper jammed open, was able to force Bigger Brother away, allowing Comengetorix to attack Major Tom, who had since become immobilised.
- "They [Major Tom] were righted by their teammate, Bigger Brother, but...they were never quite right, if you get what I mean, and certainly Comengetorix is trying to use that little axe to create more problems."
- — Jonathan Pearce
Comengetorix struck the stricken Major Tom with its axe, the blows causing two panels to break off, before dragging it away and lifting it slightly. After this, with Spawn Again also breaking down, Comengetorix was pursued across the arena by Bigger Brother, although neither appeared to be moving freely. Comengetorix was nudged towards the Flame Pit by Bigger Brother, but the fight was stopped after Sir Killalot pushed Major Tom into the Pit.
- Craig Charles: "And Comengetorix, no respect for the Union Flag there, you were just bashing it and bashing it."
- Ian Gear: "Well, did they deserve to wear it?"
- — The post-battle interview
Comengetorix and Spawn Again were declared the winners of the fight, but not without Ian Gear declaring that Bigger Brother and Major Tom did not have the right to fly the Union Jack. This in turn prompted Team Big Brother to declare a Vengeance Battle, which Team Vercingetorix accepted. Nevertheless, Comengetorix and Spawn Again progressed through to the semi-finals, where they were drawn against Diotoir and Mega Morg.
- "Flip 'em, smash 'em, cut 'em to bits!"
- — Ian Gear's tactics for the semi-finals
However, for the second round in a row, Comengetorix and Spawn Again had to face a substitute, as Mega Morg was forced to withdraw after damaging all its available speed controllers and Pussycat was bought in to replace it. Comengetorix sat out the early parts of the round with Spawn Again fighting Pussycat, but was eventually tagged in as Pussycat hit the Pit release. However, it still appeared to be sluggish and was largely static as Pussycat nudged it, although it did not take much damage as Pussycat's blade was not operational. Diotoir was tagged into the battle and it pushed the sluggish Comengetorix. Soon all four robots engaged in the battle and Comengetorix was pushed back by Refbot, its lifting arm opening sluggishly before springing open with no other robot near it. As Diotoir pushed it from the side, Comengetorix tried to use its lifting arm again to flick Pussycat over, but missed, which allowed Diotoir to lift it off the arena floor and push it away before Spawn Again knocked it free.
- ""Come 'n' help", Comengetorix says to Spawn Again, he needs a little bit of assistance"
- — Jonathan Pearce, making a pun on Comengetorix's name
Comengetorix briefly got stuck on Spawn Again's flipper and as it was freed, Pussycat and Diotoir nudged it from either side. Comengetorix managed to break free and dodged around the Pit. Although it came back into the battle, Comengetorix was caught from the side, and lifted up, by Diotoir once again.
Meanwhile, Spawn Again broke down, leaving Comengetorix to fight alone. It attempted to attack Pussycat, but used neither of its weapons and was pursued by the now-on-fire Diotoir again as Spawn Again was counted out and eventually pushed into the Pit. Comengetorix missed two attacks with its lifting arm before, in the last few moments of the fight, it gained a burst of speed and drove towards the Pit, but Spawn Again's remains blocked it from going down and it was able to back away.
- "And Comengetorix would have been in the Pit had not its fallen teammate helped them out!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
After backing away, Comengetorix stopped once again, which allowed Diotoir to flip it up and overturn it just as "Cease" was called. Comengetorix was able to right itself, only to land on top of Spawn Again in the Pit. Despite this happening after the battle had ended, Comengetorix, along with Spawn Again, were eliminated from the Tag Team Terror, with Team Vercingetorix blaming their loss on Spawn Again's killswitch falling out.
Comengetorix's next appearance was in the Challenge Belt competition, where it challenged Tornado in what was the latter's first defence of the belt after winning it from the original holder Behemoth.
- "The belt will look good on our bench."
- — Alistair Curtis-Horsfall, prior to their Challenge Belt match
Comengetorix got off to the slower start, but Tornado drove at it front on, which allowed Comengetorix to land an attack with its axe. This did little damage to Tornado, who pushed it straight into Shunt's CPZ. Shunt landed an axe blow of his own on Comengetorix, scuffing its wedge, before lifting it up and pushing it away. Comengetorix slowly turned to face Tornado again, but Tornado charged in and attacked the side of Comengetorix, pressing it against the arena wall and pushing it towards Sir Killalot. Comengetorix was very slow to respond and as it backed away, Tornado got around its right hand side and drove it into the arena wall.
- "I think that initial shove by Tornado really took the wind out of Comengetorix's sails."
- — Jonathan Pearce
As Comengetorix was pushed around, its side skirts took severe damage from Tornado's spinning drum, with one part ripped clean off as Tornado went in for another attack. Eventually, Comengetorix was pushed into the lower-right CPZ by Tornado. It failed to move away before Shunt came in and his axe struck between Comengetorix's weapons.
As Tornado activated the pit, Comengetorix was dragged out to the centre of the arena and overturned by Shunt. After a small delay, it used its flipping arm to right itself, but Tornado continued to pressure it. Comengetorix spun around in circles, firing its arm and axe whenever Tornado came near, but missed both attempts. Tornado pushed it back towards the arena wall, but Comengetorix reversed and managed to land an axe blow on Tornado, but it stopped again right near the Pit. It was able to reverse away back towards the angle grinders before Tornado could push it into the Pit, but Tornado forced it into the grinders themselves, at which point Comengetorix appeared to stop moving again.
- "They're in peril, they know it!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Tornado nudged the stricken Comengetorix towards Sir Killalot, who in turn pushed it across the arena into Shunt's CPZ. Shunt pushed Comengetorix towards the centre of the arena, before Tornado rammed it from the side and pushed it into the Pit, with Comengetorix briefly getting suspended on the edge before falling in. This meant that Comengetorix had failed its challenge and Tornado had kept the Challenge Belt.
- Craig Charles: "What made you think you could take on the Tornado boys, holder of the Extreme Challenge Belt?"
- Alistair Curtis-Horsfall: "We saw the belt and we decided we didn't want it, so we let them push us around"
- Craig Charles: "Oh, really, really, really bad losers, it seems"
- Andrew Marchant: "It's not what it's made of, it's what it represents that counts"
- — After the battle
Comengetorix's next appearance was in a Mayhem qualifier, for the right to compete in the Annihilator. Here, it faced Series 4 first round fallers Disc-O-Inferno and Velocirippa. Before the fight, it was hinted that Comengetorix was to team up with Velocirippa on Disc-O-Inferno, although both teams denied this.
- Julia Reed: "What's going on?"
- Trevor Wright: "Just a bit of friendly banter, y'know? Just trying to sort out where he's soft and where he's not. Where to hit him and where to not"
- Julia Reed: "So you promise you're not conspiring against Disc-O-Inferno?"
- Ian Gear: "Oh no, no no no no, no. You notice we can't see them, they're hiding"
- — Julia Reed catches the "team up" in the act
As the battle started, Comengetorix moved in to attack Disc-O-Inferno as its flywheel was getting up to speed, wedging itself underneath and striking with its axe, although this caused little damage. At the same moment, Velocirippa rammed into Disc-O-Inferno, which also caused little problems for Disc-O-Inferno and the two robots backed away.
- "And immediately a pincer-attack on Disc-O-Inferno. They were collaborating, they were musing, they were planning a joint attack on Disc-O-Inferno!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Comengetorix, however, once again stopped momentarily after this attack, which allowed Velocirippa to attack Disc-O-Inferno on its own temporarily. Comengetorix eventually started up again and was chased by Disc-O-Inferno around, and away from, the floor flipper. As Velocirippa spun in front of Comengetorix, it turned to face Disc-O-Inferno again, but it missed a shot with its axe and Disc-O-Inferno landed a grazing blow along Comengetorix's left hand side. Comengetorix fired its flipping arm at thin air, before Disc-O-Inferno reversed into it from behind and pushed it towards the Flame Pit. Comengetorix was able to get away and come back into the fight, but the attack had caused the left side of its front panel to peel away. It once again slowed down, allowing Velocirippa to attack it from the front. Comengetorix retaliated by firing its axe, snagging Velocirippa behind its front "tusks", before Disc-O-Inferno forcibly separated them.
Velocirippa landed another small ram to the front of Comengetorix, but before Comengetorix could move away, Disc-O-Inferno struck its back-left corner, spinning it away. Comengetorix once again struggled for movement and missed another axe blow on an approaching Disc-O-Inferno. By now, a series of gouges were visible along the left side of Comengetorix's armour. Disc-O-Inferno landed another blow on the front of Comengetorix, knocking it back slightly towards the arena wall. After this, Comengetorix failed to move across the arena and, as Disc-O-Inferno and Velocirippa continued to fight, Refbot counted it out, despite Comengetorix firing its axe weakly in an attempt to show mobility.
- "Comengetorix, the team were worried and it seems to me that they're immobilised, they are. The Refbot's in there and counting them out. No wonder they looked worried. Well, the axe is moving but nothing else is, they're out of it."
- — Jonathan Pearce as Comengetorix is counted out
Sgt Bash moved in to try and attack Comengetorix, although not before Disc-O-Inferno, who had by that point ripped Velocirippa open and immobilised it, landed another attack on the front. Eventually, Shunt came in to attack Comengetorix instead, landing an axe blow in its weapons bay and dragging it towards the Floor Flipper. The resulting flip threw Comengetorix across the arena and damaged the tip of its lifting arm when it landed on top of it, although it bounced onto its wheels. Disc-O-Inferno nudged Comengetorix towards the open Pit of Oblivion, where it rolled across the edge. Shunt came in and pushed Comengetorix all the way in, eliminating it from the Mayhem. As a result, Comengetorix failed to qualify for the annihilator.
- "Tom Curtis-Horsfall, loves his Manchester United football. Comengetorix, offside and off the pitch!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as Comengetorix is pitted
Comengetorix's last appearance in Extreme 1 was in a Vengeance battle against Bigger Brother, after their clash during the Tag Team Terror. Team Vercingetorix defended their statements, claiming that the battle was for the right to fly the Union Jack.
- "They dishonoured the flag!"
- — Ian Gear describing the Tag Team that it defeated, before Comengetorix's vengeance battle
As the battle started, Comengetorix pursued Bigger Brother, who swiftly dodged away from an initial attack. Comengetorix fired its axe as it chased Bigger Brother towards the Pit, but missed and then seemed to slow down. Bigger Brother took this moment of activity to get underneath its right corner and flip Comengetorix over. Comengetorix showed no immediate sign of self-righting and Bigger Brother forced it towards the CPZ.
- "Oh, and a little flip, and Comengetorix on its side and up and over...and has Bigger Brother already won this Vengeance crunch? Over went Comengetorix, 93 kilos as easily as that!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
Sgt Bash quickly intercepted the two robots, which gave Comengetorix time to right itself. It slowly moved away from the CPZ and towards the arena centre, just as Bigger Brother flipped Sgt Bash over against the arena wall. After this, Comengetorix remained largely stationary as Sir Killalot moved in to attack Bigger Brother, who in turn tried to flip him over. After Bigger Brother's attempts proved futile, Comengetorix moved in to attack Sir Killalot itself, striking his lance with its axe.
- "Spinning with Comengetorix to have a go at Killalot, they're combining, are they? Hang on, this is a Vengeance grudge match. No no no no no, you're not supposed to be having a go at OURS, you're supposed to be having a go at THEIRS!"
- — Jonathan Pearce as the "rivals" team up
As Bigger Brother drove around Sir Killalot's left side to distract him, Comengetorix attacked Killalot's right flank, burying its axe into his armour several times. After a while, Sir Killalot managed to get in front of both machines and pushed them into the CPZ, trapping Comengetorix who retaliated by striking his head with its axe. Comengetorix soon struggled for movement again and Sir Killalot concentrated his attacks on it, allowing Bigger Brother to escape. After a while, Comengetorix was pushed out towards the arena centre, but it did not move until Bigger Brother drove at its front, which allowed Comengetorix to strike it with its axe.
Nevertheless, Comengetorix's mobility problems prevented it from pursuing Bigger Brother, who in turn was unable to get underneath Comengetorix to flip it as its flipper had been bent in its attack on Sir Killalot. As Bigger Brother went to activate the Pit, Comengetorix was able to reverse away and was chased over to the flame pit. Bigger Brother continued to pursue Comengetorix past the Floor Flipper, but Comengetorix turned and struck at Bigger Brother again with its axe. This caused little damage and Comengetorix was unable to prevent Bigger Brother from pushing it towards the Pit. Right as it got towards the edge, Comengetorix attempted to use its lifting arm to flick Bigger Brother away, but this only caused it to get stuck over the edge of the Pit and Bigger Brother nudged it in before it could recover.
- "One last valiant effort, it's done very well actually to stay in there, but it's on the lip of the Pit! And it's almost rocked itself in - it's in now!"
- — Jonathan Pearce
As a result, Comengetorix lost the Vengeance battle, although not without Bigger Brother following it into the Pit after Sir Killalot grabbed it in retaliation for the earlier attack and dropped it in. After the battle, the teams admitted that the "grudge" had been faked and the only reason the battle had gone ahead was so that they could fight Sir Killalot.
- "This was a ploy. We haven't got a grudge against each other, it was just to get Killalot. We wanted a crack at Killalot!"
- — Alistair Curtis-Horsfall after the battle
Series 6[]
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- "If you think you're hardenougherix!"
- — Jonathan Pearce on Comengetorix's introduction
After failing to qualify for the Fifth Wars, Comengetorix returned for the Sixth Wars, largely changed internally including a more reliable speed controller, as well as having a new axe head fitted. The robot was placed up against Warhog, newcomer St. Agro and S.M.I.D.S.Y. in its first round melee.
Comengetorix first clashed with S.M.I.D.S.Y., lifting up the Cyberspace robot, but failing to flip it fully. Comengetorix rained axe blows down on S.M.I.D.S.Y., pushing it and Warhog into the arena side wall. Comengetorix was then bumped by Warhog, before speeding across the arena and impaling itself on the arena wall with its axe. Growler tried to rip it free but failed. Comengetorix finally retrieved its axe and pulled free and drove very nearly into the Pit. Meanwhile, S.M.I.D.S.Y. shoved St. Agro into the Pit, while Comengetorix fled from the House Robots. Finally, after a prolonged piggyback, S.M.I.D.S.Y. pitted Warhog, putting itself and Comengetorix through to the next round.
In the second round of the heat, Comengetorix was drawn up against Hydra, a similarly designed robot.
- Ian Gear: "Hydra? No problem!"
- Philippa Forrester: "No, that's hard. They're good, they're very good!"
- Ian Gear: "We're gonna be better, I'm sure of it!"
- Philippa Forrester: "If you can get it fixed in time!"
- — Confidence in the pre-battle interview from Ian Gear
In this battle, Hydra tossed over Comengetorix, but it self-righted. However, it had become noticeably more sluggish. Comengetorix tried to use its axe, but failed to hit anything. Hydra lifted Comengetorix up onto the arena side wall, pounding it with the hammer, and leaving it perched. Hydra's intention was to leave Comengetorix stranded, so Comengetorix needed to fire its weapons to free itself. After several repeated flips at thin air, Comengetorix's lifter snapped in half, leaving it with only the axe as its weapon, but also freeing Comengetorix to return to the battle.
Comengetorix used its axe to good effect in the late stages of the battle, striking the centre of Hydra, allowing Comengetorix's axe to sink into the body of Hydra. Comengetorix attempted to drag Hydra towards the Pit, having grappled with its opponent, but Cease was soon called and the battle went to a Judges' decision. The decision went in favour of Hydra, eliminating Comengetorix from the competition. After this, the team retired.
Results[]
COMENGETORIX - RESULTS | ||
Extreme Series 1 | ||
Tag Team Terror Competing with Spawn Again, Semi-Final | ||
Round 1 | vs. Bigger Brother & Major Tom | Won |
Semi-Final | vs. Diotoir & Pussycat | Lost |
Challenge Belt | ||
Challenge | vs. Tornado | Lost |
Mayhem | ||
Mayhem | vs. Disc-O-Inferno, Velocirippa | Lost |
Vengeance | ||
Vengeance | vs. Bigger Brother | Lost |
Series 6 | ||
The Sixth Wars - UK Championship Heat, Round 2 | ||
Heat J, Round 1 | vs. S.M.I.D.S.Y., St. Agro, Warhog | Qualified |
Heat J, Round 2 | vs. Hydra | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 2
- Losses: 5
Series Record[]
Main Series | Comengetorix Series Record |
---|---|
The First Wars | Did not enter |
The Second Wars | Entered with Vercingetorix |
The Third Wars | Entered with Vercingetorix |
The Fourth Wars | Entered with Vercingetorix |
The Fifth Wars | Failed to qualify |
The Sixth Wars | Heat, Round 2 |
The Seventh Wars | Did not enter |
Series 8 | Did not enter |
Series 9 | Did not enter |
Series 10 | Did not enter |
Robot Wars Extreme | Appearances |
Series 1 | Entered |
Series 2 | Did not enter |
Gallery[]
Outside Robot Wars[]
Comengetorix took part in a few live events in between Robot Wars. It fought at Robot Mania 2001 in Brighton, where it defeated Weird Alice in the first round to advance to the quarter-finals, only to lose after being flipped out by Chaos 2.[2] Comengetorix appeared at the Robo Rumble 2002 event. It was due to fight Tornado, Humphrey and Big Pants, but pulled out beforehand due to battery failure. It was able to be repaired in time for the final rumble which saw it take on opponents such as Dantomkia, Bulldog Breed and Bigger Brother, though it was unsuccessful in winning[3].
After Series 6, the team chose to retire from robot combat, the main reason being down to funds. The motors for both Comengetorix and Vercingetorix were becoming too expensive to replace and the team did not enter Series 7 due to the costs of travelling to RAF Newton and for two weeks worth of filming. The team also did not enter any of the rebooted series for a similar reason, the travelling to Scotland from the team's home of the Isle of Wight was also too far and expensive[4].
Seventeen years after its last appearance on television, Comengetorix and its predecessor Vercingetorix made an appearance at Robots Live! at The Great Wonderfest, an event held on the Isle of Wight in August 2019, all as static display pieces. Comengetorix retains its lifting arm and armour, although its axe and internals have since been scrapped. However, Comengetorix's axe head from Series 6 is now used on the Series 4 version of Vercingetorix[5].
Trivia[]
- Comengetorix had a mascot in the form of a toy red squirrel that hung on the team's controller. It made a prominent appearance after Comengetorix's Challenge Belt battle in Extreme 1, where Craig Charles mockingly compared it to the robot's performance.
- Comengetorix's image on its statistics board in its Extreme 1 Tag Team Terror semi-final was different to the normal one used in all of its other appearances that series.
- Comengetorix was one of only ten robots to debut in Extreme 1 and to fight in one of the main competitions, not counting Typhoon. The others were 3 Stegs 2 Heaven, Axe-Awe, Fighting Torque, Fluffy, NEAT Machine, Spawn Again, Sub-Version, The Executioner and Draven.
- Comengetorix was the only one of these ten robots to make their main series debut in Series 6.
- According to Ian Gear, Comengetorix knocked off Sir Killalot's head with its axe during its Vengeance battle against Bigger Brother. This was not shown in the televised broadcast.[6]
- Like its predecessor, Vercingetorix, Comengetorix never won a head-to-head battle.
References[]
- ↑ Private correspondence between RobotManiac and Ian Gear in May 2021
- ↑ Team Tornado - Robot Mania 2001
- ↑ Team Tornado - Robo Rumble 2002
- ↑ Private correspondence between RobotManiac and Ian Gear in May 2021
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/groups/UnofficialRobotWars/permalink/1113221028957661
- ↑ Private correspondence between RobotManiac and Ian Gear in May 2021
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